The Nation August 12, 2011

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VOL. 7, NO. 1850 FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

Sterling Bank acquires Equitorial Trust Bank

T •Sterling MD Yemi Adeola

HE future of Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB) – one of the 10 banks bailed out by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2009 – was settled yesterday, with its acquisition by Sterling Bank Plc. Of the four rescued banks yet to find merging partners, only ETB was spared by the CBN. Three others – Afribank, Spring Bank and Bank PHB – were liquidated

By Ayodele Aminu, Group Business Editor

by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) last Friday, following their inability to make progress in their recapitalisation. The NDIC said ETB was spared because it had made much progress in its recapitalisation.

The Sterling Bank and ETB deal, according to sources, has won the back-

ing of the ETB board and Chief Mike Adenuga, the billionaire founder of the bank.

The duo have signed a Transaction Implementation Agreement (TIA), which reflects the main commercial terms of reference on which agreement has been reached in principle by the boards of both financial institutions in close consultation with the Asset Management Com-

pany of Nigeria (AMCON).

It was also gathered that the CBN was privy to the negotiations. The transaction is expected to be presented to shareholders, CBN, Federal High Court, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The deal is the fifth to reach an advanced stage among the rescued banks.

Finbank Plc, Interconti-

nental Bank Plc, Oceanic Bank Plc and Union Bank of Nigeria Plc have signed similar agreements with potential buyers.

Sterling Bank - one of the banks that survived the joint stress test by the CBN and NDIC in 2009 – until recently, was considered an attractive partner for foreign financial institutions Continued on page 59

al-Mustapha: I gave my gun to Sergeant Rogers Court admits Abacha CSO’s statement as evidence

Lawyers condemn NJC’s stand on Salami

L

AWYERS were angry yesterday over the National Judicial Council’s (NJC’s) demand that Court of Appeal President Isa Ayo Salami should apologise to Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Aloysius Katsina-Alu for allegedly lying on oath against him.

They said only a court of law, and not a domestic panel, can preside over a criminal matter, such as alleged perjury.

A professor of law, Itsay Sagay (SAN), described the NJC demand as illegal and unconstitutional.

He said the Supreme Court, in several instances, made it clear that only the court of law can indict a person for perjury (lying on oath).

“No panel other than a court of law can indict anyone in matter of perjury.

What the NJC is doing is, therefore, completely illegal and unconstitutional. It is only a court of law that is constitutionally empowered to do so,” he said.

He said the allegation that the CJN interfered with a

By Eric Ikhilae

A

LAGOS High Court, yesterday admitted in evidence a statement by former Chief Security Officer to the late General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza alMutspaha, in which he admitted giving out his arms to Sergeant Barnabas Jabila (Rogers).

In the statement written on October 13, 1999, al-Mustapha said he gave his arms to Rogers for cleaning “when ever we come back from range exercise”. He denied issuing out his arms to Rogers to kill the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola’s wife, Kudirat. Rogers led the Strike Force – a special squad that went after opponents of the Abacha regime. al-Mustapha, who was given the statement to read to the hearing of all in court, denied that the statement was his. He also said the Continued on page 2

‘

Though Mr. Barnabas Jabila (Rogers) had earlier said that Mohammed Abacha was around when I gave him my personal arms, it could be true that I showed him my arms for cleaning ...

By Joseph Jibueze

pending case on appeal has been swept under the carpet. To Sagay, that is a weighty issue raised by Justice Salami which has not been convincingly disproved.

“There has been no apology or expression of any form of regret over the illegal and unconstitutional interference in the Sokoto Continued on page 2

•A strange SEE ANALYSIS kind of justice ON PAGE 2 •Justice Katsina-Alu

’ •LABOUR P13 •POLITICS P17 •SPORTS P23 •AGRIC P35•BRAND P49 •Sergeant Rogers, the star witness, in one of his appearances in court

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THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

NEWS

•President Goodluck Jonathan (seventh left), Senate President David Mark (sixth left) and members of the ECOWAS Parliament during their inauguration in Abuja ... yesterday.

Strange kind of justice ANALYSIS

By Lawal Ogienagbon, Deputy Editor

I

TS pronouncement should have ended the matter.

But from all indications, the last may not have been heard about the rift between the outgoing Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, and President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Ayo Isa Salami, on which the National Judicial Council (NJC) made its position known on Wednesday. It was after considering the reports of the two panels that looked into the case.

The panels were headed by former Court of Appeal President, Justice Umaru Abdullahi and Federal High Court Chief Judge, Justice Ibrahim Auta. The Auta Panel reviewed the report of the Abdullahi Panel.

Both panels cleared Justice Katsina-Alu and Justice Salami, but there is a proviso in the clean bill of health given Justice Salami by the Auta Panel - he should apologise to Justice

Lawyers condemn NJC’s stand on Salami Continued from page 1

governorship petition appeal by the CJN,” Sagay said.

According to him, there is an “antiprogressive onslaught” against Justice Salami over his role in the restoration of true democracy.

Some, he said, are not happy with the Court of Appeal headed by Justice Salami for upturning stolen mandates from rigged elections.

He said efforts are being made to undermine the gains made by the Justice Salami-led appellate court.

Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Niyi Akintola, declined comments on the NJC’s apology demand from Salami.

“It will be a subject of litigation as from Monday. Justice Salami has instructed that an action be filed on Monday. So, I will not comment on it,” Akintola said.

A human rights activist, Mr Katsina-Alu within seven days. How did the panel arrive at this conclusion? In its wisdom, the panel found that Justice Salami allegedly lied against Justice Katsina-Alu on oath when the PCA accused the CJN of asking him to ’’arrest’’ then impending verdict on the Sokoto State governorship election dispute. The controversy over this judgment, which was adjourned again and again before the Supreme Court eventually threw out the petitioner’s case, strained the relationship between Justice Katsina-Alu and Justice Salami.

Morakinyo Ogele, said the outcome of the Auta Panel was not only surprising but shocking.

According to him, it is outside the purview of a panel without judicial powers to handle a criminal matter, such as alleged perjury.

He warned the NJC to expect lawsuits over what he called a breach of Constitution, adding that the finding that Justice Salami swore to a false affidavit is outside the jurisdiction of any domestic panel.

Ogele said it had been widely decided by the courts that a domestic panel, such as the Auta Panel ,cannot preside over a criminal matter.

He cited the case of Garba vs University of Maiduguri where the Supreme Court held that it is beyond the jurisdiction of any domestic panel to preside over a criminal matter.

“We have been warning that the NJC should tread cautiously in respect of Justice Salami and the CJN. I humbly ad-

It was in the heat of the controversy that Justice KatsinaAlu recommended Salami for ‘elevation’ to the Supreme Court, an offer which the PCA rejected, describing it as a ’’Greek gift’’. Apparently to forestall his removal for rejecting the ’promotion’, Justice Salami went to court.

In an affidavit in support of the suit, Justice Salami averred, among others, that the CJN asked him to disband the Sokoto governorship election appeal tribunal. The CJN, he claimed, said if the panel allowed the appeal and removed the governor, the ripple effect would lead to the

vise the NJC to withdraw the outcome of Auta Panel in respect of perjury that the panel decided upon.

“Otherwise, it may open a floodgate of litigation as any individual has the right to challenge a breach of our Constitution,” Ogele said.

A human rights group, the Access to Justice (AJ), said the conclusions on Petitions against CJN and PCA are disappointingly shallow and side-step core issues. It added that the demand for apology from Justice Salami would not help restore public confidence in the judiciary Its Director, Mr Joseph Otteh, said: “This outcome will further discourage people with legitimate grievances to approach the NJC with their complaints because such people will now presume that any evidence they provide will probably not be enough to make the Council take the necessary actions to protect judicial independence and integrity.”

removal of the Sultan of Sokoto. Alternatively, he alleged that the CJN asked him to direct the panel to decide against the appellant.

Before the case could be heard, Justice Salami, following the intervention of some retired judges, withdrew the matter so that it could be amicably resolved. This gave former Governors Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Osun) and Olusegun Oni (Ekiti) the opportunity to join the fray.

They petitioned NJC, accusing Justices Salami and the Justices that heard the Osun and Ekiti governorship election dispute appeals of being

influenced by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

They alleged that Justice Salami and some ACN leaders were usually in contact on phone and tendered some purported MTN call logs as proof. The NJC then raised the Abdullahi panel, even after an earlier committee also set up by the Council had cleared Justice Salami.

The Abdullahi panel was, however, given an expanded mandate to look into the petitions against Justice Katsina-Alu and Justice Salami.

Its expanded mandate covered the purported leakage of

PHOTO: NAN

the Sokoto appeal panel verdict and the veracity of the purported MTN call logs from Oni, Oyinlola and their protégé, Sunday Ojo-Williams.

The panel cleared Justice Katsina-Alu and Justice Salami. It held that there was no leakage of the Sokoto governorship appeal panel judgment, adding that Justice Katsina-Alu did not attempt to influence the judgment through Justice Salami. The panel also dismissed the allegations by Oyinlola, Oni and Ojo-Williams that Justice Salami engaged in nocturnal telephone conversations with some lawyers to influence decisions in the Osun and Ekiti governorship disputes.

It, however, said the CJN or NJC has no power to interfere in any judicial proceedings as Justice Katsina-Alu did in the Sokoto case. The NJC was not satisfied with the panel’s work; so it raised the Auta review panel, which recommendations it made public on Wednesday.

Earlier, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), while weighing into the matter, said neither the CJN nor the Supreme Court, which he heads, has the power to interfere in any case in court. The Supreme Court can only pronounce on a case when the matter comes to it on appeal, NBA said, adding that to do so before then amounts to the Supreme Court or CJN exercising the power they don’t have.

Continued on page 59

al-Mustapha admits giving Sergeant Rogers his gun Continued from page 1

contents were dictated to him under duress as he faced the Special Investigation Panel (SIP) that investigated Mrs Abiola’s murder.

He explained, in the statement, the relationship between him and the late Mrs. Abiola’s former aide, Lateef Sofolahan (whom he referred to as Alhaji Lati), saying before their meeting at the SIP, Sofolahan was introduced to him in Abuja by Alhaji Sarkin Sasa, as an informant. al-Mustapha and Sofolahan are being tried for alleged conspiracy and murder of Mrs Abiola on June 4, 1996.

Despite stiff opposition from the defence lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, the court upheld argument by the prosecution lawyer and the state’s Solicitor General, Lawal Pedro justifying the need to

admit the statement in evidence admitted the statement in evidence. It admitted it and marked it “Exhibit DR5”.

“The court has already ruled that the statement under contention marked ID 2 is not confessional in nature.

Therefore, the need to call for a trial within trial is eliminated. The witness denied the content of the statement as his, but that of the SIP and that it was dictated to him by the SIP. “This is, therefore, the retraction of the whole document and can be distinguishable from the circumstances under which exhibit P4 was admitted. I have also said earlier that the scenario has changed from yesterday. The issue of admissibility was not an issue. The whole essence of the objection has been defeated,” the court held.

Part of the statement reads:

“As I stated earlier on September 23, 1999, I reaffirm that I did not send Sergeant Barnabas Jabila (Rogers) to kill the late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola on the 4th of June 1996.

There was no contact that I made with Alhaji Lati prior to this date other than when Alhaji Lateef was introduced to me by Alhaji Sarkin Sasa, here I Abuja.

“I did not send anybody to Alhaji Lateef regarding Alhaja Kudirat Abiola. The arms and ammunition that is, Uzi, SMG with 9 mm rounds, with silencer did not come from me.

“Though Mr. Barnabas Jabila (Rogers) had earlier said that Mohammed Abacha was around when I gave him my personal arms, it could be true that I showed him my arms for cleaning, which used to be my pattern of cleaning whenever we come

back from range exercise.

“But certainly, I did not give him my personal arms and ammunition to kill Alhaja Kudirat Abiola. I did not send the sum of N50, 000 through Barnabas Rogers Jabila as claimed after he shot Alhaja Kudirat Abiola.

“I have now been shown a statement of Alhaji Mohammed Abacha dated October 6, 1999 and I wish to state as follows: That I did not give my arms to Barnabas Jabila Rogers to shoot anybody. As stated above, it must be for cleaning of my arms. Barnabas Jabila Rogers is an instructor and he works in the Presidency. Entrusting arms to him for cleaning is normal.

“As mentioned by Alhaji Mohammed Abacha, there was never a time that Barnabas Jabila came to me to discuss Allhaja Kudirat issue

as being published in the newspapers and all the allegations being made against me in the media.

“Alhaji Mohammed Abacha also did not discuss such issue with me. I did not send Barnabas Jabila to Alhaji Mohammed Abacha to request for a car with a driver for an assignment in Lagos. I have had no previous knowledge of the discussion between Alhaji Abacha, Major Ali and Mohammed Katako in Kano.

“I was also not privy to the money given to some BG (Body Guards) to the late Gen. Sani Abacha … I have been shown the statement made by Alhaji Mohammed Rabo Lawal, former O C , MOPOL and I wish to state as follows: That it is true that Alhaji Sarkin Sasa introduced Alhaji Lateef to me as an informant. I, in turn, intro-

duced him, that is, Alhaji Lateef to Mohammed Rabo Lawal.

“At the time when Alhaji Lateef was introduced to me, we had very few officers and non-commissioned officers in the Security Department. So, Rabo Lawal O C, MOPOL was already tasked to go to Lagos with a view to monitoring a planned NADECO rally in Lagos which was reported to be to destroy General Abacha’s personal property.”

In the statement, he also denied relating with Rabo Lawal and then Commissioner of Police in Lagos, James Danbaba, regarding the burning of Rutam House (housing the Guardian Newspapers head office) and the shooting of its publisher, Alex Ibru.

Continued on page 59

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THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

NEWS FROM PUBLIC TRIBUNAL ON TORTURE

‘Instead of assisting me, the DCO ordered me out of the station’ •Woman, who was violated and whose husband died of torture-induced ailment tells panel.

Deborah’s testimony was laden with emotions that almost drew tears from those who heard how some ‘uniformed men’ raped her and left her husband to die after intense torture, reports TONY AKOWE

T

EMPERS flared yesterday at the hearing of a public tribunal jointly organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NPRN) and the National Commission on Torture (NCT).

The tribunal, sitting in Kaduna, heard how a man, Victor Uduak, was allegedly arrested by the police, tortured and his wife, Deborah, raped.

Mrs Uduak’s story drew tears from many, including members of the panel, chaired by a chief Magistrate with the Anambra State judiciary, Peace Oti. After listening to the testimony, the tribunal chair directed that a special police protection be provided for her, until the case has been dispensed with.

The woman alleged that those who arrested her husband from the Masaka Police Station in Nasarawa State, later tricked her into a bush where she was violated on the pretence that they were taking her to where her husband was.

The tribunal was particularly shocked to hear that the police officers accused of killing Victor in extra judicial circumstances have not been arrested. The chief suspect is serving at the Police Force Headquarters in Abuja. Others, they heard, are still at the Masaka Police Station.

Uduak told the tribunal that trouble started for her household on September 7, 2010, when the Masaka community raised a 30man vigilance group chaired by her late husband. She alleged that the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) at the Masaka Police Station and their landlord (names withheld) vehemently kicked against her husband accepting the position.

Her words: “They told my husband not to accept the chairmanship position and that if he wanted to remain alive, he should not bring any vigilance group to the area and that if he did that, he will be a dead man. Later, one policeman, who is our neigbour, came and knocked on our door.

“When my husband opened the door for him, he hit him with a hammer on his left eye. I advised my husband to let us report the matter to the police. On our way to the police station, four young men waylaid us and started beating him with sticks and I ran to the police station where I reported the matter.

“They directed me to the DCO and I narrated everything to him. Instead of assisting, he ordered me out of the station. My pastor and a neigbour took my husband to the Mararaba Medical Centre where my husband was treated. Three weeks later, the DCO and others

•Panel members at spot where the victim was allegedly raped

‘When I gave him the letter, he tore it and said who asked me to go to Lafia and that if I like, I should go to the Inspector-General of Police, who cannot do anything for him because he was not his employer’ came to invite my husband for settlement.

“After waiting for a long time, I went to the man they said they were going to meet. He (the man) told me that he has not seen my husband. I went to my landlord’s apartment and the wife said he left the house the previous day. When I did not see my husband for some days, I went to Lafia to report the matter at the police headquarters there.

“The officer there gave me a note to the DCO in Masaka to help look for my husband because by this time, the DPO went on course.

When I gave him the letter, he tore it and said who asked me to go to Lafia and that if I like, I should go to the Inspector-General of Police who cannot do anything for him because he was not his employer.”

Mrs Ukuak recounted how her invitation to the police station turned awry as the motorcycle that came to fetch her, rather than take her to station, headed for a bush.

“On our way, I noticed that we were not going to the police station and I said ‘this is not the road to the police station.’ He stopped the machine, came down and raised his clothe to show me a gun. He said they were taking me to where my husband is.

“When we got there, I saw my husband in boxer shorts with his hands tied to the back. One of them asked me to remove my clothes because they want to rape me.

When I refused, they injected my husband and he started shivering.”

According to her, they were in the bush for five days without food and water, until a Good Samaritan saw them and untied their hands.

They trekked for three hours to the

•Mrs Uduak giving testimony... yesterday

main road at about midnight before a police patrol offered to take them home.

Mrs Ukuak went on: “When we got home, I was trying to make arrangement to take my husband to the hospital, when they came to arrest us again and took us to the police station where we spent three days. But a lawyer, who came to the police station, said they should take us to court. They now took us to the magistrate’s court where they charged us for obstructing police investigation and we were sent to prison.

“While in the prison, an officer asked what brought us what brought us there and I told him our story. He said that the case does not warrant our coming to prison.

When he noticed that my husband was shivering, took him to the hospital. My husband now started swelling up and there was no improvement in his case. So, the officer allowed us to go home.

“My husband later died and uptil now, his corpse is still in the mortuary. Somebody introduced me to the National Human Rights Commission where I told my story and they took the matter to the force headquarters. A letter was written to the Police in Lafia to investigate.

I went to Lafia and they gave me some policemen who demanded for N50,000 for transport. I came back, sold some of my belongings and those of my husband and gave them the money.

“They went and arrested the policemen at Masaka and three days later, the officer in charge of the case in Lafia called to tell me that he has released them and that

anytime they need them, they know how to get them.

“When there was nothing from the Police in Lafia, the Force headquarters took over the case and assigned it to an Inspector who demanded for N30,000 as transport and accommodation in Lafia. But I told him I don’t have that kind of money. Nothing has been done about the case up till now. These policemen are still serving in Masaka while the DCO is now at the Force Headquarters”.

An official of the NHRC, Dahiru Bobo told the tribunal that the case was reported to the commission and the efforts it has made, but regretted that the officers responsible for the alleged crime have neither been arrested nor punished, despite the matter being in the domain of the IGP. The tribunal members were particularly unhappy that the DCO, as the principal culprit, was deployed to the Force Headquarters without any punitive measure against him.

A tribunal member and former Director of Legal Services with the (NHRC), Zacheus Senbanjo, said he was familiar with the case. He, however, said that certain aspects of the case were shrouded in secrecy. The relationship between the late Victor and those who finally killed him has not been ascertained, he said.

“I think that there was a connection between the late Victor and those criminals in uniform, who are not worthy to be called policemen. Unfortunately, he is dead and we cannot ask him about that connection. But I think there was something between them that Deborah may not be aware of because she was trying to be a good wife.

“The National Human Rights Commission should be able to draw the attention of the police high command to the fact that some of the accused persons in this case are still serving at the Masaka police station and may likely interfere with investigations.

“Let us place it on record that there is the need for this woman to be protected. She must be protected by the police until the final determination of this case”.

Representative of the IGP at the tribunal sitting, David Abuo, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), of the legal unit at the Force Headquarters, claimed he was not aware of the case. He promised to make a formal report of the matter to his boss for proper investigation and action.

Lawyers protest assault by ex-PDP chair’s wife From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

TWO Abuja-based human rights lawyers yesterday protested to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) , Senator Bala Muhammed over alleged assault on the Director of Development Control of the FCT, Dr. Yahaya Yusuf and some workers by the wife of a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mrs. Maryam Ali. The lawyers, Ogboli Charles and Osuagwu Ugochukwu, also gave the minister a seven-day ultimatum to bring Mrs. Ali to justice.

In a statement in Abuja , the lawyers queried why the FCT minister has refused to attend to a report on the incident because the case involved a bigwig.

The statement reads: “We view the recent assault by Mrs Maryam Almadu Ali, wife of a former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP), who in cohort with her aides allegedly assaulted some officials of the Development Control, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council as a shame-full and disgraceful act which should not go unpunished.”

“It is heart burning to note that the said woman not only violated existing rules and regulation on planning but also went as far as beating up innocent workers of the Development control, AMMC over her property situate and known as Plot 1613 Maitama Sule Street , Asokoro.

The assaulted officers Hammadu Umar (Site Officer Asokoro), Abubakar Makama and Sule who were assaulted on July 14 and Mr. Yahaya Yusuf (Director of Development Control, AMMC), who was molested on July 19, 2011 at the old Parade Ground.

They said: “We state at this point that it is untenable, baseless and lacking in merit the claim by Mrs. Alli that she got approval from the Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS) to build an attachment to her residence.

“This is because under Urban and Regional Planning Act it is not the responsibility of AGIS to give approval for erection of private/public buildings in FCT.”

Jonathan warns ECOWAS against political uncertainty From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan said the time has come for West African states to outgrow culture of political uncertainty, economic stagnation and social degradation.

This culture, according to him, informed the unlawful ways of changing governments in the subregion.

He however expressed his happiness with the improvement within the sub-region with the enthronement of democracy in all 15-member nation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the opening of the first session of the Third Legislature of the Community Parliament of ECOWAS, Jonathan, who is the chairman of regional, said the recent political transformation gave reasons for celebration.

The president made reference to the recent return to democratic rule in Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea and Niger, saying “indeed we have reasons to celebrate our successes in these countries inspite of the political difficulties.

“We can state with pride that the people of the entire region are today under democratically elected governments in all the 15 countries”.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

NEWS Ekiti to get Army unit

Buhari urges tribunal to declare him President •INEC, Jega colluding with President, CPC tells court

From Dele Anofi, Abuja

A UNIT of the Army will soon be established in Ekiti State, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Onyeabo Ihejerika, has said.

The COAS who disclosed this during a visit by the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, to the Defence Headquarters, in Abuja on Tuesday, said the Army and the state government would collaborate to ensure the effective take off of the planned military unit.

Gen Ihejerika said the collaboration between the state government and the authorities of the Army became imperative in view of the capital intensive nature of the project. He however added that the importance of having a military base in the state cannot be over emphasised.

According to the Chief of Army Staff, the project would be done in phases, so that the financial burden would not become unbearable for the two parties. He added that surveyors from the Army will soon be mobilised to the state to work with those of the state government to work out some technicalities on the project.

The COAS said he is prepared to work with the governor, whom he said is familiar with the workings of the military in view of his background in War Studies, where he bagged his PhD. He said the high level of enthusiasm exhibited by the governor over the project would help in its realization.

Gen Ihejerika said: “Your request for an Army unit is in line with the revised Nigerian Army structure. I am happy Ekiti is ready is ready to partner with the Nigerian Army to actualize it.

“Because it is capital intensive, we can do it in phases.

Our surveyors will link up with the state surveyors to get it done. I am however happy that someone of your calibre- who has background in military and security tactics is at the helm of affairs in Ekiti State. I believe you will now have an ample opportunity to practicalise all you have been teaching over the years.”

A

LTHOUGH hearing of the substantive suit is yet to begin, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) yesterday asked the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to enter judgment in its favour in the petition filed against the victory of President Goodluck Jonathan in the April 16 presidential poll.

Jonathan contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari (RTD) was the candidate of the CPC. The CPC which is asking the tribunal to cancel the results of the election in 20 states want the tribunal to hold that Jonathan and his running mate, Namadi Sambo were not duly elected by majority of lawful votes.

From Yusuf Alli, and Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja

The opposition party is alleging substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act and irregularities in Lagos, Bayelsa, Kaduna, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Kwara, Adamawa, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Enugu and Cross River.

Others are Rivers, Ebonyi, Bayelsa, Delta, Imo Anambra, Benue, Plateau states and the FCT. In a motion on notice filed yesterday, the party accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of colluding with Jonathan to frustrate its efforts at regaining the allegedly stolen mandate.

The party said all efforts made to assess the sensitive

materials which the tribunal had ordered the commission to allow it access to met a brick wall.

The INEC, having violated the order of the tribunal, CPC wants the panel chaired by the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami to enter judgment in its favour.

The motion was brought pursuant to paragraphs 18(11) of the first schedule of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, Section 149 (d) of the Evidence Act and under the inherent powers of the tribunal.

The petitioner is seeking the following reliefs: •An order of this Honourable Court entering Judgment in favor of the Petitioner in Petition No. CA/A/EPT/

PRES/1/2011 under Paragraph 18(11) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended and Section 149 of the Evidence Act on the ground that the order for inspection granted by this Honourable Court on the 24th day of May, 2011 is refusal or failure or neglect of the Respondent s to comply with the terms contained in the said order..

• And for such further or other orders as this Honourable Tribunal may deem fit to make in the circumstances.

The application is predicated on the following grounds: •That the Petitioner was one of the registered political parties that contested the Presidential Election held on the 16th day of April, 2011 and had

in consequence thereof demanded for election materials from the 1st Respondent vide series of letters written to that effect before, during and at the conclusion of the election.

•That 1st (INEC) and 2nd (Prof. Attahiru Jega) Respondents denied the Petitioner’s request by failing to make copies of the requested election materials available to the Applicant and the Applicant was as a result forced to file an application dated the 15th May, 2011 for an order directing the 1st and 2nd Respondents to produce for the inspection of the Applicants and permitting it to take copies of the election material used in the conduct of the election.

Abati: Jonathan may not appoint ‘outsider’ as CJN’ •President’s spokesman made Academy of Letters fellow

P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan may not appoint a person outside the Supreme Court as the next Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Presidential spokesman Dr Reuben Abati said yesterday.

The CJN, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu will bow out of office on August 28 when he clocks the mandatory retirement age of 70.

According to Abati, he will likely be succeeded by Justice Dahiru Musdapher, the next most senior justice of the Supreme Court.

There have been suggestions that the position should be thrown open, allowing any qualified person to be considered as the Constitution stipulates.

Those clamouring for a merit-based succession plan rather than the non-competitive queuing practice say the judiciary urgently requires a breath of fresh air, in view of the crisis of confidence it is facing.

But Abati said those who hold such views are entitled to their opinions.

He indicated that President Jonathan may not jettison the standard practice of appointing the most senior justice as

By Joseph Jibueze

CJN. Abati said: “Well, people can express their opinions, but if you look at the books, you will see that the process of appointing the CJN is something that is established.

“A recommendation will be made, and seniority issues are involved.”

He spoke in Lagos after he was conferred with an honorary fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters at its 13th annual convocation and investiture ceremony of fellows.

On the President’s six-year single term proposal, Abati said only the National Assembly, which represents the people, will have the final say after it is subjected to a debate.

His words: “I keep correcting that. It is not tenure elongation bill. It’s about single tenure and it’s still a proposal.

There has been a misconception and twisting of the facts.

The National Assembly is on recess. It will return in September. What the President has said is that that proposal will go through due process.

“For you to send an executive bill to parliament, that bill first of all has to be considered by the executive. It will be deliberated upon at that level and at the party level, and

there will be consultations.

Afterwards, the bill will be forwarded to the National Assembly.

“The National Assembly is a body representing the Nigerian people. Whatever comes out of the bill will be a decision of the Nigerian people. But people make it seem as if President Jonathan is in a position to impose his views on Nigerians. No; there is no such thing.

“Nigerian people are the ones to decide what they want to do with the Constitution and future of Nigeria. All of us are stakeholders and every one of us is free to make a proposal.”

Abati dismissed criticisms that Jonathan should focus on governance and pressing issues that affect people’s lives instead of tenure. He said the proposal does not mean the President has lost focus on the tasks before him.

“When people say tenure issue is not pressing at this moment, there is some kind of selective forgetfulness.

People make it seem as if it is the only thing that government is doing. The President is a leader of a team, and members of that team are working.

“The ministers are in place,

•Dr. Abati...yesterday

and these are men and women who are supposed to execute the programmes of government. So, it will be wrong to say that the President is fixated on one issue.”

Abati, a 1985 First Class Theatre Arts graduate of the University of Calabar, said it was a privilege to be considered for the honour by the academy. He joins the likes of Chief Emeka

•Officials of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Watch at a Town Hall meeting with Governor Babatunde Fashola and representatives of Community Development Committee at the State House, Alausa, Ikeja...yesterday PHOTO:OMOSEHIN MOSES

PHOTO: ADEJO DAVID

Anyaoku, Gamaliel Onosode, Gabriel Okara and Victor Uwaifo as honorary fellows.

Yoruba poet and ace media producer Alagba Adebayo Faleti was also invested with an honorary fellow. Those invested with regular fellows were Prof Bamidele Badejo, Conrad Brann, Agwonorobo Eruvbetine, Abiola Odejide and Ayodele Olukoju.

Delivering the convocation lecture entitled: “Nigeria and the curse of elections,” professor emeritus and former ambassador, Jide Osunkotun, said history has shown that it is possible to defeat ruling party in an election.

However, for that the happen in Nigeria of today, the opposition must unite against the ruling party, he warned.

“As long as the opposition remain divided, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will remain in power even if it continues to perform poorly. And the nation will gradually inch towards a oneparty state,” he said.

He praised the Prof Attahiru Jega-led Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting what was widely adjudged as generally fair, and described former chairman Prof Maurice Iwu as a “despicable character” for conducting some of the worst elections in Nigeria’s history.

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

5

NEWS Nasarawa lawmakers shun al-Makura’s dinner From Johnny Danjuma, Lafia

NASARAWA State lawmakers have shunned a dinner invitation from Governor Umaru Tanko alMakura.

They also didnot attend the inauguration of 19 permanent secretaries the governor recently appointed to replace those he sacked.

The governor had invited the lawmakers to have dinner with him at the Government House, Lafia, the state capital, on Tuesday evening.

Earlier, he had invited them to be at the inauguration of the new permanent secretaries. But the lawmakers did not attend either event.

The Speaker, Musa Ahmed Mohammed, told The Nation that he was not at both events because he was in Minna, the Niger State capital, on an assignment with his principal officers.

He said there was nothing big about lawmakers turning down dinner invitation from the executive.

Mohammed said the same happened during the Aliyu Akwe Doma administration.

The Speaker said the other lawmakers might not have received the governor’s invitation on time, noting that this might have caused their non-attendance of both events.

INEC violated its rule in Plateau, say witnesses From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

LABOUR Party (LP) witnesses yesterday told the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Jos, the Plateau State capital, that officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) violated the commission’s rules by conniving with security agencies and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to manipulate the April 26 poll.

The LP governorship candidate, Dame Paulen Tallen, had petitioned the tribunal, alleging electoral fraud and demanding a rerun.

No fewer than 16 witnesses told the Justice Joseph Jellaled tribunal that the election was fraught with irregularities and fraud.

“INEC connived with the ruling party PDP and security agencies to defraud our party the chance of winning the governorship election,” they said.

The witnesses from Jos South and Barkin Ladi local government areas said: “PDP votes were inflated. Labor Party supporters were disenfranchised. We saw underaged voting. There was no voting in several polling units. Yet, results were declared in favour of the PDP. There was no accreditation in several polling units.

All these happened before INEC officials and security agencies.”

The witnesses were crossexamined by counsel to INEC, PDP and Governor Jonah Jang.

Defence minister orders probe of JTF excesses

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HE Federal Government said it has ordered the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin, to investigate the alleged excesses of the military Joint Task Force (JTF) on Operation Restore Order in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Specifically, it called for the probe of the killing of a woman during the Biu shootout with suspected Boko Haram members.

In a statement yesterday, the Minister of Defence, Dr. Hali-

•Military recruitment for review From Dele Anofi, Abuja

ru Mohammed, said the government would ensure that the military is transformed to conform with global best practices on its interaction with the civil populace.

He said the procedure for recruitment into the military would be reviewed in conformity with current realities.

The minister admitted that the Armed Forces were doing a good job in protecting

lives and property in the nation’s hot spots and peace keeping operations.

Mohammed noted that soldiers have been found to be overzealous in discharging their duties, thus bringing the name of the military into disrepute.

The statement reads: “I have directed the Chief of Defence Staff to investigate all incidents of military misconduct against law-abiding citizens. In particular, I have di-

rected that the incident at Biu, in which a woman was shot following the arrest of some Boko Haram suspects, as was widely reported in the newspapers, be thoroughly investigated.

“Our instructions to officers and men during internal security operations are to arrest all criminals, use minimum force, only when necessary, and to be tactful with the civilian population.

“As part of our effort to re-

position our Armed Forces and make them more professional, we are looking very carefully at the method of recruitment and vetting to ensure a candidate is identified from his or her local government before being recruited.

“This will ensure that only credible persons are recruited into the Armed Forces.

“Let me also stress that the Federal Government is committed to maintaining peace and order and will not allow any miscreant to thwart this effort under whatever guise”.

Group, youths deny Plateau cow theft From Marie-Therese Peter, Jos

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• Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Deziani Allison-Madueke with Managing Director/CEO Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Augustin Oniwon (left) and National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Owoye Azazi at a meeting on petroleum products with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa...yesterday.

PHOTO AKIN OLADOKUN

Tribunal strikes out ANPP candidate’s petition against Suswam T HE Benue State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal yesterday struck out the petition by the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) candidate, Prof Daniel Saror, challenging Governor Gabriel Suswam’s victory in the April poll for lack of merit.

Tribunal Chairman, Justice Munir Ladan, rule on In a consolidated ruling yesterday on the motions brought by Suswam’s lead counsel, Damian Dodo (SAN), tribunal Chairman, Justice Munir Ladan dismissed the petitioner’s allegations on the jurisdiction of the tribunal to adjudicate on the issues contained in Saror’s petition.

These were hinged on alleged certificate forgery and the validity of Suswam’s nomination as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate.

Justice Ladan identified two key issues for determination by the tribunal based on the petitioner’s petition. These are whether it had the jurisdiction to hold legal inquest into the allegation of certificate forgery, which is of crim-

From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

inal nature, leveled against Suswam; and whether Suswam was invalidly nominated by the PDP in the estimation of his opponent to fly the party’s flag in the April poll.

The tribunal members agreed with submissions of Suswam’s counsel that Saror had no business with the internal affairs of the PDP on the nomination of its candidates for any election.

It noted that this was an internal affair of the PDP and did not include community or global parties since only PDP members have the locus standi to challenge any perceived lapse.

“We hold that we are in total agreement with the submissions of Dodo (SAN). The first petitioner (Saror) has no locus standi to complain about the internal affairs of the PDP,” Justice Ladan said.

According to him, Saror’s posturing at the tribunal smacks of the business of an

interloper.

On the first count of alleged certificate forgery against Suswam, where Saror accused Suswam of submitting false information in the sworn-affidavit he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) about his qualification and, Justice Ladan ruled that the law provides that any person who is convinced that the information on the affidavit form from INEC is false, is instructed by law to challenge it in a State or Federal High court, prior to elections.

“The tribunal is not a court vested with the jurisdiction to hear or determine a criminal allegation,” the tribunal chair held.

He said it would amount to a fruitless journey for the tribunal to probe the allegation of certificate forgery.

He added that the case of Terver Kakih, Suswam’s only opponent during the PDP governorship primaries and who is in court with Suswam over the same alleged certificate forgery, would have been

relevant in the petitioner’s case,if the Federal High Court had passed judgment on it and convicted Suswam.

“Grounds one and two (certificate forgery allegation and validity of nomination by the PDP) of the petition are founded on facts outside the jurisdiction of the tribunal,” Justice Ladan held.

The tribunal granted Suswam’s prayers for the dismissal of Saror’s petition and upheld the preliminary objections of Suswam’s counsel that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction to entertain Saror’s petition.

It dismissed the petition for lack of merit.

Reacting to the judgment, Saror told The Nation on phone thatn he would not comment on the matter because he had not seen and read a copy of the judgment.

Asked whether he would appeal after reading the judgment, Saror said: “One cannot rule out the inevitability of an appeal in this case, hence it’s a matter that has attracted a lot of concern to our society and it cannot be abandoned halfway. It will be pursued to the highest level of adjudication.”

Plateau task force arrests six robbery suspects

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HE Plateau State Special Task Force (STF) on Jos Crisis, Operation Safe Haven, has arrested six robbery suspects at two crime locations.

It handed them over to the Police command for prosecution.

At a ceremony at the STF headquarters in Jos, its spokesman, Capt. Charles Ekeocha said: “Two of the armed rob-

From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

bers - Ismaila Abubakar and Saidu Musa - were arrested on Shendam–Lafia Road in Shendam Local Government Area.

“Troops of the 332 Artillery Regiment, Shendam, working with the STF men, pursued some armed robbers on Shendam-Lafia Road on July 22. The robbers escaped into the bush, leaving behind two

AK-47 riffles with their magazines; 89 rounds of 7.62mm (special) and two cell phones. However, one Ismaila Abubakar called one of the recovered cell phones in the custody of the security men and he was arrested after being lured by the soldiers.

“The second suspect, Saidu Musa, was later arrested on August 8, following the con-

firmation by the motorcyclist that conveyed Abubakar to the point of arrest.

“However, a GSM operating company called one of the recovered phones in the hand of the soldiers to confirm the status of the line as one Saidu in Lafia approached the company for a welcome back of the same line. This also helped in the arrest of the suspects...”

HE Councillor representing Du ‘A’ Ward in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, Mr Vincent Bot, and the youth leader of Kazong Madu, Mr. Benjamin Botsha, have denied the allegation by the Miyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) that some people from Shen and Du districts raided a Fulani settlement and rustled some cows.

They said the peace in the local government cannot be taken for granted.

In a statement, the duo cautioned the association to avoid making spurious allegations that could threaten the peaceful coexistence among the people.

The statement reads: “We have been doing everything possible to maintain peace among the residents and the neighbouring communities and cannot misuse the ensuing peace by engaging in such evil act.

“We, as a people, have agreed that we want peace and we are doing everything to maintain such. Henceforth, no one should spoil the peace by making false accusations.”

Monarch appeals his ouster

By Adegunle Olugbamila HE Zaki of Arigidi, Oba Yisa Olanipekun, has appealed the ruling by Justice Olasehinde Kumuyi of the High Court, Ondo State, which ordered him to stop parading himself as the monarch for the town pending the determination of the substantive suit.

On July 26, Justice Kumuyi ordered Oba Olanipekun to vacate the throne, saying the monarch violated a subsisting court order.

In the appeal, filed by his lawyer, Olagoke Fakunle (SAN), the monarch averred that the judge erred in law by restraining Oba Olanipekun from parading himself as the Zaki when the substantive suit before the court had not been argued by the parties.

Oba Olanipekun faulted Justice Kumuyi’s ruling on the ground that he made the order at an interlocutory stage and before the trial began.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

NEWS Ogun denies plan to demolish workers’ estate

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HE Ogun State Government has denied speculations in some quarters that it plans to demolish Laderin Workers’ Estate in Abeokuta, the state capital.

The government said no structure has been earmarked for demolition in the estate.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Kunle Ayo-Vaughan, in a statement, said: “The contravention notice served on the allotees of Laderin Workers’ Estate is not based on an intention to demolish, but a wake up call to landlords/landladies in the area to regularise necessary documents.”

He said there is need for the allotees to perfect their documents with regards to the buildings allocated to them and the extensions made, in compliance with the rules of the State Urban and Regional Planning Board.

Ayo-Vaughan said the documents include signed deed of assignment, which serves as Certificate of Ownership; letter of allocation; evidence of payment; application forms to be collected from the board and an approved prototype drawing from the Ministry of Housing.

He explained that constructions made initially by his ministry were approved, but extension and alteration of the houses without approval negates the law of the board.

Ayo-Vaughan urged affected allotees to comply with the ministry’s request to ensure proper documentation and physical development.

Ajimobi approves more road repairs

•Ajimobi

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YO State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has signed the contract for the second phase of road repairs.

Sixteen major roads are to be rehabilitated across the state.

The roads are in Ibadan, the state capital; Oyo; Saki; Ogbomoso and Ibarapa zones.

Ajimobi urged the State Road Management Authority (OYSROMA), which is

handling the project, to do quality jobs.

He lamented that some roads in the state were in a very bad shape due to lack of maintenance and shoddy construction.

Restating his commitment to repositioning the state, Ajimobi said about N500 million had been earmarked for the first phase of the project, while the second phase is expected to gulp billions of naira.

“I went round Iwo road, Gate, Ogunpa, Mosfala, Mokola and found out that virtually all the roads are bad.

They are unmotorable due to lack of maintenance. The drainages are filled with refuse. We feel it is necessary to rehabilitate these roads,” the governor said.

Ajimobi recently flagged off the rehabilitation of four major roads in Ibadan.

OAS Helicopters: crashed chopper in top form O AS Helicopters, owner of the ill-fated chopper which crashed in Osun State on July 29, yesterday spoke on the incident.

The chairman of Josepdam Group of Companies, Mrs. Josephine Kuteyi; her personal assistant, Adedoyin Okubanjo; and the pilot, Arnold Catameo died in the crash.

In its first official statement, OAS Helicopters said the late Mrs. Kuteyi, who was a director in the company, was very familiar with the chopper and had flown it over 200 times.

The Managing Director, OAS Helicopters, Evarest Nnaji, said the late Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Pastor used to fly the helicopter with registration number 5N BKA to her farm in Bacita, Kwara State.

Nnaji said: “The whole thing is a shock. As a matter of fact, one of our backbones is gone. I am actually devastated. The amiable late Pastor Kuteyi was not just an ordinary passenger, but a VIP passenger.

“She was one of our directors here in OAS Helicopters and had a reasonable degree of helicopter flight experience, as she had been flown well over 200 times in the

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

same flight configuration in the past five years.”

The late Mrs. Kuteyi’s body was buried on August 3 at her country home in Ondo town, Ondo State, while the late Mrs. Okubanjo was laid to rest on August 5 at the Victoria Court Cemetery on Epe Express Road, Lagos.

Nnaji said: “The Philippines community in Lagos had a wake keep/mass for the late pilot, Capt. Catameo, on August 6. We are currently working with the Embassy of the Philippines on getting his remains to his family in Philippines.

“Our wholehearted sympathy goes to the bereaved families of the three victims. May their gentle souls rest in peace.”

He said the crash site was located with the help of a major mobile network provider, MTN Nigeria, which traced the deceased through their phone sims, and the concerted effort of various agencies, groups and individuals.

The MD said: “I must sincerely commend the effort and assistance rendered by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA); Nigeria Airspace

Management Agency (NAMA); Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA); Osun State Government; the Fire Service; the Nigeria Police Force; MTN Nigeria; traditional rulers and the good people of Ikonifin village, the crash site, during the search and rescue operations.”

He said there was no doubt about the flight worthiness of the helicopter, which he said was manufactured in 2005, fitted with Mode 406 Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) and obtained air worthiness certificate less than two months before the crash.

Nnaji said: “The Nigeria aviation industry is highly regulated. As such, no commercial helicopter operator will be allowed to operate in the airspace with an aircraft that is not serviceable or certified flight worthy by the regulatory authorities.

“OAS Helicopters has a sound maintenance culture with experienced engineers (local and expatriate), who are type-rated on the aircraft in the company’s fleet.

“You may wish to note that the crashed aircraft just

completed a periodic inspection.”

The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) is investigating the crash.

“We’re confident they will come up with a probable cause of the accident, so that the industry can learn from it and subsequently enhance safety in general aviation, both in Nigeria and the world at large,” Nnaji added.

Confirming earlier reports, he said: “The crashed aircraft actually took off from our Maryland Heliport to Ilorin with a full tank of Jet-A1 fuel.

“The aircraft fuel endurance is three hours and 10 minutes, but the flight time from Lagos (Maryland) to Ilorin Airport is about 1 hour 10 minutes. “As part of OAS safety policy, the late Pilot had enough money to buy fuel at Ilorin Airport, just in case the VIP decided to fly to some other locations.”

Nnaji said the pilot was highly experienced, had flown in the Philippines Military and had his Civil Aviation certification with over 5000 flying hours to his license on helicopters before joining OAS Helicopters.

“Catameo had the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines’ (CAAP) licenses,” he added.

Amosun gets Assembly’s nod to take N25b loan

By Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

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HE Ogun State House of Assembly yesterday approved plans by Governor Ibikunle Amosun to obtain a N25 billion loan from banks within Nigeria to execute developmental programmes of his administration.

Speaker Surajudeen Adekunbi, while announcing the passing of the resolution tagged House Resolution 043, urged Amosun to ensure that the projects are evenly distributed across the 20 local government areas.

Chairman, House Committee on Finances and Appropriation, Olusola Bankole (Ado Odo/Ota Constituency) noted that the governor clearly stated the purpose of the loan and the terms of payment.

Another lawmaker, Job Akintan, said: “The executive has to be commended for taking due process in getting the loan. I have been in this Honourable House for some years and the past governments never contacted us before going into the capital market.

“I strongly appeal to my colleagues that we give this bill an accelerated passage, so that the governor will be able to provide all our electioneering promises to our people.”

Group hails ACN

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GROUP, Surulere Vanguard for Democracy, has praised the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), on the release of guidelines for the nomination of candidates for local government offices in Lagos State.

The group declared its backing for the re-election of Dr. Razaq Oyesegun Folami as chairman of Surulere Local

Government.

The group said: “Folami is expected to score high among the aspirants, considering his remarkable political and community service. Taking good advantage of his professional calling as a medical doctor, he has led several community medical missions and civil society support within the community and the party.”

•From left: Director, Commodities and Products Inspection, Ministry for Trade and Investment, Alhaji Usman Ewandu; Minister for Trade and Investment Mr. Olusegun Aganga; Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi and Ekiti State Commissioner for Integration and Intergovernmental Affairs Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, during a working visit to the minister in Abuja... on Wednesday.

Oyo Assembly clears 11 commissioner-nominees

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HE Oyo State House of Assembly yesterday cleared 11 commissioner-nominees. Names of Accord Party (AP) candidates were conspicuously missing on the list of the cleared nominees.

The development may not be unconnected with the protest by Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) members against the nomination of AP

•Accord candidates not listed From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

members.

Also missing on the list were names of the running mate to Governor Abiola Ajimobi in the 2007 elections, Mr. Peter Odetomi; Ajiboye Omodewu and Mrs. Esther Akerele.

While the lawmakers allowed some of the nominees to take a bow, it was not an easy session for others who were grilled.

Cleared were Mr. Kazeem Adedeji; Dr. Olaniyi Olarinde; Dr. Abdul-Lateef Olopoenia; Abimbola Kolade; Alhaji Yunus Akintunde; Mr. Bosun Ol-

adele, Mrs. Tinuke Osunkoya; Mr. Adebayo Ojo; Mr. Lowo Obisesan; Mrs. Tokunbo Fayokun; and Mr. Adedeji Adelabu.

Adelabu, a 33-year old graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, promised to raise the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state and improve it’s economy, if given the chance.

Ondo gives N1m to dead civil servant’s family

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HE Ondo State Government yesterday gave N1 million to the family of the late Mr. Taye Maja, who was crushed by a truck last November in the line of duty.

The money is meant for the upkeep of the deceased’s five months old daughter,

From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

Itunu, and his wife.

The late Maja was a member of the State Special Task Force in the Ministry of Natural Resources.

He was crushed by a lorry with registration number

(Osun) XA 103 LGB, which was carrying illegally acquired timber logs. He was trying to impound the vehicle.

The lorry driver escaped.

Presenting the cheque to the family, Attorney-General/Commissioner for

Justice Eyitayo Jegede said the culprit, Wasiu Abdul, had been arrested and is being prosecuted.

Jegede said 60 per cent of the money would be spent on Itunu’s education.

Mrs. Maja thanked Governor Olusegun Mimiko for not neglecting the family.

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

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NEWS Failed roads blamed on faulty design

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DO State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has blamed the poor state of federal roads on faulty designs and use of sub-standard materials.

The Governor spoke yesterday when the Minister of Works, Mike Onolemenmen, visited him at the Government House in Benin.

He said it was sad that over the years, the problem had persisted without a solution.

Oshiomhole said the econ-

omy of the Southsouth has been negatively affected because of the poor state of the Benin-Ore road, adding that the condition of the road has made some companies in the region to relocate.

The governor also drew the minister’s attention to the poor state of the UseluUgbowo road, AuchiOkene road and the erosion devastated portion of the Auchi-Agenebode road at Ayogwiri.

UNICEF, NYSC inaugurate project

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HE United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) yesterday inaugurated an Out-of-School HIV/AIDS project in Akwa Ibom State.

The project, according to UNICEF Field Officer, Charles Nzuki, is to fight HIV epidemic among the youths.

Nzuki said surveys had shown that young people (less than 25) have higher HIV prevalence.

He noted that UNICEF has

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

collaborated with other partners to support the implementation of HIV prevention.

The UNICEF’s field officer said the project would equip thousands of in-school young people every year with the requisite knowledge and skills to prevent HIV infection.

Nzuki said the Out-ofSchool project on HIV/AIDS has been inaugurated in Kaduna and Cross River states.

NLC suspends strike in Akwa Ibom

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HE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Akwa Ibom State yesterday suspended its planned indefinite strike over the disagreement with the government on the modalities for the payment of the minimum wage.

The government had approved the payment of the wage to workers from Levels 1-6. Senior workers on Levels 7-17 were not included.

Speaking with reporters shortly after a meeting between the government and leadership of labour unions, NLC Chairman Uyime Usoro said the strike, which was scheduled to start today, has been suspended because government had withdrawn the memo directing selective payment of the minimum wage.

•Govt promises to pay all Levels of workers From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

Usoro stated that government had also directed payment be made on the old regime until final negotiation is achieved between government and labour.

He noted that labour unions were forced in the first place to give the government an ultimatum as a result of the decision to pay the minimum wage to civil servants on Levels 16, thus excluding senior workers.

The NLC chairman assured workers that labour would ensure that the minimum wage was paid to all workers.

His words: “Based on that understanding, labour has agreed to suspend the indefinite strike planned for today. Let me confirm that, we have had a meaningful discussion with government this evening.

“It is on record that following the decision of government to unilaterally implement the minimum wage only for Levels 1-6, labour had to issue a notice of strike action to government to withdraw the circular to allow negotiation continue.

“I want to report that in reaction to workers’ demand, government has agreed and they have already withdrawn that directive and have gone ahead to

direct that, salaries for workers be paid on the old rate immediately.

“It has therefore cleared the way for negotiation on the N18, 000 minimum wage to continue.”

The Chief of Staff to Governor Godswill Akpabio, Godwin Afangideh, who spoke on behalf of the government, said the meeting was to appeal to labour unions to suspend the strike since the governor was out of the country.

Afangideh commended labour leaders for their understanding in shelving the strike, promising that in the next one week, all matters relating to minimum wage would be resolved.

MOSOP, others commiserate with HE Movement for the Abe Survival of Ogoni

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People (MOSOP) and Labour Union executives in Rivers State have commiserated with Senator Magnus Abe over the death of his mother, Madam Margaret Abe, on August 9.

MOSOP President Ledum Mittee led the delegation, which included Chris Oruge of the Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) and

Chika Onuegbu of the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

Abe said his mother’s death has strengthened his quest for a restructured Nigeria that will prioritise the improvement of the standard of living.

Mitee described Madam Abe as a great Ogoni daughter, who left an indelible footprint in the sands of time.

Mitee urges Ogoni to be united in victory HE President of the

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Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Ledum Mitee, has admonished Ogoni people to be united in victory.

He noted that the outcome of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on the Ogoni environment has vindicated the people and their non-violent struggle for justice.

The report was recently submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan Mitee said: “I wish to congratulate all Ogoni people and I salute our courage and steadfastness.

“I am pleading with all

From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

Ogoni people to come together to use the outcome of this and other victories as the needed rallying point to achieve our ultimate victory.

“The times call for every one of us to be prepared to put competition and differences aside, as they do threaten the aspirations we have for our people, our children and our land.

“History will judge us and the success of our struggle, by what we eventually accomplish and not by whom or by which group it was accomplished.”

World Bank hails Edo

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HE World Bank has praised the Edo State Government for championing the leadership drive for development, which, according to it, is the fastest in the country.

The Country Director, Onno Ruhl, gave the commendation at the official launch of the 2010 Investment Climate Assessment Report in Benin yesterday.

According to Ruhl, the Bank’s executives decided to launch the report in Benin because “we believe that Edo is one of the states where the willingness to change is the fastest in Ni-

geria.

“It is most useful to talk about reports like this in a place where there is the leadership and willingness to change.

“If there is one thing that Nigeria and Edo State need today it is jobs for young people. We know that government alone cannot do it and that most of these jobs are created by private investors.

Oshiomhole said: “As a government, it is our responsibility to create a conducive environment for businesses to thrive and to compete favourably with others.

•Mrs. Waziri displaying a plaque presented to her after the lecture. From her left is Osomo; Prof. Akinyemi and Aare Kola Oyefeso.

EFCC’s loot recovery hits $12b, says Waziri

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HE Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri, has said the commission is now stepping on big toes because the era of impunity is gone.

She said the EFCC in the last eight years has recorded over 600 convictions and recovery of assets worth over $12 billion Waziri spoke in Lagos on Wednesday as the guest speaker at the 62nd anniversary lecture of the Lagos Country Club.

She called for collective action to eradicate corruption in the country.

A statement on Waziri’s lecture was released in Abuja yesterday by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Femi Babafemi.

From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

Waziri said: “As a result of the commission’s efforts, the impunity that characterised the days of yore has significantly declined.

“Those who only recently could not be touched or questioned are today being made to answer questions on accountability and transparency.

“Some of those who before now saw prisons as reserved for low-level publics are today sharing facilities with inmates in those same prisons. That is how it should be and that is the whole essence of the rule of law.”

She pleaded with Nigerians, especially the elite, to team up with the agency to fight corruption.

Mrs Waziri added: “It must be stated that investigating and prosecuting corrupt officials is only one leg of the journey to defeating corruption and economic crime.

“The other flank is buoyed by vigorous and sustained attempts at winning the hearts of Nigerians through ethical re-orientation.

“This is because corruption is an activity, it is also a mindset sustained by ideas that are largely false and misleading.

“Therefore, the best way to fight an idea is with another idea. Herein lays the import of collective efforts to fight corruption and other crimes.

“Various groups can come together and develop a plan to curb corruption,

set benchmarks and follow through on implementation.”

She, therefore, urged members of the club to start work, “towards changing the notion that the ‘national cake’ is meant to be shared rather than baked by ethnic groups .

“This is because the idea that leaders are elected and/or appointed to “chop rather than work” provides a fertile ground for the kleptomaniac elite, who are obsessed with siphoning public funds.”

The lecture was attended by dignitaries, including former External Affairs Minister Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi; the club’s President, Adewale Osomo among others.

Black market reigns as fuel scarcity hits Yenagoa

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HERE is fuel scarcity in Bayelsa State. This followed the closing of fuel stations in Yenagoa, the capital and its environs by petroleum products dealers.

A four-liter keg s sold for N1,500; 10 liters N2,000 and 20 liters at N4,000 in the black market.

It was learnt that a petrol tanker headed for the state was allegedly diverted to another state.

From Isaac Ombe, Yenagoa

The truck was intercepted by the police and the driver arrested. This caused members of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to embark on a strike.

Sources said the driver’s arrest led NUPENG to embark on a strike in solidarity with its arrested member.

This development also

fuel stations to stop sales pending the outcome of the strike which has entered its second day.

With stations closed, black market sellers are having a field’s day as they have become emergency fuel dealers and sellers.

Fuel kegs are littering the streets of Yenagoa as car owners were at their mercy.

Some fuel station attendants said the closure was in anticipation of a long strike

that might cause more scarcity.

They said: “We had to conserve the fuel we have in stock to see what will happen, we don’t know when the strike would end.”

Police spokesman Egwavon Emokpae, who confirmed the development, says the matter was being handled.

The leadership of NUPENG could not be reached for comments.

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

8

NEWS Aregbesola to inaugurate 14-man exco today

Cornea damage: Eye Foundation absolves self of culpability

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

OSUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, will inaugurate his Executive Council today.

A statement signed by the governor’s Media aide, Semiu Okanlawon,said the inauguration will hold at the Governor Office executive chamber, Abere Osogbo.

To be sworn in are Mofolake Adegboyega, Prof Olubukola Oyawoye, Sikiru Ayedun Adetona, Adewale Afolabi, Richard Adedoyin, Stephen KolaBalogun and Muyiwa Ige. Others are Jayeoba Ismaila Alagbada, Mobolaji Akande, Temitope Ilori, Wale Bolorunduro, Surajudeen Bashiru, Kolapo Alimi and Sunday Oludare Akere.

The governor had, in a letter dated July 28 to Speaker Nojeem Salaam, sent a list of 14 nominees to the Assembly for screening and approval.

Alleged forgery: Ogun PDP chief faults reports A CHIEFTAIN of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State and Vice-Chairman of Omoilu Foundation, Alhaji M.B Idris, has faulted media reports on last Tuesday’s court proceedings in the trial of five party chieftains.

The State PDP Chairman, Chief Dayo Soremi; the Secretary, Alhaji Semiu Shodipo; Agbeja Olokun, Abiodun Taiwo and Olufemi Dehinsilu are standing trial over the alleged forgery of a signature to aid the substitution of Mr. Dave Salako as candidate for Remo Federal Constituency in the last general elections.

Idris noted that in a subtle move to beat the directive of the magistrate, Oyebola Oyewunmi, that parties should desist from further publications on the matter, Salako caused to be published biased reports of the court proceedings.

He said contrary to reports that the court rejected a copy of the forensic report that the Defence counsel, Mr. Ajibola Oluyede, sought to tender, the court merely said since it was in possession of the original copy of the forensic report, it had better be guided by it.

His words: “Based on this, the Defence counsel, Oluyede, prayed the court to admit the original copy of the forensic report in evidence. The Prosecution counsel, Simon Lough, objected and the court adjourned till August 30 to rule on whether or not to admit it.

“It is instructive to note that this forensic report, which exonerated the accused of the offence and addressed to the InspectorGeneral of Police, was kept away from the court by the Prosecution counsel until the Defence counsel brought it up.”

By Miriam Ndikanwu

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•Anambra State Governor Peter Obi (right) with the SA Bmiller Brewery team, building the biggest brewery in the state, at the Governor's House, Awka... yesterday.

Imo recovers N567m from past govts

I

MO State government has recovered N567 million allegedly stashed in a hidden account by previous administrations in the last nine years.

Commissioner for Finance Chike Okafor spoke at the Government House, Owerri.

He said the recovered funds would be used to buy about 100 vehicles for the state security outfit (Operation Rescue) to be launched soon. Okafor said savings made from the verification exercise in the payment of pensioners would be used in funding essential services.

He explained that the state is solvent and hailed the media for its objective reportage on the state finances.

Governor Rochas Okoro-

•Okorocha vows not to sell public property From Emma Mgbeahurike, Owerri

cha has also vowed that his administration would not sell any public property.

Okorocha spoke when he hosted the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Conference of Campaign Council (CCC) and Agenda Youth Group at the Government House in Owerri.

The governor said the stateowned oil palm plantation in Ohaji had been concessioned to a foreign investor who would manage it to generate funds for the state and employ over 3000 Imo youths.

He added that Imo Concorde Hotel, Owerri,

would be uplifted to a fivestar standard.

He said government would construct a befitting cenotaph lawn in New Owerri and establish a science college at the former premises of the state radio on Egbu Road, Owerri.

The governor said he would soon launch Operation Rescue Security outfit and advised the youths to be vigilant.

He warned those aggrieved to seek redress in court and not to destroy government property. Okorocha said the verification exercise aimed at eliminating ghost workers, would continue.

He pledged the commitment of his administration to the upliftment of youths and urged them to remain calm and peaceful even in the face of provocation.

Dr. Okey Dike, Coordinator of CCC, who thanked the governor for granting them audience, urged Okorocha to take the state to higher heights.

Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Kenneth Emelu, noted that the youths who called on the governor were those who staked their lives to ensure Okorocha’s victory at the poll.

He hailed the governor for appointing members of the group into his cabinet.

Couple dead after drinking local herb

A

COUPLE died on Wednesday after taking a local herb for the treatment of rheumatism.

The police spoke yesterday of how Mr Adebayo and Mrs Florence Ogbolu died in ItaOgbolu, Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State.

Police spokesman Aremu Adeniran said the couple took the traditional medication, prepared by a native doctor, to heal their ailment.

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

It was gathered that the native doctor, Mr Tijani Yusuf, asked the deceased to drink a little quantity of the herb.

Sources at Ifesowapo Street, Ita Ogbolu, where the deceased lived, said it was the 57-year-old husband who had been suffering from the ailment for 10 years while his 55-year-old wife merely drank the herb for prevention.

It was gathered that the wife was the first to complain of stomach pain after taking the herb. She died instantly and the husband raised the alarm for help.

Adeniran said sympathisers, who tried to rescue the wife, ended up taking the man to the hospital when he also started complaining of stomach upset.

Ogbolu died a few minutes later before he got to the hospital.

The incident was reported at the Iju-Itaogbolu Police Station. Security operatives deposited their remains at the state’s general hospital in the town for autopsy.

Adeniran said the herbalist has been arrested and the case transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

He also said the result of the autopsy will be forwarded to the Directorate of Public Prosecution for legal advice.

HE GROUP Managing Director of Eye Foundation Hospitals, Dr. Fatai Olubanji Oluyadi, has absolved himself of any culpability over the alleged damage cornea of Johnson Okiri, a lawyer.

Oluyadi, who spoke to reporters on the situation, explained that Okirii was responsible for his predicament as he failed to heed instructions thereby compounding his case through defaults at the clinic.

He said 45 cornea transplants had been done on the Eye Bank of Nigeria programme, adding that some developed graft rejection and Okiriji was just one of the few with issues relating to graft rejection, which had nothing to do with competence.

Corneas, he said, are usually obtained from the United States and India which has a programme for obtaining corneas from dead people under a predeath arrangement.

Lanlehin condoles with Ishola’s family

By Emmanuel Oladesu Deputy Political Editor

ACTION Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Senator Olufemi Lanlehin (Oyo South) has commiserated with the relations, associates and people of Ibadan and Oyo State on the passing on of former Governor Kolapo Isola.

He described the deceased politician as an outstanding political figure, who recorded historic and memorable achievements while serving chairman of Akinyele Local Government and chief executive of the state in the aborted Third Republic.

Lanlehin noted that Isola was a rare politician who allowed his Christian beliefs to moderate his political acts as an administrator, recalling that he was bold, brave, kind and dutiful to his neighbour.

He said his demise is a great loss to the political class at a time charlatans have invaded the political space with incongruent attitudes, corrupt tendencies and other acts of negative value, which have made responsible people to shun participation.

Exam malpractice: Students to get five year ban, says Minister

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TUDENTS caught engaging in examination malpractice will now be barred for five years, Minister of State for Education Nyeson Wike said yesterday.

The measure, according to the minister, is to curb malpractice in public examinations.

The Minister made the declaration when he visited the National Examination Council (NECO) in Minna , Niger State. He said teachers who are involved in similar act will be arrested and prosecuted. The affected school should be delisted from presenting students for examination for a minimum period of

•Schools to be delisted, teachers prosecuted From Gbenga Omokhunu, Minna

10years, the minister said..

Wike told the Registrar of NECO, Prof. Promise Okpala that the country cannot continue to accept a situation where students, teachers and school engage in malpractice with impunity while the standard of education continues to go down.

He promised that the Federal Government will put the right regulations in place and

give NECO and other exam bodies the necessary backing to enforce them, explaining that once the students get to know that involvement in malpractice will not end in cancellation of results alone but will include barring them for at least five years, they will think twice.

On teachers and schools, the Minister said that the exam bodies have been treating the issue with kid glove before now, urging NECO to use the media to enlighten parents,

students, schools, teachers and the public of the steps and the decision government is taking to tackle the problem.

According to him, if schools are aware that they will not be allowed to present students for examination for a period not less than 10years for exam malpractice, they school will weigh the option of getting involved or not.

“Also, if the teachers are aware that they will be prosecuted and sentenced if found guilty for such act, they will

think twice either to encourage students to read and write their exams or allow them to cheat.

“I am saying this because I believe that it is not very possible for students to collude and cheat in exam halls without the teachers of the school who, most times, are the invigilators supporting them.

So, we should go beyond just cancelling the results and investigate to get the teachers and others involved and ensure they are prosecuted while the school also is delisted for about 10 years,” the minister added.

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

9

NEWS Kano tribunal chair condemns delay From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

THE Chairman of the Kano State Governorship Electoral Petition Tribunal, Justice Iyabo Kasali, has expressed dismay over delay by counsel to the parties in sorting out relevant documents from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INE).

The governorship candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Malam Salihu Sagir Taka, is challenging the victory of Governor Musa Kwankwaso in the April poll.

The tribunal Chairman, Justice Iyabo Kasali, frowned at the delay despite the ample time given to the parties to sort out the documents from INEC. Justice Kasali gave the parties till today to sort out the documents, saying their failure might attract a sanction as stipulated in the Electoral Act. She said the tribunal’s assignment is timebound.

Justice Kasali adjourned further hearing till Monday.

Witnesses allege fraud in Kwara governorship poll

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WO more witnesses of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday told the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, that the April 26 poll was characterised by multiple thumb-printing.

They said suspected thugs of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) disrupted voting in Ilorin West and Ifelodun local government areas.

In his statement on oath, the supervising agent for ACN in Ilorin West, Dr Ibrahim Y. Oloriegbe, said PDP candidates and their followers allegedly “assaulted, harassed and chased away ACN agents from their polling units in some wards”.

Oloriegbe, who was the ACN senatorial candidate for Kwara Central, said: “I witnessed multiple thumb-printing at many polling units/ wards, particularly at Ode Elesinla Polling Units 004 and

•’Multiple thumb-printing occurred in two councils’ From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

034; Ode Alagbe 003; Ode Olomomesan Polling Unit 016; Ode Kure Polling Unit 011; Ode Oba Baba Polling Unit 029 (all of Ojuekun/ Zarumi Ward).

“The same occurred at Ojude Ubandawaki Polling Unit 001; Ojude Aladire Polling Unit 002; Anifowose (Open Space) Polling Unit 008 (all of Ubandawaki Ward); multiple thumbprints in Ilorin West Local Government in Ajikobi, Ojuekun/Zarumi and Ubandawaki wards.

“In Ilorin West Local Government Area, particularly in Ajikobi and Ojuekun/Zarumi wards, majority of ACN polling agents at Ode Elesinla Polling Units 004 and 034; Ode

Olomosesan Polling Unit 016; Ode Kure Polling Unit 011, were assaulted and chased away from the polling units. They were not allowed to perform their duties as agents of the ACN and did not sign Form EC8A, and same was not issued to them as contained in the electoral guidelines.

“There was a lot of intimidation in Ajikobi and Ojuekun/Zarumi wards in Ilorin West Local Government Area by the first, second and third respondents’ loyalists. I was informed by ACN party ward supervising agent for Ajikobi Ward, Mr Mashood Saka, at 10.30am.

“In Ojuekun/Zarumi Ward, by Ms Bilikis Owoyale at 11.00am; in Ode Elesinla (Ajikobi Ward); Ode Olomomesan, Ode Kure (Ojuekun/Zarumi Ward),

that they were assaulted, harassed and chased away from their polling units.

“At about 10.30am on April 26, the ACN polling agent, Ayisha Ahmed, at Ode Olomomesan, Omoda area of Ojuekun/Zarumi, called me that she was beaten by agents of the first to third respondents. Her clothes were torn and she was arrested by the police and taken to ‘C’ Division of Nigeria Police in Ilorin. This prevented her from carrying out her lawful duty of observing the election for the petitioners at the polling unit.

“This also enabled the agents of the first to third respondents to manipulate the electoral process in those places.”

In Ifelodun Local Gov-

‘Statistics aid development’ From Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi

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PHCN worker electrocuted in Kogi From Mohammed Bashir, Lokoja

A WORKER of the Lokoja District of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Mr Jeremiah Omoseyin, has died of electrocution while carrying out repairs at the Government House, Lokoja.

Omoseyin, who was popularly called Jerry by his colleagues, was said to be a diligent worker.

He died on Wednesday evening.

Governor Ibrahim Idris has commiserated with the family of the deceased and the PHCN over the incident.

He expressed shock and donated N4 million to assist the family of the deceased.

The late Jeremiah was said to be rectifying electrical faults when he was electrocuted.

The district’s Business Manager, Mazi Akubuko Abednigo, described the late Omoseyin as a hardworking and dedicated worker who would be greatly missed.

He noted that before his death, Omoseyin was the officer in charge of Urban Service Centre and had served for over 30 years.

•From left: Manager, Public and Governmental Affairs, ExxonMobil, Susan Essiet; General Manager, Deep Water Venture Project, Tolu Ewherido; and Executive Director, Development Support Institute, Jacqueline Odialu, addressing reporters in Lagos…yesterday PHOTO: NNEKA NWANERI

Trovan test victims’ families get $600,000

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AMILIES of the four victims who died during the Trovan clinical trial conducted by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, were yesterday compensated by Healthcare Meningitis Trust Fund with $175,000 each.

The recipients are: Mallam Usman Garba, Hajia Hauwa Umar, Mallam Ado Useni and Mallam Rabiu Isah.

Hajia Umar, who received the cheque with high emotion, told The Nation that she lost a child during the 1996 Trovan trial.

“I had given up over the incident. I never knew that

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

this moment would come.

Though I still mourn my child, I thank God for this day,” she said.

The Chairman of the Trust Fund, Justice Abubakar Bashir Wali (rtd) said the board collected 668 claim forms during the screening.

“Of this number, 548 claim forms were completed and returned to the secretariat by the prospective claimants.

The board conducted DNA tests on 353 claimants. During the first stage of the exer-

cise, eight positive results were received, of which four died while participating in the clinical trial,” Justice Wali said.

He said the remaining four were those of study participants, who are still alive.

According to him, the board has concluded the required tests and ascertained the percentage of their medical disabilities, pains and suffering.

Justice Wali said the final report of the first phase of the DNA test had not been received from the company that conducted it, adding that the second DNA test on 193 claim-

ants was also being awaited.

He said the second set of claimants had sued over result but later settled out-ofcourt with Pfizer and the board.

Justice Wali promised that the board would process additional results to facilitate the settlement of qualified claimants.

Another board member, Dr. Prosper Igboeli, told The Nation that the fund would pressure the firm conducting the DNA test in the United States to release more results to enhance speedy compensation.

Boko Haram: Influx from Borno worries Bauchi police chief

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HE influx of over 500,000 people into Bauchi State following the dreaded activities of the Boko Haram sect in Borno State is giving the Bauchi State Police Command concern.

Police Commissioner Ikechukwu Aduba yesterday expressed worry over the security implication of the high number of people re-

ernment Area, the ACN Chief Executive Officer during the poll, Oladipo Sadipe, recounted how he was chased away by people suspected to be PDP thugs and supporters at St Michael’s School’s Polling Unit in Omupo Ward.

He said: “During the election, I received numerous phone calls from my polling agents at Igbaja Ward 1, Ms Ganiyat Abiodun, and Ms Bashirat Adeniran and their supervisor, Mr. Rasheed Wobimpe. They informed me of intimidation and subsequent brutalisation by agents of the PDP at the polling units at Igbaja Ward 1.

“The agent at Market Square 001 was severely beaten by PDP supporters to the extent that she had to be rushed to Igbaja Local Dispensing Centre. This incident was reported and recorded at Igbaja Police Station.”

From Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi

turning to the state for refuge.

Although the police chief assured that the security agencies were up to the task, he urged the residents to remain vigilant.

He said security checks showed that while some people have found accommodation with their relatives,

there were many others who had not found a home.

Aduba noted that criminality might increase when so many people do not have proper accommodation.

The police chief, who took over the command a few weeks ago, said: “Since I assumed duty, it has been very rough and tough.”

He said the command has begun a 24-hour sur-

veillance and patrol to boost crime prevention and detection.

Aduba also said the command would hold regular meetings with vigilance groups and strengthen the Police Community Relations meetings to address security challenges.

He urged the public to assist the police with information that could lead to arrests

of criminals.

The police chief thanked Governor Isa Yuguda for providing the logistics for the police and other security agencies to reduce criminal activities.

Aduba attributed the spate of bombings in the past week to hoodlums that had been camouflaging under the Boko Haram sect to commit crimes.

HE Acting StatisticianGeneral of the Federation, Alhaji Rasaki Sanusi, has urged stakeholders to support the implementation of National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) for economic transformation.

He said statistics was key to economic transformation and development, warning that “if Nigeria intends to be where it wants to be, it cannot do without statistics”.

According to him, “no meaningful development can take place without statistics”.

Sanusi spoke yesterday in Bauchi at a two-day workshop on User Satisfaction Base in Survey held at Zaranda Hotel.

He said the workshop was to assess the level of satisfaction of users of statistical products in Nigeria.

Sanusi recalled that NSDS was designed in 2009 to transform the Nigerian Statistical System for five years by bringing together agencies involved in data production in the three tiers of government.

He said the strategy was aimed at using human resources, essential tools, and infrastructure to produce and disseminate reliable and timely statistics in a cost-effective manner.

The agency chief said NSDS has kick-started its pilot implementation in Anambra, Bauchi, Edo, Kaduna, Niger, and Ondo states, using grants from Statistics Results Facility Catalytic Fund (SRFCF).

He said each state should have a Statistical Master Plan that could be used to ascertain the quantum and quality of data produced.

Governor Isa Yuguda, represented by his deputy, Alhaji Sagir Aminu Saleh, expressed concern over the challenges statistical institutions faced in their tasks.

He noted that planning, and policy formulation would only be effective when reliable statistics is available.

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

10

NEWS Fayemi seeks redefinition of AccountantGeneral’s role

Commission warns against corruption in police recruitment

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

CHAIRMAN of the Police Service Commission (PSC) Parry Osayande yesterday warned against corruption in the recruitment of Cadet Inspectors and Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASPs) into the Police.

Osayande, in a statement by his Chief Information Officer, Ferdinand Ekpe in Abuja, advised prospective candidates to shun all forms of lobby to get enlisted.

He also warned members of the panel to desist from all “forms and manner of corruption, temptations, pressures etc, so that only the best would be recruited.”

The statement reads: “Sequel to the advertisements made in the national newspapers by the Police Service Commission on the 13th June, 2011 calling for interested candidates to download application forms for appointment into the Nigeria Police Force from the Commission’s website; and the subsequent submission of forms by applicants at the NPF State Commands, the process of joint screening of applicants by the Police Service Commission and the Nigeria Police Force at the State level would commence on 15/08/2011 and end on 26/08/2011. ““Therefore, anyone who fulfills all the laid down conditions by the Commission will be recruited without his/her lobbying the Commission. This of course is subject to availability of vacancies.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Commission is sticking to its earlier advertised guidelines and requirements for the appointment of Cadet ASPs and Cadet Inspectors.”

Governors launch anti-polio drive From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

THE Governors’ Forum will tomorrow begin its campaign against polio.

Tagged, “Men Against Polio” (MAP), the flag-off of the nationwide quarterly sensitisation programme will emphasise the role of men in polio eradication.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Mr. Asishana Okauru, said in Abuja that the programme would take off simultaneously in all state capitals and local government headquarters in the country.

Okauru said: “Our governors are committed to eradicating this disease from our country once and for all, and they have promised not to rest until that objective is achieved. “ All members are agreed on the need to declare total war on the disease. Enough is enough.

Polio must disappear from our land.”

E

•From left: President, Chartered Institute of Purchasing, Supply and Management of Nigeria, Alhaji Mohammed Aliyu; Commandant, Nigerian Army College of Logistics, Maj-Gen Thomson Oliomogbe; and representative of the Chief of Army Staff Maj-Gen Okunle Akinyemi, during the Nigerian Army College of Logistics graduation in Lagos...yesterday.

PHOTO: DAYO ADEWUNMI

Four dead in Ogun robbery

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OUR persons, including an Assistant Superintendent of Police, were feared killed in Ilaro, Ogun State, yesterday when armed robbers attacked three banks in the town.

Many were injured by the 15– man gang.

The bandits who came in six vehicles, including a Toyota Sienna Space bus allegedly snatched from a victim in Ota, stormed the three banks almost simultaneously.

They shot their way into the banking halls after they had used rocket launchers, grenades and dynamites to bring down the security doors of each of the raided banks, a witness said.

For over 50 minutes,

•Robbers in Army uniform attack two banks in Lagos From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta and Jude Isiguzo

there was chaos, terror and blood. Staff, customers, residents and passers- by within a kilometre radius of the raided banks were terror – stricken. Huge sums of money, handsets and other valuables were carted away from victims.

The four persons who lost their lives and others that received gunshot wounds were caught in a hail of bullets during a stampede.

“We heard series of explosions. It was the sound of grenades. The robbers fired

heavy weapons for over 50 minutes as though they owned Ilaro town. People ran in every direction seeking safety.

“Many were hit by stray bullets. Four persons among them a child were killed during the shooting by the robbers. There was panic and apprehension everywhere,” said an eye-witness.

Commissioner of Police Mr Nicholas Daaru Nkemdeme, in a telephone interview, confirmed the incident.

The robbers later escaped into Lagos, their arrival coinciding with chaos caused by another armed robbery operations at Ogudu area of

the city.

The robbers, dressed in army uniform, stormed two banks along Ojota/ Ogudu Road in Kosofe Local Government Area.

While the robbers from Ogun State were shooting sporadically at Berger and Ojudu area to aid their escape, the ones at Ogudu were equally trying to shoot their way into the banks they wanted to rob.

Lagos Police Command spokesman Mr Samuel Jinadu said nobody was killed in the Ogudu incidents and assured that the hoodlums would soon be arrested.

Privatisation in Nigeria’s interest, says el-Rufai •Panel issues warrant against Transcorp

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ORMER Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir elRufai has defended the nation’s privatisation exercise even as he faulted subtle moves by certain unnamed powerful groups to stall the privatisation of the power sector.

Testifying before the Senate ad hoc panel investigating the privatisation of companies since 1999, the former minister said rather than blaming the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) for the observed lapses in the process, Nigerians ought to be grateful to the Bureau for its role.

Describing the Senate panel as a witch hunt, elRufai appealed to the various political actors to ensure the independence of the BPE, saying most of the distortions in the process were as a result of undue interference by the powers that be.

His views tallied with that of another former DirectorGeneral of the BPE, Dr. Christopher Anyanwu, who told the panel that occupants of the BPE top seat had always been under serious pressure from top officials at the Presidency.

•el-Rufai... yesterday From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

Anyanwu was unceremoniously removed from office in 2010 over what is believed to be conflict of interests among some power brokers over the privatisation of the Nigerian Telecommunication Company (NITEL).

“I want to say that who-

ever is sitting on the seat of the DG of PBE is under serious pressure from various quarters, including high level officials at the Presidency.

That is why the process has not worked”, Anyanwu told the committee.

He said he was forced to write a memo to the President when the pressure became unbearable. He however did not

state the reasons why he was relieved of his appointment.

El-Rufai who was DG of the BPE from 1999 to 2003, said 33 federal government-owned were privatised under his watch and that 23 of the deals were concluded with $57 billion realised as proceeds.

He described government-owned companies as unnecessary drain on public funds stressing that solution to the privatisation exercise lies in adequate funding, appointment of the right calibre of persons and protection of the BPE from interference.

He said most of the companies that were privatised under his watch are doing very well with some of them having gone international in their operations.

The panel also yesterday issued a warrant of arrest against the Chairman of Transcorp, Otunba Funsho Lawal.

The panel expressed displeasure over the refusal of Transcorp to appear before the committee.

The buyers of some of the hotels sold under the privatisation exercise including Sheraton and Nicon Luxury appeared before the committee on Tuesday.

KITI State Governor Kayode Fayemi yesterday sought a redefinition of the role of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF).

The governor, who spoke at the office of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) in Abuja, called for the separation of the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation from that of the Accountant-General of the Federal Government.

He said the redefinition would culminate in accountability and transparency.

Fayemi said the separation is necessary because the Accountant-General of the Federal Government would be biased to the states because of divided loyalty.

He demanded an overhaul of the present revenue allocation formula, which he described as unjust and outdated.

He said the data and indices used in arriving at the monthly federal allocation to Ekiti State are wrong.

Fayemi lamented the state of Federal Government projects in Ekiti.

He called for the completion and sanctioning of the contractors who have abandoned federal projects in the state.

NDLEA urges stiffer penalties for drug traffickers

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

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HAIRMAN/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Ahmadu Giade has called for stiffer punishment for drug barons.

Giade spoke following the arrest of a 55 year old suspected drug trafficker Jacob Odumishi with 1,294kg of suspected cannabis.

NDLEA Lagos State Commander, Aliyu Sule said the suspect’s house at Ipaja area of Lagos State was raided following a tip off. “We carried out the operation based on intelligence and we recovered 1,294kg of cannabis.

When we got the information, we were at first sceptical because we thought he had learnt his lessons since he has a pending drug case in court.

In line with our practice, we decided to confirm the information and it paid off,” Aliyu said.

“The large quantity of drugs recovered from him confirms our surveillance report that he is a major cannabis distributor within the State. He will soon be charged to court ,” Giade stated.

Odumishi said: “I am in detention today because my friend wanted to dispose his old cannabis stock preparatory to the harvest season. Unfortunately, we could not distribute the drugs immediately. My wife and children were crying profusely when I was rearrested and I felt completely empty. I should have listened to my wife and children who warned me to shun drug trafficking.”

11

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

If you have been following the financials of the three banks, you will know that before their licences were withdrawn, they were having negative shareholders funds. So, when you say lost out, we must ask ourselves from where.

-Ms Arunmah Oteh, DG, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

StanBank cuts investment in Africa

S

OUTH Africa’s Standard Bank aims to cut its capital utilisation outside of Africa by half to $1.5 billion, its Deputy Chief Executive, said yesterday.

Ben Kruger also told analysts at a briefing in Johannesburg the bank planned to have 180 branches in Nigeria by the end of the year.

Agency to stop rice, cotton importation From Dele Anofi, Abuja

N

ATIONAL Biotech nology Develop ment Agency (NABDA) is set to ensure sufficiency in rice production to stem importation of the commodity.

The Director-General of the agency, Bamidele Solomon, said the agency would give special attention to producing Baccilus Torrengesis (BT)- rice as a means of stopping the country from importing rice from China and other countries.

Solomon, who spoke yesterday in Abuja while receiving the Acting Executive Director, African Agricultural Trust Foundation (AATF), Jacob Mignooma, stressed that focus would also be given to BT-cotton, BT-Cowpea, BT- cassava and soya beans.

He however, noted that the development would become a reality after President Goodluck Jonathan would have signed the Bio-safety Bill into law.

Noting that the Ministry of Environment would be responsible for bio-safety issues, he disclosed that a new agency called National Biosafety Management Agency would be formed while NABDA will focus on getting real biotech products to the country.

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$109.7/barrel Cocoa - $2,856/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢78.07.pound Gold -$1,161/troy ounce Rubber - ¢146.37/pound MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE JSE NYSE LSE

-N7.3 trillion -Z5.112trillion -$10.84 trillion -£61.67 trillion RATES Inflation -10.2% Treasury Bills -2.64% Normal lending -24% Prime lending -18% Savings rate -3% 91-day NTB -6.99% Time Deposit - 6% MPR -8% Foreign Reserve -$34.7bn FOREX CFA 0.281 • 213 £ 241.00 $ 150.7 ¥ 1.5652 SDR 240.3 RIYAL 39.3

• Omamofe Boyo, Deputy Group Chief Executive, Oando PLC (2nd right) signing the contract for the construction of an Oando product reception jetty at Apapa, awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria PLC on Wednesday August 10, 2011, at Oando Head Office in Lagos. With him were Wolfang Loesser, Division Manager, West, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC (left), Ngozi Okonkwo, Acting Chief Legal Adviser, Oando PLC (2nd left) and Hendrik Rypma, Technical Consultant, Industries, Gas and Oil, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC (right).

Senate panel faults sale of Savannah Sugar Company T

HE Senate ad hoc Com mittee investigating the privatisation exercise, has faulted the sale of Savannah Sugar Company, Numan, Adamawa State to Dangote Industries Limited for $7 million after the Federal Government had invested $70 million loan facility in the company.

The committee also disapproved of the inadequate compensation to the owners of the 29, 000 hectares of land acquired by the company.

Out of the 17, 603 persons due for compensation, only 4, 840 were compensated.

Comrade Pascal Bafyau, who made submission to the committee on behalf of the Bachama Consultative Forum, complained that neither

From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), nor the investor deemed it fit to discuss with the host communities before and after the safe of the firm.

“Although the BPE promised to visit the communities to discuss the preferred bidder’s corporate responsibilities to the host communities, including the issue of land compensation, it never did and still has not” “After the sale of presumably 51 per cent Government’s shareholding

to Dangote Industries Limited, the community has learnt that Dangote now holds 95.12 per cent, leaving only 4.88 per cent as at February, 2009" “Dangote Industries Limited was bidding to again own the remaining 4.88 percent as though there is no community on which the factory is sited or workers who were toiling there,” Bafyau submitted.

The community complained of dwindling performance and lower production output after the sale of the company, alleging that the multi million naira equip-

BPE denies illegal sale of Eleme Petrochemical

Why CBN cannot fund mining sector

A

Central Bank of Nige ria (CBN) supported National Sub-Committee on Private Sector Integrated Framework (PSISF) Development Model, yesterday diclosed that the apex bank could not fund the mining sector because the Federal Government has not been able to generate the drilling data that is bankable.

In his presentation to the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Musa Sada, in Abuja, the Managing Director, Anthill Concept Limited, Chief Emeka Okangwu, said the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) data has not produced the feasibility study which the apex bank can fund.

While commenting on the anomaly in the sector, Okangwu, said, statutorily, the agency is not empowered to undertake core drilling, therefore it is not within its

T

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

mandate to discuss investment in the sector.

His words: “NGSA has no power to do core drilling. If you are not allowed to do this, you cannot discuss investment in the sector.”

He said the NGSA is saddled with gathering geological data, adding that the greatest challenge in the sector, is the inability to comprehend the real issues.

He said: “We have not been able to generate that drilling data that can lead to feasibility study, because what the CBN will be finding is a feasibility study.”

Okangwu however told the minister, that if the lacuna is removed, the funding could culminate in mass employment, infrastructural development and other multiplier effects.

He said if the issues in the sec-

ment installed by the Government before the company was privatised has been carted away after the sale.

Bafyau, expressed dismay that the community’s request to the Government to be partowners of the 28.4 percent shares to be left after the sale to Dangote including a request for defined percentage of employment in various categories of staff for the host communities, were ignored.

Describing the sale of the company as fraudulent and dwindling productivity under the new owners, the community called for the revocation of the sale.

But Managing Director of the company, Ta’Aziya Todi, while testifying before the panel, said the company has embarked on a number of projects to bring succour to the host communities.

Todi, said part of the projects include the rehabilitation of a number of roads, rehabilitation of a damaged River Benue embankment, renovation of three blocks of classrooms, purchase of land for school building, repair of bridges, provision of electricity poles and transformers.

The Managing Director disclosed that the BPE privatised 95 percent of Federal Government’s equity in the company in March 2003 for N1.3 billion.

•Sanusi

tor are understood, the funding of some projects would not be more than N500 million.

“What I am talking about cannot pass half a billion Naira,” he said.

The presenter, said the government has the right of first refusal to bring an off-taker into the sector.

He said for Nigeria to be one of the most virile 20th economies in the globe by the year 2020, the country has to raise its steel consumption from the current 1.5 million metric ton per annum to 18 million tons annually.

HE Bureau of Public En terprises (BPE), yester day denied selling the five per cent Federal Government shares in Eleme Petrolchemical Company Limited illegally for N4.375 billion to Inorama.

A statement, its spokesman, Chukwuma Nwokoh, said the bureau has always adhered to the National Council on Privatization’s approval for sales of government entities, that the Eleme Petrochemical transaction was not an exception.

Nwoko explaineded “that EPCL was about to embark a on multi-billion dollar expansion programme, and that the inherent threat of FGN’s five per cent shareholding being diluted as a result of recapitalization, necessitated the decision by the Technical Committee of the National Council on Privatisation to negotiate the

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

price for the sale of the shares, on the understanding that the approval of the National Council on Privatisation would be obtained before closure of the transaction.”

The statement added that a further consideration for the proposed sale of the five per cent shareholding in the company, was to initiate a process in which the Nigerian public can benefit from the phenomenal successes recorded by EPCL, as Indorama, the Core Investor also agreed that it would make available between 20 and 25 per cent of the firm’s shares via Initial Public Offering (IPO) within a period of five years from the effective date on which the Share Purchase Agreement for the five per cent would be signed.

12

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

BUSINESS NEWS Flight Schedule MONDAY - FRIDAY LAGOS – ABUJA Departure Arrival 1. Aero 06.50 08.10 2. Associated 07.00 09.30 3. Air Nigeria 07.00 08.20 4. IRS 07.00 08.20 5. Dana 07.02 08.22 6. Arik 07.15 08.15 7. Chanchangi 07.15 8. Air Nigeria 08.15 09.35 9. Dana 08.10 09.20 10. Aero 08.45 10.05 11. Arik 09.15 10.15 12. Chanchangi 10.00 11.00 13. IRS 11.15 12.35 14. Dana 12.06 12.26 15. Aero 12.20 13.30 16. Air Nigeria 13.25 14.45 17. Chanchangi 13.30 14.30 18. Arik 13.45 14.45 19. IRS 14.00 15.20 20. Aero 14.10 15.30 21. Air Nigeria 14.50 16.10 22. Dana 15.30 16.50 23. Chanchangi 15.30 16.30 24. Arik 15.50 16.50 25. Aero 16.00 17.20 26. IRS 16.30 17.50 27. Arik 16.50 17.50 28. Dana 17.10 18.30 29. Chanchangi 17.30 18.30 30. Air Nigeria 17.35 18.55 31. Air Nigeria (T/TH) 18.30 19.50 32. Arik 18.45 19.45 33. Aero 19.20 20.40 1.

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Nigerian economic reform: Heavyweights set for tussle • Okonjo-Iweala, Sanusi must • Both have common blend big personalities goals but tensions too

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IGERIA’s Central Bank Gov ernor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and former World Bank chief and Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, will spearhead the immediate future of Africa’s third-largest economy, but how they deal with tensions between them will determine their success.

Okonjo-Iweala, according to Reuters, is expected to arrive this month to take the role of Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, an expanded version of the role she held between 2003 and 2006 when she successfully secured Nigerian debt relief.

Sources close to the process, say she negotiated clear terms on which she would be willing to return to serve in government, including being given broad powers over economic management and freedom from political meddling.

She is a big personality, well respected internationally and her appointment was met with widespread optimism from foreign investors, diplomats and Nigerians,

but Sanusi has an equally impressive profile.

Sanusi has spread his remit well beyond the fundamental role of the central bank, raising his public profile and laying out a blueprint for reforming the Nigerian financial system, an area Okonjo-Iweala will be wanting a strong hand in.

“It will be an interesting dynamic as they are both very strong characters,” said Kayode Akindele, partner at Lagos-based advisory firm JMH-TIA Capital.

“The Central Bank has encroached on areas that have traditionally been the remit of the Ministry of Finance, since Sanusi became governor and Okonjo-Iweala will want to take back the initiative in those areas.”

Since taking over office two years ago, Sanusi was named Central Bank Governor of the year

by The Banker and was listed in Time Magazine as one of the most influential people of 2011.

Okonjo-Iweala, has her own highprofile awards, named one of the world’s hundred most powerful women by Forbes in 2006.

A month after taking office, Sanusi, sacked the heads of nine banks in an unprecedented $4 billion bailout. The banks were deemed to be so badly capitalised, they posed a risk to sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest economy.

In his latest bold move, Sanusi supported the nationalisation of three Nigerian banks last week, well before a recapitalisation deadline of September 30, set by the CBN and before the arrival of Okonjo-Iweala.

The pre-emptive move has been supported by economists and market sources, who see it as bringing the banking crisis closer to a conclusion, but has also prompted a terrible week for banking stocks, although a feared run on the banks has not materialised.

“Although debate over the authorities’ pre-emptive action continues, it is difficult to see the justification for taking action ahead of the end-September deadline,” said Razia Khan, Head of Africa Research at Standard Chartered.

08.50 12.40 14.10 17.20 12.15 12.45

LAGOS – PORT HARCOURT (CIVIL) 1. Aero 07.15 08.35 2. Arik 07.15 08.35 3. Arik 09.00 10.20 4. Dana 09.27 10.40 5. Aero 10.50 12.30 6. Arik 11.40 13.00 7. Air Nigeria 12.00 13.10 8. IRS 13.30 15.00 9. Arik 14.00 15.20 10. Dana 15.03 16.20 11. Air Nigeria 16.00 17.10 12. Arik 16.10 17.30 13. Aero 16.15 17.30 14. Arik 17.10 18.30 LAGOS – OWERRI Aero 07.30 Arik 07.30 Air Nigeria 13.40 Arik 14.00 Arik 16.30

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LAGOS – ILORIN 1. Overland 07.15 2. Arik (M/T/TH/F) 17.30

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LAGOS – ABUJA SAT/SUN Arik 7.15; 10.20; 2.20; 5.20pm – 7.30; 9.15; 10.20; 2.20; 4.50; 6.45 Aero 07.30; 09.35; 13.10; 14.50; 20.20 – 07.30; 09.35; 13.10; 14.50; 20.20 Air Nigeria 08.15; 14.30; 17.15; 18.30 – 08.15; 13.30; 14.30; 17.15; 18.30

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

A

N Associate Professor at the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Dr Godwin Akpokodje, has said the new N18,000 minimum wage would trigger inflation by 23.2 per cent in coming months.

The economist, however, added the new wage regime has far more positives sides, as it is expected to increase the economic power of workers, increase household consumption expenditure with a multiplier effect on the economy.

The don, spoke when he delivered a paper at a seminar organised by the institute in Ibadan. Speaking on the topic: Macroeconomic and Welfare Effects of Federal Government Minimum Wage in Nigeria, Akpokodje, said the new wage would increase private investment and economic growth, while the government would realise more in terms of revenue as direct income tax would rise by 30.2 per cent.

He explained that it translates to more money for workers in nominal terms resulting in increased household consumption expenditure while he pointed to the rise in private investment which in effect would stimulate economic growth.

However, Akpokodje said the major negative effect was that inflation rate would be increase by 23. 2 per cent .

In general government transactions, Akpokodje said revenue would increase by 11.3 per cent but expenditure would go up by 44 per cent.

The don said the findings came out of his recent study on the new minimum wage.

Interswitch acquires 60% stake in Ugandan firm

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Minimum wage will push inflation by 23%

By Collins Nweze

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• From left: Chairman Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Ogun State, Dr Babalola Oguntuga; guest lecturer/ GMD Skye Bank Plc, Mr Kehinde Duronimi-Etti and VP (MAN) Ogun State Mr Oladunni Oyegbile, during the MAN ogun State 2011 Busines Luncheon held at Bezer Hall Resort Ltd, Sango Ota in Ogun State.

PHOTO: DAYO ADEWUNMI

N60tr required for housing, says Fed Govt

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IGERIA requires N60 tril lion to provide decent ac commodation for her citi-

zens.

The Minister of Housing, Lands and Urban Development Ms. Amal Pepple, said the amount is only “an average conservative cost estimate of N3.5 million per unit, the minimum financial requirement of providing 17 million new housing units in Nigeria”.

She spoke in Abuja yesterday at a stakeholders’ roundtable on housing and mortgage finance, organised by the World Bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This huge amount, the Minister said, “is far beyond the capacity of the three tiers of government, bearing in mind the need to address other competing needs of critical sectors of the economy.”

However, over the next four years, the sustained intervention in the housing sector, the minister stated, would increase the housing stock and substantially reduce the present deficit in sustainable and decent homes, which is presently estimated as ranging be-

From Nduka Chiejina, Assistant Editor

tween 16-17 million housing units nationwide.

She lamented that with an estimated national population of 150 million people, rising population growth rate, growing urbanisation, as well as increased demand for sustainable housing across the country, “the only way to avert an imminent housing crisis in the foreseeable future, is to immediately embark on concrete actions to reduce the housing deficit.”

To this end, Ms Pepple said, the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, has decided to inject N200 billion into housing development through the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), stressing, “as the economy improves, disposable incomes of workers will increase and their ability to access mortgage finance will no longer be encumbered.”

In order to ameliorate the present conditions in housing sector, she said, government, has recognised the need to accord priority attention to some key initiatives.

“These include the review of the national housing policy, review of the national building code and targeting of low income earners in the delivery of affordable houses under social housing, ” she said.

In addition, the present situation whereby Nigerian artisans are not competitive relative to their counterparts in neighbouring countries of the West African Sub-Region, is also expected to be a thing of the past as the government plans to progressively build the national capacity in the development of skilled manpower for the housing sector through several targeted interventions, including the commissioning and take-off of new Institute of Architects and Artisans in Lugbe, Abuja.

The introduction of title and mortgage insurance products to take care of title defect and mortgage defaults she noted will also be given priority attention since the government has already taken steps to reform the administration of the National Housing fund (NHF) to enable it to serve as an effective anchor of housing delivery in Nigeria.

NTERSWITCH Limited, a firm that processes payments for banks has taken 60 per cent stake in Uganda’s only company of the kind amid plans for more African acquisitions.

The firm will use the N26 billion injected into it by Helios Investment Partners LLC in December for expansion on the continent, Chief Executive Officer Mitchell Elegbe told Bloomberg. “We are targeting acquisitions in other countries, and where we can’t acquire, we will partner with the owners,” he said.

Interswitch concluded the deal for the majority stake in Kampalabased Bankom Ltd. yesterday, Elegbe said. He declined to say how much was the deal was worth.

The growth plans for Interswitch, which also runs a network of 10,000 automated-teller machines and 11,000 point-of-sale terminals, come as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) seeks to encourage more non-cash transactions in the country. A cashwithdrawal limit of N150,000 for individuals and 1 million naira for companies will take effect in June 2012.

London-based Helios, a closely held investment company that focuses on Africa, bought into Interswitch “at a time when Nigeria is getting set for the next phase of growth in electronic payments,” said Elegbe. “We think the partnership will enhance Interswitch’s strong growth within and outside the country,” he said.

Interswitch was established by seven Nigerian banks, four of which still hold shares in the company, including First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and Zenith Bank Plc, according to its website. Adlevo Capital of Mauritius and TechInvest Ltd., the holding company of Telnet Nigeria Ltd., also hold stakes in Interswitch.

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

13

LABOUR

Chemical sector employers to pay minimum wage T

HE Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Employers Federation (CANMPEF) will pay the N18,000 minimum wage, President, National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber and Non-metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE) Comrade Boniface Isok, has said.

The wage will be implemented across board, Isok said at the yearly education conference of NUCFRLANMPE in Enugu.

He said an agreeement had been signed on the payment with CANMPEF. NUCFRLANMPE Acting General Secretary Comrade Douglas Adiele said employers in the sector were ready to set the pace in the implementation of the minimum wage.

Earlier, Isok called for the protection of industries by government since government alone cannot provide jobs for the people.

He lamented lack of amenities needed by manufacturers to boost production and employ more people.

“Lack of basic amenities that could enhance productivity and marketability are not readily available. As a result, most of the factories that have not closed down or relocated are producing below installed capacity. Workers are preoccupied with fighting contract labour and casualisation.

These have become the order of the day as a result of government negligence at creating enabling socio-economic and political environment for industries to thrive.

Isok appealed to governors to pressurise the Federal Government to repair its bad roads.

He cited Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Benin-Ore Expressway and OnitshaEnugu-Port-Harcourt road.

CAMPEF Executive Secretary, Mr E. F. Ali, educated the workers on the need for improved productivity and capacity building. He noted the improvement in the yearly seminar, saying employers are seeing the changes from unskilled to skilled workers.

• Ali (second left), NUCFRLANMPE former president Comrade Lucah Damulak (left) and Adiele. At the back, Ishaku Usman.

Stories by Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu

He said there was significant change in the mentality of workers, adding that this can be attributed to training and development and the shift from unskilled labour to skilled and sophisticated

workforce.

Ali said: “It is increasingly recognised that how people are managed impacts on an enterprise’s productivity and on the quality of goods and services, labour costs, the quality of workforce and its

• Isok

motivation.”

The Controller of Labour, Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Enugu, Mr J.C. Aniekwe, urged the workers to ruminate over the socio-economic problems facing the nation.

Wogu canvasses in-service training for workers

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HE Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, has stressed the need for on-the-job training to build workers’capacity.

Wogu gave the advice during a visit to Michael Imoudu Institute of Labour Studies (MINILS) in Ilorin, Kwara State.

He urged labour unions to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the institute to build the capacity of their members.

He said: “The developmental challenges confronting the nation call for a studied and strategic approach. I will, therefore, strongly advise the labour movement to emphasise capacity building and education in order to build a strong and virile labour sector that can support sustainable growth and development.

“Indeed, workers education will be increasingly decisive in the emerging scenario. Education will be a fault line; a functional necessity for workers’ effective participation in a competitive global economy and in national building initiatives. I trust that we can all count on the support of Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies in this regard.”

On implementation of the new minimum wage, he said the Federal Government, private sector employees and stakeholders in the labour sector are working to ensure hitch free payment implementation.

“I am particularly glad to inform this gathering of agreeable implementation plans between the Federal Government and its workers. We are also working with the various levels of government to ensure that implementation is achieved

• Abdulfatah (right), Wogu and MINILS Director-General Dr John Olanrewaju, during the visit.

in a peaceful and amicable way,”. he said.

Speaking when he visited Kwara State Governor,Abdulfatah Ahmed, Wogu commended the governor for maintain-

ing industrial peace and harmony thereby providing conducive atmosphere for economic growth. He sought continued collaboration between the state and the institute for Labour Studies.

In his response, Ahmed pledged his administration’s continued support for the institute andtake the advantage of its location to improve existing relationship between government and labour.

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

14

LABOUR

When Oshiomhole’s govt came under fire from Labour It was an unusual face-off. In one corner was the man many have come to regard as the face of Labour, Governor Adams Oshiomhole and in the other corner were members of his constituency. What went wrong?OSAGIE OTABOR examines how the minimum wage implementation pitched labour against Oshiomhole in Edo State.

F

OR four days,parastatals, agencies and local government councils in Edo State were closed to business despite the government’s accceptance to pay N18,000 minimum wage.

The development followed the resolve by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to ask their members to go on a solidarity strike with teachers in the state who are protesting their exclusion from the minimum wage implementation.

A communiqué issued at the end of the negotiation on the implementation of the new minimum wage between officials of government representatives and labour leaders said the minimum wage in the state Public Service shall be N18,000.34 for the lowest grade of employees, i.e. GL 01 Step 01, with effect from June 1, 2011.

It reads: “That with the upward adjustment of the minimum wage to N18,000.34, appropriate consequential increases have been effected in salaries across all grade levels in the core civil service that was not covered by recent sectoral wage increases granted by this administration. However, if there are sectors that have issues arising from the implementation of the new minimum wage and the consequential adjustments across the grades, such sectors are at liberty to make their cases for consideration by the government,” he said.

Before the teachers went on indefinite strike, some civil servants had protested the new minimum wage chart, saying it was

distorted.

The workers threatened to form splinter union groups if NLC refused to enter into re-negotiation with the government.

Spokesman Filani Ojo said they would also seek redress if the new minimum wage was not renogotiated.

His words: “We, the workers of Edo State, are saying no to this distorted, chart. We are saying no to corruption because this chart is less than what we are expecting. We are asking the labour leaders to go and review this distorted minimum wage chart.

“We don’t know where they got this chart they are implementing for us in this state. We are privileged to have Oshiomhole as the Governor. He should have waited for Federal Government chart before signing this one. He cannot push us to a corner. He cannot force this minimum wage down our throat. We will reduce NLC to the minimum in this state and be forced to form other bodies that will represent us.”

Responding, Chairman of NLC, Comrade Emma Ademokun said the chart was the best that could be achieved for the workers.

Ademokun explained that with the chart, workers on Grade Levels One to six got 100 per cent increas; those on levels seven to 12 got 55 per cent while those on Level 13 and above got 50 per cent.

He said the state had never operated federal chart, adding that NLCwould resist the implementation of federal tax on the workers. He said NLC would enter into

• Some of the union leaders during negotiation

another negotiation for the teachers and judicial workers.

Two days later, the NUT gave a seven-day ultimatum to the government to include it in the new minimum wages’and described the government action as an insincere reflection of the N18,000 minimum wage as released by the Federal Government.

A statement by Comrade Osasuyi Faluyi and Henson Enagbare; president and administrative secretary, slammed the NLC and TUC for their compromise in the negotiation, rather than standing for the collective goodwill of the workers.

Apparently worried by the strike, Governor Adams Oshiomhole cut short his trip abroad and rushed back, but a negotiation meeting fixed for 4pm last Thursday was postponed as labour leaders reportedly insisted they needed to hold a meeting first.

On Friday, labour leaders came into the Exco Chambers venue of the negotiation, chanting victory songs. Their response to Governor Oshiomhole’s ‘e soleto’ was faint and the governor, on his part, refused to join them in their solidarity songs.

Explaining reasons for the strike, Ademokun said their colleagues in other sectors were not captured in the minimum wage and that effort to reach the government for a meeting was unsuccessful.

“You told us you were in a hurry to sign the minimum wage. When we confronted you with the issue of relativity, you said we should deal with the minimum wage first. A clause was put in the agreement and you assured us that if those not captured came with their request with reasons, you will grant their request.

“We felt that the government was out to ridicule labour as we were accused of collecting N50million. One Mohammed Adejo working in Government House here told my members so and we tried and convinced our members that we did not collect any money.

Ademokun said when the teachers’ strike started, there were threats. “I cannot be a chairman and watch my members being threatened.”

The NLC chairman also raised other issues, such as over taxation, continued closure of Edo Line Transport, relativity in salaries, non-promotion since 2008, casualisation of labour in the public service, over deductions from local government, non-conduct of election into local government councils, collection of Value Added tax (VAT) and Cost of OT. Responding, Oshiomhole said he was shocked that organised labour went on strike in the state despite being the first to pay minimum wage, adding that he approved the minimum wage for two unions in compliance with the

Electricity workers seek sacked CEOs’ reinstatement T HE Senior Staff Association of Electricity Allied Companies (SSAEAC) has called for the reinstatement of the sacked four Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

The President of the association, Mr Bede Opara, described their removal as politically motivated.

The helmsmen were removed last month on the order of the Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji.

Opara said: “We have written to the Minister of Power to protest the removal of the four CEOs

and we have also made in-depth investigations to determine the appropriateness of the recent action.

“We are asking that the affected officers be recalled,’’ he said Opara said the sack created “doubts in the minds of workers on government’s plan to revitalise the power sector”.

According to him, the CEOs had contributed to the development of the power sector, contrary to reasons of incompetence and non-per-

formance adduced for their sack.

He said: “The CEO, Lagos Zone, for instance, introduced a customers’ forum to support his high performance index and also generated N1.8 billion revenue in May 2011.

“Also, the CEO in Jos Zone increased revenue from N300 million to N500 million monthly, while the Benin Zone increased its monthly cash collection from N800 million monthly to N1billion.

• TUC President, Peter Esele.

Skill acquisition key to youth employment, says Sylva

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AYELSA State Governor Timipre Sylva has harped on the need for youth empowerment through skill acquisition, saying it is part of government’s human capital development drive.

He spoke when he accompanied Mr Steve Oronsanye, former Head of Service of the Federation, on a project inspection tour in Yenagoa.

At the State Craft and Skill Cen-

tre under construction at Elebele, near the state capital, Sylva said skill acquisition was key to youth employment efforts of the government.

“Many of our youths are without jobs and they cannot be employed because they lack the necessary skills to enhance their chances of employment. “ So that is why we want to give them the skills that will enable

them to fit into available jobs,’’ Sylva said.

He identified education as the greatest challenge facing the state, saying that the majority of Bayelsa people were unemployable because they lacked good education.

The governor and his guest also inspected the State Modern Secondary School project in Yenagoa, which is under construction.

Sylva said more than N1 billion

was budgeted for the project and charged the contractors to ensure that its completion in October.

He said his administration would complete and deliver over 15 roads now under construction.

Describing the contractors as his headache, the governor said the government was not indebted to them, wondering why they were not doing enough to get the projects completed on schedule.

agreement he entered with them.

Oshiomhole, who was visibly annoyed, said other issues raised by the labour leaders were out of their purview.

His words: “In your determination that you must forment trouble, you went for anything because you were taking me as an enemy.

I didn’t think I was one.

“The workers are on strike because of local government election and yet, you insist you are not on political contract? Not even a 100 years strike will change anything.

It is outside your competence. It is not in the purview of labour, government relations. How does local government chairmen allocations become your headache.?”

“You talk of VAT. Does VAT accrue to state government? It is being collected by the Federal Government. You are on strike because a local government remitted VAT to federal government.

You are holding me responsible for that. VAT is a federal law for your information. Before I became governor here, PDP government defaulted in remittance of VAT running into N2.3billion.”

Promasidor, workers meet August 23

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ROMASIDOR Nigeria Limited, makers of Cowbell powder milk, will on August 23, meet with its protesting workers at the instance of the Federal Ministry of Labour.

The company has re-opened its shutdown factory ahead of the meeting.

The workers resumed work after a meeting of the the management, union and officials of the Ministry of Labour and Productivity.

Mr George Olukayode, Promasidor branch chairman of the National Union Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE), said the workers resumed work after the meeting.

He said the issues in contention were not addressed, adding that the ministry directed the company to reopen for operations while another meeting was rescheduled for August 23.

Mr Keith Richards, Promasidor Managing Director, had ordered the factory’s closure in the wake of the workers’ protest last week.

The workers are demanding an improved meal subsidy and annual increment, among others, to boost their productivity.

They said they had not enjoyed any annual increment or meal subsidy in the past six years.

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

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THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

Relations, friends and political associates of the slain Dr Ayo Daramola are marking the fifth year anniversary of his passage in Ijan and Ado-Ekiti this weekend. Deputy Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU writes on the life and times of the colourful politician, who died without realising his governorship ambition.

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Daramola: Killers still at large ‘

IVE years have passed since death sneaked into Ijan, a rustic town in Ekiti State, snatching an aspirant, whose bid for the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) looked bright - Dr Ayodeji Daramola. The agony and pain of the untimely and sad end to a glorious career linger. Family and friends were then drowned in wailing and bewilderment, which ultimately culminated in prolonged bereavement.

Justice has been both illusory and elusive.

Reminiscent of previous murders, the killers are still at large and the Police have no clue.

Townspeople went to bed without premonition that a big tragedy was about to befall the community that fateful day. At midnight, assassins invaded the enclave. Their target was the nutritional economist and World Bank consultant, who had become a household name in Ekiti State through his activities in the Ekiti Poverty Reduction Agency (EKPRA), a World Bank project.

If they were not armed, there was no way the homeboy would have been conquered.

As a child and youth, none of his mates had the record of subduing him in comedy wrestling of yore, where local spectators encircled to form a casual ring. If they had come with an intellectual challenge, he would have easily dwarfed them with his power of incisive wit, logic and academic prowess. If they had requested for money, the former university don would have written a cheque to appease the devil incarnates.

But the killers stormed Daramola’s home with riffles. They gate-crashed with a clear and non-negotiable mission. He would have made spirited attempts to halt their nefarious activities, but he was overpowered by both number and superior weapon. When day broke, the scholar-turned politician was asleep in his pool of blood. It was the end.

Traditional rulers and chiefs were dumbfounded. Community elders were enraged.

Women rained curses on the perpetrators.

Riots broke out and violence was unleashed by ardent supporters who suspected that the murder was politically motivated. Houses of perceived notable opponents were set ablaze. Anti-government songs filled the air. Government billboards were pulled down and posters of rival politicians were torn. Youths, who made bonfires, barricaded the roads. All the protests failed to revive the bullet-ridden body, which had been rushed to the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife. Amid the pandemonium, family members, who bowed their heads in sorrow, were confronted with the difficulty of breaking the news to his widow, Kehinde, mother of his two children; Afolabi and Dimeji. A princess from Ijebu-Ife, Ogun State, Mrs Daramola loathed politics, which she often described, like many, as a dirty game. She staged a relentless domestic battle to discourage her loving husband, but without success. She held on tenaciously to the view that a comfortable and plain man like “Dr”, as he was fondly called, had no business going into the murky waters of politics.

Daramola could not turn his eyes off the poverty-stricken. His intervention in the socio-economic life of the 120 towns and villages in his capacity as the EKPRA Director was the tonic. He had worked and made fortune as a lecturer, banker and World Bank official. He delved into politics, with the aim of using power to further the cause of his dispirited rural kinsmen. When his wife objected, he invited common friends to persuade her to share his vision and passion for Ekitiland.

The assassination confirmed Mrs

These leadership traits he had displayed at every point of call. As a child, he showed the promise... in the private sector, he was a man of high managerial acumen; an embodiment of punctuality, discipline, diligence, and dignity. He had wanted to replicate these qualities in politics. But it is a slippery field. Five years on, his demise remains a puzzle.

Who killed Daramola? Will he get justice?

• The late Dr Daramola

Daramola’s worst fears about the hazard of politics in the then tension-soaked Ekiti State. When the news was broken to her by her husband’s friends and associates at their Gbagada, Lagos residence, she fainted. It took minutes before she was revived by mourners and sympathisers. “He sacrificed himself for Ekiti”, she said, after regaining her consciousness, with tears rolling down her cheeks.

The slain politician came during Ekiti’s dark period. Across the length and breadth of the land, people yearned for transformational leadership. There were fears that those in the corridors of power had converted the state into a fiefdom and dictatorship loomed large. Daramola put on the gauntlet, firing salvos at the system, which he said, must be dismantled. He advocated for a responsible government that would accord with popular feelings, restore public confidence and take the backward state to the promised land.

The former World Bank consultant was perceived as an asset. His political foes aptly lacked what was working for him. His credential was intimidating. Highly educated, he had capped his academic pursuits at home and abroad with an enviable doctorate degree, which is the mark of a towering Ekiti scholar. Daramola had traded in intellectual ideas and he was hostile to idleness, docility and frivolity. In private and public life; as a teacher, banker, consultant and administrator, he remained a man of honour and integrity.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain was new in partisan politics. But a good blueprint was not in short supply. As a pri-

’

mary school boy left to the guidance of a teacher, who was always on the move, he had traversed many towns and villages in the hilly state. Thus, he was conversant with Ekiti core problems. When writing his thesis at Howard University, Washington, United States, he chose a topic that had bearing with his roots.

The study of Food Nutrition, the focus of his research, is critical to the development of many African countries, which are characterised by high mortality rates among pregnant women and children, making experts in the continent to suggest that food, the giver of life, must be accorded a prime priority in the right quantity and quality.

Daramola came to his Ekiti cradle, combing the rural areas, whose indigenes were his subject of study. The document he produced is still relevant to planning in the state, almost three decades after. His involvement in EKPRA in later years further gave him an insight into strategies for bailing a people out of squalor. Explaining his desire to fight poverty in the state, if elected as governor, he said: “I was poor. Many Ekiti people live in poverty. We can mobilise our intellectual endowment and material resources to wipe out poverty and put smiles on the faces of people”.

Ahead of the campaigns, he had developed what he described as “solution files”, which encompassed the strategies for solving Ekiti problems sector by sector. On daily basis, he was always thinking about the future of the state. He wondered why Ekiti had remained backward, despite its vast human endowment. To him, hope was not lost. “We

had done it before, we can do it again and we will do it again”, he said, referring to his feats as the EKPRA Chief Executive, adding: “on May 29, 2007, I will be governor of Ekiti State. I know how to do it better, get results and make our people happy”.

His focus was opposed to those who exemplified bread and butter politics in the enclave. Already a hero, his past achievements spoke for him. He had stood before monarchs and robbed minds with the powerful.

To the people of the countryside, who had savoured his water projects, empowerment programmes an mobilisation for participatory joint projects, he was an idol.

He was bubbling with optimism. He hinged his hope on the dictum of light after darkness. Ironically, when the new political order arrived, Daramola’s seat was vacant in the congregation of those who midwife the transformational process with their sweat and glorious political labours. Daramola efforts at acquiring power were futile. Neither did he live to his full potentials as a citizen of Nigeria.

But in death, his profile has remained captivating. His charm, charisma, carriage, courage, and confidence linger. The simple his activities taught Ekiti was that, through collective efforts, they could rescue the state from doom through self-help. In communities where that cogent idea was put into practice, water ran from the pipes. Health centres sprung up. Rural roads were reactivated.

Some towns and villages chose priority projects, put money down and invited the World Bank to fill the other little vacuum.

In appreciation of that exposure, which bore fruits of progress in the countryside, monarchs conferred chieftaincy titles on the Ekiti icon, to the envy of those who misused the secular mandate bestowed on them. He could not honour all the entreaties to him from the royal fathers to show for the installation before the bullets silenced him. At his lying-in-state, long royal staff from palaces across the state competed for space around his coffin in their splendor, reminding those who killed him that, in life and death, Daramola has a towering stature.

Many believed that he would have lived longer, if he had shunned politics. He was not motivated by the desire for wealth accumulation and sheer popularity. He was comfortable, and from his personal purse, he had extended a duty of care to the needy. He only enlisted in party politics in furtherance of his productive service to the society.

In his reckoning, if good people yielded the space to charlatans, nowhere would be safe for both the elite and commoners. What society needed, he maintained, was a leadership with vision, focus and determination to make a mark.

These leadership traits he had displaced at every point of call. As a child, he showed the promise of someone who would rise above limitations imposed by his background as a village boy. he had the privilege of being a ‘teacher’s boy’, who moved from one town to another when his guardian, a teacher, was on transfer. As a member of the football team in Ekiti Parapo College, Ido-Ekiti, he toured many towns during those memorable soccer fiestas, which united the Ekiti confederation. Daramola became an encyclopedia of Ekiti knowledge, its accommodating culture, peculiar homely tradition, and value.

When he entered politics, he thought these attributes could be easily re-invented.

He learned them from his heroes, who were education statesmen and politician of repute in the rural state; the late Chief J.A. • Continued on page 18

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THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

POLITICS

Lawmaker challenges politicians on integrity From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado Ekiti

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ONOURABLE Bimbo Daramola, who represents Ekiti North Federal Constituency I in the House of Representatives, has admonished Nigerian politicians to imbibe integrity as the soul of their actions.

Daramola, who observed that a majority of politicians in Nigeria have total disregard for integrity as a necessary quality, noted that only people with proven integrity could deliver the desired fruits of governance to the people at all levels.

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) member who was once Information Commissioner in Lagos State noted that it is not money or years that anyone in political office needs to perform but the heart to care for the people.

Daramola, who recently held a Constituents Relationship Forum in home advised political office holders not to forget the source of their mandate. “I needed to let the people realise that there are people who would say something and would live by it and that is trying to build integrity. Don’t forget that there is a huge gap between the electorate and the politicians. The voters don’t believe us, they don’t trust us.”

The lawmaker who also contended that it was wrong for President Goodluck Jonathan to have introduced tenure adjustment at this time, noted that the problems confronting the country is much more than a diversionary and needless attempt to make ‘four years’ become ‘six years’.

He said: “It is not tenure elongation, extension or adjustment that is the problem. If you project that you have a president or a governor who will stay for six years in 2015, what if Nigeria does not exist till 2015? Nigeria is sitting on a tinderbox. I am not a doomsday preacher. But I know we are sitting on a keg of gun powder.

“I know the situation of roads in this country; the situation of healthcare and medicate in this country; the decadence in the education sector in the country and no one is talking about them. Is it tenure elongation or extension or six years’ tenure that should now bother us? If the security situation goes on unchallenged, I’m afraid if there will be any Nigeria for anyone to govern in few years to come. Already, America has said Nigeria would vapourise in 2015. We should prepare not to disallow fruition of such a prophesy,” Daramola said.

Who killed Daramola?

• Continued from page 17

Fapounda, his old teacher, who later became the Chief Whip of Ondo State House of Assembly in the Second Republic, Chief S.B. Asebiomo, former Chairman of Ondo State Central School Board.

While in Form Two, his leadership traits unfolded. He was made the Light Prefect by the school authority. Later, he became the Food Prefect before passing out in flying colours in 1971. He had wanted to go to Molusi College, Ijebu-Igbo or Oyemekun Grammar School, Akure for his HSC, but the principal, Asebiomo, prevailed on him to stay on. To make him stay, he gave him scholarship. The old teacher wanted him to continue to play football for the school.

He consequently became the House Captain, held in high esteem by peers and juniors. He relished the pre-eminent position, which accorded him more fame and prestige. “House captainship was a position of pre-eminence and esteem. as a captain, I issued exacts to contemporary students. as a food prefect, I fought for improved food in the dining hall”, he recalled . In the Students Representatives Council presided over by Asebiomo, he was vocal. He fought for students and opposed unpopular management decisions. That memory of grammar school democracy was impactful. At adulthood, he stood for valour, leading offensives against dictatorship of any kind where ever he found himself and fighting for the goodness of his neighbour.

Armed with his HSC, he taught briefly at Ado Grammar School, Ado-Ekiti, before moving to Ibadan to work with the Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation as an Administrative Officer under Chief Ayo Ogunlade, who later served as Minister of Information.

Thirsty for knowledge, Daramola, who had been exposed to foreign scholarship opportunities by the secretary of Gbonyin

Students Union, Dapo Awojolu, was admitted into Howard. Before his departure, he briefly taught in Lagos at a school established by the late Chief Esan of Ikoro-Ekiti. The principal was Pa Alake, father of Mr. Dele Alake, former Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy.

As an undergraduate, Daramola shone as the light shines on the world. He proved to the whites that intelligence was evenly distributed among the tribes of the world and colour of skin was not a barrier. He also rubbed shoulders in campus politics, contesting and winning series of elections, although he missed being the President of Howard University Association because students objected to his ambition because two Nigerians had occupied the position in quick succession. He was however, consoled by the opportunity given to him to represent the Graduate Hall in the Students Parliament.

Daramola bagged B.Sc, M.Sc and Phd. He also taught at his alma mater before returning home to continue his teaching career at the Abeokuta campus of the University of Lagos and University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. From teaching, he ventured into the boardroom. He secured employment as the Administrative Officer, FEMBAK Nigeria Limited, Ikeja, and later, General Manager, Trust House Holdings Limited, Victoria Island, Lagos, Director of Corporate Alliance and General Insurance Company Limited; General Manager, Rock Ville savings and Loans Limited and Managing Director, Kofod Investments Limited, EbuteMeta.

In the private sector, he was a man of high managerial acumen; an embodiment of punctuality, discipline, diligence, and dignified labour. He had wanted to replicate these essential qualities in politics.

But it is a slippery field.

Five years on, his demise is a puzzle. Who killed Daramola? Will he get justice?

Osun State Government has embarked on various projects since the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) took over the administration of the state. The Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, in this interview with MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE, explains the government’s main focus and challenges.

‘We are ready for council polls’

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HAT are the areas of focus of this administration in terms of service deliv-

ery?

We have an integral action plan to banish hunger and unemployment. We want to provide good healthcare services and food for the people through improved agricultural system. We will also ensure that the people get qualitative education and generally, improved welfare. That is why we have programme like the Osun Rural Emergency Agricultural Programmes (OREAP), where we expended large chunks of money to farmers in March this year. We are into it in order to feed the people of the state.

We believe that a state that cannot feed itself is not worth it salt. Feeding the people is our primary objective and we will not renege on this plan. If we are able to feed our people, then we would be able to move to the next level like exporting but right now, we are concentrating on food production.

The government has been wooing foreign investors; why not local ones?

On assuming office, we met a lot of rots because the state was in serious debt. The last administration took billions of naira from some banks at the twilight of the administration, even though we raised our voices against it, the Oyinlola administration went ahead to take it. These are part of the problems we met. We had to seek another bank to bail the state out because without it, governance will be grounded. Again, it is a fact that almost all the local governments are indebted to one loan or the other. With all these challenges and as a people-oriented government we thought of using the governor’s goodwill which he had acquired with hard work when he was Commissioner in Lagos State to woo investors to the state. With the step we have taken so far, some South Koreans have come to the state to sign a business pact with the government. It is worth about 400 million dollars. The Chinese have also invited the governor to China to formalise agreement on how to put Osun State ahead.

Is government sure of getting results from these businessmen?

From the discussion we had with them, they mean business. Again, given the profiles of those who introduced some of these people to us are reliable. They were introduced to us by people of integrity; for instance, the Koreans were introduced by Dr Ishmail Adewusi, a former commissioner in Lagos.

He served at the same time with our governor as Commissioner.

Former Commissioner for Finance, Lagos State, Wale Edun, introduced some to us based on his relative interaction with them.

These are people of integrity who would not like their name to be soiled.

Is the door completely shut against local investors?

We will certainly look their direction but we want to get over one phase before moving to another.

We are particularly contemplating going to the stock exchange market to secure the necessary developmental prospects. But before we do that, we will put certain things in place. So, if we must secure loan in that direction, we must make sure that we are capable of repay-

• Adeoti

ing such loan as at when due. Since the coming in of this administration, we have been trying to conserve our resources with the intention of making the dividends of democracy available to our teeming population. And by the time we actualise our blue-print which will take shape before December, the people will certainly see that we are working.

Why did it take government so long to constitute the cabinet?

When this government came in, we met some obstacles. First, the House of Assembly had 26 members out of which the ACN had nine while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had 19. It was really a tug of war for the new government. In 2007 elections, we refused to contest for the Local Government polls because of some obstacles put on our way. As such, all the 30 councils and areas offices were taken over by PDP. When the Supreme Court nullified the elections of the council chairmen on December 17, we were left with no option other than manning them with caretaker members. At the point of deciding those would take over the councils after the nullification, we realised that we were still contesting with some challenges. As we moved to constitute the caretaker members, the PDP-dominated House of Assembly demanded three slots out of every seven slots. It took us another four to five weeks before we

‘It is imperative that this issue of revenue allocation be looked into. This is because the allocation is skewed against the states and local governments.

Too much money has been left in the hand of the federal government. When the present sharing formula was put in place certain corporations and organisations were under the Federal Government but now some of these corporations have been privatised’

could strike a bargain with them, that they should provide two members leaving five for us. We were in government but not in power. It was after the election of House of Assembly on April 26 that we took control of the House. There is no delay in the composition of the cabinet; we have to be effectively in control of power to enable us drive agenda.

When will there be council election in the state?

We are not afraid of any election in the state. The election would have been held between September and October this year but the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) is not in place. The last OSIEC that was put in place had its selection and confirmation nullified by the High Court of Justice and had gone on appeal. There is no way any election can be held for now except the matter is adequately resolved at the court. OSIEC then gave us 21 days to prepare for the elections contrary to electoral laws. They should have given us 150 days which is mandatory. That was the reason we boycotted that election, went to court and we were vindicated. OSIEC would have to be put in place first because they are the only body to organise the local government elections.

Given the lean resources of the state, would you be able pay the minimum wage?

We have been meeting and are still meeting. As far as I know, we have been able to broker some reasonable agreements with the workers. I know that in due course we will come out with something quite acceptable. I want to restate that workers in the state are very friendly and quite aware of our challenges, they have been supporting us since our coming to power but I equally want to say that after due negotiation we have agreed to pay the N18,000 minimum wage. The only thing we are still trying to harmonise is on how to spread it. Our own representative on the committee handling the matter is still meeting and definitely I know that very soon something quite acceptable to all will be put in place.

This position re-enforces the need to adjust the revenue sharing formula, where do you stand?

Precisely on May 1, during the May Day rally, I said it succinctly that we were not going to disappoint the workers on the issue of the payment of minimum wage.

The payment is statutory, which was passed into law by the National Assembly, all the states and federal government are duty bound to pay this minimum wage.

It is highly imperative that this issue of revenue allocation must be looked into. This is because the allocation is skewed against the states and local governments. Too much money has been left in the hand of the federal government. When the present sharing formula was put in place certain corporations and organisation were under the federal government but now some of these corporations have been privatised. It is highly germane that the issue of this revenue sharing formula be looked into. That is the reason why all the governors must put their heads together and tackle a genuine revenue formula for the country.

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

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EDITORIAL/OPINION Comments

EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

London on fire •The riots were part criminality on the streets and part reaction to deep social injustice

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HY was Mr Mark Duggan of Tottenham killed by a London policeman? This question even though might for now be difficult to answer, the spontaneous sporadic violent protests that followed that dastardly police act will forever be remembered in British history.

The death of Duggan, 29, and father of four, through two gun shots in the chest has thrown the entire United Kingdom (UK) into turmoil. He was a passenger in a silver Toyota minicab believed to have been stopped by police in Ferry Lane, close to Tottenham Hale Tube station, when the incident occurred. Even if he had challenged the police, they have no right to kill anybody in a country where capital punishment is not allowed in their criminal law.

Despite the fact that David Cameron, British Prime Minister, was forced to cut short his summer vacation and his deployment of 16,000 police officers to curb the despoliation of London, the scars of destruction for three consecutive days would take some time to heal. The fire bombing of Tottenham police station in Tottenham by a mob, and the setting alight of several buildings, a market place, including cars in several cities across the UK remains a gory sight to behold.

What started as a racial vitriol was hijacked by touts who looted, vandalised and caused arson in that famous London city. The devastating aftermath that reverberated round the Queen’s land will definitely set economic activities there

back by millions of pound sterling. The vandals took advantage of the incident to unleash criminality on the UK. Whatever the situation, the ugly occurrence in Tottenham underscores a general disenchantment in not only the UK but entire Europe by the largely marginalised people who are helpless about their pathetic condition. The London incident should signal a warning to countries in Europe like Germany and France, that the time to mellow down on capitalism by creating an atmosphere that will correct the social imbalance in their systems has come. Even in America, there is emerging now, a new trend of social disillusionment and it may be bad if they allow what has just happened in London to replicate in their climes before they take action. They may have to learn their lessons at a grave cost.

We believe that Nigerians too have a lot to learn from the spontaneous courageous response of the people of Tottenham to that sad incident. Over the years, Nigerians have demonstrated shameful docility to worse incidents of injustice and police brutality against fellow countrymen in the past.

We call on the British government to be fair in its attempt at resolving the crisis.

As the manhunt for the vandals who destroyed and looted valuables in the country continues, it will only make sense if the policeman that pulled the trigger and his other collaborators are identified and brought to book as well. After all, the IPCC ballistics report has shown that there

is “no evidence” that a handgun found near where Mark Duggan was shot by armed officers had been fired. Ensuring that justice is done to all sides in this matter will send the right signal to overzealous policemen in that country that they must show great circumspection in dealing with inhabitants of the UK, irrespective of their colour or creed.

This is not the time for security agencies in all parts of the world to be insensitive and inhuman in their approach to handling of human conducts that tend to break their laws. We condole with the family of Duggan, especially his four kids that have been made fatherless by the negligence of the British Police patrolling the streets of Tottenham. Our hearts pour out as well to those who have had to bear collateral damage as a result of the policeman’s conduct.

‘Whatever the situation, the ugly occurrence in Tottenham underscores a general disenchantment in not only the UK but entire Europe by the largely marginalised people who are helpless about their pathetic condition. The London incident should signal a warning to countries in Europe like Germany and France, that the time to mellow down on capitalism by creating an atmosphere that will correct the social imbalance in their systems has come’

Exit Sam Loco Efe •An acting legend departs

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HE death of the veteran actor, Sam Loco Efe, is a devastating blow to the world of Nigerian theatre, film and the arts generally.

He passed on August 7 in his hotel room after participating in post-production work in a film. Witnesses reported that the ever-jovial actor appeared to be hale and hearty when they bade him goodnight for what they never realised would be the last time.

Sam Loco Efe’s life and career are a testimony to his natural versatility and talent for acting. As a schoolboy, he directed and acted in a dramatisation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar without the benefit of extended formal training, and he believed that it was the acclaim which he received that strengthened his commitment to a life in the arts.

The wisdom of that decision was confirmed by his virtuoso performance in Langbodo, the Dapo Adelugba-directed drama which was Nigeria’s entry in the drama competition at FESTAC ’77. Again, he was outstanding for the superb performance which testified to his ability and commitment to acting.

For the next four decades, Efe actively participated in the films, television series and stage plays that would endear him to a majority of Nigerians, regardless of ethnicity, religion or age. They include Hotel de Jordan, Winds Against My Soul, Picadilly Circus, Sergeant Okoro,

Ukwa, Alice My First Lady, Evil Woman, Toronto Connection and Powerful Civilian.

In these and other activities, Efe demonstrated the professionalism, discipline and thoroughness that distinguished him from other actors. As he claimed in various interviews, an actor had to immerse himself thoroughly in the characters he was trying to bring to life if he wanted to be successful. A gifted linguist, he never underestimated the importance of education to acting, and repeatedly stated his love for continual reading to improve his knowledge of his craft.

Over the years, his great talent received its due reward, with honours coming in from different bodies and groups, all acknowledging his significant contributions to the growth of film, televison and the stage. Some of them include the Best Actor Award for Langbodo, three awards in THEMA, and awards at the Fifth African Film and Television Programmes Expo (BOBTV 2008) held in Abuja.

Apart from teaching through personal example, Efe was also wellknown as a dedicated mentor of younger actors. In an industry that is notorious for its self-centredness, he was a model of generosity, helping upcoming actors and actresses to learn the ropes and develop the attitudes necessary to the attainment of success in their chosen profession. It was

probably for this reason that he disliked much of the pretence and vanity which he felt was becoming prevalent in Nollywood. He stressed that discipline and continual self-improvement were essential in the life of any successful practitioner, and claimed that the increasing over-emphasis on fame and money was hampering the growth potential of the film industry in particular.

Sam Loco Efe was quick to put himself where his convictions lay.

He sought to bring stability to the troubled Actors’ Guild of Nigeria (AGN) by serving as the National Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the Guild, a position which he held at the time of his death.

May his soul rest in peace.

‘Sam Loco Efe’s life and career are a testimony to his natural versatility and talent for acting. As a schoolboy, he directed and acted in a dramatisation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar without the benefit of extended formal training, and he believed that it was the acclaim which he received that strengthened his commitment to a life in the arts’

End the Debt Limit

I

T has long been clear that the federal debt limit is far too dangerous and unstable for lawmakers to use as a political weapon. Allowing that to happen in the last few traumatic weeks created an artificial national crisis that put the economy and the savings of Americans at risk and helped produce a loss of confidence that lingered as a cause of Thursday’s stock-market plunge.

None of that, however, has stopped Republican leaders, who announced this week that they intend to repeat this explosive episode over and over, in perpetuity. With the bad memory still fresh, President Obama should quickly seize the opportunity to make clear that he will not allow it even once more, never mind permanently. Instead of raising the debt ceiling every few years, it’s time to eliminate this dangerous game once and for all.

As this page said in 1961 — not remotely for the first time or the last — the “debt limit does not limit the debt.” It’s an illusion of a law, instituted in World War I, to persuade gullible taxpayers that Congress is exercising responsible oversight over borrowing. Congress already controls spending and taxation, and if it wants a smaller debt it can cut spending or raise taxes at will. To allow the deficit to rise, and then refuse to pay for it months later, is the definition of financial irresponsibility.

But being irresponsible worked for Republicans this time. They refused to raise the limit without cuts in spending and won $2.5 trillion in cuts in the deal wrapped up on Tuesday. Now they want to make permanent the arbitrary and simplistic standard devised by Speaker John Boehner — a dollar of cuts for every dollar in the debt increase.

Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, said on Tuesday that no president of either party should ever be allowed to raise the ceiling “without having to engage in the kind of debate we’ve just come through.”

Mr. McConnell may call it a “debate,” but what his party really did was threaten the economy with catastrophe in the blind pursuit of huge spending cuts with no tax increases. He admitted that he saw the ceiling as “a hostage that’s worth ransoming.” No president or voter should tolerate that level of disregard for the national good.

The debt limit should ideally be dispensed with, but, at a minimum, it can no longer be held for ransom. The president and Congress are free to continue talks to reduce the deficit, but not while the economy is dangling in the balance. The president should assemble a coalition of business leaders, mayors, governors and ordinary Americans ready to spend the next year explaining to voters why the debt limit should be eliminated, or blunted as a tool to change budgetary policy. If Democrats continuously remind the country how dangerous this path is, Republicans may think twice about repeating it.

If they do not, Mr. Obama could meet their challenge with a legal threat. The White House has repeatedly demurred when asked if a provision of the 14th Amendment could be used to declare the debt ceiling invalid, saying it was an untested theory. There is more than a year for administration lawyers to find ways to put it into practice.

The 14th Amendment, adopted during Reconstruction, says the validity of the public debt of the United States cannot be questioned. Threatening the economy with calamity to achieve partisan goals does just that. President Obama should use every power at his disposal to fend off Republicans’ irresponsible threats and invite them to meet him in court if they want to resist.

– The New York Times

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh • Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Kunle Fagbemi

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THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

20

EDITORIAL/OPINION

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IR: Forty-five years after the death of Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the defunct Northern Nigeria, a new vista of discourse is beginning to emerge on how the late premier’s political philosophy could provide a roadmap in the ongoing engagement by Northern Nigeria to chart a development agenda.

The Northern region as it was known in pre and post-independence era is one of the regions constituting the Nigerian federation that epitomized focused and selfless leadership. It had socio-economic, political, educational, infrastructural and human development agenda that was unequalled. The Sardauna’s era marked an important epoch in the nation’s history which should provide the template for subsequent sets of leaders in the quest to develop the region. A cursory look around the North today bears testimony that Sardauna lived for the North, Nigeria and indeed humanity.

The Nigerian media on Friday, July 29, 2011 (incidentally, the 45th posthumous anniversary of Sardauna) was awash with commentaries focusing on the relevance of political ideology of the late Sardauna to the nation’s development process. There was unanimity of views that the present leadership of the country and particularly the leadership of the North have lessons to learn from the exemplary life and leadership prowess of the late Premier. He was a bridge builder in Nigerian politics during the first republic, a great statesman, and nationalist per excellence. His passion and commitment for service to the people was unparallel.

Today, the Northern Nigeria the 19 states of the old region – is faced with multiple development challenges just as other parts of Nigeria. The North’s renewed quest for socio-political and economic development in the region is a positive development that would translate into multiple opportunities for the region if care-

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Preserving Sardauna’s Legacies

fully implemented. For example, in the days of yore, the North was known for its groundnuts pyramids, an attestation of agricultural potentials of the region. He invariably built roads and other public infrastructures and edifices in the region. From the famous Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria and other educational institutes in region, the Northern Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) and New Nigerian Newspaper to mention but a few.

The decision by Governors of 19 Northern states of Nigeria to re-

S

group under the auspices of Northern Governors Forum (NGF) since the return to democratic rule was indeed in sync with the regional based paradigm.

Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu was elected to as the chair of Northern Governors Forum in 2007. Before then, NGF leadership was rotated amongst the Governors of the region with each selected to chair sessions. But with this kind of spatial arrangement, it was a bit challenging achieving cohesion. Through NGF, the governors have been able to galvanize the interest of the

people of the North, Nigerians and International community on the potentials and investment opportunities existing in the region.

NGF under Governor Aliyu has become more focused to facilitate development process in the North.

It organized various fora aimed at attracting investments to the region and achieving functional development process through integration. It commenced the process to bridge the educational gap between the North and South through the resolve by the State Governors to implement out-

comes of the Northern Education Summit convened in 2010 Additionally, on another front, NGF is rescuing the Northern Nigeria Development Company (NNDC), through facilitating access of private placement financing from Northern investors and the capital market to fund the company’s development projects.

Concerted effort is also being made to resuscitate the New Nigerian Newspapers to enable it compete favourably in the changing media world.

The establishment of the Sardauna Memorial Foundation is therefore at the heart of the efforts to revamp the economy of the region.

• Danladi Ndayebo is the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State.

al-mustapha: antics of a desperado

IR: Since the murder trial of Al-Mustapha, former CSO to late Gen Sani Abacha commenced some years back, the trial has attracted wide publicity stunts and suffered prolonged delays and adjournments. This is due to the anti-legal tactics of the defence who have through various manoeuvres tried to divert judicial and public attention from the substance of the case and whip up sentiments just to ambush justice.

If Al- Mustapha is not threatening judges today, he will be alleging bias against judges tomorrow just to blackmail the judiciary and thwart the course of justice.

Just some few days ago, this same Al-Mustapha threw another delaying and diversionary bombshell when he alleged that some reputable Yoruba leaders of blessed memory were conspirators to scuttling the annulled June 12 1993 presidential election and financially induced to douse the tension in Yoruba land arising from M.K.O. Abiola’s death.

This latest wolf cry by Major Al

Mustapha is not only satanic and blackmailing on the memory of the dead Yoruba leaders whom he mentioned but is also an assault and insult on the collective intelligence of the Yoruba people and must be condemned in its entirety. This latest mindless insult shows the desperation of this drowning man who is standing trial for murder but who has decided to vomit rubbish just because the court has confirmed that he has a case to answer with regards to the death of Late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola.

I am of the candid opinion that AlMustapha may have been bitten by the Obasanjo bug of lying against the dead if we all recollect that immediately after the death of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1987, former President Obasanjo alleged that some few days before the death of late Gen. Murtala Mohammed in the abortive Dimka coup, he was summoned by Murtala to warn Chief Awolowo to desist from plot to unseat him and that the position Chief Awolowo struggled for all his life and didn’t accomplish, he

Obasanjo got on a platter of gold at the age of 43. What a pride!

If I may ask Al-Mustapha, what relationship has his murder trial over the death of Kudirat Abiola got to do with the figment of his imagination money settlement story of after the death of M.K.O Abiola? Or did these same late Yoruba leaders also collect money for the death of Kudirat and other pro democratic martyrs murdered by the Abacha junta as well, we need to know? The irony of AlMustapha’s desperation can be seen in the fact that he has mentioned chiefly in his latest lying stunt, persons who are dead and cannot speak for themselves. Where was Al-Mustapha whose memory is full of mischief and evil when Chief Bola Ige was alive as Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Federation under the Obasanjo administration as well as Chief Abraham Adesanya as Afenifere and Yoruba leader that he couldn’t make these allegations? AlMustapha blew away a golden opportunity at the Oputa panel

which he didn’t make use of because of innocent blood on his conscience.

Other questions that I would like Al-Mustapha to provide answers to are too many but for brevity sake I would just state some and they are: Where was he when his Commander in Chief was murdered, at least it is his primary responsibility to secure the safety of his boss as the CSO?; What role did he play in the murder of his boss?

Al Mustapha must be told the simple home truth that no amount of distractions can make him escape trial for the murder of Kudirat Abiola and other martyrs that we are still trying to gather evidence for. Al-Mustapha must be warned to stop ridiculing Nigeria in the comity of civilized countries by turning our court room into a cinema house.

• Nelson Ekujumi, Chairman.

Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM).

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011 16

21

EDITORIAL/OPINION

The creeps in our worship houses (2)

Reality Bites I

(Desperate pastors, passionate adherents and perverted faith)

Olatunji Ololade

SHOULD be proud if no more fatal faults were found with these words than are found with Islamic Banking. I should probably launch into an educative treatise about the banking initiative but last time I checked, very few faithful aspired to understand its merits.

Why perspire to enlighten or engage in discourse, those who would find fault with the morning dew if they ever woke up early enough?

Let those seeking to know about Islamic Banking embark on its study with the same passion with which they accept the “unblemished wisdom” of their favourite cleric.

If it were the Muslims for which this piece was intended, many an “unbiased” critic would so gladly applaud. But pardon me; this piece is essentially a response to fearsomely issued threats by gangs of embittered pastors and their seemingly confused adherents.

The modern Church is a place of business, I maintain. “Salvation” is the unique selling proposition; it’s our pastors who reap the profit from our sacrifice. It affords me no joy to denude our “men of God” for “genius and acclaim” as some articulate and yet utterly juvenile adherent and “apostle of God” bitterly put it.

Like the latter and his fellow evangelists, I only seek to remonstrate without bounds; like a faithful in his waking moment to others still snuggling in the arms of Morpheus.

Yet I know that I cannot accentuate enough even to lay the foundation of an acceptable expression.

Strange thing, faith. It has wiggled its way to befuddle and rob us clear of substance and reality till we remain not much expression in sight.

In pursuit of salvation and “His Grace,” we “believe” quite laxly and live less humanely even as our passion pales as our faith increase, by our pastors’ “holiness and grace.”

It doesn’t matter that the truths our preachers preach, as their deeds, reveal an insufferable perspiration towards ridiculous and yet shared goals: a mansion, a choice car, a huge bank balance and an intimidating fortune with limitless possibilities to exploit.

But if no one could read in between the lines, at least everybody gets to see truths they incessantly bandy in dazzling and yet ugly manifestations. By their lifestyles, their truths are at once disputed no sooner than they speak it: expensive suits; huge, bullet-proof black jeeps with sirens to announce their presence; well appointed mansions;

‘True; of an army of three divisions, you can take away its General and put it in disarray but from the man, the most abject thing one can take away is his thought – take that, and you divest him of everything. That is what our modern pastors have successfully achieved’

T

ODAY is celebrated worldwide as the International Day of the Youth. It is therefore an important occasion to reflect on this very important demographic category which Nigeria has in abundance. Our country’s estimated youth population of 68 million is three times the entire population of the next most populous West African country, Ghana; almost double that of South Africa, and by far higher than the population of the United Kingdom.

It has been severally argued that this huge youth population could deliver great dividends to Nigeria if it is carefully harnessed and directed. But it could also deliver monumental disaster, with catastrophic implications beyond our borders, if we fail to make the right investments today that will translate our youth population from mere numbers to an important national asset in the future.

The prognosis is clear. It is grim. From Abia to Zamfara, the hungry and hapless faces of young Nigerians confront us at every turn in their combustible millions. Nigeria has not faced a greater challenge in its history. Yet, no challenge is as clearly defined as this.

By far the number one challenge is job creation. Nigerian youths want to work. How do we create jobs for them or get them to create jobs for themselves? The second challenge is that of voice. How do we provide the right platforms for the youth to actively and productively participate in the political and social processes that could affect them? And, the third challenge is that of values. Like the old saying goes, ‘an idle hand is the devil’s workshop’. The increasing rate of youthdriven criminal activities seems to suggest that the devil is doing better at job creation than the rest of us. How then do we turn our youth away from the triple tragedy of crime, cultism and drugs? In all these, there are serious and urgent

‘But this serious challenge of youth development is not that of the Federal Government alone. The states and LGAs, civil society and the private sector must demonstrate a serious commitment to this most important challenge of our time. Like a young lady memorably, and menacingly, puts it, we either take care of the youth, or the youth would take care of us. It is therefore in our enlightened self-interest to pool all our resources together and drive this as if our very survival depends on it. Doesn’t it?’

trigger-happy armed escorts and a wanton lust for the fleeting epitomize their righteousness and grace.

In essence, their messages revolve around wealth. To the poor, they offer deliverance and the banishment of poverty. To the rich, they offer salvation and the perpetuation of wealth undiminished; it doesn’t matter how the latter come by such wealth. It doesn’t matter if in acquiring such wealth, they keep the Commandments of God. What matters is for both the poor and the rich to “sow seeds” in the name and temple of God. Everybody affects the transcendence of faith but nobody wishes to satisfy the demands of faith. The pastors lied; true devotion demands total abhorrence of the worldly and steadfastness in faith. But what is faith? What manner is everyone’s faith? Kind of a trick question, isn’t it?

Nobody wishes to observe the rigorous dedication and humaneness characteristic of faith. Everybody wishes to eat their cake and have it. That is why some desperate bank chiefs could indefatigably steal from poor, struggling publics to indulge their wantonness and yet scurry to their pastors to purchase absolution and a first class cabin to Paradise at offering time.

And that is why our equally errant and desperate pastors always manage to “intercede” on their behalf in the presence of God that he may for their sake, disable his Commandments and forgive his “children.”

Ill-gotten wealth acquires superfluities of “His grace” only. Money is never required to hinder retribution and acquire salvation. Why scurry downward to our dullest perception always and praise it as “wisdom?”

The gospels we appreciate rob many of intellect and thought. That is why we are inclined to categorise men who are one-and-a-half-witted as geniuses despite their disabilities because we have been brainwashed to appreciate only a thirdpart of their wit.

True; of an army of three divisions, you can take away its General and put it in disarray but from the man, the most abject thing one can take away is his thought – take that, and you divest him of everything. That is what our modern pastors have successfully achieved.

Painstakingly and quite lovingly, they strip their adherents of intellect and thought. They condition them via brilliant oration, ostentatious realism and “executive” lifecoaching programmes. Some have even stepped up their game; they award diplomas and degrees to their adherents after stripping them of the ability to think and wonder “why?”

There is an astounding endowment of passivity in religion; you only need to appreciate what kind of sermons are listened to and given in the most congregated of our worship houses. The truth every faithful claims to seek is smothered in the raucous din to “sow a seed today” that “a prosperous tomorrow” may materialize for the faithful.

“Sowing seeds” and “giving in spirit” have become so trivialized that they now constitute hindrances and burdens to the Psalms; the ones every faithful has learnt to chant at the highest decibel even as they perpetuate the ugly and mean.

Most adherents believe that the “truth” rises and manifests from the lips of every character who can recite the Bible from Genesis to Revelation with incredible theatrics, thunder and spunk. At times, I won-

Setting the youth agenda

By Bolaji Abdullahi implicative actions for policy actors at all levels.

So much is being said about job creation at the moment. A couple of interventions are also beginning to unfold. These are however not enough. Thinking of job creation in demographically de-contextualised terms tends to hide the very grim reality of youth unemployment. The results would then be policies and initiatives that miss the target altogether.

Giving incentives to business to create jobs is not enough.

What would make the difference are incentives that encourage businesses to employ first-time workers and also provide long-term on-the-job training for our young people.

Similar arguments apply to education spending. The issue of youth unemployment has serious implications for the education sector because of the supply-side problems it creates.

But if we simply increase education spending to expand infrastructure and increase access, we would simply be expanding the problem. However, if investment in education is directed at overhauling the higher education curriculum to focus squarely on delivering market-facing skills, then we would have stemmed the tide of graduates that are market misfits. The statistics showing that only 13 pr cent of applicants who seek admission to the universities actually get in provides real temptation to keep seeking to expand access.

But this would not solve any problem until the content of our training is matched with the demands of our markets. It is gladdening to note that some universities are already responding to this challenge, but it is important to develop a private-sector led evaluation mechanism to measure what real values the entrepreneurship education in the universities are bringing to the table. We can then use this to develop a national ranking system that truly speaks to the challenges that we face.

Nevertheless, tackling the issue of graduate unemployment would only address a small part of the problem. To every unemployed graduate; there are millions of other young persons who are neither educated nor employed. The biggest challenge is that we don’t seem to have a means of knowing this and other categories of the youth population in all their socio-demographic complexities. This should be an urgent priority of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development. We will facilitate a study that effectively disaggregates the youth population in Nigeria and use this knowledge to advise the

der where that Nigerian affinity to unquestionably kowtow to a cleric emanates from. Shall our faith resonate and attain transcendence only by sheepishly following a self-appointed “man of God?” Shall we continually attain prosperity by sinning from Monday to Saturday and gain absolution by sowing plentiful seeds on Sunday?

Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed? Why should we engage in such desperate enterprises unflattering to “His message and grace?”

Why do we covet and dream of wealth and yet abhor the spirit that should animate and hasten it? No manner of faith can serve us quite well as the truth. For the most part, we are not as godly as we claim to be. Having found faith, we make no effort to observe it; we only manage to suppose it, according to our vanities. Ultimately, we have learnt to pervert faith according to our needs; on our pastors’ watch.

Rather than seek unearned prosperity and grace, let us find truth.

Let us seek the hardship and rewards of honest labour. If you are a carpenter, drive your nail home and clinch it so devotedly that you can wake up at midnight and remember your toil pleasingly.

However mean your life is, face it and live it. Do not scamper away from it and let your pastor call it hard names. If the condition of things is hardly what we dream of, there isn’t any reality by which we can substitute it.

Honest toil begets immeasurable prosperity often in common hours.

Forget our pastors and their gospel of prosperity. To seek their manner of faith is to be shipwrecked on a vain reality.

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different sectors and other tiers of government in their youth intervention planning.

Among the critical barriers to youth employment are lack of experience, lack of skills, and limited access to credit. We must set up youth-specific and targeted interventions that address all these. The Federal Ministry of Youth Development will facilitate the acquisition of relevant skills in a manner that puts the private sector in the driver’s seat. It is only the privately-driven service providers that can muster the right capacity and have the right motivation to ensure that their products meet the demands of the markets. A necessary take-off action would be to facilitate a scoping study that would identify and evaluate all existing interventions at both the public and private sector levels. So much is happening across diverse sectors at the moment. But lack of co-ordination has led largely to inefficiency, promoted wastages and rendered most of the efforts ineffectual. A study such as this would make it possible to bring to scale those initiatives that are working and revisit those that are not doing so well.

Access to credit is very critical. Interventions that give young people N50, 000 at the end of a training programme cannot lead to anything. And a credit system that does not recognise that young people do not have any collateral or other capabilities to access loans cannot help the youth. Like Amartya Sen noted, lack of capabilities is the very definition of poverty. We must therefore develop a funding framework specifically targeted at the youth, and which also recognizes their peculiar limitations and has inbuilt checks against default.

None of the existing special intervention funds in the country is designed to serve this purpose. Lastly, we must set up an efficient monitoring and evaluation framework that uses specific indicators to map precise localities, scope and degree of inequality and deprivation suffered by the Nigerian youth.

Apart from addressing the issue of equity, this would also help to engender healthy competition among the states and local governments as well as promote knowledge-sharing across the country.

During the presidential campaigns, President Goodluck Jonathan signed a pact with the youth when he declared that “this is the president that understands your language.” It is this pact that positions the youth agenda at the heart of the President’s Transformation Agenda. But this serious challenge of youth development is not that of the Federal Government alone. The states and LGAs, civil society and the private sector must demonstrate a serious commitment to this most important challenge of our time. Like a young lady memorably, and menacingly, puts it, we either take care of the youth, or the youth would take care of us. It is therefore in our enlightened self-interest to pool all our resources together and drive this as if our very survival depends on it. Doesn’t it?

• Abdullahi is the Minister of Youth Development

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

22

EDITORIAL/OPINION

T

HE world watched with bewilderment early this week how some youthful louts under the guise of protesting the killing by the British Police of a youthful guy, Mark Duggan, 29, of Tottenham to inflict mayhem on first the city of London before it escalated to other areas. What ordinarily was thought to be something that could be contained in a matter of hours degenerated into serious three-day violent eruptions, including looting, robbery, thieving, vandalising and arson. The racial killing was used as an opportunity by disgruntled youthful elements to vent their spleen on the system.

Sadly, these unscrupulous youths criminally seized the occasion to burgle shops carting away in the process valuables and other products that were there for sale. Without doubt, the insurers in the United Kingdom with have to cough out millions of pounds sterling in compensation claims in the ensuing weeks.

From London, the violence and criminality spread like a wild fire to other cities and areas such as Manchester (where a market, vehicles and a library were set alight), Salford, Birmingham and Wolverhampton etc. In Nottingham, where the incident occurred, a mob firebombed a police station. It has since been reported that not less than 111 police officers and 16 dogs were wounded.

To an average Nigerian, the casualty figures might be inconsequential but such meant a lot to the authorities and reasonable men in that clime. Surprisingly too, non of the youths got killed because the British police quickly learnt from their mistake in such circumstance unlike their Nigerian counterpart that would

‘Most of them drop out of school relying on social welfare allowance given to them by the state that is barely inadequate to sustain good living, or opting for other lowly jobs that will give them quick money or sometimes be involved in money spinning criminal acts imbibed from gangs that eventually introduced them to drugs and booze that ruined their lives’

I

WOULD rather drink to my 10-year-old sim card. My flat, thumb-sized rectangular monster, now balding and bearing yellow patches. I had paid enough money for it to marry another wife back in August 2001 (I had actually bought two gsm phones and two sims at a cost of a little over N70, 000 for my wife and I). But my 0803 sim has remained faithful. It narrowly survived Lagos pick pockets and the pistol boys a couple of times but has remained the original copy only greying like its owner.

For 10 years, my sim has been perhaps my closest ally and companion sharing in the most intimate of my affairs even those I am not particularly proud of. Also through this tiny little plastic is a chunk of my earnings.

Let’s just put it this way, that if MTN were not such a stingy bunch, they would find their best one million spenders in Nigeria in 10 years and reward them handsomely. I should fall into that category. That gives a picture of how much my sim has aided the growth of the telecoms industry in Nigeria. I hope to keep it another 10, 20, 30 years...when it would have become an invaluable archival piece. Then MTN would come calling asking to buy it the way Manchester City is trying to buy Nasri from Arsenal. I will simply tell them my sim (Nasri) is going no where! Well unless they offer the value of the airtime I had slushed through the sim through the years!

This little sim of mine has been my IV card to the decade old telecoms bazaar that Nigeria has hosted all this while. The GSM technology, if you remember was forced upon us. The entire growing world got so exasperated with us that it had to forcibly put the reins of this gsm thing around our neck. Remember that nearly everyone else on earth was enjoying the Oyibo magic except Nigeria. Benin, Togo, Ghana, every brother down the West Coast all probably had this GSM toy before us.

Capitalist hawks, seeing the huge opportunity that Nigeria presented for GSM operations, knew the only way was to pay our twisted leaders enough money (call it licensing fee) to get them out of the way. Can anyone account for the hundreds of billions paid for the GSM licenses today? Was it used to improve the Nitel backbone and support the emerging private networks? Are they not building their own fibre cables and networks afresh?

London and its days of rage have used live bullets to disperse hooligans and vandals that masterminded the riots through the social media.

One interesting thing about the London violence is the prompt response accorded the ugly incident by the government of David Cameron. He cut short his summer holiday returning to the UK to attend to the fiery problem at home. Cameron also recalled lawmakers on summer holiday outside London for a crucial meeting on Thursday to address the problem.

In our clime, such act of responsiveness is a rare official attribute. This is because those in power place high premium on their comfort than on the stability of the polity. So, cutting short their holiday will be too much a sacrifice to make for the nation.

The London rioters are nothing but criminals that should be condemned by all because they took advantage of their official criminally mild environment to perpetuate evil against the state. Yes, it has been said that there is mass unemployment and that the heinous rage witnessed in those days in the UK was a consequence of the frustration, hunger and anger of the youths against the Conservative Party in power believed widely to be churning out policies that are making life very difficult for citizens and other inhabitants of that country. Some analysts argued that the youths merely took advantage of the earlier killing by the police to come out and vent their spleen on the country.

The honest truth is that they could have

gone about this without criminalising it.

Moreover, my finding from one’s numerous visits to that country is that youths not only in London but other civilised western countries are lawless. Once they attain the age of 18 when legally, they are presumed to be capable of taking decisions on their own, they immediately take liberty for licence, misbehaving all over town and erroneously believing that they are above parental guidance/rebuke.

Most of them drop out of school relying on social welfare allowance given to them by the state that is barely inadequate to sustain good living, or opting for other lowly jobs that will give them quick money or sometimes be involved in money spinning criminal acts imbibed from gangs that eventually introduced them to drugs and booze that ruined their lives.

With this kind of peer group influence that does not recognise hard work or the virtue of being dutiful, focussed or committed to noble ideals, it is not far fetched that they would easily be disenchanted with the kind of policies that the Conservative Party is trying to put in place in the UK. Such policies would be too draconian for their liking and in their myopic viewpoint, detrimental to their existence.

One could not but pity policy makers in the UK today but indirectly too, the state in that country created the kind of youth class that it has. Youths that are not interested in grabbing the lofty opportunities created by

EXPRESSO STEVE OSUJI

(SMS O8055001684 email: steve_osuji@yahoo.com

Celebrating My 10 – year old Sim Was Nitel (Mtel) in spite of the advantage of a backbone, not savaged and abandoned to die? While other countries are growing their GSM and land line networks side by side, Nigerian leaders, never embarrassed by their ineptitude and thievery, killed the state telephone network dead, (to quote that insecticide advert). Nigeria would be without telephones should all these private networks conspire to leave the country today.

This is how come Nigerians are talking their lives away because we probably talk the most expensive talk anywhere in the world today.

I probably spend up to one-tenth of my earnings monthly talking. And we don’t even enjoy the talk. You can’t talk smooth for two minutes without losing connection. The connection is hardly clear and enjoyable without you screaming into the set or moving like a swivel chair to get better reception.

Sometimes when I want to get some laugh I would use the phone in my right hand to dial the one in my left hand. Until recently, the phone would tell you, ‘’the number you are calling is busy’’. In another occasion, it would announce with glee: “the number you are calling is not available at the moment”. No, I would counter, this number is available right here in my left hand. If the network is in a foul mood, it would tell me with cold electronic voice: “the number you are calling does not exist on the ‘lagbaja’ network, please contact your service provider”.

But we honestly can’t complain. Infact we ought to be grateful to the networks. If you have to provide your own (no down time) electricity, your security, your exorbitant fuels, your link roads, your anti-vandals units, your public officials settlements unit and still have a business going, then you really must be a guru. Infact if you get enough returns to

be able to pay enough tax that could earn you an award from our own able Governor Raji Fashola then you are doing some considering his ravenous appetite for tax. Kudos to MTN,Airtel, Etisalat and especially to our own shark, Mike Adenuga of Globacom for his especial vision and tenacity.

And surely, the GSM networks are not complaining. We are talking about 90 million lines and also about 10 billion dollars annual revenue, it couldn’t be better anywhere else.

Remember there are still about 50 million people to be hooked on. The Kenyans do say the greenest sukuma wiki (vegetable) is found in the rubbishest dump”.

Rubbish dump it truly is where things decay and turn to compost. When some big men delude themselves and say out telecoms sector has grown in ten years, please cast a spell on them. How come our roads have diminished, our refineries have become stunted and we import even kerosene massively; how come our national airline has died mysteriously without anyone answering for it; our national shipping line, and of course our national telecoms networks? How can we claim growth in telecoms when in 10 years, our electricity supply has atrophied.

It has been 10 years of grit and derring-do.

It has been a triumph of raw capitalism. It has been a success story that has happened to us in-spite of the indolence of our leaders.

Sometimes I wonder how we had lived without phones pre-2001. Surely, 400, 000 lines to about a 100 million people couldn’t equate to having phones. Analogue lines at that.

Even cave men had smoke to send messages across communities!

Today, you see people on the roadside, on okada, talking, gesticulating as if possessed.

My old mother too, unlearned in the white

the state to make them somebody in life: To go to school for free, majority of them would not go; to work in a decent place left for them in establishments because they are citizens, they bluntly prefer to ungratefully remain idle, working only when they need to augment what the state weekly give to them under its welfare package. They roam the streets of London and other cities around that jurisdiction looking for where to foment trouble at the slightest provocation or sometimes under the influence of drugs or booze. Most of the UK youths, whether white or coloured are murderers that wantonly kill simply because rather than a punitive death sentence, the UK criminal system allows the court to sentence murderers to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Barely two weeks ago, it was reported in a British paper that a white boy invited his girl friend for an outing on his birthday and ended up killing the promising young girl. He was only sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in London. Under this kind of patronising criminal regime, why would the UK youths not be further goaded to take lives at will, in buses, streets, homes and other public places knowing that such would only attract life imprisonment? Until when British Parliamentarians see the need to introduce capital punishment for killers, whether old or young, the misbehaved youths of the UK will not sit right to correct their ingrained bad manners.

The prison authorities in that country will have a hectic time trying to accommodate the nearly one thousand people that were already arrested. And being a police state with CCTV cameras everywhere, there is no doubt that more of those vandals will be apprehended sooner than expected. Thank God that the UK is a country where the law, in most cases, usually takes its normal course. The cop that fired the gun must be arrested and be made to face the music so as to serve as deterrent to other racist London police men. Also, these irrational youths must be made to face the consequences of their unlawful actions.

Though the government of that country must quickly address whatever is the social and economic root cause of the riots but nevertheless, petulant youths like those in Britain are not the type that can inspire fondness both for their country and the western international community.

man’s ways, is also an experienced and happy user of the little magic box as she can track her children across the country. The first time she spoke with me on the GSM from our remote village, sometime in 2003 it was an experience I will always live with. When I called her for the first time on the phone I had acquired for her she answered: ‘Stephen wu gi?’ which translate into: Stephen is that you?

Stephen could it really be your voice am hearing? She could simply have said, my surprisation if she knew that Lomagi Ugorji’s famous line. Hitherto, it took her weeks to send a badly written better across from the village to Lagos. But she has had to migrate to 0815 now as you now have to climb a tree to use other networks in some parts of my village.

In spite of the expensive and poor quality service, it has been 10 glorious years of enhanced jobs, of creating value, boost in advertising business, huge sports sponsorship and entertainment programmes among other CSR stuff. There is one thing that ought to be done though even if collaborative – the networks could consider setting up a cancer centre for research, management, treatment, etc.

We don’t know for sure today whether this technology is hiding something sinister in the bag for us but it won’t hurt at all if every cancer patient, rich and poor, can find somewhere to get some succour. It will be a winner CSR move for all. Let raise it for my 10 year old sim please.

Last Mug: To Prof . Nwabueze at 80. If there is such a thing as a super patriot, you could describe Professor Benjamin Nwabueze as such. If he wasn’t 80 years, I would have wagered that worrying about Nigeria wrinkled his face. I never met him but we spoke a couple of times on the telephone when I was editor of Newage Newspaper, as he would call to inform that he had dispatched an article.

Perhaps the best constitutional lawyer alive today, his erudition and prolificity have no match even at his age. But what has stood him out better than any other egghead is that he is never shy to speak truth to power. One of the moving spirits behind The Patriots, a group of eminent Nigerian’s who took it upon themselves to intervene in national affairs and provide alternative ideas, Nwabueze has live for the good of fatherland, Nigeria.

Though one wished he had been able to provide some answer to the current Igbo debacle, he is a patriot true and true.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

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NATION SPORT

NATION SPORT

Obuh slams U-20 despite quarter-final berth C

OACH John Obuh has blasted his Flying Eagles for “tactical indiscipline” despite beating England to progress at the 2011 U20 World Cup. A second-half strike by Edafe Egbedi Wednesday against mostly defensive England meant Nigeria became the only African team to reach the last eight of Colombia 2011.

The African champions have now set up a mouth-watering clash with European champions France in Cali on Sunday.

However, Obuh lashed out at his team for a laboured performance against an England team he said were “not fantastic” and who barely made it into the knockout stage of this U20 World Cup.

12 YEARS AFTER

Okwaraji’s family expresses disappointment

T

HE family of the late soccer icon Samuel Sochukwuma Okwaraji has revealed to the NationSport their grudges with the Federal Government of Nigeria, 22 years after the former International slumped and died while on national assignment on August 12th 1989.

According to Patrick Okwaraji on behalf of the family, their grudges with government are not on personal basis but, for general.

In his words, the older Okwaraji said “I would not say it was neglect.

It is not about the family, it is all about the attention on Sam. This is a man that gave it all, and he deserves all the recognition. He needs to be immortalised properly.

Look at the National Stadium where he passed on. That place is like a forest, and this man has a statute in front of that stadium, at least, make the place look good, even if you are dragging your foot on naming the stadium after the man, make the place look good. That place should be a tourist site, one of the best soccer playing pitches in the world.

“Go to the place and look at it, it is an irony, that you place a man’s statute somewhere and the place is like a thick forest, and the place remain unnamed to the man till date. Why can’t the government name the structure after the man once and for all. I am sure that if the government names that stadium after Sam, the world would applaud it.

“The young man deserves to be properly immortalized. He is peculiar. Go to the one in Orlu is a bush. During the last government in Imo state, we made proposals to

From Patrick Ngwaogu, Abuja the government, telling them to put it in order so that we can do some of the event in the stadium, they told us that it is not their priority, and that Stadium is named after Samuel Okwaraji.

“It is very funny. It is not about the family, we are not hungry, our mother owns a school that has been on for over 25 years and has produced many graduates for this country. It is not about the family, but the man in question. It is not inspiring enough” he said.

He further revealed that the former international may have had a premonition of his death during their discussions before the match on that fateful day “My last discussion with him on that day was in that restaurant somewhere in Ikoyi.

There was something that cropped up , he said he was going to grant an interview immediately after the match on the attitude of players when on national assignment.

“That players, who had an important match would leave the camp on match day, or a day before without any one correcting them.

That they are into things he does not understand. We told him to take it easy, that Nigeria is not a very good place to make comments like this in public, because his life would be at stake.

“He said, that he knows if he makes such comment his life would be at stake, but if anyone is muting such an idea, that it is already too late for anybody who would want to kill him now, that he has achieved what he wants to achieve”.

“I was not happy because of my team were tactically indisciplined,” said Obuh after the match.

“It was a difficult game and it affected my players the most because they did not play as a team.

“We caused our problems in this game but I hope by the time we play our next game in Cali, we would have corrected some of the mistakes observed against England.”

Obuh also revealed that three of his players were injured during the game and so had to play through the pain barrier.

“England were not fantastic. They piled pressure on us in the dying minutes of the game only because I had three players injured who barely managed to finish this game,” he said.

A highly relieved Flying Eagles party left Armenia Thursday morning on a three and half hour bus ride to Cali, the capital city of Salsa music with a predominantly negro population and very hot weather conditions.

T

•Ladi Martins

M

INISTER of Sports and chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC) Yusuf Suleiman has congratulated the Flying Eagles for qualifying for the quarter finals stage of the on-going FIFA U-21 World Cup in Colombia. The John Obuh led boys Wednesday 10th August , 2011 beat their opponent, England by 1-0.

Suleiman expressed delight at the performance of the players whom he said were motivated to triumph by President Jonathan’s encouragement through personal telephone calls and material support.

He attributed the team’s current success rating in the tournament to hard work, commitment and patriotism occasioned by adequate

government support, urging the team and its handlers to win the coveted trophy so that the huge support from government and football loving Nigerians could be justified.

The minister also urged Nigerians to continue to support the national teams, pledging government’s commitment to the welfare and empowerment of the Nigerian youths including the nation’s fitness and general well-being.

It will be recalled that the team in their first match beat Guatemala 50; played 5-2 against Croatia in their second match and won by two goals to nil against Saudi Arabia in the third match. The team beat their opponent 1-0 in the Round of sixteen matches between Nigeria and

T

HE General Secretary of NFF has attributed the success recorded by the Flying Eagles against their English counterparts in the on-going U-20 World in Colombia to the pep talk President Goodluck Jonathan had with the players before the second round match in Almeria on Wednesday.

“There is nothing a team needs more than that. We have provided them with all the technical support and this has supported them to this stage, and to couple it all, the President called them and spoke to

•Yusuf Suleiman

Wigan eyes Osaze to replace Rodallega W IGAN are targeting West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie following reports Arsenal are set to make a move for their forward Hugo Rodallega.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is a fan of Colombian striker Rodallega, who has 22 goals in 81 games since joining the club in 2009.

And the Latics appear to have

T

England.

Nigeria Flying Eagles will meet France in the quarter finals at the Pascual.

From Andrew Abah, Abuja them before the match, which is a more motivational approach.

The boys are poised to make the country proud, and they are putting every thing into the remaining games”.

He further revealed that the players would earn $2,500 for the win against England, and would earn $3,000 if they triumph against France on Sunday. The scribe said that winning the trophy will not only boost the game in country, but will also be plus to the continent.

•Rules them out of Brazil 2014 cut

G

OLDEN EAGLETS of Nigeria’s skipper to the

historic 1985 FIFA KODAK Under 16 World Cup in China, Nduka Ugbade has showered praises on the Flying Eagles of Nigeria despite their close fought 1-0 win over England in a second round

NPL Electoral Committee meets next week From Tunde Liadi, Owerri

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•Nigeria's Ganiu Ogungbe (r) heads the ball next to England's Michael Ngoo during their FIFA World Cup U-20 match

HE Electoral Committee set up to conduct a hitch free election into the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) board which is yet to have a substantive Chairman will next week meet to fashion out modalities towards quelling the impasse in the NPL which has lingered for so long.

Making this known to NationSport was the acting Executive Secretary of the League Board, Tunji Babalola in a chat.

Though no much details was given on what the agenda of the meeting would look like NationSport scooped that it may not be unconnected with the recent court verdict which declared the Chairmanship of the League Body vacant again after Davidson Owumi suit at a law court was thrown out.

From Tunde Liadi, Owerri

game and termed them the future of the Super Eagles.

Ugbade who was also in the Coach Olatunde Disu’s Damman Miracle team of the Saudi 89 Under 20 World Cup disclosed to SportingLife that despite the team’s frailties especially in the defence the John Obuh tutored lads have the potentials to still progress beyond the next round if they could put their acts in order.

According to him, “I must admit that even though the team still has

HE Nigeria Paralympic Committee has been readmitted into the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) following the decision of the IPC to lift the suspension it earlier placed on the Nigeria Paralympic Committee (NPC).

This was contained in a letter signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the International Paralympic Committee, Xavier Gonzalez, dated 4th August, 2011 sequel to the NPC’s compliance with the International Paralympic requirements.

The letter reads in part “since you have fulfilled your obligations according to IPC regulations, the IPC have decided to lift the suspension of your organization definitively, allowing NPC Nigeria to keep its membership with the IPC”.

It will be recalled that the Nigeria Paralympic Committee’s suspension was temporarily lifted on 5th August 2010 and the NPC was requested to comply with two further requirements which includes; the conclusion of the constitution according to IPC standards and the convocation of a General Assembly with a formal election of the governing board in order to lift the suspension permanently.

Reacting to the lifting of the suspension, the Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Yusuf Suleiman noted that the timing of the decision

some works to be done in defence, the boys are still quite okay when holding possession and rallying forward to create goals. Some of our goals in the first round were got through that medium.

“The way they played in the first round was the hallmark of what the country’s national team used to be in the past and I will say they are the future of the senior national team if they do not relent. I am not saying that they should be considered for the Brazil, 2014 World Cup which is just like four days away. The players being currently groomed for that purpose are adequate for now but thereafter, I see them stepping into their shoes.”

Kenyan referees for Nigeria/ Madagascar clash

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HE African Football Confederation (CAF) has appointed Kenyan referees to officiate the all important 28th Africa Nations Cup qualifying match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and Madagascar scheduled for Antanarivo, on September 3 2010.

The must win match for the Nigerian team will also see veteran referee Lim Kee Chong as match commissioner, The referees are Kirwa Sylvester, Marwa Aden, Elias Kubola and Omveno Kenche.

The flip side of the coin is the match in Guinea where the Guinean will want to consolidate on their group

braced themselves for a bid, as they have reportedly registering their interest in Odemwingie with the Baggies.

The Nigeria international is yet to sign a new contract after scoring 15 goals last term in a stunning Premier League debut season.

Albion are trying desperately to tie the striker, a bargain £2.5million signing from Lokomotiv Moscow

Nigeria Paralympic Committee re-admitted to international body

Ugbade tips U-20 as Kernel of Super Eagles

By Innocent Amomoh was reported on Monday after he suffered from a heart defect in a Lagos hospital.

According to a release by the football house and signed by the Secretary General, Musa Amadu, the news of his death was received with deep shock, especially considering the how close the Nigerian international was to his late brother.

It said: “The death of a loved one is usually the most excruciating experience that comes with so much grief and deep pain in the heart. We are informed of how close you were with your late brother who was such a lively and good person to be with, as attested to by all who new him.

“We deeply mourn with you and members of your family at this occasion and share in your grief, but we are consoled by the good name and image that your wonderful brother left behind, and pray that the almighty God grant him eternal rest in his bossom, Amen.”

The statement further read that it is the prayers of the NFF that Obafemi and the entire family is granted the fortitude to bear this huge loss.

Sports minister congratulates F/Eagles

NFF attributes success to Jonathan

NFF commiserates with Martins’ family HE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) yesterday joined thousands of Nigerians around the world to express their condolences to the family of Super Eagles forward, Obafemi Martins over the loss of their son, Ladi Martins.

The tragic news of Ladi’s demise

ENGLAND 1-0 DEFEAT

leadership against Ethiopia.

The Tunisian referees for that encounter are no nonsence Kacem Benaceur, Bechir Hassani, Amina Fethi and Mohammed Meddeb with Algeria’s Belaid Lacarne as match commissioner.

Nigeria and Guinea are in a neck to neck race to decide who qualifies automatically to the Nations Cup next year in Gabon-Equatorial Guinea.

Soccer pundits believe that Nigeria and Guinea will both win their matches only for the decider to be held in Abuja, Nigeria where a two goal victory will see the Super Eagles topping the group.

to lift the suspension could not have come at a more opportune moment as the Nigeria Paralympic Committee would once again be allowed to participate as a full member of the International body The International Paralympic Committee which is the body charged with the development of sports for athletes with disabilities has also promised to continue to work closely with the Nigeria Paralympic Committee.

Uche will boost Swiss League –Frimpong

F

ORMER Young Boys and FC Luzerne forward, Joetex Frimpong, is confident that the arrival of Super Eagles star, Kalu Uche, will add value to the Swiss Axpo Super League.

The Nigerian arrived 1987 and 1988 Swiss champions, Neuchâtel Xamax, on a two-year contract after his former La Liga side, Almeria, lost their top flight status.

“Xamax has a new owner, who wants the team to bounce back to reckoning. Uche is an exceptional player and a goalscorer who has played amongst the best in France and Spain. His signing represents a significant boost for the club,” Frimpong, who is presently based in Switzerland, said to SuperSport.com.

Chechen billionaire, Bulat Chagaev, who owns two Genevabased firms, bought over the majority stake of previous owner, Sylvio Bernasconi, and appointed Andrei Rudakov, a former Spartak Moscow and FC Fribourg player, as chairman.

The Super Eagles star becomes the second Nigerian forward to play for Xamax after Brown Ideye.

However, Uche has a lot of work to do as Xamax is yet to score a goal after four matches and is bottom of the 10-team log with one point.

2012 OLYMPICS QUALIFIERS

Falcons intensify training for Cameroon

S

ENIOR Women’s National Team, Super Falcons intensify their training for the Olympics qualifier against the Lionesses of Cameroon.

With the teams twice daily training the coaches have been able to ascertain the fitness level of each player. Some of the new invitees are finding it difficult to cope with training while the old players have adjusted perfectly to their daily routine.

Today’s morning training was a training match with an under seventeen boys team. The team will play a friendly match tomorrow morning against another boys club.

Meanwhile, Super Falcons media officer, Gracious Akujobi can confirm that Stella Mbachu who was excused to rest her leg as a result of slight knock she sustained playing in her club has joined her team mates in camp last night. She was part of this morning training.

last August, to fresh terms.

But Wigan are willing to offer Odemwingie a longer, and more lucrative, contract.

The Latics are believed to have informed Albion’s sporting director, Dan Ashworth, of their interest in the 30-year-old.

West Brom have just signed Reading striker Shane Long in a club-record £6.5m deal.

Boss Roy Hodgson wants to play

Long alongside Odemwingie in a 44-2 formation, but prudent club chief Jeremy Peace must consider offers for the Nigerian because the player has not penned a new contract.

Fellow Premier League outfit Newcastle are also monitoring Odemwingie’s situation, but the player has publicly stated his willingness to remain at West Brom and is likely to stay unless a big club comes in for him.

BEACH SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP

FCMB supports Copa Lagos as Official Bank‘

T

HE First City Monument Bank (FCMB), the flagship company of the First City Group, one of Nigerian’s leading comprehensive financial services providers, has agreed to a one year partnership with the Copa Lagos, making them the first Official Sponsor to formally sign an agreement.

Mr. Kenny Aliu, Group Head of Corporate Communications welcomed Copa Lagos Promoter, Samson Adamu, at FCMB headquarters in Lagos, to close the deal which comes on the heels of the December 2011 first ever Beach Soccer international tournament in Nigeria, which will have unprecedented exposure at the national level and throughout the world.

According to Mr Kenny Aliu:”we shall be sponsoring the Beach Soccer Championship in December which is FIFA Approved.This is in continuation of FCMB’s support of Soccer and Sports as a whole.FCMB had fairly promising coverage of the of the last World Cup locally and this is a continuation of the Policy of Supporting Sports.”

FCMB strongly identifies its values not only with beach soccer but also with sports as a whole “sport is a combination of

challenges, hard work and success.

It’s that overcoming spirit, which challenges not only all athletes, but also that the everyday life of Nigerians such as the FCMB customers and staffs”, added Samson Adamu. The Copa Lagos Promoter underlined the importance of closing this partnership with a national company, especially one that genuinely wishes to develop spots in the country” sport stimulates the society and renews the team spirit between everybody, in this particular case, among Nigerians.”

As part of the agreement FCMB, will be one of Copa Lagos’ Official Sponsors, and will receive signage in-stadium and on the venue grounds, as well as tournament hospitality, including VIP entrance to all Copa Lagos venues and events and exclusive access to all events stars (players, musicians, celebrities), exposure on all marketing and communication materials, among many other benefits.

Starting from this December 2011, Copa Lagos will offer every year the best that Lagos has to offer counting an unforgettable atmosphere, high fashion, fabulous parties, celebrity musical performances, and of course the best Beach Soccer the world as to offer.

ORANGE CAF CONFEDERATION CUP

Sunshine Stars in visa hitch

N

IGERIAN side, Sunshine Stars have claimed that the Embassy of Morocco is delaying the issuance of visas to their team for Saturday’s Orange CAF Confederation Cup game against Maghreb Fez. Mike Idoko, who is executive director of the parent body of the club, the Ondo State Football Development Agency (OSFA) alleged that the Abuja consulate of the Moroccan embassy is stalling on giving entry visas to its team.

He said the embassy has refused to

issue entry visas after the team manager of Sunshine Stars has ensured the application was tendered almost a fortnight ago.

“The Moroccan embassy is trying to frustrate us by denying the team visas.

We applied about two weeks ago and we were told to come back on Monday.

On Monday, my team manager was at the embassy only for the officials at the embassy to reschedule the appointment to Tuesday.

“As I am speaking with you (on Wednesday), the embassy has still refused to grant our visa request.

Sheffield Wednesday signs Uchechi on loan ANNY UCHECHI came

D

through the youth ranks at Charlton Athletic Sheffield Wednesday have signed forward Danny Uchechi on a six-month loan from Nigerian side FC Dender.

The 21-year-old has represented Nigeria at both under-20 and under-23 levels and had spells at Charlton, West Ham and Leicester.

Uchechi signed in time to play in The Owls’ Carling Cup first round tie against Blackpool on Thursday night.

Manager Gary Megson told the club website: “He has good feet, good pace and can get a goal.”

He added: “There were one or two clubs interested in Danny from a higher level so I’m pleased to bring him to Wednesday.”

He becomes Wednesday’s seventh summer signing and will wear the number 27 shirt.

•Uchechi

Annnaul report

HONOUR Onitsha monarch bags award Anambra

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FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2011

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GROUP known as Political Women Forum (PWF) has urged the Delta State government to immortalise the late Maryam Babangida, a one-time Nigeria’s First Lady, by naming the Asaba International Airport after her.

The women vowed to begin a sensitisation campaign for women towards elective offices in 2015.

Mrs. Nana Modupe Onwordi, 2011 National Assembly candidate under Labour Party (LP), who led over 500 women, including members of the National Transformation Party (NTP), the National Conscience Party (NCP) in Asaba, Delta state capital, said the forum "will galvanise and sensitise other women groups to make sure that Maryam's name is immortalised by naming the airport

CAMPAIGN

CARE

War against polythene bags

‘Children with disorder need love’

Imo

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Rivers

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Email: news_extra@yahoo.com

Delta women demand 50% affirmative action after her.

While commending President Jonathan for appointing a good number of women into his cabinet and decrying as "meagre" the 35 per cent affirmative action for women in politics, Mrs Onwordi said: "The roles women played in the last election which produced the President, the governors and others were unquantifiable."

Mrs. Onwordi stressed the importance of voter education and mobilisation of women to build on the success already

recorded by them in the last elections.

"We need to start to orientate and reorientate the women so that there will be an increase in their participation in partisan politics, not excluding other means that may be considered to reduce the enormous challenges which are poverty, ignorance and illiteracy which they experience," she said.

Continuing, she said: "Much as we have harped so much about 35 per cent affirmative action in appointment and elective positions for women, it is

important to state that women will not compromise standards or support mediocrity for the sake of appointment. We are also to encourage meritocracy. This is why we are happy with the caliber and quality of women in the President's cabinet."

Urging women to stop pointing accusing fingers at one another, she called on them to unite in order to make the desired inroad in politics as the ultimate goal.

She said with regular orientation and sufficient education of the women folk and support from the men, the cultural barriers holding women back will be overcome. challenges which are poverty, ignorance and illiteracy which they experience.

E

VERYONE held firmly to a large keg. A scramble often broke out. But it was a different kind of scramble. There was joy in their hearts, which bubbled up to their faces. Their long search for kerosene had ended, thanks to Governor Rochas Okorocha whose administration made 110,000 litres of the precious cooking fuel available, and for free.

Before the governor’s intervention, the search for the domestic fuel was just as arduous in Imo State as it has been in most states across the country. While the scarcity lasted, many households resorted to different alternative measures in order to cook. Some went for charcoal. Some fetched firewood from the forests. Everyone suffered.

Okorocha’s intervention brought a huge relief. He held the nozzle himself and filled the kegs of the appreciative recipients.

They applauded. Many prayed for him and his new administration. That day the Grasshopper International Stadium in Owerri, the state capital, hummed with people. For crowd size, it could have been a major political gathering or a very crucial football match day.

Speaking at the event, Okorocha described the gesture as one of the democratic dividends he promised the people. He added that his government has embarked on so many people-oriented programmes that will create jobs, grow the economy and boost the people’s living standard.

The governor thanked the people for the mandate they gave him to serve them, declaring that his government will bring about peace and progress in the state.

He also thanked President Goodluck Jonathan and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for initiating the programme that has mitigated the hardship the people have faced in sourcing kerosene.

The Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Special Duties, Mr Chiadi Sunny said the kerosene

• People at the stadium in Owerri, Imo State, to fill their kegs

Imo gets free kerosene Okorocha distributes 110,000 litres From Emma Mgbeahurike, Owerri

exercise is a promise fulfilled.

He disclosed that state government has concluded arrangements to share the kerosene in batches, stating that the first batch of kerosene shipment

has been delivered to the people, while subsequent batches will be shared in the 27 local government areas of the state.

The chairman and chief executive of Capital Oil, Sir Ifeany Uba also said the programme is sustainable

because five oil companies in the nation are producing the products.

Many cheered as the governor addressed the people. Prayers were offered for him by fathers, mothers and children.

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

26

Commissioner advises council chiefs ELTA State Commissioner for the Directorate of Local Government, Mr. Newworld Safugha has urged administrators at the third tier of government to be abreast of the values of transparency and accountability in governance.

He said these values would bring about the needed development and impact positively on the people.

He further said that communal crises were at their lowest ebb in the state due to even development being experienced under the Uduaghan administration, even as he advised communities

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From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

to resolve disputes through dialogue.

He gave these pieces of advice recently in his office Asaba, Delta State capital.

Safugha said: "You should develop a blueprint that would en-

hance the living standards of both the urban and rural dwellers,” stressing that as the tier closet to the people, government policies and programmes must

You should develop a blueprint that would enhance the living standards of both the urban and rural dwellers, stressing that as the tier closest to the people, government policies and programmes must be seen to affect their lives positively

be seen to affect their lives positively.

To this end, as part of effective administration of the Directorate of Local Government, Safugha said he would embark on a familiarisation tour of the 25 local government areas to ensure government policies are implemented.

According to him, he will bring his experience to bear on his recent appointment in resolving communal disputes, adding that a peaceful environment will attract development to such com-

munities.

He urged staff of the directorate to show commitment and dedication to duty in order to key into the three-point agenda of the Uduaghan administration and fast-track development.

Safugha expressed disappointment at the attitude of some members of staff of the Directorate of Local Government who have the penchant for coming late to work.

He therefore enjoined them to imbibe the habit of punctuality and treat their jobs with dispatch.

He said his last office as Publicity Secretary of the PDP has exposed him to all the 25 local government areas, adding that he is in a familiar terrain.

Monarch assures oil communities of development

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HE new chairman of Traditional Rulers of Oil MineralProducing Communities Association of Nigeria (TROMPCON) Imo State, His Royal Highness (HRH) Eze Ralph Akubueze Ikegwuruka has pledged to use his position to attract development to the two oil-rich council areas of Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta.

The traditional ruler, who hails from Mgbirichi Abakuru Autonomous Community in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area stressed that he would live up to expectations of both the association and the people of his area.

Eze Ikegwuruka who was the former national secretary of TROMPCON, promised to vigorously pursue the ideals of the group which, according to him, centre on improving the lot of the people of oil-producing communities in the state.

He assured that TROMPCON in Imo State under his leadership would assist government in formu-

The royal fathers would work earnestly to foster harmonious relationship between the oil companies and their host communities, even though he insisted on carrying all stakeholders along to achieve sustainable peace in the area

From Emma Mgbeahurike, Owerri

lating policies and programmes that would touch on the lives of the people of the oil-rich communities as well as ensure speedy implementation of such policies and programmes.

The monarch promised to concentrate on infrastructure and empowerment of the people to ameliorate effects of long years of neglect.

He restated his commitment towards curbing youth restiveness, pointing out that the oil-producing communities had remained peaceful over the years through the efforts of TROMPCON. He used the occasion to commend the developmental programmes of Imo State Government under Governor Rochas Okorocha, even as he pledged the unalloyed support and cooperation of TROPMCON in ensuring peace in oil-producing communities.

The chairman assured that the royal fathers would work earnestly to foster harmonious relationship between the oil companies and their host communities, even though he insisted on carrying all stakeholders along to achieve sustainable peace in the area.

He solicited the support of the state government to enable the group achieve its set objectives. He advised youths in the area to eschew violence but embrace dialogue in all matters.

Eze Ikegwuruka emerged as the new chairman of the group after an election conducted by the association and subsequent adoption of the outcome of the election by the royal fathers of the two oil-rich areas at the palace of the immediate past chairman of Imo TROMPCON, HRH Eze I.O. Asor of Obudi Agwa in Oguta Local Government Area.

• From left: Chairman, Stakeholders Committee, Mr Bayo Adewale; Chairman, Independent Petroleum Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Ejigbo Depot, Lagos, Mr Philips Akinfenwa; Depot Manager, Mr James Ajigbo; and Chairman, Petroleum Tanker Drivers, at the depot, Mr Matthew Adegoke, during the donation of motorcycles and other monitoring equipments to curb pipeline vandalism in the area

Lawmaker pledges to tackle poverty

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FEDERAL lawmaker representing Ovia Federal Constituency, Edo State, Isaac Osahon has stated his commitment to tackling poverty in his constituency.

Osahon told reporters in BeninCity, Edo State capital, that he has an enduring desire to enhance the living condition of his constituency and that it will be his priority at the House of Representatives.

He said: “I want to pursue wealth creation for my people. Poverty in my constituency will be tackled

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

head-on. I will push for what will benefit the entire populace.

“I have been campaigning that Gelegele jetty should be developed to a seaport and God has used President Jonathan to answer my prayers.

The people of Ovia will benefit immensely from it when the project is completed. I will continue to press that the project does not stop at the embryo. I am happy that it is already going on.”

I have been campaigning that Gelegele jetty should be developed to a seaport and God has used President Jonathan to answer my prayers. The people of Ovia will benefit immensely from it when the project is completed

• Kerosene waiting to be attended to at the flag-off of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation/Capital Oil Kero Direct Scheme in Abuja on Wednesday

Osahon also vowed to join other members of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the House of Representatives to pursue the enthronement of fiscal federalism.

He further said: “The ACN will push for a review of the Constitution so that states and local governments get a greater share of revenue from the Federation Account. ACN is a party that wants democracy to be entrenched fully in this country.

“We have been talking about a review of the Constitution which will ensure that no part of the country or party is put above anyone. We are talking of fiscal federalism where all tiers of government will be fully independent.

“A bigger share of revenue goes to the Federal Government. The ACN wants states and local governments to have a bigger share of revenue. It is the states and local governments that need money. We are going to push for fiscal federalism. We also would want all revenues to be paid into one federal purse and not to the executive.

"If all the revenues are paid into the coffers of the Federal Government, then more funds will be made available for the states. The Federal Government has no responsibilities to build schools in states. We are really going to fight it out in the House to ensure that things are done properly,” he said.

THE NATION

27

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

Firm donates life-saving machines to UPTH

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LEADING supplier of computer software and hardware in the country, Equipment Hall, has donated five Braun Neonatal Bilirubin Phototherapy equipments to the Special Care Baby Unit of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), to help save the lives of infants suffering from jaundice.

The machines were donated at the premises of UPTH in Port Harcourt, with the Managing Director of the company, Mr. Gbolahan Olayomi, stating that apart from its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the Equipment Hall was identifying with the children, who as future leaders, require special care, particularly at tender age.

Olayomi said the motivation to donate the equipment was in view of a personal experience, when his child suffered from jaundice and was treated at the teaching hospital, in the most professional manner.

He said: “We have come to reach out to the Special Care Baby Unity of UPTH. Three and a half years ago, my son was ill, it was a traumatic experience. It gave me the opportunity to interact with little children. This gave me the motivation to help save the lives of children and donating this equipment is just one of such ways.”

The managing director equally noted that the equipment was procured directly from the original manufacturers in the United

From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

Kingdom, while stressing that their availability would give parents a lot of inspiration, saying that the phototherapy machines are one of the key requirements in the baby care unit.

He added that the donation was just one of the many projects to be carried out as part of the company's CSR, while not ruling out adopting the Special Care Baby Unit as a pet care project.

The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of UPTH, Prof Aaron Ojule, lauded Olayomi for the donation, which he described as very heartwarming and rare event in this part of the world.

While emphasising that government alone could not provide all the necessary equipment and infrastructure, Ojule appealed to public-spirited individuals and companies to partner with public health institutions, in order to ensure better service delivery.

The CMD added: "We have competent men and women here. People complain that public health institutions are failing, but for how long? Can everybody go abroad? If others also donate one equipment or the other, public health institutions will be better for it.

“Equipment Hall has proved that the company is a rare breed. Public service is a thankless job. Out of the ninety percent people that are ill and get treated, only one or two will come back to appreciate the efforts of the hospital.”

While also lauding Olayomi and the firm for the generosity and commitment to the healthcare of infants, Profs. Augusta Eneh, Head of Pediatrics at the UPTH and Christie Mato, Chairman of Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) of the hospital, said UPTH would remain grateful for the donation.

Eneh said: “We are thrilled for this day. It came at the right time, during the peak period. Getting enough phototherapy machines has been difficult.”

• A farmer, Mrs Mairo Danjuma, receives her bags of maize from Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide during the sale of the buffer stock grains in Abuja

Court restrains traditional rulers' council chair

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N Akure High court has restrained the chairman of the Association of Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria (TROMPCON), Oba Lawrence Omowole from acting in that capac-

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

ity till further notice.

Oba Omowole is the Amapetu of Mahin in Ilaje Local Government of Ondo State.

The court presided over by the Chief

The entire people of Ugbo kingdom have not been benefiting from the purpose of forming an association since they have not been represented by a traditional ruler from the kingdom since the dethronement of Mafimisebi

Justice of the State, Justice Olasehinde Kumuyi, also restrained another monarch, Oba M. A. Olasehinde from functioning as the Publicity Secretary of TROMPCON The association is saddled with the responsibility of protecting the interest of traditional rulers in the oil-producing communities in the country.

With Justice Kumuyi's judgement, the old friction between the Ugbo-Ilaje Traditional Council led by the Olugbo of Ugbo, Oba Frederick Akinruntan and the Amapetu of Mahin over the membership of TROMPOCN has been re-enacted.

Oba Omowole was made the chairman of TROMPCON at a meeting held by the association recently.

But dissatisfied with the action of the traditional rulers, the Ugbo tradi-

Obi of Onitsha bags award HE Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe has bagged the Paul Harris Fellow Award. The award was presented to him at his palace by the Rotary Club of Onitsha East.

The Obi promised to contribute to the development of his people and the growth of his kingdom.

His chiefs, the Otu Odu and Ikporo of Onitsha, witnessed the presentation of the award.

Igwe Achebe urged the gathering to spend time and money for the people. He also advocated that people, especially the privileged class, should assist others in order to improve the quality of lives of the citizens.

Commending the Rotary Club for their humanitarian services, Igwe Achebe said their strong discipline and regimentation have always impressed him, saying he has associated with good Rotarians.

The Obi said he did not expect such honour from Rotary Club. He described members of the club as people of unquestionable character.

"I can now be proud to tell the world that I am a bona fide member of Rotary Club," he said. "We should render whatever assistance we can in order to improve the society.”

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I can now be proud to tell the world that I am a bona fide member of Rotary Club. We should render whatever assistance we can in order to improve the society From Adimike George, Onitsha

The District Governor, District 9140, Rotarian Olayinka Babalola who decorated the Onitsha monarch with the award, said that the club has six programmes it has prosecuted to improve the lots of humanity.

Babalola said the club's efforts were in

• Igwe Achebe

the area of maternal and child health, breast cancer, water and sanitation, community development, literacy and adult education, peace and conflict prevention.

He added, though, that their star project all over the world is polio eradication.

tional council, through their counsel, Mr Sesan Dada from Afe Babalola chambers, filed a suit challenging the composition of the leadership of the association.

The plaintiffs were not happy with Oba Omowole being the chairman of TROMPCON when it was obvious that his community does not fall under oil-producing areas.

In the affidavits deposed to in the court, the plaintiffs including Oba Akinruntan, Chief Robert Nana, A.B Gbayisemoore, Gilbert Ebigbemi, Ephraim Omotoye and nine others on behalf of the people of Ugbo kindom, said Oba Omowole is not qualified for the position he was selected to occupy.

They insisted that only Ugbo, out of the four autonomous kingdoms in Ilaje Local Government which also included, Aheri, Etikan and Mahin, is an oil-producing community.

The plaintiffs said oil giants including Chevron and Express Oil Petroleum companies operated both onshore and off-shore with several oil fields and wells in their kingdom.

According to them, the immediate past Olugbo, Prince Adebanjo Mafimisebi, was a member of TROMPCON before he was dethroned by the Supreme Court.

They pointed out that it was before the installation of Oba Akinruntan as new Olugbo that the defendants presented themselves as monarchs from oil-producing communities.

The plaintiffs contended that efforts by the Olugbo as the only monarch with the oil-producing communities to join the association had been frustrated by Omowole and Olasehinde.

The affidavit further reads: “The entire people of Ugbo kingdom have not been benefiting from the purpose of forming an association since they have not been represented by a traditional ruler from the kingdom since the dethronement of Mafimisebi.”

The presiding judge, after reading of the motion and affidavit in support, granted the order restraining the monarchs from performing their functions as chairman and publicity secretary until the determination of motion on notice.

Justice Kumuyi adjourned hearing of the case to September 20.

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

28

NOA to rid Owerri of polythene bags

Filth, illegal structures worry Ebonyi govt T

•Governor Elechi

HE Ebonyi State Commissioner for Environment and Urban Development Dr. Paul Okorie, has expressed worries over the indiscriminate defecation and construction of illegal structures within the state capital.

Dr. Okorie said that the ministry would soon begin house - to - house inspection of toilet facilities within Abakaliki to avert outbreak of cholera and other deadly diseases during this rainy season.

The commissioner, who disclosed this in Abakaliki during an interaction with workers in the ministry, regretted that some buildings within the capital city do not have toilet facilities, thereby exposing residents to the dangers of cholera and other air and water borne diseases.

According to him: “If you go round the

Fixed tenure for Abia perm secs, directors HERE are indications that permanent secretaries and directors in Abia State civil service are in for a tenure fixing following the approval of the governor, Theodore Orji for them to have a fixed tenure in office.

A statement endorsed by the Head of Service, Chief Godson Adiele, and made available to journalists reads in part “As a part of the continuing reforms in the country and in consonance with Federal Circular No. HCSF/ 061/S. 1/111/68 of August 26, 20009, Abia state government has found it necessary to develop a policy that will review and reinvigorate the service, restore morale of officers and unlock the creative potentials of hard working officers.

In the current Public Service Rules, permanent secretaries, heads of nonministerial departments and directors stay on top position till they either attain 65 years of age or clock 35 years in service.

“Accordingly, government has approved that Permanent Secretaries and Heads of NonMinisterial Departments shall hold office for a term of four years, renewable for a further term of four years, subject to satisfactory performance and no more. Directors shall compulsorily retire upon serving eight years on the post.

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Abia From Ugochukwu Eke, Umuahia

This approval is without prejudice to the relevant provisions of the Public Service Rules which prescribes 60 years of age and/or 35 years of service for mandatory retirement”.

According to the statement, all Permanent Secretaries and Directors who have served for four years and eight years respectively are to proceed on mandatory retirement leave by December 1, 2011.

The effective date of the policy is fixed for December 1, 2011 most of the permanent secretaries, heads of non-ministerial departments and directors are expected to go and consequently they have already been notified for the purpose of commencing their pre-retirement activities, when due in order to avoid any delay in receiving their preretirement benefits.

It would be recalled that Governor Orji had in recent time complained that there are lots of imbalance and non-adherent to due process the appointment of permanent secretaries, noting that some local governments were duly favoured with many permanent secretaries while others were left out.

Ebonyi

From Ogbonnaya Obinna Abakaliki

capital city and see where people live, you will know that they are not even fit for pigs and that is a failure on the part of health workers in the state.We have to draw a programme to move from house to house to see how people are living.

“The other time, we visited new layout road to evacuate the refuse dumps there, we saw a heavy nylon bag filled with human waist and what that implies is that the people living around that area do not have toilets. We are going to wage war against people not having toilets, we will dust the law prohibiting people from defecating indiscriminately in the state and we will prosecute anyone apprehended.

“Health is wealth and people must live to work and the only way people can live is to ensure a clean environment. Some people in the state use water from the rivers for domestic use and defecating in the river and waterways exposes people to the danger of water and air borne diseases”, he said.

The commissioner regretted the indiscriminate defecation, dumping of refuse, taking of baths and washing of cars and motorcycles along water ways and rivers in the state capital, adding that efforts would be intensified to check such ugly activities in the state.

Dr. Okorie also warned developers in the state to adhere strictly to the guidelines and master plan of the capital city, pointing out that the ministry has begun marking of illegal structures in the state capital for possible demolition.

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•Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Mrs Oluranti Adebule flanked by Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye and Hon Femi Hamzat at a function at Alausa, Ikeja

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HE UNICEF has organised a one-day seminar on breastfeeding for the female journalists in Enugu State under the aegis of NAWOJ, Enugu chapter.

The seminar is in commemoration of breastfeeding week which is usually observed worldwide in the first week of August by UNICEF. Speaking during the occasion, the deputy representative of the UNICEF field office A,

From Ngozi Agbo Enugu

Enugu State, Mr. Sylvester Igbinedion, noted that the seminar became important bearing in mind the theme of this year: Talk The Talk Igbinedion called on journalists and other stakeholders to make this a reality by disseminating the message and help in encouraging mothers to breastfeed their children up till six months.

In his lecture entitled: Breastfeeding as a right’s issue, Dr. Nnamdi Onyire, pointed out that it is the right of the baby to be breastfed by the mother.

She called on mothers to breastfeed their babies as it will protect them from diseases.

Meanwhile, in her remarks, the NAWOJ Vice-President, Zone C, Mrs. Ngozi Ihekere,

call has gone to the Federal Government for the immediate dissolution of the interventionist agency, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) over alleged nonperformance.

Making the call in a letter written to the Presidential Committee on the NDDC, was the Niger Delta Coastal Association of OilProducing Communities (NDCAOPC).

In the letter, signed by its President-General, Hon. Rawa Felix, the association said unless the NDDC, “with its antecedent problems” is disbanded as it is currently constituted, its existence would truncate the fragile peace that exists in the oil-rich region.

Saying that the NDDC was established for the maintenance of peace in the oil-producing areas through the provision of basic infrastructural amenities and provision of employment, Hon. Rawa said that it became an embarrassment when the agency, as an interventionist agency, fell short of these expectations.

He said: “So far, and as a matter of fact, the NDDC has performed woefully with little or no development projects executed in any of the core oil-producing communities.”

Rawa added that rather than face its objectives of alleviating the suffering in oilproducing communities, the NDDC embarked on media propaganda, saying many of the projects advertised on the pages of newspapers were meant to siphon public funds into private pockets as none of those projects were executed, let alone inaugurating them.

Stating other reasons it called ‘incontrovertible reasons’ for the dissolution of the NDDC, the NDCAOPC said that the act establishing it failed to recognise the Federal Character principle as entrenched in the constitution in the selection of the leadership of the agency; that it is a time-bomb waiting to explode and also to prevent the looming break down of law and order in the Niger Delta.

The association also queried why Ondo State, with higher oil production output, has not been deemed to produce any Executive Director on the board of the NDCC, despite that its oil production is far more than Edo. It also contended that it had the raw data of the production quota of each oil producing state,

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From Osagie Otabor, Benin

•Chairman Itire-Ikate Local Council Development Area, Hon Hakeem Bamgbola flanked by his mother, Alhaja Rafat Bamgbola (left) and Vice-Chairman, Alhaja Mulikat Ajala at a Ramadan, lecture at Ijesa, Lagos.

NDDC gets Chamber’s certificate

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HE formal registration and presentation of certificate of corporate membership to Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC) by the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), on July 27, has been described as another welcome development for the youths and people of Rivers State.

President of PHCCIMA, Engr. Vincent Furo said this while presenting the certificate to the representative of NDDC at the PHCCIMA headquarters in Port Harcourt.

He described the exercise as not only a welcome development but a step forward for both the commission and the chamber

Vehicle owners warned

• Chairman Mosan-Okunola Local Council Development Area, Hon Abiodun Mafe flanked

by Commander, Area ‘M’ Police Command, Ibrahim Kaoje and Administration Officer, Mrs Maryam Sanusi during the council chair’s visit to the station at Idimu, Lagos

Enugu

praised UNICEF for organising the seminar, adding that it would sensitise issues as well and would remain a veritable tool to achieve such aim.

Mrs.Ihekere, also appealed to women journalists in the state to use their media strength to disseminate the message, especially to the grass roots. She also told them to make it an integral message during the August women conference outing.

The chairperson, Enugu State chapter of NAWOJ, Mrs Chieso Aninwagwa,used the occasion to praise all the stakeholders towards the success of the programe. She commended the Chief of Staff Enugu State, Mrs Ifeoma Nwobodo, for her support.

Other speakers during the programme included Dr Chika Ndiokwelu, and Mrs Chinelo Okpala among others.

Group advocates dissolution of NDDC

Edo unregistered in this state. We have removed the bureaucratic bottlenecks that they faced before registration.”

The commissioner also disclosed that 12 public schools were discovered to be operating without having any student.

He said Governor Adams Oshiomhole was amazed at the discovery that such schools were in existence in the state.

He said: “There are some schools in the state with teachers but there are no students. No students are enrolled in the schools. Not even one. The findings were alarming to Governor Oshiomhole. We have started investigation and we have discovered 12 of such schools without students. Not even one. They said they have been spending subvention given to them to maintain the school environment.”

Omorotiomwan noted that the schools might be closed down as the last option if the communities refused to enrol their wards in the schools.

HE National Orientation Agency (NOA) Imo State , has flagged off its campaign to rid Owerri,the state capital, of the menace of polythene bags.

The state director of the agency, Mr.Vitus Ekeocha speaking during the exercise in Owerri, urged people to drop all polythen bags at the appropriate place.

He said that polythene bags have become a serious problem to the society, attributing it to the cause of present flooding disaster ravaging towns and cities across the country.

He said that polythene bags are the major waste that blocks the drainages and prevent water from flowing.

Ekeocha pointed that if the menace continued, it might stop production of sachet water in the state.

The NOA chief regretted the indiscriminate way people liter environment with polythene

THE Lagos Police Command have warned owners of vehicles parked at its Idimu Division to remove them or forfeit same through auction. They are: 1.

Toyota Celica-AY 336 AGL 2.

Volkswagen Wagon Commercial bus-XN 659 KRD 3.

Nissan Blue Bird-ED 623 EKY 4.

Volkswagen commercial bus-XF 385AKR 5.

Toyota Corolla –GT 359 KJA

Imo From Emma Mgbeahurike, Owerri

bags which has become a source of concern to the authorities.

Speaking during the exercise, the Director, National Emergency Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA), S/East zone, Mr.Razaq Ashiru, stressed need for everyone to have dust bin in their houses where the polythene bags can be dropped rather than on the streets.

He said that the present day flooding and erosion menace witnessed in the country can be traced to blockage of the drainage by polythene bags.

While calling on the people of Owerri to endeavour to be part of making environment clean,he appealed to both drivers and restaurant operators to provide

•Governor Okorocha waste paper baskets to reserve the bags which can afterwards be recycled.

UNICEF partners NAWOJ on breastfeeding

Edo to close illegal schools DO State government has said that it would close down 300 private primary and secondary schools currently operating illegally in the state.

It said the schools were not closed down at the just ended academic because ‘parents ignorantly enrolled their children in such schools.’

State Commissioner for Education Mr Ekpenisi Omorotiomwan stated this while addressing some journalists in the state.

Omorotiomwan said the illegal schools would be closed down when it is confirmed that all the schools have gone on vacation.

He said: “Some persons enrolled their children in these schools unknown to them that such schools were illegal. As soon as we are satisfied that all the schools are on holiday, we will close down the illegal schools and make them known to the public.

“We will make parents know whose schools they should send their kids and wards in the next academic calendar. We will not compromise on the schools. There are 300 of them. We have made things easier for them. I see no reason why schools will remain

37

that would henceforth form a genuine synergy that would bridge the gap between youths and development in the state and beyond.

He expressed confidence, noting that the involvement of both bodies is coming at a time youths are in dire need of direction. Engr Furo who is also the First Deputy President of Forum of South-South Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, (FOSSCIMA), assured that the alliance will create new dimensions and frontier to youth development and will explore other potential areas of development in the state.

Speaking further, the PHCCIMA boss hinted that the chamber is planning an agricultural t r a i n i n g programme for youths across the 23 local government areas of the state, in collaboration with NDDC and o t h e r multinational companies to help position youths for the challenges of global food •Furo production.

Delta saying that the data presented by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had been doctored for political reasons and promised to provide for the committee the true data if and when called upon to do so.

Briefly Chime’s wife advises women THE wife of the Enugu State Governor, Mrs. Clara C. Chime has described August Meeting as a season of collective efforts, participation and positive contribution by women towards sustainable community development.

Mrs. Chime made the statement during the Women Prayer Network for the month of August 2011 at Michael Okpara Square, Enugu.

Chime’s wife, who was represented by the wife of the Speaker Enugu State House of Assembly, Mrs. Adaobi Odoh expressed delight over the large turn out of women despite the fact that many have traveled for 2011 August Meeting. She also charged the women to utilise this year’s annual meeting opportunity to contribute their quota to the development of the church and the community.

In her opening remarks , the wife of the chairman Orji River Local Government Hon. Mrs. Njideka Onuzulike appealed to the women to always pray for peace to reign in their families, adding that a peaceful family can as well give birth to a peaceful society. She also called on the women to always pray for leaders at all levels to be inbued with wisdom in order to move the country forward.

•Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) Commissioner, Hon Musbau Oyefeso chatting with the Chief Executive Officer, Gawat Communications, Alhaji Razak Gawat (right) and Secretary to Mushin Local Government, Hon Ismail Yahya during a lecture at Tejuoso, Lagos

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Orji lambasts engineers

BIA State Governor Theodore Orji has lambasted the engineers in the employ of the state government for conniving with contractors engaged to work on the state roads to dupe the state government.

The governor expressed his frustration in a meeting with engineers in the state Ministry of Works in Umuahia, saying that they were not worth their profession because of the poor quality jobs they do for the state, thereby giving his government a bad name.

The governor frowned at their behaviour, saying that it portrays his administration in bad light, “as nobody attacks you people the engineers when the roads you built go bad, but the governor and I am no longer ready to tolerate your inadequacies any more”.

Orji said: “All the poor quality jobs that we are having today are caused by the

Anambra From Ugochukwu Eke, Umuahia

engineers of the Ministry of Works. If I’m left to assess you personally, I will not give any of you up to 10 percent”.

The governor accused them of having constituted themselves into a cabal of saboteurs only interested in inflating contract sums without bothering to supervise the jobs they are assigned to do, adding that at the end of the day, the state is worse for it as poor quality projects litter the state.

His words: “There is no single paper for a contract that goes to the Ministry of Works from day one and comes out clean, it must move from one table to the other with you people padding it, padding of the bill is now the order of the day, put this for me, put that for me; that is what you do, you know that what I’m saying is the truth”.

Church gives free medicare THE Redeemed Christian Church of God, Winners’ Chapel , 13, Shangisha Street, in IkosiIsheri Local Government Area, Lagos has offered free medical services to members of the public.

The programme is to support the 59th annual convention of the church that is ongoing.

The event was held on Saturday, August 7 when people were screened for breast cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS. Kits were also given to expectant mothers.

Aside the medical treatment, a rally was held to herald the commencement of the convention.

• Chairman Ikeja Local Government Area, Hon. Wale Odunlami presents a free G.C.E. form to one of the beneficiaries of the council’s free-G.C.E. Forms programme

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

29

PEOPLE THE NATION

A SIX-PAGE SECTION ON SOCIETY

Last Saturday at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos was a galaxy of stars and celebrities from the showbiz world in a concert to raise funds for the education of orphans at the ‘Children of Haggai Soiree’. KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE reports.

•From left: Mo Abudu; Sheffy Bello-Osagie and Ivana Osagie

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That orphans may live

T would have cost a fortune to get star actress, Kate Henshaw Nuttal, Prime TV show host, Mo Abudu, celebrated comedian, Basket Mouth, Queen of songs, Yinka Davies, Kelekele Love crooner, Tiwa Savage and Big Brother Africa winner, Uti Nwachukwu to feature in a show.

But they and many other talented people did their acts for free at the Children of Haggai Soiree held at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island last Saturday to raise funds for the education of orphans.

Kate and Mo Abudu tugged at the heartstrings of the audience which included Lagos State Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Mr Wahid Enitan Oshodi, urging them to consider supporting less privileged children to give them a better future. Mo showed a documentary that told of how a 33-year-old widow who earned about N2,000 a week as a baker still took a courageous decision to adopt five orphans despite having five biological children to demonstrate that high net-worth individuals can do more with their money.

On the other hand, Kate interviewed members of the Xplicit, a dance group made up of displaced youngsters from dysfunctional families whose membership of the group is the reason they are not on the streets.

The 10 orphans, currently enjoying private education at Valour School, Lekki, Lagos, thanks to the Children of Haggai Foundation, also took to the stage singing a thank you song about how being educated in a more conducive environment has changed their lives. They are all from the Lekki Orphanage Home.

In his speech, Mr Oshodi, lauded the Children of Haggai Foundation’s ‘1-2-1’ initiative, which seeks to pair orphans with individuals, who would be committed to funding their education, and announced his readiness to sponsor a child.

Himself and the Commissioner for Education, Lagos State, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, had lots of words of praises for the initiator, Sheffy Belo-Osagie, a 27-year-old, for seeking to bridge the gap between the children and their more privileged peers.

Oshod said: “We commend the initiative of the Children of Haggai Foundation. This Foundation will launch the “1-2-1” campaign. This is an initiative that sets to pair an orphan with an educational sponsor. We are proud to associate with this foundation and others who are privately working hard to better the lot of the underprivileged child and we encourage other state agencies, private organisations and individuals to support this noble cause. I have no doubt that with efforts like this, we can substantially close the gap between the privileged and underprivileged children in our society.”

On her part, Mrs Oladunjoye, represented by Director, Child Guidance, School Counselling and Special Education, Mrs Oluwatoyin Olayinka, urged the orphans to focus on the education they are privileged to get.

“I urge you children to take advantage of these opportunities provided by Sheffy Belo-Osagie, work hard and distinguish yourselves in your academic pursuits, imbibe the right values of discipline, honesty and integrity, avoid bad influences and nega-

tive tendencies,” she said.

Speaking on the initiative, Sheffy said the foundation, which started in 2009, is seeking people who can fund the primary education of the orphans for six years. She also thanked all the acts for providing their services pro-bono.

“I started the Foundation in 2009 because I had a lot of networks and it was something that should be done. So far, we have been able to educate 10 orphans, but there is a lot more that can be done.

We are looking for individuals that will take care of the children’s education for six years. We are particular about commitment. But if you cannot do it for six years, you can donate to the trust fund and it will get to them,” she said.

Proprietor of Valour Schools, Mrs Sandra Kukoyi, said she accepted the orphans on discount because Sheffy’s vision aligns with her desire to nurture children and watch them grow into responsible adults. She urged those present to give life to the children.

“I want to appeal to us to give life to at least one Nigerian child. When you educate a child, you have given life to that child. A child who was once fearful would gain confidence. That child will be free from poverty,” she said.

There was no dull moment at the event as Basket Mouth was at his best with rib-cracking jokes, while Yinka Davies, Tiwa Savage, and other music acts thrilled the audience. The event also featured a fashion show – with models parading beautiful outfits from up to five local fashion houses.

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

30

SOCIETY

•Pastor Esosa Ize-Iyamu (left) and Executive Director, Finbank, Mr Godwin Ize-Iyamu •Captain and Mrs Adolf Unoarimtu

•From left: Kate; Chika Acholonu, and Mercedes Richards

•Belo-Osagie and Efe Osagie

2ND ALUMNI LECTURE IN HONOR OF BAYO ADENIPEKUN (SAN) BY THE FACULTY OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, OYO STATE

•Honoree, Bayo Adenipekun (SAN) flanked by his wife, Yemisi and Guest Lecturer, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde

•From left: Justice Tayo Onalaja (rtd), Chief Bandele Aiku (SAN) and Chief Makanjuola Esan

FACES AT THE LATE KAFARU TINUBU RAMADAN LECTURE HELD AT LTV BLUE ROOF, LAGOS

•Justice Ishola Olorunnimbe (right) and Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) Head of Logistics and Operations, Hon Musbau Oyefeso

•From left: Chairman, Agege Local Government, Hon Jubreel AbdulKareem; his Oshodi-Isolo, Mosan-Okunola and Ajeromi-Ifelodun counterparts, Afeez Ipesa-Balogun; Abiodun Mafe and Kamal Bayewu.

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

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SOCIETY

A reward for patience A thanksgiving service has been held for the Lagos State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ademorin Kuye. The event took place at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Faith City Parish, Berger, Lagos. EMMANUEL OLADESU was there.

H

E danced like the biblical King David to the Lord with all his heart before the congregation at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Faith City, Berger, Lagos. His relatives, friends and political associates also shared in the joy of the moment. To him, it was the day the Lord had made and he had a beautiful tale to tell. This was the mood of the Lagos State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Hon Ademorin Kuye, last Sunday, August 7 at the thanksgiving service held in his honour.

“I have come to thank God for his protection and love. I prayed to God and he has answered my prayers. I also thank our fathers in the Lord for their prayers and support. I thank God who has not forsaken me. I also thank God for the successes I have recorded in my political career. I will for ever remain grateful to God,” he said.

The choir added colour with its solemn, spirit-filled musical rendition. Traditional rulers, colleagues at the bar, party stalwarts, loyalists and friends from far and near who accompanied him were before God in one accord. Prayers were offered for the commissioner, his family, and the government and people of Lagos State. It was, no doubt, a happy day for all and sundry.

Four years ago, Kuye was nominated as a Special Adviser to Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN). But he missed the opportunity. The screening by the House of Assembly was not tedious, but as fate would have it, he was not to be.

Rumour mongers apparently sponsored by his political detractors, went to town with political fables. It was alleged that Kuye had protested his nomination as a special adviser because he had his eyes on the post of commissioner. Others described him as a careless actor, his conduct they said, made

him to bungle the chance. He was said to be chewing kola while on the hot seat before the legislators who were screening him.

But the former Chairman of Somolu Local Government bore the political tribulation and vicissitude with philosophical calmness and understanding. Power, he believed, could only be given by God and nobody can receive anything, unless granted from above. He therefore, dusted his wigs and forged ahead in his legal practice. He also maintained an abiding faith in his party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and diligently worked for the party.

Not only this, he warmed himself into the party’s leadership’s heart as a loyal and disciplined chieftain.

Therefore, when Governor Babatunde Fashola clinched the second term at the polls last April, everyone knew that Kuye would not lose out this time as no objection was raised when he was recommended for a slot in the state Executive Council.

However, at the screening presided over by Speaker of the House Assembly, Yemi Ikuforiji, Kuye was tormented by the ghost of the 2007 as the memories of what happened that day came flooding. To compound his envisaged ‘problem’, the Deputy Speaker, Kolawole Taiwo, teased him as he offered him sweet when he was on the hot seat to be interviewed by the assembly. But Kuye, mindful of his past mistake, respectfully rejected it.

Then, Ikuforiji reminded the legislators that he had once appeared before the House and urged members to let him ‘take a bow and go’. Hence, Kuye was accorded the honour of a politician who had bounced back.

At the swearing in ceremony, Fashola kept him and his colleagues guessing. When his portfolio was eventually announced, he is a round peg in a

•The celebrator, Kuye his wife and Cardinal James Odunmbaku

•Cross section of traditional rulers

round hole. His responsibilities include monitoring grassroots developments in the 57 local governments and council development areas in Lagos State.

“It is a good opportunity to have been invited to serve. It is God’s favour,’’ he said testifying to the efficacy of purposeful prayer in the household of God. Reflecting on the missed opportunity, he waxed philosophical, saying that God’s time is the best.

Kuye promised never to fail the church and the state, assuring that he would discharge his duties with a great sense of honour. He thanked Governor Fashola for appointing him into his cabinet. He urged Lagosians to continue in their support for Fashola’s administration by paying their taxes regularly.

The officiating cleric, Pastor Daniel Adeniyi, described the thanksgiving as a worthwhile before the creator. He rejoiced with his friends and associates

FUNERAL OF LATE ELDER DAVID ALUKO

•White cap chiefs

who stood with Kuye in the period of storm, charging them to learn lessons from his life.

Pastor Adeniyi admonished the politician to always put God first. He noted that the responsibility of his office is enormous. He, however, counselled that when

office duties rob him of the time for Sunday school and worship with the congregation, it is the beginning of spiritual derailment.

The priest also enjoined him to be faithful to his boss, who he said, is not resting his oars in the work of develop-

ment in the state. “You should be thankful and humble because God delights in the faithful and humble. You should always reflect on your life yesterday, today and tomorrow and learn to give thanks to God,” Adeniyi added.

CHANGE OF BATON

• Multiple Council Chair, District 404A, Lions Club International, Jaiye Balogun (left) formally presents the new District Governor, Mr Kola Ramon Oyekanmi at a public forum in Lagos.

• From left: Children of the deceased (from left) Mrs Oluremi Fashina, her husband, Bola Fashina and Funmi

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

32

SOCIETY A staff member of The Nation, Ngozi Nwozor and her beau, Agbo Agbo opened a new chapter of marital institution at the Glory in the House (Turning Point Assembly), Abule Oja, Lagos penultimate Saturday, reports TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO.

The Nation girl’s day of joy

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• The couple Ngozi and Agbo

HE sound wafting from the hall appealed to the ear. Those who had no business inside it did not pass by without nodding their heads to the rhythm.

The guests, on the other hand, had a lot to savour once the ceremony got underway.

The setting was stunning. A spacious long stage wrapped in red with its back covered with white, blue and red ribbons and tiny lights flickering.

There were two couches behind the chesterfields – all in butter colour.

A bouquet of multi-coloured flowers sat comfortably on a table made of expensive wood and glass.

The floor was ornately decorated. A red carpet stretched in between various chairs and table wrapped with white ribbon. The table overlays glowed in blue and white with classy glass cups on them.

Welcome to the auditorium of the Glory in the House (Turning Point Assembly), Abule Oja, Lagos, venue of a high class wedding between the head of Campus Life desk of The Nation newspapers, Ngozi Theresa Nwozor and a Public Relations practitioner, Agbo Emmanuel Agbo of Synthesis Communications.

Throughout the solemnisation and reception, an air of conviviality enveloped the building.

Gaily dressed men and women stormed the church in groups and individuals.

Staff of The Nation turned out en masse to relish in the couple’s joy.

They shone in organza baby pink and sky blue lace while other guests were clad in eye-catching African and foreign attires.

Some of the male guests wore agbada.

Ladies appeared beautiful in various fabulous attires. Their eye-lashes, lipsticks, lip-gloss, powder, eyelids, earrings, necklaces, eye-shadow, bangles, beads, leg chains and head gears left many men constantly starring at them.

Earlier before the reception, the Presiding Bishop of Word Base Assembly, Revd Humphrey Erumaka, who led other officiating ministers, stressed the need for the couple to tolerate each other.

Revd Erumaka said for marriage to be successful, each couple must display a high level of tolerance and sacrifices.

“When somebody falls in love, it means whatever his lover does to him would always be tolerated. However, at a certain time, one of the lovers may not be able to cope with other‘s behaviour again but they must not break up. When such happens, it means one is staying in love. But to now remain in love is the most important thing. Remaining in love implies that you must not break the covenant between you and your partner even though staying in that relationship is hurting,” Rev Erumaka said.

The cleric urged the couple to ensure that the union is sustained and successful.

The order of service featured prayers, marching in of the bride, praise and worship, signing of the marriage register and thanksgiving.

The whole church went into uncontrollable felicitation when the man of God declared Agbo and Ngozi legally married.

Praise songs seized the length and breadth of the expansive church.

Afterwards, the newly wedded couple joined families, friends and colleagues for a photo taking session.

Beautiful women and handsome-looking young men could not wait for the guests to seat at the reception hall before dishing local and foreign delicious cuisines.

Customised gift items were also distributed indiscriminately.

The guests could not hold their breath as the emcee, Kofi, announced the arrival of the newest couple of the day.

Soon, praise songs took over the air from the band stand and everybody were on their feet, stretching necks to catch a glimpse of the lovebirds.

First to appear were the flower girls followed by the bridal train, then the bride’s maids and Best Men and the duo of the moment – Agbo and Ngozi.

Agbo looked cute in his black suit, white shirt and bow tie while Ngozi appeared in a flowing wedding gown, necklace and ear rings.

They mesmerised the guests with nice dance steps en route the high table.

The groom, Agbo proved too handy for Ngozi on the dance floor.

The reception featured prayers, breaking of kolanut, toast, cutting of cake, couple’s dance, presentation of gift items and throwing of bouquet which Ngozi’s colleague in The Nation, pretty Evelyn Osagie picked among other colleagues.

Chairman on the occasion, Mr Kayode Owolabi, said it was a privilege and honour for him to chair the wedding.

Admiring the couple’s outfits, Owolabi said no matter how rich guests could be they cannot match any couple’s dressing on their wedding day.

He congratulated them and wished them conjugal bliss.

Owolabi, whose marriage clocked 19 years this year, urged the couple to love each other unconditionally and none should ever think of walking out of the union.

“It is a relationship designed by our creator to last forever,” he said.

He described Agbo as a levelheaded, calm and calculated man.

After the elated groom, Agbo thanked all who came to share in their joy, Senior Pastor of the church, Pastor Ify Okonkwo, who described the day as a great day delivered the closing prayer.

•Mother of the bride Mrs Christiana Nwozor (right) and groom’s mother Mrs Oganya Agbo

•Revd Erumaka and Pastor Okonkwo

•Revd Juliet Binitie and Pastor Richard Amakiri

•Revd and Mrs James Olutayo

PHOTOS: NIYI ADENIRAN

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

33

SOCIETY

What love has joined let no politics put asunder Political differences and party affiliations were, on Saturday July 31, put aside when a chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and National Chairman, Oramiyan Movement, Prince Felix Awofisayo, gave his daughter, Temitope Adetomi, in holy matrimony to her beau, Adegboyega, son of the former Minister of Works and a chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe. NNEKA NWANERI, who witnessed the event, writes.

O

N Saturday, July 31, at the Bola Memorial Anglican Church, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja, Lagos, what seemed to be on the lips of many who attended the solemnisation of the holy matrimony between Adegboyega Ogunlewe and Temitope Adetomi Awofisayo, children of party chieftains in different parties in the Southwest, was that what love has joined, let no party politics put asunder.

Dignitaries and party stalwarts from the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to which the bride's father belongs and the People's Democratic (PDP), party of the groom's father, stood to be counted in the roll call of guests.

Just as friends and political associates of Prince Awofisayo, came in their hundreds to celebrate with their own, so also were the friends and political associates of Senator Ogunleye.

They packed the church full with their presence.

Leading the pack of the dignitaries was the wife of Lagos State Governor, Dame Abimbola Fashola.

In her company were the wife of the governor of Osun State, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola and the Deputy Governor of Osun State, Otunba Titi Laoye-Tomori.

Also there was the immediate past deputy governor of Lagos State, Princess Sarah Sosan; ACN National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed; Chairman, Eleganza Group of Companies, Chief Razak Okoya; representative of the governor of Lagos and his Special Adviser on Central Business Districts, Hon Derin Disu; Commissioner for Establishment and Training, Jide Sanwoolu and former Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Chief Enoch Ajiboso.

Traditional rulers were not left behind.They included the Elegushi of Ikateland, Oba Saheed Elegushi; the Ojomu of Ajiranland Oba Adetunji Akinloye, a member of the House of Representatives, Abike Dabiri-Erewa and Senator Gbenga Ashafa were also in attendance.

The church service was preceded by a colourful engagement on Thursday at the Grandeur Events Centre, Oregun, Lagos with beautiful shades of red and yellow attires at play.

The sermon was given by the Bishop of Ido-Ani, Ondo State, the Rt Rev Ezekiel Dahunsi, who tagged his sermon, Building your marriage with Godly Materials.

The cleric started by congratulating the families of the couple and listed five Godly things needed for a successful marriage. They are the word of God, love, prayer, tolerance and perseverance. He quoted the Bible to buttress his points.

The Rt. Rev Dahunsi charged the congregation to begin to build their marriage on Biblical injunctions and advised the couple to take heed how they build their homes, praying that their new home shall be an example for others to follow just like that of their parents.

The colourful reception followed at the Blue Roof, LTV 8, Lateef Jakande Road, Ikeja, Lagos. Purple and silver were at play, as lace materials of same colours were worn with matching headgears and caps.

The appearance of two white Hummer Jeeps conveying the couple and their train, animated the reception as they were ushered in amidst songs and dance.

Comedian, Seyi Law, was the Master of Ceremonies.

He did not only dish out his rib cracking jokes, but made sure that the event was an interesting one that would be talked about for long time by family members, friends and associates The immediate past ViceChancellor of Ladoke Akintola University, Prof Benjamin Adeleke, chaired the occasion. He was the best man to the groom's father, Prince Awofisayo at his wedding years back.

He said: I am happy I have been with the family from the beginning. I don't want to be another preacher other than the bishop, but I would advise you both to watch and pray. When you stay together, try and see what you can do for the society because it is in giving that you receive. Do not take each other for granted," he said.

The Nation spoke with the proud father of the groom, Senator Ogunlewe, who said the day's event was a fulfilment of one of those days every parent prays for.

"After bringing up a child for many years, he is finally getting married. My fatherly advice is that they love each other, work hard and God will be with them. We will keep praying for them; tutor and monitor them," he said.

His wife, Moji said: ''I feel wonderful and give glory to God. I thank him for his mercies.

“She is a daughter of divine grace. And because she is the daughter of Christ, she has everything. I advise them to try and raise a godly home.

Once they make their home Paradise, every other thing will fall in."

The proud father of the

bride, who danced with his daughter before handing her over to her husband said: "Though I'm pained that my sweet Tope is going, I know she is safe with Gboyega. She has been a wonderful girl right from childhood and I will surely miss her. " He advised the couple to always see God first in all that they do.

• The couple Temitope and Adegboyega

• Grooms parents Senator and Mrs Ogunlewe

•Lai Muhammed (left) and Bunmi Olaopa

• Bride’s parents, Prince and Felicia Awofisayo

• From left: Alhaja Aregbesola, Otunba Laoye-Tomori and Dame Fashola

• Oba Bashorun and his Olori Mary • Senator Ashafa (left) and Dabiri-Erewa

•Oba Elegushi (left) and Razak Okoya

• Princess Sosan

• Oba Akinloye PHOTOS: OLAWALE KUTEYI

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THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

SOCIETY

60 garlands for a ‘trophy of grace’ Sunday was time to celebrate the life of a man of God, a Senior Pastor of The Christian Brethren Church (TCBC), and former Group Executive Director (GED), Refining and Petrochemicals, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC Pastor Afolabi Oladele, who turned 60. JOKE KUJENYA witnessed the event.

Last

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OR the members of The Christian Brethren Church (TCBC), based in Ejigbo, Lagos, a 60th birthday surprise was the best way to honour their Senior Pastor, Afolabi Oyedeji Abdulrazaq Oladele, a retired engineer from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

To them, he epitomises good virtue, loyalty and dependability. He exemplifies a bouquet of fragrance.

Although Pastor Oladele, as he is fondly called, clocked 60 on June 25, this year; like a palace coup, the members, in accord, agreed it was time to showcase the man, they dubbed, A Trophy of Grace .

So, on Sunday, July 31, members of TCBC led their pastor’s families, friends and business associates from all walks of life to the Darlington Events’ Hall, Industrial Crescent, Town Planning Way, Ilupeju, Lagos to celebrate him in special way.

Ordinarily, for Pastor Oladele, a Chemical Engineer, from the then University of Ife (UNIFE), now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), former Group Executive Director, Refining and Petrochemicals, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), from where he bowed out of service with a clean slate in 1999; and currently, a leading partner with African Capital Alliance (ACA) in charge of the concern’s oil, gas and portfolio, a person’s life is not lived to the fullest, regardless of its achievements, if is not to honour God. It was thus deemed a great delight to honour a choice friend and distinguished servant of the Lord, who has not only led the church for over two decades, but has also raised four children, Gbolahan, Tomisona, Anuoluwapo and

Morayoninuoluwa.

Pastor Bassey Mfon, the guest minister at the service held to open the day sermonised on What In The World Does God Want? He also told the blend of members and guests thatconvergedontheoccasionthat, in spite of everything, we, as humans pant after God and there is nothing short of that in the life of everyone created by God. Thereafter, the party began in earnest with TCBC choir spicing the congergation with angelic choruses. Amid dancing and rejoicing, Pastor Oladele, was quietly re-ushered in with his wife, fondly called ‘Mama T, into the hall, wearingagoldAsoOkelacedwithchocolate spots Agbada (Babariga).

Clustered around virtue were the blossoms that give life fragrance, summed the speech given

by Prof. Ogunye, the celebrator’s engineering lecturer during his days in UNIFE. The professor of engineering, now an old man with scanty grey hair, recounted Oladele’s life in the university with an uncanny agility. He described him as a very studious, focused and brilliant young man, who would rather pray than read.

“He was one of the four students I used their books as marking scheme because what others will write on four pages; these four men will do on two pages. You know what, I couldn’t understand how these four men will spend their study time doing Bible studies, praying and doing fellowships during classes or even study hours. In the bid to make them close to class, I fixed classes on Sundays just to make them attend; yet, they never came and still made wonderful grades. And though at the end, Oladele ended up with a Second class Upper, he

•The celebrator assisted by his wife, Justina (second right), Pastor Bakare and a guest to cut the cake

•Associate Pastor Tokunbo Oshokoya and wife, Philomena at the birthday ... last Sunday eral others. was obviously a first class stu- choir, Miss Omolola Oriogun, She said: “I call him my dad, dent. We knew what happened told The Nation that the birthday and that is because he is a man and that is now left in the past, celebration was an opportunity who has been able to sense the Prof Ogunye said,” among oth- for her to truly appreciate the true spirit and emotions of those man, whose life of faith and love ers. around him and would not hurt A female member of TCBC for God, has inspired her and sev-

them. He tells the story of his life so openly, some of the lessons I pickedfromtheaccountsmademe stand”.

Little children were not left out in expressing appreciation to the Pastor , as they rendered their two songs: This is our Prayers (No Limits) and You’re Reaping the Harvest God Promised You, with dramatic displays.

Young Miss Oreoluwasubomi Akinrowo then presented a birthday picture frame to him while little Noel-Abdullahi recited a poetic prayer for the man of God. Then, a combined choir of adults and other sets of children sang ThankYouforGivingtotheLord.

The Patmos Troupe, drama of the church performed to depict the simple life of Oladele.

Guests, who came from the oil and gas sector, old students from St. Jude’s Primary School, Ebute-Metta, Lagos, where Oladele began his educational pursuit, old boys from the Government College, Ibadan, several UNIFE Alumni, Christian brothers and sisters from other states, were treated to one of their old time favourite songs Praise Him (Jesus) as they danced in wild jubilation.

Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly, who was the officiating minister, plugged into the ecstasy of the moment as he said: “Well, I think we just had a major revival session, and I wish that didn’t stop so that we can just crown everything with that today. I’m here to testify and to thank God for the particular way the life of this man of God has deeply touched my life. My wife was supposed to leave the country today, but I insisted she wasn’t going anywhere till we have attended Pastor Oladele’s birthday.“

50TH BIRTHDAY OF REVD OLABISI BANKOLE AT THE TRIUMPHANT WORD CHRISTIAN CENTRE, LAGOS

•From left: Mr Lanre Frank; Mr Olowo Timothy and Yinka Bamgbade

•The celebrator assisted by his wife, Lola to cut the cake

• Bishop and Revd Kayode Odulaja

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THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

AGRO-BUSINESS

Why Nigeria needs agric export zones, by expert

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DON, Dr Timothy Fayeye, has advocated for the establish-ment of agriculture export zones to improve the nation’s global trade ranking as a major producer of agriculture products.

An Agric Export Zone (AEZ) is a geographic region in a country for agr0-based processing industries.

Fayeye, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Animal Production, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), told The Nation that the creation of agriculture export zones deserves attention by the government and the private sector to help the nation’s exports.

According to him, AEZ has the potential to improve output, besides reducing post-harvest losses

Stories by Daniel Essiet, Agric Correspondent

and gradation of technology, farmers’ skills and income.

He said AEZ would result in the development of internationally competitive production base and increased private investments, leading to increased employment and economic development.

Fayeye, who advised that the zones be located where they will be well-connected by appropriate and feasible mode of transport, added that the zones be provided with necessary infrastructure.

He said the nation has lost a large per cent of agriculture produce due to inadequate infrastructure.

He said the focus should be on

commodities where the nation has surpluses and competitive edge in global markets.

According to him, Nigeria is a producer of commodities due to favourable agro-climatic conditions and rich natural resource base.

Through this arrangement, he noted that farmers would establish direct linkages with consumers in the importing countries and there would be facilities for further processing.

He said the agriculture sector has opportunities for employment generation and trade, adding that a policy that supports agriculture export zones will attract more investments and increase private sector’s participation in rural areas.

He called for fresh initiatives to boost post-harvest and processing technologies so that farmers can get good returns. The emphasis on Agri Export Zones is on convergence, he added.

The concept of Agri Export Zone attempts to take a comprehensive look at a particular produce/products located in a contiguous area for the development and sourcing of raw materials, their processing/ packaging, leading to final exports.

Thus, effort is centered on a cluster approach of identifying the potential products, the geographical region in which these are grown, among others.

The anticipated benefits of such zones are: strengthening of backward linkages with a market oriented approach; product acceptability and its competitiveness abroad as well as in the domestic market; value addition to basic agricultural produce; reduction in the cost of

• Fayeye

production through economy of scale; better price for agricultural produce; improvement in produce quality and packaging; promotion of trade-related research and development and increasing employment opportunities.

Nigeria produces less than 40% of its maize need

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• From left: Project Manager, Cassava: Adding Value for Africa (C:AVA), Dr. Kolawole Adebayo (Nigeria); Dr. Nanam Dziedzoave (Ghana) and Russel Woo (United States), inspecting a plywood factory where High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) is used as glue extender at Sunyani in Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana

‘Establish plant clinics, Federal, state govts told

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EDERAL and state governments have been urged to launch plant clinics in the veterinary units of their Ministries of Agriculture to assist in the fight against pests and diseases.

Speaking with The Nation, Executive Director, Olusegun Obasanjo Centre for Organic Research and Development (OOCORD), Ibadan, Prof Jonathan Babatola, said farmers would take samples of their affected plants to such clinics where agronomists and extension agents would diagnose and recommend pest management solutions.

He said the clinics would help to reduce crop losses by collecting and sharing vital information about their health.

According to him, the right knowledge to identify plant health problems, will slow down the spread of plant pests and diseases and provide the correct treatments before yields are significantly affected.

He explained that it is at such clinics that this knowledge is readily accessible to those who need it.

Babatola said farmers would find it easier to keep their crops healthy through a network of free crop clinics which will be established in the country. ‘’The clinics will advise farmers on pests and diseases in the way a health centre does for human beings. They are run by local technical people, who visit markets and small towns every week. Farmers drop by with samples of diseased plants, to get the problem identified and learn what to do about it,” he added.

As a result, farmers will be able to increase crop yields and spend

less money on expensive pesticides, increasing their average household income.

According to him, it would help farmers to get pest and disease problems in their crops under control with the correct diagnoses and instructions.

Babatola explained that it would prompt a network of laboratories with research institutions where farmers could send samples for analysis.

According to him, samples that cannot be diagnosed at the clinics will be referred to laboratories with research institutions, giving the farmers access to more expert diagnostic services.

In his response, an Associate Professor, Department of Crop Protection, University of Maiduguri, Dr Daniel Gwary, said plant health care partnership is needed to provide advice to farmers on managing plant health risks and problems.

He said the advice should be delivered through plant clinics, located at gathering points, such as state ministries of agriculture and extension services.

The plant clinics would provide farm-level data on pest occurrence, contributing to national-surveillance, early-warning, and rapid-response mechanisms.

The plant health care network, according to him, will strengthen farmers’and communities’ capacity to adapt to pest risks, whatever crops are grown, and whatever climate changes are predicted or actually occur.

Meanwhile, a research led by the Warwick Crop Centre in the School of Life Sciences at the University of

Warwick, United Kingdom, has developed a unique collection of information about the disease resistance of 96 of the world’s onion varieties. It will be a crucial resource for commercial growers and seed producers trying to combat one of the most difficult diseases affecting onion crops.

The work on onions, in this research funded by Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), is being carried out

by Dr Andrew Taylor, a Research Fellow in the University of Warwick’s School of Life Sciences, who has tested and recorded key traits of 96 varieties of onion from Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, India, United States and Japan.

The data provide information that will be crucial to growers seeking to create onion varieties that can resist Fusarium oxysporum (which causes basal rot in onions), and which also respond well to Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi – beneficial fungi.

An improved interaction with these fungi assists nutrient uptake in onions potentially decreasing the amount of fertiliser required. These fungi can have other beneficial effects, such as increased disease resistance and drought tolerance.

This research will not only help individual commercial growers and seed producers, but will also contribute significantly to global food security, particularly in situations where rising temperatures are an issue. Enhanced resistance to Fusarium oxysporum will be of importance in dealing with rising temperatures as basal rot is more active and acute in warmer conditions.

HE National Treasurer of the Maize Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr Abiola Job, says Nigeria produces about 40 per cent of its total maize requirement in a year.

As a result, he said there was the need for both the government and farmers to pay attention to satisfying local needs for the grain instead of exporting it.

“It is not yet time for the country to export maize. We don’t have enough maize even for livestock consumption much more human consumption,’’ he said.

Job explained that maize from Nigeria being consumed in some African countries, such as Niger Republic and Chad, was not exported officially, but bought by traders, who are in need of Nigerian maize, for sale in their countries.

He suggested that since the government is yet to meet the local demand for the grain, its sale outside

the country should be discouraged.

He said Nigeria could feed itself and other countries in West Africa if the government “pays the right attention to agriculture”.

Job commended the national maize doubling initiative of the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, but expressed regret that there has been no continuity in the policy by subsequent administrations.

He said if there is continuity in agricultural policies, Nigeria would become self-sufficient and even export agricultural products.

Job pointed out that since the maize doubling policy was an effective and good policy, it ought to be sustained if the government was desirous of meeting its national requirement for food.

He urged the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan to revive the policy to encourage maize farmers and provide employment jobs for youths.

IFAD urges communities to keep good records

K

ATSINA State communities which are benefiting from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Community based-Agricultural and Rural Development Programme (CBARDP) have been advised to keep good records to enable them to monitor the programme effectively.

Leader of IFAD visiting team to Katsina, Dr Sam Negedu, said monitoring and good record keeping would enable the beneficiaries to derive maximum benefits from the programme.

Negedu made the call at Gazara village in Bakori Local Government Area of the state, after visiting IFAD programmes in the area.

He said bad record management had hindered the pace of success of the programme in the state, and reminded communities concerned that proper book keeping techniques would ensure transparency and expansion of the programmes.

The team leader pointed out that though improved successes were recorded in the programmes, poor records management could result in “miscalculations and bad loan remittance from the beneficiaries”.

He said in some instances, loans were given out without record and only in self-recognition, adding that the lapse could give the beneficiaries the opportunity to deny taking such loans.

Negedu added that the absence of designed mode for loan payments made a beneficiary who took a N200,000 loan to remit only N50,000 in two years without any record of the remittance.

He, however, expressed satisfaction at the success recorded at IFAD Community Health Clinic and Veterinary Clinic at Hayin Liman and Unguwar Koshe, and urged leaders of the other programmes to emulate the outfits.

Responding, the IFAD Programme Officer in the state, Mallam Kabir Charanchi, assured IFAD of improvement in the management of records of IFAD progrmmes in the area.

Charanchi, who said that IFAD progrmmes were jointly funded by the federal, state and benefiting local governments, promised that future implementation of the programme, would be centered on agricultural development services.

Speaking on behalf of the benefiting communities, Chairman of Apex IFAD user groups, Alhaji Sule Yusuf, expressed delight that IFAD activities had changed the lives of the people in the state.

Yusuf said farmers recorded improved yield in soya beans, groundnuts and other services supplied by IFAD and called on the government to sustain the programme to expand it.

36

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

AGRO-BUSINESS

Lagos to establish market information system L

AGOS State Government is to establish a market information system and home delivery unit of agricultural products.

Speaking at an interactive session with market women, farmers and other stakeholders in Alausa, Ikeja, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, said the major problem of farmers was lack of access to timely and accurate market information.

To solve the problem, he said government would build a system that would provide information on locations for prices in local markets.

The system, he explained, will enable farmers to receive alerts and regular extension messages on production practices, preventing them from exploitation by middlemen, who have historically taken advantage of uninformed farmers by offering lowerthan-market prices.

The commissioner said users will receive messages on prevailing market prices for various products in different markets.

Lawal said the government is determined to provide farmers and agro-businesses with access to new and improved technologies.

Stories by Daniel Essiet, Agric Correspondent

Growth in productivity, he noted, can only be brought about by improving farmer business management, tailoring input distribution and marketing.

For this reason, he said farmers will be educated on how to connect directly to market service providers, thereby reducing the number of middlemen in the value chain.

Beyond this, Lawal said the goal of the government is to make business transactions faster and comfortable through a cash free e-payment system. He said the project is geared towards making Lagos a cashless society and ensuring business security.

He explained that marketers would not need to carry cash from one place to another during their transactions because all payments will be electronic-based, adding that with effect from January 1, 2012, through the proposed intervention, Lagos will join other Mega Cities in the world to become a cashless society.

Presenting the modus operandi of the system, Director of Planning, Research and Statistics Mr Jafaru Sanuth explained that the proposed in-

tervention would build on the existing structure in the major markets by creating market information centre that would collect prices of agricultural foodstuff daily and make same available to interested members of the public and deliver orders at their door steps or offices.

He stressed that the computerised centres where orders are received and delivered during market hours of 7 a.m to 7 p.m daily would be provided by the government or private companies so branded, adding that the major stakeholders in the scheme include the system operators, the market associations, market transportation associations, GSM providers and internet providers. Other stakeholders include financial institutions/Fund managers, agro mart operators, government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and Market Development Board.

Sanuth said models of the Agro Mart in Alausa would be built in all local government areas/local council development area headquarters, which will serve as a back up to the supply chain of the delivery system. He said with more than 200 markets in the 87 local government areas/local local council development areas in

Lagos State, the scheme will take off from the major markets before it is extended to cover all markets.

While explaining that regular meetings would be held with all associations to carry them along, he said GSM providers and internet operators would have dedicated lines for calls.

Sanuth said financial institutions and fund managers would provide platform for payments with minimal contact with cash and also maintain accounts for the scheme and transfer among stakeholders.

The government plans to create an enabling environment for the private sector to buy into the project.

He added that other functions of the government would include the introduction of standard measures, monitoring of the system, advertisement of the initiatives and facilitation of appropriate market storage and processing facilities to minimise losses.

Other government functions include regulation of marginal rate charges by operators, development of a website for market information services, provision of teleprompters at strategic locations to show prices and capacity building for all stakeholders.

• Lawal (middle); Permanent Secretary Dr. Jide Basorun (left) and a representative of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Emmanuel Oboigbena, at the event.

Nigeria’s poultry on international watch list

N

IGERIA and two African countries are now on international watch list. The others are Ethiopia and Morocco.

This is as a result of a report that farmers are using fluoroquinolone antibiotics in chicken and turkey production.

The study, led by FrançoisXavier Weill, and Simon Le Hello, at the Pasteur Institute in France, is published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Fluoroquinolonen is used in the treatment of Salmonella. Salmonella infection is a major public health problem worldwide. Eggs and bakery products are the most

common sources of Salmonella outbreaks, whereas broiler meat was an important source for both Salmonella and Campylobacter outbreaks.

A new study has identified the recent emergence of a multidrug-resistant strain of Salmonella that has a high level resistance to ciprofloxacin, a common treatment for severe Salmonella infections. The study, led by François-Xavier and Le Hello at the Pasteur Institute in France, is published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Weill and his colleagues studied information from

national surveillance systems in France, England and Wales, Denmark, and the United States. The data showed that a multidrug-resistant strain of Salmonella, known as S. Kentucky, infected 489 patients in France, England and Wales, and Denmark between 2000 and 2008.

In addition, researchers reported that the first infections were acquired mainly in Egypt between 2002 and 2005, while since 2006 the infections have also been acquired in various parts of Africa and the Middle East.

According to the study, the absence of reported interna-

tional travel in approximately10 per cent of the patients suggests that infections may have also occurred in Europe through consumption of contaminated imported foods or through secondary contaminations.

In the study, multidrug-resistant S. Kentucky was isolated from chickens and turkeys from Ethiopia, Morocco, and Nigeria, suggesting that poultry is an important agent for infection. The common use of fluoroquinolones in chicken and turkey production in Nigeria and Morocco may have contributed to this rapid spread.

Agro business opportunities in Benue

By Daniel Essiet, Agric Correspondent

B

ENUE State is acclaimed as the nation’s “food basket” because of its rich and diverse agricultural produce. The state is blessed with fertile soil that produces a wide range ofvegetables, fruits and pasture for livestock.

The state also accounts for over 70 per cent of the nation’s Soya bean production. It boasts of one of the longest stretches of river systems in the country with potential for a viable fishing industry, dry season farming through irrigation and for an inland water way through irrigation and for an inland water way. It has a variety of crops grown in irrigated and rain areas. These include yams, rice, beans, cassava, potato, maize, Soya beans, sorghum, millet, beniseed(sesame), groundnuts, fruits, and cocoyam.

There are also important plantation crops. The agricultural production systems also include a wide range of horticulture crops. Benue is a producer of fresh fruits and vegetables such as cashew, cabbage, cotton seed, garlic, cardamom, onions, tomatoes, potatoes and inland fish.

The government has supported farmers through acquiring and clearing of demonstration farm lands.

Sensitisation has also been carried out with Local Governments and Traditional Rulers on the need to make land available for preparation for agricultural development.

The government is introducing fresh initiatives to boost post-harvest and processing technologies so that farmers can get good returns.

Agricultural practice has undergone series of modernisation for production of improved varieties.

The Divisional Agricultural Officers in the 23 Local Government Areas have been carrying out demonstration on tree nursery activities to the tree crops farmers in their Local Government.

Furthermore, demonstration farming which is carried out by the Accelerated Food Production Programme in the production of mandate crops such as rice, sesame, and cassava.

Agriculture and the agroindustry have provided most of the investment op- • Governor Suswam portunities in the state. Yam, cassava, rice, maize, sorghum, soya bean, beniseed (sesame), and groundnuts for use in food processing industries have made Benue State a major source of economic activity nationwide.

The government is now offering special incentives to investors who show genuine interest in processing, preservation, and export of local produce. Raw materials exist in abundance for agro-industry, as potato, sugar cane, millet, ginger and beans are produced in huge volumes, and the farmers who produce these crops have become so adept at at their task that, with a little spur from investors, they will be able to expand their output even more.

The agriculture sector has vast opportunity for employment generation and trade. There is need to have a longterm sustainable policy which will attract more investments and increase private sector’s participation in remote rural areas.

Government has a liberal policy of encouraging investors through incentives and industrial layout, especially in the capital Makurdi, which is served with paved roads, water, electricity and telephone.

The government has taken agriculture and agro-industry to a higher level through the Benue Advance Plan.

The government’s strategy is to enhance this potential by providing infrastructure and extension services to ensure that the quality of raw material produced locally meets the highest standards. This will ensure that investors have a good supply of quality produce for processing.

The government has, therefore, identified a number of priority sectors for investment focuses. These include large scale mechanised farming, vegetable oil processing, sugar manufacturing, livestock farming and feed production, meat processing, fruit juice production, starch and glue production, and the production of organic and inorganic fertilisers. Investors who target these areas will find a willing and very attentive listener in the state government.

In its attempt to make Benue a haven for agricultural investment, the government has embarked on a largescale land clearing across the state. These farmlands are suitable for mechanised farming of grains, and other food products.

In addition, the government has established a mechanism to facilitate the distribution of new seeds and seedlings, fertilisers, and other vital inputs.

For example, tractors and other implements can be hired from the state extension services. The government is also co-operating with international agencies, such as the UNDP, to help small-scale agricultural investors to improve their yields and get better prices for their products.

In sum, Benue is an investor-friendly state, and more efforts are being made by the state government to make investors feel even more welcome.

THE NATION

38

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

CRIME WATCH

Ex-council chief loses granddaughters

T

WO granddaughters of the former chairman of Orile Iganmu Local Government Area, Mr Christopher Anago were killed in a fire incident that razed their home at No. 43, Sari Iganmu Street, Lagos.

The incident which brought sadness to the hearts of residents, burnt all the properties that the residents worked for all their lives.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire was noticed from the roof of the building by passers-by who reportedly raised the alarm, but before the occupants could do anything to salvage their personal effects, the fire had consumed everything, including the two girls.

It was gathered that as everyone struggled to escape to safety, one of the occupants, Mrs Kehinde Anago who was returning from where she had gone to buy something, saw the fire and started shouting for help as her children were still trapped.

After the fire was put out by firefighters and passers-by, the charred remains of her

By Jude Isiguzo

two daughters were sighted at the entrance of the door. One of them was four, the other seven.

It was gathered that while the mad rush for escape lasted, the children identified as Bukola and Bisola woke up from sleep confused on seeing fire and did not know how to escape.

They reportedly banged on the door, calling for help at the same time, but their cry was not heard by anybody.

Investigation revealed that the children were left inside the house because their mother had rushed out to buy some food items for the family.

It was also gathered that the children came to spend the long vacation with their grandparents before the incident.

While she was still trying to come to terms with the reality of what had befallen her, Mr Anago, her husband, was said to be angry with her for locking the children inside,

It is indeed a tragedy. Nobody thought a thing like this would happen now. We cannot tell what caused the fire which defied even efforts by the fire service. I was not in the house when it happened. I was only attracted by the shout of fire and before we could get there, the whole place had been covered with thick smoke. My brother lost his two children in the fire.

He only moved here with his family two weeks ago

• The burnt house alleging that she was responsible for their death.

When Newsextra visited the scene, Mr Anago, who felt devastated by the death of his grandchildren, was said to have relocated to Badagry.

But one of his children, Miss Dayo Anago who also occupied an apartment in the burnt building said she lost everything including her money to the fire.

She said: “It is indeed a tragedy. Nobody thought a thing like this would happen now. We cannot tell what caused the fire which defied even efforts by the fire service.

I was not in the house when it happened. I was only attracted by the shout of fire and

Trader chops off KAI official’s finger

A

N official of the Lagos State Kick against Indiscipline (KAI) Brigade, Mr. Badejo Babajide, has lost his finger to an attack by a trader identified as Aminu Usman, along Allen Roundabout in Ikeja, Lagos.

The trader was caught in the prohibited area with his wares and was subsequently arrested by the official who later took him and other offenders to their operational vehicle before the cruel act.

Newsextra gathered that the trader did not resist the arrest because he knew he was guilty but however thought he could escape since many of the officials left the operational vehicle to catch other offenders, leaving just three of the KAI personnel at the scene.

Usman, who had requested to be allowed to ease himself with the intention of escaping, bit off the finger of the KAI official who prevented him from jumping off the vehicle.

Speaking with Newsextra, Babajide said that he was surprised at the bestial act and regretted losing his finger while discharging his official assignment.

He said: “We were on operation and when we got to Allen in Ikeja, we saw him in a prohibited area. He was arrested, and honestly, he did not resist arrest in any way because he knew he was guilty.

“Suddenly, when the rest of my colleagues went after others, remaining just three of us, he started hitting the vehicle, saying that he wanted to ease himself.

“I knew it was just a ploy to escape, so I tried opening the door to calm him down. As soon as I did this, he wanted to run away.

“So, I held him and the next thing I noticed was

By Titilayo Banjoko

that my finger was already on the floor. I regret the fact that I have lost my finger while doing my duty.”

The Commander of the brigade, Olusola Oyeyemi, told Newsextra that even though the act was painful, they would continue to carry out their responsibility of keeping the environment clean and ensuring that laws that are meant to protect the citizens are maintained.

He further said: “Everybody is surprised at the action of Usman.

He violated the laws of the state and he was arrested and the next thing he did to escape arrest was to chop off the hand of my official. We will not give up sanitising our society. It is for the good of all of us. We will not condone this brutish act and I can tell you now that he will face trial because we have handed him over to the police at Alausa Division.”

In the same manner, the Public Relations Officer of the agency, Mr. Tunde Olusesi, told Newsextra that the act of the trader was strange. He said he could not fathom how a sane human being will bite off the finger of a fellow man.

He narrated how it happened and called on members of the public to be law-abiding by obeying the laws of the state which are meant to protect everybody.

On his part, the KAI Marshal-General and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Environmental Matters, Captain Maigari Danjuma, said that 70 per cent of the populace are not responding to the environmental changes being introduced by the present administration.

He also insisted that he and his boys will not be deterred, and will continue to enforce discipline.

He added that that an exclusive re-organisation is going on in the organisation in order to improve their operations and serve the people effectively.

He violated the laws of the state and he was arrested and the next thing he did to escape arrest was to chop off the hand of my official. We will not give up sanitising our society. It is for the good of all of us. We will not condone this brutish act and I can tell you now that he will face trial because we have handed him over to the police at Alausa Division

before we could get there, the whole place had been covered with thick smoke. My brother lost his two children in the fire. He only moved here with his family two weeks ago.

“Right now, I do not know where the mother of the children is. I can not even tell where everybody has gone to because, as I speak now, I am left with just this piece of clothe I am wearing. Since the incident, I have been sleeping in the church. But I do not know how long the church will harbour me. Where do I even begin from? Is it about the money to rent an apartment or to start buying clothes? This is the worst thing that has happened to me.”

He also listed some of the challenges confronting the agency.

He said: “I have done a lot of research but have not been able to come out with reasons why people choose to be non-conformist. I want to tell you today that almost 70 per cent of the populace are not cooperating with our environmental laws, which is really sad.

“On our part, we are re-organising the brigade with an improved professional training that will enable our personnel to be more efficient in their duties.

“Let me also tell you that in our employment drive, we employ graduates, school certificates holders and artisans. This alone tells you that it is a dynamic organisation that is determined to provide an environmentally-friendly society to Lagosians.”

He added that illiterate people are not in their folds because all entrants are being screened to perform optimally.

On why there are still defaulters and why people are not yielding to the changes, Danjuma said that he feels the penalty has not been stiff enough.

He advocated a stiffer penalty that will discourage hawkers and illegal traders from causing unpleasant threats in the society.

He further said: “I think why people are not responding to the innovations is because the penalty is not stiff enough. I am calling on necessary agencies especially the judiciary and the special courts to dish out stiffer penalties to environmental offenders. If this is done, they will be discouraged and we shall breathe fresh air in our different communities.”

Danjuma thanked the governor and the Commissioner for the Environment, Hon. Tunji Bello, for the profound support his agency had received from them. He promised to continue to align with the dynamic environmental policies of the Fashola administration.

Lawmaker seeks end to night travel

M

• Obede

INDFUL of the inherent dangers of travelling at night on the road, including armed robbery and accidents, Senator Domingo Obende has called on the Federal Government to ban it.

He said it has become urgent that the government through the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) should prevail on night travellers to switch to daytime journeys until the situation on the roads improve.

Obende, who spoke with Newsextra in Lagos, said it is really sad that Nigerians are being killed in the most gruesome manner after they being dispossessed of their belongings by robbers.

The Senator noted that it is too callous an

By Musa Odoshimokhe

act for robbers to ask their victims to lie down on the road after dispossessing them of their valuables only for an on-coming vehicle to run over them. He therefore urged the FRSC to impose stiff penalties on any transport firm that has the penchant of embarking on night journeys.

He said: “The FRSC should penalise offenders of night journey prohibition until we have very good roads with cameras and streetlight to protect our lives and property.

“Security lapses have also contributed to lack of safety on our roads.”

“If government has the political will to address some of the basic needs of the

people, especially security, lives will be saved.”

Continuing, he said: “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop. If the youth are encouraged to take to farming, they won’t think of taking to robbery because they will be gainfully employed.”

He stressed that government should seriously look into the issue of security, and engage the Boko Haram sect in constructive dialogue in order to move the country forward. This, he said, will prevent the country from being listed as a terrorist nation.

“The world is watching how we are handling our security challenges.

THE NATION

39

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

Experts recommend medicinal plant

P

EOPLE in Rivers State have been advised to adopt moringa oleifera, a wonder plant reported to be rich in many important vitamins and medicinal values, as part of their menu.

Mr. Luke Nmehielle, a Barrister and the immediate past Programme Manager of Rivers State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) who gave the advice during the inauguration of the Rivers State branch of Moringa Development Association (MDA) also said that the plant has helped many people to develop socially, economically.

Nmehielle, who is reputed to be a major force behind moringa development in Nigeria, also recalled that awareness on Moringa came through the presentation of the Rivers State ADP to the National Council on Agriculture in Abuja.

Subsequently, it was adopted into the farming system of Nigeria with each state of the federation asked to plant at least 10 hectares as a demonstration farm to farmers across the country.

The former Rivers ADP boss also said he was happy that moringa has been adopted into the farming system in Nigeria by virtue of that approval and requested each state of the federation to plant at least 10 hectares of the plant "to enable other farmers to join and begin to benefit, not only in terms of

From Clarice Azuatalam, Port Harcourt

income but also for the well -being of our people."

He added that Moringa will accelerate the country's social, economic development and in the drive for food security, saying "we are concerned about the health and nutrition of the people."

He further stressed that "we are not medical people but we know that food comes first.

If you eat well you will not fall sick. So, that is why we are propagating Moringa for peo-

ple to eat well, get all the nutrients that the body requires to function effectively for the development of the society."

Also speaking, Mr Martins Wodeh, Chairman of Rivers State branch of MDA said that he would dedicate efforts on creating awareness on the nutrition, health and medicinal benefits of Moringa Oleifera Wodeh also said that his immediate responsibility would be to partner with the ADP and other stakeholders to make more Nigerians resident in the state to not only adopt Moringa as part of their daily menu but to

We are concerned about the health and nutrition of the people‌We are not medical people but we know that food comes first. If you eat well you will not fall sick. So, that is why we are propagating Moringa for people to eat well, get all the nutrients that the body requires to function effectively for the development of the society

also join in growing the plant.

He also disclosed that his office has opened discussion with the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) on ways to assist farmers of the plant which is said to contain properties that help in the control of some serious health challenges like high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, malnutrition, among others and whose cure are yet to be found by medical sciences.

Wodeh, who is also a deputy director in the state's ADP, noted that beyond the nutritional value of Moringa Oleifera, the plant which he described as one of the greatest gifts of God to man also has enormous economic values comparable to crude oil.

He added that scientific proofs have shown moringa to have the capacity to cure over 300 known ailments, saying that in countries like Kenya and Ghana, the plant has been developed as a major income earner.

"We are moving on in the state to ensure that each family in the state plants a tree," Wodeh said, adding that his team has liaised with RSSDA to assist farmers with drying of harvested leaves to save them from loss arising from the high humidity rate of the state.

Apart from Wodeh, other members of the executive of the Rivers MDA who were inaugurated at the occasion included Mrs Nene Onoh, Secretary; Mrs. Nonye Nkwonta, welfare officer and Felicia Chilaka, ex-officio member.

Imo creates forum for interaction MO State government has unveiled an interactive forum through which the people at home and in the diaspora can ask direct questions and interact. with Governor Rochas Okorocha on the policies and programmes of his government.

According to the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Media, Mr Chinedu Offor who revealed this during an interview at the Government House, stated that the feature with the title "Ask the Governor" is part of new initiatives through which the governor feels the pulse of the people and receive unfiltered questions and, in turn, give a direct response to the people's inquiries on any issue concerning his administration.

Mr Offor hinted that the introduction of this feature is part of governor Okorocha's commitments towards running an open and transparent government which is in line with his Rescue Mission Agenda.

He further explained that the governor could be accessed through the Imo website www.imostate.gov.ng to get direct response and explanations on his policies and actions.

Mr Offor, who encouraged people to send their questions to governor via www.imostate.gov.ng said that "this is also part of Governor Okorocha's commitments to people-driven policy and an indication that all his policies will be guided by concerns for the common people."

He stated that the present administration is one of the few where people are given access to speak directly to the governor and receive immediate response.

I

• Cow heads awaiting buyers at Suleja Abattoir in Niger State N his quest to empower his constituency, the lawmaker representing Okigwe State Constituency in the Imo State House of Assembly Hon. Ihim has set aside N10m for the empowerment of memFrom Emma Mgbeahurike, Owerri bers of his constituency. He has also estabto extend the gesture to Governor Rochas lished 12 constituency offices.

Okorocha, to enable him to actualise his Okigwe was agog as inhabitants of the anRescue Mission Agenda. cient city expressed their joy over the iniHon. Ihim disclosed that "arrangements tiative of the legislator who made the dishad been concluded for the offices to be opclosure at a stakeholders' meeting he conerational. Each of the 12 offices will be vened recently at the local government manned by two permanent staff. He also council hall. added that development projects would be Addressing the crowd, Hon. Ihim exexecuted in each ward on monthly basis, pressed gratitude to members of his conall to be funded from his private purse. stituency for the support and confidence "Periodic ward tours and bridges of crossthey reposed in him, even as he urged them

I

PHOTO: NAN

Lawmaker empowers constituents

My mission in the House is not to discuss political party but to bring home democratic gains to my constituents who toiled night and day towards my victory. This motive is what informed my sponsoring three motions that sailed through in the one-month-old House.

This is my vision and mission

fertilisation of ideas will be built across the communities and all strata of society for speedy execution of projects as a fulfilment of my campaign promises, for now is the time for recompense," Hon. Ihim said.

The Deputy Majority Leader of the House also commented on his present party. He stated that political parties are vehicles through which political office holders develop their communities.

He said: "My mission in the House is not to discuss political party but to bring home democratic gains to my constituents who toiled night and day towards my victory.

This motive is what informed my sponsoring three motions that sailed through in the one-month-old House. This is my vision and mission."

He applauded Governor Okorocha for appointing their people into his cabinet, approving contract for the dualisation of Owerri Road which is a federal road, and asphalting of 10 roads in the area. He assured him of their collective resolve to reciprocate the gesture by giving him their maximum support.

Also speaking at the event, Chairman of

the occasion, Prof. Ezeadi Ogbonnaya Ezeadi extolled the lawmaker's political dynamism which he said enabled him to succeed at the polls, noting that the legislator's rare qualities will translate into speedy socio-economic and political growth of the area.

In his speech, Chief Acho Ndukwe asserted that Okigwe as a minority entity cannot afford to remain in opposition and therefore has no option than to support Governor Okorocha.

Chief Ndukwe therefore urged the people to join the Rescue Mission train for the development of all nooks and cranny of the state in order to retain their rightful position in Imo politics.

Contributing, Chief Inno Onwukaike who regretted that politics of segregation and character assassination has constituted clogs in the progress of the area, emphasised the need for them to solidly back Governor Okorocha and Hon. Ihim.

He urged the people to consider the All Progressives Grand Alliance as a party for development and be part of the Rescue Mission Agenda of Governor Okorocha.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

40

My world has almost come to an end. It was the first time I had visited my community after the mayhem... People should ask questions why Ogbunka invaded their neighbours. We are in a sorrowful state

Monarch, Uba mediate in community feud

T

HE visit by Senator Andy Uba to the two feuding communities in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State re-echoed what was almost buried in the minds of the victims.

Uba and his entourage were speechless as they stared at the burnt houses in Owerre Ezukala where some of the victims cried their hearts out.

Forty-seven-year-old Agnes Nwankwo, who returned from Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State cried uncontrollably, as everything in her six-room apartment were destroyed by the hoodlums.

In a chat with Newsextra, she said: “My world has almost come to an end. It was the first time I had visited my community after the mayhem.”

Also, 76-year-old Pa Lawrence Okeke who was allegedly kidnapped by Ogbunaka people told Newsextra that his freedom from the hands of militants was miraculous.

He pleaded with the state and Federal Governments and other individuals from the state to join people like Senator Uba to help in making sure that normalcy returns to the two neighbouring communities.

The President-General of Owerre

From Nwanosike Onu , Awka

Ezukala, Alphonsus Ikegwu said that not only that properties were burnt in Owerre Ezukala but most of them were equally looted by their neighbours.

He told Newsextra: “People should ask why Ogbunka invaded their neighbours. We are in a sorrowful state.”

President-General of Ogbunka Grunwill Obi told Newsextra that the problem started in 1976 when he alleged that their neighbours destroyed their primary school in Ikpa-Ebu which was originally agreed to be a joint venture.

Continuing, he said that in 2003 when they started another project, their neighbours came the second time and destroyed it and in the process, cut off the fingers of the one of their sons, Geoffrey.

“All arrangements, including committees set up by the government, have been rebuffed by our neighbours in Owerre Ezukala,” Obi said.

The Senator Representing Anambra South Senatorial zone, Andy Uba was almost in tears when he noticed the quantum of destruction that resulted from the communal crisis between the two communities.

During the crisis, about two lives were lost, various degrees of injuries sustained with property worth

over N500m destroyed. Among the properties destroyed included a secondary school which forced members of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) posted to the areas to flee.

Uba visited the areas in the company of Senator Ugochukwu Uba, the traditional ruler of EnugwuOnyia, Igwe Peter Ezeamama, the Chairman of the council area Godson Obi, former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Mr Bright Nebedum and other PDP top shots.

He told the people that their mission was to seek ways of finding a lasting solution to the crisis involving the two neighbouring communities.

The cause of the mayhem was a piece of land said to be rich in precious stones and which each of the two communities are laying claim ownership of.

Senator Uba said: “I have not come here to apportion blames but I am here in making sure that peace returns to Owerre Ezukala and Ogbunka. Where there is no peace there won’t be any development.

“We really thank God today that some buildings are still standing and people are still alive here. We want the two communities to appoint representatives each for us to make peace, there is no gains in wars.

“We are going to the root of these

problems and also we are going to seek help from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), who had equally visited these areas. But we want everybody to be patient. Everything would be alright,” Uba told the communities.

The traditional ruler of EnuguOnyia, Igwe Peter Ezeamama who is also the chairman reconciliatory committee in Orumba advised that people should be civilised and stop behaving in primitive and uncivilised ways.

He further warned that the warring communities should stop listening to rumours or gossips by listening to them, these groups of people, according to the monarch, provoke anger, even as he urged the people to sheath their swords and embrace peace.

The crown prince of Owerre Ezukala, Prince Joel Ezenwama, said Uba had shown the people who voted him during the election that he is a Senator of peace and not that of destruction.

However, a cleric of the Anglican Communion who hails from Ogbunka, Venerable Chris Orajekwe told the delegation that both the police and military who were deployed to the area engaged in looting the people’s property instead of protection them.

He indicted the security opera-

• Uba tives from Anambra State as the major culprits until the forces from Abuja came to enforce sanity in the area. He added that over 35 persons from Ogbunka had been arrested by the police command while none was arrested in Owerre-Ezukala.

He said: “The police and army sent to Ogbunka and Owerre Ezukala looted everything in Ogbunka including our money.

No member of the community would enter the land until there is peace in the land. We have been in the bush till now.”

‘Don’t laugh at children with disorder’ From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

• Prof Ajienka

T

HE Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), Prof. Joseph Ajienka, has called for better treatment of children with communication disorders.

He said in advanced countries, children who suffer from communication disorders enjoy extensive compassion and attention, wondering why such is not the case in Nigeria.

The vice-chancellor stated these while declaring open the congress organised by the Association for Child Development and Communication Disorders in Nigeria (ACDCDN), in collaboration with the Department of Linguistics and Communication Studies (LCS) of UNIPORT. The congress, hosted by UNIPORT for the third consecutive time, had as theme: "Preserving Mankind From The Cradle," and took place at the Ebitimi Banigo Auditorium of the Federal Government-owned institution in Port Harcourt.

Ajienka, who was represented by UNIPORT's Deputy Vice-Chancel-

lor, Administration, Prof. Tony Arinze, decried the neglect of children with communication disorders, by not giving priority attention to their plight, in government's policy thrust.

The vice-chancellor also condemned the situation whereby even teachers laugh or poke fun at children that stammer or stutter, while trying to express themselves, stressing that such attitude would not augur well in addressing the children's plight, making some of them to drop out of school, for not being encouraged to surmount their disabilities.

He said: "The congress is aimed at championing a worthy cause that is often not accorded the priority rating it richly deserves in policy-making circles.

"Any disorder that is well handled will not lead to permanent disability. The major barrier that people living with communication disorders face today is lack of proper attention concerning their special needs and alienation.

"Some people still consider communication disorders as divine punishment for sins committed by the sufferers. Consequently, when a component of a problem is properly addressed, the others could easily be tackled with added motivation and the right policy thrust.

"Children with different forms of disorder have enjoyed extensive compassionate attention in most of the developed world, but attempts to address their needs in Nigeria have come from small voluntary groups and units, usually working with little support from government. Yet, there is need for us to work together, for the sake of the child.

"Have you seen somebody with cleft lip or palate despised or rejected at a job interview, even when he or she has other qualities that are suitable for the job? When

a man or a child stutters or stammers for seconds to get a sentence out, you may laugh, but there is something inside him crying to be expressed.

"Some of these conditions, if identified quite early, with the right therapy, can be ameliorated or managed. Yet, our society is not disability-friendly."

The vice-chancellor further stated that the United Nations, at various times, had highlighted the plight of millions of children suffering discrimination and exploitation, but very invisible to the world, stressing that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) implicitly refer to the issue of proper child development as a precursor to subsequent healthy living.

He also stated that any organisation or group of persons that take the lead, in advocating productive

and successful living for the children with special needs should be commended.

The vice-chancellor said it should be everybody's joint responsibility to make life easier for the children with communication disorders.

Ajienka also lauded the organisers of the third congress for their efforts in tackling communication disorders, while urging the government to assist in addressing the situation.

The vice-chancellor added: "It is our social responsibility and concern to see that our children with developmental disorders grow up to be independent and useful adults, through our own concerted efforts to prevent these disorders from becoming permanent disabilities that exact a heavy toll on society. A society is known for how it takes care of its weakest segments."

The convener of the congress, Prof. Shirley Yul-Ifode, of UNIPORT's Department of LCS, had earlier stated in her welcome address that the event was aimed at brainstorming on early intervention among disciplines, to tackle cases of child development and communication disorders.

She pointed out that the congress would ensure that communication disorders were managed, prevented, treated where necessary, for the children to be productive and successful like other children.

Yul-Ifode equally pleaded for public and government's support, in order to realise the establishment of a centre that would specialise in addressing and ameliorating communication disorders.

Eminent scholars from UNIPORT and other Nigerian universities also presented papers at the threeday and well-attended event.

•Abia State Governor Theodore Orji welcoming Mr Henry Okoronkwo, Comptroller, Immigration Service in the state to Government House, Umuahia when the latter paid him a courtesy visit

SLIDING TACKLE “It is very funny. It is not about the family, we are not hungry, our mother owns a school that has been on for over 25 years and has produced many graduates for this country. It is not about the family, but the man in question. It is not inspiring enough”

Elder brother of late Samuel Okwaraji, Patrick Okwaraji expressing disappointment at the refusal of government to properly honour the demised football player.

Friday, August 12, 2011

42

Torres could miss Stoke opener

F

ERNANDO Torres could miss Chelsea's opening Premier League fixture this weekend after suffering a head injury playing for Spain.

The striker was forced to leave the pitch in Spain's international friendly away to Italy in Bari on Wednesday night after suffering a suspected concussion.

Spain lost the match 2-1.Chelsea begin their 2011/12 Premier League campaign with a potentially difficult match away to Stoke City on Sunday, but they may well have to do without

Torres.

The Spaniard will undergo further checks to determine whether he will be fit for selection.

If not, he would be the second attacking option denied to new Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas, as inform English striker Daniel Sturridge will miss the match due to suspension.

This could open the door for Didier Drogba and/or Nicolas Anelka to play up front for the London club.

Busquets, Pique doubtful for Real Madrid clash

B

ARCELONA coach Pep Guardiola may have to make do without the injured Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets for the upcoming Spanish Supercopa first-leg against Real Madrid.

The duo sustained injuries in Spain's 2-1 international friendly loss against Italy on Wednesday and could be ruled out of action for Sunday's encounter at Santiago Bernabeu.

Pique picked up a knock in the dying minutes of the first-half and was forced to

Fabregas set to sign for Barcelona

A

RSENAL captain Cesc Fabregas is on the verge of completing a move to Barcelona, according to a report by the

BBC. The prospective deal would put an end to one of the longest transfer sagas in recent years, with both clubs in talks over a move since last summer, when the Catalans had two bids rejected by the Gunners.

It is believedArsenal will receive around €29 million up front for Fabregas, with a further €6m in variables bringing the fee up to €35m and around €5m being put in by the player himself, who is owed the money for the four years left on his current contract.

Reports in England claim Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger will use the funds generated by the sale of the Catalan midfielder to strengthen his squad in order to mount a serious Premier League challenge next term.

Fabregas, 24, has made no secret of his wish to move back to Barcelona, where he played in the youth sides before leaving for north London at the age of 16.

The Spain international, who will accept a reduction in his wages to move to Camp Nou, is poised to become Barcelona's second summer signing, following the purchase of Chile winger Alexis Sanchez from Udinese late last month.

Arsenal, meanwhile, have been linked with Valencia's Juan Mata as a replacement for Fabregas.

leave the pitch due to the knock. Busquets, who replaced Pique, managed to stay on the pitch until the final whistle, but complained about a knee problem after the game.

However, Spain's physio, Juan Cota, said to Sport that both players could feature if their injuries suffer no further ill-effects.

"Busquets was on the receiving end of a tackle and has a painful knee. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to be too serious. Pique has a muscular problem. He could be recovered in time for Sunday if nothing happens in the next few days."

The first-leg of the Spanish Supercopa tie takes place at Santiago Bernabeu this weekend, while the return will be held at Camp Nou three days later.

Spanish first and second division players will go on strike for the first two weekend's of the 2011/2012 league season, the player's union (AFE) said on Thursday.

"We are unanimous and firm in our decision to call a strike," AFE president Luis Rubiales told a news conference. "The league will not start until a new agreement (between the league and the players) has been signed."

Spurs match cancelled ... the show goes on

T

OTTENHAM’S match at home to Everton this weekend is the only Premier League game to fall victim to the week’s unrest in the capital.

The remaining nine of the weekend’s fixtures, including Monday’s game between Manchester City and Swansea, will all go ahead as planned despite the riots taking place across the country.

Earlier in the week police statements leaned towards the possibility of all the fixtures going ahead as Association of Chief Police Officers football lead Andy Holt told BBC News, “The police service wants to do all it can to ensure Britain returns to business as usual as soon as possible.” Holt did add, however, that each match would have to be judged individually before getting the green light to go ahead. At 11 o’clock this morning it became clear that the game at White Hart Lane would have to be postponed.

Jail for Theo Walcott's thieves TWO burglars have been jailed for ransacking the home of football star Theo Walcott's parents as they watched their son play.

The pair sped off in the Theo Walcott's VW Golf after grabbing £15,000 worth of loot, including jewellery and a laptop.

The raid on the £1.8m home in Hemel Hempstead, Herts, came as Theo, 22, was helping the Gunners beat Barcelona 2-1 in the Champions League.

Kevin Wood, 32, of

•Walcott

Hemel Hempstead, and Ryan Lee, 23, of Amersham, Bucks, were caged for three years and

FIFA gives $1m to Somalia projects •Torres

FIFA says it will donate $1 million towards humanitarian aid work in Somalia by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

FIFA says the money will fund programs helping people affected by drought and conflict in the country. It says one-third of the donation will buy food for "25,000 families or 150,000 people over a period of one month."

F I FA h a s r e c e n t l y supported disaster relief work in Japan, Haiti, Pakistan and Chile.

Somalia's football federation showed its close links to FIFA by nominating Sepp Blatter to stand for re-election as president this year.

• Blatter

Somalia begins its 2014 World Cup qualification program with a home-andaway tie against Ethiopia in November.

Troubled striker Adrian Mutu has been expelled from the Romanian national team for life after spending a night drinking with a team-mate ahead of a friendly against San Marino, coach Victor Piturca said.

West Bromwich defender Gabriel Tamas, who was with the Cesena striker at the time, shared the same fate, Piturca said late Wednesday after Romania beat San Marino 1-0.

"The two players have been expelled for life from the national team", Piturca stressed.

"It's a pity but rules are strict and they should have known it," he added.

Local media said that Mutu and Tamas, who had been involved in drinking bouts before, had gone out partying on Monday evening despite strict orders from the coach.

"We understand Piturca's decision," Mutu said.

The expulsions come less than a month before Romania resume their Euro-2012 qualifying campaign, against Luxemburg on September 2 and France four days later.

Nicknamed the "Brilliant" by Romanian fans, Mutu was suspended for taking cocaine in 2004 and still owes 17.2 million euros in damages to Chelsea, his club at the time.

OTHER SPORT...OTHER SPORT...OTHER SPORTS...

Semenya out of Student Games DEFENDING women's 800m world champion Caster Semenya has withdrawn from the World Student Games to be held in Shenzen, China, from August 12 to 23 due to a niggling back injury.

Her withdrawal from the Student Games was confirmed by University Sport South Africa's (USSA) athletics chairman Glen Bentley on Thursday.

Bentley said Semenya informed USSA on Sunday she could not join the team that left for China on Wednesday.

He said the athlete met with the team manager Jerome Walters and the team coach Mohamed Ally and told them she did not want to risk injuring herself before the world championships.

•Semenya

SHOPPING

43

THE NATION

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.net

e-mail: janicenkoli@yahoo.com 08033349992 sms only

email:- shopping@thenationonlineng.net

• Third from left:Divisional MD, Mr Derrick Houten; General Manager Finance, Hope Uwagboe; Marketing Manager Nnena Onwuka and some customers cutting the anniversary cake.

Mr Bigg’s: Waxing strong at 25 In commemoration of its 25th anniversary, Mr Bigg’s is rolling out the drums to celebrate, TONIA ‘DIYAN reports.

Star product of the week

Say it with flowers

The one-minute cure Page 44 Page 45

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

44

SHOPPING

Mr Bigg’s: Waxing strong at 25 M

R Bigg’s, the fast food resturant is 25. It has been 25 years of serving consumers nourishing meals and snacks; and promoting family value.

Highlight of the celebration was the cutting of the anniversary cake with consumers in its restaurants across the country. Every customer got a slice.

The ‘Buy more, win more’ August freebie galore is on to commemorate the anniversary. Under the promo, customers who buy products worth N1,000 stand a chance of winning instant awards. Only one customer can, however, emerge winner at any given time.

The promo is also to appreciate loyal customers and all those who have made the iconic brand what it is today.

Serving as a reminder of its promise to deliver only the best in terms of products quality and services to consumers, the outlet has introduced a striking line known as ‘Always Good’.

The brand’s major focus is on creating an unforgettable dining experience for children and families; a total package of high quality freshly served meals and snacks, by friendly courteous and enthusiastic staff, in a clean hygienic and refreshing environment.

As a socially responsible member of the community, Mr Biggs lends massive support to various institutions and organisations, including the less privileged homes and the physically challenged. It promises something exciting and benefiting to consumers at least yearly.

Its last re-branding came with a complete overhaul of its packaging materials which now come in beautiful designs using eco friendly raw materials.

The brand has come a long way these last 25 years. It started the fast food industry and has remained one of its leader.

Over the years, the brand has undergone changes to keep its name and its customers.

There was a major redesign of its logo last year, with a touch of orange added to its colour. Its new trendy look meets the taste of today’s consumers, while retaining the ‘Biggs B’ brand icon which it is identified with.

Mr Bigg’s sprang up from the coffee shops of the Kingsway department stores run by UAC in the early ‘60s. In 1973, ‘Kingsway Rendezvous’ a pastry shop was introduced to replace the coffee shops.

On August 12, 1986 the first Mr Bigg’s came into being in the opening of the Marina branch.

The branch is still in existence.

Subsequently, every two years, a new Mr Bigg’s was opened. By 1995, the number of Mr Biggs in existence was five. Port Harcourt; and later Abuja in 2003.

Outside Nigeria, 170 Mr Bigg’s have been developed in West Africa, starting with the one near Kwame Nkrumah circle in Accra, Ghana.

alone. As they say, body no be stone,” she said.

She added that there are different types of flowers such as sunflower, gallant flower, ficous flower, artificial leaves and the likes.

An accountant, who patronises the gift shop, said: “I love anything that makes my home look beautiful and inviting that is why I buy

my flowers here to beautify my home. I also buy gift items here because they are sold at affordable prices.

Another customer when asked why she likes buying flowers in the shop, said: “I just like anything that makes my house look fascinating. That’s all.”

Say it with flowers Using flowers for decoration is a beautiful way of achieving style - whether in your home, surroundings, hotels, restaurants, halls or parties. BISOLA SABA writes.

D

ECORATING your home and environment is vital to making it look inviting, attractive and graceful. Apart from furniture, one of the things to consider when decorating your home and environment are flowers. They beautify the house and bring out the beauty of other decorative elements.

Many plants produce highly visible flowers that have a distinctive size, colour and fragrance. Almost everyone is familiar with beautiful flowers, such as the blossoms of roses, orchids and tulips. People have sought ways to cultivate, buy, wear, or otherwise be around flowers and blooming plants, partly because of their agreeable appearance and smell. Around the world, people use flowers for a wide range of events and functions that, cumulatively, encompass one’s lifetime.

The Nation Shopping came across a gift shop, known as Morkaztos gift shop at 68, Unity Bus Stop, Igando Road, Lagos where several flowers and gift items, such as kitchen utensils, children toys, lovers’ gifts, frames, cards and teddy bears are sold.

The shop’s Manager, Mrs Clarion Ugochukwu, expressed her displeasure with those who do not know the value of decorating their homes with flowers, she said.

“There are some people who do not know the value of flowers, I have been here for about eight years and the first four years was

T

HE beauty of flowers increases manifolds when they are placed in beautiful vases. Bring life to a room with flower vases that are decorative, stylish and fun.

Attractive vases never fail to bring elegance and style to any decor. They carry an enigmatic grace that adds more style to your surroundings and leave a long lasting impression on every one.

There are several contemporary designs in vases that completely change the way your home or office looks. There are various types of vases such as a glass vase, a crystal vase and other types of flower vases in ceramic and clay. Whether it is your coffee table or a wall cabinet, vases can bring out the artistic best in you. Choose accenting pieces in crackle styles and mosaics for windowsills, counters, and tabletops. Hanging globes will let you display developing plants. Choose from a variety of colors, shapes, and themes that will complement and protect delicate stems and are sure to add the perfect accent to any space.

With the vast selection of colours, designs and shapes, you can create a perfect arrangement for the decor of your home or office.

Glass and crystal vase

• Flowers for beauty

not encouraging at all. Though the customers’ patronage is quite encouraging, I sell mostly at seasonal periods.

“Also, I deal with home decoration and gift items for different occasions; I decorate homes, halls, churches and parties. I have sales girls assisting me because I cannot do all these

Decorative flower vases

expensive than the glass vases. Crystal vases are offered in stunning shapes and designs like porcelain wave vases, elegant bud vase, vases in different warm shades, crystal with gold coating, vases with checkered patterns etc.

Whether a stand alone piece of an art or the one with the fresh daisies in them; vases add that special look to your room. While a crystal vase adds charm and spark to your room, a glass vase is much the same with the same kind of shine and elegance.

• Bulb glass vase • Wine glass vase

Glass vases and crystal vases are available in assorted styles, sizes and colours. Glass vases with flowers are used for decorative

purpose in the household. They are elegant decoration pieces and serve as fine gift options. Crystal vases are a little more

• Rose flower

45

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

SHOPPING STAR PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

Shopping Right with

How stores lure shoppers

N The Oneminute cure

Shopping for natural therapy

A

N essential commodity which many are now going for is The One-Minute Cure, a book written by Dr Madison Cavanaugh. It describes how a one minute therapy can cure various diseases.

It explains how people have been healed through the application of the natural oxygenating substance revealed in the book. It uses a natural oxygenating substance which stimulates the movement of oxygen atoms from the bloodstream to the cells to a dramatically greater degree than is usually reached by other means.

It does this by increasing oxygen and haemoglobin dissociation, thereby maximising the delivery of oxygen from the blood to the cells.

The distributor, Mr Dubem Nnamua, said it is a remarkable, scientifically proven natural therapy that creates an environment within the body where diseases cannot thrive.

He noted that the therapy does not cure disease but enables the body to cure itself of disease.

He said: “What would you be willing to give to ensure that you and your loved ones would never need to suffer or die- from socalled incurable diseases that are actually curable?

“If you are like most people, chances are, you or someone you know suffers from one or more of the following diseases: cancer, AIDS, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, Asthma, diabetes, rheumatoid, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, alcoholism, hepatitis, her-

By Janice Nkoli Ifeme

pes, emphysema, periodontal disease and many more.

Imagine never having to worry about getting the flu again, or suffering from migraine headaches, gum disease, sinusitis, anaemia, lupus, bronchitis and any other disease, for that matter.

“What if you no longer had to live in fear that one day you will develop a disease that “runs in the family” or get diseases that naturally come from “getting older” or from bad lifestyle choices?

And what if you had a one-minute cure that could get rid of virtually any disease in the event that you actually acquired one?

I know, I know. You are probably thinking, That just can’t be true! How could one simple remedy possibly cure all diseases?

There is no such thing as a panacea.Well, you have every reason to be skeptical. I know I was.

But if you can suspend your disbelief for a moment. You will learn the most amazing health secret anyone could ever possess. Your life or the life of your loved one could very well depend on this information.

Acording to him, over 6,100 articles in European scientific literature have attested to the effectiveness of the simple therapy in not only killing diseased cells but also simultaneously revitalising and rejuvenating healthy cells, thereby creating vibrant energy and well-being.

ATURALLY, the retail climate favours big-box stores that can offer bargains. But because small retailers cannot win price wars, experts say independents need to leverage their biggest advantage over the chains: personal relationships with customers and the ability to deliver superior service.

As shoppers become more value focused, they are turning toward big-box retailers.

Small retailers can bolster sales by targeting wealthier shoppers who are less price-sensitive and may pay premiums for better service. Upper-income households often perceive of value in very different ways from lowerincome shoppers.

So what can independent retailers do to compete with their larger counterparts?

In whatever market they are targeting, small retailers need to court their best customers. They need to maximise the one-onone personal relationships that they have with customers.

That is the secret weapon that small independents have against big national chains. If I am savvy and communicate with my customers well, I can draw loyal customers into my store before they go into the national chains.

One way to do that is through affinity discounts that encourage loyal customers to spend more, rather than trying to attract new business by cutting prices across the board.

They are going to their customer base, and they are mailing out to their best customers targeted discounts to get them into the store.

That is a lot smarter than putting a 70 per cent off sign in front of your store Through affinity programs, retailers can strengthen their relationships with their best customers and appeal to those shoppers’ bargain-hunting mood at the same time.

Beyond customer service, retailers need to keep inventories lean to keep costs down.

Store owners need to be especially vigilant in refusing late orders and watching for over shipments to avoid having merchandise they would not be able to sell.

In addition, small retailers can take a cue from large chains that display as much merchandise as possible on the floor, rather than holding inventory in the stockroom.

Likewise, stores should watch their staffing levels to control costs. They want to be able to staff to the peak hours as much as they can.

That means mostly in evenings and weekends, as most two-income families have little time to shop during the day. Businesses might decide to open later in the morning and extend hours at night to reach more customers without needing to staff more hours.

Marketing companies are experimenting with a new wave of digital technologies to pitch to consumers while they shop: interactive dressing-room mirrors, kiosks with virtual customer-service representatives, shopping carts and digital scanners that offer personalised discounts.

They are also marshalling out innovative ways for marketers to connect with customers as part of an effort to better understand what makes consumers buy and to encourage companies to rethink their approaches to the role of the retail store.

New waves of digital technologies that pitch consumers while they shop are being developed. Some retailers have started testing basic versions of the new technologies, for instance a door frame that comes with a 52-inch touch screen that lets consumers see

JANICE NKOLI IFEME the retailer’s full range of merchandise. Consumers can email data about an item to themselves or a friend or scan a bar code to learn more about a product and get recommendations, such as tops and accessories that match a pair of pants.

Another device is a mirror that enables a shopper to scan a dress and then project that clothing onto her body before going to the dressing room. She can also tap the mirror to view different colours, find matching shoes and send the image to her Facebook profile.

On the other hand, retailers are grappling with lackluster sales and consumers who are dissatisfied with the store experience as online shopping with its related interactivity becomes mainstream. Shopper satisfaction at retail stores is declining up to 15 per cent yearly, according to an ongoing IPG Media Lab study of more than 10,000 North American shoppers.

Online shopping gives buyers lots of information to guide their purchases. And consumers want detailed product data, reviews from previous buyers, related recipes for food products, health and nutrition information and more.

A shopping site, The Digits blog Stop & Shop Supermarket is testing handheld scanners in 289 stores that show customers’ personalised discounts as they shop. The offers are based on such factors as shopping history and just-purchased items. The scanner also lets consumers place orders and check out faster.

The role the store is playing is changing.

Shoppers are walking up with a different set of expectations.

In all, the surest way to meet a shopper’s expectation is through good service and quality delivery. Even the most difficult shopper cannot shun this.

‘In whatever market they are targeting, small retailers need to court their best customers. They need to maximise the one-on-one personal relationships that they have with customers.

That is the secret weapon that small independents have against big national chains. If I am savvy and communicate with my customers well, I can draw loyal customers into my store before they go into the national chains’

Write to us, express your views, observations and experiences. Let’s have your comments about shopping. Your comments, questions and answers will be published first Friday of every month. With your full name and occupation, send e-mail to: janicenkoli@yahoo.com SMS - 08033349992

• Massage cushion for comfort in your home and car.

• Continued on Page46

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Vol 3 No. 141

Since its introduction, commercial television has generated a lot enthusiasm for companies whose brands are advertised on air, and even more for the agencies that write the copies. This has not weakened over the years. Today, technology has introduced new options for entertainment, information and self-expression. As people move away from the old mass media to these newer offerings, they contribute to the creation of a “Media Long Tail,” which presents advertisers with an abundance of new ways of engaging their consumers, writes JIMI DAVID.

TVC: How Heineken opens world to consumers

‘The Entrance is a “wonderful piece of branding because engagement is the cornerstone of social media marketing. If, we, as digital marketers, are to genuinely influence consumer decisions and actions, we need to borrow a leaf from this very creative innovation from Heineken. The Entrance web campaign, is the secondmost watched web ad in the latest Ad Age Viral Video Chart, with more than a million views in a week’

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HE phrase “the long tail” entered the marketing lexicon when it was used by Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, as the title of an article in the October 2004 edition of that publication. The article, which was later expanded into a book, described a new business model for media and entertainment industries in the digital world. Borrowing the term from statistics, where it is used to describe a feature of certain distributions, Anderson used “the long tail” to express the idea that the demand for niche products is, overall, larger than the demand for mass market products. The strapline of the article says it all: “Forget squeezing millions from a few megahits at the top of the charts. The future of entertainment is in the millions of niche markets at the shallow end of the bit stream.”

To this end, Advertising can be classified into two categories: brand building and directional. Brand building advertising is synonymous with product advertising and is commonly seen in traditional mass media, including TV, radio, magazine, and newspaper. Brand building advertisements tend to be product/services (or retailer-) oriented to establish a positive image and create demand for a product or service that leads to eventual purchase. The communication route is typically one-to-many and is designed to reach a mass audience by using a tactic of .intrusion aimed at capturing the attention of users. Directional advertising, on the other hand, is designed to help potential buyers locate interesting information. The communication route is typically one-to-one and it is assumed that a potential buyer brings himself or herself to ads. Advertising in this case is catering to customers’ needs.

Riding on the wings of ensuring that its top notch brand personality remains intact, Heineken, a global premium lager beer recently released ‘The Entrance’, the first installment of a new global brand campaign for Heineken®, which is already proving to be a major success. The film first premiered on Heineken’s Facebook fan page to more than 2 million Heineken fans and is shown on television and cinema screens around the world since then was an instant hit. On August 1, The Entrance hit the screens.

Created for Heineken by the leading advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, the film’s hero demonstrates the ultimate party entrance. Charming his way past a coterie of colourful characters, including the beautiful wife of a dignitary, a gun slinging oil baron and even a Kung fu assassin, he ends up on stage performing with the lead singer of The Asteroids Galaxy Tour. The Danish alternative pop band sings its latest single and backing track of the films, ‘The Golden Age’.

“The film emphasises Heineken’s cosmopolitan and contemporary character, boldly refreshing its famous wit.

‘The Entrance’ confirms the brand’s differentiation from other beers”, says Jacco van der Linden, Marketing Director of Nigerian Breweries. “Its world-class production values project the brand’s premiumness and exclusivity.

With this campaign, Heineken recognises the Chairman in all of its drinkers - Confident and successful men who know their way around and recognise a fine beer when they taste one. We intend to inspire them for years to come.”

The widely anticipated campaign includes the new TV commercial and 12 extra short entertaining films, viewed

on YouTube and Heineken’s Facebook pages, which reveal the secret back-stories of the key characters starring in the film. The Entrance is the first campaign that brings to life Heineken’s new universal tagline ‘Open Your World’. The new global tagline conveys the brand’s worldly, open-minded and confident personality, and will be launched this month on outdoor as well.

As it continues to blaze the trail, Heineken’s new campaign will see the release of more intriguing films and surprising ways to engage its consumers in the coming months. The Entrance was directed by the talented and award-winning Director, Fredrik Bond with Sonny London being the production outfit. Shot in a palace in Barcelona Spain, the cast of more than 280 actors represents the internationalism of the brand with the main hero, played

by French actor Eric Monjoin casted as a cool and likable personality. The Entrance execution includes 12 additional online teasers that reveal the secret backstories of key characters in the film. They include Kung Fu, Comeback, Heineken Duet and the classic, Big in Wonderland, featuring a couple of basketball players who take their training to the next level.

So what do Nigerian consumers’ and brand loyalists make of the TVC? Olatunbosun Olawale, a social media analyst said the TVC and its online version are “pertinent examples of how brands are increasingly turning to Facebook to expand upon ATL television advertising. Yet, for me, it is the creativity and innovation deployed that caught my attention. It will push the brand awareness of the Heineken brand in Nigeria.”

Another social media analyst, Victor Oduma said: The Entrance is a “wonderful piece of branding because engagement is the cornerstone of social media marketing.

If, we, as digital marketers, are to genuinely influence consumer decisions and actions, we need to borrow a leaf from this very creative innovation from Heineken. The Entrance web campaign, is the second-most watched web ad in the latest Ad Age Viral Video Chart, with more than a million views in a week.”

Biodun Folawiyo, a marketing communications consultant, said the latest innovation from the house of Heineken spells the end of Heineken Lager’s “Give Yourself a Good Name” campaign, which made its debut in 2009 and played on everyday situations, such as a man

seeking to win over his boss’s daughter by buying them both a Heineken. The ads were started in 2009.

“I believe The Entrance will give the Heineken brand more mileage in Nigeria. Rather than settling for constantly mediocre instances and routines, the campaign celebrates consumers and their occasionally perfect experience,” Folawiyo added.

Francis Nnedum, a brand scholar said the TVC is “superbly engaging from start to finish with a wonderful rock song that sequenced the major character as an all rounded skillful actor as portrayed by his actions on stage.

However, I don’t think it beats my all time best of the Heineken friends with the wardrobe and built in bar scenes.”

Odafe Wilson, an advert executive, described the TVC as “captivating and entertaining with the capacity to hold viewers attention span longer than necessary.” He stressed that the ad is in consonance with its title as the hero of the flick makes the ultimate entrance into the party while over coming certain challenges.

A few months after it was released, Heineken scooped seven prestigious awards at this years Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity with Gold, Silver and Bronze Lions for the first two films of its new global brand campaign. Within the Film category, “The Entrance” won a coveted overall Gold Lion award and a Bronze Lion in the Interactive Films division. Within the Film Craft category, “The Entrance” also won one of only two Gold Lions in the Direction division and a Silver Lion in the Best Use of Music division. “The Date” took home Bronze in the Film category. “The Entrance” received more than four million hits on YouTube.

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Brandnews Coca-Cola is 60

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•L-R: Managing Director/CEO, Carat/Media Perspectives, Emeka Okeke; Mr James; Mr Odugbemi, at the press event.

Firm holds workshop in Lagos

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HE world’s largest independent communications specialist and market leader in digital solutions, Carat, has announced that it is strengthening its West African network as part of its wake-up call for the African market.

Carat, owned by Aegis Media Plc., is running many strategic workshops in Lagos over 10 days with its global and local clients in West Africa.

Facilitating the training are with local and international talents, including Duncan James, Chief Development Officer for Aegis Media Africa and Middle East, Dele Odugbemi, Development Director for Carat West Africa and Lwandile Qokweni, Development Director for Carat Sub-Saharan Africa.

The workshops, which run between August 2 and 10, follow the Carat Academy training of August last year, digital workshops both in Lagos and several other skill transfers to West Africa from South Africa, London and Dubai.

Speaking during the workshop, which is holding at the Protea Hotel, Ikeja, Carat’s Development Director for sub-Saharan Africa, Lwandile Qokweni, said the event was organised as a result of Carat’s conviction that the first step in building a truly African network is by investing in the people of te subregion to build the first true network in Africa that is Redefining Media and the role of media in growing clients’ business.

Carat, owned by Aegis Media, a global holding company with over 10,000 staff spread across 95 countries, plans to achieve its goals through several strategies, including building a true African network through consistency of delivery.

Already in West and Central Africa, Carat is in Ghana, Cameroun, Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Congo DRC and Nigeria.

He added: “The company remains committed to becoming more insight and data-driven, driving transparency in the market, and also redefining media by breaking down traditional silos and providing clients with integrated on and offline communication solutions.”

30 win in Access Bank promo

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CCESS Bank has rewarded another set of 30 customers - 15 individuals and corporate customers each with exemption from bank charges. The winners emerged through an electronic draw witnessed by the bank’s staff, journalists and representative of Lagos State Lotteries Board.

Before the draw, the Team Head, Product Management of the bank, Mr. Ejikeme Ohalete, gave an insight into why the promo dubbed ‘Access Bank Customer Engagement Campaign Draws’ was introduced, as a follow-up to the demand by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that customers should update new information with their bank.

He said beyond compliance and regulatory perspective, the promo was to encourage customers to update their account knowing there is a reward afterwards.

“People change location, change name, and get married, which the bank wants to have and celebrate with them. We select 30 winners every month through an independently verifiable process and a show of transparency made us to do it in the full glare of regulators and the press.

“Thirty people will keep emerging till the end of the year.

It is a six-months programme.

This is the third in the series. The first one was targeted at individual accounts, but when the second draw was done, there was a slight moderation. We incorporated corporate customers. We are not just doing it to fulfill all righteousness but to add value.”

He maintained that it is all about the customers disclosing that when the customers are presented the certificate of exemption, the bank charges the customers

‘Thirty people will keep emerging till the end of the year. It is a six-months programme.

This is the third in the series. The first one was targeted at individual accounts, but when the second draw was done, there was a slight moderation. We incorporated corporate customers. We are not just doing it to fulfill all righteousness but to add value’

would be exempted from would be listed at the back of the certificate.

The draw co-ordinated by Uche Onyeigwe was segmented into two. The first 15 winners were the individual account holders while the second batch was the corporate customers.

Some of the lucky individual winners are Sulaimon Ayinde Iyana-Ipaja branch; Giwa Olarenwaju - Onikan branch; Tokunbo Olorogun - Idi-Araba branch; Ilokwu Uchenna - University of Nigeria, Enugu Branch; Helen Aboribi - Warri Branch while some of the corporate winners are GFK-RT Nigeria Limited, Maryland Branch; Techplan Nigeria Limited - Kaduna Branch, TSI Property and Investment,Olu Obasanjo Branch, Port Harcourt.

After the winners emerged, those who were called and picked their calls were told that a certificate of exemption would be presented to them at their branches as their bank officers would get in touch with them on the day they collect the certificate.

When called, some of the customers were careful in responding to the questions put across to them. They commended the bank, after they were informed that for updating their accounts in June, they would get some exemptions in bank charges for life.

IGERIAN Bottling Company (NBC), bottlers of Coca-Cola brands in Nigeria, has unveiled activities for the celebration of 60 years of doing business in Nigeria.

Chairman of NBC, Ambassador Segun Apata, disclosed at the 60th Anniversary briefing and breakfast in Lagos last weekend. He said from a modest operations in 1953, two years after its incorporation, NBC now has 13 plants, 60 depots and 400,000 distributors across the country.

He said the planned commemorative activities, which have been designed to touch NBC’s stakeholders, would include a community project that would equip more than 15,000 students in disadvantaged communities across the country with ‘Back to School’ materials, an appreciation of the company’s dealers pan Nigeria; consumer appreciation programmes and an arts competition that would be opened to the public, among others, while the anniversary would be rounded off with a gala dinner He further said the anniversary would the give the company the opportunity to appreciate Nigerians for making Coca-Cola the huge success that it is in the country.

He pledged the continued commitment of NBC to growing the

business in the country by investing in the modernisation of infrastructure, enhancement of supply chain capabilities, strengthening of the commercial platform and expansion of its corporate social responsibility programmes.

Apata said: “In the century, we will continue to refresh our consumers by offering a wide range of high quality beverages, create wealth for our customers and value and benefits for our local communities.”

Head of Public Affairs and Communications of NBC, Mrs Adeyanju Olomola, noted that 60 years is a major milestone in the life of any institution, adding that the company would use the anniversary to celebrate individuals, who have made its business in Nigeria, a success from the founder, Chief Anastastios G. Leventis to consumers, partners, dealers, distributors, retailers, communities and members of staff.

She explained that Lagos State, the Centre of Excellence, was chosen as the location to kick-off the celebration because the state remained the home of NBC, the company having launched its first bottling plant in the Oyingbo area of Lagos in 1953 two years after the commemcement of operations in Nigeria.

Maltina Dance Gig thrills youths

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IGERIAN Breweries Plc through its malt drink, Maltina, has set youths in Aramako Ekiti, Ekiti State dancing when its musical roadshow known as the Maltina Dance Gig, touched down in the city.

The show gave many of the budding talents that abound in the city the opportunity to express themselves and showcase their talents.

A 21-year-old first year student of Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Lanre Fatade, emerged winner in the male category. He expressed elation at the opportunity of competing in the show saying: “It’s wonderful. Maltina provides a good platform for budding talents like me to show our worth. I pray that it continues so that many other talented youth across the country can showcase their God-given talents.”

He went home with a 10 KVA Generator set for his effort. He added: “I am dedicating my victory to all my fans that trooped out to cheer me to victory. I believe that this will launch me to a higher ground as I progress in my career.”

Adedotun Olusegun, a 100 level student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife and member of a local dance group called Wonderful Dancers and Alex Daniel, were first and second runners up.

They went home with a 21" TV set and Home Theatre. Alex is a member of Excellent Steppers, a musical group based in the town.

In the female category, Olayiwola Temitope came top and also went home with a 10 KVA generator set, while Mary George and Lucy Patrick were the first and second runners-up.

Golden Penny Noodles wins award

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EADING manufacturer of Noodles products, Golden Noodles Nigeria Limited, has won this year’s Top Celebrities Brands Awards. The company won the Best Noodles category award for this year in the annual event organised by Top Celebrities Magazine.

Executive Editor of the magazine, Mr Ejiro Adigbo, said the brand emerged winner after a rigorous selection process which involved an evaluation and assessment of the performances of many brands in the year under review.

“The award is given to the brand that demonstrates evidence of high quality and consumer acceptance, which is measured by its performance in the year. After all the procedures, we confirmed that Golden Noodles recorded the best performance in the market place.

So the award is in recognition of the quality and performance of the

brand in the marketplace,” he said.

For the General Manager/ Director of Golden Noodles, Mr Yiannis Katsichtis, the award is a consumer endorsement for value and a vindication for excellence. He disclosed that the company follows the famous tradition of the parent company, Flour Mills Nigeria Plc, in investing in research and development, adding that the award goes to celebrate the company’s culture of quality.

“For us, there are no half-measures. We consider quality as a priority and we also make it affordable. So, the award re-emphasises the company’s vision of being the leading provider of quality, tasty noodles in the West African subregion and beyond while satisfying consumers’ needs by providing them with consistent high quality nourishment at affordable prices,” Katsichtis said.

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Quest for a smart city

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ESTINATION branding is a process, not a project. It is a journey, nota destination. Most countries from Dubai, South Africa and Kenya areneck deep in this process. Efforts are harnessed into ensuring thesecountries are attractive to foreigners on a consistent basis.

Nigeriadabbled in to it, albeit, the wrong way. We placed the cart before thehorse. The cart cannot move. The horse is confused.

What was theresult? Ask Dorothy. Huge fund and efforts was invested in the “greatpeople, great nation” charade. After the initial euphoria, whathappened? Ask Dorothy. Thanks.Anyway, destination branding is a big, big project and it requireslots of hard work with several sleepless nights in between. If youneed a testimony on this, ask TJ. Who? Keep dreaming.

Soon, you wouldunderstand that those who wait to observe the wind do not sow, andthose who exercise a grain of doubt, do not reap. That is a story foranother day.

Today the world is searching for the killer app: thatparticular programme, that particular software, that particular drug,that particular design, that would take you to the outer space andback. Like iPad. Like Android phone. Like what? Fill the gap.However, destination-branding strategy makes a powerful contributionto your city image, economic development marketing, and communitywell-being by setting the path for greater efficiency, seizingcompetitive advantage, uniting stakeholders and communicating thecity’s vitality and attractiveness. As such, places of all sizes,whether cities, towns, downtowns or regions are getting more fromtheir destination marketing budgets.

None of these is the figment ofone’s imagination. It is happening right now, right here, right inCross River state, Calabar. For instance, think about Calabar. What comes to your mind? Serenity:the place is so calm, so soothing, you would think you were in Europe. The place did not happen overnight.

The changes took place overtime.Destination branding in Calabar is based on a strategic approach topublic relations, which played on the fact that image is an ongoing,holistic, interactive and wide-scale process, which required much morethan a quick change of logo, colour palette or slogan. In other words, managing brand in the case of a destination does notmerely consist of attaching new labels, but consolidates the essentialcharacteristics of the individual identity into a brand core.

As partof the process, the creation of a brand would set in motion social,economical and cultural issues, which can strengthen or correct otherpeoples’ perceptions. The routine development of mechanisms leading toa strong and consistent brand is highly important for place branding. To gravitate to this level, ddestination brand experts such as TJ, wouldcreate customised strategies, designs, and educational programmes andtools to ensure that the destination brand has a ‘soft landing’ and itis well received, endorsed and adopted by key community partners. This is to ensure that you have a defined brand identity. The essence ofthis is to ensure transformation from a sleepy state to a more prosperous city, town, region or downtown. However, development of this type does not merely promote a coremessage, a logo or a claim to the public but additionally communicatesthe place as a brand on a long-term basis using a consistentcommunication concept. Once this and other infrastructure such as goodroad network, transportation, health, security etc are in place, thenext best thing is to switch, or aspire, to what has become asing-song “smart city.” Do not ask what a smart city is.

According toresearch, urban performance currently depends on not only the city’sendowment of hard infrastructure, but increasingly on the availabilityand quality of knowledge communication and social infrastructure suchas intellectual and social capital. The latter form of capital is decisive for urban competitiveness. Itis against this background that the concept of the smart city has been introduced as a strategic device to encompass modern urban production factors in a common framework and to highlight the growing importance of information and communication technologies (ICTs), social andenvironmental capital in profiling the competitiveness of cities. It is in the quest for a smart city that the Lagos state governmenthas signed into law a bill, which would enable all Lagos residents, irrespective of state of origin, gender or religious affiliation, to be issued with electronic identification cards.

What would this achieve in the centre of excellence? According to Governor Fashola, the e-card would enable the state to have a reliable database of all citizens under the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA)law.

The governor said with the e-card residents will be able to access government services. Similar exercise is going on in Calabar under theSmartgov.CRSG Limited, a joint venture with Interswitch, to develop a state wide identity management and epayment backbone, which has now positioned Calabar as the first smart city in Nigeria. According to report, Smart gov is aimed at making Cross River state thefirst smart state in Nigeria, and in turn make Calabar, the firstsmart city in Nigeria.

Aside, the project will deliver to the citizens and residents of the state the benefits of a smart city, which includesmart economy, mobility, living and government.

That is what Fashola wants to deliver to the residents of Lagos state. Now that the other “infrastructure” such as BRT, gardens/parks,security, etc has come on stream in the state, the best next thing is to slide into the smart city mode so that Lagos state would emerge asa well-rounded centre of excellence. Nevertheless, since success begets success, it is hoped that Lagos State and Interswitch couldwork together on the project in order to replicate in Lagos the high level of success achieved in Calabar. Lagos deserves more and, to ensure that LASRRA achieves its objectiveof identifying Lagos residents, overcome the challenges of payment forBRT buses, taxation, manage health and identity, provide access to government services through e-government, the state government should collaborate with such a smart company as Interswitch to deliver the smartest “smart city” in the world. Two can do it better. With thetwo entities working in unison, the quest for a smart city would be over.

‘What would this achieve in the centre of excellence?

According to Governor Fashola, the e-card would enable the state to have a reliable database of all citizens under the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA)law’

LG unveil s new home theatre

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G Electronics is set to unveil the HX996TS, its first ever 3D Sound Blu-ray Home Theatre System. Using innovative new approaches to delivering sound, the HX996TS provides the perfect soundtrack for watching movies in 3D. The HX996TS’s outstanding sound quality comes via three key innovations.

The Vertical 3D Sound Channels emits sound through the tops of the HX996TS’s four Tallboy Speakers to expand the sound field up to the ceiling. The resulting audio waves fill the space above viewers’ heads, for a strikingly realistic sound that makes viewers feel like they are right in the middle of the movie.

Completing the 3D sound experience is the Cinema Dome Effect, which perfects 3D sound via LG’s unique DSP algorithm.

The algorithm analyses individual audio channels in real-time, guaranteeing seamless sound tracking and a truly immersive sound. The combined effect is an upwards and backwards expansion of the sound field, putting viewers right at the heart of the audio.

The third part of the HX996TS’s 3D sound comes via its Dual Subwoofers.

Instead of the conventional single subwoofer, two subwoofers are placed on the opposite sides of the television, delivering a powerful sound that greatly enriches the overall audio quality. The Dual Subwoofers add a room-filling, low attack undercurrent for a strikingly realistic soundtrack.

For perspective design, it is outstanding with its blue crystal design, blue gradation and glossy black finish. The HX996TS creates a harmonious, elegant look that truly enhances the living room.

There are so many reasons to love the LG HX966TS. Its 3D playback lets you enjoy 3D movies and astounding 3D sound completes the 3D experience by immersing you in realistic and powerful sound. With 1100 watts of power output, four tall speakers and 5.1 channel surround, you would feel like you’re right in the middle of the excitement.

Commenting on the quantum leap of technological innovation that has become synonymous with the LG Electronics brand, the Managing Director, LG Electronics, West African Operations, Mr Jaeyoung Lee said: “3D entertainment is set to explode in the years ahead and LG is setting the pace with our new LG

HX966TS. From connectivity to sound, it has been tailored to produce the best 3D home entertainment experience possible and we are eager and looking forward to making it available in the market”.

Lee further said with the HX996TS Specifications that ranges from 7.2ch 1280W total output power with 3D sound to LG Sound Gallery with parabolic speaker, USB recording (MP3 file creation from music CD), 2 HDMI In (HDMI 1.4), ARC (Audio Return Channel), Firmware upgrade for advanced function and services, External HDD playback (DivX HD, MKV), Music ID capture and streaming (Gracenote), iPod / iPhone cradle, Wi-Fi direct, Ethernet, DLNA compliant, Smart TV Technology: Premium Content and LG Store and Mobile Remote Application, home entertainment has not only been redefined but it has indeed been taken to the next level.

With the introduction of the LG 3D Sound Blu-ray Home Theatre that lets you experience a whole new depth in sound, it is a guarantee that consumers senses would be awaken to real 3D sound and that lets them enjoy a truly cinematic 3D experience.

LG Electronics is in the business of making consumers happy through its products and services with the aim of improving on its technology for better performances that meet their needs.

LG Electronics is a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, mobile communications and home appliances, employing more than 80,000 people working in 115 operations including 84 subsidiaries around the world. With 2010 global sales of 55.8 trillion Korean won (USD 48.2 billion), LG comprises four business units – Home Entertainment, Mobile Communications, Home Appliance, and Air Conditioning and Energy Solution.

LG is one of the world’s leading producers of flat panel TVs, audio and video products, mobile handsets, air conditioners and washing machines.

LG has signed a long-term agreement to become both a Global Partner of Formula 1™ and a Technology Partner of Formula 1™. As part of this toplevel association, LG acquires exclusive designations and marketing rights as the official consumer electronics, mobile phone and data processor of this global sporting event.

•3D Sound Blu-ray Home Theatre System.

*Editor - Wale Alabi *Consulting Editors - Rarzack Olaegbe, Sola Fanawopo * Correspondent-Jimi David * Human Relations Executive - Owolabi Afolabi *Operations Executive - Isiaka Hassan *Creative - Oluwaseyi Sulaimon*Front Office Executive - Blessing Nkeanya * Business Development - Kenny Hussain * Legal Adviser - Olasupo Osewa & Co Brandweek is powered by Drumbeat Media and published every Friday in THE NATION newspaper. Corporate Suite: 20 Akinremi Street, off Awolowo Way, Ikeja, Lagos.

All correspondence to the editor - 0808.247.7806, 0805.618.0040, , e-mail: korede2000@gmail.com © All rights reserved.

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RAMADAN NEWS

Lanlehin, Fashola’s aide call for religious understanding

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ENATOR Olufemi Lanlehin and Special Adviser Lateef Raji have called on Muslims to reflect on peace, unity, understanding and nation-building as they seek the face of Allah in this solemn season.

Lanlehin, who represents Oyo South in the Senate, congratulated Muslims in Ibadan, Oyo State and Nigeria for witnessing this year’s fasting period in sound health and peace and advised them to sustain the culture of religious tolerance, which underscores the secularity of Nigeria.

He urged the faithful to pray for all those in power during this challenging period when expectations about more dividends of democracy are high across the country.

The senator stressed the value of love and brotherhood, which he said, are good ingredients of good neighbourliness.

Lanlehin, a christian, described the Ramadan period as a period of sober reflection worldwide among Muslims, stressing that it should be more meaningful in Nigeria, if all resolve to seek peace, order and harmony now and beyond the fasting period.

By Emmanuel Oladesu, Deputy Political Editor

“I enjoin our Moslem brothers and sisters to imbibe the teachings of Prophet Muhammed, as contained in the Quran, which incidentally came down in the period of Ramadan. I advise that we should be our brothers’ keeper and pray earnestly for our country and its leadership so that God can intervene in our socio-political and economic problems. I counsel that as we humble ourselves in this period of fasting and prayers, we should continue in the same vein to honour God in all our endeavours, even after the fasting period,” he said.

Raji, special adviser to Gov Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State reminded Muslims that there would be a place for them before Allah on the Day of Judgment in Al-Jannah, if they walk before the creator without blemish.

He enjoined members of the faith to excuse all acts of dishonour, which could bring shame and reproach to Islam, adding that all good acts attract equivalent reward from Allah.

“As we make sacrifice to shun evil during this period, Allah will reckon

with us after this period, if we keep his commandments the more according to the Quran. A good and committed Muslim is known as a faithful, not only during the fasting period, but more importantly after the period, when he faces greater temptations to go astray.

“I pray that the Almighty Allah will give all of us reward for keeping his rules and ordinances as enjoined by his holy prophets,” he said.

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•Chairman Iru-Victoria Island Local Council Development Area, Prince Muideen Daramola flanked by Mr Ahmed Saka and Princess Nike Akintoye during Ramadan lecture at the Council Secretariat, Victoria Island, Lagos

Don canvasses dialogue on Islamic banking

SENIOR lecturer at the Lagos State University (LASU), Dr Ishaq Akintola has urged all stakeholders to remain levelheaded on the issue of Islamic banking.

Speaking at a Ramadan lecture in Lagos, Dr Akintola believed that beheading is not the cure for headache.

“We call on Muslims in the country to continue on the path of civilised debate and intellectual enlightenment.

We have no doubt that superior logic and common sense will eventually sway the pendulum,” he said.

“We therefore appeal for calm among all Islamic organisations, Muslim youths and leaders. In particular, we

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

charge Muslim leaders to desist from issuing inflammatory statements. Enduring relationships are not built on threats but on mutual respect.

“Even a huge financial enterprise like Islamic banking system requires a peaceful atmosphere to grow. Nigeria has suffered enough retardation in the hands of man-made disasters in form of religious and tribal disturbances.”

The senior lecturer said Nigeria has all the potentials to become a great country but it needs peace and stability to fully realise the potentials.

He urged Christian leaders

to allow reason to prevail and avoid playing to the gallery, stating that the positive statements issued by knowledgeable Christians particularly finance experts like Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala should be objectively studied and analysed.

“Responsible leadership demands that the followership should not be misled at any point in time. It is high time Christian leaders appreciated the fact that equal rights and equal participation are the sine qua non lubricants of the engine of democracy.

“Music is sweet to the ears

but both the white and black keys must be played to get harmony. No good musician will harp on white or black keys alone. The advocates of Islamic banking have not suggested the closure of existing banks. Democracy necessitates tolerance of alternatives.

“Nigeria became a debtor nation due to the frivolous interest charges in debt servicing. Let us therefore try another financial system without the burden of the current high interest of 24 per cent, one that will run pari passu with the existing ones. Islamic banking offers that opportunity,” the don said.

Akintola who is also the director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), enjoined Nigerians to go about their lawful duties without fear.

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MONEY LINK Standard Bank may acquire Nigerian bank

CBN, MICR accredit 13 cheque printers

T

HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with the Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) Technical Implementation Committee has approved the accreditation and re-accreditation of 13 cheque printers.

A circular from the CBN signed by Head, Domestic Settlement Division E.C Obaigbona, said the accredited firms were approved in line with the Nigeria Cheque Printers Accreditation Scheme (NICPAS). The approved firms are Nigeria Security Printing & Minting Plc, Kalamzoo Secure Solutions Limited, Security Print Solution, CFH Total Document Management Limited and Smith & Ouzman Limited.

Others are Tall Security Print Limited, A1 Trade Print Services, Camelot Ghana Limited, Superflux International Limited and DeLa Rue. Shave and Gibson Group, Papi Printing Coy Limited, Corrinum Continous Limited , DLRS Group and Euphoria Comm. Limited.

available to banks customers through the channel.

The apex bank has also commenced the process of registration of companies providing cash-in-transit and currency sorting in the country. In addition to enhancing the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of currency management, the policy is aimed at facilitating the generation of fit notes for payment and ensuring product quality, integrity and standardization.

The CBN has also reversed its earlier directive, which asked banks to withdraw their offsite Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) located in airports, hotel and eateries. Citing the new cash limit policy, the apex bank said that banks can now deploy ATMs outside their premises.

Plans by the apex bank to test-run its cash transaction limit policy in Lagos has compelled banks to prepare for the implementation of the policy in the state. Lagos State, with a population of about 17 million, is arguably the economic capital of the Nigeria.

By Collins Nweze

All the firms have already secured their accreditation numbers from the CBN. The CBN in June, limited daily cash withdrawal and lodgments in banks to N150,000 by individuals and N1 million by a companies, effective June 1, 2012.

The apex bank took this step to curb dominance of cash in the economy with its implication for cost of cash management to the banking industry, security and money laundering. Analysts said the accreditation was in line with the CBN plan to discourage a cash-based economy and prepare for increased cheque usage that will follow the policy.

The CBN has said the 24 Deposit Money Banks would roll out 100,000 Point of Sales (PoS) terminals by June 1, 2012, to cope with pressures in the cash limit set by the apex bank. The banks would also increase the PoS terminals to 350,000 before December 2015 to make cash

N500b intervention fund: Beneficiaries begin repayment

T

HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that many of the companies that benefitted from its N500billion intervention fund have started paying back.

CBN released N500billion to the critical sectors of the economy through the Bank of Industry (BoI). Out of this, N200billion was meant for the financing of the operations of the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

According to the Director, Development Finance Institution, CBN, Mr. Paul Nduka, many of the beneficiaries of the facility are not waiting for the 15 years tenor to expire, before paying back their loans.

He said many companies made good use of the money, and that there was no point waiting for 15 years before they repay the loans.

He said over 500 companies have benefitted so far from the fund, adding the progress

talking to you, the impact of the fund is being felt across the country.

This implies that the beneficiaries are doing well and has shown tendency not to owe the banks.

He said some of the companies have through the fund, built capacities of about 25 per cent.

According to him, manufacturing companies would soon take its position as the drivers of the economy in the country.

By Akinola Ajibade

reports indicates that they recording growth.

“CBN is not anticipating high level of defaults.

Many of the firms have shown the willingness.

CBN is not dealing with the companies, but with the banks. Wherever risks are discovered, banks would be held responsible. A maximum of N1billion is given to each company-both SMEs and manufacturing companies. As I’m

Naira weakens to one month lowest on dollar demand

T

HE naira depreciated to the lowest in more than a month as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) failed to meet demand at its twice-weekly foreign-exchange auction. Bloomberg reported that naira weakened by 0.8 per cent to N154.13 per dollar. That’s the lowest level since June 27. “The depreciation was due to the

inability of the CBN to meet demand,” analysts said.

Nigeria sold $250 million, less than the $369.3 million demanded by lenders at Wednesday’s auction, based on data from the CBN’s website said.

The CBN has been using foreign-exchange reserves to keep the naira within

Tenor

Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year 5-Year

35m 35m 35m

11.039 12.23 13.19

19-05-2014 18-05-2016 19-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

OBB Rate Call Rate

7.9-10% 10-11%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day 1-Year

Amount 30m 46.7m 50m

Rate % 10.96 9.62 12.34

Date 28-04-2011 “ 14-04-2011

GAINERS AS AT 11-8-11

SYMBOL DIAMONDBNK ASHAKACEM JBERGER GUARANTY ETI ZENITHBANK NAHCO CAPHOTEL NASCON DANGSUGAR JAPAULOIL STERLNBANK

O/PRICE 4.00 20.00 49.50 11.64 13.09 12.30 6.50 6.51 4.09 10.78 0.87 1.36

C/PRICE CHANGE 4.20 0.20 21.00 1.00 51.97 2.47 12.22 0.58 13.74 0.65 12.91 0.61 6.82 0.32 6.83 0.32 4.29 0.20 11.30 0.52 0.91 0.04 1.42 0.06

LOSER AS AT 11-8-11

SYMBOL CCNN OANDO PAINTCOM REDSTAREX BAGCO UAC-PROP GTASSURE GUINNESS AIICO CADBURY ACCESS DANGCEM

O/PRICE 7.60 32.06 1.23 3.13 2.09 18.15 1.14 228.00 0.59 17.00 6.00 120.00

C/PRICE CHANGE 7.22 0.38 30.46 1.60 1.17 0.06 2.98 0.15 1.99 0.10 17.35 0.80 1.09 0.05 220.00 8.00 0.57 0.02 16.50 0.50 5.84 0.16 117.00 3.00

Amount

Exchange

Sold ($)

Rate (N)

Date

400m

467.7m

400m

153.59

400m

452.3m

400m

153.4

25-5-11 23-5-11

500m

499,8m

499.8m

153.45

16-5-11

EXHANGE RATE 30-05-11 CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Currency

INTERBANK RATES

Amount

Offered ($) Demanded ($)

MANAGED FUNDS

NIDF NESF

a 3 percentage-point band above or below N150 per dollar at its auctions.

Dollars were sold for between N150 and N152.71 each. The marginal rate, which is also used as the prevailing exchange rate, was N150.75, compared with N150.50 at the previous auction on August 8.

DATA BANK

FGN BONDS

Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

S

TANDARD Bank Group Ltd. may con sider buying a retail bank in Nigeria to boost growth on the continent.

“In Nigeria, we are in corporate and investment banking but we’re sub-scale in retail. We could grow organically but if we got a decent acquisition that would accelerate our reaching critical mass,” Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Sim Tshabalala told Bloomberg.

Standard Bank is reversing its strategy of expanding in emerging markets, such as Russia and Argentina, to focus on its operations in Africa. Of the countries on the continent where it does not operate, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Cameroon and Senegal are among the most “attractive,” the bank said.

First-half earnings excluding one-time items in 17 African countries outside South Africa dropped 17 per cent to $58 million, Standard Bank said. Profit by that measure, known as headline earnings, rose 11 per cent to 6.64 billion rand when including South Africa, Russia, Turkey, South America and the United Kingdom.

“I am positively surprised with core growth,” said Neville Chester, who helps oversee the equivalent of $36 billion at Coronation Fund Managers in Cape Town.

The lender sold its stake in Russia’s Troika Dialog for $372 million earlier this year and agreed on August 5 to sell some of its Argentine assets to its partner, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd.

Year

Current

Start Offer

Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After

NGN USD

147.6000

149.7100

150.7100

-2.11

NGN GBP

239.4810

244.0123

245.6422

-2.57

NGN EUR

%

%

212.4997

207.9023

209.2910

-1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

NSE

21-07-11 N7.580tr

N7.606tr

0.34%

Index

23,707.47

23,787.31

0.34%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

(S/N) Bureau de Change 152.0000

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

154.0000

156.0000

-1.96

(S/N) Parallel Market

Change

CAP

NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N)

21-07-11

153.0000

DISCOUNT WINDOW January ’11

February ’11

May ’11

6.50%

6.50%

8.00%

8.50%

8.50%

9.50%

4.50%

4.50%

5.50%

25.00%

25.00%

30.00%

1.00%

2.00%

2.00%

12.10%

12.10%

11.3%

MPR Standing Lending Rate ,,

Deposit Rate

,,

Liquidity Ratio

Cash Return Rate Inflation Rate

Offer Price

Bid Price

9.17 1.00 117.62 1,586.00 0.81 0.98 1,586.00 9.61 1.39 1.87 8,827.74 193.00

9.08 1.00 117.16 1,576.75 0.78 0.97 1,576.75 9.14 1.33 1.80 8,557.73 191.08

ARM AGGRESSIVE KAKAWA GUARANTEED STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND THE LOTUS CAPITAL HALAL BGL NUBIAN FUND NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL DEB. PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CENTRE-POINT UNIT TRUST STANBIC IBTC NIG EQUITY THE DISCOVERY FUND • ARM AGGRESSIVE • KAKAWA GUARANTEED • STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE • AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND

NIBOR Tenor

Rate (Previous)

Rate (Currency)

04 MAR, 2011

24, MAY, 2011

7 Days

9.0417

10.17%

30 Days

9.6667

11.46%

60 Days

11.2917

11.96%

150 Days

12.1250

12.54%

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK Previous

Current

04 MAR, 2011

07, MAR, 2011

Bank

8.5000

8.5000

P/Court

8.0833

8.0833

Movement

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

57

EQUITIES

Stock market recovers N17b

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 11-08-11 2ND-TIER SECURITIES AGRICULTURE/AGRO-ALLIED Company Name FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC PRESCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 37 10 47

Company Name NIGN AVIATION HANDLING COM PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 42 42

Company Name R. T. BRISCOE (NIGERIA) PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 19 19

Company Name ACCESS BANK PLC DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK NIGERIA PLC FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC FIDELITY BANK PLC FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC FINBANK PLC GTBANK PLC STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC INTERCONTINENTAL BANK PLC. OCEANIC BANK INTERNATIONAL PLC SKYE BANK PLC. STERLING BANK PLC UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC. UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC UNITYBANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC ZENITH BANK PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 210 77 26 95 93 721 6 758 42 12 8 237 20 493 37 4 35 540 3,414

Company Name GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 86 6 179 271

Company Name ASHAKA CEMENT PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTHERN NIG PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 60 21 25 38 144

Company Name BERGER PAINTS NIGERIA PLC CHEMICAL AND ALLIED PRODUCTS PLC PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 4 11 1 16

Company Name COURTVILLE INVESTMENTS PLC RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 4 12 16

Company Name PZ CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC TRANSNATIONAL CORPN OF NIG PLC UAC OF NIGERIA PLC UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 40 66 51 39 196

Company Name COSTAIN (WA) PLC JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC MULTIVERSE PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 4 34 1 39

Quotation(N) 0.50 7.13

Quantity Traded 11,100 77,000 88,100

Value of Shares (N) 5,550.00 551,138.00 556,688.00

Quantity Traded 703,441 703,441

Value of Shares (N) 4,652,485.78 4,652,485.78

Quantity Traded 107,983 107,983

Value of Shares (N) 153,656.05 153,656.05

Quantity Traded 19,049,159 9,196,140 598,427 26,340,883 1,913,423 15,696,020 171,902 31,156,904 810,119 234,650 159,914 14,899,442 2,006,198 73,584,297 369,358 16,000 1,923,373 26,949,463 225,075,672

Value of Shares (N) 113,580,486.06 37,686,009.00 1,673,566.26 158,673,258.54 3,191,879.63 162,398,918.74 85,951.00 375,324,246.04 7,335,022.51 164,255.00 183,901.10 81,050,559.88 2,740,070.25 307,616,678.86 771,958.22 9,120.00 1,395,005.26 341,555,890.49 1,595,436,776.84

Quantity Traded 289,132 54,000 2,198,005 2,541,137

Value of Shares (N) 63,557,468.69 326,500.00 182,604,813.73 246,488,782.42

Quantity Traded 3,597,367 592,902 121,738 135,469 4,447,476

Value of Shares (N) 74,916,757.58 4,284,513.98 14,167,190.40 5,695,920.72 99,064,382.68

Quantity Traded 40,373 64,135 176,000 280,508

Value of Shares (N) 358,665.97 1,710,974.46 205,920.00 2,275,560.43

Quantity Traded 400,000 246,680 646,680

Value of Shares (N) 200,000.00 737,886.40 937,886.40

Quantity Traded 91,581 3,400,670 2,080,038 318,615 5,890,904

Value of Shares (N) 3,607,844.80 3,261,300.70 79,019,200.30 8,744,097.00 94,632,442.80

Quantity Traded 156,250 739,405 2,000 897,655

AIR SERVICES Quotation(N) 6.82

AUTOMOBILE & TYRE Quotation(N) 1.39

BANKING Quotation(N) 5.84 4.20 2.85 6.15 1.72 10.35 0.50 12.22 9.20 0.70 1.15 5.45 1.42 4.45 2.09 0.59 0.73 12.91

BREWERIES Quotation(N) 220.00 6.10 83.00

BUILDING MATERIALS Quotation(N) 21.00 7.22 117.00 42.01

CHEMICAL & PAINTS Quotation(N) 9.34 28.00 1.17

COMMERCIAL/SERVICES Quotation(N) 0.50 2.98

CONGLOMERATES Quotation(N) 40.99 1.00 38.00 27.34

capitalization of rose from N7.145 trillion to N7.162 trillion.

The bullish rally was led by the banking sector, which crisis of confidence that followed the nationalisation of the defunct Afribank Nigeria, Bank PHB and Spring Bank precipitated the worst market decline in recent period. The NSE banking index appreciated by 3.03 per cent while the food and beverages index improved by 1.13 per cent. The NSE 30 Index, which measures the 30 most capitalised companies, increased by 0.42 per cent.

However, insurance and oil and gas sectors remained on the downtrend with declines of 0.44 per cent and 1.56 per cent respectively.

Nearly two out of every three stocks appreciated in the widespread recovery yesterday with 11 banking stocks making the 27-stock gainers’ list. Julius Berger Nigeria and Flour Mills of Nigeria topped the advancers’ list with addition of N2.47 each to close at N51.97 and N86.47 respectively. Ashaka Cement added N1 to close at N21.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated gained 65 kobo to close at N13.74 while Guaranty Trust Bank and Dangote Sugar Refinery chalked up 58 kobo and 52

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 11-08-11 1 1 212

Value of Shares (N) 415,625.00 37,970,964.85 1,000.00 38,387,589.85

Company Name C&I LEASING PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 9 9

No of Deals 6 6

Quotation(N) 2.09

Quantity Traded 56,000 56,000

Value of Shares (N) 112,910.00 112,910.00

Company Name No of Deals JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 138 Sector Totals 138

No of Deals 15 53 111 111 10 1 9 16 45 2 3 376

Quotation(N) 45.00 16.50 11.30 86.47 4.18 1.70 4.29 43.00 400.00 0.50 0.63

Quantity Traded 18,745 392,990 10,959,799 1,804,462 34,370 1,000 160,490 39,433 101,057 12,000 69,000 13,593,346

Value of Shares (N) 876,644.95 6,486,603.68 123,476,273.27 156,027,528.98 137,787.40 1,620.00 681,487.10 1,664,874.70 40,161,727.09 6,000.00 41,400.00 329,561,947.17

Company Name AFROMEDIA PLC Sector Totals

Quotation(N) 1.83 25.62 4.00 1.47 0.50

Quantity Traded 268,341 37,732 54,327 5,000 150,000 515,400

Value of Shares (N) 465,554.70 987,016.40 206,442.60 7,350.00 75,000.00 1,741,363.70

HOTEL & TOURISM CAPITAL HOTEL PLC Sector Totals

6 6

6.83

102,300 102,300

665,656.58 665,656.58

INDUSTRIAL/DOMESTIC PRODUCTS Company Name VITAFOAM NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 11 11

Quotation(N) 5.70

Quantity Traded 68,495 68,495

Value of Shares (N) 394,522.75 394,522.75

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY Company Name CHAMS PLC IHS NIGERIA PLC STARCOMMS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 1 7 10

Quotation(N) 0.50 2.81 0.50

Quantity Traded 40,000 41,000 207,068 288,068

Value of Shares (N) 20,000.00 109,470.00 103,614.00 233,084.00

Quantity Traded 1,287,858 600,000 100,000 25,750 11,444,600 1,141,999 2,880 118,611 822,000 5,350,000 7,000 6,500 16,529,453 23,500 460,000 100,000 2,000

Value of Shares (N) 734,079.06 618,000.00 50,000.00 69,525.00 5,722,300.00 1,245,688.91 1,440.00 59,305.50 411,000.00 2,883,480.00 3,500.00 3,250.00 8,268,903.03 11,750.00 774,710.24 50,000.00 1,000.00

INSURANCE Company Name No of Deals AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 38 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 2 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE CO. PLC. 1 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INSUR PLC 3 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 22 GUARANTY TRUST ASSURANCE PLC 23 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1 INTL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PL 1 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 3 LAW UNION AND ROCK INSURANCE PLC 7 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 1 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC 2 N.E.M. INSURANCE CO. (NIG.) PLC. 92 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 3 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC. 9 REGENCY ALLIANCE INSUR COM PLC 1 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 1

Quotation(N) 0.57 1.03 0.50 2.60 0.50 1.09 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.54 0.50 0.50 0.51 0.50 1.69 0.50 0.50

520.00 1,000.00 20,909,451.74

Quotation(N) 0.95

Quantity Traded 212,000 212,000

Value of Shares (N) 200,771.57 200,771.57

Quotation(N) 0.91

Quantity Traded 9,979,534 9,979,534

Value of Shares (N) 8,432,162.43 8,432,162.43

Quantity Traded 60,000 60,000

Value of Shares (N) 30,600.00 30,600.00

Quantity Traded 97,000 97,000

Value of Shares (N) 50,440.00 50,440.00

MEDIA

HEALTHCARE Company Name No of Deals FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 20 GLAXOSMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PL 17 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 14 NEIMETH INTL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 1 UNION DIAGNOSTIC&CLINICAL SERV PL 1 Sector Totals 53

1,040 2,000 38,025,191

MARITIME

FOOD/BEVERAGES & TOBACCO Company Name 7-UP BOTTLING CO. PLC CADBURY NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIGERIA PLC HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC NATIONAL SALT COMPANY NIGERIA PL NIGERIAN BOTTLING COMPANY PLC NESTLE NIGERIA PLC TANTALIZERS PLC UTC NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

0.50 0.50 LEASING

ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY Company Name CUTIX PLC Sector Totals

kobo to close at N12.22 and N11.30 respectively.

On the downside, Guinness Nigeria led the losers with a loss of N8 to close at N220. Dangote Cement dropped by N3 to close at N117. Oando lost N1.60 to close at N30.46 while UACN Property Development Company and Cadbury Nigeria slipped by 80 kobo and 50 kobo to close at N17.35 and N16.50 respectively.

Meanwhile, level of activities slowed down with a turnover of 334.42 million valued at N2.87 billion in 5,336 deals as against 408.78 million shares worth N2.70 billion traded in 5,379 deals in previous day. Banking sector was the most active with a turnover of 225.07 million shares worth N1.6 billion in 3,414 deals. Insurance placed a distant second with a turnover of 38.03 million shares worth N20.9 million in 212 deals while the foreign listing sector recorded 24.99 million shares for N327.11 million in 31 deals.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc was the most active stock with a turnover of 73.58 million shares valued at N307.62 million in 493 deals. GTBank followed with 31.15 million shares valued at N375.32 million in 758 deals while Zenith Bank placed third with 26.94 million shares worth N341.58 million in 54 deals.

Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

UNIC INSURANCE PLC. UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC Sector Totals

CONSTRUCTION Quotation(N) 2.66 51.97 0.50

T

HE Nigerian stock market broke a sevenday bearish spell yesterday as renewed interests in top-tier stocks rallied the overall market outlook to a positive position in spite of declines in the oil and gas and insurance sectors.

The All Share Index (ASI) and aggregate market capitalisation of equities, two benchmark indices that measure the market direction, gained 0.25 per cent each, which translated into capital gains of N17 billion.

The market however, remained cautious with investment advisers and investors apprehensive over the sustainability of the recovery, citing earlier upswings that were short-circuited by unanticipated developments in the financial regulatory system.

Capital market operators, who spoke on condition of anonymity, decried the complacency of the capital market regulators.

According to operators, while the policy intent of the banking reform was good, the obvious lack of consideration of possible spillovers and negative effects on the overall longterm interest of the capital market has vitiated the goal of ensuring a safe and stable financial system.

The ASI inched upward from its recent lowest index point of 22,335.75 points to 22,390.45 points while aggregate market

No of Deals 2 2

Quotation(N) 0.51

MORTGAGE COMPANIES Company Name No of Deals UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PL 6 Sector Totals 6

Quotation(N) 0.52

OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Company Name NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 16 2 18

Company Name AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS PLC. NIGN BAG MANUFACTURING COM PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 30 31

Quotation(N) 1.18 0.50

Quantity Traded 975,632 24,722 1,000,354

Value of Shares (N) 1,147,724.34 12,361.00 1,160,085.34

Quantity Traded 100 504,797 504,897

Value of Shares (N) 625.00 1,004,546.03 1,005,171.03

PACKAGING Quotation(N) 6.57 1.99

PETROLEUM(MARKETING) MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC CONOIL PLC ETERNA OIL & GAS PLC. MOBIL OIL NIGERIA PLC. OANDO PLC TOTAL NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

5 25 5 6 122 7 170

67.22 32.60 5.20 156.50 30.46 203.32

Company Name LONGMAN NIGERIA PLC UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 9 7 16

6,500 60,668 18,500 12,352 1,726,705 8,232 1,832,957

430,790.00 1,883,335.06 92,230.00 1,888,206.40 52,595,434.30 1,608,270.50 58,498,266.26

PRINTING & PUBLISHING Quotation(N) 5.00 4.39

Quantity Traded 11,580 52,500 64,080

Value of Shares (N) 56,955.80 223,864.00 280,819.80

Quantity Traded 795,500 795,500

Value of Shares (N) 14,469,239.90 14,469,239.90

Quantity Traded 66,000 66,000

Value of Shares (N) 33,000.00 33,000.00

Quantity Traded 60,000 60,000

Value of Shares (N) 34,800.00 34,800.00

Quantity Traded 24,986,158 24,986,158 332,986,836

Value of Shares (N) 327,106,441.65 327,106,441.65 2,847,506,985.17

REAL ESTATE Company Name No of Deals UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. PL 21 Sector Totals 21

Quotation(N) 17.35

ROAD TRANSPORTATION Company Name ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 2

Company Name UNITED NIGERIA TEXTILES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1

Quotation(N) 0.50

TEXTILES Quotation(N) 0.58

THE FOREIGN LISTINGS Company Name No of Deals ECOBNK TRANSNAT’L INCORPORATED 31 Sector Totals 31 Overall Totals

Quotation(N) 13.74 5,323

58

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

59

NEWS

al-Mustapha admits giving Sergeant Rogers his gun Ex-CSO is a liar, says Turner Ogboru

Continued from page 2

Prior to the admission of the statement, al-Mustapha told the court, under crossexamination by Pedro, that he first met Sofolahan in Abuja at the Two Million – Man march held to drum up support for the alleged transmutation plan of the late Gen. Abacha and that he later met him at the SIP. Pedro: Major alMustapha, do you know the second accused person in this case? al-Mustapha: Yes I do.

Pedro: Did you know him very well and familiar with him before your arrest? al-Mustapaha: No. I first saw him in 1998 when a delegate (sic) from Lagos came to Abuja for the Two Million Man march. And I also saw him at the SIP. Pedro: Yesterday, you admitted before the court that you made this statement.

Look at this statement and read from line six to nine.

(Pedro extended the letter towards him). al-Mustapha: This is the statement that I made under severe duress; the statement that is not my own. This is the statement I said I made under severe torture. I made 28 statements, including this one.

When pressed further on how he was able to identify Sofolahan from the two million people at the march in Abuja, he said Sofolahan, who attended the march as part of the delegation from Lagos, had been part of a youth delegation that preceded the march.

Pedro: You testified for the second accused in the trialwithin-trial conducted in

M

R. Turner Ogboru yesterday debunked claims by Major Hamza al-Mustapha about his alleged involvement in heroin trafficking. He described alMustapha as “a pathological liar”.

While testifying before a Lagos High Court where he is standing trial for the murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, alMustapha said he (Ogboru) was tortured because he gave heroin to soldiers while in detention.

Ogboru said he had never set eyes on heroin in his life.

He described al-Mustapha’s claims as those of a psychiatric patient.

Ogboru said he neither smoked, drank nor used tobacco His words: “al-Mustapha is a psychiatric case and the sooner we realised that this man is a psychiatric case the better for everybody. The man is a pathological liar. In my this case. al-Mustapha: I was a witness in the trial-within-trial.

Pedro: You voluntarily agreed to testify in favour of the second accused? al-Mustapha: I chose to tell the court the truth because I believe the court needed to know the truth.

Pedro: It means you know the second accused very well. al-Mustapha: I knew him in 1998 during the Two Million Man march. He was a member of the Lagos delegation.

We met again at the SIP. Pedro: Can you tell the court the circumstance in which you met him out of the two million people at the rally? al-Mustapha: Prior to the Two Million Man march in March, selected youth leaders across the country were brought together at the Ministry of Youth Affairs at the Three Arms Zone, Abuja. Because of the large number of people and the place where they were meeting, the CSO was interested.

Pedro: Which CSO are you referring to? Are that CSO?

al-Mustapha: Yes, I was the CSO. Pedro: You met the second accused among the delegates of youths from all over the country? al-Mustapha: Yes. That was where I met him.

When the statement was given to him to read, he said it was the statement he earlier claimed to have made under severe physical and psychological torture, and that he accepted the dictation for the SIP in a bid to save his now late father, his brother and his immediate family who were all under threat.

When Pedro attempted to tender the statement, Ojo kicked. Then, there were arguments on its admissibility by parties, following which the court gave the ruling.

Pedro later resumed the cross-examination and asked al-Mustapha if all the denials in the statement were equally dictated to him. He replied: “Yes”. He added that he made 28 statements in all and that they were all made under duress and conditions of torture.

When asked why Gen.

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

life I’ve never seen heroin, I don’t know how it looks like.

I don’t smoke, I don’t take even tobacco. Between April 22, 1990 when I was taken into detention, and October (1990), no visitor was allowed at Bama prison to see me until my fiancé got a permission to visit me. How could I be inside detention with the security around me and I would be smuggling heroin? The truth is that al-Mustapha is just a cruel man. He is a cruel dragon and a serpent of our time”.

According to Ogboru, while in detention, al-Mustapha ordered him tortured because he was always happy.

His words: “He was always unhappy that I was very happy because I was not sad inside prison. I was always full of life, because I was not a coup plotter.

Abacha’s son, Mohammed was charged with them at the beginning of the case, AlMustapha told the court that he (Mohammed) was included in the case because those who set up the SIP wanted to “squeeze” his father’s money from him.

Pedro: Mohammed Abacha, do you know him very well? al-Mustapha: He is the son of the late Head of State, Gen Sani Abacha. Part of my responsibility was to protect the Head of State and his immediate family.

Pedro: He was arrested in respect of this case? al-Mustapha: He was arrested because of his father’s money. He was arrested because he was to be squeezed.

He was later framed in this charge.

Pedro: He was also at the SIP. Is that correct? al-Mustapha: Yes, but before a separate SIP that was headed by the convening authority, the then DirectorGeneral of the State Security Service (SSS), Mr. Kayode Are. Pedro: Was there any confrontation between you and

Mohammed Abacha at the SIP? al-Mustapha: No, except on one occasion when they were taking me out and he was being brought in. They asked me to ask him where his father’s money was kept.

Pedro: You talked about Mohammed Abacha’s statement and other statements.

Did he also make a statement before the SIP? al-Mustapha: Yes, but the statement was made by the SIP. He was only made to sign it. Why they wanted him is not just because of Gen Abacha’s money. They took him out of Kirikiri prison in Lagos to Abuja without even informing the court in Lagos.

It was all because they were interested in Gen. Abacha’s money. Even some of the money that was recovered was never returned to government.

Pedro: So it is the Supreme Court that discharged Abacha from this case? al-Mustapha: Yes. I have even read the judgment. They even described the case as persecutory.

Pedro later gave him a loose copy of the judgment to

•al-Mustapha

identify. al-Mustapha: I can’t identify it this way. I read it from the published Law Reports.

Pedro gave him a copy and he identified it. When Pedro attempted to tender the judgment, Ojo objected and told the court of his intention to support his objection with a lengthy argument, a development that prompted the lead prosecution lawyer to excuse himself from proceedings on the grounds that he had other things to do.

Ojo later addressed the court for over 30 minutes, but was stopped when the temperature in the court room became unbearable because of the poor ventilation. The air conditioner was not functioning and the room was poorly lit.

A group of placard-bearing members of the Arewa United Association of Nigeria stormed the court, calling for fair trial for al-Mustapha.

Some messages on their placards read: “Al-Mustapha deserves fair trial”; “Enough is enough” and “President Goodluck Jonathan, you believe in the rule of law”.

Sterling Bank acquires ETB Continued from page 1

•Managing-Director, Bank of Industry, Ms Evelyn Oputu (second left), discussing with Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akin Adesina (right). With them are: Some investors from UK and Kenya at the meeting of the minister with the Bank of Industry and Investors from UK and Kenya in Abuja ... yesterday

A strange kind of justice Continued from page 2

It is not surprising that the NJC upheld the recommendation of the Auta panel that Justice Salami should apologise to Justice KatsinaAlu. It is, however, a surprise that the panel did not indict the CJN for also lying on oath since the Abdullahi panel found that the Sokoto appeal panel verdict did not leak as he claimed in his affidavit. Since the judgment did not leak, on what basis did the CJN exercise his “administrative” powers? Justice Salami denied that the verdict leaked and he swore to that effect on oath. Did the Auta panel take evidence from both parties before dismissing Justice Salami’s claim and upholding that of

the CJN? What has Justice Salami done that he should apologise when the CJN even admits that he interfered ‘administratively’ in the Sokoto case in the public interest?

The CJN’s admission is enough ground to uphold Justice Salami’s claim. What kind of ‘’administrative’’ power was the CJN exercising in a matter before the court? Was it proper for him to have taken such a step in a matter that was likely to come to his court as the case eventually did?

The Sokoto case portrayed the Supreme Court in a bad light and the least the NJC could have done was to ensure that it got to the root of the matter to protect the integrity of the judiciary. It didn’t do that, but chose to

make Justice Salami a scapegoat. It is obvious that the NJC does not want to reprimand its chairman, the CJN, for biting more than he could chew in the Sokoto governorship dispute, but must it sacrifice a man, who has served so diligently all these years to achieve its aim? What happened to the legal maxim that “it is better for 1,000 criminals to escape than for one innocent person to be punished”.

But what other decision could NJC have come out with when its meeting was presided over by the CJN? In law, a man cannot be a judge and an accuser in his own case. Justice Katsina-Alu played this dual role in this case. Is this his legacy for the bench that he is quitting in 16 days?

looking to leapfrog an entry into Africa’s fastest growing financial services market. The development ends speculations on the bank’s strategic growth options as it finally opts for domestic consolidation over foreign dominance.

Since the CBN’s intervention, the future of ETB, long considered unique because of its binding relationships with businesses linked to its major shareholder in the mobile telephony, real estate and telecoms sectors, has been less obvious. While a few other rescued banks had significant majority shareholders, none had such a close dependence on trading entities connected to a single shareholder for customer volume. This has made the ETB founder’s buy-in to any deal vital for potential acquirers.

Sources privy to the transactions said: “The Sterling Bank-ETB talks are being driven by clear strategic considerations on the post-deal benefits for both sides, in contrast, what we have seen in some other discussions, where one party in negotiations seems to have been the involuntary acquiescent partner. The urgency introduced by the NDIC’s takeover of three institutions aside, this is a very well thought out deal that would yield impressive returns on equity for years to come.’”

While the financial terms of the deal are yet to be disclosed, analysts expect that the TIA will move to a substantive agreement without the distractions of litigation filed by a minority shareholder. ETB is privately held and is not listed on the NSE. For Sterling Bank’s shareholders, it is widely expected that they would welcome the deal as an historic opportunity to substantially scale up its assets and operations, in addition to benefiting from the cost savings to be derived from the merger’s synergies.

Commenting on the deal, Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane said it would be of tremendous benefit to both parties, the stock

market and the shareholders.

“Any consolidation now is beneficial to the market and shareholders, in this particular case, I know Sterling Bank. It is a very well focused and managed bank. I am very optimistic about the outcome of this deal. The combination of the two banks will be a formidable competitor in the banking industry,” he said.

The combination of both financial institutions would create an institution with over N360 billion in customer deposits, N550 billion in assets and more than 185 operational branches across Nigeria.

Sterling Bank is a major financial services provider offering a wide umbrella of services to individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations and government-affiliated agencies.

Through the main bank and its subsidiaries, Sterling Bank provides assets management, commercial banking, mortgage loans, insurance, investment banking, pension funds management, stock broking, and registrar services.

Sterling Bank serves its clients through 95 branches spread across Nigeria.

Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB) was incorporated as a Limited Liability company on January 30, 1990 and granted a commercial banking licence on February 7, 1990. More than 20 years after it first opened for business, ETB currently has over 90 branches in prime urban locations across Nigeria and is widely regarded for its technology-driven customer friendly service. The institution, which was recapitalised by its owner shortly after the 2009 banking crises, had applied for a Rural Banking licence under current dispensation.

The banking watchdog had revoked the licences of three of the rescued banks - Afribank, Spring Bank and Bank PHB last Friday because it said they did not show the necessary capacity to recapitalise following a N620billion bailout of nine lenders in 2009.

The apex bank set up “bridge banks” to acquire the assets and liabilities of the trio, which were then sold to Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON).

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62

FOREIGN NEWS

Police swoop on homes of riot suspects across London

Tanzanian woman scientist jailed in UK for human trafficking

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SCIENTIST dubbed an ‘African Cruella De Vil’ who forced a young woman to work as her house slave has been jailed for six months in a landmark case.

Rebecca Balira, 47, brought 21-year-old Methodia Mathias to the UK from Tanzania and made her work as a servant from dawn until midnight seven days a week.

The 21-year-old woman cooked, cleaned and washed for the HIV expert while acting a nanny to her three children for six months without pay.

She was made to share a bed with Balira’s 12-year-old son, stripped of her passport and banned from contacting her family or friends.

Ms Mathias was forced to walk to and from church each Sunday while Balira and her children took the bus, Southwark Crown Court heard.

She was slapped and punched by Balira and had her bra cut off her with a pair of scissors after her employer flew into a rage over a money box.

Lawyers for Balira claimed Ms Mathias had painted a picture of an ‘African Cruella De Vil’ in order to escape her clutches and stay in the UK. She became one of the first people in the country to be convicted of knowingly holding another in servitude today, after new legislation was introduced last April.

The scientist was also convicted of one of count common assault after an eight day trial.

More...Greyhound trainer banned from keeping animals after giving dogs Viagra and cannabis Balira has a 15 year association with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and has been described as being ‘at the pioneering front of very important research work’.

She had offered Ms Mathias 250,000 Tanzanian shillings a month (about £96) to work as her housekeeper.

She arranged for Ms Mathias’ visa and paid for her flights from Dar-es-Salaam to London.

PUBLIC NOTICE ELEKAHIA HOUSING ESTATE PRESIDENTS ASSOCIATION This is to inform the general public that the above Association have applied for registration of the Corporate Affairs Commission under part C of companies and allied matters Act, 1990.

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ARE 1. MR. ELEKIMA BRIGGS CHAIRMAN 2. MR. JACK FUBARIBIBO G. SECRETARY 3. MISS. IBITORU URANTA MEMBER 4. MR. MICHAEL AGANA MEMBER AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1) To protect, promote and foster the interest and welfare of residents of the estate 2) To encourage on the need to maintain a good environment for healthy living, etc.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General Corporation Affairs Commission plot 420, Tigri Crescent , Garki, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGN. Henry Ikepeazu

PUBLIC NOTICE MEGAS CHARIS FOUNDATION FOR CHANGE The general public is hereby notified that the above named organization has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under Part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No. 1 of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Mr. Omodehin, Oluwafemi A. 2. Miss Adegboyegun Adenike K. 3. Mr. Patrick Ajoro 4. Mr. Daniel Marshal AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1) To provide a platform of change for the less privilegded to improve their standard of living 2) To promote patriotism and civic education especially amongst the children and youths of this country 3) To provide hope for disaster victims during emergencies by supplying them with relief materials and encouragement Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigeris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28days of the publication.

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OLICE took revenge on dozens of riot looters last night as they kicked in their front doors and hauled them into the street.

Riot officers armed with battering rams descended on a string of properties as they looked for pay back over the chaos that swept the country.

The police action came as the rioters’ reign of terror seemingly evaporated into the night.

Just as the first bursts of violence in Tottenham came from nowhere, so the trouble unexpectedly receded.

Contributory factors may have included the fact that police forces throughout the nation were braced for action with as many blue uniformed bodies as they could put on the street; 16,000 in London alone.

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HE police admitted they got their riot tactics wrong, the Prime Minister has said, as he announced measures to help homeowners and businesses.

David Cameron told MPs the riots in cities across England were “criminality pure and simple”, but there were “far too few police” on the streets.

He announced a crackdown on facemasks and a review of curfews during an emergency recall of Parliament.

More than 1,500 arrests have been made since the unrest began on Saturday.

The prime minister earlier chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency committee Cobra to discuss the violence with cabinet ministers.

Mr Cameron told MPs that it had become clear there had been problems in the initial police response to the disorder.

Former Cabinet minister Sir Malcolm Rifkind also raised concerns that officers were instructed to “stand and observe looting”.

Mr Cameron told MPs: “There were simply far too few police deployed on to our streets and the tactics they were using weren’t working.

“Police chiefs have been frank with me about why this happened.

“Initially the police treated the situation too much as a

Signed: Ndubisi Ilozue & Company 55, Western Avenue, Ojuelegba, Lagos.

struggled to contain hundreds of yobs who took to the high streets to loot.

But the Met pledged that policing numbers would remain at an unprecedented high for the second night in a row, leaving forces elsewhere without crack teams trained for public disorder as they saw 16,000 police on the streets.

Scotland Yard yesterday said that 888 people had now been arrested in connection with violence, disorder and looting in the capital, with 371 charged.

On Wednesday a police source told Mail Online that while there were no early reports of trouble in the capital, there will remain a ‘higher more visible police presence on the streets’.

public order issue - rather than essentially one of crime.

“The truth is that the police have been facing a new and unique challenge with different people doing the same thing - basically looting - in different places all at the same time.”

The prime minister promised he would do “whatever it takes” to restore order to the streets as he set out a range of measures aimed at helping businesses and homeowners affected by the riots.

He said: “This is a time for our country to pull together.

“To the law abiding people who play by the rules, and who are the overwhelming majority in our

country, I say: the fightback has begun, we will protect you, if you’ve had your livelihood and property damaged, we will compensate you. We are on your side.

“And to the lawless minority, the criminals who have taken what they can get, I say this: We will track you down, we will find you, we will charge you, we will punish you. You will pay for what you have done.”

Mr Cameron ruled out bringing in the Army, but added: “It is my responsibility to make sure that every contingency is looked at - including whether there are tasks that the Army could undertake that would free up more police for the front line.”

•Cameron

He said a reinforced police presence of 16,000 officers on the streets of London would remain in place over the weekend.

UN says Ouattara forces killed 26 in July HE United Nations peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast says that 26 people have been executed in the last month.

It says the killings have been carried out principally by armed forces who helped the new President, Alassane Ouattara, take power.

Mr Ouattara has been president since April when his forces arrested former President Laurent Gbagbo.

Mr Gbagbo is now under house arrest in the north of the country. Some alleged killings were blamed on his

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allies.

The rights representative for the UN mission in Ivory Coast, Guillaume Ngefa, said there had been 26 cases of “extrajudicial execution, summary or arbitrary” and “85 cases of arbitrary arrest and illegal detention”.

The killings were reported between 11 July and 10 August of this year, he said, adding that locals and victims identified most of the perpetrators as men belonging to the Republican Forces of Ivory Coast.

These soldiers, backed by UN and French troops,

helped Mr Ouattara take power in May after a dispute with Mr Gbagbo, who refused to step down after losing elections in November.

At least 3,000 people were killed in the four-month conflict that followed.

In July, human rights group Amnesty International said a “climate of fear” was preventing hundreds of thousands of refugees from returning to their homes, and called on the government to do more to control the former rebels and traditional hunters who helped them come to power.

Obama hosts Muslim 9/11 victims to Ramadan dinner

PUBLIC NOTICE TH AND WELLNESS FOUNDA TION HEALTH FOUNDATION RAPHA HEAL

Any objection to this above should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, Maitama, Abuja, within 28 days of this publication.

boasted that the government had lost control of the cities.

They pledged to continue as long as they could.

And even if they do get caught, they are not afraid of the consequences, with one telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘What are they gonna do? Give me an Asbo?

I’ll live with that.’

London remained relatively calm on Tuesday evening thanks to a mammoth police presence, but looting and thuggery continued in Birmingham and Liverpool, and broke out for the first time in Manchester, Nottingham and Gloucester.

Regional forces, seemingly caught on the back foot after donating hundreds of riot officers to help the Met regain control of the capital,

UK Police admit getting riots wrong, says PM

Signed: OMODEHIN, OLUWAFEMI A.

This is to inform the general public that the above named foundation has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No. 1 of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Mr. Chijioke Victor Ilozue 2. Dr. Frances Ebelechukwu Ilozue 3. Sister Anthonia Osakwe 4. Mr. Ndubisi Christian Ilozue AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To give free and/or subsidized medicare.

To give free/subsidized medical and healthy living education.

To run medical and medical related facilities.

To generally cater for the health and well being of people.

Petition on Government website calling for looters to be evicted from council houses receives 83,000 signatures in 24 hours Perhaps the three deaths in Birmingham yesterday prompted a rethink by some.

And with the arrest figures in London alone up to 888 perhaps there were just too few rioters and looters to cause the same level of disturbance.

But with no serious incidents overnight, simply a procession of charged rioters trudging through overnight court sittings, the lull in violence begs the question: Is the worst over?

On Wednesday youths had rampaged through Manchester’s city centre, turning it into a war zone, and

•Obama

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NITED States President Barack hosted the traditional Ramadan dinner at the White House, only one month shy of the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Mr Obama, who turned 50 last week, led the emotional

evening last night and thanked the Muslim community for their help in dealing with the September 11 tragedy, which caused nearly 3,000 deaths.

The president honoured the Muslims for their help on home soil a decade ago, and also thanked them for their contributions to the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now scroll down to watch a video of President Obama’s Ramadan speech President Obama spoke at length at the White House Ramadan ‘iftar’ dinner, praising Muslim’s efforts in the 9/ 11 attacks. He also thanked them for their contributions

to the subsequent war efforts Mrs Mansura Shajahan’s husband died in the 9/11 attacks. She stands as President Obama acknowledges her With a month to go before the 10-year anniversary of September 11, Mr Obama used the Ramadan dinner to remember that people of many backgrounds perished in the 2001 attacks - including many American Muslims, who ‘made the ultimate sacrifice’.

In his speech, which he made to the 100 guests before the dinner began, the president said: ‘Muslim Americans were [the] first responders ... the EMTs (Emergency Medi-

cal Technicians) … the nurse who tended to so many victims, the naval officer at the Pentagon who rushed into the flames and pulled the injured to safety.’

He continued, paying tribute to the ‘brave service of our men and women in uniform, including thousands of Muslim Americans … [and] some [who] have made the ultimate sacrifice.’

Mrs Shajahan cried when Mr Obama remembered the Muslim American’s who ‘made the ultimate sacrifice’ Support: Mansura Shajahan’s son Yusuf Shajahan comforts his emotional mother at the dinner.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

SPORT EXTRA

Everton, Fenerbahce resume Yobo sale talks O

Amosun to host Youth Soccer Classic organisers today •Grassroots coaches’ seminar holds today •As quarter finalists emerges

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VERTON have resumed talks to sell Joseph Yobo to Turkish giants Fenerbahce - and give manager David Moyes a financial lifeline.

The Nigerian centre-half could soon be cleared for a £2million return to the Istanbul club, where he starred on loan last season.

Yobo is not in Moyes' longterm plans, but Everton chief Bill Kenwright's valuation of

GUN State Governor Senator Ibikunle Amosun is scheduled to host the organisers of the Youth Soccer Classic going on in Ijebu-Ode at the Dipo Dina International Stadium, today at the Ogun State Government House, Abeokuta. Disclosing this to journalists is the tournament director Prince Dapo Ajibade.

“The Commissioner for Sports in Ogun State, Honourable Olugbenga Otenuga has invited us to the state house and Chief Adegboye Onigbinde will lead us to Abeokuta this morning to meet with the governor. The Commissioner was highly impressed with the level of youths that trooped out for this tournament and that is why the Ogun State Government has identify with us.”

To accompany the former Super Eagles handler to meet with the Ogun State Government executives are Paul Fairclough,

the player put a permanent move in doubt and for weeks it appeared to be off.

However, Fener are now back in touch and closing in on an agreement that would give Moyes some cash to play with as he looks to make a couple of loan deals.

A potential hitch remains though - the Turkish club need permission rom their federation to sign players after a probe into allegations of match-fixing.

Soriola joins Free State Stars

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I G E R I A N international, Gege Soriola, has joined Premier Soccer League side, Free State Stars, ahead of the 2011/2012 season, which begins on Friday, August 12.

SuperSport.com learnt that the South African side is eager to have the tall central defender who travelled with the Nigerian national team to London in time for the season’s opener.

According to the club’s official website, “The highly experienced Nigerian international Gege Soriola is expected to join his new Free State Stars teammates after the Super Eagles’ friendly match against Ghana in London was cancelled.”

Sources at Hearland told SuperSport.com that Soriola was at the Bethlehem based club for trials and impressed the technical crew.

"Soriola has signed for Free State Stars," a club official said to SuperSport.com.

The move is a big boost for the career of the Heartland defender, who has wormed his way into the heart of Super Eagles boss, Samson Siasia.

Soriola is an imposing central defender, who was a member of the homebased Super Eagles that lost the West African Football Union (Wafu) Cup to Togo.

He was an unused substitute

in Nigeria’s 4-1 victory over Argentina in an international friendly.

Ea Lla Koto begins the 2011/ 2012 Absa Premiership campaign against three-time champions Supersport United on Saturday, at Goble Park Stadium.

Former Enyimba star, Prince Olomu, who is now with Maritzburg United, started his PSL career at Free State Stars before heading for Bloemfontein

of Owerri to internationally recognized club, the Executive Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has tasked the Management Board of the Naze Millionaires to strive to be independent of the State Government in their day to day running since government alone cannot borne the expenses of all its affiliates.

Okorocha stated this in a breakfast meeting he had with the Mangement Staff and players of Heartland FC at the Government House, Owerri Thursday morning.

He affirmed that his dreams for Heartland FC was to see the team compete among the best in the world stating that if that would become fruition all and sundry must work in tandem with his

•Yobo

Lagos set to reclaim T/Tennis top spot

F

Okorocha tasks Heartland on OWARDS his bid to independentce transform Heartland

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2011 FEDERATION CUP

AHEAD 2012 NATIONAL SPORT FESTIVAL OLLOWING the poor performance of the Lagos State Table Tennis players at the last National Sports Festival in Rivers State, the state's Table Tennis Association has concluded plans to organise a competition tagged 'BRF Table Tennis Championship' come September.

According to the Association, the competition would stroke off with a preliminary round between 21st and 23rd of September in six zones of the 57 local government and local council development area as four events would be decided in

From Tunde Liadi, Owerri

administration philosophy to reshape all government’s parastatals including sports.

The Ideato South born Governor thereafter highlighted some of the moves by his administration towards taking sports to the grassroots.

Speaking on the challenge put before the team, the General Manager of Heartland, Fan Ndubuoke enumerated some of the achievement of his eight month old administration of the Owerri based club which he stated included the realization over 17 million naira internally from the club, and the contract with a sports manufacturer from Spain which he opined was still in the pipeline among others.

CORRECTION The headline on page 24 (NationSports) that today marks 12 years since Samuel Okwaraji died is wrong. The footballer died in 1989, 22 years ago. The error is regretted — Editor.

Manager UEFA Licensed grade A Coach and Scout to Arsenal FC and Consultant to Shaktar Donesk, Ukraine, Herald Wilhelm from Holland, Mr. Bright Sodje, a UK based sports consultant and former football player, Steve Sodje, Sunny Oyeyemi, Steve Anyebe (Special Adviser Research and Strategy to the Senate President David Mark).

However, today is a free day in the tournament due to the coaching clinic FIFA and CAF instructor Chief Adegboye Onigbinde is scheduled to hold for 300 grassroots coaches at Conference Hotel by 12noon.

Meanwhile, the competition is getting tougher as quarter finalists emerged yesterday after the second round matches was decided yesterday and no fewer than 540 players have been sent packing from the tournament as their clubs failed to advance to the next stage of the one week tournament.

By Innocent Amomoh

the Men's and Women's Singles as well as the Team events in male and female cadres.

The Association's Vice Chairman, Otunba Wasiu Mojeed, said winner at the prliminary rounds in the six zones would converge at Rowe Park, Yaba for the Semi and final matches billed for 29th and 30th of next month, adding that the association had sent letters of invitation to all the local governmnets and LCDA on the need to participate in the event.

His words said: "Each zone would be handled by the association's members who have been enjoined to ensure hitch free competition as the move would enable the association to have a pool of players that will be invited to camp on regular basis to keep them acquinted with the

basics of the sport, stressing that the association has resolved to reclaim its rightful position at the NSF which the state in hosting in November, 2011."

The Association's Technical Committee Chairman, John Peters, said: "The championship is geared towards discovering talents who would be groomed ahead of next year's sports festival billed for November in Lagos State."

Peter, who explained that the association was not happy over the position of the state's ping pongers at the Garden City Games, assured that the association would commence developmental programmes where the talents discovered from the BRF Table Tennis Championship would have opportunity to join the class of outstanding table tennis players in the state.

AAG: Para-athletics team HE list of para-athletics list ready team to next month's All Africa Games will

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be ready by Friday.

Technical Director/Head coach, Kassim Taiwo made this known in Ibadan where the team is presently camped.

A visit to the team's training on Tuesday at the main bowl of the Obafemi Awolowo stadium, saw the 46 para athletes who are in camp undergo in-house trials where the final team selection will be made.

Taiwo, who was at the head of affairs, said that he was satisfied with the performance of the athletes having being in camp since June adding that he would send the final list of the athletes picked to the Federation by Friday. He was of the opinion that the athletes where ready to excel at the All Africa Games noting that

Africa was not the problem but qualifying for the Olympics.

'We are sure of doing well in Africa, We are going to participate in 21 events and you can be sure that we are going to sweep the medals there,' Taiwo stated.

However, one of the para athletes, who does not want to be quoted, appealed to the National Sports Commission (NSC) to come to their aid by providing the team with modern day racing wheel chairs as this would improve their performance at the games and get them ready for the Para Olympic Games.

'The ones we are using at the moment are not good enough, we are only managing them,' the athlete noted.

Rangers Chidi Sunday wants to win Golden Boot

R

A N G E R S International of Enugu secured their passage to the 2011 Federation Cup last eight, while relying heavily on the goal scoring prowess of Chidi Sunday whose goals sank Ocean Boys and UniCem Rovers in Abuja and quite undone by the four goals he has netted for the Flying Antelopes thus far in the former Challenge Cup this term, the striker has set his sights on emerging as the highest goals scorer by the time curtain will be drawn on the competition in Lagos on August 27th.

Sunday who caught up with NationSport shortly after grabbing one of the two goals that confirmed his club’s progression and UniCem’s exit from the 2011 Federation Cup posited that he was grateful to God for making his harvest of goals to become manifest in the then called FA Cup and stressed with optimism that ending the campaign as the leading goal getter would serve as the right consolation for his inability to score as much as he would have loved to find the back of the net in the ongoing Premier league season where he only hit target once in their 4-0 drubbing of JUTH FC of Jos

•Para soccer

From Tunde Liadi, Owerri

in Enugu.

He stated that Rangers would like to make it a double in both the WAFU Cup and the Federation Cup couple with ending the league season on a very respectable position on the log.

“I thank God for making me convert the chances that came my way in the Federation Cup and especially at the Old Parade Ground Abuja where I scored twice in less than 24 hours of two difficult matches. We have set the target of adding the Federation Cup to our ambition of lifting the WAFU Cup competition. I also want to emerge as the highest goals scorer on a personal note.” Sunday said.

Sunday joined Rangers last season and besides the two goals scored against Ocean Boys and UniCem Rovers, the striker also netted twice in his club’s 3-0 whitewash of Flaming Flamingoes of Ekiti in the penultimate round before the Group Stage and has assured to do more against Bayelsa United when they file out on August 17 at the Pantami Stadium, Gombe.

WHO SAID WHAT

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 6,

C OMMENT & D EB ATE EBA

“I

T’S wacky, isn’t it? I mean it is strange and weird at the same time. But it is also entertaining, and it is the nature of entertainers to be wacky. After all who pays attention to something that’s not out of the ordinary and way out?”

“Pardon me, my friend, but I don’t really know what you’re talking about. And while your reference to “wackiness”, “strangeness”, “weirdness” and “wayoutness” could also be entertaining, I’d really prefer to have nothing comical unless it makes sense to me.”

“That’s because you’re odd. It may also come to you from the nature of your profession. Otherwise who doesn’t want to have a good laugh every now and then?

And it doesn’t really matter if you can make logical sense of a comedy; what matters is that it makes you laugh. Clowns don’t pretend to follow the rules of reasoning; but we love them because they entertain us. And as our people would add, even when no one prays to have him as a child, a crazy one’s display of idiocy could make the day of an audience in the marketplace.”

“You’re odd means you’re weird”, doesn’t it? I should have known that I was the target of your ranting. So why don’t you just admit and let’s get it over with. How on earth did I deserve this? What’s odd in asking for the basis of your angst this time?

For your information, however, I would rather be weird and odd than follow the crowd to the land of unreason.

“Well, alright, you have a point and I apologise. I cannot in good conscience fault you for asking questions. Many have been led the way of perdition for their incredible lack of judgment about what to hear and what to believe.

“Apology accepted. But if you don’t mind, I am still puzzled what your substantive point is in all this.”

“Did you read the stories about alMustapha spilling the beans? Did you hear about his allegation against Afenifere leaders in the run-up to the Abubakar transition program? Are you aware that the media have been engrossed in the circus, and cheering him on for more? It’s all weird, isn’t it?”

“But what’s weird about it? What makes it strange that an accused fellow is desperately making a case for his acquittal?

If you were in that situation, tell me what you would do.”

“I am glad you asked. First, I would speak directly to the issue. I will submit that I am not guilty of the offence for which I am standing trial. I will provide an effective alibi that cannot be faulted. And I will call

SEGUN GBADEGESIN gbadegesin@thenationonlineng.net

al-Mustapha’s wacky monologue ‘But al-Mustapha has brought up the visit of these leaders to Aso Rock to the center of his plea in the case of the murder of Kudirat.

What on earth have these two incidents in common? If the murder of Kudirat preceded the visit of Adesanya and others by at least 24 months, how is that a relevant evidence in his defence?’

•al-Mustapha

witnesses that corroborate my plea. And I will rest my case.”

Good! But that is because you know yourself that you are not guilty and you have the facts that can vindicate you. That is a straightforward case. If, on the other hand, you are caught pants down, with no credible alibi, giving that your word was command in your position as Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the maximum ruler, who also admitted to ordering the torture of at least one Nigerian citizen, you know in your heart that yours is a lost cause. In the circumstance, as a trained

RIPPLES FED GOVT ASSURES ON MINIMUM WAGE– News

Enough of promises...let the NAIRA do the TALKING

NO. 1,850

‘It must be stated that investigating and prosecuting corrupt officials is only one leg of the journey to defeating corruption and economic crime. The other flank is buoyed by vigorous and sustained attempts at winning the hearts, souls and minds of Nigerians through ethical re-orientation’

tactician versed in battle front tricks, you have to devise a survival plan. In the case of al-Mustapha, that plan is to go clownish.

“Look at it this way. al-Mustapha is in court to answer charges that he ordered the killing of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola in June 1996. That tragic incident happened two years before the death of Chief Moshood Kasimawo Olawale Abiola, Kudirat’s husband, in Abacha/Abubakar’s gulag. It happened two years before the visit of Pa Abraham Adesanya, Chief Bola Ige and others to the State House on the invitation of General Abubakar. But al-Mustapha has

HARDBALL

A

N Ibadan-based Muslim cleric, Sheikh Muhydeen Ajani Bello, has offered what seems to be a unique explanation for what he concludes is the slow pace of governance by Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State. According to the cleric, the governor is unable to make fast and steady progress at a pace the state requires to turn things around because he is overdressed. He didn’t quite put it as brusquely as Shakespeare did in Twelfth Night, when Feste, Olivia’s clown, quotes a Latin phrase that translates as “The hood does not make the monk” to explain why his clownish appearance masks his intelligence and wit.

But Muhydeen said enough for all of us, and particularly the people of Oyo State, to understand that he was really disparaging the governor’s showy splendour. If only Ajimobi would dress more simply, said the cleric with animated anguish, perhaps he would get down to brass tacks to deal with the overwhelming problems of the state.

There is no doubt that there is a crisis of expectation in many new Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) states. The states the new governors took over were truly and horribly run down. The cleric probably spoke the minds of many Oyo voters when he said that Ajimobi’s nearly three months in office were uninspiring. But whether this seeming slow

Ajimobi and the critical cleric pace can be put down to the governor’s elaborate dressing is entirely debatable. In the first instance, what could even a magician do in three months to a state ruined by the gifted sybarite and lethargic predecessor, Adebayo Alo-Akala, especially someone so short-sighted that all his fertile imagination inspired him to do was to, in his last days in office, create and hand over intractable nuisances to his successor? Would the new governor not look for ways to re-engineer the finances of the state, remould the state entirely, and then seek to imbue it with a momentum that would be sufficient to modernise it and run it well? Could this onerous job be done or begun in a hurry, let alone in three months?

Second, do we have a consensus on what amounts to overdressing? Said Sheikh Muhydeen to Ajimobi: “I have told you to stop wearing agbada (traditional flowing gown) if you really want to turn the state around as you have promised…I looked around Ibadan, there is no action anywhere.

There should have been action everywhere

FARIDA WAZIRI

brought up the visit of these leaders to Aso Rock to the center of his plea in the case of the murder of Kudirat. What on earth have these two incidents in common?

If the murder of Kudirat preceded the visit of Adesanya and others by at least 24 months, how is that a relevant evidence in his defence?

“I am not a lawyer but I am not illiterate especially because I can run to my friends in the learned profession for help. There is a general principle that an evidence is admissible if and only if it is relevant to a fact at issue. My question is “how is the evidence of the visit of Pa Adesanya and others to Aso Rock in 1998 relevant to the murder of Kudirat Abiola in 1996?” And why is that an admissible evidence?”

“Alakoba! Are you seriously asking me that question? Or are you directing your question to the judge? I can see you replacing al-Mustapha in the dock in a jiffy if you don’t watch your tongue. No, I am not going that route with you; and I can assure you that your lawyer friends will be the first to desert you.”

“Coward! This is why nothing changes in this country. In other climes, citizens ask questions of anyone—judge or jury.

That is what democracy is about. And that is why sometimes I like the idea of electing judges so they are answerable to the people and not a head of state or head of government. You don’t doubt the reasonableness of my query. You are only afraid that a judge, a human being like yourself, is going to find it offensive. I resent that thought and coming from you, it makes me sick. It’s wacky!

“Iwo lo mo o. (That’s your business). But I am interested in your assertion that alMustapha chose to go clownish to wriggle out of punishment. It seems to me that that is an unfair statement. The man has a right to defend himself anyhow he thinks could be effective. Remember that he has a defence attorney who appears to be versed in the law, including the law of evidence.

“What you regard as distractive and irrelevant evidence is what has captured the attention of many Nigerians. That is because they find it interesting, juicy and sensational. It is for the defence team a very important strategy. If this case were to be determined by a jury, you’d be surprised how effective it might be. For now, we just have to see how much weight is allotted your irrelevant evidence in the totality of al-Mustapha’s creepy defence. The judge has her work cut out for her.”

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•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above in the state.” The cleric went on to compare Ajimobi with Governor Babatunde Fashola, whom he said wore simple buba and sokoto and was working well to transform Lagos. It is unlikely that many analysts will agree with the critical cleric’s observation on dressing, for a sociologist will labour with doubtful results to convince the discerning public that there is a relationship between dressing and performance. Indeed, since Shakespeare, most people have agreed that the hood does not make the monk.

But the cleric means well. He wants the governor to succeed, and he said so in the lecture he gave to an audience largely made up of approving Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faithful. Rather than take umbrage, the governor could appreciate that the cleric was simply giving him, and others like him, a lesson in public relations. It is not enough for a governor to mean well, to be brilliant, or to be a patriot. He must understand the relationship between the image he projects and the people’s appreciation of his competence. Let Ajimobi take the lesson to heart. After all, neither the current ACN national leader nor Chief Obafemi Awolowo often wore elaborate dressing. But whether the two modern Spartans did so because agbada inconvenienced them or by social choice is hard to say. We suppose it is no use asking them.

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