August 04, 2014

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Al-Makura: I’ll face panel today

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•House may shun invitation

•Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

VOL. 9, NO. 2928 MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

Kwankwaso attacks Jonathan again NEWS Page 2

•‘Fed Govt promoting hatred, corruption’ •www.thenationonlineng.net

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Fear over Boko Haram ‘butcher’ Whereabouts of key suspect unknown Military source: we don’t have him

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Al-Makura: I’ll face panel today

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•President Goodluck Jonathan being received by United States (U.S.) Assistant Chief of Protocol Gladys Boluda at the Andrew Airforce Base, Washington, on arrival for the U.S.-African Leaders Summit on Trade, Investment, Peace, Security and Good Governance in Washington…yesterday. With them (from left) are: United States Ambassador to Nigeria Mr James Entwistle; Nigerian Ambassador to PHOTO: NAN U.S Ade Adefuye and Minister of Foreign Affairs Amb. Aminu Wali

Anxiety over fate of Boko Haram ‘butcher’

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HERE was anxiety yesterday over the whereabouts of the suspected Boko Haram “chief butcher” Mohammed Zakari in police custody.

The suspect was arrested on July 15 after a counter-insurgency operation in Balmo forest in Bauchi State, which was rated as the major armoury of the sect.

The suspect had been undergoing interrogation in a police facility.

A source claimed that the suspect was in Bauchi; another said he had been transferred to a secret location in Jos. It was gathered that the tension over the suspect’s where-

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pect.”

It was learnt, according to a police source, who claimed that the suspect is still in the custody, that information retrieved from the ‘butcher’ had led to the arrest of some members of the sect.

Police spokesman Frank Mba said: “There is nothing like that.

The rumour did not start today.

It started some days ago and I believe some persons were being mischievous or trying to get information on the location of the suspect whom, as I speak with you, is in our custody in an unknown location and undergoing interrogation.

•‘Fed Govt promoting hatred, corruption’

them? One of the reasons why I love this country is that we have people of high calibre in all the regions, in all the states. Look at my former colleague, former Minister of Education Dr. Oby Ezekwezili.

“This is somebody who worked with the World Bank, but now she has devoted her time. She is not from this part of the country, but she felt she had to take the bull by the horns and that is what we are seeing in developed countries—fight in-

abouts was heightened by the fact that he had not been grilled by the military and other security agencies.

A top security source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, confirmed that there was disquiet over the fate of the suspect because the police did not state the extent of their investigation into his activities.

“No one can also explain who is keeping the suspect in the last two weeks. There are different claims on whether he is in Bauchi, Jos or Abuja,” the source said, adding: “It could also not

Kwankwaso attacks Jonathan again

RESIDENT Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s administration promotes hatred, enmity, ethno-religious rivalry and corruption, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State said at the weekend.

Kwankwaso, who spoke to reporters in his office, said the inability of President Jonathan to tackle insurgency in the North and insecurity in other parts of the country exposes his incompetence to preside over Nigeria’s affairs.

According to him, the real

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be confirmed whether he is still alive or dead during encounters.

The situation is creating fears in the states under emergency rule.

“Those from these states have been raising concerns on Zakari’s actual status.”

It was also learnt that there were issues about the lack of coordination between the police and the military and security agencies.

A military source, who spoke last night, said: “Well, the police arrested the suspect they should be in the best position to account for his whereabouts.

“So far, we have not been involved in the quizzing of the sus-

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

cause of insecurity is bad leadership being experienced in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government.

“We have good materials in APC; we have people, if given the opportunity, I have no doubt in my mind we can perform creditably. Look, I am conversant with that Villa for over 20 years now. From the days of my membership of the House of

Representatives as Deputy Speaker, I know what the Commander-In-Chief should be doing under these circumstances.

“Now, they are just using propaganda. Look at this Chibok girls, for three weeks, they were arguing—where are the names, who are they, where are the photographs; they didn’t believe that over 200 children were abducted. Haba! Even if it is 20 tortoise or goats! Won’t you look for

Continued on page 58

ASARAWA State Governor Tanko Al-Makura and the House of Assembly are to appear today a panel probing corruption charges against the state’s helmsman.

Al-Makura told our correspondent last night that he would honour the panel’s summons as a mark of respect for the constitution and the rule of law.

He also said he offered to waive his immunity to demonstrate that he had nothing to hide.

There were indications last night that the Assembly might shun the invitation, after lawmakers’ battle to force a charge of its membership collapsed.

Chief Judge Justice Suleiman Dikko said having complied with Section 188(5) of the 1999 Constitution, only a competent court could disband the panel.

There are 16 allegations against Al-Makura, which the Assembly is expected to formally present its allegations against the governor to the panel based on an ad hoc committee it had set up. That is the standard procedure.

“After the presentation of the report on the allegations against the governor, the panel will ask Al-Makura and others implicated by the Assembly to respond to the allegations,” a source said.

Al-Makura said: “I have received a notice from the panel and I will appear as a mark of respect for the committee, the 1999 Constitution and the rule of law.

“I will testify to convince Nigerians that I have nothing to hide, despite the frivolous allegations against me. “ I have my name and integrity to protect not only for personal gains but for posterity. I have served this state to the best of my ability and I want history to vindicate me.

“This is why I have waived my immunity in Section 308 of the constitution.”

Section 308 of the constitution says: “ Notwithstanding

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

anything to the contrary in this Constitution, but subject to subsection (2) of this section (a) no civil or criminal proceedings shall be instituted or continued against a person to whom this section applies during his period of office; (b) a person to whom this section applies shall not be arrested or imprisoned during that period either on pursuance of the process of any court or otherwise; and (c) no process of any court requiring of compelling the appearance of a person to whom this section applies, shall be applied for or issued; “Provided that in ascertaining whether any period of limitation has expired for the purposes of any proceedings against a person to whom this section apples, no account shall be taken of his period of office.

“The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to civil proceedings against a person to whom this section applies in his official capacity or to civil or criminal proceedings in which such a person is only a nominal party. “ This section applies to a person holding the office of President or Vice-President, Governor or Deputy Governor; and the reference in this section to “period of office - is a reference to the period during which the person holding such office is required to perform the functions of the office.”

The governor has given instructions to all ministries, departments and agencies to give the members of the House of Assembly all their dues and entitlements.

A source said: “ The governor insisted that the lawmakers must be respected, their salaries and allowances paid as and when due.

“Al-Makura cautioned against vengeance or violence in any form. He said everything must be within the conContinued on page 58

U.S doctor with Ebola improving, says Expert

HE condition of American Dr. Kent Brantly stricken with Ebola seems to have improved, the director of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday.

Dr. Thomas Frieden said it was encouraging to see Dr. Brantly walk out of the ambulance unassisted when he arrived at Atlanta’s Emory University Hospital from Liberia at the weekend.

Frieden said he understands the public’s concerns about Ebola, and the public health role is to ensure that the infection is not spread.

The CDC chief said old-fashioned practices were required to stop the spread of Ebola in West Africa. These include finding the patients and their contacts, making sure they’re treated, educating the public and doing rigorous infection control in hospitals.

Ebola is only spread through direct contact of bodily fluids.

This current Ebola outbreak is the worst on record and has killed more than 700 in three countries in West African and infected more than 1,300.

Before Brantly arrived in Atlanta, not much about his condition had been made public.

According to Samaritan’s Purse, the aid organisation he was working for, Brantly was in “serious but stable” condition before being flown to the U.S.

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Lagos takes sensitisation to Synagogue Church

AGOS State Government stepped up its surveillance on the Ebola virus yesterday, with its officials visiting a church in continuation of its enlightenment campaign.

Officials of Lagos State Ministry of Health and the Federal Government visited the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), seeking the cooperation of its General Overseer Prophet Temitope Joshua in ensuring Ebola victims are not brought to his church for healing.

The SCOAN, a church reputed for its claims of divine healing, is a popular destination for the sick.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, who led the delegation to the SCOAN, said it was in recognition that the church is an international Christian congregation whose members comprise people from all over the world, including the countries of West AfriWhen the doctor was able to walk into the hospital, at least two experts said they were surprised but pleased that the doctor seemed to be doing well.

This strain of the Ebola virus has a fatality rate of approximately 60 per cent and past outbreaks had fatality rates as high as 90 percent.

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University School of

By Seun Akioye

can sub-region already affected by the disease.

The commissioner added that the visit is one of the state government’s strategies of sensitising faith-based organisations on the need to cooperate with the government to prevent the spread of the disease by educating worshippers to report health issues to medical experts.

Idris said the Federal and state governments were working hard to prevent the virus from coming into the country.

“We have our strategies that we intend to share with you. Again, we need to know the resources you have here because whether it is one or two cases, if they are allowed to get out, it is a major problem. We are here to work together on how to contain this disease,” Idris told the cleric.

Another member of the delegation

Medicine, said he felt “guardedly optimistic”, since Ebola usually advances quickly and Brantly had shown signs of the disease for at least a week.

“The first thing we all said ‘Whao, he’s not on a vent,’” Schaffner said of realising that Brantly did not need a ventilator to help him breathe. “In general [with] Ebola is ... you progress on a downhill course.

If you’re at this point and you’re

and Director, Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Professor Abdulsalami Nasidi, said the visit was to inform the church’s leadership about the deadliness of the Ebola virus and to ensure that it does not enter Nigeria.

Nasidi, who is an epidemiologist and a virologist, said the meeting was a “positive engagement mission”. “We are here to engage you positively. We know the powers of this House and your powers and we are duty- bound to protect you and your congregation.

We have no doubt the power God has given you; we can’t do that, but we want to help and make it work stronger,” he said.

While the delegation came short of telling the cleric not to accept victims of the disease who may want to seek healing in his church, it however made it clear that the government would do

holding your own you’re entitled to be optimistic.”

When the doctor was able to walk into the hospital, at least two experts said they were surprised but pleased that the doctor seemed to be doing well.

This strain of the Ebola virus has a fatality rate of approximately 60 percent and past outbreaks had fatality rates as high as 90 percent.

Morse said that Brantly was obviously not out of the woods

Continued on page 58

and that he would be under constant monitoring to ensure his blood pressure, lung function, kidney function and other vitals remained steady.

“If he really does get better, we want to know his secret,” Morse said.

Doctors yesterday also spoke on how their infected colleague would be treated amid fears that the outbreak killing more than 700 people in Africa could

•Pastor Joshua...yesterday

spread in the United States has generated considerable anxiety among some Americans.

But infectious-disease experts said the public faces zero risk as Emory University Hospital treats a critically ill missionary doctor and a charity worker who were infected in Liberia.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received “nasty emails” and at least 100 calls from people saying “How dare you bring Ebola into the country!?” CDC Director Tom Frieden said Saturday.

“I hope that our understandContinued on page 58

ADVERT HOTLINES 08023006969, 08052592524

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Osun election, c

•Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola receiving a gift from the Regional Director, Rlg Communications, Mr. Tosin Ilesanmi during the launching of OYESTECH Empowerment Scheme at the Government House, Osogbo. With them are Managing Director, Osun State Investment Company, Mr. Bola Oyebamiji (left) and Oyestech Graduand.

Like other sectors of the society, the police have battled corruption. This is one of the challenges facing the acting Inspector General of Police Suleiman Abba.

Many will be watching out for how he handles Saturday’s Osun governorship poll, writes JUDE ISIGUZO

S •Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Etisalat Nigeria, Ibrahim Dikko, Chief Executive Officer, Thistle Praxis Consulting, Ini Onuk and Special Adviser to Cross River State Government on ICT Development, Odo Effiong during the fourth edition of Sustainable Conversations in Lagos... at the weekend.

•Multiple District Council Chairman, Sam Harry Ekpuk (second right) presenting the pioneer District Governor, Abiola Odeyemi (second left) during Odeyemi’s installation as the district governor for 404B-I of the International Association of Lions Clubs in Lagos...yesterday. With them are Immediate past District Governor, Gbolagade Adebisi (right) and PHOTO: ABIODUN ADEYEWA Odeyemi’s wife, Alhaja Abiola( left).

•From left: Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria, Mr Ima Niboro and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe during the arrival of President Goodluck Jonathan to Washington for the U.S.- African Leaders Summit on Trade, Investment, Peace, Security and Good Governance in Washington...yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

OME years back, a retired Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police was a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in a police station on Lagos mainland. He made any policeman posted to his station to sign an undertaking that he or she would not be corrupt.

The retired DIG documented this undertaking in a file. On the other hand, he set a target for the policemen on how much money they were expected to bring to him at the end of every week. He warned his men to ensure that they were not caught extorting money from members of the public by the Police Monitoring Unit, a department responsible for arresting corrupt policemen, as he would deny them using their undertaking as evidence.

A policeman, who worked with the retired DIG, said: "Some week when we did not meet our target, we borrowed money from members of the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and filling station attendants to make up because he would not listen to any excuse. All he cared about was his returns.

"Those that were caught in trying to meet with their target he denied them by presenting the undertaking that was signed by the affected policeman. He would go on to tell the Monitoring team how he hated corruption and corrupt policemen and that was why he made them sign an undertaking before they would start working with him."

Corruption in the police, according to analysts, is the number one challenge before acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sulaiman Abba.

Favouritism is another problem analysts have identified as dragging down the force. There are police officers and men who have been serving in a Divisional Police Station, Mobile Police Squadrons, command, units and Departments for a decade.

These officers are so rich that they have the money to bribe their superiors to leave them where they are serving. Abba should discourage such practice and ensure that all policemen under him and in his time should enjoy equal right. This will discourage corruption. Abba should also continue with the no road block order introduced by his predecessor as it has reduced incidents of accidental discharge, harassment and intimidation of members of the public on the highway.

Another issue the new IGP needs to address is that of covering up police officers and men who have been indicted for stealing from members

• Abba

of the public. Many a time, police officers had turned complainants to accused, converted belongings of a suspect while investigation is ongoing and are even indicted for kidnap and murder. Rather than punish these officers, some of them have even been celebrated and promoted. Cases abound. A former CP in Abia and Rivers states, who is now an Assistant Inspector General (AIG), was indicted while serving as CP Rivers for stealing three exotic cars belonging to an accused person while investigation was still ongoing. He was alleged to have converted one of the cars to personal use and sold the other two to his friends at a ridiculous price. The accused petitioned the Special Fraud Unit and the case was re-investigated and the CP indicted. But rather than punish him, the CP was promoted to the rank of AIG. Divisional Police Officers have been indicted for allegedly killing innocent citizens in Lagos, Abuja and other parts of the country but at the end of the day, nothing comes out of the investigations. Abba should discourage this practice.

Welfare is one area Abba really needs to address and fast too. Policemen should be encouraged to make them see their job as service to humanity and not a licence to oppress, intimidate and extort members of the public. When the Chairman of Police Service Commission, Mr Mike Okiro was appointed as the 13th indigenous IGP, he wept on his visit to inspect police barracks in Ikeja, the Lagos State capital and Elere in Agege, on the outskirts of Lagos. Though the renovation of those barracks that he promised was never acted upon up till date, he was able to lay a founda-

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on, corruption top Abba’s challenges ‘ A compromised and corruptionridden recruitment process allows misfits and criminals to find their way into the police and continue to dent its image. The police force continues to parade a poorly trained, illequipped, badly paid and ill-motivated workforce that is prone to corruption and violence

tion for a police estate in Idimu. A flat in the estate, which is supposed to be for junior officers, is being sold for N8million. Where the force high command expects the junior officers to raise this amount from is what only they can answer. Abba should learn to march words with action by renovating the barracks if he cannot construct new ones. Salaries should be increased; promotions should come as at when due; those on special duties should be paid their allowances

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and retire officers and men should get their entitlements immediately after leaving service.

Family members of deceased officers and men must be paid their breadwinners' entitlement promptly. Abba should train and re-train his men and equip the forensic department in Alagbon to handle high level investigations.

The first litmus test for Abba would be the conduct of the Osun State governorship election coming up on Au-

gust 9. Nigerian are watching and expecting that Abba will not be partisan. He should be objective in his dealings with all the political parties involved to ensure a professional conduct.

In a letter to the acting IGP through its national coordinator, Okechukwu Nwanguma , Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), a network of 46 civil society organisations committed to promoting police accountability and respect for human rights, said: "We are fully appraised of the fact that the tasks confronting you as Inspector General of a large police force are enormous and daunting.

The challenge of managing such an unwieldy and centralised police force in a populous, complex and troubled country is made even more herculean by historical, institutional and structural problems, as well as other factors external to the force and, therefore, beyond your control as the chief of police.

"NOPRIN and other civil society platforms have over the years continued to advocate for reforms aimed at transforming the police into a professionally effective, democratic, accountable and people-friendly service organisation which enjoys public confidence and cooperation and capable of meeting the safety and security needs of the community it serves.

Over the years, the NPF has grappled with the problem of severe underresourcing. We are also aware that budget allocations for the police are pilfered at various levels in the line of bureaucracy before they reach their final destination.

"A compromised and corruptionridden recruitment process allows misfits and criminals to find their way into the police and continue to dent its image. The police force continues to parade a poorly trained, illequipped, badly paid and ill-motivated workforce that is prone to corruption and violence. Professionalism, effectiveness and integrity are hindered by political interference by political authorities that have no more than rhetorical commitment to police reform.

"However, while these external incapacitating factors are not within the control of the IGP, there still remains some space for any IGP who is genuinely committed to reform to show leadership. With determination, you can creatively exercise powers and ensure that things within your control in the system work well. We believe that with commitment and determination, you can improve in the areas where your predecessors have not fared very well. You can, for ex-

ample, make it clear to police officers that their duty is to serve and protect their communities and not to prey on them. Police officers ought to be protectors, not predators. Human rights abuses breed public resentment and erode public trust and cooperation.

You must constantly remind them of the '... obvious that the duties of the Nigeria Police Force are a direct consequence of the powers conferred on it by law. It becomes mandatory that the law must regulate the performance of its duties relating to arrest, detention, search, and seizure and the use of force. In other words, these duties must be exercised strictly within the limits prescribed for the Police by law. And any form of exercise of these powers which does not strictly conform to the prescriptions of the law can have unpleasant consequences for the Police Force (as a corporate entity, as well as for the individual Police personnel).'You can make it clear from the onset that your administration will not tolerate human rights abuses, corruption, disobedience of court orders, violation of the constitution and subversion of the due process and rule of law. As you settle down and familiarise yourself with your new office and the tasks ahead, we wish to draw your attention to some areas we respectfully think you need to pay particular attention. The NPF stinks and you need to demonstrate your commitment to sanitise it by addressing the following specific issues. Where necessary, we will illustrate with some specific cases which we had earlier brought to the attention of your predecessor, but which remain pending or unresolved. How you address these cases that touch directly on the image, integrity and operational efficiency of the police will be a litmus test to your commitment to leave the NPF better than you met it as IGP. "You need to prioritise respect for human rights which impinges on police-public relations. You have to, perforce, vigorously pursue and promote an anti-corruption policy. Then, you must take seriously the issue of accountability for police abuse, corruption and misconduct. You must equally address, very seriously, the welfare of personnel. Failure of Accountability: Impunity for police abuses Lack of effective accountability measures to sanction and deter police misconduct accounts for the increasing number of cases of abuse and misconduct. One case, among the numerous, that illustrates impunity is the continued indefinite detention of Chinagorom Ihejiagwa by SARS Awkuzu, Anambra State in disregard

of a court order. This is one of the several complaints which NOPRIN received and brought to the attention of police authorities but which has remained untreated.

"NOPRIN had written several complaints to the former IGP concerning these abuses by SARS, many of which have been reported in several newspapers. But the authorities have failed to address these complaints and the underlying causes of the abuses which make them routine. One of the very dangerous practices portraying the police in a very negative light and which you must address urgently is police contempt and disregard for Court Orders. You must take steps to change the attitude of the police to court orders. Ihejiagwa was arrested

by SARS Awkuzu and has been detained since May 31, 2014. He has been denied access to his family members and his lawyers. The O/C SARS has also refused to charge him to court. He was arrested by one police officer attached to Awkuzu SARS and simply identified as 'Pele'. Although 'Pele' accused him of buying a stolen vehicle two years ago and refused to 'settle' him, the O/C SARS, Awkuzu, Mr. James Nwafor later told Chiagorom's brother that he is a 'confessed kidnapper' and that 'we will kill him'.

"We call on you to demonstrate that the Nigeria Police under your administration will do away with the odious practice of shielding criminals and covering up crime and that you will show sensitivity to public concerns by responding to public demand for justice in this case. Please, do not allow this matter to be swept under the carpet.

"The issue of Police personnel welfare, you must make bold to make a strong case for an increase in the remuneration and allowances of officers. Salaries and allowances must be paid in full and on time. Those on special duties must be catered for in terms of their travel, accommodation, hazard and other allowances. Family members of police officers who die in line of duty must be treated with fairness and compassion. Their deceased breadwinners' entitlements must be released to them in full and on time. They must not be thrown out of the barracks while the police force owes them their entitlements. You must also make bold to let the Federal Government understand your operational challenges and the need for the government to adequately equip, train and motivate personnel to enable them discharge their functions and effectively deal with crime and insecurity."

‘Tantalizers not ‘my-husband-and-l’ business’

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THE management of leading fast food Tantalizers has said despite its challenges the company’s leadership position is not in doubt.

The company, in a reaction to a special report published by this newspaper on July 21, said the decline in its revenue was not as bad as painted in the report.

Its statement reads: “We wish point your attention to the write-up done by Adedeji Ademigbuji both in the printed and online editions of your newspaper, The Nation of Monday 21st July, 2014 titled “Fast Food Industry… not so fast anymore”.

“While appreciating the write and your organisation for the interest in our Industry, we are constrained to express our concerns regarding the wrong financial information and some contradictions concerning Tantalizers Plc in the write-up. For instance: “Tantalizers Plc revenue figure for 2012 was N4.198B. The decline in revenue experienced by our Company was from N4.198B in 2012 to N3.48B in 2013. At no time in our short history have we had a revenue of N41.2B as stated in the publi-

cation. You will agree that the difference between N41.2B and N3.48B is too wide and can mislead the public and other stakeholders of Tantalizers. Professionally, Mr Ademigbuji should have gotten his figures right before going to press.

“Under the structure of ownership, corporate governance and business model as expressed in paragraphs 17 to 19, the writer alluded wrongly that tantalizers is owned by the Ayeni. Tantalizers was founded by the Ayenis but Tantalizers has morphed from a “my husband and l business” as described in the publication to being the only local fast food business on the Nigeria Stock Exchange with no fewer than 8000 shareholders.

“Categorising Tantalizers in the same group as some fast food companies where the husband in the Chairman and the wife the Managing Director shows the apparent lack of understanding of the requirements for listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

This speaks directly to the issue of corporate governance. Tantalizers, as a public quoted company, has a regulated Board of

Directors, comprising Dr. Jaiye Oyedotun as the Chairman and Mrs. Bose Ayeni as the Managing Director/CEO and other seven Executive and Non-Executive Directors in a ratio of 2 to 5.

“While Mr. Ademigbuji did not at any time before writing the article under reference speak to anybody in Tantalizers, he quoted copiously from Tantalizers Plc 2013 Annual Report. The strange thing is that the same Annual Report contains details of ownership and the names of the members of the Board of Directors. Mr. Ademigbuji ignored these and chose to accept assertions from the other people he decided to directly contact, as gospel truth. We believe that he deliberately ignored facts and selected information that supported his already taken and biased positions on the cause of the problems afflicting the indigenous fast food industry.

“Mr. Ademigbuji further demonstrated his lack of diligence when he quoted verbatim the President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, Mr. Mike Itegboje that “… I am not even sure if they have held AGM

(Annual General Meeting) since raising funds from the market”. With the prominence and attention given to our Company in this publication and the clear reference to our performance as, according to him, revealed to the Shareholders at our AGM, it is then unfortunate that the impression left in the mind of your readers is that we hadn’t had an AGM since going public.

Was this publication intended to disparage of damage our brand?

“We expected that he should have corrected this position presented by Mr. Itegboje or refer to Tantalizers Plc for clarification rather than his approach, which was to public deliberate falsehood or a campaign of calumny. For the avoidance of doubt, Tantalizers, has been consistently holding its AGM since 2009 when it went public. At the last AGM, held on June 25, 2014, our shareholders expressed an understanding of our difficult position and gave valuable suggestions on how to turn around the fortunes of the Company.

Some of these suggestions we are already implementing.”

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APC UK to Jonathan: stop militarising elections •‘PDP leaders are threats to democracy’ T

HE United Kingdom (UK) chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), at the weekend, warned President Goodluck Jonathan to stop militarising elections.

The party urged the President to obey the 2005 Court of Appeal judgment, which declared as unconstitutional the use of the military for election duties.

Its leaders also warned Jonathan to stop interfering in Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) matters and allow free and fair elections, beginning with next Saturday’s poll in Osun State.

A delegation of the party’s leaders in the UK, led by its Chairman, Dr Philip Idaewor, made the appeal in a letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron.

The APC leaders alerted Cameron to the dangers facing Nigeria, which they said could derail the nation’s democracy.

They expressed concern about the activities of Boko Haram insurgents, who the party said were allowed to move freely to kidnap and kill innocent people and destroy property worth billions of naira.

A copy of the letter sent online to our reporter in Akure, the Ondo State capital,

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

was signed by the APC UK Publicity Secretary, Philip Ileribarenemen, and his deputy, Kenneth Onyeaji.

The letter reads: “We make bold to tell the world that APC is a party committed to the fulfilment of a social contract to free Nigerians from the shackles of a mind-numbing culture of corruption, which engenders poverty, disease, illiteracy, massive youth and women unemployment and neglect of the populace with the abuse of power in the heart of the practice.

“The utmost good health and security of Nigeria is of paramount concern to the APC. Therefore, we view with all seriousness the innuendoes being bandied around by our detractors that our party could be linked in any way with the destructive and destabilising activities of some misguided Nigerians who are determined to destabilise our country.

“APC unequivocally condemns the Boko Haram for its sustained campaign of destruction of life and property with the determination to return Nigeria to the dark ages of ignorance, illiteracy, disease, servitude and backward-

ness.

“We repudiate any notion of the existence of links between APC and Boko Haram.

By its actions and utterances, Boko Haram has shown it is not a Muslim group; it is not religious in any way. It is simply a terrorist group of robbers, kidnappers, extortionists, murderers and destroyers.”

The APC in UK said Boko Haram and its sponsors hoodwinked Nigerians, who have been suffering with their filthy cash to wage war on their fatherland.

“We note that Nigerians are again being forced to go back to that era of infamy, when Nigeria was ruled with impunity and complete disregard for the constitution by several actions and pronouncement of the PDP-controlled Federal Government.”

It said: “In those inglorious days, government promoted corruption to the level of policy and ruled us through a catalogue of lies and intimidation with extra-judicial murders at will. The APC is saying a resounding ‘No’ to these shenanigans and duplicity from the Federal Government under President Goodluck Jonathan.

“Nigeria has come of age.

We now know better. We all stand solidly for a democratic Nigeria based on the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

The party maintained that APC stands for a Nigeria where the government is only by the consent of the governed.

It added: “We are proud to declare without fear or favour that many of the top leaders of the APC, including the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, fought gallantly against the military government of the late General Sani Abacha to enthrone democracy in Nigeria.”

It recalled that many Nigerians were forced into exile to fight for Nigeria during the suppressive military era.

The party said such democrats returned home to participate in the democratisation process by championing the cause of the true freedom for the people.

APC in UK said: “How then can anyone question the integrity of these men, whose sacrifices and suffering contributed to securing the democracy our detractors are now enjoying ...as the rulers

of Nigeria?

“How can these APC leaders be seeking to emasculate liberty and freedoms in the nation they so fearlessly fought to preserve?

“In fact, we dare say that it is the other way round. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders are a threat to democracy in Nigeria. It is our view that the PDP is full of antidemocratic forces that are willing to do anything to retain their vice grip on the levers of power.”

The APC in UK recalled that on Sunday, January 8, 2012, at an inter-denominational service to mark the 2012 Armed Forces Remembrance Day at the Ecumenical Centre in Abuja, President Jonathan told the world that his government had been infiltrated by Boko Haram.

The President said: “... I believe we will overcome our immediate challenges. The situation we have in our hands is even worse than the civil war that we fought.

“During the civil war, we knew and we could even predict where the enemy was coming from. You could even know the route they were coming from; you could even know what calibre of weapon

they would use and so on.

“But the challenge we have today is more complicated. I remember when I met with elders from the Northeast and some parts of the Northwest where the Boko Haram phenomenon is more prevalent. Somebody said the situation was so bad that even if one’s son was a member, one would not even know.”

Jonathan also said: “Some of them are in the Executive arm of government; some of them are in the Legislative arm of government while some are in the Judiciary.

“Some are also in the Armed Forces, the police and other security agencies. Some continue to eat with you and you won’t even know the person who will point a gun at you or plant a bomb behind your house...”

The party urged Jonathan and the PDP to tackle Boko Haram and ensure sanity in the nation by supporting APC’s call for an international enquiry in which Nigerians can have confidence.

It said: “Nigerians are desirous of a peaceful, secured, united and working country.

We are tired of the PDP’s skulduggery, corruption and abuse of power with impunity. APC wants a truly free and democratic Nigeria now.”

Ihejirika calls for deployment of soldiers at borders

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•From right: National Chairman, National Conscience Party (NCP), Dr. Yunusa Tanko; Executive Director, Women Advocates’ Research and Documentation Consortium (WARDC), Dr. Abiola Akiode-Afolabi; National Chairman, Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), Comrade Peter Ameh; Osun State Chairman, United Democratic Party (UDP), Prince Adesoji Masilo and board member, WARDC in Osun State, Chiefrs. Funmilayo Thomas, at the launch of Women’s Governance Accountability Platform and Interface PHOTO: ADESOJI ADENIYI with political elections at Leisure Spring Hotel, Osogbo, Osun State.

Ex-NLC chief hails ports’ concession

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IGERIAN Labour Congress (NLC) former Deputy President Comrade Onikolease Irabor has hailed Federal Government’s seven-year decision on the concession of port operations to the private operators.

The entrepreneur is happy that the new operators are enhancing efficiency at the ports.

Addressing reporters yesterday in Benin, the Edo State capital, Irabor said there was need for the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to build new seaports, particularly the Gelegele seaport in Edo State and rehabilitate the others in Delta and in Rivers state.

Doing so, he said, would reduce the cost of doing business in the areas and create more jobs.

Justifying the concession of

From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

the ports instead of outright sales to private investors, Irabor, who is the special adviser on Environment to Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, said: “Former President Olusegun Obasanjo wanted the seaports to be sold.

But I stood firmly that the ports must not be sold.

As a unionist, I believe in my country first and insisted that the ports would not be sold.

“We visited the Port of Antwerp (Belgium) and other parts of the world to see how their seaports were working. We discovered that we could do something similar to the port of Antwep, which was not totally sold but the operation areas were given out to people to operate.

But the port belongs to the

country. We insisted that our seaports must belong to Nigeria because if they had sold the ports, the country would not be safe security wise.

“The ports have been concessioned for over five years now and the dividends are there. The concessionaires are working fine even though Nigerians continue to demand more from them, particularly in areas of job creation. They have reduced the traffic on the high seas, unlike in the past.

“If the ports were sold, there would have been no Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) today.”

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) former president-general advised the concessionaires to do more on infrastructure, such as stacking areas,x and creation of more jobs.

“As President General emeritus, I cannot say the concessionaires have done everything, but they have done well.

“As at today, to the best of my knowledge - and I am watching them with keen interest - they have been operating and they have not done badly. They are doing well.

But we need more to be done.

“I will score them more than average. If you talk of security, they are on ground in the ports. This was not there before. If you talk of traffic flow, they are there also checking congestion.

“We agreed for concession because the operators agreed that there would be more employment for Nigerians. I know that they are employing but I still believe they can employ more. So, more jobless persons will get jobs.”

HE former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, called at the weekend for the deployment of military personnel at the borders.

Gen. Ihejirika told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Sokoto that this would prevent illegal arms importation into the country.

The former Army chief said the military would work with other security agencies to prevent illegal arms running and arrest those involved in the crime.

He said illegal arms importation threatens the nation’s corporate existence.

According to him, traditional leaders need to complement the efforts of security agencies by educating their subjects on the need to be security-conscious and report dubious characters.

Gen. Ihejirika said the support of royal fathers would enable the public to give information on bad eggs in their midst to security agencies.

The former Army chief explained that since security officers could not be everywhere all the times, Nigerians should give them information that could lead to the arrest of insurgents.

He said the Army and other security agencies need intelligence reports from the public to effectively perform their duty to the nation.

Gen. Ihejirika added that such information would enable the security agencies to evolve a formidable security plan for peace, progress and political stability.

Nigerian terror attacks increased in 2014, says survey

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ERROR attacks in Nigeria have increased following the state of emergency and the launch of a military offensive against Boko Haram in 2013, a survey has

said.

The survey, which was conducted by British risk consulting firm, Maplecroft, shows that Nigeria is the world’s deadliest country in terrorist attacks, surpassing Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia.

Over 3,400 people have been killed in 146 attacks since 2013.

The Founding Editor of Consultancy Africa Intelligence’s Africa Conflict Monthly Monitor (ACMM), James Hall, said this reflects badly on the continent’s peace and security architecture.

Hall said: “What this means for Africa is that we are now looking at an international attention focused on African problems. The focus has not been seen before we have an increasing in awareness that terrorism anywhere internationally individual nationals wherever they may be.”

The editor explained that he was referring to the shooting down of a Ukrainian plane.

“It could easily happen in eastern Nigeria as well. So, for the first time, we do have an international response to these activities, which are on a continental landscape,” Hall added.

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THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

NEWS Subscribers hail Glo

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IGERIANS have said Globacom is a good friend.

This followed the company’s reduction of its international tariffs to as low as 10 kobo per second.

The rate reduction has boosted businesses and enhanced the relationships with loved ones, the glo subscribers said.

Mrs Toki Ibinabo, a businesswoman in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, was excited that she could talk more with her sister in Canada since the call rates were reduced.

She explained that there “is no more hurried calls, especially as she is helping me with summer shopping for my kids, as we were not able to travel out this year”.

Revindra Babu Reddy of Jos, the Plateau State capital, said: “I am so excited at the new international call rate which has enabled me to call my family and friends and speak with them for as long as I want without worrying about credit balance. Really, it is very impressive and exciting.”

•Some victims of flood in Ringim, Jigawa State, camped at a primary/junior secondary school in the area…yesterday.

Doctors’ strike: NMA meets again From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

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OR the second time in a week, the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has met to evaluate its members’ nationwide strike.

It was learnt that the NMA leadership met yesterday to consider the possibility of ending the action, which has entered the 35th day.

But sources at the meeting said the doctors were divided over the need to suspend the strike.

The same scenario played out in their last meeting a week ago, where majority of the delegates, comprising leaders in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), voted against the suspension of the strike.

A media briefing, which was to hold yesterday, was put off for undisclosed reasons.

NMA’s Secretary-General Dr Adewunmi Alayaki apologised to reporters to “bear with us. We will call you in 48 hours”.

Doctors on government’s payroll are on strike to press home their insistence on leadership of teaching hospitals and medical centres, among other issues.

Many patients have died since the action started.

At the time of filing this report last night, the meeting, which started at 3pm, was still ongoing.

The expectation was high yesterday that the strike might be suspended at the end of the meeting.

Jonathan’s $1b loan ‘self-serving’

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PROFESSOR of Geo-Physics, Joseph Adeniyi Olowofela, has urged Nigerians to reject President Goodluck Jonathan’s $1 billion (about N165 billion) proposed loan to strengthen security in the fight against insurgency.

Prof Olowofela described the move as self-serving, destructive and against national interest.

The expert, who was answering questions from members of the Oyo State Correspondents’ Chapel during a visit to his Ibadan home, also urged members of the National Assembly to turn down the President’s request “...because it is in bad faith”.

The politician, who is the Caretaker Chairman of Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State, noted that the loan would not serve the interest of Nigeria but the personal interest of a few people in his government.

Olowofela said: “The proposed loan? Certainly, this is not the appropriate time.

In fact, many people feel that there must be another reason behind it.

Some were even saying maybe it is a plot by Mr

From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

President to execute his political campaign programme. You know, because when you look at the spate of impeachment across the country, people believe a lot of money would have changed hands. So, if you are seeking such a quantum of funds this time around, some believe that it is a plot to perpetuate the present administration in power. That is the feeling of majority of Nigerians, and that is my feeling too.”

Rather than ask for a loan to equip military, Olowofela said Jonathan should have made food security his priority to ensure that Nigerians are able to have food on their tables.

He said: “This is because the greatest security is food security. If he has said we need to borrow a specific amount of money to make sure that the teeming youth of this nation are gainfully employed, that you want to kick start industrial revolution, may be that one may be understandable.

But as it is now it appears the proposed loan is not in good fate.”

Dangote to resuscitate rice farming with N165b in five states

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ANGOTE Industries Limited (DIL) signed, at the weekend a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to invest $1 billion (about N165 billion) for the establishment of fully integrated rice production and processing operations across Nigeria.

President Goodluck Jonathan presided over the signing ceremony.

The MoU and the planned investment are a response to the reforms of the President’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) launched in 2011.

Following the launch, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development worked with various stakeholders to ensure increased investments in agriculture

By Olamilekan Andu

with emphasis on private sector investments.

Dangote has acquired farmland in Edo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, and Niger states, totalling 150,000 hectares, to be used for the commercial production of rice paddy.

As part of the project, Dangote will also establish two modern large-scale rice mills each with a capacity to mill 120,000 metric tonnes of rice paddy, bringing the total capacity to 240,000 metric tonnes.

The company also plans to double the capacity within two years.

With this installed capacity, the project will become the largest single investment in rice production in Africa.

The rice plant is estimated to produce 960,000 metric tonnes of mill rice, representing 46 per cent of rice im-

ported into Nigeria.

President Jonathan hailed DIL Chief Executive, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, for building a strong industrial base in Nigeria.

He said: “It takes a lot of hardwork, commitment and discipline to achieve the feat, accomplished by Aliko Dangote. Today is a great day for Nigeria, and this investment is worth the risk.

The country is capable of producing rice that can feed the whole of West African sub-region” On Nigeria’s porous borders, the President vowed to end the high spate of smuggling in the next 12 months.

He cautioned that the days of smugglers were numbered and that the Federal Government was determined to install electronic surveillance equipment that would depend less on human

manipulations and interventions.

Jonathan assured Dangote that his investment would be protected.

Dangote hailed the government for evolving a policy that has made Nigeria an irresistible place to invest.

The foremost industrialist urged other Nigerian entrepreneurs to join the train for making the country a haven for investments.

Dangote said: “Our goal of making Nigeria a net exporter of rice will be achieved faster by this significant investment. I congratulate the Minister of Agriculture and his team for the very strong demonstration of public-private sector partnerships and collaboration to drive significant transformation in Nigeria’s agriculture sector.”

Chibok girls’ captivity is like Ebola, say protesters

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EMBERS of the #BringBackOurGirls movement have said the continued captivity of the over 200 abducted Chibok schoolgirls is akin to delaying the Ebola virus.

They noted that if nothing is done fast, the negative effect of the abduction would affect many innocent people.

The protesters said the new trend among Boko Haram insurgents of using girls as suicide bombers is dangerous for the affected communities and other parts of Nigeria.

The movement said the girls were being indoctrinated to negatively accept as normal the evil manipulation of their captors.

They said the girls may have been so brain washed that if the insurgents ask them to commit suicide, they might do so without hesitating.

•Mark’s wife at 63 seeks Chibok girls’ rescue From Grace Obike and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

One of the leaders of the movement, Bukky Shonibare, spoke in Abuja at the 96th daily sitting of the group.

He said: “Each day is terrible for those girls. If you look at the recent state of female suicide bombers, it is dangerous, not just to the communities involved but also to the whole nation. It’s like another Ebola. If nothing is done, it will spread round.

“The girls have been there for 111 days today. They are being indoctrinated. Their values are being changed.

Something is being done to them.

“They are being affected by the Stockholm syndrome, where they begin to feel loyal to their abductors

and may no longer remember the negative things done to them. They may feel a psychological kind of safety.

“So, when the abductors tell them to carry bombs or something, they will. These are girls between the ages of 16 and 19. Their values not yet shaped. The government needs to do something to make sure the girls come back soon. It has to be our priority.”

Also, Mrs Helen Mark, wife of Senate President David Mark, has urged insurgents and terrorists to stop their activities.

Mrs. Mark spoke yesterday in Abuja at a church service to mark her 63rd birthday.

Mrs Mark, according to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Senate Presi-

dent, Paul Mumeh, said violent crimes and terrorism not only pose serious challenges but impede the peace, unity and development of the nation.

She said: “The mood of the nation does not call for celebration. I wish that we live in peace in Nigeria. I am not celebrating the birthday because of the situation we now find ourselves. It is sad.

“The security situation is embarrassing. I wish that by next year, I will celebrate my birthday in a very joyous mood and in an atmosphere of peace and unity. Not in this kind of sober mood.

“I sincerely join our compatriots and all well-meaning citizens of the world to plead with the terrorists to sheathe their swords and let us come together. Let them state in clear terms what their grievances are, and the government would address them.”

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THE NATION MONDAY AUGUST 4, 2014

NEWS OSUN 2014

APC alleges plans to rig in 10 councils

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have accused each other of plans to rig Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.

APC alleged that the PDP planned to rig the election in 10 local government areas and influence the selection of “a pliable person” as the returning officer.

In a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the APC said President Goodluck Jonathan’s utterances showed that “he wants victory for his party at all cost”, adding that this would shape security agencies’ perception of the election as a do-ordie affair.

The party said: “Nigerians from all walks of life, desirous of a free and fair election on Saturday, are reaching out to us with useful information on the plan by the desperate PDP to rig the forthcoming election, and we are taking the information seriously.

“For example, we learnt that the PDP has identified Ife Central, Ife East, Ife North, Ife South, Olurunda, Iwo, Ifelodun, Osogbo, Odo Otin and Aiyedade as places where it plans to perpetrate massive rigging. Two results have allegedly been written ahead of the election and three vice chancellors, one from the Northcentral and two from the Southwest, have been pencilled down to serve as returning officer. The incentive for the returning officer who can announce the doctored results is N1 billion.”

APC said with the massive deployment of security agents in Osun to “harass and intimidate the opposition, the huge amounts of cash being moved into the state via Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and the electoral malfeasance specialist-ministers, who have landed in Osun, it is clear that the PDP is working hard to ensure that the election is anything but free, fair and credible”.

It urged the Independent Nation-

•Don’t recruit OYES cadets, PDP urges INEC From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo and Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja

al Electoral Commission (INEC) to appoint a honest returning officer and pay special attention to the 10 local governments allegedly targeted by the PDP. APC said: “No one will accept the result of an election in which the returning officer is compromised with filthy lucre. This is why we are calling on INEC to ensure that only a person of integrity serves in that important post.”

It said its agents would not sign false election results and urged the international community to pay attention to the allegations.

APC said: “The biggest danger to Saturday’s election is the unbridled desperation of the PDP to win at all cost. This explains why the party’s candidate, Mr. Iyiola Omisore, has lied so shamelessly about a purported USAID survey that puts him ahead of Governor Rauf Aregbesola. But for USAID, which quickly put a lie to the peddled story, Omisore would have continued to use it as a campaign tool.”

In another statement, Osun APC Publicity Director Kunle Oyatomi alleged that the PDP had got access to INEC’s database and was replacing information about registered voters with those of mercenaries from Lagos, Oyo and Ondo states.

Oyatomi said: “According to our field intelligence report, permanent voter cards produced after accessing INEC’s database are being distributed to young men and women contracted from the neighbouring states.

“Information reaching us is that 62 young men and women equipped with laptops have been camped in two main hotels on Ibadan Road in Ile-Ife to effect the

stealing of the data and alteration of personal information of registered voters for the purpose of producing fake electoral materials that the PDP intends to use for its rigging purpose.

“Work on this project is taking place at a radio station believed to be owned by a PDP chieftain. Our source confirmed that the car, which brought the materials on which the men and women are working, was a black Land Cruiser with Abuja number plate.

“Computer experts from some universities in the Southwest have said that if INEC’s database was hacked into, a high number of registered voters, who foolishly allowed the PDP to collect the VIN number of their voter cards, would not be able to vote on August 9 because their data and photographs would have been altered.

“Reliable reports from field intelligence and insider sources of the PDP showed that the VIN numbers of the voter cards produced fraudulently will be listed, polling unit by polling unit, and handed over to youth corps members serving as electoral officials to secretly tick as having been accredited to vote.

“It is during accreditation that the original voter will discover that his/her data and photograph had vanished from the computer records and will be disqualified from voting. However, computer experts said that it is impossible to break into INEC’s database without insider collaboration.

“The experts said only INEC’s database administrator can, during editing, effect such comprehensive alteration.”

The PDP has warned INEC against recruiting members of the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) as electoral officials.

In a statement, the party’s Media

Director, Prince Diran Odeyemi, said: “The PDP has been informed that some APC chieftains have infiltrated INEC and fraudulently listed OYES cadets for recruitment for election duties. Many APC chieftains were alleged to be involved in this desperate move to avert defeat and commit fraud through the OYES cadets that are being recruited in place of Youth Corps members for the poll.

“What they have been doing is to substitute the NYSC members with OYES cadets and get uniforms of corps members for them.”

Urging OYES members not to allow themselves to be used for fraudulent acts, PDP said: “Any OYES cadet caught by security operatives will face the consequences alone because those behind the illegal move will go underground immediately they are caught.

“These cadets are citizens of Osun and we will not like any calamity to befall them. They should learn from what happened to members of the criminal group called “State Boys”, who were caught in Ilesa and ferried to Abuja by security personnel.”

PDP National Publicity Secretary Chief Olisa Metuh has said Omisore “is already coasting to victory”.

In a statement yesterday, Metuh described Omisore’s “massive acceptance by the voting population, widespread political structure, and a track-record of abiding affinity and loyalty to Osun people” as trump cards.

He said: “The fact that the PDP allowed a free and fair primary, which threw up the people’s choice as its candidate, also gave it an early mileage ahead of the APC as was the case in Ekiti State.”

Metuh described Omisore as “a popular and hard working candidate with extensive political structure”.

Women urged to preach peace From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

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NON-government organisation, the Advocates’ Research and Documentation Consortium (WARDC), has urged women to advise their husbands and children against violence in Saturday’s election in Osun State.

It gave the advice at the launch of the Women’s Governance Accountability Platform and Interface With Political Parties and Women for Peaceful Election at the Leisure Spring Hotel in Osogbo, the state capital.

WARDC’s Executive Director Dr. Abiola Akiode-Afolabi said women are often the victims of violence, identifying cash inducement and violence as the bane of democracy.

She said cash inducement and violence during elections and campaigns damage democracy and undermine political liberty and equality.

Dr. Akiode-Afolabi said: “The effects of vote buying and violence are numerous. They allow the wrong person to get into power and the public service and produce criminals. Inducement and violence produce poor leaders who cannot support the people, provide water, shelter, health care and other benefits.

“Rigging can only make the poor poorer and the rich richer at the expense of the nation’s future. As at today, women in Nigeria represent the majority of the poor and can no longer ignore their roles in the political space to make change possible.”

The Iyalode of Osogbo, Chief Alake Kolade, said it was imperative for women to wield their influence on their respective households.

She said women and children are vulnerable to violence and should be protected.

Chief Kolade urged the political class to respect the people’s votes and embrace peace.

LP candidate to INEC: ensure all get cards From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogb and Sina Fadare

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•Former All Progressives Congress (APC) Interim National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande (second right) and his wife, Omowunmi; Senator Ajayi Borrofice (left) and APC National Vice-Chairman (Southwest) Chief Pius Akinyelure at a reception organised in honour of Akande by the people of PHOTO: TAIWO OKANLAWON Ifedayo, Boluwaduro, Ila Federal Constituency at the Ila City Stadium in Ila-Orangun,Osun State...at the weekend.

I’ll revamp economy, says SDP candidate

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SUN State Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate Mr. Olusegun Akinwusi has said he will revive the economy and “help youths rediscover themselves”, if elected.

He spoke at the weekend during a visit to the Ogunsua of Modakeke, Oba Francis Adedoyin.

Akinwusi said he ventured

into politics following God’s call to serve him for four years.

He said: “Two years ago, when you hosted me here, I said I had no interest in politics. But when you look at what is going on today, only a bastard will refuse to stand up to help rescue this state.

“We are faced by a strange type of government and it will be bad if we keep quiet. I am coming on

board to put things right, to help youths rediscover themselves and put in place right policies for the revival of the economy.”

Akinwusi thanked the monarch for hosting him even though no notice was given for his visit.

Oba Adedoyin prayed for Akinwusi’s success in the election, describing him as a wor-

thy ambassador of the town.

Urging the people to support the SDP candidate, he said: “We know your efforts towards the development of our town. We all love you as our son and welcome you home as our worthy ambassador. We have members of other political parties here, but we assure you of our people’s support, both at home and abroad.”

SUN State Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate Alhaji Fatai Akinbade has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that the electorate is not disenfranchised on Saturday.

Addressing his supporters at a campaign rally in Oriade and Obokun local government areas, Akinbade urged INEC to ensure that all registered voters get their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) before the poll.

The LP candidate, who was reacting to the people’s complaints, said: “We urge INEC to do all it can to ensure that all registered voters get their PVCs. Many prospective voters have not got their cards. Even those who transferred within the state since April have not received their PVCs. “The commission is doing a good job but it can do better. I urge INEC to make sure prospective voters who are yet to get their PVCs in the two local government areas get them in good time to enable them participate in the election.”

The people of Ijesa North Federal Constituency trooped out to welcome Akinbade’s campaign train.

Traditional rulers in the area, led by the Arakeji of Ikeji Ile, Oba Adebayo Ogunmokun, prayed for Akinbade’s success in the poll.

The LP candidate thanked them for their support and pledged to ensure equitable distribution of amenities across the state, if elected.

He also promised to create jobs and reposition the education and health sectors.

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THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

NEWS Osun: COSEG warns against ‘importation’ of Niger Delta militants

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HE Coalition of Oodua Self-Determination Group (COSEG) has raised the alarm over plans

by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains to import hundreds of Niger Delta boys for the Osun election.

COSEG Chairman and Secretary, Ifedayo Ogunlana and Rasaq Olookoba, said it had it on good authority that the plans were concluded at the weekend.

COSEG said the plan was the brainchild of PDP chiefs.

The organisation said a top government official deeply involved in the Niger Delta struggle and who knows the militants inside out, was said to have volunteered to hire the militants.

COSEG condemned the plan which it described as “double jeopardy” in view of the “heavy policing and militarisation of the state by the Federal Government”.

The statement added: “We

heard from sources that the PDP has enlisted the help of NIGER Delta militants to come to Osun for the election.

“We in COSEG know the antecedent those linked with this plan and so do not take lightly the sinister plan to storm Osun with militants.

“We are sending caution to President Goodluck Jonathan to counsel his party chiefs to desist from such obnoxious plan as the people of Osun will resist with all their might any attempt to destabilise the state.”

The organisation advised Osun people not be intimidated by the presence of the security men, saying it had become clear to the security agents that Osun’s election “cannot be rigged because of the massive support of the people enjoyed by Aregbesola”.

Sagay to IGP: Police should be neutral in Osun

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ONSTITUTIONAL lawyer Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN) has advised acting Inspector- General of Police (IGP) Suleiman Abba to maintaining neutrality in the conduct of the August 9, 2014 governorship election in Osun State and the 2015 general elections.

Sagay urged the IGP to put the interest of Nigeria forward in the discharge of his duties.

Prof. Sagay, who gave the advice during a chat with the media during the weekend in Lagos, admonished him to see

By Adebisi Onanuga

himself as the IGP of Nigeria and not that of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) or the Presidency if he desires to have his feet in the sand of time.

While congratulating Abba on his appointment, Sagay also condemned the recent abuse of security personnel by the Presidency. He also advised the new IGP to be devise strategies on how to maximize the police in ending insurgency in Nigeria.

“I don’t the know the new

IGP, Suleiman Abba in person.

I don’t know what sort of person he is, what his records his.

But what I expect from the Inspector- General of Police is that he is the IGP of Nigeria, not IGP of PDP or the Presidency.So, he must not be loyal to the PDP or Presidency, but loyal to the people of Nigeria.

“He should be objective and neutral. He should be honourable. If he is told to do a partisan thing, he should refuse and resign honourably or be dismissed rather than compromise

his integrity in his duty to Nigeria. The government now is misusing security all over the place to terrorise anbd intimidate people. He should refuse to be used in that manner. He should refuse to be part of what is happening in Osun state”.

“He should refuse to be part of PDP agenda for 2015 election and he should neutral and totally independent and do his job objectively. That way, he will deserve to be IGP of Nigeria and not IGP of a political party or the presidency,” he said

De Raufs DG alleges threat to life

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HE Director-General of De Raufs, Comrade Amotolu Shittu, has raised an alarm of plan by unidentified men to assassinate him.

Through his group, De Raufs, Shittu is mobilising support for the re-election of Governor Rauf Aregbesola in the August 9 poll.

At a news conference in Osogbo, Osun State, yesterday, he disclosed that strange men had been monitoring his movement in the last three weeks.

He alleged that unidentified group of men three days ago came to his house late at night and started banging his gate, attempting to force it open.

He said the development had made him relocate his family while he too had abandoned the house for fear of being attacked.

According to him: “I have lately received many strange threat messages and calls. And not long ago, some men attacked the Director of Mobilisation of our group in broad day light in front of our office. I don’t think what I have done by supporting Aregbesola should bother anybody.

“It is my choice to support the governor I believe is doing well and mean well for the people. As a human rights activist, my concern is about the people and if any

Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

government is promoting their interest. I have monitored the policies and programmes of Aregbesola and I have seen that they are people-oriented.”

Shittu said he decided not to report the threats against him to the security agents because he had lost confidence in the security agencies with the recent deployment of operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) to the state.

Condemning wearing of masks by these security operatives in the state , he warned President Goodluck Jonathan not to militarise the state.

“Any attempt by the PDP and Jonathan to take over Osun State by force may consume them. I don’t know the rationale or justification of the Federal Government to invade a peaceful state with masked security men, whom, we suspect are thugs. Their operation could be likened to that of miscreants or hoodlums.

Whatever evil the perpetrate no one would be able to identify them since they are using hoods in an unregistered vehicles.

“They are killers, they are not in the state to secure lives and property. We are crying out loud now to the whole world to see them as agents of destruction.”

Osun APC mega rally holds tomorrow From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbi

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HE campaign mega rally for the re-election of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in Osogbo Federal Constituency will hold tomorrow.

A statement by the Chairman and Secretary of the Aregbesola Campaign Committee for the federal constituency, Senator Bayo Salami and Kolapo Alimi, said the event would double as the Osogbo Federal Constituency and the State Mega Rally.

According to the statement, the rally will hold at the Osogbo City Stadium by 10 am.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held its mega rally last Saturday at the same venue with President Goodluck Jonathan, his deputy, Namadi Sambo, the party national leadership and other chieftains in attendance.

Expected are the national leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), including the Chairman, John Oyegun, Chief Bisi Akande, Gen Muhamadu Buhari, Senator Bola Amed Tinubu, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

All the governors of the APC, including Rotimi Amechi of Rivers State, Raji Fashola of Lagos State and Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State are expected at the mega rally.

•Ogunsua of Modakeke, Oba Francis Adedoyin (left) welcoming Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Olusegun Akinwusi to his palace during his campaign for the Osun governorship election...at the weekend

Anambra APGA reps for PDP

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HEAD of 2015 poll, four members of the House of Representatives have accepted to defect from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The move is the first in the series of steps by the PDP to regain the control of Anambra State which it lost to APGA in the last eight years.

The development also signposted the breakdown of an accord between APGA and PDP in Anambra State.

The PDP had reached out to the four APGA lawmakers through a number of meetings in the last few weeks.

It was gathered that the move was part of plans by the PDP to secure majority control of the House and make inroad into Anambra State.

The four Representatives who have had what a source described as “high-level talks” with the PDP leadership are the Chairman, House committee on Environment and Leader of the Anambra State caucus in the House, Hon. (Mrs.) Lilian Uche Ekwunife; the Deputy chairman, Media and Public Affairs Committee, representing Ogbaru Federal Constituency, Hon.Victor Afam Ogene; member representing Nnewi North / Nnewi South / Ekwusigo Federal Constituency and Deputy chairman, Committee on Capital Market, Hon. Chris Azubogu,; and Hon. Cyril Egwuatu of Onitsha North / Onitsha South Federal Constituency.

It was learnt that with the negotiated defection of the four lawmakers, PDP will be in control of the 10 out of the 11 Anambra seats in the House of Representatives.

The PDP secured five seats during the 2011 poll and an

•Ekwunife, Ogene, Azubogu, Egwuatu to defect From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

APGA member Hon. Charles (Odedo, Idemili North/Idemili South Federal Constituency) had earlier defected to the ruling party.

A PDP source said: “We are already planning ahead for 2015 poll. This is why we are reaching out to critical stakeholders as part of the overall objective of securing the Southeast for President Goodluck Jonathan and PDP. “We have had tangible discussions with these four lawmakers, who will defect to PDP anytime from now.

“We have always had unwritten working accord with APGA, it will be incorrect to say PDP is betraying the ruling party in Anambra State.”

According to one of the sources close to the lawmakers, their defection followed alleged frustration by APGA in Anambra State.

The source said: “The decision to leave APGA is hinged on two planks: the need to offer total support to the re-election efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015; and the persistent marginalisation / disregard for the federal lawmakers in the running of the party’s affairs in their home state of Anambra.

“Would anyone believe that in a party we ought to be important stakeholders, we were never allowed to nominate any member of the various transition committees that ran the local government councils - a misnomer that continued with the election of council chairmen solely chosen by a handful of party administrators, who also appointed supervisory councilors?

“This sordid state of affairs has led to massive disillusionment

•Ogene among our teeming supporters and a broad spectrum of party faithful, leading to unending legal suits in the battle for the soul of the party.”

Another source said: “Were it not for the sacrifice of leaders like Ekwunife, do you think APGA would have won the governorship poll in Anambra State.

“Yet, the same leaders who worked tirelessly for the party are being ignored, marginalised and even their political bases are being eroded.”

Angered by their alleged marginalisation, one of the affected House members said: “Though I am not from Anambra North Senatorial district, I supported and campaigned vigorously for the governorship slot to shift to that area because hitherto, nobody from the North senatorial zone had been governor of the state since its creation.

“But after we collectively delivered the position to that zone, they (North) have resorted to the monopolisation of power, with about 80 percent of Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants (SSAs), Special Assistants (SAs), and Executive Assistants (EAs) coming from the zone.

“In addition, the North has continued to hold onto the criti-

cal positions of governor and speaker, which in a democracy is a misnomer because it will not promote accountability and prudent use of resources; yet in the midst of all these, the leadership of the party has blatantly refused to convene any party meeting where these issues would be discussed”, the legislator fumed.

An aide to Hon. Ogene (who is said to be away on a one-week programme abroad), Mr. Edward Dibiana, confirmed that there were several overtures to the lawmakers.

He however added that Ogene is still in APGA unless the political tempo in the state dictated otherwise.

Dibiana added: “This is electioneering period and every political party is either trying to retain members in its fold by offering them automatic tickets, or seeking to poach others, using the same offer.

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are neck- deep in this game of wits, but as I speak with you, Hon. Victor Afam Ogene is still a member of APGA, but in the changing tides of politics, I can’t predict what will happen tomorrow “.

A source in APGA said: “What will PDP gain in decimating this great party? Must all Nigerians belong to the ruling party? We have been warning our leaders, including former Governor Peter Obi against romancing with PDP. “If they think the Igbo will move en masse to PDP, they are joking. I think those defecting are unsure of their political future and chose to pitch tent with PDP. Let us see how far they can go.

“All I can tell you is that Governor Willy Obiano is not marginaliSing anybody at all.”

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

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Indigent parents require N3m to save boy’s life

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ITH indigent parents, who can barely feed, eightmonth-old Emmanuel, who is battling hole-in-the-heart ailment, faces a bleak future.

He requires N3million for treatment, an amount which his parents cannot afford.

His father, Henry Mekwunye is a casual worker; the mother, Oluchi, a petty trader.

Emmanuel was diagnosed of the ailment at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Lagos, on June 14 following an x-ray after he developed sudden cough.

With her hands resting on her bosom, Mrs Mekwunye looked hopeless as she sat on the bed where her son was laid at the hospital yesterday.

She watched how her son was being drip-fed instead of breast feeding him. “Life has not been fair to me,” she said, sighing.

On June 13, it was discovered that Emmanuel had a cough and he was taken to a neighbouring pharmacy for first-aid medication.

His father, who said the family thought it was a minor thing because they had always taken the boy’s health seriously, added that they were forced to take him to a private hospital when the symptoms persisted.

After examining him at the

‘

I was destabilised when it came to my knowledge that my son was going through such pains. And sadly, he could not talk to explain the extent of the pains.

By Basirat Braimah

hospital, the baby was referred to LASUTH, where series of tests were conducted.

A chest x-ray exposed the hole in the boy’s heart which is known in medical parlance as Tetralogy of Fallot.

“I was destabilised when it came to my knowledge that my son was going through such pains. And sadly, he could not talk to explain the extent of the pains.”

Mekwunye said.

Emmanuel has been on oxygen for eight weeks to aid his breathing.

The consultant in charge of the Department of Paediatrics at LASUTH, Dr Barakat Animashaun, has assured the family that Emmanuel’s ailment is curable.

Since the hospital lacks the facility for the surgery, it was agreed that Emmanuel should be taken to Rak Hospital in Ras al-khaimh, United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the treatment, which would cost N3million.

’

Mrs Mekwunye burst into tears as she bemoaned her family’s helplessness: “I know if my son is not treated with utmost urgency, it may affect other organs in his body system. He has rapidly lost weight, his tongue and lips have turned black. Each time he coughs, he throws up. I have no job, let alone bank savings. How are we going to raise such amount of money since we have nothing to put on sale? And my only child is my life; God, please help me,” she said.

Mekwunye is an employee of a chemical company in Lagos struggling to make ends meet. Sources said the family has been surviving with God’s grace.

The family is looking up to well-meaning Nigerians, government and non-governmental organisations for help.

The family has an account with Access Bank Plc, No: 0690421712 and First Bank, 3085435732, under the name: Emmanuel Obinna Mekwunye.

Honour for lawmaker

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MEMBER of the House of Representatives, who represents Emure/Gbonyin/Ekiti East Constituency, Hon Bamidele Faparusi, has bagged a honourary doctorate degree at the Commonwealth University, United Kingdom (UK).

A source told The Nation yesterday that the lawmaker traveled out of the country to the UK through Dubai about 4pm yesterday.

The award, the source said, is not unconnected with the “impressive” representation that the lawmaker has given his constituency, coupled with his people-oriented empowerment initiatives that have lifted many indigenes of Ekiti State.

Confirming the story, Faparusi said the award came to him as a surprise, adding: “I appreciate the honour, but I must say that serving my constituency has remained part of my natural self; it is something that I see as an avowed commitment.

The award, to me, is a further impetus to drive me to do more for my people and fatherland.”

•Mrs Mekwunye with Emmanuel ... yesterday

Lagos, local govts empower 3000 residents

By Miriam Ekene-Okoro

•Fashola

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AGOS State Governor Babatunde Fashola and council chairmen have empowered thousands of Lagosians in a bid to tackle unemployment.

Last Saturday, the council

•From left: Otunba Kole Olatunji, Social/ Publicity Secretary; Chairman Anniversary Planning Committee Oba Isiaka Balogun Oyero, Alaketu of ketu Lagos State; Otunba Idowu Adenuga, President, Association of Friends; Oba Adeleke Idowu, Basibo Odoru, Alaperu of Iperu-Remo Ogun State, during the association’s Year 2014 Presidential Award Day, induction of new members and N10million club development fundraising at the club’S house in Ikeja, Lagos PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

chiefs held a grassroots empowerment programme at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, where over 3000 residents went home with equipment to support their ventures.

Fashola, represented by the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, lamented the country’s failure to achieve socio-economic and political growth after over 15 years of democratic governance.

He explained that the vision of state and local government areas is to work together to make the state the pride of the country. ”We do not do poverty alleviation but grassroots empowerment. The council chairmen have done well in providing infrastructure

for the citizens. They have built roads, schools, hospitals, constructed drainages and empowered the people among other things. I must thank the council chairman for taking care of the grassroots. The councils’ bosses have come together to do the biggest empowerment programme in the country,” he said.

Fashola expressed the need for the residents to be vigilant in the face of security challenges rocking the country, urging them to continue to be securityconscious to keep the state safe.

“I want to tell the residents of Lagos that the security of this great state is also their responsibility.

We should not leave it for the government alone. We need to support the council chairmen in their programmes so that they

can provide the dividends of democracy. We need to be steadfast and do not accept expired rice from some people who claim to love you. These are tactics from the opposition. And I do not want them to scare you with their strategies,” the governor added.

He explained that Lagos is the only state in the country that did not ban the activities of commercial motorcycle operators, saying it was outright ban in other states controlled by the opposition parties.

The Chairman of Conference 57, a body of the councils’ bosses, Hon Akeem Sulaiman, explained that the gesture to empower over 3000 grassroots people became necessary because, “poverty seems to have become a natural phenomenon in Nigeria. Successive administrations in

Nigeria have made efforts towards poverty alleviation in Nigeria.”

“It is obvious that most poor people in this country cannot provide for themselves the basic needs of life. The persistence of poverty in the world and indeed in Nigeria has made it imperative for us to embark on some developmental programmes to ensure improved standards of living for the poor masses.

“As part of measures to empower our people, we will give out fridges, deep freezers, boat engines, generating sets, food stuffs like rice and garri; pop corn machines, mobile phones, spray painters, machine boxes, soft drinks, sewing machine and hair-dressing machines, among others. I urge you to make good use of the goods. Please do not sell them,” he said.

•Faparusi

Council lifts indigent pupils

By Basirat Braimah

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O rescue indigent youths and improve the standard education in his domain, the Chairman, Apapa Local Government, Hon. Ayodeji Joseph, has donated 100 General Certificate of Education (GCE) forms to beneficiaries in the area.

At the presentation, Joseph, who distributed the forms to beneficiaries from the five wards in the council area, urged them to make use of the opportunity.

He also admonished the pupils to concentrate on their academic pursuits, stressing that “the only anti-dote to poverty is education.”

The council boss added: “A good name is better than silver and gold. Nothing can be achieved without education. Illegal acts such as cultism, absenteeism, truancy and lack of concentration are factors hampering the educational development in our nation.”

Urging the beneficiaries to attend the tutorial classes organised by the council, Joseph expressed optimism that the effort would yield good results in their academic endeavours.

The council chairman also warned them to eschew acts that are inimical to their personal living and the advancement of a sane society, noting that they have roles to play in ensuring a healthy environment.

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

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CITYBEATS LINE: 08023247888

•Members of the joint delegation of the Federal Government and Lagos State Government on a sensitisation visit to The Synagogue Church of All Nations on the Ebola Virus Disease in a group photograph with the Founder/General Overseer of the church, Prophet Temitope Joshua at Ikotun, Lagos ... yesterday.

Electric cable kills mechanic in Lagos

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MIDDLE-aged automechanic, Lukman Ayinla, has been electrocuted at his workshop at Iyana-Era in Ijanikin on the outskirts of Lagos.

The incident, The Nation learnt, occurred last Thurs-

By Jude Isiguzo

day about 2.55pm, causing pandemonium in the workshop and its neighbourhood.

It was gathered that a highvoltage wire fell on a bus while the victim was working under it to do some re-

pairs.

The late Ayinla was electrocuted in the process, while other workers in the workshop could not rescue him as they scampered for safety. However, they later alerted electricity officials

who came and disconnected the wire.

The victim’s remains were removed from under the bus and deposited at the Badagry General Hospital’s mortuary for autopsy.

Spokesperson to the state

police command, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP) confirmed the incident.

She said the matter was being investigated by detectives at the Ijanikin Police Station.

Police arrest robbery suspects

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OLICE operatives have arrested four suspected armed robbers in separate locations in the Lagos metropolis. They were arrested by policemen attached to Aguda and Surulere Police stations.

Confirming it yesterday, police command spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said:

By Jude Isiguzo

“On Tuesday at about 1am, policemen attached to Aguda Division were assisted by a security guard at Kilo Bus Stop Surulere to arrest three armed robbers.”

She gave the names of the suspects as: Opeyemi Awelewa of 3A, Karomi Street, off Adedeji Street,

Itire; Ogunsani Abeeb of 31, Owoseni Street, off Kilo Aguda and Gbenga Ikujorimi of 1, Odunsi Street, Lawanson in Surulere.

They were arrested for allegedly robbing Jude Adewo, who resides at 49, Adetola Street, Aguda, Surulere of N6,000, one dollar and two handsets at Kilo Bus Stop, Surulere.

Braide said efforts were being intensified to arrest other fleeing members of the gang, adding that the case was under investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba.

She akso said that “a robbery suspect, Rasheed Adeshina of 13, Taiwo Street Idi-Araba, was arrested on

•Braide

Itire Road, Surulere, with a knife by neighbours and handed over to the police.

“The suspect with three others at large, armed themselves with guns and knives allegedly robbed residents of 21, Itire Road in Surulere of their money and phones.

The case is under investigation at the Surulere Division”.

Alleged lover’s killer held two weeks after

•The late Mrs Nzewi

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PERATIVES of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a 33-year-old man who was earlier declared wanted for allegedly strangling his lover to death.

The suspect, Kelechi Williams, was said to have killed Njideka Lizzy Nzewe (39), a mother of four and Executive Officer/Managing Director of Edmark International at her Green Estate, Amuwo Odofin, Festac, Lagos home, on July 22.

Williams allegedly made away with the deceased’s $50,000, phones, laptops, N8 million and her Range Rover, a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).

Williams is believed to have fled to Ghana with the loot after allegedly committing the act.

He was arrested last Sunday in Cote d’Ivoire by crack detectives attached to the Area ‘E’ Command. Police

said he would be paraded by the police in Ikeja today.

It was gathered that Area Commander Dan Okoro, an Assistant Commissioner (ACP), used a tracking device to locate the suspect in his hideout in Cote d’Ivoire while he was preparing to flee to Europe.

The deceased, whom many described as a multi-millionaire, was found on the floor of her apartment with the twine allegedly used to strangle her hanging on her neck. It was also discovered that in the course of struggling with her assailant, she urinated and defecated on her body with white foam in her mouth.

The suspect’s hideout was said to have been discovered by the police through their ‘forensic auditing investigation of his social media networks and assistance of Interpol.”

Preliminary investigations revealed that Williams and the victim had been having affairs for years, to the extent that the suspect who is one of her staff, proposed marriage, which the late Lizzy turned down.

Police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, who confirmed the incident, said that the deceased was a single mother, who had since separated from her husband.

The late Lizzy was sup-

By Jude Isiguzo

posed to travel to USA on July 24 on vacation with her kids; she also planned to move into her just-completed building at Satellite Town before embarking on the journey, a source said.

“She had already made these plans, when Williams came in from Ghana to visit her. Nobody thought his visit was unusual. He used to come and go in her home the way he likes. Everyone knew them,” said a source.

Braide said the strangulation of the late Lizzy occurred at about 2.30am, adding: “He strangled the woman with a rope inside her apartment. He locked up the place, packed her money, phones, international passports and about N8 million she meant to leave for him for the running of the business while in USA and ran away. We believe he ran to Ghana.”

A police detective said: “We believe he is a serial killer.

Most of them who kill without qualms are usually within that age bracket of Williams’.

This is why the police have always advocated for youths to be involved in community policing. We should educate the youth in a way that they would be able to report their friends without fear or favour in case of commission of crime.”

Group urges new police chief

By Jude Isiguzo

T

HE new InspectorGeneral of Police (IGP), Suleiman Abba, has been urged to be a team player by carrying along all stakeholders to tackle security challenges in the country.

The Police Assistance Committee (PAC), which gave the advice while hailing the emergence of the police chief, also assured him of its total support.

The committee’s Director General, Dr. Martins Oni, said the Abba is a tested officer who has distinguished himself in various capacities in the force, adding: “We are confident that Abba will bring to the fore, the wealth of experience he has garnered over the years, to build on the achievements of his predecessor and thus improve the fortunes of the force by injecting new ideas at confronting the plethora of security challenges threatening the corporate existence of the nation” The group expressed the hope that his tenure would ensure robust relationship with the members of other security agencies, the public and the corporate bodies to fight the festering insurgency in the country.

•Abba

THE NATION MONDAY AUGUST 4, 2014

12

NEWS Daniel is a political prostitute, says Kashamu

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•The crawling traffic at a bad portion of the Oshodi-Murtala Mohammed International Airport road, Lagos...at the weekend.

PHOTO: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE

Prayers for governor’s dad THE one year remembrance prayers for Alhaji Ibrahim Ademola Fashola, father of Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, holds tomorrow at the Surulere Secondary School, Ladipo Labinjo Crescent (Off Bode Thomas Street), Surulere, at 12 noon.

Alhaji Fashola died on August 5, last year, at 80.

He was buried according to Islamic rites the following day.

Ogun repairs Papalanto-Ilaro rd THE Ogun State government has started the reconstruction of the 23km PapalantoIlaro-Federal Polytechnic Road in Yewa South Local Government Area.

Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure Olamilekan Adegbite said the road will be reconstructed into six lanes, with walkway, median, green belts, streetlights and standard drainage system.

The road, which will have a dual carriage way flyover at Ilaro Junction, is to be completed in 24 months.

GUN State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and Chairman of the party’s Organisation and Mobilisation Committee in the Southwest Prince Buruji Kashamu has described former Governor Gbenga Daniel as “someone suffering from an over dose of political prostitution”.

He was reacting to a statement credited to Daniel yesterday in some national dailies, where the former governor described (Kashamu) as “suffering from political inexperience and over confidence”.

In a statement yesterday by his Media Adviser, Mr Austin Oniyokor, Kashamu said: “Daniel is suffering from an overdose of political prostitution as a result of his serial defeat in the battle for the souls of the various parties he sought to ply his trade.

“It is laughable that a renowned political prostitute like Daniel can refer to someone who has defeated him severally as inexperienced and over confident. What Daniel probably presumes to be his experience is how he uses party platforms to negotiate and feather his own nest, just like he did in 2011.

Ayangburen of Ikorodu passes on

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HE Ayangburen of Ikorodu and Vice– Chairman of the Lagos State Council of Obas and Chiefs, Oba Salaudeen Afolabi Oyefusi, has passed on.

Oba Oyefusi died in a London hospital on Saturday. He was 83. Palace sources said he died of an age-related ailment.

The monarch is survived by his only wife, Olori Muibat, and children.

Born on July 8, 1931, the late Oba Oyefusi, who was an old student of Oriwu College, was installed as the Ayangburen in September, 1971.

An educated ruler and committed Muslim, the late Oba Oyefusi reigned for 43 years. He was a successful businessman before ascending the throne of his forefathers.

During his long and peaceful reign, he promoted religious harmony and development in Ikorodu Division.

Developments recorded during his reign include the establishment of the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu; the Technical College, Iko-

•Fashola, Ikuforiji mourn

By Oziegbe Okoeki

rodu; many secondary schools and the creation of more local governments.

Mourners thronged the ancient palace and the monarch’s private residence yesterday.

Governor Babatunde Fashola described the monarch’s death as “shocking”.

In a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Hakeem Bello, Fashola said: “His death at this time has robbed the state of his contributions and wisdom.”

House of Assembly Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji described the late Oba Oyefusi as “an uncommon and irreplaceable royal father, who used his ancient throne to transform the lives of his people and his community.”

Ikuforiji said: “The news of the sudden demise of our most revered royal father, Oba Oyefusi, is like a thunder strike at a time like this.

It is sad, unfortunate and hard to believe. For us in Lagos State, Oba Oyefusi is one Oba

that effectively blended the ancient culture of our people with modernity to positively impact on the lives of our people.

“A repertoire of superb wisdom, knowledge and understanding, our referred Oba Oyefusi’s contributions to the marvelous transformation that Lagos State has witnessed since his assumption of office some half a century ago will forever stand his name in good stead from generation to generation.

“It is on record for instance that but for the huge and proactive support and contributions of Oba Oyefusi for the Lagos State government since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, all the great achievements recorded by our state today would have been a mirage. He was an Oba who, at all times, stood for the good of his people.

“His demise at this time is something that ought not to have happened, as people look up to such a forthright, credible and fearless royal father for guidance in the

journeys ahead.

“Since we as human beings have no choice other than to see a calamity like this as an act of our creator, on behalf of myself, family, fellow legislators and the management and staff of the Lagos State House of Assembly, I commiserate with the government and people of Lagos State, particularly the good people of Ikorodu, on this painful incident. I also commiserate with his family.

“May the Almighty God grant his great soul Aljanah Firdaus and grant his family members the fortitude to bear this irreparable and sad loss.”

Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Ademorin Kuye said: “It is a sad loss to Ikorodu and Lagos State. He was a recipient of the Officer of the Order of Niger (OON) from the Federal Government. He was one of the best monarchs in Lagos State. Kabiyesi was expected home today (Sunday). His ticket had already been booked. “ Kuye said the monarch’s funeral arrangement will be announced later.

By Wale Ajetunmobi

The national leadership of our great party, the PDP, is wiser now and will not fall for such tricks anymore.

“Perhaps he thinks we have forgotten that he jumped from the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to the PDP, PPN, LP, after the PDP made him all that he claims to be today.

“Now, he has gone to LP, yet he says he wants to collaborate with us to chase away the All Progressives Congress (APC) government in Ogun State. We say “NO”.

How can you collaborate with us to chase away the APC government when you are fielding candidates for the same offices, apart from the Presidency? This smacks of deceit and we will not fall for it. If you say you are the strongest party in Ogun State, we say let’s meet on the field. No need for any deceitful collaboration.

“Only a few weeks ago, Senate President David Mark told the whole world that the PDP is not in any working arrangement with any party. We do not need any allied forces. PDP is PDP. LP is LP. “For the teeming members of Ogun PDP, Kashamu’s so-called political inexperience is good for them. It was the “political inexperience” that made him defeat Daniel in the struggle for the soul of the PDP in 2011 and beat his PPN to a distant third position in the polls.”

Vacation course for Lagos pupils

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HE Lagos State government has organised a five-week science vacation course for secondary school pupils.

Commissioner for Education Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye said the course, which will be held in 217 centres across the six education districts, begins today and ends on September 5.

Pupils will be tutored in Agricultural Science, Chemistry, Computer Studies, Biology, English Language, Further Mathematics, Mathematics and Physics.

Junior Secondary School pupils will be taught Agricultural Science, Basic Science, Basic Technology, Computer Studies/ICT, English Language and Mathematics.

Mrs Oladunjoye urged parents and guardians to enrol their children/wards at the designated centres.

Firm assures Ibadan residents of 15hrs uninterrupted power supply

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HE Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has assured residents of over 15 hours uninterrupted power supply when it finishes upgrading its transmission facilities.

IBEDC Managing Director Fortunato Leynes gave the assurance at the Premier Hotel at the weekend during the maiden edition of a knowledge sharing series organised by the company, titled: “Journey to Change”.

He said: “Generating capacity should be at 5,000 Mega Watts, but what we

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

have when we took over was at the level of 4,000 Mega Watts and went down to 3,000 Mega Watts, but now it is hovering around 3,000 to 3,500 Mega Watts.

“One of the greatest challenges facing the company in the last 11 months since we took over is that there is no enough power generating capacity to distribute to our customers. We also do not generate enough revenue to support our business activities.

“We have put forward a tariff review proposal to the

National Electricity Regulating Commission (NERC) because the tariff system now is not sufficient for us to recover our investment and generate the funds we need to make our service delivery efficient. For us to be efficient, there must be an upward review of tariff rates by 25 to 30 per cent to make us viable.”

On why customers are still experiencing epileptic power supply, Leynes said: “This is primarily because of the debt and poor infrastructure we met on ground. We have dilapidated electricity facili-

ties everywhere and this will cost a lot of money. If we do not generate enough revenue, it will be very hard to achieve this. The low generating capacity is primarily due to the vandalisation of gas pipelines and weakness in the transmission network.

We cannot serve our customers if the generating capacity is low.

“We are now buying electricity distribution materials like transformers, poles and conductors to improve our distribution capacity. We are also buying metres so that our customers will be appro-

priately metred. Right now we have a metre application system called the Credit Advancement Prepaid Metre Installation (CAPMI) scheme and within 45 days, metres are installed for customers.

“We have about 1.1 million customers and are still doing customer remuneration to get the actual figure.

Some are not paying but are stealing electricity. By the time we complete this remuneration, we will make them legitimate customers.

His deputy, Mr John Darlington, said: “More efforts are being made to provide

quality services. The challenges are enormous, but if we can get the right people, attitude, technology and there is discipline, in two to three years, the difference will be clear.”

The Special Guest and Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan (U.I.), Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole, said many opportunities were yet to be harnessed due to power failure.

He said: “If I become the president of this country, I will first address the problem of electricity and other things will fall in place.”

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14 USEFUL PHONE NUMBERS ON ANY EMERGENCY Council endorses the useful phone numbers submitted by the security agents for easy access in case of any emergency on the metropolitan roads. Accordingly, the general public may easily Contact KAROTA for: Breakdown of Vehicle(s), Traffic Congestion, Accidents, and Illegal/Wrong Parking to kindly Call KAROTA through the following numbers on – 08091626747. Similarly, the State Police Command could be contacted on – 08032419754, 08123821575. In addition, the State Fire Service can be contacted on – 07051246833, 08191778888.

160TH KANO STATE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING PREPARED BY COUNCIL AFFAIRS DIRECTORATE, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY TO THE STATE GOVERNMENT, GOVERNMENT HOUSE, KANO. he Government of Kano State presented to Council for consideration along congratulates the entire Muslim Umma with financial implications to the sum of N10, for completing the observance and 815,000.00 which was requested for release worship in the month of Ramadan Kareem by Council.

Rabi’u Musa Kwankawaso and celebration of Eid – El–Fitr for the 1435 administration.

Council noted, considered and approved the The Committee carried out its assignment Islamic Year after Hijrah. release of the requested sum of commendably and saved the incumbent In continuation with the delivery of N10,815,000.00 to the Secretary to the State administration a lot of unwarranted impeccable services inherent in the execution Government to enable the Senior Special expenditure. The activities of the Committee of qualitative projects/programmes/policies Assistant Fisheries conduct the 3rd, 4th and involved some expenditure to the tune of across all sectors aimed at positive 5th sessions of training to 360 fishermen at N5,000,000.00 which was requested and transformation of the lives of the citizenry in the Magaga Fisheries Skills Acquisition Center. recommended for release by Council as the State for the better, the Kano State The fund is to be utilized according to the reimbursement to the Committee.

Executive Council held its one hundred and details presented summarized as follows; sixtieth (160th) sitting today Wednesday 30th · Training – four (4) items = N3,060,000.00. Council acknowledged the presentation and July, 2014 (4th Shawwal, 1435 AH) under · Feeding – four (4) items = N5,255,000.00. approved as requested. the Chairmanship of Governor Engr. Rabi’u · Operations – four (4) items = Musa Kwankwaso, FNSE. N550,000.00. d) Presentation on One (1) Year Top – · Graduation activities – two (2) items = Up Training at International University of Thirty three (33) memoranda were submitted N120,000.00.

East Africa (IUEA) Uganda:from seven (7) MDAs for deliberation of which · Demonstration equipment – three (3) The Kano State Ministry of Science and Council approved thirteen (13) for execution items = N930,000.00.

Technology submitted the cited presentation, with an expenditure of Four Hundred and · Logistics – one (1) item = N300,000.00. which was endorsed by the Secretary to the Ninety Million, Six Hundred and Sixteen Total = N10,815,000.00.

State Government and presented to Council Thousand, Four Hundred and Eighteen Naira, for consideration.

Seventy Kobo (N490,616,418.70) covering b) Presentation on and Request for Funds Council was politely reminded of its approval nine (9) projects while the remaining four (4) to Enable Payment of Monthly Allowances for the sponsorship of 197 Kano State to the Five (5) Board Members (Chairman Indigenous Students that graduated with were on policy issues. Thus; Inclusive) of Muhammad Abubakar Rimi Advance Diploma from Kano State 1. OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY TO THE (Sabon Gari) Market Co. Ltd:Informatics Institute and Jigawa State STATE GOVERNMENT Council was politely reminded, through Institute of Information Technology, Kazaure The Secretary to the State Government contents of this memorandum, of the for the cited training. submitted twenty two(22) memoranda on appointment of the five (5) Board Members of The 197 candidates are proceeding with their behalf of the Chairman and some MDAs for the Muhammad Abubakar Rimi (Sabon Gari) second (2 nd) semester after successful deliberation by Council. Eight (8) of them Market Company Limited. Viz; completion of the first (1st) that lead them to were approved for execution as follows; i. The Chairman – August, 2013 to July, the award of a B sc Degree in IT, Computer 2014 (11 months).

Science and Software Engineering. a) Request for Funds to Enable Conduct ii. Four (4) Members – April to July, 2014 In this vein, 163 Kano State Indigenous of 3rd, 4th and 5th Batches of Training for (4 months).

Students were screened as the second (2nd) 360 Fishermen and Fish Farmers at Details were presented to Council for batch for the same training.

Magaga Fisheries Skills Acquisition consideration along with the financial Council acknowledged the presentation and Center:implications on the accrued allowances to the approved for the Secretary to the State The Secretary to the State Government tune of N1,030,000.00 which was requested Government to seek admission for the 163 endorsed the cited request and presented it for release to be disbursed to the Board students.

Members. to Council for consideration.

Relatedly, the Senior Special Assistant Council acknowledged the presentation and e) Presentation on Issues/Challenges Fisheries notified the Council that, so far 240 approved for the release of the sum of Raised by the Kano State Indigenous fishermen were trained at the Center under N1,030,000.00 from the fund available at the Students Sponsored for Studies in Turkey the first (1st) and second (2nd) batches after Muhammad Abubakar Rimi (Sabon Gari) and Cyprus:which post training packages were distributed Market Company Limited for the stated Contents of this memorandum presented to the beneficiaries. purpose. seven (7) issues regarding the students

T

The cited request was submitted in cognizance of the immense benefit of the programme to the trainees and the entire people of Kano State as modern fishing skills and craft technology are acquired. This improves the production capacity of the trainees as well as making more fish (food/ protein) available for the people of Kano State and beyond.

Details of the requirements for the three (3) (3rd, 4th and 5th) sessions of training were

c) Presentation on and Request for Funds to Enable Reimbursement of Incurred Expenditure by the Fact – Finding Committee and Evaluation of Various Projects Inherited from the Previous Administration:The Secretary to the State Government endorsed and submitted the cited request for consideration by Council on behalf of the Fact – Finding Committee and evaluation of various projects inherited from the previous

sponsored for studies in Turkey and Cyprus.

Viz; · Health Insurance · Return Ticket · Allowances · Welfare · Accommodation · Consultancy Fees · Balance Payment to the Consultant.

Council considered the details presented and the following approvals were granted;

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

i.

Council approved the release of the sum of $45,446.00 (equivalent to N7,725,820.00 at N170.00 to the dollar subject to fluctuations in exchange rate) as the verified balance payment to the Consultant for his services. ii. Council approved suspension of the claim of $79,200.00 for two (2) months by the Consultant. iii. That the Office of the Head of Civil Service should handle the case of Shitu Sunusi a sponsored Civil Servant while that of the Psychiatric patient be investigated by the Ministry of Higher Education and the Scholarship Board. f) Request for Funds to Enable Payment of Registration Fees in Respect of 191 Kano State Indigenous Students Admitted for Studies at the School of Basic – Midwifery Kano, 2014 Academic Session:The Kano State Ministry of Health submitted the cited request, which was endorsed by the Secretary to the State Government and presented to Council for consideration.

Essentially, Council was notified that 191 Kano State Indigenous Students gained admission into the School of Basic Midwifery Kano. As such, the free education policy embarked upon by the present administration instigated the Ministry of Health to submit the cited request for consideration by Council.

Details were presented along with the request for the release of the aggregate sum of N3,525,750.00 to cater for the following; i. Registration and indexing fees at N14,500.00 for 191 students (new intakes) = N2,769,500.00. ii. Indexing fees and instructional materials for 50 students that passed their weeding examinations at N15,125.00 = N756,250.00.

Total = N3,525,750.00.

Council noted, considered and approved the release of the requested sum of N3,525,750.00 to the Ministry of Health for the stated purpose.

2. OFFICE OF THE HEAD OF CIVIL SERVICE Both memoranda submitted for deliberation

by Council from the Office of the Head of Civil Service were approved for execution as follows; a) Request for Funds to Enable Conduct of the 14 th National Productivity Day Scheduled for 21 st August, 2014 throughout the 36 States of the Federation and Abuja:The State Head of Civil Service politely notified Council, through contents of this memorandum, of the cited event premised under the main theme “Productivity and Creativity for Sustainable Peace and Security”.

The National Productivity Center provided the details involved on the activities that include symposium, exhibition of products/ manufacturing firms in the State, Award presentation to deserving individuals/ industries and presentation of papers by resource persons.

The nine (9) items required estimated to cost the aggregate sum of N1,725,000.00 were

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presented to Council for consideration and granting approval for release.

Approval was granted for the release of the trimmed down sum of N1,000,000.00 to the Office of the Head Civil Service for the stated purpose. b) Request for Funds to Enable Payment of the 3rd Batch (2014) Bereaved Family Allowance in Respect of 93 Families of Deceased Civil Servants:Council was applauded for the prompt release of the first (1st) and second (2nd) bereaved family allowances for the year 2014 most recent of which was the successfully disbursed sum of N2,850,000.00.

Relatedly, Council was requested to approve the release of the sum of N4,320,000.00 as the 3rd batch bereaved allowance for the year 2014 in respect 93 families of deceased Civil Servants.

Council commiserates with the bereaved families of the 93 deceased Civil Servants as approval was granted as requested.

3. MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES Only one (1) of the three (3) memoranda submitted for deliberation by Council from this Ministry was approved for execution. Thus; Presentation on and Request for Funds to Enable Payment of 2014 Counterpart Funding to Leventis Foundation School, Panda:The School of Agriculture Panda is jointly funded by the Kano State Government and the Leventis Foundation with a 70%:30% formula respectively.

In the same vein, the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources requested Council to approve for the release of the sum of N36,935,685.00 which was 70% of the approved budget for the School for the year 2014 while the Leventis Foundation was expected to provide the balance of N15,829,707.03 or 30% of the budgeted sum of N52,765,392.03.

Council acknowledged the details presented and approved as requested.

4. MINISTRY OF WORKS, HOUSING AND TRANSPORT The Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport submitted two (2) memoranda for deliberation

by Council. Only one (1) was approved for execution as follows; Request for Funds to Enable the Construction of Reinforced Concrete Overhead Pedestrian Bridges at Five (5) Locations in Kano Metropolis:Provision of qualitative infrastructure for use by the citizenry in Kano State is among the cardinal resolutions of the present administration in Kano State under the capable leadership of the second (2nd) incumbency of Governor Engr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, FNSE. As such, the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport submitted the cited request for consideration by Council. Five (5) locations were identified for the project, which include; i. Fagge Primary School along Ibrahim Taiwo Road. ii. Ja’en Juma’at Prayer Mosque along Sharada Road. iii. Dan Marke Bus Stop along Maiduguri Road. iv. College of Arts and Science along Airport

Road. v. Independence Road by Police Barracks.

Each bridge is of 40M length and estimated to cost the sum of N78,138,777.94 to total up to the aggregate sum of N390,693,889.70 for the five (5) which was requested for release.

Council noted, considered and approved as requested.

5. MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES The only memorandum submitted for deliberation by Council from the Ministry of Water Resources was an information MEMO. Thus; Presentation of Notification on the Return of N11,714,955.55 to the Kano State Government Treasury:The Honourable Commissioner, Ministry of Water Resources notified Council, through contents of this memorandum that, the Office of the State Accountant General credited the Bank Account of the Kano State Water Board with the sum of N135,534,284.20 instead of N123,819,328.55. This was fund requested for the relocation/replacement of water pipes affected by the on – going construction of five (5) metropolitan roads. Details were presented for consideration.

Council was therefore notified of the fact that the Company executing the project on Independence Road already paid the sum of N11,714,955.55 to the State Water Board for the relocation of the affected water pipes.

As such, the sum of N11,714,955.55 was returned to the State Government Treasury by the Kano State Water Board as evidenced

by Receipt No. A0499118 presented to Council for perusal.

Council appreciatively acknowledged the presentation.

UPDATE ON ACTIVITIES OF THE 160TH KANO STATE EXCUTIVE COUNCIL SITTING 1. CONDEMNATION OF THE RECENT SUICIDE ATTACKS ACROSS THE STATE The Kano State Executive Council was dismayed by the recent suicide attacks across Kano Metropolis and condole the families of the innocent victims that died as a result of the attack by unknown individuals.

The State Government pledged to pay the medical bills of the injured victims as well as support/assist the families of the deceased persons. Further, Government will continue to collaborate with the Security Agencies and urge the citizens to report any suspicious person connected to the nearest Security agency.

2. MONTLHY SANITATION EXERCISE Council acknowledged the successful conduct of the monthly sanitation exercise for the month July, 2014 and commended all stakeholders and citizens for their cooperation during the exercise SIGNED: HON. COMMISSIONER, INFORMATION, INTERNAL AFFAIRS, YOUTH, SPORTS & CULTURE, KANO STATE

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THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

News

Yobo deserves honour, says chukwu F

ORMER Super Eagles’ chief coach, Christian Chukwu believes retired national team captain, Joseph Yobo should be celebrated for becoming the first Nigerian player to join FIFA’s exclusive list of ‘Centurions’.

In Chukwu’s opinion, Yobo should be properly ‘pulled out of the national team’.

His words; “I have been waiting to hear the plans being put in place to honour Yobo and I have heard none.

We should learn to honour our ex-internationals. This was a boy that made 100 caps.

It is not easy. We have to celebrate him so as to encourage others to put in their best for the national team”.

He has a suggestion; “I suggest that he should be invited

for our next home match where we will formerly bid him farewell from the national team. That will be the avenue to officially honour him for making 100 caps”.

Chukwu acknowledges he has a lot in common with Yobo.

“He played in the central defence like me. And like me, he also won the AFCON as a captain. He joins the long list of central defenders like Dan Anyiam, Achebe, Victor Oduah, Dominic Ezeani, My

PUBLIC NOTICE TAIWO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Taiwo Funmilayo now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Samson Funmilayo. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

humble self and Stephen Keshi who captained the national team.

“He was a stand-in captain when I was the national team coach. He was very respectful, obeyed camp rules and enjoyed the respect of his team mates. He is the type of player every coach would want to have as a captain. In fact, he was born a captain. He should be a role model to the new generation of players”, Chukwu added.

PUBLIC NOTICE NZENWATA

I formerly known and addressed as MISS NZENWATA AMARACHI now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OBIAKO AMARACHI. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE OGOMUDIA

I, Formerly known and addressed as MISS. OGOMUDIA OGHENERUONA EUNICE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. AKEH OGHENERUONA EUNICE. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public should please take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE MERIMAN

I, Formerly known and addressed as MISS. EBERECHI MERIMAN, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OBIAJUNWO WORI EBERECHI. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public should please take note.

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COMMENTARY FROM OTHER LANDS

EDITORIALS

250 power containers!

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•Those responsible for their abandonment at the ports for 11 years must be punished

HEN will Nigerians learn to spend public funds judiciously?

When will we have accountability and transparency beyond the lip service paid to them by government officials?

These questions become pertinent in view of the scandalous and belated receivership

by Professor Chinedu Nebo, Minister of Power, of containers of power equipment from Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), 11 years after their abandonment by the ministry at the Apapa port in Lagos.

The abandoned containers, reportedly 248 in all, had been at the port since 2003.

The issue was well captured in its being rightfully described by the minister as a “waste of national asset.” We are saddened that it is most probable that most of the equipment in the containers would have become obsolete. Thus, the several billions of naira spent on their importation would become another case of money

‘We call on the government to ensure that accountability does not suffer in this particular case. If this case is treated with the usual levity, it would give impetus to others in other ministries to repeat this barbaric and carefree handling of public property’

wasted, even as Nigerians are still in unacceptable darkness, consequent upon the unstable state of power supply in the country.

Nebo reportedly confessed that the indefensible abandonment of the equipment had stalled the completion of 10 major power projects. These include KanoHadejia Combusto substation, Obu Morewa substation, OmotoshoEgbin substation, Ascon 330 KVA line and Ikorodu-Odogunyan substation, among others. It is equally undeniable that the equipment, when released to the sites of the stalled projects may not be of any immediate use because of decrepitude that would have set in over the long period of slipshod neglect. The huge bill and scarce expertise necessary to put some of them that are not yet obsolete into use can only be better imagined.

The belated delivery of the containers had, no doubt, contributed immensely to port congestion and especially traffic problems witnessed in Apapa ports of Lagos.

The NCS released the abandoned containers to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) that took over from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), after writing off accumulated demurrages and charges running into billions of naira that the company cannot afford.

The release of these containers, coming about four years after the ascension to power of President Goodluck Jonathan is a serious flaw on his power reform initiative.

Government is a continuum and the current administration ought to have taken stock of what it met on ground in the sector before commencing its own power reform.

Failure to do that might largely be responsible for the tardy state of power reform without steady power supply in the country. The on-going power sector reform might have, after all, been pursued without any clear-cut roadmap necessary to achieve the desired end.

We call on the government to ensure that accountability does not suffer in this particular case. If this case is treated with the usual levity, it would give impetus to others in other ministries to repeat this barbaric and carefree handling of public property. Nebo has promised investigation into the matter so as to ensure, according to him, that “…no such thing occurs again in the sector.” We demand the publication of the names of those responsible for the heinous waste of public funds and property. It is important to know who ordered these equipment in the first instance, and, were there no auditors in the ministry to keep tab on the procurement and financial administration of the ministry? Why is it that for 10 years, nobody asked questions regarding the abandoned containers?

This is another national shame caused by official recklessness that has largely contributed to the country’s backwardness.

The only thing that can do in the circumstance is to let Nigerians know those responsible for this abandonment as well as get them prosecuted, if only to serve as deterrence to others.

Old wives’ tale •Ex-NNPC boss got it all wrong to say that we spend money on our ailing refineries again

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NDREW Yakubu, until last week the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was penultimate week on hand to spin a familiar yarn on the state of the nation’s refineries. He told a town hall meeting after a facility tour of the corporation’s Research & Development Centre, the Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL), and the Port Harcourt Refinery, penultimate week, of how the corporation was strategising “for temporary solutions to revive the ailing refineries”.

He told his listeners that this became necessary because the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), - JGC of Japan – refused to come into the country to undertake the scheduled Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) owing to security challenges. He stated that the corporation was currently in negotiation with the companies nominated by JGC for the overhaul, just as NNPC itself continued to take measures to keep the plant running.

Nigerians are by now familiar with all manner of alibis usually put forward to explain why the refineries are not working optimally. While these range from the outlandish to the utterly ridiculous, what has remained constant is that billions are pumped annually into maintenance and allied costs. Ordinarily, this would not have mattered were the refineries anywhere near their installed capacities. The reality however is that the four refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna are said to deliver 20 percent of the 225,000 barrels per day refining capac-

ity.

We had recommended in an earlier editorial that the Federal Government sell the refineries not only because of the mess the corporation had made of their management over the years but also for what is now acknowledged as their obsolete technologies. The statement from the former NNPC helmsman merely reinforced our earlier position. In fact, there is no better time to do that than now.

Clearly, it serves no purpose to pretend that the NNPC can ever make the refineries work. For evidence, all that the citizens need to point at are the different cycles of TAM in the last 14 years, all of which have left the refineries not better, but actually worse.

It is worth recalling that the Obasanjo administration, on the eve of its departure, sold two of the refineries – the 210,000 b/d Port Harcourt refinery complex for $561million, and the 110,000 b/ d Kaduna refinery for $160 million – only for the sale to be reversed by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. How much of public funds have been sunk since that botched sale? With hindsight, we now know that there is wisdom in the sale, after all.

For how long will the NNPC have to wait for JGC or its nominee to have the refineries in shape? And, while the nation waits for the latter to put its acts together, how much more of public funds would be sunk into the bottomless pit – something that is as good as guaranteed will never truly deliver value? And if we may ask: why throw millions of dollars annually into maintaining those contrap-

tions instead of sticking with the earlier plan to build three Greenfield refineries?

Whose idea is it to keep the refineries on perpetual life support; are they not the beneficiaries of the endless “temporary solutions”?

Our earlier point bears restating: it is not only the refineries that should be sold; the national oil corporation – the NNPC, itself needs to be dismantled. Its business practices, for want of better description, are just as anachronistic; the sole reason it remains as a going concern is because the nation has huge reserves of crude to pump without the NNPC bothering about its accounting.

The Federal Government should spare the nation further haemorrhage by halting the so-called “temporary solutions”.

The time has come for it to put up the refineries for sale.

‘It is not only the refineries that should be sold; the national oil corporation – the NNPC, itself needs to be dismantled. Its business practices, for want of better description, are just as anachronistic; the sole reason it remains as a going concern is because the nation has huge reserves of crude to pump without the NNPC bothering about its accounting’

The West must prepare for a wounded Putin to become even more aggressive

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MONTH ago, Russian President Vladi-mir Putin appeared to be successfully executing his campaign to destabilize Ukraine. While Russian-backed insurgents consolidated a breakaway republic, weak and divided Western governments ignored their own deadlines for imposing sanctions.

Now, suddenly, Mr. Putin faces twin reversals: relatively tough sanctions from the United States and European Union on Russian banks and oil companies, and a string of military defeats that have pushed back his proxy forces. It’s a dangerous moment for Mr. Putin — and, perhaps, an opportunity for Ukraine and its allies.

The Obama administration and European governments deserve credit for agreeing on joint action against Russia after months of haggling and hesi-ta-tion. But Mr. Putin is mostly responsible for his own setbacks. Having recklessly supplied his Ukrainian proxy force with advanced anti-aircraft missiles, he was surprised when one downed a Malaysian passenger jet, causing a heavy loss of European lives. Even then he might have avoided significant sanctions, but his response to the tragedy was to stonewall and deny responsibility even while escalating his weapons deliveries to the flailing insurgents.

President Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders have bent over backward to avoid a full rupture with Mr. Putin over Ukraine. Mr. Obama said Tuesday that the sanctions did not represent “a new cold war” but rather was “a very specific issue” related to Ukraine. Yet the combination of economic losses from the sanctions and Ukraine’s potential defeat of the rebels could pose a threat to Mr. Putin’s hold on the Kremlin. Having whipped up nationalist passions over Ukraine with his state-directed propaganda apparatus, the Russian ruler might have trouble explaining the rebels’ eclipse.

While the effect of sanctions will take time to sink into the economy — the Russian stock market and ruble rose Wednesday — Mr. Putin has already been on thin ice with Russia’s middle class and its privatesector businessmen.

It’s not yet clear how Mr. Putin will react to these reversals. He is capable of surprising shifts of direction — such as his sudden offer last summer to help strip his ally Syria of chemical weapons. Ukrainian officials, like some of their counterparts in the West, worry about a reckless lashing out by a ruler who feels cornered. Mr. Putin, they counsel, still should be offered a face-saving way of retreating from Ukraine.

President Petro Poroshenko and the interim government, which have been offering such compromises all along, are set to renew negotiations with the Russianbacked forces this week.

While such initiatives are worth trying, the reality is that Mr. Putin is more likely to escalate than back down. Ukraine and the West must be prepared for a more forceful and overt Russian military intervention. That should mean more support for the Ukrainian military, which is seeking drones and better communications equipment from the West, and more economic support for the new government, which has been forced to spend heavily on the armed forces.

Russia should not be allowed to permanently entrench its proxy forces in eastern Ukraine, creating a “frozen conflict.”

The West also should not shrink from the destabilization of Mr. Putin’s regime. Once considered a partner, this Kremlin ruler has evolved into a dangerous rogue who threatens the stability and peace of Europe. If he can be undermined through sanctions and the restoration of order in eastern Ukraine, he should be.

– Washington Post

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh

• Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye •Editor, Online Lekan Otufodunrin •Managing Editor Northern Operation Yusuf Alli •Managing Editor Waheed Odusile

• Executive Director (Finance & Administration) Ade Odunewu

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THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

CARTOON & LETTERS

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IR: The article that has prompted this rejoinder appeared in The Nation of Friday 18 July, page 21. Written by one Odedeyi Adekunle, a pharmacist, it made an interesting reading.

Commendably, he started off admitting the truth, in paragraph 4 of the article, which a lot of other health workers often deny. Hear him: “While it is true in ages past, that physicians were a Jack of all trades as far as treatment of the patient was concerned, the practice in the wisdom of practitioners (medical doctors) was later broken down into different disciplines for better efficiency and specialization”. The historical perspective of the evolution of surgical practice in the medical profession, for instance supports this fact. In ages past, the medical doctors who were trained in anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and the pathology etc, of the human being had to invite the barbers to the operating theatre where and when the need arose for an operation (surgery). These bar-

bers were carefully guided by the medical doctors on where and how to cut through (do the surgery), until completion. Later, these barbers as it were, were incorporated into the medical training and this led to the beautiful art and science of surgery as we know today. In a similar manner, the wisdom of the ages past medical doctors informed the broken down into different disciplines of medical profession to other health workers-pharmacists, nurses, laboratory scientists, radiographers and physiotherapists etc, for better efficiency and specialization. But today in Nigeria, the invitees to the profession have not

only risen against him that invited them all but have actually ganged up against him. How sad! In contemporary times, a medical doctor goes further after his/her initial medical certification, to specialize in such areas as pharmacy, laboratory sciences, radiology, physiotherapy, health administration/economics etc just as much as in other areas such as surgery, internal medicine, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology among several others; with a bona fide right to practice in those areas and be appointed to fill any relevant position(s).

Besides, professional leadership

position is not just about personality, communication skills, human relations, resourcefulness and tactfulness etc, it is importantly also about the expert knowledge in training of the said leader. For instance, the training of an infantry soldier puts him ahead of other soldiers in expertise and thus he provides leadership in military as brigade commander, service chief and the like. Again, the training of a lawyer endows him/ her with the requisite knowledge to be a leader in the justice and judiciary system: magistrates, judges, permanent secretaries, commissioners/ ministers etc. Similarly, a non aca-

tive and for it not to die at birth, all hands must be on deck. Nigeria cannot afford to miss it again at this critical point. The country has just been categorized by the 2013 World Bank Report as one of the world’s five “extremely poor” countries.

But in reaction to that report, President Good Luck Jonathan debunked the report. He was of the opinion that the nation’s major problem was that of redistribution of wealth. So, if people have access to soft loan, it is obvious that the situation will change for the better.

As a concerned Nigerian with background information on how to put in place an enduring poverty alleviation programme in Nigeria, I want to put the record straight with the following suggestions before the CBN governor. I served as secretary, Poverty Alleviation Programme Development Committee (PAPDC) during the then Federal Military Government of Nigeria through the National Planning Commission and International Donor Agencies. The programme design lasted for almost five years and the committee later submitted the blue print on poverty alleviation to the then Federal Military Government. The blue print was later incorporated into the country’s rolling plan.

I therefore want to state that as a custodian of that information, I owe the country a duty to advise the Governor of CBN to revisit that blue print for the purpose of full implementa-

tion so that the issue of distribution of wealth canvassed by the President can be realized.

The PAPDC then identified a number of constraints which militated against the effectiveness of the aforementioned past programmes.

They include lack of targeting mechanism, policy instability, adequate coordination mechanism, inappropriate approach to programme design and of course, absence of sustainability mechanisms.

If the loan is released based on the current arrangements, the powersthat-be in each state will convert the loan to party affairs. Only the loyal-

ists to the government in power will benefit. On that note, the principle of lack of targeting mechanism will come to play. Consequently, the purpose of the loan will be defeated.

The blue print under reference has provided for how such loan should be administered. The federal government will have to set up a board of poverty alleviation at the top, similar board at the state and local government levels. Details are contained in the blue print being referred to here.

• Gabriel E. Ayimoro, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State.

demic staff of a university can hardly be appointed a Vice-Chancellor of a university or a head of an academic department, no matter how highly educated. And so on. Thus with all due respect to other health workers, I keep wondering what quantum of expert knowledge would be available to the other health workers in the health sector to give directive(s) to the medical doctor(s) in health establishments.

Where there is unhealthy competition or rivalry between the various groups of health workers, there is bound to be crisis. And where the government undertakes to set one group of health workers against another, there is no way peace can reign in the Nigerian health sector and more. Painfully in all these, it is the patients and indeed the nation that suffer. So the debate should shift from the blame game to the way forward in the overall interest of the patients and the nation.

It is important that medical doctors that find themselves in positions of professional leadership need to imbibe an inclusive management style; recognize the rights of other health workers and carry most groups of health workers along, to minimize the frictions in such institutions. Doing otherwise certainly would not augur well either for the institution(s) or the medical profession.

All said, the wind of crisis currently blowing through the health sector in Nigeria is certainly not doing any good to anyone. The various groups of health workers must have to close ranks, shun unhealthy rivalry and work together as a team (which is the hallmark of medical practice) in the overall interest of the patients and the nation.

• Dr. Ufot Ekere Abuja

proper planning and features of a state capital. There is only one local government in the state capital. Just of recent, in Kofar Kaura layout, sewer and drainages are being turned into shops. What is most surprising is that some of the people that our old sewer and drainages were sold to, told us that the local government council sold it to them. Now we are left with no other sewer. Now that it is raining, water is overflowing into our houses and closing our roads.

We don’t know what the state urban and regional planning commission is up to; maybe they don’t know of that or they are simply

part of the deal. The most surprising thing is that a pharmacy has been built in our erstwhile sewer.

Also a one storey residential building has been erected there. Construction materials are still there, half-way blocking our road.

I want to call on the state urban and regional planning commission, local government council, and ministry of housing to please look into this issue and redress the matter before the occurrence of disease outbreak and humanitarian crisis in the area.

• Comrade Abdulbaqi Aliyu Jari Katsina, Katsina LG, Katsina State.

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Re: Doctors and health sector crisis

N220 billion MSME fund: Open letter CBN Governor

S

IR: I want to commend the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) Godwin Emefiele, for the bold step he has taken to mastermind the proposed N220 billion loan to revive some moribund small scale enterprises and thereby creating employment opportunities for the unemployed in the country.

According to the report, the N220 billion to be released shall constitute a first phase which shall be distributed to 10 states on pilot basis. Having examined the whole arrangement, there is a lacuna.

There is no provision for clear-cut monitoring and evaluation of the loan after disbursement. And more importantly, since this intervention is to revive ailing medium scale businesses, the period of moratorium of between six and 12 months should be spelt out. So also, the duration of payment after moratorium should be indicated.

Many Nigerians welcome this noble step and idea but the fear remains that it should not go the way the past government programmers went. The introduction and demise of some past government programmers such as Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI), Family Support Programme, People’s Bank of Nigeria (PBN), Urban Mass Transit Programme, River Basin Development Authority (RBDA) are still fresh in our memories.

In order for this incoming programme to achieve its desired objec-

Katsina LG: Bring back the drainages

S

IR: Town planning is one of the common features missing in most Nigerian towns and cities. Almost in every state of the federation, one finds state urban and regional planning commissions. But unfortunately, many cities and towns are increasingly becoming slums and refugee camps. A lot of indigenous families are ousted from their homes into cabbages and under the bridges due to poor governmental planning and policies. Some of the major cities in Nigeria like Lagos and Kano have already turned to slums.

In Katsina town, most areas lack

21

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

COMMENTS

Osun election: Yoruba, ro’nu!

T

HE same way it was set up in Ekiti State ahead of June 21 governorship election, a dark cloud has again started looming over Yorubaland ahead of the gubernatorial election in Osun State this Saturday.

With similar technique the political desperadoes used to truncate realities that tactically shoved Dr. Kayode Fayemi, a man of integrity out of governorship office by hook or by crook, efforts are on again to steal and kill the true will of the people of Osun as was done in Ekiti.

This season, election rigging strategy in Nigeria is changing from the way it used to be. What the managerial manipulators are now doing is beyond taking good performers out of office, it is more about butchering democracy to revert the nation to a one-party territory as was under the excruciating military era. Where election is not being technically rigged via technology, resources meant for crucial needs of the masses are being shared to charade legislators for impeachment of governors in any of the states desperately hunted to sustain presidential position.

Please, be reminded that whatever allegations were asserted to push Admiral Murtala Nyako (Rtd) out of Adamawa State governorship seat was an old tale of when he was on the side of the ruling political party. Shifting to the opposition party brought the challenge of his old “sins.” Currently going on is the desperate efforts to delete Nassarawa State from the opposition kingdom. Chitchats on desires to extract Edo, Oyo, Borno, Imo and Rivers states governors through legislative hara-kiri are no odd news.

Nothing would be wrong for a governor or any elected officer to be voted out by the people or impeached for abusing his office. But everything becomes wrong when people are misleadingly lobbied with what is now called ‘stomach infrastructure’ or legislators get desperate to impeach because they were bribed with massive public fund to attain self-centered political aspiration by all means. Indeed, if democracy is to have impactful reward, such corrupt people are the ones eligible for elimination from their elected seats.

Fact: Impeachment plots are being prompted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with the aim of crushing opposition parties ahead of 2015 general elections. Watch NTA and AIT, move around Abuja and see billboards, President Goodluck Jonathan is already rapidly campaigning for his re-election even as he is yet to publicly declare his intention

or chosen democratically by his party.

With the gubernatorial election in Osun State now at hand, one of the strategies used to pilfer Ekiti has commenced. As was the case in June, the massive militarisation of Osun ahead of Saturday had already started. Last week, Osun people were being intimidated to see their environment as war zone. More than 5,000 operatives of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) have been deployed, with abundant military and policemen, fallaciously showcasing an assignment to maintain law and order before and during the election. The pretension became reality when a group of the operatives that were masked, with others wearing black T-shirts stormed the streets of Osogbo, shooting sporadically into the air, causing panic in the state capital.

Not that the authority in power that mandated the armed forces was unaware of the right step for the protection of people of the state. They know that under the Electoral Act, troops are not supposed to be deployed to polling stations, just as police personnel deployed to polling booths are not expected to carry arms. But since the illegal deployments for militarization and harassment made all manner of ignorant commentators to see the Ekiti election as “peaceful,” “free and fair,” why not capture Osun through such means to the hand of the clueless headship that wants to remain in power at all costs? Or isn’t it astonishing that Boko Haram is not being militarized with such massive forces as being done for elections in states that “must be won?” After all, Ondo and Anambra states were not as embattled with security forces as we are now seeing.

It is only genuine leadership that can know that for a nation to move forward, stipulated procedure cannot be compromised. Let there be realization that whenever the contrary is done, the eventual consequence will be catastrophic. When law is set aside, illegality is perpetrated and grave injury is inflicted on the spirit of the nation. This is to say that jeopardy to democracy becomes potent when those who are supposed to stand by the dictates of the law are the very ones used to desecrate the same law.

Without spinning politics to tribalism, the certainty is that South-west has been a target for political attack. Apart from the few egocentric individuals with self-interests, Yoruba masses have hardly benefitted federal dividends since 1999.

In 2009, the new Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi lambasted the Yoruba nation as “the problem with Nigeria.” He wrote: “In sum, the Yoruba political leadership, as mentioned

by Balarabe Musa, has shown itself over the years to be incapable of rising above narrow tribal interests and reciprocating goodwill from other sections of the country by treating other groups with respect. Practically every crisis in Nigeria since independence has its roots in this attitude.”

Some of the Sanusi details might be factual, there are many minuses. He could not understand the way Yoruba people

I

T is telling that a radio debate organised for the candidates in the Osun State governorship election on August 9 turned out to be a one-man show after all. A statement by the Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, painted a picture of the event sponsored by the International Republican Institute, which is based in America. He said: “But it turned out to be almost an interview and not a debate because Omisore ran away.” In other words, Senator Iyiola Omisore, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the main challenger of the incumbent governor who is seeking re-election for another four years, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, was not present at the debate, which was billed to be broadcast live on July 26 by the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation, Osogbo. Against the background that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released a list of the 20 political parties and governorship candidates that will be contesting in the poll, Aregbesola’s sole participation in the radio programme was symbolic of the weakness of his opponents.

It is curious that Omisore failed to take advantage of this obvious opportunity to further promote his candidacy and sell the election manifesto he has presumably been busy projecting during electioneering. Ordinarily, he was expected to use the platform, which provided a chance for a frontal interaction with Aregbesola, to demonstrate that he had a competitive edge and should be elected to take his place. In particular, it was an occasion that he could have seized to drive his point home about the alleged unsuitability of Aregbesola.

Oyatomi observed: “Osun citizens had waited with bated breath to hear Omisore articulate his accusations against the governor on such issues as the debt profile of the state, the

‘Ordinarily, he was expected to use the platform, which provided a chance for a frontal interaction with Aregbesola, to demonstrate that he had a competitive edge and should be elected to take his place...His non-attendance was, therefore, bewildering and suggestive of the possibility that he himself did not believe his criticisms of Aregbesola. Perhaps more importantly, he probably realised that the forum would have exposed his fakery. So, it would appear that his non-participation was tactical; but it was ultimately tactless as the people are unlikely to be fooled’

Osun: Between heroism and histrionics

school reform programme and the vexed issue of capital flight.” His non-attendance was, therefore, bewildering and suggestive of the possibility that he himself did not believe his criticisms of Aregbesola. Perhaps more importantly, he probably realised that the forum would have exposed his fakery. So, it would appear that his non-participation was tactical; but it was ultimately tactless as the people are unlikely to be fooled.

Omisore’s trickery was evident from the laughable excuse he offered for his absence, after having agreed initially to be on the show. Listen to him: “How can I be afraid of engaging him in a debate? But when argument is being drawn between two unequal parties, the weaker of the two may resort to physical assault and harassment. We don’t want this to happen…So, we need an assurance that Ogbeni will not resort to physical assault if he is confronted with hard facts, with evidence.” Considering the apparent conviction with which he pushed this position, it may not be out of place to suspect that Omisore must be living with GD, that is, grandiose delusions.

Ironically, he appeared to be correct in recognising the fact of “two unequal parties”, but was pitiably confused about the identity of “the weaker of the two”. Similarly, he was mistaken in thinking that his own standard of decent conduct is appealing to others. Speaking of thuggish behaviour, perhaps Omisore needs to be reminded of his publicised crudeness in a recent encounter with Isiaka Adeleke, a former governor of Osun State, in the context of an intra-party struggle for the candidature. The portrait of behind-thescenes bestiality painted by Adeleke was damning and disqualifying. He alleged that he was dangerously manhandled by Omisore and Minister of Police Affairs Jelili Adesiyan, possibly to discourage him, and described his at-

are being used as damaging tools against their land. He failed to recount the likes of S.L Akintola, Remi Fani-Kayode, Richard Akinjide’s stalling Pa Obafemi Awolowo’s sincere potentials to develop the nation as he did to his people. He also didn’t remember that when Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo was in power, none of his terms was ever assigned to benefit his own people. After all, it was under him that Senator Rashidi Ladoja was debased as Oyo State Governor because of personal variance with him. Sanusi couldn’t appreciate that there is no political gain for Obasanjo who is not even honoured in his ward today. A president who thought all was well because he was in power and did not work for legacy, must be realizing now that the power of man cannot last forever.

Those who really know who Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is will appreciate his humility, creativity and commitment to establish a legacy of good efforts. This is a man who can work 24 hours a day to achieve a purpose beneficial to his people.

His assigned grassroots politics is dissimilar to Ekiti’s Ayo Fayose and Osun’s Iyiola Omisore kangaroo tactics. He is a proven devoted politician with agenda which he works to fulfill – just as Fayemi in Ekiti, Adams Oshiomhole in Edo, Babatunde Fashola in Lagos and all his other South-west colleagues attain whatever they pledge to do.

Today, many Yorubas are being used against the goodness of their own land. A generation desperate for money is unmindful of their future with alignment to political party that is not of viable interest to their people. If indeed there is love for the populace, why should PDP choose cantankerous stuffs like Fayose, and Omisore in a Yorubaland of numerous men of value? How much care about the real roles Musiliu Obanikoro and Jelili Adesiyan played in the Ekiti election – with recollection that they pierced into the state when some governors coming in to support Fayemi were barred by the military troops acting on nebulous "order from above."

Isn’t it time for Yoruba people to recollect their past and see where they are and where their adversary want to lead them to? Just as late Bob Marley sang in Exodus, “Look within; are you satisfied with the life you’re living?” Should the antagonists of Yoruba progress again be allowed to be raised from the land to frustrate the true will of Osun people?

Will the good people of Osun by intimidation consent to the downgrading of their state which Ogbeni is restructuring credibly - in deed and in truth? Just like late maestro Hubert Ogunde demanded: Yoruba ro’nu, how I wish Osun electorates will think deep of their tomorrow and allow good works to continue by rising for the good performer to complete the remarkables he has started; let the untrustworthy politician who has nothing to offer be cast away. Nothing can stop dedicated people from defending their votes – not even being tricked to partake in voters’ falsification.

tackers as “unfit to live in a civilised society.”

In an unwitting self-endorsement of this characterisation, Omisore subsequently terrorised the populace, at least psychologically, by the alarming use of a masked and armed security guard during his election campaign. By a creative interpretation, it is possible that the presence of the masked protector was nothing more than a publicity stunt by a candidate who is under pressure to be noticed. If that was the case, the trick worked, given the attention he received on account of the oddity. However, it was a desperately short-sighted promotional approach because it was overloaded with negativity. Certainly, there was no need to introduce a mask, with all the rattling implications, except there was a hidden motive, which is imaginable. No doubt, a power-seeking individual who is not personally repulsed by the very thought of a mask-wearing defender ought to be viewed with suspicion, if not trepidation. It represented a dangerous signal not only about his personality, but also about his values.

Still on masks, now consider the import of the report that the masked musician Lagbaja rejected in strong terms an offer

by Omisore’s campaign organisation to perform at his final rally in Osogbo, which is expected to be witnessed by President Goodluck Jonathan who is a member of the same political party. Lagbaja was quoted as saying in response to the invitation: “Though the court of the land discharged and acquitted you (Omisore) in the murder case against the former Minister of Justice in Nigeria, the late Cicero of Esa-Oke and foremost nationalist, Chief Bola Ige, I have deep-rooted innermost conviction that you are culpable in the death of my mentor and benefactor. If you offer me all the allocation of Osun State during your four-year-tenure peradventure you win (which I seriously doubt), I will not perform for Iyiola Omisore governorship election.”

Clearly, anyone who is looking for instances of ridiculous but thought-provoking staginess in Omisore’s campaign will find them in abundance. Perhaps the most inane are the images of him as a passenger on a commercial motorcycle, popularly called Okada, and of him eating roasted corn in a campaign convoy, all in a futile effort to convince the people that he is a grassroots politician. Considering the fact that he was a deputy governor of Osun State from 1999 to 2003 and two-term senator from 2003 to 2007 and 2007 to 2011, it is enlightening that he is still struggling, albeit clownishly, to connect with the people.

To go by the latest opinion poll on the coming election conducted by TSN-RSM, his histrionics have not swayed the electorate. The research firm, a member of Gallup International, said: “The APC continues to dominate the political landscape in Osun State, judging by its performance on key indicators evaluated. It scored highest and increased in rating on first mention, sympathy and voting intention.”

Of course, the heroes of this political battle will be the majority of the electorate, who will expectedly vote against the opposite of heroism, and hopefully defend the decision.

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

22

COMMENTS

F

ROM all indications, the terrorism that has for some years now held this nation to its knees appears for the worse.

In spite of concerted efforts at stemming it, pleas and condemnations from all divide; respite does not appear in sight.

Each time there are serious moves to combat the scourge, it rebounds with a new face, tactics and such lethal sophistication that dims hope on a permanent handle to it.

Or, how else do we explain the new complication which the phenomenon of lone female suicide bombers has now added to the war against terrorism? Just last week and in Kano State alone, four lone female suicide bombers wreaked havoc on defenceless people killing and injuring many.

In the first incident, a female suicide bomber who had queued up with local women waiting to buy kerosene at a petrol station was blown up killing and injuring some of those around the scene. The second took place at the Kano Trade Fair Complex as another was shattered while mingling with the crowd.

Four people including two policemen were injured.

Before these, another had occurred at a private university gate when a female, wired with explosives, approached the police men on duty apparently to invite them to the last Eid-el-Fitri festival in her house. Suspecting the motive of the young girl, the police men took to their heels. She pursued them and was blown up in the process. The list is endless. Reports gave the estimated age of the girls between 16 and 19 years old.

Since then, fear and anxiety have gripped people in the state and beyond as the issue

‘The nation is sliding to the precipice and a slight error of omission or commission on the choice of targets could be the last straw. We saw it nearly coming with the bomb attacks on former military Head of State Muhammad Buhari and Sheikh Bauchi’

S

Emeka OMEIHE 08112662675 email: EmekaOmeihe@yahoo.com

Now, female suicide bombers has added a new dimension to the terrorism scourge.

The apprehension is quite understandable given the deadly challenges that have come with the new tactics. There is the difficulty in determining who a female suicide bomber is.

Not unexpectedly, this will lead to the profiling and harassment of the female folk with the attendant inconveniences. Even then, it comes with the problem of screening. How do you screen them, at what point and who will do that? The dilemma in getting a quick handle to lone female suicide bombers was underscored most poignantly by the reaction of the police men who took to their heels on suspicion of the woman’s mission. Had they waited or attempted to search her, they would have been killed by the explosives when they detonated. Such is the mortal danger posed by the new tactics of the terrorists.

Before the rise of Boko Haram, it was deemed inconceivable that terrorism would find accommodation on these shores. This view was reinforced when Nigeria was adjudged the happiest people in the world despite the debilitating poverty and squeezing challenges of development facing its people. It was therefore thought that such a happy people were less likely to take to violent activities as denoted by acts of terrorism.

But Boko Haram has brought to naught all that optimism. Matters are not remedied by the new scourge of lone female suicide bombers. It is very curious that women, considered the most vulnerable in crisis times can undertake to bring unto themselves unmitigated harm in the name of suicide bombing.

INCE the break of the news of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in a Liberian, Patrick Sawyer, a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) consultant at the Ministry of Finance in Liberia and his subsequent death, fears have heightened among Nigerians about the ‘mysterious’ nature of the dreadful Ebola virus, especially as the World Health Organization (WHO) says the virus spread might continue for some months in West Africa. With several reports of Ebola infection in the West Coast of Africa, countries such as Mali, Gambia, Ghana and Sierra Leone, are currently experiencing the most demanding outbreak since the disease was first discovered 38 years ago.

The tension over the killer disease is obviously high because Ebola is known to kill up to 90 percent of infected people while death can occur in as little as one week after contacting the disease. As usual, this situation has created many self-made “Doctors” and health experts on the social media who have been bombarding Nigerians with different “authentic information” on Ebola. Presently, there is no inoculation and there is no cure for it, as doctors have only been able to trace its symptoms as high fever, redness of the eyes, bleeding from all body openings, blister rashes on the skin, vomiting, diarrhoea and general weakness of the body.

The Ebola virus, which derives its name from Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it was first discovered in 1976, is, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), a “zoonotic” disease whose virus can easily spread between animals and humans. In the view of scientists, the virus was originally present in wild animals living in tropical rainforests of equatorial Africa. Fruit bats are one of the main hosts of the virus, as they can transmit the disease while remaining unaffected by it. The disease spreads to humans when they come into contact with blood or other body fluids from infected animals.

The disease is highly infectious. It can be transmitted through bodily fluids, skin contact with an infected person or through indirect contact with environments contaminated by the disease. It can have a long incubation period, lasting up to three weeks, which allows it to spread rapidly before diagnosis and quarantine can take place. Patients who have recovered from it can still pass it on, through sexual contact, for up to seven weeks. It is that dangerous!

Suspect Ebola in people who complain of fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, weakness, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pain and lack of appetite. Some patients may also experience blister rashes, red eyes, hiccups, cough, sore throat, chest pain, difficulty in breathing and swallowing, as well as bleeding inside and outside of the body. Symptoms may appear anywhere from two to 21 days after exposure to the virus though 8-10 days is most common. Some people who be-

Just recently, the nation went sorrowful when some 200 school girls were abducted at Chibok, Borno state. The furore the abduction generated was largely on account of the sex of the victims. Vigorous campaigns have been mounted and an international coalition assembled to secure the release of the girls. Sympathy for the Chibok girls may pale into insignificance in the face of the volunteer by young girls to terminate their lives prematurely through suicide bombing.

In effect, lone female suicide bombers may become our greatest challenge in the current war against the Boko Haram insurgency.

The impression one gets from the resilience and changing face of terrorism is that whatever grievances that spurred its initial purveyors are still potent in the different dimensions the malfeasance has continued to find expression. Or put differently, there is yet to be a change of heart by those who sponsor these acts of terrorism. That is why everything must be done to decisively tame this monster.

What do the Boko Haram insurgents really demand from the Nigerian state that they will not allow peace? This poser is apposite given some of the excuses and rationalization that have come from certain quarters. It is more compelling when juxtaposed against the initial reasons the sect gave for taking up arms against the Nigerian state.

Then, they had proclaimed religious and sectional reasons as the leitmotif for action.

They were against western education; they

wanted a theocratic state that would see nonMuslims and southerners fleeing the north.

Those were their known reasons and they did show them in their initial selection of targets and mode of operation.

Soon, apologists began to throw up such obtuse variables as ignorance, poverty and negligence. Some others viewed it as a product of ideology built on falsehood. Yet, there were others who saw the perpetrators as not true Muslims since that religion abhors the type of senseless killings that have been associated with them.

Others have continued to read political motive to it. The conduct of politicians has not helped this dimension. Blames have been traded, and accusing fingers pointed right, left and centre. It is likely to get more complex with the elections lurking around the corner.

A recent security opinion poll on likely reasons for the festering malaise threw up political interests relating to election matters and poverty as the key factors.

Poverty may have a role in breeding ready recruits for the sponsors but it is getting clearer that Boko Haram is largely propelled and influenced by the twin issues of religion and politics. We can continue to trivialize these facts at the detriment of the country. It is this equivocation, insincerity and glaring refusal to admit the obvious that has brought complications in the war against insurgency.

It smacks of self deceit to contend that no true Muslim will venture into the killings associated with Boko Haram simply because Islam abhors that. Or no real Christian will commit murder as it runs contrary to its doctrines. Who a true Muslim or Christian is, is value-laden and therefore of questionable empirical appeal. May be, we shall turn to the declining tribe of pagans and animists for all our societal ills. Ironically, the same people who refuse to accept the religious and political dimensions are angling to take advantage of their fallouts.

The nation is sliding to the precipice and a slight error of omission or commission on the choice of targets could be the last straw. We saw it nearly coming with the bomb attacks on former military Head of State Muhammad Buhari and Sheikh Bauchi. We saw attempts to politicize the matter.

Those who sponsor this insurgency know the fault lines of our national existence and are likely to exploit them to achieve their selfish aims. These are the issues to watch.

Understanding and containing Ebola virus

By Lateef Ibirogba come sick with Ebola HF are able to recover, while others do not. However, it is a common fact that patients who die usually have not reported it or commenced treatment early before it gets to critical stage and have not developed a significant immune response to the virus at the time of death.

Prevention of Ebola hemorrhagic fever is still difficult, as doctors are still trying to unravel the mystery behind its high lethal nature. However, early testing and isolation of the patient, as well as barrier protection for care-givers (mask, gown, goggles, and gloves), is very important to prevent others from getting infected. As at now, researchers, scientists and medical workers are still trying to comprehend the Ebola virus and identify its environmental reservoirs in order to fully comprehend how outbreaks occur. They are actively engaged trying to establish an effective vaccine against Ebola viruses by using several experimental methods, but there is no vaccine available currently.

Therefore, considering the dearth of effective treatment and a human vaccine, raising awareness on the risk factors for Ebola infection and protective measures available for individuals appears the only way to reduce human infection and death. It is, however, very important, first and foremost, to correct certain misconceptions and deliberate lies about the disease so that people do not fall victims of con men who are out now to deceive them to succumb to their plots. It is, for instance, imperative to stress that the disease is strictly a medical matter and, as such, should not be garbed in spiritual clothing. There have been reports that some religious leaders are already claiming they could cure the disease. This is a dangerous trend, as it could lead to the spread of the deadly virus all in the name of trying to heal victims of the disease.

Only doctors, not spiritual, community or political leaders, have answer to Ebola and Nigerians should learn to take the right decisions to save us from ignorantly spreading unhygienic conditions. Our leaders too should be honest enough to direct their followers to the hospital when they have health issues. That is the right thing to do.

Similarly, it must be stressed that Ebola is not contagious if people do not have contact with an infected person. It is important to emphasise this, as reports have indicated that peo-

ple no longer want to exchange pleasantries through handshake for the fear of contacting the disease. One really needs to come into very close contact with blood, organs, or bodily fluids of infected animals, including people. If you educate people properly and isolate those who are potentially infected, it should be something you can bring under control.

Also, it is equally important that our people remain calm as there is absolutely no need to panic. The situation is under control as the Lagos State Government is currently working with the Federal Ministry of Health, Centre for Disease Control, WHO and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that everything is done to keep our country secure from the disease. There is, therefore, no need for people to send panic messages through phone or social media, as this will only escalate fear and increase agitation among the citizens. Also, all self-defeating claims that Ebola can be contacted in the market, at bus stop, cinema, town hall meeting, social engagements, hair dressing salon or on football field are not medically supported because affected people, whose bodily contact could transmit the disease, cannot have the strength to attend those public places. It is, however, vital that our people follow the basic rules of hygiene such as washing of hands, with soap and water, especially after using the gents, washing fruits before eating, cooking meat and food properly before serving, maintaining clean environment and avoiding self medication. We must be alert until the disease, which has refused to leave Africa for 38 years now, is chased away from those neighbouring countries where it is now.

On a final note, we implore everyone to become alert to their individual health condition and promptly report any strange health situation to the nearest Primary Health care Centre to them. Fortunately, each of the 57 councils in Lagos has at least one flagship PHC which have enough facilities and trained health workers to address developing strange medical issues. Inability to do this at the appropriate time could endanger many lives. This is not the time to joke with health related issues and this is not the time to feel ashamed of revealing your health condition, procrastinate about it, be complacent, get frustrated, be superstitious or get too religious about your health, for a stitch in time, they say, saves nine.

• Ibirogba is Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Lagos State

25

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

‘Europe is a good market for gas. Incidentally, Belgium has important terminals such as the Port of Antwerp through which Nigeria hopes to get its gas to the rest of Europe. We’ll start marketing our abundant gas resources to Europe,’ •Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mr. Andrew Yakubu

I SSUES

CEO

‘How auto policy will boost GDP’ - P. 27

Rural telephony: A project in limbo - P. 32

News Briefing

Rising cocoa prices leave farmers poorer

LCCI canvasses subsidy removal THE Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the former president, Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa have renewed calls on the Federal Government to deregulate the downstream oil sector and end fuel subsidy regime that has constituted a drain pipe on the national treasury.

–Page 26

By Daniel Essiet

E

22 firms generate N179.9b gross premium TWENTY-TWO insurance companies have generated N179.9 billion gross premium income in the 2013 financial accounts, a report by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has shown.

–Page 36

• From right: Executive Director, FCMB Capital Markets Limited, Mr. Tolu Osinibi; Group Chief Executive, Oando Plc, Mr. Wale Tinubu; President, Afrexim Bank, Mr. Jean-Louis Ekra and Manager, Mr. Humphrey Nwugo, at the agreement signing of Oando’s acquisition of Nigerian Upstream Oil and Gas Business arm of ConocoPhillips, in France.

NSE may expel 81 stockbrokers, revoke dealing licences

Russia bans Polish fruits, vegetables THE Russian authorities have introduced a sweeping ban on imports of fruit and vegetables from Poland, depriving it of a major export market.

–Page 39

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil Cocoa

-$117.4/barrel -$2,686.35/metric ton

Coffee

- ¢132.70/pound

Cotton

- ¢95.17pound

Gold

-$1,396.9/troy

Sugar

-$163/lb RATES

Inflation

-8.2%

Treasury Bills -10.58%(91d) Maximum lending -30% Prime lending

-15.87%

Savings rate

-3%

91-day NTB

-15%

Time Deposit

-5.49%

MPR

-12%

Foreign Reserve

$38.4b

FOREX CFA

-0.2958

EUR

-206.9

£

-242.1

$

-156

¥

-1.9179

SDR

-238

RIYAL

-40.472

T

HE Nigerian Stock Ex change (NSE) is taking the hoe to weed out more than one-quarter of stockbroking firms as the Exchange seeks to implement stricter minimum operating standards.

The Nation learnt that the NSE is seeking to amend the rules governing its dealing members, in a move that will empower the NSE to delist as many as a quarter of stockbroking firms on its membership list.

Stockbrokers met on Saturday at an emergency meeting to discuss the emerging developments at the Exchange, including the new minimum operating standards.

The draft amendment to the rules and regulations governing dealing members, is titled, ‘Revocation of Inactive Dealing Member Firms’ licences’ and it has already passed the initial rule-making processes.

The amendment is cur-

• Stockbrokers in emergency meeting

By Taofik Salako, Capital Market Editor

rently undergoing stakeholders’ review after which it will be passed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for final approval.

The Nation’s investigation indicated that the NSE has already determined that 81 out of the 322 stockbroking firms on its dealing members’ list are inactive.

Sources said the amendment is the much-needed hoe that the Exchange, which has raised concerns about several stockbroking firms in past, would use to weed out illiquid and inactive stockbroking firms.

According to the amendment, where a dealing member is inactive for a period of six consecutive months, the Exchange shall revoke the license of the

dealing member. A dealing member must not, under no circumstances cease to carry out its day-to-day business activities for which it was licensed to operate without any reasonable cause.

The document indicated that a dealing member may be deemed inactive voluntarily and involuntarily.

Voluntary inactivity occurs where the firm has not recorded any trading activity without being suspended by the Exchange or SEC. Involuntary inactivity occurs where the firm has been suspended by the NSE, or SEC for any infraction.

Where a firm has been voluntarily, or involuntarily inactive for six months, the Exchange shall exercise its discretion in determining whether to revoke the firm’s dealing licence.

“Where the Exchange re-

vokes a dealing member’s license, The Exchange shall immediately commence the process of expelling such dealing member,” the report indicated.

Besides, another amendment also seeks to empower the council of the NSE to suspend any authorized clerk or revoke the registration of any authorized clerk who has breached any rules or regulations of the Exchange or is found to be complicit in any breach of such rules or regulations.

Also, under the new amendments, suspension of any stockbroking firm by SEC will lead to immediate suspension by the NSE while revocation of any broker’s registration will lead to expulsion of the firm by the NSE. The firms that may be affected by the new revocation and expulsion clauses included Al-Pina Invest• Continued on page 25

VEN at the global price of about $3,200 per ton, local cocoa farmers are not smiling to the bank because it is has not impacted on their profits, the President, Federation of Agriculture Association of Nigeria (FACAN), Dr Victor Iyama, has said.

On the average, he said growers receive about six per cent of the price that consumers in rich countries pay for chocolate.

The problem, according to him, is that prices have not risen enough to give farmers an incentive to continue producing cocoa.

Iyama said farmers receive a fixed price from agents of chocolate manufacturers at the season.

The price offered by agents of chocolate manufacturers, he said, limits their ability to make profit when prices go up.

While the profits of multinational chocolate companies have increased, he said cocoa farmers receive only a part of the world market price for beans.

According to him, it is the big companies in chocolate manufacturing that are making high profits.

While the companies are competing for higher market shares and profits, Iyama said thousands of cocoa farmers bear the costs by getting less and less share from the revenues.

Iyama stressed the need for chocolate manufacturers and consumers to pay a fair price for chocolate so farmers can receive a living wage and have sufficient income to invest in better equipment, seeds, and fertilisers, with potential for expansion.

He said prices of both imported and local farm inputs used on cocoa farms have been escalating. These include fertilisers, insecticides, weedicides, pesticides and farm machinery.

Because of low revenues, he said farmers cannot invest in the maintenance of existing trees or in planting new trees on their plantations. About 40 per cent of the cocoa crop is lost yearly due to incorrect maintenance.

Power, petroleum ministers meet over gas challenges

T

HE Ministers of Petro leum Resources and Power, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and Prof Chinedu Nebo, are meeting to proffer lasting solutions to the perennial gas shortages in the power sector.

Nebo said the meeting will be devoted to mapping out strategies to ensure that the gas supply problem to power plants is resolved.

He said one of the strategies under consideration is

• Incentives for gas producers coming

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

to motivate the gas producing firms by providing incentives for them, adding that the current price of gas is not incentivising enough for producers and investors.

He said as a result of the challenge, his colleague would ensure that no two gas plants are shut at the same

time for maintenance as happened recently at the Utorogu and Ughelli East gas plants in Delta State, which resulted in about 700 megawatts (Mw) drop in supply to the national grid.

Nebo said: “We have some challenges. Generation companies (GENCOs) are primed to deliver, but unless you have enough gas, they can-

not deliver. We are working on incentivising the gas producers.

“The cost and pricing of gas is not the best to attract investors to come into the gas sector. The Minister of Petroleum Resources and I are working very hard and trying to synergise to ensure that all the gas needed in order for the GENCOs not only the ones that are here such as the assets that have been sold, the National Integrated

Power Projects (NIPP) but also independent power plants (IPPS) that are coming on board, that all of them have enough gas.

“That is the only way we can have enough power generated for our people because the suppressed demand in Nigeria now for electricity quadruples our capacity to deliver electricity at this point.

So it is actually an investors’ day in Nigeria. We are hop-

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

26

BUSINESS NEWS New Pension Act excites stakeholders

A

S the pension industry waits for the confir mation of a substantive Director-General, National Pension Commission (PENCOM), stakeholders have expressed delight with the passage and assent of the 2014 Pension Act. Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of UBA Pension Custodians Mr Bayo Yusuf, said he was happy with the new Act because “it addresses the concerns of the stakeholders, particularly, the employees”.

New Act he said provides “wider coverage and the welfare of employees is enhanced and guaranteed at retirement with the new contribution rates, this is so because the benefits under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) depend on accumulated contributions and investment returns thereon.”

The increment from 15 per cent to 18 per cent, he said, was welcome. But of interest to him is the new sanction regime that “would minimise sharp practices and misappropriation of pension funds”.

On the planned use of pension fund to provide infrastructure, Bayo Yusuf noted that it “would only happen through structured investment products of funds which pension funds could invest in.”

He said there are guidelines for investing pension funds and as such, a Pension Fund Administrator

From Nduka Chiejina, (Asst. Editor), Abuja

(PFA) would only invest funds under its management after due consideration for the risk and the promised returns.

He said: “What the representative body of all industry stakeholders (PENOPS) is therefore working on in conjunction with the regulator (PENCOM) is putting together the appropriate framework through which such funds can most appropriately be invested, having of course, the interest of the contributors as paramount. So employees should not entertain any fear.”

When pension fund is used to finance infrastructure, Yusuf said: “There certainly should be compensation for use of funds. It is only logical to expect returns if one parts with my funds under normal, rational economic considerations. So, if an investment does not have that potential of capital repayment plus returns, no one will take a look at such product.”

Pension funds, he said, would be available to finance bankable infrastructural projects that would be beneficial to employees while in active service and also pays a reasonable return to the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) to guarantee better payout at retirement.

NSE may expel 81 stockbrokers, revoke dealing licences • Continued from page 25 ment and Trust Company Limited, BBL Asset Management Limited, Integrated and Allied Securities Limited, MultiTrust Securities Limited, Standard Chartered Securities Limited, Trans Lux Services Limited, Mainstreet Bank Securities Limited, First Atlantic Securities Limited, AAA Securities Limited, Alliance Capital Management Company Limited, BFCL Asset & Securities Limited, and Afro-Arab Investment Limited.

Others included Arian Capital Management, Barakat Investment Limited, BIC Securities Limited, CEB Securities Limited, Colvia Securities Limited, Consolidated Investment Limited, Dakal Services Limited, Decanon Investment Limited, Empire Securities Limited, Enabell Capital & Investment Limited, Epic Investment Trust Limited, Equator Stockbrokers Limited, First Equity Securities Limited, First Express Limited, Folu Securities Limited, Genesis Securities & Investment Limited, Ideal Securities Limited, Indemnity Finance Limited, Integrated & Allied Securities Limited, KFF Worldwide Solutions Limited, Kingdom Securities Limited, Lion Stockbrokers Limited, LMB Stockbrokers Limited, Maninvest Asset Management Plc, Mayfield Investment Limited, Metropolitan Trust Nigeria Limited, Midland Capital Mar-

LCCI, Ohuabunwa urge subsidy removal, deregulation

kets Limited, Midlands Investment & Trust Limited and ML Securities Limited.

Others included Monument Securities & Finance Limited, MultiTrust Securities Limited, Omas Investment & Trust Company Limited, Peninsula Asset Management & Investment Company Limited, Platinum Capital Limited, Professional Stockbrokers Limited, Prudential Securities Limited, Regency Financing Limited, RIV Trust Securities Limited, Riverside Trust Limited, Securities Trading & Investment Company Limited, Sikon Securities and Investment Trust Limited, Trans Lux Services Limited, Transglobe Investment & Finance Company Limited, Tropics Securities Limited, Truebond Capital & Asset Management Limited, WT Securities Limited, Wema Asset Management Limited and Zuma Securities Limited.

T

HE Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Indus try (LCCI) and the former president, Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa have renewed calls on the Federal Government to deregulate the downstream oil sector and end fuel subsidy regime that has constituted a drain pipe on the national treasury.

Director-General, Muda Yusuf said the need to deregulate the downstream sector had become imperative in view of the wastage arising from fuel subsidy.

Comparing how the oil resources are managed in the

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

Middle East and other Arab nations, he said while those countries have used the revenue from the sector to develop the critical sectors of their economy and lift the standard of living of their citizenry, the reverse is the case in the country.

“Unfortunately in our country, the potential of the sector has not been developed or optimised due to fraud, leakages and over regulation. As stakeholders we believe that except the subsidy regime is removed the nation cannot be moved forward,” he lamented.

Ohuabunwa, who spoke at a lecture by the Petroleum Downstream Sector of LCCI with the theme “Removing subsidy: The implications on banks, downstream & upstream sectors, government and the populace, said total deregulation of the sector will increase bank lending and enable local and foreign investors to build refineries and create jobs that will grow the economy it has done to emerging economies that produce oil.

He blamed the stunted growth of the economy on the non-optimal performance of the oil and gas sector where several licences had been given by government without the

owners utilising the opportunity due to the harsh operating environment where importation holds more reward than manufacturing.

Ohuabunwa, also a former president, Neimeth Nig Plc, said deregulating the sector would check lending by banks to speculators and those who do round tripping and collect money and payments from the government without offering services to the people.

He berated the government for not curtailing the scandals or concluding the trials of those implicated in the subsidy scam which has plummeted their rating in the face of the public.

• From left: Vice Chancellor,University of Ibadan, Prof Isaac Folorunso Adewole and Managing Director, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Plc (IBEDC) Fortunato Leynes exchanging greetings during a lecture on knowledge sharing by the power firm at Premier Hotel, Ibadan, Oyo State capital. With them is Managing Director,Energy and Natural Resources Group, Accenture, Mrs Abayomi Olarinmoye.

Freight forwarders blame NPA for ports’ infrastructure collapse T HE National Associa tion of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has blamed the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for the collapse of ports’ infrastructure, arguing that it put the cart before the horse by concessioning the ports without what it described as comprehensive Ports Development Plan.

Its President, Eugene Nweke, who spoke in Lagos at the weekend, warned that international shipping lines doing business at the Lagos ports may be forced to increase freight charges over the derelict state of Lagos ports access roads that increases the cost of doing business.

He also said the congestion

• Seek raise in charges over bad access roads

By Oluwakemi Dauda

at the ports has adversely affected the rate at which cargoes are examined at the ports by men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

Nweke lamented that under the port regime, Customs officers that are supposed to release cargoes from the ports are usually not available at their duty posts because the traffic gridlock on all the ports’ access roads makes it impossible for them to get to their duty posts.

He said: “When the officer gets to his desk between 1 and 2pm, he is bogged down with the problem of how to go back. Some of them even end up making a u-turn in the traffic back to their homes after suffering the frustration. When this happens, who suffers? Of course, it is the Nigerian importers.

Who smiles to the bank? The terminal operators and shipping lines that collect storage and demurrage charges from the importers do.”

He urged the government to initiate a national trans-

port policy to end the nightmare the maritime stakeholders are experiencing.

“NPA should have put in place a national port development plan before concessioning the ports, it only took the good mind of President Goodluck Jonathan to appoint a regulator,” he said.

Nweke said it was the duty of the Federal Government to construct the roads leading into the ports and not that of the Lagos State government.

According to him, the state government’s duty is to put in place traffic control system in order to add value to road transportation system by ensuring that the trucks plying the roads are road worthy.

Workers to govt: revive steel industry

T • NSE DG, Oscar Onyema

HE Iron and Steel Sen ior Staff Association of Nigeria (ISSSAN) has said the death of the steel industry in the country has aggravated its unemployment problem.

Its Deputy-General Secretary, Adewale Okesola said unless the industry is revived, unemployment problem in the country would persist, arguing that the Ajaokuta Steel Company alone could employ over

By Toba Agboola

140,000 youths.

He said: “If Ajaokuta alone can absorb so much unemployed Nigerians, then we can be sure that the other steel firms, if also revived, would employ much more.

“So, let the government ensure the revival of the steel companies scattered around the country. By the time Ajaokuta, Delta, Osogbo, Jos and Kastina

steel firms are revived, we will not be talking of unemployment in the country.’’

Okesola added that apart from creating direct employment, the revival of the sector would also create indirect employment for millions of Nigerians.

According to him, the revival of the industry will definitely aid the growth of the new automobile industry and the transformation

of the epileptic Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

He said: “The government knows the genesis of the nation’s calamity in terms of unemployment, except if they do not want to be sincere.

“If the government can be sincere and focused; if it can pump money into the steel industry, it will pick up and we will forget some of our current plagues.”

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

27

THE CEO

‘How auto policy will boost GDP’

Profile Institutions attended

Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Enugu State University of Technology, Enugu.

Qualifications

B.Sc (Accounting), MBA (ESUT) Business School, Enugu.

Previous positions

MD/CEO Gaslink Nigeria Limited; MD, Eterna Oil & Gas Plc; Chairman/CEO, Lenux Group.

Present position

Managing Director/CEO, PAN.

Experience

Over 24 years

• Boyi

Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) enjoyed a good run in the 70s and 80s, with its various brands of cars which outnumbered other brands on the road. Its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ibrahim Boyi, believes the company can reenact that era with the coming of the auto policy. The policy, he says in this interview with Assistant Editor MUYIWA LUCAS, remains the best way to put the automobile industry back on track.

• STORY ON PAGE 28

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

28

THE CEO

‘How auto policy will boost GDP’ T

HE automobile policy is eliciting mixed reactions. What is PAN’s take on this?

Our take is simple. It is what we require to deploy our investment and infrastructure expertise and leadership in the automotive industry. It is also what Nigeria requires to develop its automobile, steel and petrochemicals industries towards providing massive employment and opportunities to Nigerians.

What if there is policy reversal?

All industry players have been concerned about that and also trust that the policy makers are conscious of that concern. At various levels, the subject has been raised and we have received sufficient assurances by the administration that it will not happen and that the policy will be enacted into a law by the parliament to reduce or mitigate the risk of arbitrary policy reversals.

How prepared is the auto industry for this policy? What are its attendant benefits?

From the perspective of PAN, we are ready for the policy and have since keyed into it. You will recall that we have over 40 years’ experience and have held leadership position of the sector for long.

We are far ahead of any other player in terms of our quality of assembly plant, quality processes and expertise. We have fed Nigeria’s automotive industry with technical skills for over 40 years. The benefits of policy to Nigerians are numerous. The policy will protect local automobile industry and enable them to resume activities.

This will lead to direct and indirect employment and other business opportunities in the areas of dealership networks, logistics provision and after sales service centers. The policy will also encourage other investors to set up in Nigeria as a result of the incentives and protection it provides.

Finally, the policy will benefit the consumers in terms of provision of new vehicle finance schemes at low interest rates as well as provision of affordable vehicles by the competing players in the industry.

What is the value addition of the automobile industry to the economy?

From the official statistics in 2013, total value of vehicles imported into Nigeria was in the region of $3.5billion. If your target is to domicile 25 per cent of that value locally, the impact on the economy will be tremendous. This will mean more jobs for Nigerians and more wealth creation.

The automobile industry contributes less than two per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) today, but it has the potential to contribute between five and seven per cent to the GDP if the policy becomes successful. The industry today employs less than 20,000 direct workers directly, but it has the potential of growing that number to over 500,000.

It has been argued that automobile production should have preceded the policy. Do you buy this argument?

People making this argument are either ignorant of the structure and development of the industry, or are just mischievous to protect some selfish gains. Automobile production in Nigeria can only occur within a protective policy. Without any defined incentive and benefit scheme to promote local production, no one will make the investments into the sector.

Even companies that had invested at the time the industry was protected, died once the protection was removed. Nigeria must create a competitive environment for industrial activity to take off, otherwise there will be capital flight, and so will be jobs and opportunities.

‘We are already positioning and responding to the evolution of the market. Our constant value elements will be safety of our products, reliability and adaptability to our environment, efficiency and overall cost of ownership’

• Boyi

‘The automobile industry contributes less than two per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) today, but it has the potential to contribute between five and seven per cent to the GDP if the policy becomes successful’

• Boyi

The policy as conceived, has provided for this transition and I am confident it will work out well without any of the skeptical projections of price hikes, or vehicles shortage.

Do you think the indigenous automobile makers have the capacity to cater for the country’s automobile needs? If not, how will the shortfall be bridged?

Nigeria’s new vehicle import at

end of 2013 was only 49,000 vehicles. This is far lower than PAN’s manufacturing capacity of 90,000 cars per annum on single shift.

Therefore capacity will not be the issue in the immediate term.

As we see a shift in the market structure between used and new vehicles, various players in the sector will certainly be responding to meet the new requirements from their various facili-

ties.

How sustainable will automobile production be in view of the economic hardship being experienced in the country. Will these made-in-Nigeria vehicles be chaep?

As I mentioned earlier, a key component of the automobile development plan is the aspect of market development, which will promote the set up of vehi-

cle finance acquisition scheme and also mandate the players to develop affordable vehicles.

These will be the market challenges that will shape the strategy of every player that will need to survive and remain viable.

In PAN, we have already started acting in that direction by creating entry level vehicles that are quite affordable in their class.

We will also continue to improve on the affordability of our vehicles without compromising the key elements of safety, reliability, durability and efficiency.

How prepared is PAN for this new dispensation? What have you put in place to compete?

We are already positioning and responding to the evolution of the market. Our constant value elements will be safety of our products, reliability and adaptability to our environment, efficiency and overall cost of ownership. As in the past, support for PAN’s products will be everywhere, with assurance to our customers of affordable after sales support and genuine spares. In the end, we intend to make our vehicles more competitive.

What will be the impact of the comatose Ajaokuta Steel rolling mill on automobile production considering that the plant is meant to supply the industry parts?

I believe that once we stabilise the auto industry and improve its performance, there will be a natural pressure to develop the composite parts’ industry, such as steel and petrochemicals.

The Auto industry, as the primary user of such inputs, must develop and create demand for those inputs. This will be the same with auto components manufacturers. Once the auto industry dies, all component manufactures will also perished.

Is the economy on course?

There has been consistent growth of our economy. However such growth needs to be more inclusive and diversified.This can be achieved through further diversification of the economy from oil to other productive sectors, such as agriculture and manufacturing.

Also certain economic reform elements are yet to take root, such as the power sector reform and fiscal responsibility. Once these reforms take root, the impact on the country and its populace will be enormou s. It will help the inclusiveness of the growth and create a balanced and more sustainable economic model.

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

29

MONEYLINK

Fed Govt to cut taxes for telecom firms

T

HE Federal Government is planning to reduce taxes on telecommunications infrastructure to encourage firms to spend more on their networks, Communications Technology Minister Dr Omobola Johnson has said.

“For every naira that is spent on infrastructure, about 70 per cent of it is spent on taxes. We’re going to bring that down to a much more reasonable level at 30 to 40 per cent,” she told Bloomberg.

Mobile phone firms, including

Stories by Collins Nweze

MTN Group Ltd and Bharti Airtel Ltd of India, have examined ways to offload networks to reduce exposure to costly African infrastructure.

Apart from taxes, the operators also face the challenges of unreliable power supply and the threat of bomb attacks from Islamist militants.

MTN and Airtel were both fined early this year for poor service standards. While the laws allow only the Federal Government to tax mo-

bile phone firms, states and local authorities have found other ways to raise cash by levying operators’ infrastructure, including towers and base stations, Johnson said.

Regional governments shouldn’t charge a retail store N10 million ($60,808) and phone firms N100 million for the samesized space, she said. MTN is planning to sell a stake in its mobile tower network, worth over $1 billion.

Sunil Mittal, the billionaire Chairman of India’s largest mo-

Bond Issue: Oyo, Kaduna appoint Sterling as receiving bank

T

HE governments of Oyo and Kaduna states have appointed Sterling Bank Plc as receiving bank for their bond issuance programme.

Oyo State is raising N5 billion, while Kaduna State is raising N15 billion. The bonds are being raised to generate funds for development projects.

Sterling Bank’s Head of Structured Finance, Mr. Lanre Olalusi who made this known in Lagos at the weekend said the choice of the bank may have been influenced by its track record in collections.

For instance, he said Sterling Bank collects Visa fees for the British High Commission, French Embassy, Dubai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Similarly, he said the bank collects school fees in conjunction with Interswitch using the Paydirect platform.

Olalusi also noted that the bank’s adherence to rules as specified by the regulatory authorities based on antecedents, transparency and professional service delivery in a timely manner also stood it out as a financial institution of choice for the programme.

His words: “The antecedents of Sterling Bank in this business are unparalleled. This business is all about experience, deep understanding of the terrain, sincerity and trust.

“Sterling Bank has demonstrated all these qualities in similar transactions. The issuing houses also look out for banks with rich experience in the business and they are comfortable with Sterling Bank based on our past experience. For instance, Sterling Bank handled a similar responsibility for Wema Bank during its

bile phone operator Airtel, said in a May interview that operators were unfairly taxed in the country because the industry supports other areas of the economy.

Nigeria is a target for international phone firms eager to tap into demand from the country’s 170 million people.

The total number of connected mobile phones increased to 177 million in April, compared with 170 million at the start of the year, according to the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC).

FBN Capital is lead arranger for Oando's Conoco Phillips deal

capital raising exercise and it was a huge success”.

While assuring that the bank would provide the necessary support to the issuing house, Olalusi said the bank would continue to offer top notch service and robust platforms to ensure the success of the exercise.

He commended states for approaching the capital market to raise funds, adding that this would help to bridge the country’s infrastructural deficit and uplift the living standard of the populace.

“Such medium to long term financing are typically channeled towards infrastructure and developmental projects like construction of roads, rural electrification, and the execution of housing and water supply schemes which have direct impact on living standard of the people,” he said.

F

BN Capital Limited acted as Joint Mandated Lead Arranger, Facility Agent and Financial Modeling Bank on the Oando Energy Resources (OER) acquisition of Conoco Phillips Facility. The facility, an Oil Mining Licences (OMLs) 60, 61, 62, 63, 131 and 145 (the Target Assets) is located in an oil and gas producing zone in the Niger Delta.

The landmark deal of about $1.6 billion was financed with a combination of debt and equity. The debt portion comprised a $450 million RBL facility provided by both Nigerian and offshore banks and a $350 million Corporate facility provided

by Nigerian banks, leveraging OER's existing portfolio comprising OMLs 90, 13, 56 and 125/134.

Also, the funds were provided by FirstBank of Nigeria Limited, Diamond Bank, FCMB, Ecobank, Zenith Bank, UBA, Vitol and Enterprise Bank.

Other financial parties to the trans-

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

Offer Price

AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH BGL NUBIAN FUND BGL SAPPHIRE FUND CANARY GROWTH FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CORAL INCOME FUND FBN FIXED INCOME FUND FBN HERITAGET FUND FBN MONEY MARKET FUND • UBA BALANCED FUND • UBA BOND FUND • UBA EQUITY FUND • UBA MONEY MARKET FUND

168.45 9.17 1.12 1.19 0.69 1.39 1,672.85 1,114.49 121.71 1,087.30 1.3568 1.3692 1.0300 1.1792

167.01 9.08 1.12 1.19 0.69 1.33 1,672.85 1,113.68 120.82 1,087.00

GAINERS AS AT 1-08-14

SYMBOL ASHAKACEM FO FLOURMILL CUTIX

O/PRICE

C/PRICE

CBN EXCHANGE RATES July 31, 2014

Inflation: June

8.2%

Monetary Policy Rate

12.0%

Currency

Buying (N)

Selling (N)

154.73

155.73

US Dollar

$110.44

Pounds Sterling

261.1533

262.8411

33.00

1.92

Oil Price (Bonny Light/b)

218.00

228.90

10.90

Money Supply (M2)

N15.9 trillion.

73.98

77.67

3.69

Euro

207.0906

208.429

1.90

1.99

0.09

Credit to private Sector (CPS)

N16.76 trillion

Swiss Franc

170.1452

171.2448

Yen

1.5038

1.5136

CFA

0.2971

0.3171

236.4672

237.9955

Yuan/Renminbi

25.1409

25.2223

Riyal

41.2558

41.5225

SDR

236.938

238.4693

2.21

0.10

1.65

0.07

ROYALEX

0.50

0.52

0.02

PRESTIGE

0.52

0.54

0.02

16.50

16.87

0.37

0.50

0.51

0.01

LOSERS AS AT 31-07-14

O/PRICE

C/PRICE

CHANGE

ETERNA

4.00

3.80

-0.20

NASCAN

10.65

10.12

-0.53

WEMABANK

1.06

1.01

-0.05

AFRIPRUD

3.30

3.16

-0.14

INTENEGINS

0.52

0.50

-0.02

NEM

0.79

0.76

-0.03

GUARANTY

29.90

28.80

OANDO

27.98

PRESCO

Amount Sold in ($) 381.27m 272.9m 399.01m

31.08

2.11

UBA

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Amount Offered in ($) 400m 300m 400m

$38.1bn

1.58

SYMBOL

Transaction Dates 30/07/2014 23/07/2014 21/07/2014

Foreign Reserves

MAYBAKER

COUTVILLE

RETAIL DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM (RDAS)

CHANGE

AIRSERVICE

ETI

action include FBN Trustees as Security Agent; First Bank of Nigeria Limited as Hedge Provider; and FCMB Capital Markets also as Joint Mandated Lead Arranger.

Chairman, OER, Adewale Tinubu said: "We believe in the significant potential that the Nigerian oil and gas industry holds and are privileged to play a pivotal role in its consolidation, growth and development. We will continue to seek strategic opportunities that provide a platform for enhanced growth and value creation for our stakeholders".

Chief Executive Officer, OER, Mr. Pade Durotoye said: "This transaction represents a transformational leap forward for our Company and is in keeping with our overall strategy to grow our portfolio of Nigerian-based assets by focusing on those opportunities that deliver high quality growth in reserves and production.”

DATA BANK

Bid Price

1.3476 1.3692 1.0115 1.1792

•Mrs. Johnson

Primary Lending Rate (PLR)

16.5%

NIGERIAN INTER-BANK OFFERED RATES (NIBOR)

Tenor

Rate (%)

Rate (%)

Overnight (O/N)

10.500

10.500

1M

12.175

12.101

3M

13.328

13.225

6M

14.296

14.-85

FOREX RATES

WAUA

GOVT. SECURITIES YIELD – SECONDARY MARKET

Tenor

Rates

T-bills - 91

10.00

T-bills - 182

10.07

R-DAS ($/N)

157.29

157.29

T-bills - 364

10.22

-1.10

Interbank ($/N)

162.75

162.75

Bond - 3yrs

11.37

27.00

-0.98

Parallel ($/N)

167.50

167.50

Bond - 5yrs

11.41

7.70

7.49

-0.21

Bond - 7yrs

11.86

38.01

37.00

-1.01

30

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 31-07-14

25-07-14 DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 31-07-14

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

31

EQUITIES

Lafarge Africa has better prospects T for returns, say analysts HE emergence of Lafarge Africa Plc would lead to better returns and benefits for the investors, the Nigerian capital market and the African cement industry.

Investment experts and advisors told The Nation that the decision of Lafarge to consolidate its Nigerian and South African businesses under a single entity was a synergistic strategic move that could change the game plan in the Nigerian investment market, the cement industry and African mergers and acquisitions industry.

Lafarge on July 9, 2014 received overwhelming shareholders’ approval to consolidate its cement businesses in Nigeria and combine these with South African operations to create a leading sub-Saharan building materials giant to be known as Lafarge Africa Plc. The consolidation is being done by transferring Lafarge’s assets in South Africa and Nigeria to Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc. Under the transaction, Lafarge Group will transfer its direct and indirect shareholdings in Lafarge South Africa Holding Limited of 72.4 per cent and its equity stakes in three other cement companies in Nigeria-United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited (35%), Ashaka Cement Plc, (58.61%) and Atlas Cement Company Limited (100%) to Lafarge Wapco for a cash consideration of $200 million and the issuance of some 1.4 billion Lafarge

IOSCO reviews effects of storage warehouses on price formation

T

HE International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has launched a research into the potential effects of storage infrastructure on the integrity of the price formation process of commodity derivatives in member jurisdictions.

IOSCO is asking its members to respond to the questionnaire and to encourage other relevant entities in their jurisdictions-storage and market infrastructure providers, market participants and end users, to do so as well. There are no restrictions on who can answer the questionnaire.

IOSCO believes that the questionnaire is a fundamental part of its work in this area, as it will inform its thinking going forward.

IOSCO had recently also set up a work agenda to strengthen and foster the roles of capital markets as trusted sources of capital with a view to encouraging greater use of capital markets as financing channels for transactions.

The board of IOSCO, which met recently in Madrid, discussed progress on a number of key initiatives to support the G20-FSB efforts to restore stability in the global financial system and build economic growth.

The board, which included Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), also looked into methodologies for identifying non-bank global systemically important financial institutions or activities in the areas of asset management and market intermediaries.

IOSCO also discussed the role capital markets and securities regulators can play in supporting longterm finance, including infrastructure investment and small and medium enterprises (SME )financing.

The meeting also considered the implementation of IOSCO Principles on Financial Benchmarks, the IOSCO Principles for Oil Price Reporting Agencies and the IOSCO Principles for the Regulation and Supervision of Commodity Derivatives Markets.

Stories by Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

Africa shares to the Lafarge Group.

Lafarge Africa, which would retain Lafarge Wapco’s subsisting listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), is estimated to have an initial market capitalization of over $3 billion (about N468 billion), making it the 6th largest Company on the NSE by market capitalization.

Following the shareholders’ approval and other regulatory processes, Lafarge Wapco last week formally notified the NSE of the change in its name to Lafarge Africa Plc, paving the way for the impending listing of the consolidation shares.

Since the July 9 approval, Lafarge Wapco’s share price has risen by about 7.1 per cent as against the average decline of 0.91 per cent recorded by the Nigerian stock market in July. Lafarge Wapco’s share price closed at the weekend at N120 as against its closing price of N112.07 on July 9.

In emailed responses to The Nation’s enquiries, equity advisors and market experts in several leading investment firms, which are not involved in the Lafarge transaction, said they believed the emergence of Lafarge Africa would create better values for shareholders through increased dividends and capital appreciation as well as the cement industry through a much more competitive pricing and quality scenarios.

According to them, the Lafarge Africa transaction could encourage other multinationals and Nigerian companies to further explore the potential for mergers and acquisitions, thus stimulating the invest-

ment markets.

Investment advisors and analysts at Lead Capital Plc, Cardinal Stone Partners and Sterling Capital Markets among others agreed that the emergence of Lafarge Africa could directly and indirectly boost the Nigerian stock market through increased liquidity and returns on the Lafarge Africa stock and general inducement of mergers and acquisitions.

They also agreed that the decision to use the Nigeria-based entity as the vehicle for the consolidation reflected Lafarge’s foresights and depth of the potential of the Nigerian cement market while also holding on to opportunities that the two largest African economies-Nigeria and South Africa, could create in continuing bilateral relationships.

Head, research and investment advisory, Sterling Capital Markets, Sewa Wusu, said investors and the cement industry would benefit significantly from the Lafarge Africa transaction.

“I think the Nigerian market stands to benefit immensely from this strategic move. We are going to witness increased capacity in cement production in Nigeria as these companies struggle with strategic initiatives to enhance quality in cement production in order to increase market share. This is also a positive development for the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), particularly the investors,” Wusu said.

According to him, the Lafarge Africa transaction would enhance competition and compel fringe players in the cement industry to fine-tune their strategies to carve their own market share in their own chosen niche environment as

the competition increases.

“Going forward, we expect to see significant increase in returns in terms of dividend declaration, share price appreciation coupled with renewed interest by portfolio managers, both domestic and foreign as they continue to further tilt their investment decisions in favour of the company due to anticipated returns,” Wusu, also an economist and equity investment specialist, said.

He added that the global cement outlook for the African market provides a strong support base for the realization of the immediate and long-term gains from the Lafarge Africa transaction.

“The cement industry, not only in Nigeria but also other African countries, has huge prospects due to the continent’s huge infrastructure deficit. Most countries are now embarking on huge infrastructure financing to fix these problems in Africa. As such, there is huge and massive demand for cement in the continent. This clearly is huge opportunities for cement companies going forward and I think Lafarge is positioning to tap these huge markets and deliver good returns to its shareholders,” Wusu said.

Group head, research, Lead Capital Plc, Sadiq Waziri, said the consolidation into Lafarge Africa will translate into greater efficiency through the advantages of economies of scale with the emergent company in good stead to better serve the African market, hence increase in revenue for the listed entity.

He noted that the combined entity will immediately be producing 12 million metric tonnes of cement per year as against Lafarge

Wapco’s pre-consolidation 4.5 million metric tonnes per year adding that further planned capacity expansion would increase the new company’s market share.

“I would expect the combined entity would generate higher revenues, higher returns on asset and capital, and robust market valuation matrix. This should move the share price northwards. Besides, since the combined entity will be listed, one should expect the new Lafarge Africa to increase its number of shares to accommodate the merger. There is prospect of raising additional capital through the stock market to buttress this. This would increase the total market capitalization of Lafarge Africa, which may result in greater turnover in trades,” Waziri said.

He pointed out that Lafarge Africa, based and listed in Nigeria, will have better opportunity to improve its market share and balance cross-country risks and benefits to deliver better returns to shareholders.

According to him, the larger cement market in Africa is in Nigeria– Nigeria has a growing real estate sector estimated at N6.4 trillion ($41.2 billion) and would need $20 billion a year, or up to $200 billion in the next 10 years to finance its infrastructure deficit, which would require lots of cement.

“The Lafarge Africa deal is a consolidation of related companies.

This is a sensible step by Lafarge Worldwide to have their African operations in one entity. We believe the Lafarge style consolidation is operationally efficient, so it is possible for other multinationals to adopt this strategy. We think the fundamentals of Lafarge are strong as it attains peak capacity utilization at its Ewekoro plant and as cost containment initiatives start to pay off,” said analysts at Cardinal Stone Partners.

Investment advisor, Cardinal Stone Partners, Damilola Lawal, noted that the consolidation would be good for existing Lafarge Wapco shareholders because the new entity would enjoy increased efficiency from the elimination of redundant capacity, economies of scale, and higher borrowing capacity.

According to him, there could also be expect better synergies across Lafarge’s cement manufacturing, aggregates and Ready Mix Concrete lines and better geographical diversification.

Analysts at Cardinal Stone Partners outlined that while the South African cement market is seen as mature, the Nigerian cement market is still emerging, with large infrastructural and housing deficits that will fuel growth in the future, thus putting the Lafarge Africa in vantage position to diversify and improve earnings across the economies.

They noted that the expected increased capacity in the cement industry would definitely lead to an increase in competition among the cement players.

Diamond Bank’s rights issue opens for trading on NSE

T

HE Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has listed the rights issue by Diamond Bank Plc for trading, paving the way for nonshareholders to buy renounced rights from existing shareholders.

Diamond Bank is raising about N50.4 billion from its shareholders through a rights issue of about 8.69 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N5.80 per share. Diamond Bank’s share price closed at the weekend at N6.35 per share. The rights issue had been pre-allotted to shareholders of the bank as at June 13, 2013.

The rights issue opened on July 30, 2014 and it is expected to run

till August 26, 2014.

Rights issue gives the first right of refusal to existing shareholders and thus preserve existing shareholding structure. It however provides window for new investors to buy into the company through rights trading on the secondary market.

Half-year report of Diamond Bank for the period ended June 30, 2014 showed that profit before tax dropped from N17.56 billion in first half 2013 to N16.07 billion in first half 2014. However, profit after tax increased from N12.64 billion to N13.79 billion.

Diamond Bank had announced a

16.7 per cent increase in profit before tax to N32.1billion for the full year ended December 31, 2013. The bank declared a dividend of 30 kobo per ordinary share.

Group managing director, Diamond Bank, Dr. Alex Otti, had noted that the pre-tax profit exceeded its N30 billion profit guidance pointing out that the result is rooted in the bank’s strength to attract low-cost deposits and deploy these into various assets at profitable yet acceptable risk levels.

While the bank achieved a net interest income of N104.6 billion, an increase of 17.1 per cent from

N89.3billion recorded in 2012, it generated interest and similar income of N143.1 billion, an increase of 27.3 per cent from N112.4 billion earned in 2012. Diamond Bank also achieved a 46.2 per cent increase in other income from N23.8 billion it recorded in the preceding year to an impressive to N34.8 billion in 2013.

Diamond Bank’s 2013 financial results also showed improvements in various areas of the group balance sheet with loans and advances to customers increasing by 17.8 per cent to N689.2 billion; deposits from customers increasing by 32.5 per cent to N1, 206 billion.

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

32

ISSUES

E

ARLY this year, a lady who gave her name simply as Ngozi had travelled to Obuno Village, near Igbo Ukwu in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State to be part of a wedding. These days that many of the major roads have become highways to the grave, the mobile phone becomes a handy tool to keep family and friends abreast of the journey. Contact was possible on the way because global service for mobile communication (GSM) service providers had provided access on major trunk routes.

But when she got to her village, she was shocked that she could neither make nor receive calls. Even the text message she sent was not delivered. So, she became frustrated and asked her friends what the problem could be. She was directed to a particular spot within the community where service signal strayed into the community.

It worked.

Another subscriber from Ikpa Eluama Village, Osina Town in Ideato Local Government Area of Imo State, was shocked when he discovered that he, too, could not make calls when he travelled to his village.

The only Base Transmission Station (BTS) in the village then belonged to MTN, but curiously for customers to enjoy the facility, they must move closer to it.

The experience of Ngozi and her fellow compatriot fairly represent those of rural folks across the 774 local government areas of the country. Even in metropolitan Lagos, some communities are still not served or under-served.

One of the strengths of Nigeria is her huge population and vast lands. Recent figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) estimated the country’s population at 178 million. It is against this backdrop and the need to bridge the digital divide that the NRTP becomes important.

According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), while mobile connected lines stand at 172,913,989, code division multiple access (CDMA) are 4,076, 933. Fixed wired/wireless are 328,388. For active lines, NCC said 126, 958,904 mobile lines are active while 2,256,61 and 172, 87 represent the figures of CDMA and fixed/ wireless respectively. Thus, total active lines stand at 129, 391, 392 while teledensity stands at 92.42 per cent.

A majority of these subscribers live in the urban areas, while a huge number of the rural populace remains underserved, or not served at all. Therefore, the next frontier for expansion for service providers is obviously the rural areas.

Experts see the neglect of rural access as a serious omission. If phones were more accessible and cheaper, rural development would become evident: economic opportunities, service provision and political engagement as well as social bonds would be stimulated.

According to experts, community telephony will spur the growth of the agricultural, extractive and manufacturing industries in the rural areas.

In 2005, the Federal Government embarked on the National Rural Telephony Project (NRTP) in line with the initiatives of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). After contract papers were signed between the country and China EXIMBank, the contractor moved to site and supplied equipment. But the project was abruptly halted. LUCAS AJANAKU reports that in view of growing rural poverty and need to make growth all-inclusive, a revisit of the project will be in the interest of the nation.

Impacts on agric sector Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina said the importance of cell phones to farmers cannot be overemphasised.

He said: "It is actually the cell phone that has provided us with the tool to directly access each farmer thereby denying corrupt middlemen from making fortune from their sweat. Some people think that our farmers are uneducated and cannot use cell phones. The evidence does not support that. Under the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme, we made it possible for farmers to transact business in their own local languages using their cell phones.

"We intend to use the GES scheme to distribute these phones. To be entitled to a phone, farmers must be registered on the e-wallet platform. Paper vouchers will be issued to farmers who do not have phones. The government will provide a subsidy to the farmer through the voucher to buy the phone. The farmer takes the voucher to the local mobile phone operator and pays the balance which is the difference between the value of the voucher and the cost of the phone.

"Once a farmer buys a phone and a SIM (subscriber identity module) card, his new phone number will be updated on the ewallet database and he will be able to receive his e-wallet voucher which will

•BTS

Rural telephony: A project in limbo entitle him to purchase fertiliser and seeds at subsidised rates. Phones will be sold directly to farmers by local mobile phone service providers."

According to him, the total number of transactions done by phone with respect to the GES scheme was 4.9 million, according to the data collected, based on farmers’ use

of cellphones to access fertilisers and seeds last year.

Adesina explained that out of the 4.9 million transactions, 1.2 million were in English, 620,000 were in Pidgin (English), 2.2 million were in Hausa, 854,000 were in Yoruba while 344 were in Igbo language.

According to him, in the first year of the

‘

The neglect of rural access is a serious omission. If phones were more accessible and cheaper, rural development would become evident: economic opportunities, service provision and political engagement as well as social bonds would be stimulated

’

GES scheme, 1.2 million farmers received their subsidised fertilisers and seeds through their cell phones, saying that the number is expected to increase to 1.5 million farmers by the end of the dry season.

He gave the percentage of farmers that • Continued on page 33

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

33

ISSUES • Continued from page 32

had benefited from the distribution of fertilisers and seeds through mobile phones, including 25 per cent from the Northwest, 12 per cent (Southeast) 13 per cent in the Southsouth, 10 per cent in the Southwest, 18 per cent in the Northcentral and 22 per cent in the Northeast.

Adesina, however, said 71 per cent of farmers sampled had not yet started to enjoy cell phone facility because many of the farmers in rural areas are poor and are excluded from the benefits of the mobile phone revolution going on in the country.

According to him, the use of mobile phones to distribute fertilisers and seeds to farmers has recorded tremendous success in Kenya and Malawi through this initiative.

Launched in 2001, the first phase of the project was to cover 218 local government areas and provide over 636,256 CDMA lines in all the council areas to bridge the digital divide.

The project was divided into three phases, and was estimated to cost $200 million. Key Communications Limited, Suburban Broadband Limited, Voicewares Network Limited, Gicell Wireless Limited and Hezonic Limited, were involved in the project, while the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning the project was signed with a Chinese firm.

The implementation of the project would have complemented the initiative of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to connect the world with technology by 2015. According to ITU, the Connect the World (Connecting the Unconnected) project by next year aims to mobilise human, financial, and technical resources for the implementation of the connectivity targets of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the Regional Initiatives, adopted by member states at the ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference.

Three Chinese companies - ZTE Corporation, Huawei and Shagai Bell - were initially awarded the contract but government finally suspended the project in 2011, after the firms allegedly failed to deliver the first phase of the project at agreed period.

Recent attempts to resuscitate NRTP The Federal Government had in July last year started efforts towards concluding the transaction with the inauguration of a new board which had Senator Ken Nnamani as chairman.

Other members of the board are Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyin Pius Anyim; Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN); Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi among others.

The Ministry of Communications Technology earlier in the year promised to hand over the $200milion project to the Federal Government in April.

Director, Posts & Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications Technology, John Ayodele gave the assurance after winners emerged in a fresh bid to hand the project over to private investors, adding that the action is subject to the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

"The Ministry of Communications Technology is committed to conclusion of this transaction. We have included it in our 2014 budget of the ministry and we are waiting for budgetary approval. When our budget for the year is approved, all that we need to do is to get FEC to ratify President Goodluck Jonathan's approval of the transaction.

Once all these are done, we are looking at handing over the networks to the preferred bidders by April this year," Ayodele had assured.

The preferred bidders in the various zones are, Suburban Limited (now Telefund Ltd) emerging for Abuja and Kaduna zones respectively; Gicel Wireless emerging for Bauchi Zone; Voicewares Networks Limited for Enugu Zone; Key Communications for Ibadan Zone and Hezonic for Port Harcourt Zone.

Fresh hurdles A combination of challenges ranging from paucity of funds, spectrum administration, vandalism, difficulty in effecting technology handshake a term used to describe the marriage of two technologies and inconsistent policy in government circles have posed fresh obstacles to the implementation of the project.

• Adesina

•Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Dr Eugene Juwah

•Ajayi

Rural telephony: A project in limbo A source in ComTech Ministry said the project was conceived before the advent of GSM as a way to kick-start telephoning services in Nigeria at a time when there was just about 4000,000 lines for about 120 million.

He said the first phase was completed with the exemption of one or two areas where they could not secure land to build the master stations and the idea was that, at the time it was conceived, it was Nigeria Telecommunication Limited (NITEL) that will take it up and use it as a spreading chip for services. "So NITEL was supposed to be the transmission hub and were to hook up its exchanges but subsequently, the liberalisation policy came. GSM came and government's focus changed.

"NITEL was meant to be privatised or at least sold to the public, so the question of Nitel becoming a carrier for rural telephony jeopardized the system at that time. So efforts shifted. Govt was no longer budgeting for telecoms because it has been liberalised and government did not want to partake in any form of telephone service" Because of the mindset of government, there was no budget for the project for years because it was not a priority of government to partake in telephony service and the rate at which GSM was spreading everybody felt that rural telephony will not be a priority.

"However, investment has been made and we need to conclude it. So govt said the best way to do it is to give it out to private operators. So the country was zoned into six and six private operators were appointed.

The process was almost concluded when it was said that the Ministry should seek for the buy-in of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) because it was meant to be a concession arrangement.

Remember at the time it was conceived, there was no ICRC so ICRC came with all sorts of conditions that were not precedent to the establishment of the rural telephony and for the past three years, the ministry has not been able to get the buy-in of the ICRC. "The ICRC was always coming up with conditions that were not part of the conditions when the project was created.

There was no way to backdate what was done at that time to meet what ICRC is doing today. So, as I am talking to you now, ICRC has not given any concession and the project is now almost moribund. So, as at today, six operators have been selected, they have gone through the whole bidding process. We

‘

were just about to give it out when the justice minister advised that the FEC should be brought into the project for final approval and determination. You cannot go to FEC without either ICRC or the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) giving a buy-in because it was a concession arrangement, it is ICRC that should have provided the buy-in but it kept shifting the goalpost. We have explained to them in letters; we have communicated.

Initially they say they will go round the system and see the thing themselves. There was no budget for a while, eventually we say we will put a little budget to enable them go round. In 2012, we organised them to go round but all the letters we have been writing, it is only about four weeks ago that we got a long letter from them listing conditions that must be precedent which were not conditions at the time this thing was made. So, I think for today, that is the status of the project."

The source added that the technology of 2001, when it was conceived, which is based on CDMA, is another problem. So, even if anybody should buy it, it is still a long way to getting it to function because they now have a way to migrate it to long term evolution (LTE) or 4G. If they don't go that direction, it is not (going to function) and a lot of the project has been vandalised over the years. It is fairly complicated issue because if you say you still want to go by what happened in 2005, it is very difficult because the technology has to change. Anybody who is buying it now has to start a total revolution but we are still making efforts to make sure we get the operators to still go the same way they accepted to go.

At the time it was conceived, spectrum allocation was at the discretion of government. The project was to ride on the spectrum of NITEL. "So, even if we sell today, we still have an issue with spectrum. It is the NCC that is now in charge of spectrum administration. Even if they buy, they still have to go for a round of l;icencing with NCC which was not the concept at the time it was made. Even if they agree to take over today, they are coming back to ask for the free licence and government can no longer give free licence to anybody. It's a bit complicated but not insurmountable, it just means that we have to reengineer the whole scheme from the beginning and that is what we want to discuss with ICRC even start

The ICRC was always coming up with conditions that were not part of the project. There was no way to backdate what was done at that time to meet what ICRC is doing. So, as I am talking to you, ICRC has not given any concession and the project is almost moribund

’

from scratch, then it will be like selling scrap and we want to avoid selling scrap.

"Its a national issue and anyway we can get it done to add value to what we already have. It is the best for the nation and we need to move forward to see how it adds value to the system and we are getting there gradually," the source said.

Aside the suspended rural telephony initiative, an intervention, such as the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), established by the Communications Act of 2003, is geared towards promoting and facilitating ICT infrastructure in rural and under-served areas across the nation. It is expected to promote private sector investments, encourage competition, and give priority to self-sustaining programmes and projects. The USPF gets funding from the contribution of mobile operators who contribute 2.5 per cent of their profit to enable access to rural communities. With this kind of initiative, it shocking why a large number of villages in the nation are yet to benefit from any form of telephony access.

The trend has been for operators and investors to invest massively in the urban areas and lower in the rural areas. But analysts argue that telcos and internet services need to deploy more infrastructure to the rural areas, since they are the next growth fontier.

Director, Regulatory Affairs, Etisalat Nigeria, Ibrahim Dikko, struck the right chord when he challenged the Federal Government to explore alternative ways of funding the provision of telecoms infrastructure to rural areas as operators would not do that because of low returns on such investment.

"The government would have to find ways to subsidise rural infrastructure build, because operators most times, invest in areas that they consider commercially viable," Dikko said.

The Association of telcos of Nigeria (ATCON) has urged the government to synergise with telecoms operators to resuscitate the moribund National Rural Telephony Project.

Its President, Lanre Ajayi, said this was necessary since the government had been unable to implement the project while the rural communities had yet to feel the impact of the phenomenal growth in the telecoms sector.

"The Federal Government should support telecommunications providers to reach the under-reached and unserved areas through the USPF. In the implementation of rural telephony, government should provide operators stable power supply, accessible roads and improved security of telecoms infrastructures.

"Opening up the rural communities through integration into the national telephone networks will enhance exploitation of the economic potential of the communities and improve the standard of living of the rural dwellers," Ajayi said.

Chief Executive Officer, Voicewares Networks Limited, Gerry Ekesiani said stakeholders in the project, which are operators and ComTech Ministry have engaged in meetings to resolve outstanding issues that are delaying the take off of the project.

He lamented that the continued delay in the rollout of services is causing the Association of Rural Telephony Operators of Nigeria (ARTON) financial losses while the equipment are being vandalised.

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2013

34

DUE DILIGENCE

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

CCNN: Improved performance C

EMENT Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) Plc rode on the back of improved productivity and efficiency to strengthen its overall performance outlook. Audited and emerging earnings reports indicated significant improvements in actual and underlying returns of the cementmanufacturing company. Audited report and accounts of CCNN for the year ended December 31, 2013 showed that a more efficient cost management and appreciable growth in sales underpinned substantial growth in profit and returns to shareholders. Gross and pre-tax profit margins improved from 28.1 per cent and 10.9 per cent in 2012 to 31.8 per cent and 12.5 per cent respectively in 2013.

With 19 per cent increase in profit after tax, the company has earmarked N880 million as cash dividends to shareholders for the 2013 business. While sales had grown by 4.4 per cent, declines in cost of sales and finance expenses as well as containment of the operating expenses impacted positively on the bottom-line.

Besides, the report also showed considerable improvements in financing structure and liquidity, providing a positive balance sheet support that enabled top-line performance to trickle down into substantial earnings to shareholders. The company halved its gearing ratio and further increased equity funding just as liquidity improved to a new high.

Fiscal Year Ended December 31 Nmillion Profit and Loss Statement Main Business Segment Total turnover Cost of sales Gross profit Operating expenses Interest and other incomes Finance expenses Pre-tax profit(loss) Post-tax profit (loss) Basic earnings per share(kobo) Gross dividend (Nm) Cash dividend per share (kobo) Net Assets per share (kobo)

The company's performance slipped marginally from N10.88 outlook showed dual benefits of billion to N10.77 billion. Gross profit improved productivity and cost thus rose by 18 per cent from N4.24 Financing structure efficiency.

The company billion to N5.02 billion. Operating expense was curtailed at N3.64 billion CCNN restructured its balance optimized modest increase in in 2013 as against N3.40 billion in sheet in 2013 with significant average cost into substantial in average 2012. While non-core business reduction in bank loans and other improvement income dropped by 22 per cent from liabilities. With about 46 per cent productivity, resulting in wider N958 million to N743 million, the decline in bank loans, current margin for value creation. Total reduction in interest expenses liabilities dropped by about 19 per costs of business, excluding counterbalanced the negative effect. cent. This reduced the total financing charges, reduced to 91.3 per cent of total sales in 2013 as Finance expenses dropped to N147 liabilities by 9.2 per cent. million as against N152.

The financing position showed low against 94.4 per cent in previous With all these, profit before tax rose financial leverage and significant year. While average cost per staff by 19.2 per cent to N1.97 billion in improvement in equity funding. increased from N4.33 million to million, average 2013 as against N1.65 billion in 2012.

The company's debt-to-equity ratio N5.11 Profit after tax also grew by 19.1 per dropped from 15.9 per cent in 2012 contribution of each employee to cent to N1.42 billion compared with to 7.5 per cent in 2013 while the pre-tax profit also trended N1.20 billion in the previous year. proportion of equity funds to total upward from N4.32 million to Basic earnings per share thus assets increased to 60.2 per cent in N5.20 million. Average number improved from 95 kobo to N1.13. The 2013 as against 53.6 per cent in 2012. of employees stood at 379 persons board of the company has Current liabilities/total assets in 2013 as against 383 persons in recommended distribution of N880 ratio improved from 36.5 per cent 2012. Aggregate staff cost also million as cash dividends, implying to 28.1 per cent while long-term dropped correspondingly from a dividend per share of 70 kobo. It liabilities/total assets stood at N220.44 million in 2014 to N175.9 did not pay any dividend in the about 40 per cent per cent in 2013 million.

The profit outlook of the previous year. The dividend outlook as against 46.4 per cent in 2012. remained substantially high at 1.61 CCNN's total assets had increased company improved appreciably times. by 5.7 per cent from N14.24 billion during the year with both actual in 2012 to N15.06 billion in 2013. and underlying profitability Permanent assets had improved by ratios showing corresponding Liquidity Underlying 9.2 per cent from N6.50 billion to performance.

The liquidity position of the profitability indices showed a N7.10 billion while current assets company improved substantially inched up from N7.74 billion to generally positive outlook. Gross during the period with better N7.96 billion. Meanwhile, total profit margin improved from 28.1 coverage for emerging liabilities and liabilities dropped from N6.60 per cent in 2012 to 31.8 per cent in increased working capital relative to 2013.

Average pre-tax profit per billion to N6 billion. The paid up operations. Current ratio, which every unit of sales increased from share capital remained unchanged indicates ability of the company to at N628 million while about 10.9 per cent to 12.5 per cent. meet emerging financing needs by shareholders' funds grew by 18.6 Return on total assets improved relating current assets with relevant per cent to N9.06 billion as against from 11.6 per cent to 13.1 per cent. liabilities, improved from 1.49 times Return on equity was steady at N7.64 billion in previous year. in 2012 to 1.88 times in 2013. The 15.7 per cent. proportion of working capital to The underlying performance Efficiency total sales also improved from 16.8 reflected the improvements per cent in 2012 to 23.6 per cent in in the operations and 2013 2012 2013. Debtors/creditors ratio stood productivity of the company 12 months % change 12 months at 3.8 per cent in 2013 as against 1.3 as well as increase in its cost per cent in 2012. management. Total sales 15,787 4.4 15,126 Governance and structures reached a new high at N15.8 Incorporated in August 1962, CCNN 15,787 4.4 15,126 billion in 2013 compared commenced business operations in 10,772 -1.0 10,881 with N15 billion in 2012.

1967. A wholly-owned Nigerian 5,015 18.2 4,244 Cost of sales meanwhile company with more than 35,000 3,641 7.2 3,398 743 -22.4 958 Fiscal Year Ended December 31 2013 2012 147 -3.4 152 % % 1,970 19.2 1,653 1,424 19.1 1,196 Financing structure 113 18.9 95 Equity funds/Total assets 60.2 53.6 880 #DIV/0!

0 Long-term liabilities/Total assets 39.8 46.4 70 #DIV/0!

0 Current liabilities/Total assets 28.1 36.5 721 18.6 608 Debt/Equity ratio 7.3 15.9

By Taofik Salako

Capital Market Editor

Balance Sheet Assets: Fixed assets Total long term assets Trade debtors Current assets Total assets Liabilities: Trade creditors Bank loans Current liabilities Long-term liabilities Total liabilities Equity Funds Share capital Total Equity Funds

Profitability 6,817 7,100 80 7,959 15,058

4.9 9.2 135.9 2.8 5.7

6,501 6,503 34 7,739 14,242

2,120 659 4,234 1,762 5,996

-18.2 -45.6 -18.7 26.0 -9.2

2,593 1,211 5,205 1,398 6,603

628.3 9,062

0.0 18.6

628.3 7,639

Gross profit margin Pre-tax profit margin Return on total assets Return on equity Dividend cover (times)

31.8 12.5 13.1 15.7 1.61

28.1 10.9 11.6 15.7 -

5.20 5.11 91.3

4.32 4.33 94.4

1.88 23.6 3.8

1.49 16.8 1.3

Efficiency Pre-tax profit per employee (Nm) Staff cost per employee (Nm) Cost of sales, operating exp/Turnover

Liquidity Current ratio Working capital/Turnover Debtors/Creditors

•Chairman, CCNN, Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu

shareholders, CCNN's shares were listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in October 1993.

BUA International Limited-through its wholly-owned subsidiaryDamnaz Cement Company, holds 50.72 per cent majority equity stake.

Nasdal Bap Nigeria Limited holds the second largest equity stake of 11.48 per cent.

There were no major changes on the board and management of the company. Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, the president of BUA International, chairs l the board of directors while Mr. Alf Karlsen remains the managing director and chief executive. CNN has signed on to the code of corporate governance.

Broadly, the company complied with relevant provisions of the code.

Analyst's opinion Against the background of the difficult operating environment characterized by the lingering insurgency in the Northern market and the epileptic power supply, the performance of CCNN shows a reassuring outlook. Latest reports have underlined the success of sustained growth initiatives and reassured on the prospects of the company in the years ahead. In 2013, CCNN had successfully reintroduced biomass as a supplementary kiln fuel, which helped in reducing energy costs.

The company has also jump-started its capacity expansion programme while simultaneously working to convert existing production line to solid fuels like coal.

Already, emerging earnings reports for the current business year have shown a stronger upward growth trajectory. Interim report and accounts of CCNN for the six-month period ended June 30, 2014 showed that sales rose by seven per cent in first half 2014 to N9.39 billion as against N8.81 billion recorded in corresponding period of 2013.

Profit before tax almost doubled from N1.22 billion to N2.34 billion.

Profit after tax showed similar performance, rising from N832.1 million in first half 2013 to N1.59 billion in first half 2014.

With the growth initiatives by CCNN and the positive industry outlook of the cement industry, there is reasonable basis to assume that CCNN would sustain improved performance in the years ahead.

35

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

MOTORING

Jaguar invents aluminium alloy T

HE new Jaguar XE redefines the standard in its segment.

Designed around Jaguar’s modular vehicle architecture, the XE is the only car in the class to use an aluminium-intensive monocoque, with lightweight aluminium accounting for 75 per cent of the structure.

This milestone in body engineering, a product of Jaguar’s worldleading expertise in high-volume production of aluminium vehicles, ensures that the Jaguar XE combines outstanding design with benchmark

levels of ride and handling.

Lightweight construction is a core element of Jaguar’s DNA and Jaguar is at the cutting-edge of aluminium technology in the automotive industry. The Jaguar XJ, XK and F-type have all been developed using exceptionally stiff bonded and riveted aluminium structures: now the XE becomes the latest model to use this aerospace-inspired technology.

The weight reduction realised ensures that the XE is the most fuelefficient Jaguar yet with fuel consumption and CO2 emissions on the

NEDC combined cycle of less than 4 litres/100 km and under 100g/km respectively.

“The Jaguar XE body uses over 75 per cent aluminium content, which far exceeds any other car in its class.

This gives us a body structure with unrivalled low weight: it is light but also immensely strong with extremely high levels of torsional stiffness. We have made sure our aluminium-intensive body structure exceeds all global safety standards without compromising on vehicle design or refinement,” Dr Mark

White, Jaguar’s Chief Technical Specialist said.

The Jaguar XE’s aluminium-intensive body is beautiful to look at, but the structure also delivers exceptional torsional stiffness. The light but strong architecture incorporates highly advanced suspension systems delivering unparalleled levels of ride quality, handling and steering.

The Jaguar XE is also the first car in the world make use of a new grade of high strength aluminium called RC 5754 which has been developed specifically for the XE. This

new alloy features a high level of recycled material and makes a significant contribution to Jaguar’s goal of using 75 per cent recycled material by 2020.

Designed and engineered in the UK, the XE will be the first Jaguar to be manufactured at a new purpose-built production facility at the company’s Solihull plant in the West Midlands in the UK. The world premiere of the new Jaguar XE will be held in London on September 8, with a South African on-sale date of late 2015.

ABC Transport decries illegal taxes

A

R •The new Stallion complex

Stallion expands Nissan network

S

TALLION NMN, authorised Nissan Sales Company has restated its commitment to the Nissan brand and its growing customers with the inauguration of a State-of-the-art 3s (sales, spares and service) facility in Abuja.

Stallion NMN who was in April 2013 inducted as the Nissan Sales Company, described the new Abuja 3s facility as one of its core strategies of delivering world-class consumer experience, adding that the growing consumer base will soon become increasingly motorised with Nissan at the forefront of initiatives to capture the Nigerian automobile market.

Stallion NMN Managing Director

Stories by Tajudeen Adebanjo

Parvir Singh, in his keynote address at the ceremony said: “Nissan’s three-year objective conveys the responsibility of repositioning and enhancing Nissan’s influence in the Nigerian market” He said Stallion NMN has “consistently intensified efforts to make Nissan Nigeria’s preferred brand and that was why we rolled out in April the first set of assembled-inNigeria Nissan vehicles including Nissan Almera / Sunny, NP300 pickup and high end SUV Patrol at our plant in Lagos.”

“We aim to reaffirm our commitment to the new national automo-

tive policy, initiated by the government of Nigeria.”

Stallion NMN has expanded the Nissan line-up with the addition of iconic models like GT-R and 370Z with some recently introduced exciting B, C, D, SUV and LCV segment (Almera/ Sunny, Sentra, Teana/Altima, Pathfinder and Urvan) vehicles.

Singh said the vehicles are competitively priced and are capturing significant market share.

He said Stallion NMN is already reaping the dividend of Nissan global mid-term plan - Power 88, which he described as proactive.

“Even though we were inaugurated only last year, we took off on

a high note with favourable growth indices that are significant to our achievement. Our sales volumes are consistently growing due to the favourable patronage that we have received from our valued customers,” he said.

He enumerated plans to expand Nissan service network through the appointment of more dealers to enhance customer satisfaction by providing high quality service at a reasonable price.

“We wish to add value to the lives of our customers by providing uniformity of user experience through standardisation of high quality service,” he noted.

New boss for Jaguar Land Rover

J

AGUAR Land Rover South Africa and sub-Sahara Africa has announced Richard Gouverneur as the new Managing Director.

Gouverneur takes over the reins of the iconic British brands in Africa from Kevin Flynn.

A statement by the company’s Marketing/Public Relations Manager Sub-Sahara Africa Willem Schoeman, said Gouverneur will report the South African and subSahara African business to Dmitry

Kolchanov, Director Overseas at Jaguar Land Rover.

“Richard is no stranger to the Jaguar Land Rover business and we wish him well in his new appointment to continue building on the success of the brands in sub-Saharan Africa,” Kolchanov said.

Flynn, who joined Jaguar Land Rover in 2011, has left the company to explore his own interests.

“We are grateful for Kevin’s valuable contribution to the company in Africa and we wish him every suc-

cess in his future endeavours,” Kolchanov stated.

Gouverneur joins the South Africa and sub-Sahara markets from his post as Network Development Director for Jaguar Land Rover in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). He had previously been Acting Managing Director for the region.

He has previously worked in finance roles for both Ford and Jaguar Land Rover in South Africa. He also spent time developing automo-

• Richard

tive supply businesses in South Africa and the Middle East prior to joining Jaguar Land Rover in 2010.

BC Transport Plc has lamented the spate of illegal taxes by various government agencies.

The leading transporter highlighted the challenges facing the company which include heightened security uncertainties, bad roads on major highways, and the spate of multiple taxation and illegal levies disguised as taxes - all of which have continued to exact a toll on many business concerns, ABC Transport not excluded.

The company said: “Instances where touts harass and intimidate road transport operators, even mounting roadblocks, smashing side mirrors, and resorting to other violent means in collecting illegal levies and rates will keep disrupting businesses and retarding econonic growth. Until the Federal Government resolves to enforce absolute compliance with the Taxes and Levies Act, until there are concerted efforts from the appropriate statutory authorities to harmonise taxies and levies nationwide, many companies will remain at the mercy of illegal taxation.”

ABC released its audited reports for last year, which shows a growth of 2.03 per cent in turnover over the 2012.

“Turnover increased from N6.5b in 2012 to N6.64b in 2013, representing an increase of 2.03 per cent while Gross profit declined slightly by 7.24 per cent from N1.77b recorded in 2012 to N1.64b in 2013.

Profit before tax, however, grew by 0.49 per cent from N566.01m in 2012 to N568.80m in 2013, while profit after tax declined by 2.15 per cent from N362.89 in 2012 to N355.08 in 2013.

“Accordingly, the Register of Members and Transfer Books of the company will be closed on August 11 and 15, for the purpose of determining those entitled to the payment of dividend. Consequently, if the dividend as proposed is approved, dividend warrants will be posted on September 12 to all shareholders whose names appear in the Register of members at the close of business on August 8,” the company said.

Meanwhile, ABC is set to inject new coaches and mid-buses to its existing fleet.

SAFE DRIVING

Mobile phone and driving (II)

I

T makes the driver unconscious of the happenings and traffic around him.

• It reduces the visual search and hazard perception ability of the driver.

• It reduces the readiness of the driver to judge and react to emergencies.

• It makes the driver susceptible to driving errors and accidents.

• It changes the mood of the driver negatively if the news, message or distraction is negative and this is dangerous to safe driving and relationship with other road

users.

• It changes the mood of the driver positively if the news, message or distraction is positive and this is also dangerous to safe driving because excitement fuels distractive meditation.

• It may eventually lead to loss of lives, valuable properties and costly litigations.

It is now time to take the campaign against the use of mobile phone while driving to a higher pedestal. It is now time for EMPLOYERS to design a policy against the use of mobile phones by their em-

ployees while driving. It is now time for the employers to specially educate their employees against the use of mobile phones while driving. Not just the professional drivers in their employment alone but all the staff.

It is time for CHURCHES to dedicate special sermons to preach against the use of mobile phones while driving.

It is time for MOSQUES to dedicate some of their sermons to teach their members against the use of mobile phones while driving.

It is time for clubs, social organisations, and other networking

organisations to regularly share among their members, the message against the use of mobile phone while driving.

The time has come for all educational institutions to dedicate some seminars and lectures to teach their teachers, members of staff and students against the use of mobile phones while driving.

It is time for traffic management agencies to begin the prosecution of people using mobile phones while driving in the law courts.

•To be continued

Jide Owatunmise Registrar / Chief Executive, Professional Driving and Safety Academy

36

THE NATION AUGUST 4, 2014

THE NATION

BUSINESS INSURANCE

22 firms generate N179.9b gross premium • Leadway, Custodian lead

T

WENTY-TWO insurance companies have generated N179.9 billion gross premium income in the 2013 financial accounts, a report by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has shown.

This represents a growth considering that the result is coming from less than half of the 59 companies total premium income expected for the 2013 financial year.

Besides, the industry recorded a gross premium income of N300 billion from 2008 to 2012.

The companies paid a total gross claims expenses of N59 billion.

Leading the pack are Leadway Assurance with N41.7 billion, Custo-

Stories by OmobolaTolu-Kusimo

dian & Allied Insurance, N22.9 billion AIICO Insurance, N22.8 billion; Continental Reinsurance, N13.85 billion, Mansard Insurance, N13.58 billion and Niger Insurance N10.44 billion.

Others are Royal Exchange, N8.87 billion, Sovereign Trust Insurance N8.67 billion; Zenith Insurance, N6.4 billion; Cornerstone N5.3 billion; ADIC (NSIA) N4.66 billion; Regency Alliance N3.1 billion; FBN Life N3.89 billion; Law Union & Rock N3.4 billion and Linkage Assurance N2.68 billion.

Also, Wapic Insurance paid,N2.38

billion; Royal Prudential Life N2.14 billion; UBA Metropolitan Life N1.57 billion; UBA Metropolitan Life N1.57 billion; Zenith Life N1.52 billion; Oasis N1.24 billion and Wapic Life N655 million.

According to the report, which was released in Lagos by NAICOM’s Assistant Director and Head, Corporate Affairs, Rasaaq Salami, titled, ‘Status of 2013 Financial Statements of insurance companies as at July 25, this year, aside the 22 firms, which got approval on their account before the June 30 deadline on submission of annual accounts, 16 others that were also able to submit their annual accounts before the deadline, are yet to get approval owing to queries issued to them by NAICOM.

The firms are Lasaco Assurance, Lasaco Life Assurance Limited; Sterling Assurance; NEM Insurance; Equity Assurance; Old Mutual (Oceanic Life) Nig. Life and Prestige Assurance.

Others are Anchor Insurance; Guinea Insurance; KBL (PHB) Insurance; ARM (Crystal) Life; Fin Insurance Company; Old Mutual (Oceanic) Insurance General; Standard Alliance Life; Unitrust Insurance Company and Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation.

The report further showed that four firms submitted their financials in July after the deadline and their accounts are under review. They are Mutual Benefits Assurance, Mutual Benefits Life Assurance Limited, Universal Insurance Company Lim-

ited and Consolidated Hallmark Insurance.

Meanwhile, 17 firms are yet to submit their accounts. They include African Alliance, Capital Express, Goldlink, Great Nigeria, Industrial & General Insurance, International Energy Insurance, NICON Insurance, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation, Staco Insurance, Standard, UNIC, Union Assurance and Unity Kapital.

Others are Alliance & General Insurance, Alliance & General Life, Investment& Allied and Spring Life Assurance Plc. Going by the regulation, these group of firms that are yet to submit before the deadline of June 30, would pay N5,000 fine to NAICOM for each day that they are in default.

Niger shareholders okays N270.8m dividend

N

IGER Insurance Plc shareholders have approved dividend of N270.8 million for the 2013 financial year.

The amount represents 3.5kobo for every share of 50 kobo and will be paid on August 4.

The company made a profit after tax of N599.4 million during the year compared to N470.1 million in 2012, representing a 27.5 per cent growth.

It achieved a N10.4 billion gross written premium in 2013 compared to N10.3 billion recorded in 2012 while its net operating profit stood at N674.3 million compared to N256.5 million for the preceding year.

The Group’s profit after tax during the year under view was N627.4 million compared to N776.2 million achieved in 2012.

Its Chairman, Bala Zakariya’u, made this known at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Ilorin.

He said the firm was looking into the possibility of doing away with any loss sustaining subsidiary so as not to impact negatively on the group performance.

He disclosed that the total comprehensive income declined from N988.2 million in 2012 to N794.6 million in 2013 and N1.2 billion in 2012 to N822.5 million in 2013 for the company and group respectively.

According to him, this is attribut-

able to the stability in the value of property, plant and equipment and available for sale financial assets following the adoption of IFRS reporting format in the previous year and the recognition of the gains/ loss thereof in the financial statement during the period.

He said despite the harsh operating environment, they were able to deliver value to our shareholders noting this is a testimony that their business model is resilient enough to deliver on a consistent basis.

Zakariya’u noted that the future of insurance business in Nigeria is bright as the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) continued to deepen the industry through various initiatives.

He said the company is poised to grow its premium income and profitability in the coming years with the introduction of new products including a flagship annuity scheme, travel insurance and other products.

He said: “We will also focus attention on revamping and reintroducing old products after making them more attractive to the insuring public. We will continue to strengthen our renewed strategic alliances with insurance intermediaries and clients to engender improved market share and to advance our leadership position in the industry.

“The benefits from the imple-

• From left: Managing Director, Niger Insurance, Kola Adedeji; Zakariya’u and Company Secretary, Taiwo Otuneye at the AGM.

mentation of our recently introduced performance improvement and organisational restructuring project have started manifesting as the speed and efficiency of our service delivery have greatly improved; thus enhancing our ability to add more value to all stakeholders.

“Niger is also refocusing its business strategy towards retail and micro- insurance segments in view of the stiff competition and unsteady nature of government corporate businesses. In the years ahead we

STI to raise N1.1b through rights issue

S

OVEREIGN Trust Insurance (STI) Plc is set to raise additional capital of about N1.1 billion from its shareholders through a rights issue, the Managing Director, Wale Onaolapo has said.

In a statement, the Head of Corporate Communication and Brand Management Department, Segun Bankole, said the company was placing on offer by way of rights, N2,290,585,798 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at 50 kobo per share on the basis of one new ordinary share for every three ordinary shares of 50 kobo each subject to approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

He explained that the rights issue is a necessary step towards accomplishing its five year strategic blueprint which amongst others, will reinforce its competitiveness in the Nigerian market and improve its

market share.

He urges existing shareholders in the company to see this as a vista of opportunity to take up their rights during the offer and buy into the growth objectives of the company.

He said: “In addition to ensuring the actualisation of the company’s goals, the exercise will further boost the aspiration of the company to creating exceptional values for all its stakeholders.

“In achieving the huge tasks that have been placed before us, we have identified that a very robust capital base is critical to the realisation of our strategic objectives, hence the need to call on shareholders to exercise their rights when it eventually opens, he added. ‘’The principal activity of the company continues to be the provision of all classes of non-life insurance and special risk insurance and the fundamentals of its business remain solid.’’

It added: “In today’s challenging

will focus on reappraisal of our investment portfolio with a view to maximising earnings and minimising risk thereof. The implementation of the enterprise wide Information and Communication Technology (ICT) also enabled our business process improvements which gave us sustainable growth possibilities, he said.

On the liability on staff retirement benefit scheme, he said: “Following the enactment of the Pension Reform Act by the Federal Government in 2004, the manage-

ment of the company went into negotiation with the staff union members on how to resolve and integrate the old scheme, which had become a difficult legacy issue. It is pertinent to report that management has finally reached an agreement with the staff unions regarding the liability on the staff Retirement benefit scheme. As a result the sum of N1.649bilion has been charged to the account representing the total liability of staff benefits for past services as at winding up date”.

FBN Life Assurance pays N548m claims in six months

F

• Onaolapo

economic environment, the company is continually poised to enhancing its capital structure and fortifying its investments portfolio for better positioning in taking advantage of the burgeoning opportunities in the industry”.

BN Life Assurance Ltd paid N548 million claims to policy holders in the first half of its operations, the Managing Director, Val Ojumah has said.

Ojumah said the company enjoys paying claims because it is the main reason it is in business.

He said the firm had also made claims payment its cardinal selling point.

He assured customers of prompt claims payment in case anything goes wrong with them as it relates to the policies.

Ojumah said the company wrote life business of N3.2 billion in the period under review, adding that they intend to hit N11 billion by the end of the

year.

He said the company performed well going by the over N500 million profit recorded in its 2013 financial year.

According to him, the profitability has placed them among the top five most profitable companies in life insurance segment of the insurance industry.

He added that the firm achieved success as a result of its belief in high ethical standard, professionalism and efficiency.

The ‘No premium, no cover’ policy, he said, also contributed to their cash boost.

He noted that it, however, affected the number of clients who are renewing their businesses by 100 per cent.

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

37

THE NATION

BUSINESS JOBS

• Satellite

In line with the directive of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to member countries, Nigeria will join the rest of the world next year to switch from analogue to digital broadcasting. The new regime promises job openings for both skilled and unskilled labour, writes AKINOLA AJIBADE.

Digital switch over: Jobs coming NEXT year, Nigeria will join the rest of the world by switching from the analogue broadcasting to digital.

Last month, regulator of the broadcast industry, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), commenced the pilot implementation of the project in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

Its Director-General, Emeka Mba said the regulator decided to start the execution of the project ahead of the deadline set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to ensure a hitch-free transition, arguing that all the shortcomings noticed in its implementation would have been fixed before the global body’s

regulatory deadline.

Broadcast sector analysts have said the implementation of the programme would create jobs for many jobless youths. They see

plenty of job openings coming from the firms that will be licensed by the NBC to produce set-top boxes (an electronic equipment that is connected to the television set

‘In television stations, you need people to handle your audio, lighting, cameras, and computers. Also, the services of engineers, set-men, costume makers, and drivers would be required. Based on this, the opportunities in the digital broadcasting system are many and competitive’

to enable it receive a different form of broadcasting, especially, digital signals) which is at the heart of digital broadcasting. While both skilled and unskilled jobs will be opened up in the factories, content developers, audio/video experts, lighting, cameramen, computer operators will be hired. Also, graphic artists, set-men, programmes producers/directors, technicians, drivers and others will be needed for fill vacuum that will be created as a result of further opening up the broadcasting space.

•Continued on page 38

THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

38

JJOBS OBS •Continued from page 37

Similarly, there will be ‘digital dividends’ which will arise from the freed broadcast spectrum that will be transferred to the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) for telecommunications.

NBC’s General Manager, Lagos Zone, Olufemi Ayeni said digital broadcasting comes with a lot of opportunities.

He said thousands of jobs (direct and indirect) are going to be created as television stations adopt digital transmission system. He said many unemployed youths would get jobs because more television stations would come on stream.

At a seminar with the theme: “Promoting the role of broadcast professional practitioners in peaceful free and fair elections” at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja Lagos, Ayeni said digital transmission marked a new era in the history of Nigerian broadcast media, adding that the idea would boost activities in the industry. He said people would get jobs as a result of the initiative.

He said the issue is going to have multiplier effects on the industry because many people would benefit from it. He said television houses’ owners, manufacturers/ dealers of equipment, food vendors, transporters, market women, among others, would gain from the initiative.

He said: “Through digital transmission, frequencies used by television stations would go on multiplication screen. A particular frequency can have between 12 and 20 more frequencies created from it under the new dispensation. That means more applications for television stations would be considered by NBC. The stations are going to use personnel. Opportunities would be created for people who want to handle air broadcast, and technical issues.

“In television stations, you need people to handle your audio, lighting, cameras, and computers. Also, the services of engineers, set-men, costume makers, and drivers would be required. Based on this, the opportunities in the digital broadcasting system are many and competitive.

“The jobs are demanding, and come with good benefits. The existing stations would employ, while those that would be establish when the digital transmission

Digital switch over: Jobs coming

• Minister of Information, Labaran Maku

is fully implemented in Nigeria would employ workers.”

Ayeni said broadcasting comes with creativity, advising people to develop their creative instincts to get jobs as the indusstry goes digital.

“Broadcasting is a creative field, requiring people who are artistic. The field is for people who can agitate their minds, and get things done with little or no supervision. Many young men and women are bursting with ideas.

• Mba

This has nothing to do with certificate. Whether they go to creative schools or not, they would get jobs once they are imaginative. It is the creative field like broadcasting that can offer them opportunities to use their ideas.

When more stations come on board, more opportunities would be open to new entrants in the industry, ‘’ he added.

He said the directive on digital transmission is binding all television stations operating in the

country, arguing that operators cannot afford to disobey the government’s order.

Assistant Manager, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Ibadan, Oyo State, Tajudeen Alade said activities would pick up in the sector digital switch over.

Alade said skilled and unskilled personnel personnel would get jobs under the new dispensation.

He said workers who can handle audio and visual facilities well

‘Through digital transmission, frequencies used by television stations would go on multiplication screen. A particular frequency can have between 12 and 20 more frequencies created from it under the new dispensation. That means more applications for television stations would be considered by NBC. The stations are going to use personnel. Opportunities would be created for people who want to handle air broadcast, and technical issues’

are bound to get good jobs, adding that they needed before, during and after “Creativity is at the heart of broadcasting. People have to be highly creative before they can get a chance to work in television stations that transmit digitally. People who can use computers and other ICT facilities to create animated objects for companies that want to air advertise on television would get jobs. The visual artists, producers cum directors of programmes would earn a living as well. The unemployed should try and see how they fit in as the country embraced digital transmission system. There are jobs for the unskilled workers like drivers, mechanics, messengers and others,” he added.

Alade said digital transmission has impacted positively on operations of television stations abroad, adding that the idea would work in Nigeria once it is well implemented.

He said countries, such as the United States and Britain have adopted digital transmission model, and would like to help Nigeria and developing countries in areas where they do not have comparative advantage.

“Apart from the fact that digital TV would bring more people to employment nets, there is going to be transfer of skills between the developed and emerging countries. Formation of synergies between the local stations and their counterparts abroad would take place. This would improve skills, and work rate of broadcasters and other workers,” he said.

He urged the unemployed to make use of the opportunities offered by the introduction of the policy for growth.

A worker with Daar Communication Plc, Mrs Funke Fadugba said digital transmission is at its infancy, arguing that the idea would help in re-defining broadcasting landscape in Nigeria.

She said the issue would result in the establishment of new television stations. This, she said, would provide jobs for people.

According to her, independent producers are going to benefit more under the digital transmission policy. Independent producers, Fadugba said will get more slots while local content will be greatly enhanced.

CAREER MANAGEMENT

Job search when you have to be discreet W

HEN you don’t want your employer to find out that you are job hunting, there are steps you can take to keep your job search confidential.

The last thing you need to have happen when job searching is for your employer to accidentally find out that you’re looking for a new job. It could jeopardise both your current position and future references from your employer.

Here are some suggestions on how to effectively job hunt on the sly, so that the wrong person doesn’t find out that you are looking to make a move.

Stealth job hunting do’s and don’ts

Email address Do not use your work email address for job hunting. Use your personal account or set up a free web-based email account specifically for job searching.

Office equipment Don’t use your employer’s computers or phone system. Many employers monitor Internet usage

By Olu Oyeniran

and review phone call logs. Keep your resume, your email correspondence, and anything and everything related to your job search on your home computer.

Your resume Be careful where you post your resume. If you don’t want your current employer to accidently find your resume when searching for candidates, post on job sites where you can keep your employer and contact information confidential.

For example, if you post your resume on Monster, you can make it confidential and your contact information and references won’t be displayed. You can block your present company’s name by entering an end date of present for your current position.

Additional resume options Other options for protecting your privacy (aside from blocking) include listing a generic company name and job title, rather than a specific one. You can also leave off company contact information. Do

the same with your contact information and phone numbers. List your job searching email address and cell phone number.

Telephone tips Do not use your work phone number for job hunting. Instead, put your cell phone number and/ or home phone number on your resume. Be sure to have voice mail or an answering machine in place so you get the messages in a timely fashion.

How and when If you can’t job hunt from work, what other options are there besides evenings and weekends?

Visit a bookstore, cafe or library with internet access on your lunch hour and bring your laptop if you can find a wireless connection to use.

Use your phone to job search there are lots of job search apps available. Lunch time also a good time to return prospective employer phone calls, especially if you can take an early or late lunch to catch them in the office.

Interviewing Try to schedule interviews for either the beginning or the end of the day or on your lunch hour. If you have vacation time you can use, schedule multiple interviews for the same day.

Dress the part If you typically wear jeans to work, don’t wear a suit when you have an interview scheduled. Someone will start wondering what the occasion is for dressing up.

Be discreet Be careful who you tell that you’re looking for a new job. If you tell co-workers, you can be sure that it will get back to your boss, one way or the other. Do tell your family, so they can take messages for you and so they don’t inadvertently spill the beans to your work colleagues and leave you a message that someone is calling about an interview.

Social networking sites Be really careful what you post

on social networking sites. Don’t tell your Facebook friends or your LinkedIn connections that you’re job searching. Don’t tweet about your job search activities either.

Even if your boss doesn’t follow your updates, someone else may and the word that you’re job hunting could get back.

EkiniConsult & Associates is organising three free and open workshops, “Knocking on the Right Doors- Strategies for Uncovering the Hidden Job Market” for The Nation readers in Lagos. A free eBook of the same title will be given to those who may not be able to. If you are interested, send-in your name, location, email address and GSM no to 080-8384-3230. Precede with the word ‘ATTEND’ for those who want to come and ‘FREE EBOOK’ for those who want the free e-Book only.

•Oyeniran is Lead Consultant, EkiniConsult & Associates. He can be reached on Jobsearchhow.com.ng Tel 08083843230 (SMS Only).

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BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL

Russia bans Polish fruits, vegetables

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HE Russian authorities have introduced a sweeping ban on imports of fruit and vegetables from Poland, depriving it of a major export market.

Russia's food hygiene authorities said the imports had unacceptable levels of pesticide residues and nitrates. They earn Poland more than 1bn euros (£795million; $1.3billion) annually. Russia is Poland's biggest market for apples. The move follows EU sanctions against Russia over Ukraine - and Poland has condemned Russian actions there.

Poland and some other former communist bloc countries are among the most vocal critics of Russia in the crisis, accusing Mos-

cow of supplying the separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine with arms and volunteers.

The cost to Poland of the import ban is likely to be 0.6 per cent of GDP (national output) by the end of the year, Polish Deputy Prime Minister Janusz Piechocinski was quoted as saying.

Agriculture accounts for about 3.8 per cent of Poland's total GDP. Polish growers plan to seek compensation from the EU for the loss of earnings. Poles have been posting images of apples on social media as a way of protesting against Russia.

On Thursday Russia announced a ban on more imported Ukrainian food: soy products, cornmeal, sun-

flowers and fruit juice.

Earlier Russia banned Ukrainian dairy produce and canned fish and vegetables. Last year it banned Ukrainian Roshen chocolate, produced by billionaire businessman Petro Poroshenko, who is now Ukraine's president.

Previously Russia also imposed such boycotts on Georgia and Moldova - former Soviet republics, like Ukraine, whose pro-Western policies have angered the Kremlin.

Russia is an important export market for Georgian and Moldovan wine. Currently Russia is blocking imports of Moldovan fruit. In each case the Russian au-

U.S. economy adds 209,000 jobs in July

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HE United States (U.S.) added 209,000 jobs last month, adding to optimism that the country's economy is roaring once more.

The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 6.2 per cent, latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics has shown.

The biggest job gains were in professional business services and manufacturing jobs.

On Wednesday, the Commerce Department said the US economy grew by a better-than-expected four per cent during the April-to-June period.

In an encouraging sign, the number of people in the US labour market increased slightly, meaning that workers who may have given up looking for a job have now begun to re-enter the jobs market.

The May and June jobs data were also revised upwards to show that the US economy added 15,000 more jobs.

Some economists had been expecting even larger figures, but nonetheless said that there was nothing "bad" about the report.

Jurgen Fatha Jurgen Fatha is a recent college graduate who says he has seen many applicants for every available job "The downward trend [in the unemployment rate] remains intact, but there will be bumps along the way to normalcy," wrote US investment bank Jefferies in a note

•Job seekers attending job expo

to clients.

July is often one of the weaker months for jobs growth, which is one possible reason for the uptick in the unemployment rate.

However, the figures are encouraging, as the US economy needs to add at least 150,000 jobs each month simply to keep up with population growth.

This is the sixth straight month that the US economy has added more than 200,000 jobs.

Yet there are still reasons to be concerned: wage growth remains flat and the number of long-term unemployed - those out of work for longer than six months - was essentially unchanged at 3.2 million, or a third

of those looking for work.

Dwayne Burgess Dwayne Burgess says that although it is tough out there, he is optimistic he will find work US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen recently highlighted that while the employment data is certain better than in the aftermath of the 2008-09 recession, challenges remain.

"Imagine I've got my hands on your shoulders and I'm pushing you," she recently said in an interview with the New Yorker magazine. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, I was pushing you so hard, you couldn't get to where you wanted to go.

Man Group shares retreat

H

EDGE fund manager Man Group Plc reported a sharp fall in net inflows in the second quarter and its chief executive said on Friday he was cautious on the outlook for the rest of the year, sending its shares sharply lower.

Man, whose shares have collapsed to a fraction of their 2008 peak, has been restructuring to reduce dependence on the computer-driven AHL fund that took a heavy battering from the fallout from the financial crisis which began six years ago.

However the company, which is buying asset managers Numeric and Pine Grove to increase its presence in the United States, remains at the

mercy of unpredictable market volatility from factors such as tensions in Ukraine.

Man said funds under management (FuM) rose seven per cent to $57.7 billion in the first half, helped by net inflows of $2.8 billion. But net inflows in the June quarter plunged to $800 million, a 60 per cent drop from the previous three months.

"Whilst it has been a positive first half for the firm and we recorded another quarter of net inflows in Q2, we remain cautious as we look to the second half of the year," said Chief Executive Manny Roman in a statement.

While the group, is on course to reduce dependence on its AHL funds

and strengthen its business in the United States, the world's biggest market for hedge funds, a dip in margins in the second half also weighed on the stock.

The group's net margin was down to 121 basis points in the first half from 150 basis points at the end of last year.

"Management was a bit downbeat on the flows in the second half and also the revenue margins going forward," said David Mccann, an analyst at brokerage Numis Securities.

The continued volatile market environment, fueled by a debt default

by Argentina for the second time in 12 years, also helped pressure Man stock.

Iliad shares plummet following bid for T-Mobile US

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HARES in French start-up company Iliad have seen a fall of 13 per cent, their biggest drop in eight years, after the firm made a bid for T-Mobile US. On Thursday, Iliad made a cash offer of $15bilion for 56.6 per cent of the US company. Before Iliad's bid, T-Mobile US had been expected to conclude a tie-up with US rival Sprint Nextel.

T-Mobile US, controlled by German company Deutsche Telekom, is

almost 60 per cent larger than Iliad.

Its shares rose 6.5 per cent following the announcement.

Sprint's Japanese parent, SoftBank Corp, and Deutsche Telekom had already loosely agreed to a deal.

Iliad said: "The US mobile market is large and attractive. T-Mobile US has successfully established a disruptive position which, in many ways, is similar to the one Iliad has built in France."

Paul Gallant, an analyst at Guggenheim Securities in Washing-

ton, said: "I suspect this (Iliad) deal would get through Washington much easier than the Sprint deal. I don't see any real red flags that would complicate it.

"There don't appear to be any competition issues the way there would be with a Sprint deal. That's the biggest difference and that's significant."

John Bergmeyer, of the consumer group Public Knowledge, said the Iliad deal was favourable because "it wouldn't result in a loss of competition.”

thorities say they have public health reasons for imposing a ban.

In January - before its March annexation of Crimea - Russia also imposed a ban on imports of pigs and pork from the EU. The European Commission says that move was "disproportionate", closing a market worth 25 per cent of total EU pig and pork exports.

In 2013 those exports to Russia totalled 1.4bn euros. The EU has complained to the World Trade Organisation, accusing Russia of breaking the rules. The Russian ban was based on some cases of African swine fever among wild boars on the EU's borders with Belarus.

EU firms count Russia sanctions costs

A

ROUND Europe, companies of all shapes and sizes are assessing the impact of the sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) following America's lead.

Obvious candidates such as the targeted oil and banking sectors came under immediate pressure.

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell mothballed a $10billion shale gas venture in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, rival BP, which has a 20% stake in Russian energy giant Rosneft, warned that its business could suffer.

Shares around the world had one of their worst weeks of the year as the potential impact of sanctions added to heightened geopolitical tensions.

The German Dax blue-chip stock market was down more than five per cent.

Deutsche Bank and Societe General, which have significant Russian businesses, both suffered sharp falls in their share price this week.

But the strain also began to show in areas not specifically targeted.

Sportswear manufacturer Adidas saw its shares tumble as it said it would scale back its presence in Russia, while Volkswagen reported an eight per cent decline in Russian sales. And it was not just companies that were warning of trouble.

Countries close to Russia are revising the outlook for their economies.

The Polish prime minister said sanctions would knock 0.6 per cent off Poland's GDP by year-end. At the same time, German Ifo business confidence - a closely watched economic barometer - showed a big fall.

WTO members divided on deal THE World Trade Organisation (WTO) says its 160 members have failed to agree a global customs pact drawn up in meetings in Bali last December.

The Trade Facilitation Agreement would have streamlined global customs procedures, and should have been finalised by Thursday.

But it was blocked over a number of rifts, including India's demands for concessions on the stockpiling of food.

The WTO said it had not been possible to find a breakthrough.

"We have not been able to find a solution that would allow us to bridge the gap," WTO director-general Roberto Azevedo said.

He asked WTO members "to reflect long and hard on the ramifications of this setback.”

And US ambassador to the WTO, Michael Punke, said that the failure to agree a deal had "put this institution on very uncertain new ground".

The WTO had seemed to be on the verge of reaching its first comprehensive agreement since it was founded in 1995.

But India vetoed the proposal at a late stage, demanding greater concessions over farm subsidies and agricultural stockpiles.

"This is not just another delay which we can simply ignore." That is what the WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo told the member countries' trade negotiators.

The Bali agreement on trade facilitation was the one and only achievement to date from the Doha Round negotiations that were launched in 2001.

The struggle to make progress has already raised questions about.

Whether the WTO has a future as the forum for international trade negotiations.

Airline group makes profit BRITISH Airways owner IAG has moved into profit for the first half of the year after an improved performance from its Spanish airline, Iberia.

The group made a pre-tax profit of 155m euros ($207milion; £123million), compared with a 177milion-euro loss a year ago.

Iberia, which has been loss-making for a number of years, made an operating loss of 95m euros.

Last week, it signed an agreement to shed an extra 1,427 jobs, IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said.

In early trading on Friday, IAG shares increased more than four per cent in value, but dropped back again later in the morning.

"This performance shows that we are making further solid progress," Mr Walsh said in a statement.

Group passenger numbers increased to 35 million from 29 million in the first half of last year.

Mr Walsh said that Iberia's restructuring "continues to have a positive impact" on the group, and that 16 new aeroplanes had been ordered for the Spanish airline. Eight Airbus A350-900s and eight Airbus A330-200s will be joining its long-haul fleet, he said.

Iberia narrowed its operating losses from 551million euros the year before. In 2013, the Spanish airline's losses acted as a drag on the profits made by BA and low-cost airline Vueling. In the first half of 2014, BA made a profit of 327million euros.

IAG boss Willie Walsh: Central body "must not set airspace guidelines”.

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BUSINESS AFRICA

Air Seychelles acquires Airbus 320 •Increases flight frequencies

A

IR Seychelles will take delivery of its first Airbus A320 aircraft in December.

Also, the firm has made some changes in its flight schedules; they include increased weekly frequencies between Seychelles and Abu Dhabi, more flights to Mauritius, and revised schedules for Johannesburg, Mauritius, and Paris routes.

Air Seychelles' Chief Executive Officer, Manoj Papa, said: "The addition of a two-cabin Airbus A320 aircraft to our fleet, configured with 16 seats in Business Class and 120 in Economy Class, forms an essential component of our plan to establish Air Seychelles as the carrier of choice in the Indian Ocean region.

He said: "The aircraft, a wet lease from partner Etihad Airways, will allow Air Seychelles to extend the depth and breadth of its network, increase its regional brand presence, and crucially deliver more revenue which will be used to further develop Air Seychelles' expanding services.

"Subject to regulatory approvals and beyond confirmed schedule updates and frequency enhancements, additional route announcements are planned in the coming months, so that by the end of 2014 our brightlycoloured aircraft will be seen at many more destinations.

"I am particularly excited for the increased capacity on our Mauritius route, which will provide our guests with more flexible travel options."

From December, Mauritius services, the firm said, would move to a morning departure from Seychelles, operating on Monday, Friday and Saturday, with the Saturday service flown by the island carrier's Airbus A330-200 aircraft, providing more seats.

Paris services by Air Seychelles' Airbus A330-200 wide-body aircraft will sport new flight numbers, and depart Paris Charles de Gaulle airport on Wednesday and Saturday respectively, arriving in Seychelles Thursday and Sunday. Similarly, flights to Paris will depart

Seychelles on Tuesday and Friday, arriving in Paris the following day.

Services between Abu Dhabi and Seychelles’ flights would increase from 14 to 18 weekly, while Etihad Airways would continue to operate three return services weekly on the same route, offering customers 24 weekly between Seychelles and Abu Dhabi.

Papa said: "Our new fleet arrival, enhanced schedule and additional frequencies take Air Seychelles to the next level.

"Combined, these developments will cement Air Seychelles' success-

ful turnaround strategy, increase and secure inbound tourism flows to Seychelles, and economically, be hugely positive in terms of facilitating more trade across our network.

"Our international network continues to perform well and with these additional flights, we look forward to increasing connectivity to key markets important for Seychelles tourism - in Asia such as Beijing, Chennai, Delhi, Riyadh, and Tokyo, as well as in traditional and emerging European markets including Rome, Moscow and Paris.’’

L

•Dr. Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment flanked by President/CEO, Erisco Foods, Chief Eric Umeofia (left) and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Keystone Bank Limited Mr. Philip Ikeazor, during the minister's visit to Erisco Foods in Oregun Industrial Estate, Ikeja, Lagos.

somewhat dormant by themselves, their ability to connect with smartphones has led to them becoming an indispensable component of any 21st century digital ecosystem. The LG Tone Infinim is a Bluetooth headset designed to flawlessly sync with the user's smartphone.

The headset has a number of unique features that allow for hands-free smartphone operation.

Through the headset, users can send and receive calls as well as supply users with operational data for their smartphones.

“The speaker technology guarantees users the highest quality sound. The G Watch is able to pair with any android device. It gives users more options when interacting with their technology, helping them stay connected at all times," LG explained.

According to the firm, integrating a wide range of apps and up-

Foundation holds summer programme

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HE Ovie Brume Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation, has kicked off its Summer Programme.

It is designed to empower the youth to acquire vocational and skills.

Its Executive Director, Mrs. Iwalola Akin-Jimoh, said: "The Ovie Brume Foundation is committed to ensuring that every young person is adequately empowered, exposed and has access to qualitative education to enable them take their rightful place in the society.

This Summer Programme will amongst other things help reduce the number of youth involved in social vices, and fight the detrimental effect of learning loss that might arise as a result of a long holiday and subsequent idleness."

Children, she said, would interact with their colleagues at the evnent. The Youth Centre's Summer Programme would provide a mix of opportunities from closed camps by Hope Youth Corp Camp and YMCA to open camp-based vocational training sessions and excursion.

Also, the Barack Obama American

S

UB-SAHARAN Africa's leading telecoms services company, MainOne and Smile Communications, provider of 4G LTE broadband internet service, have signed an agreement for the purchase of long term capacity for the MainOne network at the Smile Communications office in Victoria Island, Lagos.

In a statement the firm explianed that new agreement will extend the tenor of Smile's services with MainOne and support Smile's growth in the market.

Chief Sales & Marketing Officer (CSMO) of MainOne, Mr. Folu Aderibigbe said the deal would not only strengthen broadband penetration in the country but empower future generations to be competitive.

He said: "This project, Aderibigbe noted, is an important example of MainOne's commitment to bring high-speed broadband access to Africa and we are proud to be providing international capacity to Smile Communications, thereby supporting their efforts in ensuring broad-based economic growth in Nigeria."

Training on hospitality, tourism

LG: smart devices, technology ways to go G Electronics has said the marriage of smart devices with technology has become the way to go as the world moves to the 'internet of things' and simplify the way consumers live.

In a statement, the Korean firm said there are huge opportunities for society resulting from this marriage, adding that the possibility of creating more complex information networks promise to create new business models, improve business processes, and reduce costs and risks.

From a less macro perspective, having intelligent devices that can 'talk' to one another has potential to alleviate and automate ordinary tasks, saving time, energy and costs for consumers.

With the enduring popularity of smartphones, countless accessories have been designed to help users harness the full power of their smart devices.

"While these accessories remain

MainOne, Smile Communications sign deal

By Lucy Erekosima

Corner, Lagos, Ovie Brume Foundation and Public Affairs Section of the United States Consulate, are running a Summer Reading Programme from August 11, at its Youth Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos.

The Opening would feature Ms. Malore Brown, Information Resources Officer at the US Consulate who will be reading a short story.

The Foundation has initiated some programmes students during the year to address low literacy among our students.

"Young people are our potential future leaders in government, private sector, civil society, media or other professions. It is imperative that we groom them with the necessary skills to be the best in our society, especially now that they are young.

This is our primary objective and driving force at the Ovie Brume Foundation," Lois Ekeleme, the Barack Obama American Corner Coordinator, added.

dates from Android devices, G Watch gives users the information that they in the timely manner befitting a replacement to the traditional wristwatch.

The G Watch is designed for hands-free operation - using one's voice - which eliminates the complexity of typing on such a compact display.

As a global leader in 4G LTE, LG is well poised to begin implementing connected technology outside of its traditional markets.

4G LTE is the main connectivity solution for connected vehicles and LG has recently signed on as the newest member of the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA) joining other firms in the market to build connected cars.

LG showcased its new range of audio, visual and navigation (AVN) system solutions for connected cars.

The advanced AVN enables drivers to simply connect their Android de-

vice via a single cable to vehicles featuring Google's in-car interface platform to easily and conveniently access their smartphones' features and functions.

For example, drivers can view and control their favorite smartphone navigation apps or search their mobile phone's contacts to make calls and send text

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Air Algerie jet plunged rapidly

HE Air Algerie flight that crashed in Mali last week appears to have plummeted to the ground from an altitude of 10, 000 metres in just a few minutes after flying into a storm, a senior official involved in the investigation was quoted as saying.

French officials said they believed bad weather was most likely to blame for the crash, which killed all 118 passengers and crew when the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft smashed into the ground south of the Malian town of Gossi, near the border with Burkina Faso.

Pilots of the plane, which left the Burkinabe capital Ouagadougou en route for Algiers in the early hours of Thursday morning, asked for permission to alter their route due to poor weather as they flew north.

Head of Burkina Faso's crisis cell, General Gilbert Diendere, said radar data showed that the plane appeared to try to fly around the bad weather before reverting to its initial course, which took it back into the eye of the storm.

"Perhaps the pilot thought that he

• Smart TV

had completely avoided it and wanted to return to the original route," Diendere said, according to the website of French radio RFI. "The accident took place while the plane performed this manoeuvre."

Diendere said the last contact with the plane at its altitude of 10 000 metres was at 01:47 GMT and the crash was reported by witnesses to have taken place at 01:50.

"That means that (plane) fell from an altitude of 10 000 metres to zero in about three minutes, which is a steep fall given the size of the plane," he added.

French authorities have not ruled out any explication for the crash but they believe the poor weather played a part in the accident. There were 54 French citizens among the passengers.The two black boxes from the plane have been found and transferred to France, where they are being examined by experts and results are expected in the coming weeks.

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O address the skills gap in the hospitality industry, Apexgate School of Hospitality and Tourism, is planning to commence its second phase of training for year.

This is coming on the heels of the admission of the school into the Corporate Membership Status of the Institute of Hospitality, UK (Nigeria International Branch).

Having identified that overcoming skills shortages and other issues in hospitality industry remains essential in enhancing high quality service delivery to both local and visitor markets, the firm, which is also a subsidiary of Apexgate Nigeria Limited seeks to offer professional and vocational training as well as programmes with interests in the hospitality, tourism and leisure industry to bridge the gap.

It's Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Jumoke Adebise, explained that the industry is growing faster and remains a key market in driving the growth of the industry and other sectors within the valuechain.

“With the array of hotels and companies emerging in the hospitalityindustry, Nigeria's hospitality industry remains strategically important to the economy in terms of its potential to positively influencing the tourism market and this can be achieved through excellence in service delivery, a gap yet to be effectively addressed.

He said: “Today, perceptions of hospitality as a lower status or interim career choice are affecting the size and quality of the labour pool as well as contributing to high staff turnover rates. Indeed, such high staff turnover is a major contributor to a lack of investment in employee training and career development initiatives.

"Indeed, skills shortages are evident across the industry in several roles including commercial chefs, supervisory level employees and skilled, experienced food and beverage staff.

"To this end, Apexgate will be providing a continuum of services ranging from certificates, diploma, higher diploma and other work.”

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MONDAY AUGUST 4, 2014

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

EDO POLITICS No fewer than 15 politicians are struggling for the Edo South senatorial ticket in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). Correspondent OSAGIE OTABOR examines the contenders and pretenders in the race and issues that will shape the contest.

Edo South senatorial race hots up S

IX months to the 2015 general elec tions, the race for Edo South senato rial ticket is generating tension. The battle is mainly between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC). Aspirants from other political parties, including the Labour Party (LP), are yet to indicate interest in the contest.

Senator Ehigie Uzamere is completing his second term in the Upper House next year.

No other person has been re-elected into the Senate from the district since 1999. His predecessors - Senators Roland Owie and Daisy Danjuma-served only a term.

Uzamere is not done yet. There are strong indications that he is planning to re-contest.

But, it is going to be a tough contest for Uzamere this time around, given the calibre of persons that have shown interest in the race. In the APC alone, there are a legion of aspirants. For example, two members of the House of Representatives, Hon. Jim Adun and Samson Osagie, are in the race. Other are Henry Idahagbon, a legal practitioner, and Patrick Obahiagbon, popularly known as Igodomigodo.

In the PDP, apart from Senator Uzamere, other political heavyweights gunning for the ticket include Hon. Victor Edos Enomoyi, West Idahosa and Matthew Urhoghide.

Even at the intra-party level, the battle will be tough. Apart from Idahagbon, other aspirants in the APC have represented their constituencies in the House of Representatives. The scenario is the same in the PDP. Observers say it will be a keen competition among those that have remained loyal to the party and those that left the party and defected back alongside Pastor Osagie IzeIyamu.

Adun Adun, a retired soldier, represents IkpobaOkha/Egor in the House of Representatives. He was also in the House between 2003 and 2007. He was re-elected in 2011.

Adun is the former acting military governor of the defunct Bendel State. But, his greatest undoing may be his perceived detachment from people at the grassroots. To many observers, he is not connected to the people. They argue that he hardly contributes to discussions during plenaries and does not hold meetings with his constituents.

His opponents have also accused him of non-performance, saying that he does not have what it takes to be be considered for the senatorial slot. The Publicity Secretary of Adun Campaign Organisation, Evans Aigbedion, however, disagreed. He argued that the developmental projects facilitated

by Adun have made life better for constituents.

He said it is not the duty of legislators to award contracts. Their primary responsibility is to make laws for the good governance of the country, he added.

Obahiagbo n Obahiagbon, who is the Chief of Staff to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, was elected into the House of Assembly in 1999 under the PDP. He served for eight years before he was elected into the House of Representatives in 2007. Later, he joined the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

Obahiagbon however, failed to get a return ticket. He was defeated by Hon. Razaq BelloOsagie. Many of his political associates say Obahiagbon has learnt his lessons from the defeat. They added that he has been working with community leaders with a view to marketing himself to constituents.

dacy. This is the first primaries Urhoghide would be contesting under the PDP and many believe he may be given a dose of the power play. Urhoghide has promised a good representation, but whether he would get the ticket is another thing.

West-Idahosa

•Idahagbon

• Osagie

Idahagbon Idahagbon distinguished himself as the Chairman of Egor Local Government Area under the platform of the All Peoples Party, which later became the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). He joined the PDP later and became a commissioner under former Governor Lucky Igbinedion. He contested for the senatorial seat in 2011, but was defeated at the primaries by Senator Daisy Danjuma.

He is now the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice. Idahagbon is perceived as a blunt politician by many, which is not a particularly good quality in politics. As a commissioner, he has brought some reforms to the ministry. It is said that files sent to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) are now urgently processed.

Osagie He has been in the political arena since 1999. He served for eight years in the House of Assembly before moving to the House of Representatives on the platform of the PDP. He joined the ACN and was reelected into the National Assembly. Osagie was the first to declare his intention for the Senate in the Edo South APC. He has vowed to continue with his campaign. His opponents say he should apply the brakes, having been a lawmaker for 16 years. They added that lawmaking should not be a career path for him. But, Osagie has insisted that the Senate is for experienced hands.

Thus, he has urged the Binis to elect only a credible and tested person for the job. He said aspirants should be clinically screened by both members and leaders of the APC.

Ebomoyi Ebomoyi is the Chairman of the Governing Council, Federal Polytechnic, AdoEkiti. He was the first Chief of Staff under

• Ebomoyi

Igbinedion. He later served as Commissioner before contesting for the chairmanship of Oredo Local Government Area. As a council boss, he provided infrastructural facilities for the area. Since then, Ebomoyi has kept a low profile, an action that many said would work against him at the primaries. Ebomoyi’s supporters believe he should be rewarded for being loyal to the party, but his opponents said he has distanced himself from the people for a long time.

Ebomoyi said the Binis have been shortchanged by those they have elected into the Senate. “We have sent so many people before. When we are sending them, they wore white clothes and when they were coming back, they wore blue without asking us whether to change colors. The people are wiser now. Character and attitude matter. I promise a robust representation. I am very prepared for service, if I am given the vote to represent them well.”

“Edo South is too key in Edo State for us not to have a senator that knows his onions.

A senator with a critical clout, intellectual sagacity, good pedigree, in terms of political experience. We need a character that can facilitate developmental policies. That is what we need in Edo South. Position of a senator is not an executive position. We will concretize developmental partnership. We will facilitate processes that will bring development to Edo South.”

Urhoghide Urhoghide has been described as a serial contestant. He is the Publicity Secretary of the PDP. Urhoghide joined the PDP, ahead of the last general elections after he felt cheated at the ACN primaries won by Senator Uzamere. He said the results of the ACN primaries were not made known to him.

Oshiomhole recently apologized to Urhoghide for preferring Uzamere’s candi-

‘All the senators we have had had done nothing in this district. Let them come and show us what they did with the constituency allowances they collected. The aspirants would be scrutinised by everybody. We are going to work with a candidate that will bring development and not the one that will be sharing money to leaders’

Hon. West Idahosa was in the House of Representative for 12 years. He is the longest serving lawmaker in the state. The skill acquisition centre he facilitated to Usen Community in Ovia Southwest is not functional. Idahosa defected to the APC over what he termed ideological differences with key leaders of the PDP. He was among APC members that defected to the PDP after the APC congresses. His opponents said his sojourn in the Lower Chamber for 12 years was not beneficial to the people. But, Idahosa said Edo South needed competent people to move the district forward.

Observers have said that Edo South has not been lucky to have a good representation at the Senate. They pointed out that Uzamere, like his predecessors, has not given an account of his stewardship. An APC chieftain, Aiguobasimwin Emmanuel, challenged former senators from the zone to show the people what they achieved for the district.

“We have not been having it good with senators from Edo South. We have been having senators defecting from one party to another. Uzamere came under the ACN and defected to the PDP. How will that bring development?”

“We want a senator that will bring development. We want somebody that will be accepted by everybody and not someone picked by a leader. That has been our problem in choosing a senator. All the senators we have had had done nothing in this district. Let them come and show us what they did with the constituency allowances they collected. The aspirants would be scrutinised by everybody. We are going to work with a candidate that will bring development and not the one that will be sharing money to leaders,” he said.

The Deputy Chairman of the Labour Party and founder of One Love Foundation, Chief Patrick Eholor said spirants are yet to indicate interest under the LP. He said: “We are preparing. There are issues with the APC and a lot of people are defecting from the party. The party to beat is the Labour Party. We are very ready.

Many aspirants have indicated interest, but some of them are still holding positions in the APC and the PDP. They are good characters, but some are questionable. They have not been able to summon the courage to resign from the PDP or APC. That is why we are trying to keep them secret for now because the agreement is that they would need money to run their elections and, when they are jobless, they cannot finance their election. We are keeping it confidential, until the nomination is done.”

“We have not been very fortunate with senators. We had the likes of Roland Owie and Daisy Danjuma. The most undeveloped district is Edo South. It is a shame we had great people like these, but they disappointed the people. I have been to other parts of the state and I saw what other senators did. That is why we are going to change things this time around. We are going to be very careful. Anyone who is nominated in the Labour Party will not be self-centred.”

On the allegation that he performed below average, Uzamere said: “They should tell the people of Edo South what they have done collectively and as individually and what they intend to do for the district. They should leave me alone. A bed wetter is the first to wake up in the household so that he can take care of his mess before others wake up.”

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POLITICS NATIONAL CONFERENCE Former Secretary-General of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) Dr. Kunle Olajide is a delegate to the National Conference. In this interview with BISI OLADELE, he says the report of the conference will reposition the country, if it is implemented.

‘Nigeria more divided now than in 1960’ Y

OU have been at the National Conference for four months.

How has it been?

Exciting. It gave me an insight into this country, by way of composition. Of course, we read it in books and we know that Nigeria is a country of many nations, which was amalgamated in 1914 by Lord Lugard. It is a shame that we are still more divided than we were in 1960. One would have expected us to be more united than we are, but what I witnessed in the last conference gave me the impression that we are more divided now than we were before. To my utmost disappointment, the civilian rule has made us more divided than we were under the military rule, which is a shame. But, I must thank God for the convocation of this National Conference. The Nigerian Tribune leadership called my attention to an interview I granted on October 17, 1993, a full page interview entitled ‘ It is time for National Conference,’ which is now coming 21 years later.

I thank God that I am one of the delegates. So, it is exciting. I have gotten to know more about Nigeria and more of the power play in the country.

When the conference was to be convoked, some Nigerians voiced their opposition. Do you think their claim is justified?

There is justification for the conference. We all know politicians think about the next election and statesmen think of the next generation. Those of us clamouring for the conference were thinking of the next generation because we knew things could not continue that way, but politicians were looking at the next election and power. That is the difference. We all did not believe in it from the initial stage, but now, we all believe in it. Most Nigerians are now looking up to the conference to redeem this country. The victory at that conference will indirectly translate to the victory of Nigeria

because that is the tiny thread that is still holding us together. I think it is justified and timely because election is fast approaching.

At the beginning of the conference there was a rift between the North and South delegates. What do you think of this?

That is most unfortunate. We went with an agenda, which we called the “Yoruba Contribution to 2014 National Conference. Everything in our agenda is for a better Nigeria.

It is not for a better Yoruba land because we realized that Nigeria is made up of many nations and we have a heterogeneous system and we can only succeed under a true federal system and we realized at the same time that this country is endowed with a lot of resources.

There is no state in Nigeria that does not have natural minerals in commercial, exploitable quantities. We have completely abandoned them.

There is no country that does not have arable land but we have abandoned them, we have abandoned more than thirty percent of our arable land. A culture that creates wealth, employment has been neglected since 1956 that we have been exploiting the oil resources. We have not added any value, we just lift oil, we call expatriate to lift it and give us money. So, the Yorubas appreciated this rental system, a rental system does not generate wealth. This is why you see that in the world record today, we are the leading oil generating country in Africa, but no development. Oil is lifted, taken abroad, sold and then the money is sent back into the country. We collect the money, spend and live. And you have not created any jobs. If we are cultivating hectares of land, thousands of people will be employed and the money is being used properly to build infrastructures, there will be mass employment. This is what we are not doing - we just collect the money and spend without any development and we have been do-

• Olajide

ing that now for many years that I can’t remember. Oil and gas are wasting asset. We are degrading the environment of the Southsouth where the oil is being exploited.

They can no longer use fish. We invited the United Nations and they stated that $200 billion will be required to clean up the rivers. We have not directed any money there and we are talking about life beyond oil. It is only in some places like Bayelsa now that is thinking seriously of life beyond oil because they know the oil will dry up.

America that is our biggest buyer of crude oil has stopped buying since the discovery of Sheal oil. In the West Africa sub-region, there is virtually no country that does not have crude oil in large quantity, so the market is so competitive. It is necessary we develop our own mineral resources.

This was the background information that the Southwest took to the conference. And we thought that people would share it. In fact, it was the decision of the last committee that presidency should rotate among zones, because we wanted

to obliterate completely this Northsouth divide. We think it has held us bound for too long. In my opinion, the North-South divide is completely artificial. We have Yorubas in Kwara state, Yorubas constitute more than 80 percent of the state yet you call it a northern state. We have Yorubas in Kogi state, about seventy percent there, yet you call it a northern state. So, the Northsouth divide is very artificial. And I think it is high time we buried it. Of course, we decided that it has to be rotated among the six geo-political zones.

Has the National Conference resolved the national question?

Yes. We have succeeded and I am very happy about that. We have taken not less than 600 critical decisions about Nigeria - about bureaucracy, education, science and technology, commerce, trade and industry and a lot of other things. And then we have taken decisions that everyone will be happy about, that any sane Nigeria will be happy about. One, we created local government arbitrarily with a measure of rationality but the local governments were created with no measure of rationality. An example is here in the Southwest, Osun state, with a population of about three and half million people, has about 30 local governments while Lagos with a population of about 15 million has about twenty local governments.

What is the basis for that? And we use local government as a basis for sharing revenue. Kano and Jigawa that used to be the old Kano State has about 74 local governments with a population less than ten million.

In any case, local government is local. It should have nothing to do with the Federal Government. It should not be listed in the constitution. It is not done; it should a business of the state, not the Federal Government.

The local government keeps growing so the state government should be enabled to create local govern-

ment as necessary, but you have gone ahead to list them under the Federal Government and have given very stringent conditions for creating new local governments that has made it totally impossible to create new local government under the system.

Take a look at Lagos State. Since 1999, Lagos has grown almost into Ogun State and you say a state as large as Lagos State cannot create local government except it goes to Abuja and seek concurrence with two governors of Nigerian state who have no business to do with Lagos. Local government is a local matter, it should be under the state government completely - the creation and the administration. Each state should have its own constitution that will determine the relationship between the state government and the local government; therefore, local government will no longer be shortchanged. There will be state revenue monitoring and distribution committee that will see to the distribution of fund to the local government.

But it will be the responsibility of the state government. The governor must be able to decide when the creation of state is necessary. It was only in the First Republic that this was done and it was only administrative area. My own town, Efon Alaye, was an administrative area. It was only in the First Republic that each region had its own constitution. That is what obtains in a full federal system. So, when we succeed in taking decisions that moved us completely away from this system of government, then we can have a truly federal system.

Another issue is this: if you have a state assembly, and you have no state police to enforce the law, then it is meaningless. If we have state police, Boko haram would not have gone as far as they have gone because the state police will comprise the indigenes of that state. They know their people and they know the area and so on. We have made a lot success in the conference that will change the face of this country for good.

The National President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Dr Rotimi Oladele, is a delegate to the National Conference. In this chat with Assistant Editor DADA ALADELOKUN, he reflects on the conference and its relevance to the future of the country.

Gains of National Conference, by delegate

T

O an average Nigerian, the Na tional Conference is a mere jamboree. Do you see it in that light?

Indeed, one would not begrudge anybody who feels that way in the light of our past experiences with past conferences. Possibly they didn’t feel their impacts, but I wouldn’t want them to be discouraged because time changes. I think it was obvious from the beginning that President Goodluck Jonathan was determined to see Nigeria better than we met it and he put up this conference because the way the people therein were selected obviously proved that it was a serious intention, apart from political, cultural and ethnicity interests.

That the disabled, youths, the elderly and professional groups like us are well represented speaks volumes. I don’t belong to any political party; so are some of my colleagues. Majority of the chartered bodies are there.

Also, there are a lot of other professionals who also represent other interests; that means that we are looking for objectivity, fairness and good development propositions. So, I think it is a hopeful one.

What has been your experience?

The experience is a mixed grill. One, the conference itself is a platform which I always refer to on the floor as equal treatment for all unequals and unequal treatment for all equals.

At times, if possible, you don’t have some kind of expectation or relationship or the class or group you are supposed to belong to; at times, you may not even be given access to talk and that also was because of the number – 492 delegates! So you can expect that you have twenty four hours in a day - 9 a.m to 6 p.m to operate. Initially, it was 10 a.m to 6 p.m. There is no way the chairman can call 492 to talk in a day. So, obviously, there will rule of the tongue; there will also be unequal treatment for all equals.

Then also, in terms of who we are, we are Nigerians of different backgrounds, perspectives, categories, ages, qualifications and professions.

We also have murderers, kidnappers, ex-prisoners, looters, pastors, imams and traditional rulers. There is no caliber of Nigerians we don’t have.

They are free people today because the ambit of the law must have forgiven them. The thinking is that with those experiences, even when negative, they should be able to offer posi-

• Oladele

tive thinking. For those who have never had that kind of experiences, if somebody has embezzled N1 billion and he realises that now that he is no longer in office and even with that money, he is living in one room, sleeping on one bed, eating only three meals pay day, wearing one or two clothes in one day, he will just see that it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t immunize him against death and sicknesses; so, he hasn’t changed.

I think that kind of thinking should bring them back to sanity.

What other lesson?

Apart from the ordinariness of human beings, I realised that the best thing is to do well. Whatever you do trails you all round and through your history. Somebody stood up to say when he was a governor, he did this, he did that; he has not sat down when three of four hands were raised up and said “but you were the same person who did this and that damage.”

They counted about five or six which he could not disprove.

Do you see some misgivings marring the outcome of the conference?

I believe the interest of Nigeria must come first. Anybody looking at recommendations reached from the perspective of his political party, his ethnic group, gender or age group is not interested in the future of the country. We can’t have 100 percent consensus on every issue. Just like MKO Abiola described what leadership is about. Team work and leadership are agreements to work on what the majority agrees to be the best for the society. It doesn’t mean there is no minority. Even when the minority has reasonable ideas, when the majority decides that this is where we are going, leadership and team work behoves them to work together on the agreed agenda to push the society forward. So, that is the way every Nigerian should see the recommendations of the conference. Also, the president should realise that these recommendations are of three differ-

ent kinds.

He should implement the ones that are advisory and suggestive without waiting for anything, he should implement. That will start impacting almost immediately on the society.

The second are those that may require constitutional touches which have to go through legal processes through the National Assembly. The assembly should please do the same by not also looking at those recommendations from political and partisanship platform, but in the interest of this country.

They should equally consider the time element. Even when they affect them negatively, they should know that they will not be in the House or Senate forever. They should know that, if something that is good is now avoided because it will affect them, they should realise that they have left it behind for generations unborn.

Somebody must pay the price of change. If I am a senator and a decision taken now affects me and I can sacrifice and make a preventive measure against it for future generations, I have made my contributions, although I lose money, prestige or whatever. That is the way we should look at it. Lastly, if we must go for referendum, which is very expensive because every Nigerian of voting age must be part of it, we can quickly decide on what item will go further and we do it along with the general elections to make it cheaper.

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THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

50

NEWS (SHOWBIZ)

Emirates offers in-flight entertainment for visually impaired customers

F •From left to right: Mr. Niran Adedokun, Head, Screeners’ Committee; Mr. Kingsley James, Head, Organising Committee; Actor Fred Amata; Mr. Tony Okocha, Chief of Staff , Government House, Rivers State and Mr. Seun Oloketuyi, Founder/ Executive Producer, BON at the nominees’ unveil in Port Harcourt, Rivers State…last Friday.

2014 BON Awards: Organisers unveil nominees

A

•Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi, Fred Amata to host awards

GAIN, it is evident that the organisers of the sixth edition of the annual Best of Nollywood (BON) awards are set to put up a spectacular show on Saturday, October 4, as the nominees were unveiled last Friday at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, amidst palpable enthusiasm.

The nominees' unveil, which was one of the pre-awards events to gather momentum for the ceremony in October, was, undoubtedly, the culmination of over three months of very engaging critical reviews by the Screeners' Committee led by Niran Adedokun, a Marketing Communications expert and entertainment enthusiast.

Hosted by Nollywood star, Bayray Mcnwizu, who looked dashing in a yellow sleeveless short gown, the nominees' unveil, a wholly media event, kicked off with the speech by the Founder/ Executive Producer of the awards, Seun Oloketuyi, who expressed gratitude to Governor Rotimi Amaechi for his support towards the coming awards ceremony that will be hosted by both Gbemi Olateru Olagbegi, a popular on-air personality, and Fred Amata, a respected Nollywood star. "It is a day for producers, filmmakers who have worked tirelessly and invested their monies in the year under review to make us happy.

It is also to appreciate their hard work and ingenuity to make Nollywood better. Though get-

By Babatunde Sulaiman

ting finances to organise the event is very tough, we are focused on what we set out to do.

Besides, we are lucky to have people who have always bailed us out at the last minutes," said Oloketuyi, who is also a publisher.

According to Adedokun, about 150 films were entered for the 32 professional categories this year, out of which 23 were short films, while 20 were disqualified for various reasons, ranging from inability to meet the terms and conditions set by the organisers to failure to submit the required number of copies.

Adedokun, who emphasised that the nominees represent the best productions shot or released in Nigeria in the past 12 months, further said: "Over the past years, BON has set for itself a mission of encouraging various participants in the film industry to not just be at their best, but to aspire to be the best possible.

This, no doubt, shows in the progressive improvement that we have continued to see in the quality of films produced in the country as well as the quality of professionals that have emerged over the years. The BON idea is that we don't have to wait until we have the best before we celebrate what we have. The idea is to celebrate what we have currently, while working with every other stakeholder to ensure that we get to where we should be.

While we are not where we

should be, we certainly are not where we were before. From the entries we got for this year's awards, we can boldly say that filmmaking in Nigeria has moved from the era of mere mercantile enterprise into an enduring era of competence and professionalism."

As part of the vision of the organisers, a new award category has also been created to encourage the development of indigenous movies in the three main Nigerian languages: Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo. Adedokun, however, lamented that only one Igbo film was entered this year.

"But we hope the situation will be different in subsequent years," he added. Also, another development in the awards, according to him, is the introduction of two new categories: Best Television Series award and Best Documentary award.

A Nollywood enthusiast, he urged filmmakers, whom he said are now telling good stories, to endeavour to marry the technique and language of filmmaking with their stories. What we need to do is to find a way to marry our technical and professional capacity with the latent and unused business potentials available to us as a people,” he stated.

The occasion also offered a peep into the background surrounding the relationship between the organisers and the Rivers State government. In his address, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Tony Okocha, who

way to go. The world over, the biggest films try to go to the biggest festivals for their premiere before they get to the market place.

“We have another film coming from collaboration between myself and some international companies, including Akon who has now gone into filmmaking. Apart from this, we are hoping that we can get collaboration with the Chinese government to bring some of their major stars and movies. We have a major china movie with Jackie Chan in it and it will be showcased at the festival. We are hoping he will grace the ceremony, barring any logics problems. That is the path that any film festival must toe, if it must become truly international. So, that is what we are trying to achieve.”

The 11th Abuja International Film Festival AIFF is scheduled to hold between September 23 and 26 at the Prestigious Silverbird Cinemas, Abuja.

It will feature the screenings of over 60 cutting-edge films from around the world, with a special focus on films from the Nigerian movie Industry, otherwise called Nollywood, and Africa.

Fred Amata reveals plans for AIFF

A

BOUT two months after he was appointed the acting Director of the Abuja International Film Festival (AIFF), Fred Amata, a veteran actor, director and producer, seems to have been having a brainstorm on how to raise the profile of the festival founded 11 years ago by Fidelis Duker. In particular, the awardwinning thespian is interested in changing the face of the festival by making it truly international.

Speaking with reporters recently in Port Harcourt, Amata, who will be co-hosting the coming BON awards with OAP Gbemi Olateru Olagbegi, said: “The good thing to know is that the vision of the Abuja International Film Festival is very clear.

Over the years, there have been

By Babatunde Sulaiman

challenges to actually attain it.

So, my task is actually pursuing that vision and bringing new twists to it. For instance, we have decided that because Nollywood is such an influence on the society today, we want to have an opening night at the highest possible level. We are looking at hosting it at Presidential Villa. Also, we know that there are several movies still in the works in Nigeria today and we have sourced one of them, 1987, a film by my colleague, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen O’dua. We are positive that it will be the opening film of the festival. It will be premiering to open the Abuja International Films Festival. For us, that is the

unveiled the nominees on behalf of Governor Rotimi Amaechi, described the relationship with the organisers as reciprocal. According to him, "When a lot of people thought there was insecurity foisted on us circumstantially and when they thought a situation of self-help had been foisted on us, we said it was not true. We kept saying there was peace and tranquility in the state. But the organisers of BON had the opportunity of coming here to join us in our programmes. They moved from street to street with us to the extent that the Governor agreed to the proposal to host a dinner.

So, that allayed the fear of people who thought there was no security in the state. As a result, we were able to regain our lost glory, as nobody was kidnapped or harassed. Therefore, when you came to our rescue, I don't see why we should not reciprocate."

It was, however, a moment of sober reflection when Kingsley James, Head of Organising Committee, announced plans by the organisers to honour the late filmmaker and director, Amaka Igwe, for her immense contributions to the growth of Nollywood. "We have taken it upon ourselves to continue to remember the late Amaka Igwe; so, we have unanimously endowed the award for the Director of the Year in her name. The award category will now be known as the Amaka Igwe Director of the Year category."

OR the first time in the history of air travels, Emirates Airline has now introduced Audio Description on movies for visually impaired customers on its in-flight entertainment system, information, communication and entertainment (ICE) Digital Widescreen.

By this arrangement, visually impaired persons from Nigeria travelling to Dubai or any part of the world on Emirates Airline will henceforth enjoy great moment of entertainment on board.

Emirates’ ICE, which was recently awarded the ‘World’s Best Airline In-flight Entertainment’ award at the SKYTRAX World Airline Awards for the 10th consecutive year, now offers Audio Description soundtracks on 16 Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures films, including Frozen, Saving Mr. Banks, Cars 2, Monsters University, Marvel’s The Avengers, Toy Story 3 and all four Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

Audio Description, increasingly common in cinemas and TV, is a recorded narration explaining the scene during the gaps in dialogue, while the film soundtrack continues at its normal pace.

“Our focus is not just the depth and diversity of our onboard entertainment, but also relevance. Making entertainment accessible to our diverse

customers is very important to us. It was our motivation to introduce movies that can be enjoyed by customers with visual difficulties. Our greatest satisfaction comes from delivering an exceptional customer experience, which we hope our constant innovation fulfils. In future, we want to add more content with Audio Description, so visually impaired passengers can be entertained with an even wider choice of contents when flying with us,” said Patrick Brannelly, Emirates’ Vice President, Corporate Communications Product, Publishing, Digital & Events.

Emirates’ award-winning ice Digital Widescreen offers a staggering choice of over 1,800 channels of entertainment, including over 400 movies from around the world, hundreds of hours of TV and thousands of hours of music from contemporary to classical.

In 2007, Emirates also worked with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures to introduce Closed Captions, the technology used by the hard of hearing, for the first time in in-flight entertainment. It also involves showing the actors’ dialogues in subtitles and references to sound effects used in the movie.

According to her, the ICE Digital Widescreen this month will offer over 50 movies with Closed Captions.

GOtv launched in Abeokuta with fanfare

G

Otv, a new digital pay television offering on the digital terrestrial television platform, at the weekend, launched its services in Abeokuta, Ogun State, offering exciting programming for the indigenes.

The General Manager, GOtv Nigeria, Mrs. Elizabeth Amkpa, said: “GOtv is enabling the Nigerian government to achieve a speedy migration from analogue to digital broadcasting, using the latest technology DVB-T2.”

According to her, digital migration will change the outlook to television entertainment in Nigeria.

Digital terrestrial television, she added, offers access to more channels, clearer pictures, better sound quality and electronic programme guide, which are provided by GOtv. “With up to 41 channels on GOtv, our subscribers are spoiled for choice. GOtv’s channel lineup includes: AfricaMagic, AfricaMagic Movies, AfricaMagic World, AfricaMagic Yoruba, AfricaMagic Hausa, E! Entertainment, Discovery World, eTV Africa, Vox Africa, SuperSport Select and SuperSport Blitz, Al Jazeera, CNN, Channel O, MTV Base, Disney Junior, Nickelodeon, JimJam, Islam Channel, One Gospel, Sound City and Black Belt TV which gives

families a great selection.

“The world cup may be over, but GOtv continues to keep families entertained. While men look forward to the start of a new football season, the month of August sees the coming of exciting new programmes to GOtv, especially tailored for the viewing pleasure of women and kids”, she said.

According to her, “From August 4, kids can catch new episodes of Kung Fu Panda on Nickelodeon and the first ever Disney Junior Original Movie Lucky Duck, which premieres on Saturday, 23 August. MTV Base sets aside August 9 to 10 as Women’s Weekend with Whitney Houston, Riri’s Rockin Records, Official Nicki Minaj Top 20 and 20 female artistes who changed the game. Viewers

can Tweet request using the hash tag, #LADIESOFHIPHOP. “For the romantics, Broken Angel premieres on Telemundo will premiere on August 18. On Monday, August 25, the Primetime Emmy Awards will kickstart the 2014 awards season.

Therefore, GOtv subscribers can be part of the excitement as Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic report live from the red carpet on E! Entertainment. Also, on E!’, the ‘Fashion Police’ serve up ‘best’ and ‘worst’ dressed at the 2014 Primetime Emmy Awards & Video Music Awards, as legendary comedienne Joan Rivers and her team of fashion experts review the styles from the red carpet, passing their verdict on the fashion hits and misses on Wednesday, August 27.”

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FOREIGN NEWS

Ebola and our warring world O

VER the weekend. American aid worker Dr.Kent Brantly arrived Emory University Hospital in Atlanta becoming the first patient with the Ebola virus to be treated in the United States.

He along with his colleague Dr. Nancy Writebol contracted the dreaded disease while ironically providing humanitarian services through a relief agency, Samaritan’s Purse to infected patients in the West African nation of Liberia. Nancy is expected to be flown in the next several days as the plane can only carry one patient at a time because of its special reconstruction for precautionary reasons.

Emory is one of four special infectious diseases treatment centres in America specially built to handle special cases of rare virus infections and it has handled Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients in 2005 when the disease first broke out in US. Emory is a natural choice because of its capacity for such dangerous infections and the need to provide the best of care for Americans who have put their lives on the line in the service of humanity all over the world.

In the meantime, the Ebola virus has claimed over 700 lives in the West African nations of Guinea (from where it is believed to have originated), Liberia, Sierra Leone and an imported case in Nigeria. The virus has caused some disruptions in the regional economic and aviation activities as some countries have restricted flights and movements of persons through border closures as precautions.

Also the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other regional stakeholders are on a $100million response plan to combat what has been described as a disease sprawling out of control. So far the virus has no antidote and some West African countries are not even well equipped enough to handle appropriate diagnostic services not to talk of treatment.

Turning our focus to the almost month-long old offensive in Gaza, the world watches with counfoundment and utter helplessness at the level of human misery which has claimed almost 1700 lives, mostly civilian women and children in Gaza with thousands displaced both internally and externally as well as over 60 casualties mostly IDF military on the Israeli side.

More than three times ceasefire had been set only to be violated by both sides within hours and so the bloodletting and destruction continue with Israeli President Benjamin Nentayahu promising to go the whole hog as long as necessary until the militant Hamas is completely “demilitarized. Hamas on its part said Israel is in no way interested in any sincere ceasefire rather a ploy to continue to decimate the civilian population in the occupied territory.

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T least 175 people have been killed and some 1,300 injured after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck in south-west China, state media say.

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck about 11km (7 miles) north-west of Wenping in Yunnan province at 16:30 local time (08:30 GMT).

A major rescue and relief operation is under way.

State broadcaster CCTV said the earthquake was the strongest to hit the province in 14 years.

The USGS said the quake struck at a depth of about 10km in a remote mountainous area in Yunnan province.

The tremor was also felt in the neighbouring provinces of Guizhou and Sichuan.

Xinhua said about 12,000 homes had collapsed in Ludian, a county of some 439,000 people, north-east of Yunnan province’s capital, Kunming.

All of the casualties reported so far are in Qiaojia County of the Zhaotong region, which appeared to be the hardest hit.

Ma Liya, a resident of Zhaotong, told Xinhua that the streets there were like “battlefield after bombardment”, adding her neighbour’s house, a new two-storey building, had collapsed.

The high point in this show of macabre was the attack on United Nations school in the town of Rafah, South Gaza. It has happened thrice with United Nations officials expressing outrage as one UN official is quoted as informing Israel more than 17 times not to attack the school as it has accepted civilian refugees taking shelter from the incessant pounding by Israeli soldiers on their homes.

Yet Israel continues to pound the school with its attendant children and civilian casualties, the latest being just yesterday which claimed 10 lives and several wounded. Egypt is again trying to broker another truce and all men of goodwill are enjoined to prevail on both parties to end this war in the name of humanity.

Turning to Eastern Europe, the investigation into downed Malaysian Flight MH 17, which was shot down over the proRussian rebel held area of southern Ukraine on July 17 with 298 passengers on board, finally got off the ground even as the bloody clashes between the rebels and Ukraine forces continue unabated.

More remains have been found and the forensic team is still searching for about 80 decomposing remains at the crash site.

The fall out of the crash at the height of the Ukraine crisis is the echoes of the cold war between the two adversaries: United States of America and Russia. There had been sanctions from the US and the European Union against notable officers of the Russian government as well as corporations, while Russia is upbeat regarding her capacity to go about her business regardless of sanctions. Also Russia wants Ukraine to pay up on her gas debt or ready to face a cut-off.

The situation remains dicey as rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk remain under siege with the advancement of Ukraine forces. The fighting had claimed more than 1,500 since it began July 8 and their is no end in sight.

Finally, we are witnessing the outbreak of lawlessness in Libya with militias battling each other for supremacy over the control of Tripoli Airport. Several lives have been lost while several planes have been destroyed and the airport is a shadow of itself. The new parliament held its first session last Saturday amid tight security in an ironic cast on what is supposed to be a democratic dispensation.

We received a comment from Dr. Jones Utuk on our piece on Ukraine published last week in this column and he wrote””I hold the view that the trigger for the current situation was the fault of the Ukrainians themselves and not that of Russia. The policy makers of the Ukrainian Government were myopic, insensitive and irresponsible in allowing a simple “Yes/No” referendum on joining

Global Focus DAYO FAKUADE, Foreign Editor sms 08134230367

daborgu@gmail.com the EU. Given the large population of ETHNIC Russians in Eastern Ukraine including the Crimea (about 30%), the Ukrainian Government should have been more farsighted and diplomatic in encouraging its peoples to forge a NEUTRAL Ukraine rather than formally joining either a western or an eastern bloc. Even in a true democracy, the winner does not necessarily take all, but should be responsive to the legitimate wishes of the minority. This is why a referendum in Scotland is imminent to determine the status of the Scots and Scotland in the United Kingdom.

I did NOT see the collapse of communism in the former USSR as a triumph for (western) democracy, because an element of democracy exists even in the most totalitarian regime; rather I saw it as a pointer to the inevitable collapse of capitalism which is the ugly face of western-style democracy. Glimpses of this prediction were seen in the failed banks, the citadels of western capitalism and the world wide protests against Government bailouts that followed. Democracy is not unique to western values.

The history of Russia is vastly different from that of the U.S. and their paths to socio-political development cannot be the same; therefore the EU and USA cannot rub Russian nose into their brand of governance.

In admitting all these Eastern European countries as members, can it be reasonably argued that the EU is not seeking a GreaterEurope? Why should Russia not respond by seeking a GreaterRussia for its security? The Russian Federation may be down, but not out!

Let the Central Ukrainian Government rescind its EU membership and the conflict will end overnight.””

Thank you for your comment and readers are free to send them to the Editor through our email: newsroomthenation@gmail.com As we conclude, our globe is our heritage. Lets continue to keep her clean in our everyday living. Go green, plant a tree in your neighbourhood and put a smile on a tight face, by doing an act of random kindness. Remember :”Life is better with Trees””. See you next week

Ukraine’s Army on outskirts of Rebel stronghold

Earthquake ‘kills 175’ in south-west China

•People walk among debris after the earthquake in Ludian county.

The government is sending 2,000 tents, 3,000 folding beds, 3,000 quilts and 3,000 coats to the disaster zone, the report said.

After initial reports of a death toll of 26, Xinhua reported that the number killed had risen sharply, to 150.

The news agency says the epicentre of the earthquake was in Longtoushan in Yunnan’s Ludian county.

Chen Guoyong, the head of Longtoushan township, told Xinhua that many houses had fallen and rescuers had been sent to the epicentre.

Many people rushed out of buildings onto the street after the quake hit, electricity supplies were cut and at least one school collapsed, Xinhua reports.

Communications have also been seriously affected.

South-west China lies in an

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PHOTO: REUTERS

area that is prone to earthquakes.

An earthquake in Sichuan in 2008 killed tens of thousands of people.

And in 1970, a magnitude 7.7 quake in Yunnan killed at least 15,000 people.

U.S. Spy plane evades Russian jet

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U.S. Air Force spy plane evaded an encounter with the Russian military on July 18, just a day after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed by a suspected surface-to-air missile that Ukraine and the West allege was fired by pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The RC-135 Rivet Joint fled into nearby Swedish airspace without that country’s permission, a U.S. military official told CNN. The airplane may have gone

through other countries’ airspace as well, though it’s not clear if it had permission to do so.

The U.S. plane had been flying in international airspace, conducting an electronic eavesdropping mission on the Russian military, when the Russians took the unusual action of beginning to track it with land-based radar.

The Russians then sent at least one fighter jet into the sky to intercept the aircraft, the U.S. official said Saturday.

The spy plane crew felt so concerned about the radar tracking that it wanted to get out of the area as quickly as possible, the official said. The quickest route away from the Russians took them into Swedish airspace. The U.S. official acknowledged that was done without Swedish military approval.

As a result of this incident, the United States is discussing the matter with Sweden and letting officials know there may be further occur-

rences where American jets have to divert so quickly they may not be able to wait for permission.

“We acknowledge a U.S. aircraft veered into Swedish airspace and will take active steps to ensure we have properly communicated with Swedish authorities in advance to prevent similar issues before they arise,” the U.S. State Department said.

The incident was first reported by the Swedish media group DN.se. Russian offi-

cials did not provide any immediate reaction about the encounter.

This was at least the second potentially-dangerous encounter between a U.S. plane and Russia over the past few months. On April 23, a Russian Su-27 Flanker fighter jet buzzed within 100 feet of the nose of a U.S. Air Force RC-135U reconnaissance plane over the Sea of Okhotsk between Russia and Japan, a Defense Department official said.

IGHTING is raging on the western outskirts of Donetsk as the advancing Ukrainian army tries to seize control of the pro-Russian separatists’ stronghold.In danger of being encircled, the separatists renewed their calls for Russia to send troops to their aid. To support their operations, they have been confiscating vehicles and food from residents and businesses.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian military operation, Alexei Dmitrashkovsky, told The Associated Press that government soldiers were fighting Sunday to hold positions they had taken on the edge of Donetsk, but were meeting resistance.In the part of the city closest to the fighting, an artillery shell hit a school overnight and set off a fire, but no one was reported hurt.

The sound of gunfire and explosions was heard just to the west.

Italy flood: Four killed at festival near Venice

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OUR people have been killed and 20 others injured after a flash flood tore through a festival in northern Italy.

Reports from the scene talk of panic as a mud-filled torrent swept people away late on Saturday night at the festival at Refrontolo, north of Venice.

The event, by an old mill house beneath a waterfall, was meant to celebrate and promote the attractions of the area.

But during the festivities, there was a burst of very heavy rain and a wall of water suddenly ripped through the area.

According to the local media, some panic-stricken party-goers managed to cling to trees while the muddy torrent raged around them.

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FOREIGN NEWS court Ten killed in another school blast in Gaza Uganda strikes down anti-gay law Missing IDF soldier is dead A U N Israeli air strike killed at least 10 people and wounded about 30 others yesterday in a U.N.-run school in the southern Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official said, as dozens died in Israeli shelling of the enclave and Hamas fired rockets at Israel.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the reported attack, the second to hit a school in less than a week.

Israeli media, on the 27th day of the fighting, reported that most Israeli troops had pulled out of Gaza, and Reuters TV footage showed a column of Israeli tanks and dozens of infantrymen leaving the enclave.

In the town of Rafah, where the military has been battling militants, a missile from an Israeli aircraft struck the entrance to the school, where Palestinians who had fled their homes were sheltering, witnesses and medics said.

Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesman for the Gaza health ministry, said 10 people were killed and 30 wounded.

Adnan Abu Hasna, spokesman for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, said: “It is believed that there was an air strike that hit outside the gate of an UNRWA school, a designated shelter for at least 3,000 displaced residents.”

“There were multiple dead and injuries inside and outside

THE Israeli military said yesterday that an Israeli soldier it previously believed had been captured by Hamas fighters in a Gaza ambush had in fact been killed in battle that day.

The soldier’s purported capture Friday had helped shatter an internationally brokered cease-fire, drawn global condemnation and triggered a military assault on the area of his disappearance in southern Gaza that left dozens of Palestinians dead and scores of homes destroyed.

The military did not explain how it reached the conclusion that Hadar Goldin, a 23-year-old infantry lieutenant, was killed in battle Friday.

The announcement of his death came amid signs that Israel is scaling back its

the school, including an UNRWA staffer,” he said.

Earlier yesterday, Israeli shelling killed at least 30 people in Gaza, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep up pressure on Hamas even after the army completes its core mission of destroying a tunnel network that extends into Israel.

Netanyahu says Gaza’s dominant Hamas faction bears ultimate responsibility for civilian casualties, accusing gunmen and rocket-launching squads of using residents in

27-day-old ground operation in Gaza.

Hamas said it would not halt its fire if Israel withdraws unilaterally.

Hamas has said it will not halt hostilities until Israel and Egypt lift their blockade of Gaza, imposed after Hamas overran the territory in 2007.

Israel ended a previous major military operation in Gaza more than five years ago with a unilateral pullback.

At least 1,721 Palestinians have been killed and more than 9,100 wounded — the majority civilians— since the Gaza war began July 8, said health official Ashraf al-Kidra. Israel has lost 67 people, most of them soldiers.

Large swaths of Gaza have been destroyed and some 250,000 people have been forced to flee their homes.

densely populated areas as “human shields”.

In Rafah, Fatah faction leader and local resident Ashraf Goma said Israeli forces were bombarding the town from air, ground and sea and locals were unable to deal with the wounded and the dead.

“Bodies of the wounded are bleeding in the streets and other corpses are laid on the road with no one able to recover them.

In Cairo, efforts to find a new truce were due to resume on Sunday.

A delegation from Palestini-

•Lt. Hadar Goldin

an militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad arrived in the Egyptian capital, but a quick breakthrough seemed unlikely in the absence of Israeli representatives.

More than 30 tunnels and dozens of access shafts have been unearthed and were being blown up. The fighting yesterday pushed the Gaza death toll given by Palestinian officials to 1,726, most of them civilians. Israel has confirmed that 64 soldiers have died in combat, while Palestinian rockets have also killed three civilians in Israel.

At least 30 Palestinians in Rafah were killed by Israeli fire on Sunday, including nine from the same family, hospital officials said.

The United Nations said 460,000 people had been displaced by the fighting - nearly a quarter of Gaza’s population.

Britain believes the situation in the Gaza Strip has become intolerable, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said.

He told the Daily Telegraph he was receiving thousands of emails from Britons “deeply disturbed” at events in Gaza.

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reduce the spread of infectious diseases,” he said.

The fist bump appears to enjoy the support of both U.S. President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama, both of whom have been seen enthusiastically using the greeting, the study notes.

The study used participants who wore gloves that had been thoroughly coated in a film of non-pathogenic E. coli bacteria. They then variously shook hands, high-fived and fist-bumped fellow participants in sterile gloves and the amount of transferred bacteria was examined.

High-five slaps transferred about half the amount of bacteria as shaking hands.

Handshakes relay more germs because they result in a

Naked intruder fell asleep in couple’s bed New Mexico man faces charges after authorities say a couple found him naked and sleeping in their bed.

Investigators say 30-yearold Freddy Shelby of Albuquerque was arrested Sunday after the homeowners called police to report their unwanted mystery guest.

According to a criminal complaint, Shelby broke into the couple’s home through a window and grabbed a Sprite from the refrigerator before falling asleep in the master bedroom. Authorities say the homeowners found a disrobed Shelby in a deep sleep.

Officers arrived and called to the man, but he slept through it. Authorities say Shelby woke up only after an officer ripped the blankets off him.

Shelby told officers he thought he was at his girlfriend’s house.

He was charged with breaking and entering. It wasn’t immediately known if he had an attorney.

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Fist bumps relay 90 per cent less germs than handshakes, says study ITCHING handshakes in favor of more informal fist bumps could help cut down on the spread of bacteria and illnesses, according to a study released on Monday.

The study in the American Journal of Infection Control found that fist bumps, where two people briefly press the top of their closed fists together, transferred about 90 percent less bacteria than handshakes.

“People rarely think about the health implications of shaking hands,” Dave Whitworth, a biologist at Aberystwyth University in the United Kingdom who co-authored the study, said in a statement.

“If the general public could be encouraged to fist bump, there is genuine potential to

GANDAN anti-gay activists led by pastor Martin Ssempa (center) speak to the press in Kampala on August 1, 2014.

Uganda’s Constitutional Court on Friday struck down a new law that made some homosexual acts punishable by life in prison, asserting that legislative technicalities weren’t properly observed when it passed, a government spokesman said. nti-gay roots run deep in Uganda The law, which Parliament passed in December and President Yoweri Museveni signed in February, was struck down “because it was passed without the required quorum in Parliament,” government spokesman Oswono Opondo said.

The law called for life in prison for “aggravated homosexuality.” This includes acts in which one person is infected with HIV, “serial offenders” and sex with minors, according to Amnesty International.

It also allowed the imprisonment of those who counsel or reach out to gays and lesbians.

U.S. President Barack Obama fist bumps the cashier after paying for his order at Franklin PHOTO: REUTERS Barbecue.

larger area of contact between hands, but the strength and length of handshakes also play a role, the study found.

“Transmission is greater

with increased duration and grip,” it said.

The research was prompted by an apparent increase in workplace cleanliness meas-

ures, including the growing use of hand sanitizers and keyboard disinfectants, the university said in a statement.

Libyan factions battle over airport, more than 20 killed UN warns

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ORE than 20 people died on Saturday in battles between two Libyan armed factions who have been fighting for nearly three weeks for control of the international airport in Tripoli, the government said.

Fighting in the Libyan capital had quietened down on Sunday morning, but a huge plume of black smoke from a burning fuel depot darkened the sky above the city, still on fire from being hit by a rocket the day before.

Most Western governments have evacuated their embassies after clashes erupted in Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi, fearing Libya is sliding back into civil war three years after the uprising that ousted Muammar Gaddafi.

“Tripoli’s hospitals received 22 bodies and 72 peo-

Tripoli’s hospitals received 22 bodies and 72 people were wounded ple were wounded,” Libya’s government said in a statement on Sunday.

“Mediating committees are still trying to stop the violence and return Tripoli to normal. They have faced difficulties because of the stubbornness of the militias attacking the city.”

Islamist-leaning brigades allied to the western port town of Misrata are attacking the airport with rockets and artillery to oust rivals from the mountain town of Zintan who have controlled the air-

port since the fall of Tripoli in 2011.

Misrata and Zintan rebel fighters once battled side by side to topple the country’s dictator. But three years on they have refused to disarm and their rivalries have exploded in a violent struggle over who dominates postGaddafi Libya.

In Benghazi, an alliance of Islamist fighters and ex-rebels have banded together to battle Libyan armed forces, seizing a special forces military base last week and pushing the army outside of the city.

Libya’s government and weak military have been unable to control the armed factions, who are often semi-official forces approved and paid by ministries and who control huge stockpiles of Gaddafi-era weapons, tanks and missiles.

of ‘tragedy’ as militants take over Iraqi towns

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SLAMIC State fighters have taken over much of northern Iraq, including its second city Mosul The UN has warned that up to 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes after militants took over more towns in northern Iraq.

Islamic 2State (formerly known as Isis) militants are reported to have taken over the town of Sinjar near Syria.

It follows the IS takeover of the town of Zumar and two nearby oilfields from Kurdish Peshmerga forces on Saturday.

IS seized large parts northern Iraq from government control in a major offensive in June.

The UN special envoy to

•al-Maliki

Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, said that a “humanitarian tragedy is unfolding in Sinjar”.

“The United Nations has grave concerns for the physical safety of these civilians” he said.”The humanitarian situation of these civilians is reported as dire, and they are in urgent need of basic items

including food, water and medicine” he added.

Many of those in Sinjar are believed to have fled from earlier IS advances in northern Iraq.

The town is home to a large community of Kurdish Yazidis, whom IS consider heretical.

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THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

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NEWS

•Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III (sixth left); former President Shehu Shagari (third right;) Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Wamakko (fifth right), with members of Nigerian Defence Academy ( NDA) Course 18 who visited Sokoto…yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Ihedioha decries education standard

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OUSE of Representatives’ Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha has decried the standard of education in Imo State.

Ihedioha, who spoke at the official distribution of scientific equipment at the Holy Ghost College in Owerri, the state capital, said stakeholders were concerned about the situation.

He noted that no society could make meaningful progress without an educated population.

“The state’s quality of education has become a primary concern to stakeholders. We are talking of not just education for its sake, but education that will lead to self-reliance. We are talking about education that will lead to industrial and the technological progress of our state.”

The deputy speaker disclosed that the programme was designed to support the educational needs of pupils and to

From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

complement the efforts of government and the private sector repositioning education.

The deputy speaker stated: “For educational progress to be made, we need to appraise where we are coming from, where we are and where we are going to. Sometime ago, a group of experts were commissioned to study and determine the level of preparedness by secondary schools in Imo State, in terms of equipment, reagents, materials and qualified teachers, in teaching both basic and advanced sciences. The findings showed that funding for science education in Imo is low.”

He lamented that the implication of the low funding of science education was that pupils in the secondary schools could complete their education without exposure to the basic experiments required in sciences.”

‘Orji ’ll deliver Abia to PDP again’

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From Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

BIA State Governor Theodore Orji is focused and determined to leave lasting legacies to enable the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to retain power in 2015, his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Charles Ajunwa, has said.

Ajunwa, who spoke with The Nation in Umuahia, said with the foundation that Orji has laid, it would be difficult for another party to defeat the PDP in Abia.

He was reacting to a statement credited to the National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, when he said his party would win Abia in the 2015 elections.

Umeh visited the state last week to open the party’s secretariat and told his supporters that nothing would stop APGA from winning Abia at the general election.

However, Ajunwa urged Abians to intensify their support for the PDP-led administration and discountenance the APGA’s chairman’s comment.

The CPS described the claim as laughable, adding that a party that was not strong could not have made such a statement.

Aba set for Pastor Kumuyi

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From Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

LANS for the visit of the General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry Worldwide, Pastor William Kumuyi, to Aba, Abia State, have been concluded.

Kumuyi is expected to be at the ministry camp, Umugo, on the Aba section of the Enugu/Port Harcourt Expressway for a three-day visit.

Security has been strengthened in the area.

The state’s Overseer, Pastor Damian Umeh, who spoke with reporters in Aba, said although God provides security for his people, the ministry decided to engage security agents “to keep people’s mind at rest”.

Umeh said: “In view of the security challenges facing our nation, the church is in close touch with all the security agencies - the army, police, Directorate of State Security (DSS) and other para-military organisations - to ensure a smooth and hitch-free programme”.

Anambra carries out first heart surgery

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NAMBRA State has begun a heart surgery programme at St. Joseph Specialist Hospital, Adazi Nnukwu.

It said the surgery is being carried out by a team of 15 doctors and medical workers, led by a cardiac surgeon, Dr. Joseph Nwiloh, who is an indigene based in the United States (U.S.).

The first surgery was reportedly carried out last Saturday.

A statement said Nwiloh is globally re-

garded as one of the best cardiac surgeons.

The building housing the heart clinic was named after him by the former governor, Mr. Peter Obi. The hospital was reportedly built “as a way of celebrating worthy Anambra sons and daughters and hold them out as role models for the young.”

Nwiloh, who helped in equipping the centre, thanked God for His mercies and Obi for his vision.

He promised to work harder to make the centre

fully functional.

Obi, who witnessed the first surgery last Saturday, said he was happy at the “many fruits of the collaboration between the church and the government.”

He said he was happier that his successor, Governor Willie Obiano, continued with the collaboration, adding that the ultimate beneficiaries are the people.

The President General of Adazi Nnukwu, Mr. Ben Enemuo, who spoke about the operation, said the

town’s people were happy at the development.

He thanked God for using Obi to initiate the heart centre and praised his successor for the promise to build on the foundation.

Former Commissioner for Health, Dr. Lawrence Ikeakor, who visited the hospital to witness the surgery, said with the development, Nigerians need not travel outside the country again for categories of heart diseases requiring surgery.”

Disquiet over Okorocha’s Imo 2015 comment

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HE political atmosphere in Owerri, the Imo State capital, was heated up at the weekend following Governor Rochas Okorocha’s comments on the state’s ideal governorship candidate in 2015.

Okorocha, speaking at the yearly Oru-Owerri Festival, said people with questionable character, including “419 persons” and women who beat their husbands would not be voted for.

The governor said the would-be governor must be godly, honest and decent.

His statement angered many aspirants who stormed out of the venue.

A senator allegedly wept before moving out of the venue with aides and other supporters.

Other aspirants, who earlier adorned the venue with their campaign posters, left furiously as a large part of the crowd continued to urge Okorocha on, despite spirited efforts by some hired thugs to shout

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•Aide defends governor him down.

But a statement by the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, warned politicians, especially governorship aspirants, to jettison intolerant attitudes that could heat up the polity.

The statement reads: “It is unfortunate that following the exciting ovation the governor had received from the crowd and from all the corners of the venue of the event, some of the governorship aspirants in question had resorted to inciting few of their supporters around, out of envy, to begin to misbehave, while the governor was still making his emotional speech.

“Governorship aspirants should, for goodness sake, appreciate the fact that there is a sitting governor in the state, and courtesy, even protocol demands that he should be accorded the full respect due for the Office of the Executive Governor of a

state and indeed, the occupant of the office.

“Anybody aspiring to be governor of the state, who cannot be civil or gentle enough to respect the person currently on the seat, cannot be seen as qualified and serious enough to be governor.”

The statement noted that “the spontaneous ovation that greeted the arrival of the governor at the event and the thunderous ovation that also greeted his speech at the occasion were all the creations of the innocent large crowd. That has been the case. That was also the reason the same people didn’t want the governor to talk at the burial church service of the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa.”

Onwuemeodo said it should be the sitting governor who should be concerned about what the governorship aspirants were “saying or doing, or about the level of their popularity.”

He expressed regret that

in the case of Imo State, “the aspirants get cowed and even terrified whenever they meet Governor Okorocha at public functions.”

He urged all the governorship aspirants to “cultivate the spirit or culture of tolerance and bear with Governor Okorocha whenever Imo people celebrate him. When you appreciate good tidings, obviously it will get to you.”

Earlier, the paramount ruler of Owerri, Dr. Emmanuel Njemanze, said Owerri people appreciated the infrastructural facilities the administration has put in place.

“Your Excellency, we thank you for the bridges across River Nworie, which have brought to limelight the true concept of the twin-city master plan of Owerri town, with New Owerri across the bridges.

Traffic congestion even at its peak periods has been minimised. There is a comparatively free flow of traffic in and out of the state capital”.

Mentally-ill woman gives birth to twins

ESIDENTS of Alaoji village in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State were stunned at the weekend by the discovery that a mentally-challenged woman had put to bed at a petrol station.

One of the twin babies a male child – reportedly died due to pneumonia few hours after the birth.

From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

A source said the woman put to bed at about 3a.m last Saturday.

She said: “Nobody knows who impregnated the woman. We never knew she was going to give birth this soon. The incident happened around 3a.m on Saturday. We woke up to hear

the story about the birth of the twin.

“According to early callers at the scene, it was a woman who lives near the AGIP petrol filling station that heard the cry of the babies and alerted others.”

The woman reportedly left the babies and walked.

Another source added: “Even when a piece of cloth

was given to her to cover herself, she threw it away.

She used a sack to cover herself instead.

“One of the babies (the female) is now in the custody of Ogbor Hill Police Station while the baby boy is dead.”

Police Public Relations Officer Geoffrey Ogbonna, said he was yet to be briefed on the incident.

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NEWS Amaechi vows to finish strong From Precious Dikewoha, Port Harcourt

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IVERS State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has assured the indigenes that his administration would finish strong to the surprise of his detractors.

He said his ambition was to leave a legacy of good governance and complete projects before the expiration of his tenure.

Amaechi spoke yesterday at the synod convention organised by Evo Diocese of the Anglican Communion in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

He was the special guest of honour.

The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Ibim Semenitari, said he would finish strong and would not sell his conscience.

He advised the church to pray for him and the state, as he would ensure that the wealth of the Rivers people is in a safe hand.

Amaechi told the congregation that he defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to secure the future of Rivers people.

His words: “As the leader of the Rivers people, I owe you a duty to clarify on why I joined the APC. We have heard people wonder why we moved to the APC. I know we are in the church, but it is important to know that we took the decision to protect the future of Rivers people.”

Ugborodo crisis: Navy threatens to use force

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HE Ugborodo crisis seems to be deepening.

The Federal Government, through the Nigeria Navy Ship (NNS) Delta, has threatened to wield the big stick against the recalcitrant side in the crisis over the implementation of the signed peace agreement.

The crisis recently worsened, resulting in the destruction of houses and cars worth millions of naira in Ugborodo and Warri.

The arson followed the refusal of members of the Aruton quarters in Ugborodo to allow the Navy, led by the Commanding Officer of NNS Delta, Navy Captain Musa Gemu, resettle members of the community allegedly displaced. They said the people, whom the community had accused of leading the invasion of Aruton, should atone for the sacrilege.

At a meeting organised by the Navy at the Warri naval base at the weekend, Captain Gemu warned those working against the implementation of the peace agreement, especially the resettlement of displaced persons, not to test the will of the force.

He gave them a week to sort out the reabsorbing, after which the Navy might step in to enforce

•’If they want peace, they should honour community’s tradition’ From Bolaji Ogundele, Warri

the term.

Speaking with The Nation in Warri in a meeting, the leader of one of the warring factions, Mr. David Tonwe, said nobody would force the community to reabsorb the displaced people, until they fulfilled the rites required of them by the Ugborodo tradition, for the atonement of the sacrilege they allegedly committed against the community.

At the meeting, attended by stakeholders, including the Olaja-Orori (Spiritual Head), Benson Omadeli and Chief Ayiri Emami of the Thomas Ereyitomi faction, boycotted by Tonwe, Gemu said: “I’m sounding it clearly to the elders, leaders and youths. This is your last chance.

You have one week to go home, meet and agree to allow the displaced persons return.

“This is not my personal decision. It is part of the peace accord leaders on both sides signed with the Federal Government in Abuja. I want to receive a positive feedback at the end of the

week. After then we will not tolerate lawlessness. It is not the desire of the government to apply force. But we would have no other option if you fail to respect peace.”

Tonwe warned that an attempt to coerce the community against the dictates of its custom in the matter of reabsorbing would not work well, noting that it was a community matter, which had a long list of precedents.

He said peace would not be achieved by the use of force, adding that the concerned authorities should rather ensure that the right things were done, as the people would not succumb to intimidation.

Said Tonwe: “Other people went through the same process before. The Olaja-Orori went through it, the Eghara-Aja went through it. Nobody is above the law. You are dealing with military people and they don’t care about whatever you say. What they are saying is that we want peace and let me tell you, that is where we have problem in this country. The process of achieving peace is not by force, it’s by

entering into a dialogue, it’s by negotiation, it’s by discussing.

“At the meeting at the naval base, an elderly man, Abeokutan Anderson, told the naval chief that ‘these people have committed a crime, which is a sacrilege and they need to go and appease the gods of Ugborodo community’. They shouted him down, saying the issue was not for there. You cannot use force, except you want to kill everybody. You are now trying to use force, imposing people so that they can forget about their culture and tradition.

“If they want peace, let them follow that process. We don’t even need a naval man to take them back to the community, we don’t need any force to bring them to the community. If the community resolves that because you don’t want to do this you will be out of the community for three years. It is our own custom and tradition.”

Expressing concern about the absence of Tonwe at the meeting held at the weekend at the Warri naval base, Chief Emami said: “There is no one not aware that each faction has its stronghold in Ugborodo. We are aware that Aruton and Magangho, where the violent youths are prevent-

‘Imoke ‘ll not impose anybody on Cross River’ From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

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Governor’s wife empowers women From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

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HE wife of the Rivers State Governor, Dame Judith Amaechi, has empowered women.

She did this during a tour of some of the 23 local governments.

Mrs. Amaechi, who started the tour at Oyigbo Local Government, urged the women to foster unity and shun acts capable of destabilising the state.

She said it was time for women to realise their role of nation building and shy away from activities that could jeopardise their aspirations.

Ijaw youths set for 2015 elections From Bolaji Ogundele, Warri

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HE Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide has started electing zonal officers in the Niger Delta, beginning with the election of officers into the central and western zones.

The body said it chose to carry out the elections to prepare itself towards a vibrant organisation ahead of the 2015 elections.

Bayelsa parents protest postings

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ARENTS and guardians marched on the streets of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, yesterday, protesting the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) posting of their children and wards to the North.

The protesters, who visited the offices of national newspapers, including The Nation, said following insecurity, especially the incessant onslaught by Boko Haram insurgents, no part of the North is safe for their children.

The aggrieved parents wondered why the NYSC was bent on sending their children to a volatile zone.

ing Navy from resettling displaced persons, are not our strongholds. So when those who these youths are loyal to continuously stay away from meetings like this, it tells where the problem lies.”

The Olaja-Orori said: “I feel some leaders have shielded the Federal Government’s peace agreement from the youths in Aruton and Madangho. My view is that copies of the resolutions be made available to everybody, so that we all, particularly the youths, know when we are violating the orders already signed by the leaders.”Gemu, while expressing disappointment about the absence of Tonwe, urged the Olaja-Orori to take responsibility for passing the decisions reached at the meeting to Tonwe.

“He was informed of the meeting and was supposed to be here.

Tell him that the decisions are binding.”

Elders and youths from Aruton, Madangho, Ogidigben and Ajudaibo were in attendance.

The meeting was also attended

by Austin Oborogbeyi, the Chairman, EPZ Interface Committee.

Gemu was joined by the Police, Army and the Air Force Command in Warri.

•From left: Michael Ogbuefi, a contender in Gulder Ultimate Search 9; Onyeka Okoli, Senior Brand Manager - Gulder, Nigerian Breweries Plc.; Marc Dawodu of Insight Communications; Patience Bornford, another contender in Gulder Ultimate Search 9 and Henry Akpede, also of Insight Communications; during the Regional Selection Exercises for Gulder Ultimate Search 11; at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt, on Saturday.

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Rivers 2015: Wike ‘ll meet his waterloo, says APC

HE All Progressives Congress (APC), Rivers State chapter, has said the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, would meet his political waterloo next year.

It described his governorship ambition as a pipe dream.

Rivers APC, through its Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, noted yesterday in Port Harcourt that members of the ruling party in the state (APC) would be happy to have Wike, the former Chief of Staff, Government House, as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), thereby making it easy to emerge victorious.

APC said: “We have noted Wike’s boast that he will beat other candidates, even in their wards, in the governorship election. This is nothing, but the blowing of hot air by a political Lilliputian, who seems to have for-

From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

gotten how he achieved the little relevance that is now intoxicating him.

“Wike owes his position as a junior minister to the Rivers State APC leader, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. The same Amaechi, who made Wike, will politically un-make him during the 2015 governorship election.

Wike is living in the past, as eminent persons that made him somebody politically are now in the APC. “We know Wike’s tricks and we know how to cage him, when necessary. So, without us, he is a nobody politically in Rivers State.

Wike is the easiest candidate for us to beat and that was why we fasted for him to emerge as the PDP’s candidate in the poll. We are continuing in prayer along this line. The thrashing that Wike and

the PDP will receive from the APC during the election will be so heavy that he may be forced to consider premature retirement from politics.”

The ruling party in Rivers reminded the two-term Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government that he and Amaechi, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), are from the Ikwerre ethnic nationality, in the multi-ethnic state.

APC said: “Wike has a lot of factors counting against him. One of these disadvantages is that he is from the Ikwerre axis. The fact remains that no son or daughter of Ikwerre will succeed Governor Amaechi, an Ikwerre, who would have governed Rivers State for eight years by May 2015. So, that rules Wike out.

“The Minister of State for Education has also boasted that the primary and secondary schools

Amaechi has built do not exist in other parts of Rivers State, besides Port Harcourt. If Wike is elected, God forbid, he is capable of bulldozing the 23 model secondary schools and the over 300 model primary schools scattered in other local governments, sparing, may be, only those in Port Harcourt.

“Rivers people will not take such a risk with somebody whose only achievement as acting Minister of Education was to ensure that our universities were closed for over six months, while the polytechnics and colleges of education were closed for about one year. Wike should stop wasting his time, because he obviously does not have what it takes to govern Rivers State.”

The ruling party admonished the peace-loving people of the state to support Amaechi and his administration.

Ex-Edo deputy governor urges Jonathan on Boko Haram

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ORMER Edo State Deputy Governor Rev. Peter Obadan has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to change his tactics in fighting Boko Haram.

He spoke to reporters yesterday in Benin.

Obadan said a greater percentage of the fund used to prosecute the fight against Boko Haram should be given to the governors in the Northeast.

He said this became necessary because the governors, who were familiar with their terrain, knew how to use the money to end kill-

From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

ings.

Obadan said: “Many people have died and the terrorists have not given up. What worries me is the billions of naira said to have been spent, which is not accountable.

“If the North’s governors were given the money, would they not have stopped terrorism?

“The question I ask myself is, the demands of the terrorists, are they more than the bil-

lions of naira? If the money is truly spent, we will enjoy peace.

“My take is that if the governors are given the money, they will stop terrorism. A stitch in time saves nine.”

The ex-governor enjoined the President to take security reports on the Northeast states seriously.

He said relying on reports from the security agencies, especially the Department of State Service (DSS), instead of those of politicians, would end insurgency.

SOCIO-political group, the Grassroots Solidarity Movement (GSM), has said contrary to speculations, Governor Liyel Imoke would not impose anybody as governor on Cross River State.

The body, supporting Goddy Jedy-Agba as the next governor, said the state needs somebody who has the desire to lead and not someone waiting to be anointed.

Spokesman for the group, Elder Wilson Ajogbor, after a meeting at the weekend in Calabar, said Imoke being a democrat would not want to be associated with imposition.

Ajogbor, a lawyer, said of Jedy-Agba: “He is a man who has offered himself to continue the good work of Governor Imoke. While other politicians are waiting to be handpicked, JedyAgba has said he has what it takes to take over.

“In other states, people are making things to happen. But here, nothing is happening because people are afraid. Cross River State indigenes have moved beyond being spineless. We are grateful to the governor because he has not antagonised anybody for showing interest in the governorship.”

Cleric warns politicians From Precious Dikewoha, Port Harcourt

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HE Bishop of Evo Diocese, Anglican Communion in Rivers State, the Rt. Rev. Innocent Uchechukwu Ordu, has cautioned politicians on the politics of bitterness and provocative utterances. He said they should prevent the country from becoming a theatre of violence.

Bishop Ordu spoke yesterday at the synod convention organised by the Evo Diocese, Anglican Communion, at Rumuobiokani in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The prelate said it was regrettable that the politicians had cultivated the habit of carrying themselves as if they were greater than the country, adding that they had been distracted.

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THE NATION MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

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NEWS Military-Shi’ite clash: Sultan calls for probe From Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

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ULTAN of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III has urged a full-scale investigation into the recent deadly clash between the military and Shi’ite sect members in Zaria.

He also decried the recent clash between the military and the police in Zuru, saying, “three innocent lives were also lost.”

Sultan Abubakar spoke in Sokoto weekend at a dinner he organised for the members of the Alumni Association of the Nigerian Defence Academy, 18 Regular Course, 1975.

No fewer than 40 lives were lost during the Zaria incident after the military attacked the Shi’ite sect members who were on a peaceful protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

“Whoever is found to be wanting should be properly punished in line with the laws of the country.

“Some people commit offence with impunity and unless we punish offenders according to the laws of the land, such problems will continue to recur.

Adamawa splashes N300m on 21 Prado SUVs for council chiefs T HE administration of the Adamawa State Acting Governor, Umaru Fintiri, has spent over N300 million on Prado Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) for 21 local government chairmen barely a month in office.

Each local government chairman was allegedly given N5 million cash for what a government source described as rate for the initial servicing of the SUVs. The “curious gifts” were coming barely two weeks after the local government chairmen defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The same Acting Governor, who splashed cash on the council chairmen, will today inaugurate a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into alleged mismanagement of funds by the immediate past administration of former Governor Murtala Nyako.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the 21 Chairmen were given the SUVs at the Government House in Yola after a PDP

•Acting governor defends purchase

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

stakeholders’ meeting last Friday.

Some of the chairmen, especially those without potable water in their areas, were said to be “moody” when the SUVs were handed over to them.

Findings in one of the respected auto marts in the country showed that a brand new Prado SUV is between N9.3 million and N11 million depending on taste.

A fairly used Prado SUV is within the price range of N7.1million and N8.5million based on preferred choice.

It was learnt that many of the stakeholders were shocked when the chairmen, who came to the session mostly in Peugeot 406, were “transformed” into SUVs unsolicited.

Although the acting governor, through his Director of Press, Solomon Kumanga, ad-

mitted that the SUVs were bought to enable the local chiefs to traverse the state’s difficult terrain, investigation confirmed that it was for political motive.

It was learnt that the car gifts were meant to compensate the chairmen for defecting to PDP; secure their support for the Acting Governor, who is lobbying to remain in office to complete Nyako’s tenure and to back the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan.

One of the stakeholders, who spoke in confidence, said: “This is certainly a misplacement of priority. We did not bargain for this after the exit of Nyako.

“Why will an acting governor rush to go and buy Prado SUVs for local government area chairmen or why will he approve such for these office holders? Why should the purchase of SUVs be the first sig-

nificant decision this new administration will take? I hope we are not moving from frying pan to fire.

“During Nyako’s period, only negligible public officers were using Prado SUVs. For a state without enough funds, why SUVs? I think those behind the impeachment of Nyako in Abuja should call the acting governor to order.

“I knew at the stakeholders’ session, some of these chairmen supported moves by some people for Fintiri to continue in office to complete the tenure of Nyako.

“They are saying Nyako mismanaged funds, but what do you make of this type of reckless spending now?”

Some of the local government chairmen confirmed that they were given SUVs and cash on Friday at the Government House.

One of them said: “We did not really complain about cars,

APC threatens suit over Niger East by-election

Webometric ranking: UNILORIN ‘best in Nigeria’

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

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From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

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HE 2014 University Webomeric Ranking of Universities has adjudged University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) as the best in Nigeria.

The ranking, conducted by International Colleges and Universities (4ICU) and released on July 29, rated the university as the 20th best in Africa and 1842nd in the world.

The 4ICU is an international higher education search engine and directory that constantly reviews accredited universities and colleges across the world.

In the latest exercise, it ranked about 11,307 colleges and universities by web’s popularity in over 200 countries.

In this year’s ranking, the University of Lagos came second in Nigeria and 21st in Africa while the third position goes to Obafemi Awolowo University, which is also 26th in Africa.

Also on the ranking table are: the University of Ibadan, 4th in the country and 38th in Africa; the Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, 5th nationally and 59th in Africa; Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, 6th in Nigeria and 63rd in Africa; the Federal University, Minna, 7th in the country and 71st in Africa.

The University of Benin, 8th in the country and 82nd in Africa; the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, 9th in Nigeria and 87th in Africa; and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 10th in Nigeria and 89th in Africa.

The UNILORIN’s ViceChancellor, Prof.

AbdulGaniyu Ambali, described the rating as a product of hard work and dedication to service by every member of the university community.

but the state government deemed it fit to give us the SUVs to ease our movement.”

Kumanga, while confirming the distribution of the SUVs to the chairmen, was quick to add that the funds used for the purchase of the SUVs came from the Joint Account of the Local Governments in the state and not the purse of the state government.

He also said the chairmen agreed to buy the SUVs at their Joint Account meeting recently.

Kumanga, who took a little break to clarify things with his boss before responding to our correspondent, said: “The plan to buy the SUVs had been in the offing long before the administration of the Acting Governor came on board.

“The chairmen agreed at their Joint Account meeting and they wanted the vehicles to be bought for them. The vehicles were bought from their own Joint Account and not from the coffers of the state government.

“They opted for SUVs at their Joint Account meeting because of the difficult terrain of the state.

•Governor Rochas Okorocha (middle) with Eze Emmanuel Njemanze and others during the Oru-Owerri festival in Owerri...at the weekend.

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Death toll in Taraba crisis rises to 40

HE death toll in the renewed ethnic and religious crisis in Ibi Local Government Area of Taraba State has risen to 40.

It was gathered yesterday that tension is also mounting in Wukari and other neighbouring towns.

The crisis is r between Jukun/Tiv Christians and Hausa-Fulani Muslims.

It was learnt that the crisis is being fueled by heavilyarmed hired mercenaries.

Trouble started when a Christian farmer and his son were allegedly attacked by insurgents suspected to be Muslims at the bank of River Benue.

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From Fanen Ihyongo, Jalingo

The attacked persons, though seriously wounded, were able to swim to safety.

The news of the attack led to bloodletting.

Taraba Police Command’s Spokesman, Joseph Kwaji, said police recovered 14 bodies, including two dead soldiers, when the violence died down.

But a resident told The Nation they recovered 28 corpses.

Eye-witnesses said over 40 persons might have been feared killed, adding that some of the bodies were yet

to be recovered.

“Some residents are still missing as I talk to you. Some died in the hospitals, some were killed and their bodies thrown into the bush or river after a string of reprisal attack,” he said.

Sources revealed that soldiers, who arrived at the scene left almost immediately when two of their men were killed in cross-fires by the rioters.

More residents fled the troubled town yesterday after over 20 houses were confirmed torched.

But Kwaji said normalcy was beginning to return to

the area.

The southern Taraba district, particularly Ibi and Wukari local councils, had been the news since the beginning of the year.

In June, over 100 persons were killed in a resurgence of violence in Ibi that spilled to Wukari.

No fewer than 500 persons were injured and many homes destroyed.

Senator representing Taraba south, Emmanuel Bwacha asked President Goodluck Jonathan to declare a state of emergency to protect lives and property.

He All Progressives Congress (APC) in Niger State has threatened legal action against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should the latter insist on conducting the Niger East Senatorial by-election on the 30th of this month.

The electoral body, through the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Emmanuel Onucheyo, last Friday announced a change in the date for the by-election from August 16 to 30, a development that APC and Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) kicked against.

The two parties declared the shifting of the election as illegal and unconstitutional.

APC’s chairman alleged that the reasons advanced by the electoral body for the shift was a deliberate plan to adequately perfect its arrangement for the rigging of the election in favour of the ruling party.

Imam argued that INEC’s claim that its action was in line with Section 30(3) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended could not in any way supersede Section 76 of the Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.

He insisted that INEC has no logistic problems as claimed.

He said: “It is now clear that the change in date and other manipulations that is going on is the handwork of the PDPled government, which is desperate to retain the Senatorial seat at all cost.

Gunmen open fire on worshippers in Kaduna

NE person was killed and several others injured when unknown gunmen opened fire on worshippers during Sunday service at a Catholic Church in Ungwar Pau-Pau in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The incident happened in the early hours of yesterday when the gunmen invaded

From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

the church during the service, shooting sporadically.

Eyewitness said one of the youth guarding the church was killed. Several others injured are reportedly receiving treatment at various hospitals in the area.

Kachia experienced a reli-

gious clash in May, 2014, following destruction of a fence on a land owned by the state government. Muslims in Kachia use the land as Eid prayer ground.

Many people were killed during the incidents, while churches and mosques were also burnt.

In yesterday’s attack, the

eyewitness said:”They came with sophisticated weapons shooting and one person died instantly while several others injured have been admitted at various hospitals.

Church Mass was ongoing when the gunmen came and started shooting.”

Another resident, Mr. Timothy Gomel, said: “Military personnel came and

asked some of our youths to lead them to where the attackers retreated through. As I am talking to you, they are combing the bush.”

Though Chairman of Kachia Local Government, Peter Agite could not be reached as at the time of going to the press, his deputy, Alfred Alfred confirmed the incident to reporters.

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NEWS

Al-Makura: I’ll face panel today Continued from page 4

stitution and the rule of law.”

There were indications last night that the Assembly might shun the invitation of the panel if it is not reconstituted.

Another source added: “I think the Assembly might go to court instead of honouring the invitation of the panel.

The lawmakers want to seek a court injunction to restrain the panel from going ahead with its investigation.

“Initially, the Assembly was opposed to the appointment of two members of the panel. But now, the lawmakers have faulted the entire membership of the panel.”

•Wreckage of a house destroyed by flood in Ringim Local Government Area of Jigawa State…yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Kwankwaso attacks Jonathan again

Continued from page 4

justice, save people, help them, if you have the opportunity to do so. They sent some hawks to go and stop the protesters. The other day I went to Abuja, I saw an advertisement while she is saying ‘BringBackOurGirls’.

Some people are saying ‘vote for us, we want to stay and maintain the status quo; look at my photograph, I am smiling.’

And they don’t know time is of essence.”

Kwankwaso accused President Jonathan-led administration of operating a government based on ethnic sentiment and religious bigotry.

He advised the Presidency to reduce the level of hatred and bitterness among Nigerians, if the government is actually interested in resolving insecurity.

“At the moment, the country is in a critical situation, and if this madness is not stopped and if it is allowed to degenerate, and becomes the order of the day, whereby innocent people are being killed every day, then something is wrong with the leadership.

“What Nigeria requires now is a strong leadership that can effectively tackle the insurgency in the Northeast and other topical security challenges,” he said.

On the impeachment saga in Adamawa and Nasarawa states, Kwankwaso said: “My opinion is if there is anybody that should be impeached, it is them, who are in the headquarters of corruption— that is the headquarters of bad politics—

that is the Headquarters of everything evil.”

To the governor, the suicide attack on APC’s national leader, General Muhammadu Buhari is “unfortunate”. He pointed out that it was God that saved Nigeria from a serious crisis, which would have occurred, if those who attempted to kill Gen. Buhari had succeeded.

His words: “First of all, let me take this opportunity once again to commiserate with General Muhammadu Buhari and, of course, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, their families, their relations and, of course, anybody that is close to them. While commiserating with them, I think I should also congratulate Nigeria in the sense that the lives of these two leaders were saved. I am congratulating Nigeria because only God knows what would have happened in this country if either of them and, at worst, two of them lost their lives on that day. It is very sad that they had to go through this trauma at their age and their level and position in the society.

“This is Nigeria for you and this is the situation we all find ourselves. Everybody is having his own share of trouble, attack and so on and so forth. Dahiru Bauchi, I think he is a little bit older than my father—my father had to go through similar experience also in a mosque at Kwankwaso. They went and sprayed a small mosque where my father was praying with bullets. They had to push him into a particular corner, and so many people heaped themselves on top of him and they received all the

bullets. Three people died, 13 people wounded on top of him.

“So, you can see that now, it cuts across strata, it cuts across the different segments of our society. The late Emir of Kano (Ado Bayero) was attacked right on the streets of Kano. Other traditional rulers have been attacked in the mosque, just like my father who is a traditional ruler. So also, all other sectors of people—civil servants, politicians, police, journalists, everybody - and that is not good for any country.

“In this particular case of Kaduna, we keep on thanking the Almighty God that they escaped death by whiskers. And I want to say we are lucky; but I believe nobody can run any country with luck. You can win election by luck if you have good luck, but you cannot run any administration, any government, serious government, by luck. Because it has its limitations; you cannot be lucky all the time.

“I think that is what everybody should know. You see, when the issue happened, there were many people who have been pointing fingers; and that is a lesson also, especially for the leaders. Leaders should create an environment of love, so that even if bad stories happen anywhere, nobody will point at their direction—and that is what has to be done.

“After the incident, we have seen so many commentators trying to exonerate so many people, but you see, that is not the issue because those who are saying it were saying it on papers; maybe, they are on social media;

maybe they are on television and so on—but you see, under those circumstances, it is not those who even have money to buy newspaper that will take laws into their hands—that is the unfortunate thing.

“The unfortunate thing is people who have no capacity to buy newspaper or even read it if they have it are the people who take decision; and that is such of the decisions that cannot yield anything. That is why I hope everybody is listening, their advisers, if they have any good one, should advise them to reduce the level of hatred and dislike of leaders and their followers; and I think that will probably help to ensure that even if bad thing happen (God forbid), nobody will point fingers at some persons.”

Kwankwaso added that this is time for all Nigerians to support the Federal Government in fighting the insurgency, adding that unless something is done about Northeast, there can be no peace in the country.

He suggested that one of the ways of restoring normalcy to the area is for the government to draw out a Marshal Plan for the region, and urged Jonathan to stamp his feet as the Commander–In-Chief of the Armed Forces to tackle insecurity.

The governor challenged the President to take a clue from the statement of Gen. T.Y Danjuma, who suggested that the President Jonathan should take the bull by the horns, and lead Nigerians to Sambisa forest as a way of rescuing the abducted Chibok girls.

•Al-Makura

Lagos takes sensitisation to Synagogue Church Continued from page 4

everything to ensure the disease is not imported into the country under any guise, after a Liberian government official died of the virus in a Lagos hospital. He flew into the country to attend an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) meeting in Calabar.

Professor Nasidi said the government is worried as the Synagogue congregation comprises of people from around the world.

He said government would provide technical and medical expertise to help the Synagogue team deal with any suspected Ebola case. “ We have experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Musa is an expert who has all the guidelines, we have Dr. Yaunti of the UNICEF, he has all the materials to work with you, to make sure your people know how to handle Ebola.”

The experts are to work with the Committee on Technical issues and the church’s health team to “ train them on how to handle this dangerous situation, pass some materials to them, share knowledge with them and if need be provide some technical materials,” Nasidi said.

The committee will also provide underground medical support to the Synagogue church laboratories to be able to diagnose the virus.

The delegation also reiterated that the Ebola disease comes from a most deadly virus which “ spreads so fast from man to man especially those who come in contact with the victims, share body fluid during treatments.”

Nasidi said: “ These are the areas we felt we should come and engage and work with you to ensure that members of your congregation, everybody in Lagos and Nigeria will be free of this disease.”

Prophet Joshua promised to work with the government to ensure that the disease does not spread into the country.

He said he would put some measures in place to ensure people from the affected countries do not enter Nigeria.

According to the faith healer, one of such measures would be to visit any of the countries when necessary rather than allow their residents come into Nigeria. He would also suspend some of his church healing programmes for a few weeks. “I am ready to work with you, I love my country and I will be ready to work with you. Even if it is a rumour, there is need to secure our environment to ensure that it is safe,” Joshua said.

On the team were the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Raji, his media counterpart, Mr. Hakeem Bello, and Dr. Frank Mahoney from the CDC.

U.S doctor with Ebola improving, says Expert Continued from page 4

able fear of the unfamiliar does not trump our compassion when ill Americans return to the U.S. for care,” Frieden said.

Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, who will arrive in this week, will be treated in Emory’s isolation unit for infectious diseases, created 12 years ago to handle doctors who get sick at the CDC, just up the hill.

It is one of about four in the country, equipped with everything necessary to test and treat people exposed to very dangerous viruses.

In 2005, it handled patients with SARS, which unlike Ebola can spread like the flu when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

In fact, the nature of Ebola — which is spread by close contact with bodily fluids and blood — means that any modern hospital using standard, rigorous, infection-control measures

should be able to handle it.

Still, Emory won’t be taking any chances.

“Nothing comes out of this unit until it is non-infectious,” said Dr. Bruce Ribner, who will be treating the patients. “The bottom line is: we have an inordinate amount of safety associated with the care of this patient. And we do not believe that any healthcare worker, any other patient or any visitor to our facility is in any way at risk of acquiring this infection.”

Brantly was flown from Africa to Dobbins Air Reserve base outside Atlanta in a small plane equipped to contain infectious diseases. The plane had briefly stopped in Maine to refuel.

Bangor Mayor Ben Sprague confirmed that the plane landed Saturday morning at Bangor International Airport.

He said airport staff, law enforcement and public health personnel were on alert in case any-

thing went wrong, but it was a straightforward landing and refuel.

At the Dobbins air base, a small police escort followed his ambulance to the hospital. He climbed out dressed head to toe in white protective clothing, and another person in an identical hazardous materials suit held both of his gloved hands as they walked gingerly inside.

“It was a relief to welcome Kent home today. I spoke with him, and he is glad to be back in the U.S.,” said his wife, Amber Brantly, who left Africa with their two young children for a wedding in the United States days before the doctor fell ill.

“I am thankful to God for his safe transport and for giving him the strength to walk into the hospital,” her statement said.

Inside the unit, patients are sealed off from anyone who doesn’t wear protective gear.

“Negative air pressure”

means air flows in, but can’t escape until filters scrub any germs from patients. All laboratory testing is conducted within the unit, and workers are highly trained in infection control.

Glass walls enable staff outside to safely observe patients, and there’s a vestibule where workers suit up before entering. Any gear is safely disposed of or decontaminated.

Family members will be kept outside for now.

The unit “has a plate glass window and communication system, so they’ll be as close as 1-2 inches from each other,” Ribner said.

Dr. Jay Varkey, an infectious disease specialist who will be treating Brantly and Writebol, gave no word Saturday about their condition. Both were described as critically ill after treating Ebola patients at a missionary hospital in Liberia, one of three West African countries hit

by the largest outbreak of the virus in history.

There is no proven cure for the virus. It kills an estimated 60 per cent to 80 per cent of the people it infects, but American doctors in Africa say the mortality rate would be much lower in a functioning health-care system.

The virus causes hemorrhagic fever, headaches and weakness that can escalate to vomiting, diarrhea and kidney and liver problems. Some patients bleed internally and externally.

There are experimental treatments, but Brantly had only enough for one person, and insisted that his colleague receive it. His best hope in Africa was a transfusion of blood including antibodies from one of his patients, a 14-year-old boy who survived thanks to the doctor.

There was also only room on the plane for one patient at a time. Writebol will follow this week.

Dr. Philip Brachman, an Emory public health specialist who led the CDC’s disease detectives programme for many years, said since there is no cure, medical workers will try any modern therapy that can be done, such as better monitoring of fluids, electrolytes and vital signs.

“We depend on the body’s defenses to control the virus,” Ribner said. “We just have to keep the patient alive long enough in order for the body to control this infection.”

The plane carrying the second American patient left the U.S. for Liberia yesterday.

The private air ambulance is scheduled to arrive in Liberia after one stopover. The plane will then bring aid worker Nancy Writebol to Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga., and is expected to land midday tomorrow.

The same plane brought Dr. Brantly to Georgia on Saturday.

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NEWS

APC, shine your eyes well, now or never

I

T may sound like a joke, but remember that jokes by the Fool in Shakespeare’s King Lear, turned out to be truths that were mistakenly ignored by King Lear, but not without some devastating consequences.

In the July 23 edition of the Nation, Mohammed Haruna wrote in his column (back page) what some people may want to dismiss as a joke. But it is a joke serious enough to warrant our unalloyed attention.

Please hear this about the just concluded Ekiti governorship election. “200,000 ballot papers thumb printed in Abj, CBN Abj conveyed to CBN Ado-Ekiti, CBN Ado-Ekiti to some selected commercial banks, some selected commercial banks to some party leaders in Ekiti land, party leaders to some ward leaders, ward leaders to 10 women per polling unit…… Each woman with 10 already in her body, they pick one each and drop 11 in the ballot box where they are bought agents”. This may look like a fantastic joke, but it is a joke worth courting. It needs a thorough investigation from its very root (considering the fact that another election will take place in Osun State on August 9, 2014). For those who may want to dismiss this as a joke, hear what Mohammed Haruna said about what Major-General IBM Haruna once said: “anytime anyone tells you something is impossible in Nigeria, consider it done”.

The second issue that might have played out very well in Ekiti election of “stomach infrastructure” is scientific rigging.

Rumours had it that ballot papers were cloned or designed in such a way that once you thumb print on

By Moses Makinde

the ballot papers for APC and fold it, the thumb print on the APC ballot paper transfers automatically to PDP thumb print and pronto the thumb print on APC in the ballot paper disappears only to reappear on the ballot paper of the PDP. Now, for the layman, this is impossible, and even unimaginable, forgetting that science is a product of man’s imagination that is behind scientific intelligence which gave birth to science and technology. For those who may not want to believe this, we refer them again to IBM Haruna’s statement above.

It may be you are not aware of technological wonders. You may be dressed originally in an agbada outfit but technology can, without your knowing, robe you in an academic gown, or make you look like half human and half animal, leaving your head and face as you are, but decking the remaining part of your body in the like of a horse with its prominent tail. The lesson here is that voters should not fold their ballot papers when casting their votes this time around.

Let us wager then, that the alleged second rigging device (and even the first) may be true for, in believing in and acting on it, we have everything to gain, as we would have prevented possible rigging by not folding our ballot papers before we drop them in the ballot boxes. On the other hand, and just in case the allegation is untrue, we still have nothing to lose by doing the same thing.

Therefore, we should wager that the allegation is possibly true for, by not believing in it, we have ev-

‘Anytime anyone tells you something is impossible in Nigeria, consider it done’ erything to lose. The exercise is our maximization of expected utility of the outcome of our decision to fold or not the ballot papers. What is important is that we should not take things for granted in this country.

The question now is: can we say that these diabolical two rigging devices had been tested with great successes in Ekiti state, only waiting to be repeated in Osun and later at the 2015 general elections?

If this is the case, then we may say a permanent goodbye to free and fair elections and, consequently, democracy in Nigeria. After the Ekiti election where Fayose was made to beat the incumbent governor in all the 16 local governments – an incredible feat, perhaps out of the ordinary – subsequent elections might be similarly programmed to such an incredible extent that PDP would be made to win all the 36 states of the federation, including the FCT, and people like Gen. Buhari programmed to lose in his own backyard, his vote having been replaced with an already thumb printed one, or scientifically transferred to that of the PDP. All this may sound like conjectures or scientific fiction, but philosophers and scientists know

very well that all scientific knowledge is conjectural knowledge, and scientific fiction translatable into reality. I must say that from these two rigging devices may be deduced an infinite number of other rigging devices that offer attractive possibilities to the master riggers, like orchestrated disenfranchisement of voters by means of late arrival and inadequate voting materials in areas where APC is strong, like it happened in Anambra State, and also the case of military and fierce security operatives to facilitate and provide a cove-up for perpetrating, with impunity, the two alleged rigging devices as mentioned above. So, Nigerians and, especially the APC, should wake up from their dogmatic slumber and begin to shine their eyes very well, first at the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State, and second at the subsequent general elections in February 2015.

Last Lines E e mo wo’lu (Evil spirits have entered the town). These were the words of an elderly man in Osogbo when a convoy of about 50 vehicles of Military and Security Operatives, with some of the men masked, stormed Osogbo on Wednesday, 30 July, 2014, sporadically shooting into the innocent air in a show of federal might, trying to intimidate and frighten Osun people as if to force them to surrender, like in a war situation.

It was like a military siege and very much like the Boko Haram insurgents’ seige of Nigeria under the watchful eyes of the Federal Government which should have deployed the military and security operatives to Sambisa forest rather

than to Osun State where they are neither needed nor invited. Yet, Nigeria has a democratic constitution with a National Assembly and Judiciary as the other organs of government which look on while the Executive over-runs a nation state with reckless impunity. If the federal government hoped that the deployment of intimidating soldiers was a rehearsal of what to expect on August 9, they were disappointed, for the exercise backfired, as it exposed the desperation of the PDP to win elections at all cost, and as a door-die affair. Against the presence of the intimidating number of the military which was well reinforced by some other Contingents of Military and Security Operatives from the Department of State Security Service (DSS) in Osogbo, people just laughed and watched, unimpressed and unperturbed. Rather than being frightened, the people demonstrated their annoyance by raining curses and abuses on “the perpetrators of this evil”. Remarkably interesting was the drama that unfolded when people responded to the sporadic shootings into the air with intermittent shouts of “APC! APC!!

APC!!!”. They did this by also raising up their hands to make the Awo victory sign “V” with two fingers.

Surely, the Security Operatives did not expect or like what they saw, and must have come to terms with the reality – the fact that Osun is not Ekiti State. in the final analysis, this ugly and primitive scenario might have done a great damage to the PDP’s image, as the annoyed people swore to PROTEST the ugly show of federal might or power (which they saw as powerless power) through their votes, come August 9 and even thereafter.

U.S. may give Africa $1b business deals at summit

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HE United States will announce nearly $1 billion in business deals, increase funding for peacekeeping and commit billions of dollars to expanding food and power programmes in Africa during a summit this week, U.S. and development officials said at the weekend.

U.S. officials said the summit billed for today till Wednesday in Washington of nearly 50 African leaders hopes to showcase US interest in the fast-growing region through a series of government-private partnership deals to boost trade and investment.

The spread of the deadly Ebola virus in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone is also a reminder of the vast development needs that persist in some of the region’s poorest countries despite rapid economic growth and investment.

Administration officials have played down questions over whether the summit is in response to China’s growing presence in the region. Instead, they have emphasized American interests go beyond Africa’s oil and minerals, where China is focused. “You will see a series of announcements on agriculture and food, and power and energy,” Rajiv Shah, the administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), told

Reuters. “We will make big announcements that demonstrate these are big ambitions we can take on with our African partners and the private sector.” Shah said there will be new support for Power Africa, a privately-funded program launched by US President Barack Obama last year to install 10,000 megawatts of new generation capacity and connect 20 million new customers across Africa by 2018.

The programme had already met that goal after just one year, Shah said.

“Next week we will announce a more than doubling of our aspirations,” he added. Shah said while companies pledged $7 billion to the program last year, next week “we will be in excess of $20 billion” in new investments. The World Bank is expected to make a major contribution toward the program, according to Bank officials.

The programme is also likely to be expanded from the six nations - Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania - that currently benefit from Power Africa.

There will also be significant increases in private sector support for US-backed food and agricultural programs in Africa, including the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, US development officials said.

The programme was

launched in 2012 to bring together African governments, the private sector and donors to boost investment in agricultural production after a massive 2008/09 food price crisis, which sparked unrest in developing nations.

An announcement worth billions of dollar by a large U.S. beverage company is expected to boost purchases from African farmers, according to one official, who declined to elaborate. The summit will include a business conference on Tuesday bringing together African leaders and American CEOs. US commerce officials said close to $1 billion in various business deals will be announced covering different sectors and involving several African countries.

Trade ministers will spend a day discussing ways to improve the US trade program with Africa, known as the African Growth Opportunity Act, or AGOA, which gives African countries duty-free access to US markets. AGOA expires in September next year and will need congressional approval for renewal.

In other funding increases, the State Department is expected to announce a further $60 million a year for peacekeeping training in six African countries, according to U.S. officials

•From left, Chairman, Dangote Group of Companies,Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Bayelsa state Governor Seriake Dickson, Industrialist Femi Otedola and Managing Director, First Bank Plc, Mr. Bisi Onasanya at the wedding reception of Mr. Onasanya’s daughter at Convention Hall, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos...at the weekend

•Comrade Idris Ibrahim addressing a news conference by the Northern Youth Voters Forum, calling on former Vice President and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Atiku Abubakar to declare interest in the 2015 presidential election at the Arewa House, Kaduna...yesterday

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SPORT EXTRA Amalaha’s dope issue Nigeria’s low point in Glasgow—Elegbeleye

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ATIONSPORT Correspondent Segun Ogunjimi took on the Director General of the

National Sports Commission, Honourable Gbenga Elegbeleye in a chat as regards the just concluded Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland.

The NSC top official who is also the Chef de mission for the Team Nigeria was elated at the impressive performances put up by the Nigerian athletes. He spoke on the athletes’ feats and the coming 2016 Olympic Games.

Excerpts: How would you describe the performance of Team Nigeria in the just concluded Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games?

The Commonwealth Games is like a mini Olympics because every important country participated with the exception of America that is not a member of Commonwealth nations. So if it were to be Olympics it would have been very much tight to win medals. But with the results we Have achieved here I am sure we would be ready for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. I can assure Nigerians that we will do very well in Brazil.

Would you say you have any regrets as regards this competition?

It is very regrettable that one of our weightlifters (Chika Joy Amalaha) tested positive. It was a low point for us and I really feel very, very sad. We are addressing it and it won’t happen again.

Is there any lesson to learn from this competition?

First lesson we have learnt is that we have a lot of talents in Nigeria. A very good example is the Ese Brume who won the long jump gold. She is a potential medalist (for the 2016 Olympics). He is a very young girl. We have also learnt a lot of lessons as regards our relay (most especially the men’s 4x 100m) We had a defect as regards baton exchange. We could have won a medal in that race because we have high potentials of athletes in that event too. We did so well in the semi-final too but obviously we couldn’t win any medal there.

It is surprising to see that its only Nigerian female athletes that won almost all the medals in this Commonwealth Games.

What would you say went wrong with the Nigerian male athletes?

Some of them got to as far as quarter-finals of their events but you know that it is very tough when it gets to

the male events and it need a lot of work and concentration to achieve the desired results.

But we are working hard and will continue to work to ensure our male athletes make Nigeria proud in subsequent international competitions.

Can you mention any special talents discovered during this Commonwealth Games that made you happy and that could be nurtured for the 2016 Olympic Games holding in Brazil?

We have a lot of them but worthy of note is Ese Brume who surprised all to win the women’s long jump. Others put up good performances but did not win medals for now.

But we are going to continue to encourage them and I am very sure in no distance future they would start winning medals for the country in international competitions.

So what is your expectation for Rio 2016 Olympic Games?

Well we were in London 2012 Olympics and we didn’t win any medal but I am very, very sure and very positive that we are not just going to look for a single medal but medals. We will definitely aim for gold equally in Rio. I can assure you we will come to Nigeria from the next Olympics with medals.

Is there going to be compensation to the medal winning athletes most especially from the Federal Government?

I am very sure that the Honourable Minister is working on that and by the time we go back to Nigeria everything will be sorted out by the Minster.

How are you preparing for the next competition, the Youth Olympics holding in Najing, China this month?

Well that is another opportunity for us to showcase Nigeria’s talents. It is one of the competitions we are looking forward to in order to prepare our athletes for the 2016 Olympics. We have already mapped out plans to ensure we also perform well at the competition as well as get talents for the Rio Games.

•Amalaha

Eaglets beat Les Leopards 4-0

•To meet Gabon in final round

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IGERIA’S U-17 team, Golden Eaglets are through to the final qualifying round of the 2015 African U-17 Championship to be hosted in Niger after a 5-0 aggregate win against Les Leopards of Congo Democratic Republic.

Leading 1-0 from the first leg second round match played in Kinshasa last weekend, the Golden Eaglets confirmed their superiority yet again with a 4-0 win at the M.K.O Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta on Sunday in front of appreciative home fans.

There were first half goals for Suleiman Abdullahi, Victor Osimhen, while Kehinde Ayinde and Samuel Chukwueze added the other

two goals in the second half.

In attendance to watch the second leg encounter were Ogun State’s First Lady, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun who stood in for His Excellency, Senator Ibikunle Amosun as the Special Guest of Honour; Dr. Lanre Tejuoso( State’s Commissioner for Youth & Sport; Chief Mike Umeh, the NFF’s Acting President and his 1st Vice, Dr. Shehu Adamu amongst other important dignitaries.

The Golden Eaglets dominated the game right from the outset with some good positional play but failed to convert early chances. But on the dot of 30th minute, Suleiman Abdullahi scrambled the ball into the net

for the first goal after the Congolese goalkeeper Sese Bia Israel failed to deal with a floater from Kingsley Michael.

Michael nearly added the second goal five minutes later when his long range shot was parried away by Israel. From then, the Golden Eaglets mounted more pressure forcing the Congolese team to concede a corner in the 42nd minute. Suleiman took the resultant corner kick and Victor Osimhen nodded into the net after Israel failed to hold tightly to the ball.

At the restart, the Congolese nearly pulled a goal back in the 47th minute but Djemes Diala’s angular shot was caught by Goalkeeper Akpan

NWPL: 'My goal was vital'—Oluchi

C

ONFLUENCE Queens’ defender, Oluchi Ezeji has described her goal that earned her side a 1-0 victory against Ibom Angels, as vital in a keenly contested Nigeria Women Premier League encounter on Sunday.

It was a ding dong affair through the first 45 minutes as both sides failed to convert their chances. The second stanza was somehow similar to the first half but an expensive error from Eurere Edith in the late minute of the pulsating encounter proved costly for the visitors when she brought down Chioma Wogu to allow a penalty opportunity for Confluence Queens.

It was Oluchi who stepped forward to unleash a rocket

shot that went past goalkeeper Oluchi Tochukwu in the 86th minute.

The powerful defender, who joined Confluence Queens in the mid season was excited that her first goal for her new side proved vital to get the maximum points.

"I'm so happy we won the match, it wasn't easy to play against Ibom Angels anytime, they gave us a tough challenge but I'm happy my penalty goal was vital to give us the victory, I had to summon courage to take the penalty as Tochukwu is known as an experienced keeper, I hope this will be the start of many goals to come for me," said the former FCT Queens defender.

F

•Khaleh heads Finance Council

Head Coach of the Lokoja based women premier league side, Suleiman Adamu who expressed happiness with an important win admitted that his side would return to drawing board to improve on their scoring opportunities.

Confluence Queens face double away fixtures to Pelican Stars of Calabar and Adamawa Queens in Gombe, but Coach Adamu has assured that his side would put in their best to get a valuable points from both games.

"We don't have to panic about double away games, we will try our best to get another point or points on the road, we just want our fans to keep on believing in us as I believe we will get even better," Adamu said.

Ahmedu is FIBA Africa Zone 3 president

ORMER head of the FIBA Africa marketing council and president Dodan Warriors Basketball Programme, Col Sam Ahmedu (rtd) has emerged the new president of FIBA Africa in charge of Zone 3 at the 16th Congress of FIBA Africa held in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

Ahmedu, who was formerly a member of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF and chairman technical committee emerged president of Zone three after an initial 4 all votes on July 30, 2014 between him and the former Zone 3 presi-

dent, Muktah Khaleh also of Nigeria who stepped down.

Khaleh's gesture to step down, it was gathered came after a series of meetings initiated by Nigeria's basketball president Tijani Umar with Ahmedu and other top FIBA World and FIBA Africa big wigs in attendance after which Ahmedu was given the clear by all eight delegates.

With that decided,Nigeria remains in charge of basketball programmes in the zone which

comprises Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, Cote d' Ivoire, Nigeria, Liberia, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic.

However, Khaleh remains in the FIBA Africa as he is now president of FIBA Africa finance council. He replaces Hamane Niang of Mali who is now president of the African basketball ruling body after the immediate past president Mabusa Eseka of Democratic Republic of Congo stepped down.

Udoh. Udoh was also at his best few minutes later when he touched away Mutatu Mbedi’s well struck free kick.

Amuneke pulled out injured Chinedu Ndu for Samuel Chukwueze and it was the gifted striker that provided Kehinde Ayinde to bury the ball beyond Israel for the third goal in the 67th The last moment was very dramatic as Abdullahi saw his ball hit the goal post in the 89th minute after the goalkeeper had been displaced by Chukwueze. But Chukwueze still had the final word when he drove the ball into the net with almost the last kick of the match.

Meanwhile, the Golden Eaglets would now meet Gabon in the third and final round towards a place in the next African U-17 Championship after the latter eliminated Ethiopia on a 3-0 aggregate on Saturday.

Mikel stars in Chelsea’s friendly loss

By Bowale Odukale

N

IGERIA international Mikel Obi played his first pre-season game for Chelsea on Sunday against Werder Bremen after an extended World Cup break.

Mikel was a 46th minute substitute for Van Ginkel in the game as Jose Mourinho fielded a number of firstteam stars, including Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois, as ‘The Blues’ lost 3-0 to the German Bundesliga team having Eljero Elia, Ludovic Obraniak and Felix Kroos all on the scoresheet for the Bundesliga side.

Reports have been rife that the midfielder will be released by Chelsea this summer, but the player himself has insisted he will fight for his future at Stamford Bridge.

However, Victor Moses who had an inauspicious loan spell at Liverpool last season, as being linked to Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion, as both teams have showed an interest in taking the Chelsea winger on loan, was also missing in the Chelsea’s friendly loss.

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TODAY IN THE NATION

MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

‘The nation is sliding to the precipice and a slight error of omission or commission on the choice of targets could be the last straw. We saw it nearly coming with the bomb attacks on former military Head of State Muhammad Buhari and Sheikh Bauchi’ EMEKA OMEIHE

VOL 9 NO 2,928

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

S

OMETIMES it pays to compare politics with children at play. Yet when children play, their innocence can tease them into the province of danger.

Hence a child can fall from a roof, stab his best friend, swallow poison, burn down a house and kill all that he or she holds dear, including the parents. If the child survives, he or she might utter the first cry, in his innocence, for the help of daddy or mummy. But the parents are now smouldering, without recall, in the oblivion of death.

The difference between child’s play and political fray, especially Nigerian style, is that one understands his absence of innocence and the other knows nothing but the sweet naivety of action, what playwright Tennessee Williams calls the sweet bird of youth. The sweet naivety of kids with its portent for calamity is well documented in the Nobelprize winning novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan, is providing material for fiction writers, especially in these parts, for a script on the adult version. We saw the play in Adamawa a few weeks ago. Now, the theatre has moved with a new ensemble to Lafiagi, in Nassarawa State. We have seen that the lawmakers do not pretend to be nice guys.

They are not hiding behind any moral niceties. They are not laying any claim to the principles of democratic grandeur. They want Governor Tanko Al-Makura’s head. This is Isi-ewu as politics.

The people rose in the streets, in a Kaboom of rage, against what they saw as the low ebb of politics in the cabal to overthrow an apparently popular chief executive. But this is politics as theatre. The lawmakers said they wanted the governor out. The governor said he did no wrong.

They started a process in the legislature and that seemed quite in order, and the House of Assembly mustered the numbers to call for the Chief Judge to set up an impeachment panel. That itself reflected a fidelity to law and order.

The Chief Judge, Suleiman Dikko, unveiled the panel and suddenly, the lawmakers do not like him. They said he should reconstitute the panel. Now, is that not foul play? It becomes a farce. They seemed to like the rule of law when it suited their devious designs. When they felt the process would not produce their grand design, they cried foul. It is like the youth in a soccer game who hacks a player down, but falls down himself and cries foul so the referee would not mark him down for infringement. It is the dangerous irony of our politics today. The lawmakers do not believe in the law, if it is not the law of

RIPPLES

SAM OMATSEYE

IN TOUCH

intouchnation@gmail.com 08054501081(sms only) Twitter: @samomatseye

The blood theatre ahead

‘

We saw the play in Adamawa a few weeks ago. Now, the theatre has moved with a new ensemble to Lafiagi, in Nassarawa State. We have seen that the lawmakers do not pretend to be nice guys •Al-Makura

the jungle. That is what is at play in Nassarawa state.

This is the nature of comedy. And comedy is sometimes more dreary than tragedy.

As film director and screenwriter Mel Brooks says, “tragedy is when I cut my finger…comedy is when you fall into a sewer and die.” The Nassarawa lawmakers want to throw democracy into the sewer, so it can die.

When the impeachment panel was set up in Adamawa State, because they had the judge where they had him, the PDP power vortex deployed the security forces to protect the judge. In the way the politics goes, the PDP high command violates everything it touches. If it is the law, they turn into an instrument of revenge. If it is the soldiers, they do not protect the law but advance impunity. If it’s the due

HARDBALL

Suarez: I FIGHT, I ARGUE, I KICK

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••• and don’t forget, you BITE, too!

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process, they make it a procession for doom. What is impeached is not a person, not an officer of the law, but the law itself, and the institutions set in place to ennoble it.

As I stated last week, the Jonathan presidency must realise that it owes this country the obligation not to turn it into a theatre of the blood in the name of ambition. Ambition is made of sterner stuff, said Shakespeare. But let the corporate dreams of Nigeria dwarf the puny egotism of one man’s or one group’s design.

But what is going on in Nassarawa State is the witch-hunt of the lawmaker. When Al-Makura became governor, he was on the platform of the Congress for Progressives Change (CPC). From the outset, he was set off against a group of

NE (un)fortunate event and a Babel of voices over cash!

Abdu Halilu, a Chibok girl parent, part of the group on a presidential visit to Aso Villa: “I got only N200, 000 out of N100 million allegedly received by our leaders in Abuja. Some of us got N300, 000 and some less than that.”

Pobu Bitrus, a member of the House of Representatives, also present at the meeting: “After we met with the Presidency, the parents were given some money in envelopes. That’s all. All other things they are saying about N100 million, I don’t know about that.”

Both Halilu and Bitrus reportedly spoke with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Reuben Abati, President Goodluck Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity: “The allegation is completely untrue. Nobody distributed any envelope after the meeting. The meeting was held in the Villa, a public place. After the meeting, the president left and the parents as well as the children went into their buses in the presence of the media. There was no time, after the meeting, that envelopes were dis-

Chibok: Babel over cash tributed or money was given.”

And away from it all, but still related to it, another voice — Oby Ezekwesili, leader of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign: “I wish the Chibok parents resisted the filthy lucre. I really wish they did. How much can douse the agony of a missing child? We shall stand.”

A final voice, an unnamed parent, whose girl is still missing, but who missed the Abuja trip: “I was on the farm when they brought the N7, 000 to my house and I collected it.

Some of us got even less, N3, 000 and below.”

Herein then is contemporary Nigeria’s moral sewers in full stink.

Now, by African custom, it is nothing unusual for country folks to visit their president and the president gives them some token as transport fare. Then envelope story could have supported that — and maybe there

lawmakers from the PDP on the revenge.

They were angry they did not have one of their own on the throne.

But a certain uneasy calm had predominated until the Ides of 2015 reared itself. Now, the party at the centre in Abuja had begun what it sees as the impeachment cyclone as a weapon to oust “troublesome” governors. Its eyes are also on Rivers and Edo states. So far they have stumbled. Just as in Nassarawa State, their first goal is to impeach. If they cannot unseat the governor as in Adamawa State, they intend to keep the state on the partisan boil ahead of the next election so as to prime the polity for a giddy electoral process. They can then cash in and install whom they want in the state and make it ripe to secure the numbers of votes the president would need to win the presidency in 2015.

This is ordinarily funny, if it is not heavy with implications for our democratic survival. Now, it is Nassarawa State, and the option is whether to do good or evil.

Russian poet Derzhavin said: “I am tormented by the desire to do honour/ I hear the sound of glory calling.” Do the Nassarawa lawmakers recognise a glory call when they hear it? Not yet.

Rather they have chosen the path of folly.

They have the people to answer to, if they defy law, decency and due process.

The Osun Battle

T

HE election on Saturday is a battle between good and evil. For those who think that the way to win is to seek violence, manipulate elections and turn the state into a platform for contagion, they should beware. The signs are bad. What is at stake is not Omisore, or Aregbesola. What is at stake is not PDP or APC, or stomach infrastructure. What is at stake is the honour and survival of this democracy. Those who want to sacrifice their state and the high horse of integrity should not conflate their private estate with the vast and variegated behemoth of Nigeria. Power is an aphrodisiac. It elevates before it destroys.

The tragedy is that when it destroys, it sometimes does not destroy the source of calamity. It throws its power on the innocent. The people of Osun must be ready to defend their votes and not yield to the intimidation of the military.

There is life after election. But to those who seek power by all means, they have no life if they don’t win. They have no right to impose that on the rest of us. The good is a free and fair poll. The evil is rigging. The choice is clear!

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above perhaps would have been nothing to it.

But Dr. Abati’s trenchant denial raises serious eyebrows. So, the president gave no token as parting gifts to his guests? That would simply be un-African. But it would appear Abati’s denial has more to do with fending his boss from the allegation that he tried, by cynical lucre, to buy the soul of the parents, from the crisis at hand.

Hear Abati again: “This is not about money.

We are talking about human lives here.”

Bravo! But it is near obvious that Abati’s rally is either in anticipation of, or in reaction to, Dr. Ezekwesili’s rebuke that the Jonathan Presidency, by the alleged N100 million payout, tried to corrupt the Chibok campaign with cynical cash, to somehow salve its conscience, on the feckless manner it had handled the Chibok case, and failure so far to set the girls free.

Reading between the lines, however, it is almost clear there was some form of payout to the hurting Chibok parents. The scandal and national shame is that some Chibok leaders, would appear not averse to profiting from their people’s sufferings.

That is apt metaphor for contemporary Nigeria’s moral sewers at its full stink!

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