The Nation August 12, 2014

Newspaper of the Year

Lagos nurse tests positive to Ebola NEWS Page 5

•Cases now 10 •177 under watch •Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

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VOL. 9, NO. 2936 TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

Polls: Jonathan insists on heavy security NEWS

Pages 4&8

•Killer squad on the loose?

LAW Page 25

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TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

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Draft constitution splits conference as North’s delegates meet

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WHERE ARE THE CHIBOK GIRLS KIDNAPPED ON APRIL 15?

SIX-YEAR single term for the president and governors, 50 per cent derivation and the scrapping of the 774 local councils.

These are some of the highlights of the draft constitution presented yesterday to National Conference members in Abuja.

But the draft constitution, given to members along with the draft proposal of the conference for their review before discussion starts tomor-

SOME OF THE HIGLIGHTS OF THE DRAFT CONSTITUTION •Six-year single term for the president and governors •50 per cent derivation •Scrapping of the 774 local governments From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

row, did not go down well with the northern delegates who will meet today in Abuja.

The meeting will decide on whether to confront the leadership on the draft constitution or boycott the confer-

ence’s final leg.

Most Northern delegates were shocked that a draft constitution was “smuggled” into the agenda of the conference, in spite of the persistent denial by its leadership.

One of the Northern delegates, who spoke anony-

mously, said: “It was shocking to hear that a draft constitution is being circulated to members. We have summoned an emergency meeting of Northern delegates for Tuesday (today).

“The Northern delegates are angry that extraneous is-

sues are being brought into the agenda of the National Conference.

“If the government had made up its mind from the beginning, there was no basis for bringing 492 Nigerians for the conference.

“Our meeting might also take a firm decision on whether to go ahead with the conference or boycott its final stage. We cannot be used for selfish purpose.”

Continued on page 4

•INSIDE: WASSCE RECORDS 31% PASS P6 SON RELIVES ADE-AJAYI’S LAST MOMENT P5

North to Jonathan: get girls out by Oct. or forget 2015 ‘Probe attacks on Buhari, killings of Shi’ite men’

16 would-be female bombers, trainer arrested From Kolade Adeyemi,

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From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan got yesterday an ultimatum from the North – bring back the Chibok girls and stop Boko Haram or forget 2015.

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) issued a deadline – October- for the conditions to be met.

For over three months, more than 200 girls abducted by the fundamentalist Boko Haram sect have been in captivity. Eleven of their parents have died, following the trauma. The government says it knows where the girls are, but it is being careful not to do anything that will put their lives at risk.

The thinking of the elders is that the military can defeat the Boko Haram terrorists – if, indeed, the government wants to subdue the sect.

“We are convinced that most of these conflicts are being engineered to weaken the North politically and economically by interests which intend to exploit such weaknesses for electoral benefits,” the NEF said yesterday.

The forum spoke in Kaduna through two

‘

Continued on page 4

If President Jonathan fails to end the insurgency, Nigerians will be left with the only conclusion that he has forfeited his right to ask for their mandate beyond 2015

’

•THE FEAR OF EBOLA: Passengers, wearing protective face masks and hand gloves push trolleys loaded with PHOTO: AFP personal effects upon arrival at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos…yesterday.

Kano

MAN believed to be training female bombers was arrested yesterday in Kano.

Also arrested with Ibrahim Ibrahim were 16 girls who security agents said were being trained as would-be bombers.

Sources in Kano said the teenage girls were arrested when security men swooped on the place where they were being trained following a tip-off.

Joint Task Force (JTF) officers carried out the raid.

Ibrahim is believed to be a trainer of would-be suicide bombers.

Last month, a 10-year old girl was arrested along with a man – both wired up and on a suicide bombing mission - in Funtua, Katsina State.

There have been a series of suicide bombings, believed to have been carried out by girls, in the North in recent times.

Most of the young girls are usually dressed in hijab, under which they carry the lethal objects which they detonate at designated places. Many people have been killed in Kano, Kaduna and in Borno states by female suicide bombers.

Continued on page 4

•PASSENGER DIES AT LAGOS AIRPORT P10 •GDP DROPS 4% DUE TO POOR POWER SUPPLY P11

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

2

NEWS

‘Ebola vaccine c

•From left: Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Diamond Bank Plc, Dr. Alex Ott, founder, Diamond Bank and Chairman, MTN Nigeria, Dr. Pascal Dozie and Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Mike Ikpoki at the launch of the Diamond Y'ello Account in Lagos...yesterday.

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•Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji (middle) displaying an ward given to him by Encomium magazine in Lagos... at the weekend. With him Deputy Governor Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire (left) and wife of Lagos State governor, Abimbola Fashola.

•Managing Director/CEO, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. 'Yemi Adeola (left) and Managing Director, Arsenal FC, Mr. Ivan Gazidis at the signing of the sponsorship agreement between the bank and the club in London... at the weekend.

•From left: Chairman, Nigeria Society for the Blind, Bola Agbaje,member of the society, Lanre Adebayo, Marketing Manager, Olam Sanyo Foods Limited, Bola Adeniji and Vice- Chairman of the society, Fola Osibo during a walk sponsored by Olam Sanyo Foods for the blimd in Lagos.

OSPITALS in Europe are preparing for the possible spread of Ebola out of Africa as the World Health Organisation said a vaccine could be ‘rushed through’ by early next year.

Doctors at the specialised quarantine unit at Berlin’s Charite hospital today showed off their readiness, amid news that two Germans could be carrying the deadly virus.

One suspected victim was yesterday in isolation at a Hamburg hospital after coming down with a fever after a visit to Sierra Leone, where the virus has claimed 12 lives.

Another, a German medical student currently in Rwanda, is said to be showing signs of the disease, though should he in fact have Ebola it is so far unclear whether he would be flown to Germany for treatment.

Further east, soldiers from the Czech army Biological Defence Centre were also seen drilling for a possible Ebola outbreak in the Czech Republic.

They practised infection control, setting up quarantine areas and treating dummy ‘patients’ in the fear that the virus could spread to Eastern Europe. Their centre near Jablonné nad Orlicí, close to the border with Poland, is one of the few prepared to deal with a possible Ebola outbreak in the region.

And in China, border authorities have stepped up their infection control and quarantine facilities. As it rises to global economic dominance China has increased its trade with resource-rich African nations, increasing the possibility that an infected person could travel between the two countries.

Fears of the spread of the disease are not entirely unfounded. In the past few days news has emerged of a Romanian man who has been put in isolation in a hospital in Bucharest that specialises in infectious diseases on suspicion of having contracted Ebola in Nigeria.

And in Spain, officials said a Catholic priest infected with Ebola will be treated with an experimental drug already used on two repatriated Americans.

The drug, called ZMapp, arrived at Madrid’s La Paz-Carlos III hospital, where the 75-year-old missionary was being treated in isolation, the health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

The Roman Catholic priest, Miguel Pajares, was one of three people who tested positive for Ebola at the Saint Joseph Hospital in Monrovia where he worked.

Ebola symptoms are similar to those of flu, and include fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and finally bleeding and death.

The preparations came as the WHO said a potential vaccine for the Ebola virus is being tested on humans and could be ready for widespread use by early 2015.

The hope for a breakthrough came as experts from affected countries prepared to meet this afternoon to discuss the use of experimental therapies for the illness.

Ebola kills 90 per cent of people who catch it, Western victims who have been flown home to their native countries have been given a new and experimental drug called Zmapp that could offer better chances of survival.

But doses of Zmapp are scarce, with a spokesman for the WHO telling MailOnline that at the moment there are just ‘a few doses of these drugs in Western labs’.

There is currently no licensed cure or vaccine for Ebola, one of the deadliest known viruses, but MariePaule Kieny, assistant director-gen-

•A banner on a wall in Monrovia, the Liberian capital, alerting people to the danger of Ebola.

PHOTO: AP

eral of the UN health agency, told AFP she expected a vaccine to be rushed through.

‘I think it’s realistic’ to expect it to be available by 2015, said Ms Kieny.

Jean-Marie Okwo Bele, vaccine chief at WHO, told French radio RFI on Saturday that British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline appeared set to start clinical trials of a vaccine next month.

He also said he was optimistic about making the vaccine commercially available.

‘Since this is an emergency, we can put emergency procedures in place ... so that we can have a vaccine available by 2015,’ he was quoted as saying by AFP. Nearly 1,000 people have died so far in West Africa in the worst outbreak of Ebola ever.

Health officials will meet for a video conference hosted by the WHO to discuss whether experimental treatments like Zmapp can be used in the efforts to contain the outbreak.

Three of the world’s leading Ebola specialists have already called for the experimental drug to be offered to infected people in West Africa.

Pointing out that the drug had been made available to Western patients before they were evacuated to their native countries, Peter Piot, who co-discovered Ebola in 1976, has said Africans should get the same chance.

But WHO spokesman Fadéla Chaib told MailOnline that the main question was whether it was ethical to use treatments in the field that have never before been tested on humans.

‘If yes,’ she said, ‘who will get these very scarce treatments?’

She denied suggestions that there was an inequality in access to the new drugs, saying that is was not a question of ‘white and black’.

‘How can you recommend using untested treatments on people in the middle of an outbreak?’ she asked.

‘We are talking about two people getting these treatments, but you don’t know what will happen if there are hundreds of people getting them.’

She added that the potential side effects of Zmapp on the elderly, pregnant women and people with underlying conditions were not yet known.

The race to find effective treatments for Ebola comes as govern-

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 20134

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NEWS

ne could be rushed through for 2015’

•Plateau State Commissioner for Information Mrs Olivia Dazyam at a news conference on Ebola Virus in Jos...yesterday. With her are Commissioner for Environment, Mr Silvanus Dangtoe; Representative of Commissioner for Health, Mr Alias Pede.

PHOTO: NAN

ments in West Africa warned that people could begin starving as travel restrictions cause food shortages and soaring prices.

‘We are trying to cope,’ said Joseph Kelfalah, the mayor of Kenema, in an eastern district of Sierra Leone that is under strict quarantine along with nearby Kailahun, but he added that food prices were ‘escalating’.

Under the country’s ‘Operation Octopus’, some 1,500 soldiers and police have been deployed to enforce the quarantines, turning people away at checkpoints and accompanying health workers searching for people who may have contracted the virus.

‘Only essential officials and food items are being allowed in after intensive searches,’ deputy police chief Karrow Kamara told AFP.

Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea are the countries hardest hit by the epidemic, which the UN World Health Organization has called an international health emergency.

Liberia has been particularly affected by food shortages since declaring its state of emergency on Wednesday. It, too, has deployed soldiers to restrict movement, notably from the worst-affected northern provinces to the capital Monrovia.

Sando Johnson, a senator in the province of Bomi, northwest of Monrovia, said the restrictions were ‘severe’ and warned people would die of starvation if they are not relaxed.

‘My country has been completely quarantined because soldiers don’t allow anyone to get out of the area and they don’t allow anyone to go

there,’ he told AFP by telephone.

‘A bag of rice that sold for 1,300 LD ($14; £9) is now selling for 1,800 LD. The poor people will die of hunger, for God’s sake.’

Health workers have been tasked with raising awareness about the disease which causes fever and, in the worst cases, unstoppable bleeding.

An emergency helpline set up by Liberia’s Ebola taskforce to provide information on the virus had received 1,800 calls by Friday.

‘Aside from lots of confusion, aside from sick persons, aside from the fact that we also want to create awareness, this call centre is there to create calm but to also disseminate information and to gather information that can be shared with the national task force,’ said Barkue Tubman, a spokesman for the cen-

tre in Monrovia.

The virus is spread by close contact with an infected person through bodily fluids such as sweat, blood and tissue.

In Sierra Leone, 10 motorcycle taxi drivers have been infected after unknowingly carrying Ebola patients, according to the president of the National Bike Riders Association, David Sesay.

The two-wheeled taxis, which put rider and passenger in close contact, are an indispensable form of transport in remote areas of west Africa.

Efforts to halt the epidemic have been stymied by ignorance, distrust of Westerners and false rumours.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has warned against spreading false information ‘which can lead to mass hysteria, panic and misdirection’.

Meanwhile, the disease appears to be spreading from its crucible in the West African countries of Guinea, Libera and Sierra Leone.

The first ‘suspected case’ was reported in Senegal, where a 27-yearold man with Ebola-like symptoms was placed in isolation in a hospital in the north of the country. The man later tested negative for the virus, a health official said.

Nigeria, West Africa’s richest and most-populous country, has reported 13 confirmed, probable or suspected cases of Ebola, whose incubation period ranges from two to 21 days.

It suspended flights into the country by the Gambian national airline on Sunday, saying the company’s efforts to screen for the virus were ‘unsatisfactory’.

U.S. patient in isolation: why we went to Liberia T

HE American doctor infected with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Liberia, Dr. Kenth Brantley, has called on all to pray for his recovery and faithfulness to God. Brantley, who wrote from his isolation room at Emory University Hospital in the United States, said he was not in Liberia specifically to fight Ebola but to serve God at Eternal Love Winning Africa ( ELWA) Hospital, Liberia.

"My wife Amber and I, along with our two children, did not move to Liberia for the specific purpose of fighting Ebola. We went to Liberia because we believe God called us to serve Him at ELWA Hospital.

"One thing I have learned is that following God often leads us to unexpected places.

When Ebola spread into Liberia, my usual hospital work turned more and more toward treating the increasing number of Ebola patients. I held the hands of countless individuals as this terrible disease took their lives away from them. I witnessed the horror firsthand, and I can still remember every face and name", he said, adding that following God leads one to unexpected places.

He said he isolated himself immediately he fell ill.

"When I started feeling ill on that Wednesday morning, I immediately isolated myself until the test confirmed my diagnosis three days later. When the result was positive, I remember a deep sense of peace that was beyond all understanding. God was remind-

ing me of what He had taught me years ago, that He will give me everything I need to be faithful to Him. "Now it is two weeks later, and I am in a totally different setting. My focus, however, remains the same - to follow God. As you continue to pray for Nancy and me, yes, please pray for our recovery. More importantly, pray that we would be faithful to God's call on our lives in these new circumstances.

"I am writing this update from my isolation room at Emory University Hospital, where the doctors and nurses are providing the very best care possible. I am growing stronger every day, and I thank God for His mercy as I have wrestled with this terrible disease. I also want to extend my deep and sincere thanks to all of you who have been praying for my recovery as well as for Nancy and for the people of Liberia and West Africa.

"My wife Amber and I, along with our two children, did not move to Liberia for the specific purpose of fighting Ebola. We went to Liberia because we believe God called us to serve Him at ELWA Hospital."

"One thing I have learned is that following God often leads us to unexpected places.

When Ebola spread into Liberia, my usual hospital work turned more and more toward treating the increasing number of Ebola patients. I held the hands of countless individuals as this terrible disease took their lives away from them. I witnessed the

•Brantley and his wife

horror first-hand, and I can still remember every face and name.

"When I started feeling ill on that Wednesday morning, I immediately isolated myself until the test confirmed my diagnosis three days later. When the result was positive, I remember a deep sense of peace that was beyond all understanding. God was reminding me of what He had taught me years ago,

that He will give me everything I need to be faithful to Him. "Now it is two weeks later, and I am in a totally different setting. My focus, however, remains the same - to follow God. As you continue to pray for Nancy and me, yes, please pray for our recovery. More importantly, pray that we would be faithful to God's call on our lives in these new circumstances."

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THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

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Jonathan insists on deployment of troops for elections

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan insisted yesterday on continuous heavy deployment of soldiers for elections, despite the heavy criticism of the strategy, which is widely believed to be against the opposition.

The President also promised that the 2015 elections would not divide the country, saying it will remain stronger.

He spoke yesterday during Inter-faith Conference in Abuja. It is with the theme: “The imperative of interfaith understanding and cooperation for responsible politics.”

At the event were House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, Sultan of

From Augustine Ehikioya and Bukola Amusan, Abuja

Sokoto Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan and Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese Bishop Mathew Kukah.

Others are former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Uwais, Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Mustapha El-Kanemi, Inspector General of Police Suleiman Abba and National Security Adviser (NSA) Col. Sambo Dasuki.

The President urged Nigerians to disregard the reports in many quarters that there will be trouble next year and that Nigerians cannot live together.

He said: “Our challenges in the present must not be allowed to inhibit our progress.

Despite the fact that we have survived the civil war and continued to evolve as one nation with one destiny, we have among ourselves those who continue to define us and put it that we as Nigerians cannot live together.

“As the 2015 elections draw near, the doomday sayers are out and predicting how Nigeria is going to catch fire next year. In the opinion of some socalled experts, our ethnic and religious differences are bound to boil over. They portray us doomed to fail.

“But I can say categorically

that Nigeria will not disintegrate; we will not fail. We will surely get over our challenges and become even a stronger nation.”

Jonathan blamed the Internet and the social media for aggravating the fear of many Nigerians towards 2015, saying: “You will be attempted to think along the same line. In a country of over 170 million people, the opinion of very few is now being elevated above that of over 100 million Nigerians.

“I once again assure Nigerians and the international community that the 2015 elections will come and go and Nigeria will stand stronger. The Nige-

rians I know and interact with every day are only asking for one thing in the election, transparency, free and fair elections - and I have promised them.”

He added: “They want to vote and want their vote to count; they don’t want to be molested, they don’t want ballot boxes to be hijacked by criminals. If they are convinced that the process is free, fair and credible, they have no reason to be angry. Nobody can fight against one man one vote, one woman one vote and one youth one vote.

“And government will make sure that Nigerians are not killed during and after elections. I’m surprised that some

political parties are agitating that government should withdraw security during and after elections. What surprise me most is that even some labour leaders are agitating that government should not secure people during elections. And I wonder how short human memories are.

“We’ve just finished 2011 elections and we are talking about three years ago or quite close to four years ago and we know what happened in Bauchi, about 10 youth corpers were slaughtered in that election. We know what happened in Kano; properties worth millions of naira were destroyed, Continued on page 59

Tinubu condemns abuse of power

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LL Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has condemned what he called abuse of power and misuse of public resources.

Tinubu spoke in Lagos, in a review of the Osun State governorship election won

by Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

According to him, rather than fight terrorists, the government targets the opposition.

“The equipment procured to track and fight terrorists and Boko Haram is now being deployed against the opposition and innocent Nigeri-

ans.

“My conversations and telephone calls are being listened to and monitored and even my friends are being spied upon. This is a violation of the United Nation's charter on freedoms.

“The militarisation of Osun state with security men, 48 hours before the election, shooting sporadically into the air is condemnable.

“They want to intimidate and scare the people from coming out to vote. But the people said no. They refused to be intimidated. This is gun boat democracy, Jonathan style,” Tinubu said

16 would-be female bombers arrested Continued from page 1 •Tinubu speaking ....yesterday. With him are: All Progressives Congress (APC) National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed (left), former Minister of State (Defence) Mr. Demola Seriki and Tinubu’s Special Adviser (Media) Sunday Dare (second right)

‘Get girls out by Oct. or forget 2015’ Continued from page 1

of the members, Solomon Dalung, a lawyer and Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed.

THE NEF said it had just concluded a major review of the state of the nation. It resolved to speak to help resolve current political, economic and security challenges facing the nation, and facilitate the emergence of a more united, secure and prosperous nation out of its present limitations.

Said the elders: “The security situation in our nation today represents the most serious threat to our individual and collective lives in our en-

T

tire history. The reality is that the threats posed by what appears to be an insurgency that has many manifestations and defies a clear and consistent identity is growing due to the absence of a clear national consensus over its nature, and it solutions.

“The lack of a strong will at the level of the Presidency to fight it, as well as deep-seated corruption and incompetence in governments and in the management of our security challenges, has allowed a band of terrorists to take and hold vast parts of our land and populations hostage while every citizen lives in fear that

A security source said anonymously that when interrogated, the suspect disclosed that he brought the female bombers from the Sambisa forest in Borno State.

Soldiers’ wives protest posting of husbands to fight Boko Haram

they will be its next victim.

“We also reject the notion that multiple internal security challenges such as attacks on villages, ethno-religions conflicts and banditry springing up by the day in many parts of the North are all a coincidence. Indeed, we are convinced that most of these conflicts are being engineered to weaken the North politically and economically by interests which intend to exploit such weaknesses for electoral benefits.

“In the light of our firm conviction that the insurgency Continued on page 59

JTF spokesman Capt. Ikechukwu Eze confirmed the arrests, saying investigation was ongoing.

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OLDIERS’ wives continued their protest against the deployment of their husbands to the battle front against Boko Haram in Maiduguri yesterday.

Wives of soldiers at the 21 Armoured Brigade in Giwa Barracks staged a peaceful demonstration at the entrance of the barracks. Their request: don’t deploy our husbands in war torn zone of Bama and Gwoza Local Government Areas of Borno State.

Wives of soldiers at the Maimalari barracks also in Maiduguri on Sunday protested in their hundreds on the same issue.

The gates leading to the barracks were locked as the women

•Gen. Gowon

protested at the entrance. They were shouting: “we won’t allow our husbands to be killed. T he military authorities refused to equip them with sophisticated weapons that can match those by Boko Haram.”

One of the women said those who lost their bread winners in the course of defending their fatherland were suffering, as government had done little to alleviate their suffering.

But the military authorities insisted that women have no right to question or dictate the posting of their husbands who are soldiers.

Conference delegates disagree over draft constitution

HERE was disquiet yesterday at the National Conference over the emergence of a draft constitution.

The conferees resumed plenary to adopt proposals and resolutions reached by the conference before its adjournment on July 14.

The draft constitution is intended by its drafters to replace the 1999 Constitution.

The National Conference Secretariat circulated the 181-page draft constitution to delegates amid sharp opposition, mostly by some northern delegates.

Some delegates dubbed the draft constitution “a strange document”, others hailed it as “long over due”.

Delegates opposed to the draft constitution insisted that drafting a new constitution was not part of the mandate of the National Conference when President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated it on March 17.

Draft constitution splits conference as North’s delegates meet Continued from page 1

A delegate, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, described the draft constitution as a “fraud”.

Mohammed said: “We are not aware of the draft constitution; it is a fraud because no new constitution was deliberated upon.

“We raised it on the floor of the National Conference and the Chairman, JusFrom Onyedi Ojiabor and Dele Anofi, Abuja

They also claimed that the Conference lacked the power and capacity to draft a new constitution.

The supporters of the draft constitution contended that it was obvious that proposals and resolutions of the conference had substantially destroyed the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

tice Idris Kutigi, and his deputy, Prof.

Bolaji Akinyemi, told us that it is not our business to write a new constitution.

“I can hazard a guess that Northern delegates will certainly reject this ambush.”

Another delegate, Yinka Odumakin, however, said: “The conference is yet to decide whether it will opt for a draft constitution or present a bill on amend-

The circulation of conference documents, which included a 181-page draft new constitution; main report of the National Conference volume 1 (528 pages) volume 11 (906 pages); provisions of the subsisting 1999 Constitution (as amended) including 1st, 2nd and 3rd alterations; a bill for an Act to further alter the provisions of the 1999 Constitution; and provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) with the proposed 4th alterations (1,357

ments to the 1999 Constitution.

“What the National Conference Secretariat did was to make our job easier for us by giving us documents on a bill proposing some amendments to the 1999 Constitution or a draft new constitution.

“With what we have done (resolutions), we have mutilated the 1999 Constitution. But it is left to the National Conference delegates to decide on either amendments or a new constitution.”

pages), forced the conference secretariat to further adjourn plenary to Wednesday. This is to allow delegates read the documents.

The co-Chairman, Conference Committee on Devolution of Power and former Akwa Ibom State Governor Obong Victor Attah said: “But the question is how do we bring this new constitution about. If you ask me, it should be through a referendum,” Attah said.

Prof. Awwalu Yadudu said he had nothing to do with the draft constitution.

He said: “To amend the Nigerian Constitution, there is a procedure that confers the mandate on the National Assembly. That is the only procedure known to the Constitution.”

Chief Sola Ebiseni, who came to the conference on the platform of Local Government administration, noted that the inclusion of a draft constitution was not

misplaced because the conference had taken several far reaching decisions on the constitution and several laws in this country.

Ebiseni said, “The present constitution, in my own view, has been so touched by the several resolutions of the conference that I think what the leadership had done was a two - pronged approach.

Conference Secretary, Mrs Valerie-Jennet Azinge, who addressed the delegates on behalf of the Chairman, Justice Idris Legbo-Kutugi, advised them to study the draft reports before their final adoption.

She said delegates would be granted only two days to read the report and report back for consideration and adoption tomorrow.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

NEWS THE EBOLA VIRUS

JACOB ADE AJAYI (1929-2014)

Another nurse tests positive

Son relives father’s last moments

•177 in isolation, watch •Nigeria has 10 cases From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja and Wale Adepoju

•Prof. Chukwu

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EALTH Minister Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu said yesterday Nigeria has recorded 10 cases of infected persons with the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). Of the 10, two have died, he said.

The dead, the minister said, are the first patient, the late Liberian-America’s Mr Patrick Sawyer, and the Lagos nurse who treated him.

Another nurse, he said, has tested positive to the virus and was undergoing treatment.

The minister spoke on the deadly disease and government's efforts to curtail its spread.

He said 177 primary and secondary contacts of the index case had been placed under surveillance or isolation after 22 days of the EVD outbreak in Nigeria.

Chukwu said: "Of these 10, two have died; that is, the Liberian-American, Mr Patrick Sawyer and the Nigerian nurse. Eight are alive on treatment."

The disease, he said, was discussed at a sub-regional level as a substantive agenda during the Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government in July in Accra, Ghana.

Nigeria, the minister said, played a leading role with the first and only donation of $3.5 million (N500 million) humanitarian and capacity building aid to Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, all in West Africa, the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) and the ECOWAS Ebola Fund.

He said the Liberian government had expressed sympathies and regrets that the late Sawyer embarked on the tragic journey, which has brought sufferings, death and stress to Nigeria's health system.

Chukwu said: "In the same spirit, we share in solidarity, the grief of the governments and people of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone as we confront this challenge together."

The minister said the government would continue to discharge its responsibilities as the sub-region confronts the Ebola

outbreak.

He said President Jonathan approved the National Ebola Virus Disease Emergency Containment Plan with cash backing of N1.9 billion ($12 million) to complement the containment efforts already in place.

Chukwu said the Federal Government, through its Ministry of Health and its agencies, had been working closely with the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nation Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC), local authorities and other international partners to deepen and broaden the containment efforts.

He said: "We will continue to work with all stakeholders, local and international partners to maximise and intensify efforts to contain and treat the existing cases."

Chukwu explained that those under surveillance did not have any symptom but were being monitored daily. The minister said the team visited 144 of those under surveillance to take their temperature and ask questions in line with the WHO template.

Although he did not rule out the possibility of those who had direct (primary) contacts with Sawyer to still be symptomatic, Chukwu said their incubation period was over.

Five victims in stable condition, says Fashola

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AGOS State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has said five Nigerians among the 10 persons who tested positive to the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) are in stable condition.

The governor spoke at separate sessions with traditional rulers, religious leaders, local government chiefs and health workers in some local government areas and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).

He said the meeting was necessary to further educate the people on preventive measures on the Ebola virus.

Fashola said: “Of the 10 people we had, two are dead. The first two are the patients who came from Liberia and the nurse.

Eight of the remaining have tested positive. We are waiting for the results for the two.

“What is interesting is that we can confirm that the mortality rate is reducing by 90 per cent

By Miriam Ekene-Okoro

now. They are all in stable condition. Five of them are actually improving and I have been briefed now that one or two of them are walking around.

“The work is not finished. We are tracking more people who might have had contacts with that first person or who have had contacts with the people who contacted the first person.”

The governor said the disease is not a death sentence, if the people do the right things to avoid contracting it.

According to him, eight people tested positive to the EVD while the results of two are still being awaited.

Fashola stressed that every case of malaria and fever does not mean the patient has the Ebola virus.

The governor explained that his administration had established another isolation centre in Ikorodu.

He said: “The first defence, therefore, is that we must track everybody who has contacts with somebody who had contacts with an infected person. All local government chairmen and vice chairmen must make sure that protective equipment are in supply in all the primary health care centres, if we want them to work. We must also show concern for their well-being.”

Fashola directed local government chairmen and their LCDA counterparts to ensure that protective equipment and kits are provided for the health workers in the primary health centres.

The governor noted that this would help prevent the spread the disease in the state.

He urged the traditional rulers and the council chairmen to collaborate with the state and Federal Governments by intensifying the campaign against the virus in their domains.

President to meet governors, commissioners

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan summoned governors and their health commissioners yesterday for a meeting tomorrow in Abuja on the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

• The President spoke at the second interfaith dialogue in Abuja, organised by the Interfaith Initiative for Peace.

He cautioned Nigerians against celebrating burials, adding that 60 per cent of Ebola virus is spread during such ceremonies.

The Federal Government, he said, would continue to secure its borders and airports against the disease.

Jonathan promised to support state governments that do not have the financial capacity to fight the scourge.

He said: “Let me appreciate our children who have performed wonderfully well in their presentations and have also raised the issue of Ebola, calling on our religious leaders to stop the Ebola problem. They called on the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III and John Cardinal Onaiyekan

•‘60 per cent of spread from burials’ From Augustine Ehikioya and Bukola Amusan, Abuja

to stop the problem. So, the Sultan and Cardinal Onaiyekan now have challenges. But we will help you.

“As a government we promise we will do everything possible to contain Ebola. We are doing our best.

“On Wednesday, I am going to meet with all the governors.

They will come with their commissioners of health. We must make sure that every state is prepared. Where they lack (the finance), the Federal Government will support the state to make sure that they have what it takes to contain the Ebola virus.”

“It is unfortunate that one man brought the Ebola to us. But we have to contain it. This is a good forum that we will use to also plead with our religious leaders because people listen to you more than they listen to politicians.

“In our various preaching in the mosques and churches, we should communicate clearly. I

have been having discussions with people outside and within the country since this incident happened. My conversation with the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) was quite instructive.

“She said the spread of Ebola, from analysis so far, 60 per cent of the spread is during burials.

That’s you will recall that in our announcement we pleaded that we must be mindful of burials.

We are pleading that our people, who believe in some kind of ceremonies and so on, that this is not the best period for those ceremonies.”

He added: “If somebody dies now, that person should be buried where he died. When we get over this, you can exhume the body, if you want. The government will provide the medical examiner that will help you to exhume the body for you to go and bury the way you want.

“I am saying so because I have personal experience. In 1971 - I was still in secondary school then - when cholera broke out in my mother’s community.”

From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

•The late Prof. Ajayi

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R NIYI Ajayi, the eldest son of late Prof Jacob Festus Ade Ajayi, relived yesterday the last moments of the renowned historian who died on Saturday at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

The late Prof Ade Ajayi celebrated his 85th birthday few weeks ago, according to his son.

Dr Ajayi said his father, last Saturday morning, was surrounded by his wife and children.

The late historian, his son said, was in high spirit as he played with his family on his hospital bed at the UCH. But at 7.30pm, after he had been fed by his wife, Prof Ade Ajayi passed on peacefully.

Dr Ajayi said: “Baba’s last moment was dignified and peaceful. He died on Saturday evening at 7.30. On Saturday morning, he was sitting up, eating. Then he was fed by mum.

They enjoyed some good time together. I enjoyed some time

with him too. He enjoyed time with the family. But he passed on in a very peaceful and dignified manner.”

Dr Ajayi said the children will sustain the lofty legacy their father left behind.

He said: “What he has taught us is that service is what matters. He always said by leaving a life of service to others, particularly in education, training, development and culture, we will understand ourselves as a people and bring up the younger generation and appreciate who they are as individuals. This is the strength of the culture of Nigeria.

“We, his children, having observed him closely over many years and with the grace of Almighty God, we will sustain the legacy he left behind.”

Eminent Nigerians throng ex-vc’s MINENT Nigerians Ibadan home thronged yesterday the Bodija, Ibadan, the Oyo

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State capital, home of the late Prof Jacob Ade Ajayi to commiserate with his family.

The former University of Lagos (UNILAG) vice chancellor died on Saturday evening. He was 85.

Among those on condolence visit yesterday included politicians, academicians, traditional rulers and members of international community.

They described the demise of the renowned scholar as a great loss to Nigeria and Africa.

Ekiti State Deputy Governor Prof Modupe Adelabu visited the Ajayis.

She said the late History professor made the people of Ekiti, Nigeria and Africa proud by his exemplary life.

Prof Adelabu said: “On behalf of the Ekiti State Government, I have come to say ‘rest in peace,

•Dignitaries pay tributes to historian From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

dear daddy, our pride and a great national icon’.”

Former Ekiti State Governor Segun Oni said: “Baba was definitely one of the most outstanding men of this era. He was a titan whose achievements in his chosen field of historiography make us proud to be Nigerians and indeed Africans. Rest in peace, dear prof. You made us proud as Ekiti people, Nigerians and Africans.”

Leading members of the University of Ibadan (UI) community to the home of the Ajayis, the Vice Chancellor, Prof Isaac Adewole commiserated with the family over the death.

He wrote in the condolence register: “We, on behalf of the UI,

came to commiserate with the family and international community of scholars on the transition of our dear Professor Ade Ajayi.

Rest in peace.”

Also, former UI vice chancellors described the death of Prof Ajayi as a colossal loss to humanity.

Among the former vice chancellors was Professor Emeritus Ayo Banjo.

He said: “Our dear oga, with your departure, Nigeria has lost an outstanding scholar, administrator, a great pride to academicians. It is comforting that on the occasion of your 85th birthday, you were able to see how highly you were valued, as shown. Goodbye. Rest in peace.”

Prof Olufemi Bamiro wrote: “We thank God for your life. You were truly a gift to humanity.”

Jonathan, Fayemi console family

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan and Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi have commiserated with the family of former University of Lagos (UNILAG) Vice Chancellor, Prof Jacob Festus Adeniyi Ajayi, who died on Saturday evening.

The President urged “students, friends, associates and colleagues in the field of Nigerian and African history to take solace in the knowledge that in passing on, he leaves behind a body of significant works that will stand to his eternal credit and assure him of a lasting place of honour among Africa’s greatest historians”.

In a statement yesterday by his Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity), Dr Reuben Abati, the President reaffirmed “the nation’s enduring gratitude for Prof. Ajayi’s notable contributions over many years to the development of education and educational institutions in Nigeria as a lecturer, professor, Dean, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice Chancellor at Federal universities”.

Jonathan assured the late Prof.

Ajayi’s family, relatives, friends and colleagues of the Federal Government’s full solidarity and sympathy “as they mourn the very eminent historian and 1993 winner of the Distinguished Africanist Award”.

He prayed God Almighty to receive Prof. Ajayi’s gentle soul and grant him eternal rest.

Dr Fayemi expressed sadness on the death of Emeritus Professor Ade Ajayi.

In a statement yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, the governor described the native of Ikole-Ekiti, Ekiti State, as an intellectual giant whose legacies would continue to benefit many generations to come.

Fayemi described the late Prof Ade Ajayi as a man of integrity who built a reputation of hard work, honesty and represented the core values of Ekiti State.

He said the deceased was a great Ekiti ambassador who positively projected the image of the state and Nigeria across the world.

Fayemi said the renowned his-

•Dr Jonathan

torian showed tremendous concern for the growth and development of Ekiti State.

The governor recalled that his last engagement with the Emeritus Professor of History after the June 21 governorship election in the state showed him as a man of immense wisdom who was always willing to encourage and mentor the younger ones.

He said the late Prof AdeAjayi mentored numerous scholars who have contributed to teaching, learning and research all over the world.

University of Lagos mourns ex-VC

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UNIVERSITY of Lagos (UNILAG) Vice Chancellor, Prof Rahamon Bello, has said the death of Emeritus Professor Jacob Ade Ajayi is a shock to the university community.

He said Prof Ajayi’s death came when the university was planning to celebrate his 85th birthday.

The late Prof Ajayi was

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

UNILAG’s third vice chancellor.

He served between 1972 and 1978, when Bello said the university witnessed unprecedented growth.

He said: “There were activities planned to commemorate his birthday at UNILAG. That is what we were looking up to. So, when the news came yesterday (Sunday) that he had passed on,

it was a very big shock for us.

“As an administrator at UNILAG, his regime shaped this institution. You could move around and see the effect of his administration on this campus.

It was he who conceptualised and built the new hall, where we have the greatest number of students housed. He was also the one who built the three high rise buildings for the university.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

NEWS National Assembly union denies non-remittance of From Sanni Onogu, Abuja N158m dues HE executive of the National Assembly’s chapter of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) has denied a report that it did not remit N158 million check-off dues to its national body.

PASAN’s national leadership, last week, announced the dissolution of the National Assembly’s Chapter over alleged non-payment of N158 million dues.

PASAN’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the National Assembly’s chapter, Comrade Godwin Kyespo, in a statement in Abuja, described the purported dissolution of the chapter’s executive as illegal.

Kyespo said the executive had never defaulted in the payment of monthly check-off dues, as claimed by its national leadership.

The union leader explained that no chapter of PASAN was complying with the provision of the union’s constitution on checkoff dues, because of its “obnoxious nature”.

He urged workers of the National Assembly’s Central Working Committee (CWC) and the National Executive Committee (NEC) of PASAN and the public to disregard the purported dissolution.

The statement reads: “Following claims by the National President and General Secretary of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) that the executive organ of the National Assembly Chapter of PASAN has been dissolved over alleged failure to pay check-off dues, the executive, on behalf of the Na-

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tional Assembly Chapter wishes to state as follows: “That the action of the National Secretary of PASAN on the purported dissolution of a democratically elected Exco of the NASS chapter is illegal, null and void with no effect.

“That the National Assembly executive of PASAN has not defaulted in the payment of the monthly check-off dues as claimed by the National President and Secretary General of PASAN. “The seventh NEC meeting held between April 29 to 30 2014 at the Senate wing of the National Assembly complex never resolved to dissolve any chapter Exco that is owing check-off dues as purported because no chapter is complying with the provision of the PASAN Constitution as regards check-off dues due to its obnoxious nature.

“The unilateral act of the President to have purportedly dissolved the NASS Chapter Executive and constituting a caretaker committee without a valid NEC resolution is a further proof of his anti-democratic inclination and lack of transparency in running PASAN activities at the national level. The procedure for resolving all internal dispute is clearly stated in Rule 22 of the PASAN Constitution.

“Further proof to this is his refusal to allow external auditing of PASAN account since He assumed office even when some chapter requested to have a copy of the audited account in complying with Rule 20.”

Dabiri-Erewa renews call for Diaspora Affairs Commission •Lawmaker to x-ray economy at Catholic conference

WASSCE: 31.28% meet minimum benchmark O NLY 31.28 per cent of the 1,692,435 candidates who sat for this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) made the minimum benchmark of five credits, including Mathematics and English.

The Head of National Office (HNO) of West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Mr Charles Eguridu, announced yesterday the results of the examination.

He said the result was a slight decline from the 36.57 per cent recorded last year and the 38.81 per cent in 2012.

But Eguridu said Nigerian candidates still performed better than other countries in the West African sub-region, expressing confidence in the education system.

He said: “Nigerians per-

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•Dabiri-Erewa,

how the country can benefit from it and ensure that they are part of the policies of government. In the United States, we have most of the literate immigrants.

“We believe we will be part of telling good stories about Nigerians in the Diaspora and give them the rightful place in our society. The foundation promotes communication and understanding among African descendants through education, exchange programmes, activities and conferencing.

“It supports the Diaspora Affairs Forum (DAF) programmes, which include the Cross-Cultural Training Programme; Kumasi Children’s Home; Teachers’ Exchange Programme; Xernona Clayton School; Ghana Junior Ambassador Project, among others.”

Mrs Dabiri-Erewa will also analyse the economy at a national conference of the Catholic Brothers United (CBU), formerly Catholic Young Men Association (CYMA), a socio-spiritual organisation at St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland, Lagos, on August 31.

The conference, the 15th edition, is aimed at examining various government policies in the last 100 years to determine to what extent the government at various levels have provided economic leadership and proactive steps to grow the economy.

•WAEC introduces digital exam monitoring device, others

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

formed very well comparatively to candidates, especially in Mathematics.”

Rather than blame the government and schools for the poor performance, Eguridu said parents should be held responsible for not monitoring their wards’ education.

“We are quick to place the blame on the doorsteps of schools or the government. In those days, parents found time to supervise students and check their school work. Today, parents are busy looking for money. Children spend all day playing video

games or watching movies,” he said.

The HNO said WAEC had extended the date for the registration for this year’s November/ December WASSCE to Sunday, August 17, to allow candidates whose results are not favourable to register.

Also, the examination body has provided a digital device that can check malpractices during its examinations.

Called the Candidates Identity Verification, Attendance, Malpractice and Post Examinations Management System (CIVAMPEMS), the HNO said

the device would be distributed to all supervisors who can use it to report malpractices.

Eguridu said: “With effect from May/June 2014 WASSCE, the council introduced a device known as CIVAMPEMS. This ICT-driven device enables supervisors and staff of the council on duty to address and record the processes in real time on the day of the examination. “These include identity verification, capturing and recording occurrences as they happen, such as candidates’ attendance and examination malpractice and transmit same to our database. With this, the council is able to generate valid examination report for each examination centre.”

The council has also developed a mathematical set/calculator which would be used by candidates in the next examination.

Okorocha: APC not planning Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket

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By Miriam Ekene-Okoro

HE Chairperson of House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has restated the need for the establishment of Diaspora Affairs Commission.

She spoke in Washington, DC, when she received the African Bridge-Builders Award, which the Diaspora African Forum conferred on her committee.

In a statement, Mrs DabiriErewa noted that the award was not just for the committee but also for the House of Representatives.

She said: “It is a good thing that our committee was recognised in Washington D.C. It only tells you that we have to continue working hard. Diaspora issues are now in the front burner of the issues worldwide.”

The lawmaker said the Diaspora committee facilitated the return of Nigerians from Libya during the civil conflict in 2013; intervened in the plight of Nigerians in South African prisons and waded in the gruesome killing of Nigerian students in Dubai, Ghana and Cyprus, among others.

She said about 24 countries “have been able to establish the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs”.

Mrs Dabiri-Erewa regretted that Nigeria was not among the countries that had established the commission.

She said: “It is important that we have a Diaspora Commission, a one-stop agency that will take care of the Diaspora needs.

But we will continue to engage Nigerians in the Diaspora.

“We will also continue to see

•Vice President Namadi Sambo (third left) inaugurating the National Truma Centre at the National Hospital in Abuja...yesterday. With him are Acting Medical Director, Dr Jaf Momoh (left), Minister of State for Health, Dr Khalid Alhasan (second left), Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide (scond right) and Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, at the inauguration of the centre...yesterday.

PHOTO:AKIN OLADOKUN

MO State Governor Rochas Okorocha has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) will not contemplate a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in the 2015 general elections.

Okorocha addressed reporters yesterday at the Government House in Owerri, the state capital.

He said the APC recognised

From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

the two major religions in the country and would ensure that the two are considered in choosing its presidential candidate and the running mate.

The governor, who is also the Chairman of the Progressive

Governors’ Forum, said the party was aware of the importance of carrying the two religions along in its ambition to win the presidential election.

He said: “APC will not present a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in 2015. The two major religions of Islam and Christianity

will be reflected and not what is being speculated.”

Okorocha also said the party had not zoned the presidential ticket to any region of the country, adding: “APC does not believe in zoning because it does not guarantee good leadership.

The President can come from any part of the country, so long as he has what it takes to lead the country.”

ASUU advocates socialist welfare state for Nigeria

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HE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called for the establishment of a social welfare state as the first step to address the nation’s sundry challenges.

The union also said a National Conference is not the solution to Nigeria’s problems.

ASUU’s President Isa Fagee, who addressed reporters in Calabar, the Cross River State ccapital, yesterday after the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.

He said the nation’s problems emanate mostly from the dynamics of global capitalism in which the nation is entrenched.

He said the change, among other things, would involve taking radical and effective measures to liberally and generously elevate the welfare of the poor.

Fagee said: “This will require the building of people’s (not ruling class-dominated) political organisations and structures.

This will require new politicians and judicial actors, among others.

“The present constitution forbids the appropriation of commanding heights of the economy by a few people. All governments have violated and continue to

•Knocks National Conference From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

violate this provision.

“The socialist welfare state will creatively reconstruct Nigeria’s economic and political institutions to serve the welfare needs of Nigerians.

“It will remove the economic basis of the nationality problem, promote freedom of religion in condition of equality of citizens, and remove the basis of state plunder and terror.

“In the socialist welfare, the deep historical, cultural ties among the people will be preserved and developed. The political forms of organisation in

the socialist welfare state will be at once democratic and nonchauvinistic ethno-nationalism while promoting genuine cultural integration.

“Here, we have a responsibility to devise a Nigerian version of the welfare state to suit our cultural peculiarities and our history. The transition to the socialist welfare state may be kickstarted with an insistence by the civil society on strict adherence to the principles of ownership and control of the economy as well as the transparent management of the economy, as reflected in the 1999 Constitution and sev-

eral federal and state laws.

“The major productive assets of Nigeria must not be concentrated in the hands of a minority ruling class. They will be publicly owned and run effectively.

A new socialist constitution will emerge to back up the socialist transformation.

“The adoption of a socialist welfare state will be reinforced with the decentralisation of legislative power, de-concentration of executive power and general acceptance of contractual nonconcentration of power.

“Our union has rejected the position that a National Conference is the answer to the problems of Nigeria.”

Oando trains 5,000 mechanics

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ANDO Marketing Plc is preparing to train 5,000 mechanics across the country on how to repair vehicles.

The training is among its empower programmes to sustain its brands.

The company said it would train the 5,000 mechanics selected from Nigerian Automobile Technicians Association (NATA) and Motor Mechanics and Technician Association of Nigeria (MOMTAN) in Lagos.

Oando’s Head of Marketing Babafemi Olabiyi said the training would start with 100 trainees who would go through a three-week course on specialised fields. Olabiyi said the mechanics would

By Adedeji Ademigbuji

not only acquire technical training but also knowledge on financing and customer relations.

The company marketing chief said the auto mechanics were chosen following a survey carried out by the company, which showed a lack of modern knowledge of mechatronics among mechanics.

He said: “The training of the 5,000 mechanics is part of our ongoing efforts at providing solutions to the service and maintenance problems of high technology motor vehicles through the production of competent craftsmen who will be enterprising and self-reliant.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

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NEWS •From left: Chief Imam of Badagry Division, Sheikh Abdul Akewusola; Apostle Odele; Baba Aladura Olorunfunmi Basorun; ArchBishop Alfred Rewane and Rev. Mercy Ezekiel during Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola’s meeting with traditional and religious leaders on the Ebola Virus at the State House in Alausa, Ikeja...yesterday.

PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

Offensive graffiti at Osoba’s home U

•Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (middle) addressing traditional and religious leaders during a meeting on the Ebola Virus at the State House in Alausa, Ikeja...yesterday. With him are Lagos monarch Oba Babatunde Akiolu (left) and Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Ademorin Kuye.

PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

NLC seeks probe of rights violations

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HE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government to probe alleged human rights violations during last Saturday’s election in Osun State.

NLC President Abdulwahed Omar, in a congratulatory message to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, the winner of the poll, advised those whose rights were violated to seek redress in court.

He said: “We call on relevant the authorities to investigate alleged rights violations, including the arrests of some people, including accredited observers and journalists, during the election as well as the infringement of the rights of some Osun citizens. These citizens and everyone whose rights were violated should consider approaching the courts for redress.”

Omar praised Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Attahiru Jega for the peaceful election, saying: “This election reaffirms our conviction that democracy is maturing very fast in the country, since it has become obvious that the people’s votes now count in elections.

“It is to the credit of the integrity of the Jegaled INEC, the electorate and the candidates that any election, such as this, would come out not only successful but credible. This is an indication that our country is hopeful.”

Advising against desperation in politics, he said: “We should strive to improve on the elections in Ekiti and Osun states through deeper understanding and commitment to the suste-

From Alo Abimbola, Abuja

nance of democracy. We can only grow as a country when we adopt democratic values, as there is no option to democracy anywhere in the world.”

Commending the conduct of security personnel, Omar said security presence in any election may not be to the advantage of civil conduct.

He said: “What we sure need is more of decency and patriotism by politicians, who should adopt attitudes helpful to peaceful conduct and sportsmanship. Nigerians, especially those involved in election-related activities, should jettison violence and indecent behaviour before, during and after elections. We all have a stake in the sustenance of democracy, the only guarantee for a peaceful, prosperous and well governed country.

“We hope the re-elected governor realises that now is the time to keep his promises of delivering more good governance to the people without animosity or political bias. The entire state and people should be seen as his major constituency.

“We distinctively hope his second term in office will bring him closer to workers, as majority of the votes that returned him to power came from workers. His government should review outstanding issues relating to workers’ welfare and ensure that his second term would be strike free.”

Kwankwaso: Aregbesola’s re-election is lesson for all

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ANO State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso has described Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s re-election as “a big lesson for Nigerians and a success for democracy, which the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should learn from.

Kwankwaso, who spoke with The Nation yesterday in his office, said: “The election in Osun State is a big lesson to all of us. It is a success for democracy, the people of Osun, APC and those on the other side of the political divide.

“I thank the Almighty God that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has started in the right direction and I hope it will continue to do the right thing, despite the intimidation I believe it is

From Kolade Adeyemi Kano

facing.

“One should commend the PDP’s national leadership for congratulating the governor and people of Osun. I think that is courageous, but I do not believe they mean it. I am taking it on face value.

“I am not surprised by the position of the party in the state, because the story they took to the Presidential Villa before the election is completely different from what was on the ground and certainly different from the outcome of the election.

“Somebody in the system, who can read in between the lines, believes that they collected so much and wanted to

justify the resources they collected.

I advise them to see what they collected as part of the missing money well-meaning Nigerians raised the alarm about. These people should be happy that they have gotten their own share and we hope that other state party chapters will do the same during future elections.

“The people should take as much as they can and do what they think is right on the election day. The PDP is more desperate than ever to maintain the status quo, but Nigerians want change. The ideology of our party, the APC, is to bring everybody together - Christians and Muslims, rich and poor, North and South and all other divides.”

NKNOWN persons have defaced former Ogun State Governor Aremo Olusegun Osoba’s Ibara GRA home in Abeokuta with a derogatory graffiti.

The graffiti, written on the fence in Yoruba Language, urged Osoba to accept Governor Ibikunle Amosun as his governor and leader.

It reads: “Osoba gba fun Oga e (Osoba accept your boss), Osoba gba fun SIA (Osoba accept Amosun).”

The graffiti, written in

From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

black ink, was noticed at dawn yesterday.

An observer told The Nation that the perpetrators of the act could be fifth columnists trying to portray Amosun in bad light.

The observer, who does not want to be named, said Amosun has always referred to Osoba as his leader and

Aug. 15, 22 holidays in Ondo

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HE Ondo State government has declared August 15 and 22 work-

free.

Commissioner for Information Kayode Akinmade said it is to enable public servants to participate in the voter registration and collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

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Prospective voters are expected to submit their temporary voter cards and pick up the PVCs from August 15 to 17. The registration of fresh voters will hold from August 20 to 22.

The government urged civil servants to make good use of the holidays.

could not be a party to the graffiti.

A security guard at Osoba’s home said the act might have been carried out around 4am because he patrolled the residence around 3am.

Osoba could not be reached for comments, but while addressing his loyalists at the same residence a few months ago, he said his reputation cannot be soiled or bought.

One of Amosun’s aides, Mr Shola Balogun, said the governor holds Osoba in high esteem.

Inaugural lecture

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HE inaugural lecture of Prof. Funmi Togonu-Bickersteth,

titled: “Aging is not an emergency: Preparing for the new realities of aging in Nigeria”, holds today at 5pm at the Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife.

Lagos Assembly confirms Chief Judge

HE Lagos State House of Assembly has confirmed the appointment of Justice Olufunmilayo Olajumoke Atilade as the State Chief Judge.

Justice Atilade’s appointment

By Oziegbe Okoeki

was confirmed at plenary yesterday after she was screened by the lawmakers.

Before her appointment as the Acting Chief Judge, Justice Atilade was the head of

the Lagos Judiciary.

She is the sister of the former Chief Judge, Justice Inumidun Akande. Justice Atilade became a Magistrate at 30 in 1982 and became a Judge in 1996.

Dare’s books for schools

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S part of activities marking his 70th birthday, Prof.

Olatunji Dare, The Nation editorial adviser and journalism professor at Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois, United States (U.S.), has donated books to Mass Communication departments in some Nigerian universities and polytechnics.

The books are Public Intellectuals, The Public Sphere & The Public Spirit: Essays in Honour of Olatunji Dare (edited by Dr. Wale Adebanwi), presented on July 17 as part of his birthday celebration; and Diary of a Debacle: Tracking Nigeria’s Failed Democratic Transition (1989-1994), authored by Dare and published in 2010.

The beneficiary institutions will each receive five copies of the two books.

They are to get the books from Mr. Olakunle Abimbola at The Nation’s head office in Lagos.

Abimbola can be reached on 08054504169.

The beneficiaries are the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos (UNILAG); Department of Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan (UI); Adebola Adegunwa School of Communication, Lagos State University (LASU); School of Communication, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State; Department of Communication, Caleb University, Imota, Lagos State; Department of Mass Communication, Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Ogun State; Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN); Department of Communication, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) and Department of Communications, Kwara State University, Malete, Ilorin.

Others are Department of Mass Communication, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria; Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano (BUK); Department of Mass

•Prof. Dare

Communication, University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID); Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Lagos; Department of Mass Communication, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Ondo State; Department of Communication Arts, University of Jos (UNIJOS); Department of Mass Communication, Federal Polytechnic, Bida; Department of Mass Communication, Federal Polytechnic, Idah and Department of Mass Communication, Kogi State University, Ayangba.

THE NATION TUESDAY AUGUST 12, 2014

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NEWS

Aregbesola decries abuse of power •EU urges governor to seek legal option

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SUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has condemned the militarisation of Saturday’s election.

He decried the show of “brute force” by security agents deployed in the state by the Federal Government.

Aregbesola spoke at the Government House in Osogbo, the state capital, while hosting the European Union Election Monitoring Group.

He said voting is a minute aspect of democracy and should not be backed by force, so that people can freely choose their leaders.

Aregbesola condemned the “commando-like manner” hooded security men operated in the streets and the “unwarranted” arrests of All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains.

He said: “Our victory did not come because the federal authority designed it so, but because we were favoured by the people as the best party that can serve them better.

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

“Or how do you rationalise the presence of strangers (security personnel), people I cannot control, who took over the administration of the security of my state with impunity, which adversely affected life in the state?

“It is humiliating, a worse sort of what a unit of government such as ours should suffer. There was a deliberate attempt to muzzle the people’s voice.

“By now we should know that voting is just a routine aspect of democracy and, even at that, the people must not be denied their freedom to choose their leader freely.

“We must prevent the Federal Government from the recurring culture of arbitrarily invading the territory of a unit within the federal structure. This is an abuse of power.”

The European Union Election Monitoring Group advised Aregbesola to address his com-

PDP, APC supporters clash in Ife

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From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

UPPORTERS of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) clashed yesterday in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

It was learnt that PDP supporters allegedly attacked APC members, who were celebrating Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s re-election.

Many people were injured.

Police spokes person Mrs. Folasade Odoro said she was unaware of the clash.

The APC urged its supporters to be calm in the face of provocation.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Kunle Oyatomi, the APC said: “Reports reaching our secretariat in Ile-Ife say the PDP has gone on a rampage against APC supporters, who were celebrating Aregbesola’s victory in last Saturday’s election.

“Besides the physical injuries inflicted on our supporters, the PDP thugs extended their violence to Gbodo, where they attacked and damaged properties belonging to the father of the Executive Secretary of Ife South Local Government, Tajuden Lawal.

“They also vandalised shops in Itakogun. Fortunately, we are told the police have intervened and the situation has normalised. As much as possible, we must avoid violence.”

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Yuguda hails Aregbesola

AUCHI State Governor Isa Yuguda has congratulated his Osun State counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola, on his re-election.

In a statement yesterday, Yuguda described Aregbesola’s re-election as “a victory for Osun people, who expressed their choice at the poll”.

He said democracy is gradu-

‘PDP might demystified’ From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

A PRESIDENTIAL aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Sam NdaIsaiah, yesterday said the outcome of Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State has demystified the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) “federal might”.

Nda-Isaiah, in a statement, said Governor Rauf Aregbesola was rewarded for his hard work and commitment to the welfare of Osun people.

He said the APC won the election, “in spite of the criminal intimidation, unprecedented militarisation and psychological assault on APC supporters and Osun people”.

ally getting its root in Nigeria and praised Osun people for their peaceful conduct during and after the election. Yuguda said in a democratic dispensation, votes speak louder than violence.

He urged Aregbesola to extend the olive branch to other contestants in the election so that they can work together to improve Osun.

Yuguda hailed the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for congratulating Aregbesola and accepting defeat in good faith.

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•Aregbesola flanked by Edwards and the Ambassador of the Netherlands, Mr John Groffen...at the weekend.

plaints legally.

The group’s Coordinator, Paul Edwards, said strict adherence to the rule of law is the best way to deepen democracy in Nigeria.

Edward said: “We are here to congratulate you on your victory in Saturday’s election. Besides, our mission here is also to find out from you about the conduct of the election. We have observed the election across the

state and have our reports.

“In any election, there are bound to be issues. But it is our opinion that whatever the complaint you have, you should choose the legal option to seek remedy.

“Let us rely on the instrumentality of the law to purse whatever anomaly or violation of rights we have suffered. Let us always use the legal method to stop the impunity

used by one unit of government against the other. It is through this option that we can deepen democratic institutions wherever it is practised in the world. If you send your complaints to the EU, we shall take note of it and act accordingly within the framework of the law.”

Aregbesola hailed the group’s commitment to the development of democracy in Nigeria.

Ex-governor Adeleke thanks electorate

HE first civilian Governor of Osun State, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, has thanked residents for re-electing Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

He particularly thanked the people of Ede, his country home, for voting for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.

In a statement yesterday, Adeleke said: “When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. I am particularly grateful to God Al-

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mighty, the people of Edeland and Osun State for their spontaneous show of love, affection and solidarity in Saturday’s election.

“What could be more? Ede people have shown by their massive votes that they still have unflinching confidence and undiluted trust in my leadership politically and as the Asiwaju of Edeland. I am humbled by your spirit of sportsmanship, even in the face of extreme odds and tribulation.

“You stood your ground

that your darling party, the APC, should coast home to victory and the Almighty God answered your prayers, for the voice of the people is the voice of God. “Your efforts shall not go in vain. The Aregbesola administration will be all-inclusive and evolve programmes that are beneficial to the generality of Osun people. You all worked hard and you will reap bountifully through mass-oriented projects, such as good roads, functional education, health facilities

that are second to none, electricity and water supply to rural areas.

“I implore you not to be swayed by the antics of the opposition, which may not stop at anything to preach the politics of bitterness. For the APC, it is no victor, no vanquished.

“Osun State is our joint heritage. Let us join hands with Aregbesola and offer constructive ideas, as well as healthy criticism, to make his second term in office a lot easier than his first.”

I stand tall, says PDP candidate Omisore SUN State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Sena-

tor Iyiola Omisore, who was defeated by Governor Rauf Aregbesola in last Saturday’s election, has finally spoken.

He said: “I stand tall to assure my supporters that their efforts will not be in vain, as I have resolved to continue to provide leadership until the Osun State of our dream is realised.”

In a statement yesterday, Omisore thanked his supporters for their votes.

He said: “Despite the outcome of the poll, Osun people will not accept anything short of good governance and would no longer be taken for granted, as we have opened the floodgate of democratic

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

challenge, which no force on earth can stop.

“I shall be in the forefront as our people continue to press for the real dividends of democracy and the expansion of the democratic space in our dear state.”

He said the PDP’s situation office was analysing the result of the election, adding that the party would make its findings public.

Urging his supporters to remain calm, law-abiding and peace-loving, he said: “I am a democrat to the core and the whole essence of our involvement in politics is the love for our people and a personal commitment to the peace, progress and development of our fatherland.

“Our guiding principle is that Osun must not be governed in the old ways anymore and August 9 has given the demography of the change-seeking people. I appeal to my people to keep hope alive as we stand shoulder to shoulder to continue what we have started, with the objective of raising the bar of leadership in our state.”

Quoting Theodore Roosevelt, the PDP candidate said: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes

short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming.

“But who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement. And who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Some of Omisore’s associates, including President Goodluck Jonathan, Ekiti State Governor-elect Ayodele Fayose, former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode, have congratulated Aregbesola.

Emenike: Ogbeni should have won 80 per cent votes

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N Abia State All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Chief Ikechi Emenike, has congratulated Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola on his “deserved victory”.

In a statement yesterday, Emenike said, ordinarily, the Osun State election would have been a walkover for Aregbesola, given his “unprecedented impact” on the people.

He said: “Only a few governments in the Third World can honestly claim to put human beings at the centre

of government as much as Aregbesola. Even his opponents accept that his policies in health, stipends to the elderly and massive urban and rural road construction are commendable. Add to these his interventions in the education sector, from the tablet of knowledge to the school feeding and uniform programmes, mega school projects and jobs for thousands of Osun youths, and the picture of a government that is committed to serving the people is laid bare.”

The APC chieftain said Aregbesola’s uncommon connection with the people, through his walk-to-live programme, made it possible for a large section of the population to defy the “so-called federal might” and re-elect him.

He said the APC had cause to be happy, but very little to shout “uhuru’ because “if Aregbesola and Osun people could go through what they were subjected to to extract victory, then few should expect 2015 to be a tea party”.

Urging APC members to be cautious, Emenike said the election result was worrisome, adding: “Nigeria’s brand of democracy is struggling to compel us into believing that popularity and performance count for little in the result of an election. If not, if many people were not frightened to come out to vote, if votes were not spiced up in some captive areas, Aregbesola should have scored over 80 per cent of the votes.”

•Emenike

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

9

CITYBEATS ‘Police chief’, pastor A held for robbery SELF-styled pastor and a man parading himself as an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) have been arrested for alleged robbery in Lagos.

The ‘fake’ ACP, Alexander Ilesanmi Abiodun (46), who hails from Akure, the Ondo State capital, and Gabriel Asaolu, were arrested following a tip-off. Asaolu’s confession, it was learnt, led to Abiodun’s arrest.

Abiodun, a father of five who resides at 29, Okegbale Street in Ijoko, Ogun State, was arrested on April 17 at his residence.

He was caught after Asaolu, who was arrested for car snatching, identified him as one of the receivers of his loot.

Asaolu told the police that he had sold two stolen vehicles, a Mitsubishi Montero Special Utility Vehicle (SUV) and a Toyota Avalon car, told him.

Following Asaolu’s confession, Commissioner of Police Umar Manko directed the Operation Commander of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), Abba Kyari, a Superintendent (SP), to go after the suspect.

Asaolu led detectives to Abiodun’s house where the Avalon car was recovered; the SUV was said to have had an accident in Ondo State.

The operatives also recov-

Late bank chief for burial

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HE remains of Prince Stephen Adeseun, a former manager at First Bank Plc, who died on May 30, will be interred on Friday.

He was until his death, the Baba Ijo (Patron) of Saviour’s African Church Cathedral in Agege, the popular Lagos suburb.

In a statement, his son, Mr Niyi Adeseun, said the obsequies would begin with a service of songs tomorrow at his residence, 1, Egba Street, Cement Bus Stop, off Lagos, Abeokuta Expressway.

A wake-keep, he said, would also be held for the deceased at the same venue on Thursday. There will be a funeral service at Saviour’s African Church Cathedral, Agege. His remains will be buried at his residence on Friday.

Reception, the statement said, would be held at St Peter’s African Church, Sofunde Bus Stop, OkeKoto, Agege.

The late Adeseun hailed from Owu, Abeokuta. After leaving FirsBank, he established a manufacturing company which became a household name in the 80s.

He is survived by children and grand children.

•The late Adeseun

By Jude Isiguzo and Ebele Boniface

ered the uniforms of an ACP, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and two police frames from Abiodun.

They also recovered an unregistered Acura SUV from his house.

During interrogation, Abiodun said: “I am a car dealer. I usually travel to Cotonou, Benin Republic to get the products. I usually hang the ACP uniform in my vehicle to prevent arrest by the police and Customs officials. I brought in six cars between 2011 and 2014. The people I sold them to would get the papers by themselves. I sold one for N1million, another for N1.3 million. I cannot remember the prices I sold others.

“I know Gabriel Asaolu very well as a pastor of a church at Oke Aro in Ogun State. He said he was a car dealer who could supply me at cheaper prices. I met him when I went for a revival at the church. He also introduced himself as an Ondo State indigene. Later, we then went into car-selling deals. Around August 2011, he called to tell me that he had some cars to sell. He then sold the Avalon to me for N750,000. I was using the car. That was the only vehicle he sold to me.

“About the police uniform, many companies in Lagos came to me for assistance. I trained some of their security operatives as fake spy policemen and they paid me for it”.

CITYBEATS LINE: 08023247888

•Abiodun with the cars ... yesterday

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

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CITYBEATS

CITYBEATS LINE: 08023247888

Panic as passenger dies at airport A •His Ebola test proved negative, says FAAN

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HERE was panic at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos yesterday when a passenger slumped and died.

The late Akunne Osei, was on queue at the Port Health Unit of the airport building when the incident occurred.

He was waiting to collect his vaccination and inoculation certificate otherwise known as “Yellow Card.”

His death sparked the rumour that he died of Ebola which has claimed a Liberian, Patrick Sawyer and a Nigerian nurse.

The passenger was said to be on his way to Ghana for medical attention.

The incident coincided with the maiden visit of the

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

Aviation Minister, Chief Osita Chidoka, who inspected facilities at the domestic and international airports.

Sources at the airport said the passenger arrived in Lagos last Friday for business and took ill.

When his health worsened, a source said, he called his Accra, Ghanabased doctor, who advised him to return for further treatment.

Confirming the incident, spokesman of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Yakubu Dati, said: “The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria wishes to inform the public that a Nigerian passenger residing

in Accra, who arrived Lagos for business transactions aboard an Arik Air flight on August 8, has died at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, on his way back to Accra.

“The passenger, Mr. Akunne Osei took ill on Saturday, August 9, and started stooling. When the situation got worse, he called his doctor in Accra who instructed him to return to Ghana immediately for further treatment. During boarding formalities for his return trip to Accra, at the international terminal of the MMIA, Mr. Osei, who had obviously become weak at this time, was subjected to Ebola Virus test by port health officials, the result of which was nega-

tive.”

He added: “No further attention was paid to him after his Ebola Virus result read negative, but the passenger later slumped and died around the port health office. This release is necessary to forestall the possible dissemination of unfounded and misleading media reports on the unfortunate incident.”

A relation who accompanied him to the airport was shouting his name after he slumped.

Security officials at the airport restricted access to the area where the man lay lifeless on the floor. It was learnt that aviation security and medical personnel took the body to a nearby morgue.

Two docked for ‘invading’ RCCG, others •As Magistrate sends reporters out of court

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WO men were yesterday arraigned before a Lagos Magistrate’s Court in Igbosere for allegedly invading two churches and threatening a lawyer’s life.

Akindele Afolabi (48) and Adio Kazeem (79), were arraigned for conspiracy, breach of peace, forceful possession and threat to life before Magistrate O.O. Martins.

They were alleged to

By Precious Igbonwelundu

have invaded the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and Jesus Headstone Evangelical Ministry in Mushin, the popular Lagos suburb, demanding ransom. They also allegedly threatened the life of Wale Okediran, a lawyer.

It was alleged that the defendants sent a threat message to the lawyer, demand-

ing properties located at 91, Agege Motor Road and 3, Eniola Street, Idi-Oro, Mushin.

According to the police, the defendants forcefully entered buildings belonging to Otunba Taiwo and Adebola Adegbuyi in a manner likely to cause breach of public peace. They also allegedly mobilised some persons, now at large, to do same.

The defendants on June 6,

it was also alleged, threatened the complainant, Okediran, forcefully entered the RCCG (Holiness Temple Parish) at 16, Kobiti Street, Alakara, and Jesus Head Stone Evangelical Ministry, at Olaniyi Close, Idioro, during service, demanding ransom.

They were said to have committed the offence which contravened Sections 410, 52, 166(d) between June and July 6 this year.

The defendants were granted N100,000 bail with two sureties in like sum after pleading not guilty. The matter was adjourned till October 14.

A mild drama ensued before proceedings started as the Magistrate walked reporters out of the courtroom.

Mrs Martins, who last year ordered reporters out of her court because a paper “published what she did not say,” yesterday came out, shouting: “Where are the pressmen? Out … out… out!”

PROPHET has been arraigned before an E b u t e - M e t a Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for allegedly raping a sevenyear-old girl.

Sunday Akintayo (51), who claimed he is a cleric with the Cherubim and Seraphim Church at Ajelogo, Mile 12, Lagos, was brought before Magistrate A. A. Demi-Ajayi on a two-count charge of unlawful sexual assault and shaving the eyebrows of the minor.

Prosecuting Inspector Moses Uadevmbo said the offence was committed on July 11 at 11, Werugbara, Railway Line in Ilupeju, Mushin.

He alleged that the defendant raped the minor by severally dipping his finger into her private parts, adding that the offence contravened Sections 261(2) and 135(2) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos,

Cleric remanded for allegedly assaulting minor

By Precious Igbonwelundu

2011.

Although the defendant pleaded not guilty, Uadevmbo objected to an oral bail application made on his behalf by his lawyer, Alli Aba, because rape of minors is now prevalent.

He claimed that medical report showed that the minor was infected with Staphylococcus after the incident, adding that granting the defendant bail may jeopardize the victim’s case.

Magistrate Demi-Ajayi, who ordered that the defendant be remanded in prison custody pending a formal bail application, adjourned the case till September 24.

Scholars tackle insecurity

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FORMER Pro-Chancellor of the Lagos State University (LASU), Mr Akin KekereEkun, warned yesterday that a nation without an effective security plan is courting trouble.

He said the state of security in a country tells others how the country is, adding that it helps to project a good national image.

Kekere-Ekun, who spoke during the launch of a book titled: “Foreign Policy and National Security: Theory and Practical,” written by Ambassador Olanrewaju Falola, a teacher at the university, described the book as useful in projecting a good image for Nigeria.

Represented by the Provost, LASU College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Ikeja, Prof Gbadebo Awosanya as chairman, Kekere-Ekun advised Nigerians to start securing themselves first before going national.

Reviewing the book, Prof Ogaba Oche of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Lagos, said: “The book is really about practical and theory because it is not easy for someone to serve as an ambassador for a long time and bring what he learnt to the academics.”

Represented by Mr Joshua

By Medinat Kanabe

Bolarinwa also of the NIIA, Oche said the book brings new understanding to foreign policy and national security, adding: “It is going to meet the growing needs of students and lecturers in foreign policy and national security.”

Explaining that the book was derived from a thought that developed in the author while teaching international relations and related courses after leaving diplomatic service, he said it has two broad sections divided into nine chapters with topics on foreign policy, defence and foreign policy of western powers.

Bolarinwa added: “Focusing on states and processes through which foreign policies are made, it discusses issues of national security. It further talks about national security, stating that no nation should play with its national security.”

Falola said national security covers all aspects of life, adding that foreign policy has to do with protection and promotion of national interest.

“Scholars and diplomats will find the content useful.

I hope that the book will stimulate an interaction to foreign policy, he hinted.

•From left: Sponsor, Senator ‘Gbenga Ashafa; beneficiary, Mrs Temitayo Akinsanya; Secretary, Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area (LCDA) and Hon. Olusola Odubiro, during the Senator’s Weekly Empowerment Programme at his Constituency Office, IkosiKetu ... at the weekend.

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

11 Sovereign Wealth Funds are managed conservatively.

They don’t borrow money the way banks do, so you can’t compare this business to banking business. This business does not expose itself to that kind of risk. It is not the same thing as private equity •Managing Director/CEO, NSI A, Uche Orji

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

Dangote Cement Ibese doubles production • To absorb 15, 000 workers

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ANGOTE Cement plant at Ibese, Ogun State , is to increase its production capacity from six million metric tons to 12 million metric tons, its Deputy General Manager, Production, Sunday Adondua, has said.

Adondua said the company will leverage on the introduction of two production lines, expected to come on stream shortly, to achieve the feat..

He said the company has achieved a commendable feat within its four years of production with the introduction of four production lines and increased capacity in cement production.

He said the company is currently in 14 African countries, amongst them, Zambia, South Africa, Mauritania, Tanzania and Kenya, adding that the aim is to be a world leader in cement production as it makes inroad into Latin America.

On the price of the commodity, he said with the increased capacity utilisation the price would come down eventually as market forces will take over because of increased output.

He said the firm currently has 7,000 employees, but that with the completion and inauguration of the new production lines, the workforce will jump to 15,000, or more.

He added that a combined production capacity of the three cement plants in Obaja, Kogi State, Gboko in Benue State and Ibese, the company will be delivering over 29.2 metric tons of cement yearly.

Nigeria’s GDP drops four per cent due to poor power supply N IGERIA’S Gross Do mestic Product (GDP) has lost about four per cent of its value due to shortage of power supply, the Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Benjamin Dikki, has said.

Presenting a paper tiltled: “Update on post-Privatisation Issues” yesterday in Abuja during the inaugural of the National Council on Nigeria, Dikki explained that power supply has a direct relationship with the affluence of a country.

“Look at the percentage of GDP that is lost because of power. We are losing almost three to four per cent of GDP because of poor power supply.”

He lamented that Nigeria cannot develop with its kind of power supply at the moment, stressing that “no nation can abandon investment in power for so long and ex-

From John Ofikhenua and Abimbola Alo, Abuja

pect to make progress,” he said, adding that while Germany has 406watts per capita, Nigeria is doing a paltry 40 megawatts per capita.

“We cannot develop and grow with that kind of power consumption. That also shows you that there is a direct relationship between power and affluence and economic development. The more power available to the citizenry, the more development and affluence resulting from the whole process,” he said.

Dikki said the Federal Government has paid severance and pension gratuity to over 98 per cent of the 47,913 workers of the defunct Power

Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

He said out of the 47,913 who were identified as workers, 46,326 were validated, while 45,750 have had their funds remitted to the office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

The BPE boss explained that out of this number, 365 have retired and have been handled as retirees, while there are 201 outstanding payments that have been validated that are in the process of being effected.

Dikki said the government is yet to validate 865 workers and 722 unidentified cases.

He said N371billion has been remitted to the Office of the Accountant-General for payment.

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil Cocoa

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

Coffee

- ¢132.70/pound

Cotton

- ¢95.17pound

Gold Sugar

-$1,396.9/troy -$163/lb RATES

• From left: US Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker (left) and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, during a bilateral meeting at the U.S. Department of Commerce, in Washington DC.

Inflation -8.2% Treasury Bills -10.58%(91d) Maximum lending -30% Prime lending -15.87% Savings rate 91-day NTB

-3% -15%

Time Deposit MPR

-5.49% -12%

Foreign Reserve $38.4b FOREX CFA EUR

-0.2958 -206.9

£ $

-242.1 -156

¥ SDR

-1.9179 -238

RIYAL

-40.472

In the case of retirees, he said: “We have identified 4,126; we have verified 3,233; 933 showed up for verification; 1,083 have already been paid while 358 are undergoing auditing to validate the retirees; 381 computation is going on to determine their entitlement.”

Dikki explained that N10billion has been remitted to the office of the Accountant General to effect the payment of the retirees.

He said: N392billion has already been remitted for effecting the payments of

these retirees, and there is funding for those that have not been verified. As soon as they are verified, remittance will be made appropriately for their payment.”

On the National Council on Power, the Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil, said the Council is an enlarged forum consisting of key stakeholders in the power sector, mainly from the public, private and nongovernmental organisations and the development partners to deliberate on issues that will support the Federal Government’s effort at accelerating sustainable power supply.

NUPENG threatens strike over unfair deal

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EMBERS of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG) have given 14-day ultimatum to the federal and state governments, international oil majors (IOCs) and other relevant stakeholders to resolve the harsh treatment being meted to its members working in Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and BK Tubulars (Nig) Limited all in Port Harcourt zone, or they would down tools.

The resolution to go on strike was taken at a meeting of the union in Port Harcourt yesterday and was made public by the union’s National Industrial Relations Officer, Comrade Bassey Harry.

NUPENG also said if it embarks on the strike, its senior counterpart, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, as well as petrol station workers would all join in solidarity. This position was corroborated by the Zonal Chairman of PENGASSAN, Azubuike M Azubuike, who attended the meeting.

However, Harry who appealed to Nigerians not to see their action as being “insensitive to their plight” explained that the

From Clarice Azuatalam, Port Harcourt

decision to go on strike was inevitable since NAOC and BK Tubulars have refused to implement the directives given to them by the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity.

Harry said in April and June this year, NAPIMS directed NAOC to discuss the STOP GAS contract-to-turbine and related equipment maintenance in three localities where ARCO Petroleum (Nig) Plc operates, but NAOC refused, thus causing serious threat to the jobs of their members.

It also alleged that NAOC replaced the contractor with Plantgeria (Nigeria) Plc which in turn has concluded plans to cut the workforce by 60 per cent, as well as their salaries by 40 per cent.

NUPENG also want NAOC to reverse the recent termination of the services of its members and pay all the salary arrears of its members ranging from one year to three months, as well as implement the workers collective agreement which expired since 2012.

LCCI faults govt’s plan to privatise BoI, BoA

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HE Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Indus try (LCCI) has opposed moves bythe Federal Government to privatise the Bank of Industry (BoI) and Bank of Agriculture (BoA), saying both organisations will be unable to achieve their goals if the plan is carried out.

LCCI argued that the two banks are Development Finance Institutions (DFI) and that their objectives are usually in conflict with the goals of private enterprises, which revolve around profit making, it stated in a communiqué issued after its council meeting in Lagos.

By Toba Agboola

“The development objectives of the DFIs will be compromised in the event of their privatisation, because development objectives are often at variance with profitability objectives.

“The primary objective of a typical private enterprise is profit maximisation, while the worry of the government should be development. This is the fundamental basis for government’s intervention in an economy,” LCCI said in the communique.

The Chamber said the glo-

bal practice is for DFIs to be government-owned because of the peculiarities of their mandates, adding that the basic objective of any development finance is to support the growth and development of the real sector and provide infrastructure for the economy and subsidised long-term affordable finance to investors.

It aegued that a privatised entity will not be able to deliver this mandate because of the economics of the enterprise.

“Therefore, real sector financing will suffer in the event that the DFIs are pri-

vatised. Such an outcome will have consequences for the capacity of the real sector to grow and create the much- needed jobs,” it said.

LCCI said rather than consider privatisating the entities, government should recapitalise the two institutions and ensure that they are properly managed.

“Currently, cost of funds in the Nigeria financial markets is between 18 per cent and 30 per cent; and over 70 per cent of the funds are short-tenured funds. It is difficult to comprehend how a private entity will lend to the real sector at single-digit in-

terest rate (and with long tenure) in this scenario,” it said.

It urged the government to work on recapitalising the DFIs and create a framework that will allow for an independent and professional management of the DFIs, saying, “this is the way to go.”

LCCI said it is important to develop models and structures that will make public institutions work, rather than duplicate, or discard them.

It warned that populating the boards of vital public institutions with politicians is not in the best interest of the economy and the country.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

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BUSINESS

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TRANSPORTATION

HE Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMOT) has a critical role to play to enable the government meet the people’s transportation needs, the Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF), Alhaji Bukar Aji has said.

Aji, who chairs the Federal Government’s Teer Review Team (PRT), said the FMoT must continue to uphold best practices as it drives the government’s transport initiatives.

He spoke in Abuja, when the PRT visited the ministry as part of its peer review activities.

Aji said the FMoT has delivered on its mandate to reposition public transportation to meet Nigerians’ yearnings.

The PRT which comprises all federal Permanent Secretaries, is a self appraisal team meant to ensure that ministries adopt best global practices in service delivery.

Aji said the visit is to assess the ministry’s compliance with policy guidelines on the relationship between the Permanent Secretaries and their political heads as well as between union members and the management.

He said the reform initiative is to ensure efficiency and high productivity in the civil service, reiterating that the body of Permanent Secretaries has taken up the challenge of continuous review through peer review mechanism for accountability and results.

FMoT Permanent Secretary Nebolisa Emodi said the ministry’s achievements

E-mail: ynotaderibigbe@gmail.com

• Train, one of the Federal Government’s mass transit initiatives.

How minister can drive transport agenda Stories by Adeyinka Aderibigbe

included resuscitation and revitalisation of the Nigeria Railway for passenger and goods haulage, completion of feasibility studies on rail system, increase use of inland waterways to stimulate economic activities, enhancement of maritime

safety and security and good welfare system for the staff among others.

The rehabilitation of the 1,124 km Lagos-Kano western line, he said, has been completed and is functional. Work on the 1,657 km long PortHarcourt-Maiduguri called the Eastern line was

‘Investment in road crucial’

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HE Lagos State government has restated the need for investment in road infrastructure to attain safe, efficient and reliable multimodal transportation.

The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, said at the yearly public lecture and award night of the Association of Professional Women Engineers, (APWEN), Lagos State that as an important component of the economy transportation has significant impact on the development and welfare.

He said: “When transport systems are efficient, they provide economic and social opportunities and benefits that result in better accessibility to markets, jobs, improved logistics and additional investments.”

Opeifa spoke on the theme: Infrastructural development in sub-Saharan Africa: Opportunities amidst challenges.

The commissioner, who praised the group for picking the theme, said the state planned its public transportation system in response to its status as the economic hub of Nigeria

and West Africa, because it considered transportation as a catalyst for the huge expected economic activities.

“Infrastructure provision remains key to an efficient transportation system and for Lagos State, it is not negotiable. Transportation itself which is the management of the free flow of people, goods and services from one point to the other entails such modes as rail, road, water, air, telecommunications, pipeline, conveyor belt, logistics and supply chain management.

Transportation infrastructure according to the commissioner, is not limited to just hardware such as highways, rail tracks or jetties, but the more complex arrays of logistics, software, programmes, applications and the less suspecting furniture; such as traffic signal lights (TSL), pavement markings, kerbs, medians, buoys, signals etc, that make distribution and movement more functional.

The development of these arrays of hardware, software, complex and functional infrastructure, Opeifa reiterated, is critical to a sustainable development

and the delivery of these, has become the pre-occupation of his ministry and its agencies.

The state government, Opeifa added, regards its investments in these areas, not as challenges but opportunities that must not •Opeifa be missed.

He told the women engineers that the state government in the last 16 years had invested among others; on creating segregated lanes for the BRT system, creating over 200,000 road signages, and over 100 traffic signal lights to complement traffic management, to support an integrated multi modal transport system.

“Other infrastructure put in place by the government are the Pavement Markings of over 200 roads spanning over 202 kilometres to ensure road discipline and improved road safety, the Lagos Traffic Radio for im-

progressing, he said, with the Port Harcourt – Jos station, including the branch line from Kafanchan to Kaduna to be completed by the end of August.

He added that the construction of Abuja (Idu) – Kaduna Standard Gauge rail is 85per cent completed, and is expected to be

completed by the end of the year, noting that the construction of Lagos – lbadan standard gauge (double track) 2 x180km has been awarded.

Emodi described the relationship between the management and the joint unions as cordial, saying that issues are resolved

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proved road use planning, education and advocacy; School Traffic Safety Advocacy Programme (STSAP), for primary and secondary school children and the driver institute to ensure that only competent professional drivers are handling commercial public transportation, for road safety and recently the Lagos State Public Transportation System Database platform which is meant to develop proper management of the public transportation system. “We will not be fulfilled until the rail track infrastructure is delivered to move our people daily,” Opeifa said.

through dialogue.

The Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar who also received the team in his office commended them for the Peer Review Mechanism initiative urging them to sustain the efforts in other to achieve effective and efficient service delivery in the country.

White paper on boat mishap coming

HE WhitePaper on the report of the committee that probed the immediate and remote causes of the Majidun/ Ikorodu boat mishap would soon be released, the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, has said.

He said the 11-man committee headed by the Director, Public Transportation and Commuter Service, Mr. Olajide Tairu, came up with ways to halt incessant boat mishaps in the state.

Opeifa said the report would form the basis of government’s actions and policy direction in preventing a recurrence.

He added that the committee is mandated to ascertain and determine the immediate and remote causes of the April 2, boat mishap in Ikorodu and similar boat mishaps in the past as well as ascertain and confirm details of the accident.

“It will look into the roles of all concerned persons, institutions and agencies and make recommendations as might be considered necessary to avoid a recurrence of such inci-

dents, promote safe practices and adherence to safety standard in water transportation in the state,” he said.

Opeifa had previously told the Lagos State House of Assembly probe panel on the incident that the mishap occurred when the boat ran into a log in the water, which damaged the vessel and led to its sinking, adding that the incident could have been avoided if the boat driver had maintained normal speed.

The commissioner accused some boat owners of illegally operating their vessels without official registration and licence as required by law.

According to him, they are in the habit of overloading the boats against the stipulated number of passengers at any given time, even as some boats lack facilities such as life jackets, fire fighting equipments, security lights, especially when traveling at night and under hazardous conditions, and communications gadgets for distress calls.

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BUSINESS AVIATION In an industry with airlines’ lifepan less than 10 years, experts are worried about the options for survival and profit. To them, regulatory requirement, licensing structure and creation of a clearing house could foster the merger and consolidation of weak carriers. Aviation Correspondent KELVIN OSA-OKUNBOR reports.

How airlines can become profitable, by experts T

HE high mortality rate of domestic airlines in Nigeria is generating concerns among experts and operators.

Experts are worried that if nothing is done to address what they describe as the “ bust and boom cycle’’, more airlines may collapse.

The average life span of domestic carriers is less than 10 years, owing largely to unsound business plan, managerial incompetence, wrong use of airplanes and inability of operators to come together under an arrangement that could bring about the merger and consolidation of airlines.

Over 22 carriers have collapsed in the last two decades.

They include: Albarka Air Services, Okada Air, EAS/ NICON Airways, Nigeria Airways Limited, Freedom Air Services, Oriental Air Services, Concord Air, DASAB Airlines, Space World International Airlines, Capital Airlines, Sosoliso Airlines, ADC Airlines, Savannah Air, Skyline Airlines, Slok Air, Air MidWest, Afrijet, Falcon Air Services, Harka Air, Bellview Airlines, Virgin/Air Nigeria and Fresh Air. About seven airlines are carrying out scheduled operations. They are: Arik Air, Aero Airlines, DANA Air, Medview Airlines , Overland Airways, Discovery Air, AZMAN Air, Air Peace, Hak Air, First Nation Airways and Topbrass Aviation.

IRS Airlines and Chanchangi Airlines are not operating scheduled operations because of unavailability of at least two aircraft as prescribed by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

According to experts, the collapse of airlines can be attributed to some factors which include insufficient capitalisation, incompetent management, wrong business model, the use of wrong airplanes and lack of regulatory template to force mergers and consolidation.

In 2006, the Federal Government introduced new legislation that set the minimum capital requirements for airlines as part of restructuring aimed at boosting safety.

Under the legislation, domestic operators are to be capitalised with a minimum of N500 million while that of carriers operating in Africa N1 billion.

This is expected to increase to N2 billion for carriers with services outside the continent.

The former Manager Director of Nigeria Airways Limited, Mr Andrew Okuyiga, has canvassed the merger or consolidation of airlines as one of the strategies to ensure profitability.

He said the issuance of air operators’ certificate to airlines with two aircraft was not good, adding that it would not boost their profitability.

He said a policy, which prescribes the minimum number of aircraft an airline should have before it could be considered a serious player in the air transport sector, should be put in place.

He argued that with a low capital base, two aircraft, an operator would not recover his operating

costs at a time cheaper fares are dominating the market.

According to Okuyiga, until NCAA puts a policy in place that would force domestic airlines to merge through increased capitalisation, minimum number of aircraft and a pool of expertise, the local air transport sector would continue to struggle for survival.

Also, the President, Sabre Travel Network West Africa, Mr Gbenga Olowo, said until the domestic carriers merge, they would not be able to compete with foreign carriers.

Experts said domestic airlines would continue to face difficulties while competing with their West African counterparts because of lack of cooperation.

Due to lack of understanding of the business, many domestic airlines do not fill their aircraft with passengers. This trend has led their inability to recover their operating costs.

Experts said merger is the way to go if aviation industry must grow.

Olowo urged the NCAA to direct domestic airlines to cooperate through merging of their operations.

He said it was time NCAA perfected the setting up of a clearing house, which would provide a seamless platform for airlines to pursue merger or consolidation.

Olowo pointed out that it is the responsibility of the regulatory agency to ensure that the airline sub-sector survives.

He said for domestic airlines to survive in the economy, NCAA must make regulation that would compel airlines to merge, adding that Europe and America that introduced stiff competition in the past have embraced merger and consolidation, wondering why the carriers still feels that they could do it alone with two aircraft in their fleet.

He explained that an aircraft is meant to fly between 2,000 and 3,000 hours yearly for the operator to break even, warning that if they allow their aircraft to be on ground for a long time, it would be impossible for them make profit.

He said: “The regulator should merge the airlines if we are to enjoy the benefits of aviation growth in the sector. The West that brought intense competition is talking about merger, consolidation and others. Can’t our own airlines merge?

“If our airlines are unreliable, how can they partner with foreign carriers? NCAA must sit down seriously by looking at the economies of the operators. NCAA should be able to mid-wife our airlines that are coming up. Nigerian airlines should be in the International Air Transport Association, IATA, and it is the responsibility of NCAA to do this.”

However, some experts, such as Chris Aligbe, Sheri Kyari and Francis Ayigbe, believe that there is room for more carriers if the would-be investors use the right aircraft model in their operations.

They canvassed the owner/investor model as the best for the

business, arguing that the owner/ manager model as is the case with many airlines was responsible for the high rate of failure of domestic carriers.

They said many airlines failed because the managers lack the knowledge and technical skills to keep their operations afloat.

According to them, an owner/ investor is one who has the technical knowledge of the industry and sufficient funds to invest in the business, while an owner/ manager doesn’t have technical knowledge of the industry, but has funds to invest.

Aligbe, the Chief Executive Officer of BeluJane Konzults, said the recipe for running a profitable carrier is using the right operational model and equipment.

He said Nigeria could only deliver profitable carriers if the operators were ready to imbibe the culture of investor/manager, which would bring about inclusion of technical expertise in the running of the airline as opposed to undue interference by the owner/manager.

Aligbe said the greatest problem of domestic airlines is the owner/ manager syndrome, adding that it killed the defunct Nigeria Airways, he added.

He said nearly all the airlines

that have collapsed are traceable to the problem of owner-manager.

If this factor could be addressed, the business could fare better, he added.

Aligbe said undue interference by the owners of the business results in airline collapse.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Centurion Securities, Group Capt. John Ojikutu, said unless there is a forced merger of domestic carriers, they would not compete with international carriers.

He advised that domestic airlines should merge or raise funds from the capital market, adding that any indigenous carrier that cannot operate five airplanes in its fleet and cannot operate in more than three routes should not be given Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC).

“No airline for now can survive in the market by selling ticket at N7, 000 for an hour flight to Abuja without cutting some corner or jeopardising safety. I have been wondering why the NCAA has not started inspecting the balance sheets of these airlines in accordance with the economic regulations,” he said.

An expert, who refused to be mentioned, said the growth of the economy does not reflect in the

number of airlines in the domestic market, adding that as long as they ignore global trends in aviation, the problems in the sector might continue to worsen.

“In the past 10 years, there has been an average of 10 domestic airlines in operation at any particular time, with average fleet capacity of about 10. Today, there are only a few licensed airlines operating in Nigeria. All the aircraft owned by Nigerian airlines put together do not add up to the fleet of individual airlines in the United States, Europe or Asia,” he said.

He, however, noted that two major reasons airlines on the continent and, indeed, Nigeria have not been able to merge are the lack of trust for one another and fear of competition.

According to him, the airlines also have to meet some of the prerequisites for mergers, adding that many of them cannot boast of such.

“There must be desire and ability to collaborate or share; inherent transparency and trust; there must sound business model and sound management and discipline,” he said, adding that the airlines must have strong customer appreciation or be customer-centric as well as have strong governmental/regional support.

From left: Nigerian Consul-General to Saudi Arabia Ambassador Ahmed Umar and Alhaji Bankole at the inauguration.

Medview to begin flights into Jeddah, Dubai

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O reciprocate the bilateral air services agreements between Nigeria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, Medview Airlines has concluded plans to begin flights to Jeddah and Dubai.

The flights, according to the Managing Director of Medview Airlines, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, is sequel to obtaining necessary licences and approvals to operate four flights into Jeddah and Dubai weekly.

He said the flights into Jeddah would originate from Kano and Abuja, while operations into

Dubai are billed to begin inNovember.

Speaking in an interview in Lagos after the opening of its Middle East regional office in Jeddah Bankole said it was the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.

His words: “We thank Allah for fulfilling this dream. It has been our ambition to establish an airline that could serve the Nigerian-Jeddah route and help numerous Nigerian passengers. ‘’Medview has obtained all necessary licences and approvals to operate four scheduled weekly flights from Kano and Abuja into Jeddah. We have also obtained li-

cense to fly into Dubai. We expect this service to start in November.”

Nigetian Consul General to Saudi Arabia, Ambassador Ahmed Umar praised the airline for alleviating the suffering of Nigerian travellers to the Kingdom who had to spend long hours for a journey of just four hours.

He pledged to support Medview and other Nigerian businesses willing to establish business in Saudi Arabia.

Umar said Medview operations would foster better relationship between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.

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BUSINESS MARITIME

e-mail: maritime@thenationonlineng.net

Agents: Customs underfunded

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HE National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan over the underfunding of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

The association said inadequate funding was affecting the performance of the NCS and the Transformation Agenda of the administration.

In a letter titled: Re: Transformation Programme and Port Reforms of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, dated August 5, and sent to Jonathan by the founder of the group, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, the group claimed that the service was being incapacitated by the Federal Ministry of Finance and that this is affecting freight forwarding.

It said: “We have observed from our strategic point as critical stakeholders that at the moment, it is apparent that the Nigeria Customs Service is being underfunded, which may be affecting its operations and the freight forwarding business.”

Aniebonam urged Jonathan to free the Customs from the lacklustre performing Webb Fontaine, alleging that the frequent breakdown of its

Stories by Oluwakemi Dauda Maritime Correspondent

equipment was taking severe toll on service delivery to the port users.

He said: “The constant down time of the ASYCUDA System being handled and managed by Webb Fontaine most times, slows down automation. We suggest that the Nigeria Customs Service be allowed to build a robust system that can accommodate and resolve the problem of down time s y n d r o m e . T h i s i s a c ap i t al project, which cannot be satisfactorily handled with the underfunding of the Nigeria Customs administration and management.

“It is in the public domain that between 2010 and 2014 (up to July), the approved budget for the Service may be N378.97 billion. Our checks revealed that Nigeria Customs Service may have just received N279.42 billion, leaving a balance of N99.55 billion. We have observed that the morale of officers is very low because their entitlements are not being paid on time and most times, they are not attended to.

“It is a fact that the Nigeria

Customs Service is a very critical agency of the government saddled with huge responsibilities which include, but not limited to revenue collection, antismuggling functions, interagency support service, business development and trade information services, post audit function, provision of trade statistics and trade facilitation among others.”

Aniebonam said under the Destination Inspection Policy, the NCS has been given additional duty to manage and maintain scanners, training of officers and building superstructures and other capital projects that would enhance and sustain its operations.

He said the low funding does not give the NCS sufficient leverage to add value to businesses at the ports. “As Nigerians, we are equally worried because the Nigeria is facing some security challenges. We wish to remind your Excellency, that the anti-smuggling function of the Service is strategic on matters of border security,” he said.

He proferred solution, saying: “The way forward should include the much-expected new Customs law pending at the National Assembly seeking to grant the Service partial autonomy.”

N252m vehicles impounded in Imo

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HE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (F.O.U.) Zone ‘C’ seized some exotic vehicles and goods worth N252, 126, 800 in July.

Its Area Controller Dimka Victor David said 37 seizures were made last month in the Southeast and Southsouth.

Thirty-six of the 37 seizures, he said, were vehicles ranging from Toyota Highlander, Infinity jeep, Lexus jeep and cars, BMW, Toyota Avalon, Toyota Corolla, to Toyota 4 Runner.

According to Dimka, this was an indication of an increase in the number of vehicles smuggled into the zone in July.

Dimka said there was a similar increase in smuggling in rice about five months ago but that it was tackled and reduced, adding that that of imported frozen poultry products earlier in the year also went down.

The Area controller said the influx of imported furniture, second hand clothing, foreign detergents and foot wears had been tackled by officers of the command.

Dimka, however, said the smugglers shifted attention to car smuggling, assuring that his men can deal with them and ensure that those apprehended face the law.

He assured that the unit would not fold her arms and watch the

smugglers sabotage the economy, vowing that some car dealers would be compelled to present the documents of vehicles in their shops to ensure that they are genuine.

Dimka said the ComptrollerG ener a l of C u st om s A l ha ji Abdullahi Dikko was in support of the unit, stressing that the support has spurred officers and men of the unit to greater height in the performance of their statutory duties.

Customs Public Relations Officer of the zone, Onuigbo Ifeoma, also urged public with useful information on smuggling to volunteer it to the unit to enable them to fish out smugglers.

Meanwhile, the NCS said it collected N1.28 billion in the first half of the year in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

This is contained in the command’s ‘Revenue Collection Analysis’ report.

The service stated the amount was part of the N3.4 billion revenue target given to the service by the government.

It said N513.82 million was collected in the first quarter and N769.99 million in the second quarter.

The revenue was generated from duties, Value Added Tax (VAT), fees and levies.

NIWA holds conference in Lagos today

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• Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi (3rd right) in the new camouflage uniform of the service and some members of his management team in Abuja.

ANLCA urges Assembly to pass Railway Bill

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HE Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has urged the National Assembly to pass the Railway Bill.

Its National President, Alhaji Olayiwola Shittu said this would facilitate the transformation of the sector and help evolve a functional rail system that would answer the yearnings of Nigerians.

“With the gridlock on OshidiApapa Expressway, it is not too much if we ask the National Assembly to pass the Railway Bill.

“The rail system is still epileptic because the National Assembly has failed to pass the Railway Bill into law, which could have wooed lots of investors into it.

The passage is going to mark the beginning of making rail respond to the needs of the society and Nigerians. We want the government and the law makers to focus on it and we have no iota of doubt that it can be achieved,” he said.

Shittu further said the Federal Government had done the

right thing by concession of the ports, which, according to him, has increased cargo and vessel throughput; improved their efficiency and created jobs for Nigerians.

But he bemoaned the dependence on trucks to ferry cargoes out of the ports.

He also said the ports regulatory policy had made a huge difference in operations, urging the lawmakers to facilitate the passage of the Bill to reposition the sector and boost the economy.

HE National Inland Water ways Authority (NIWA) international conference and exhibition will begin today in Lagos.

It will end on Thursday.

The aim of the forum, according to NIWA, is to bring local and international stakeholders together to brainstorm on how the inland waterways infrastructure, including vessels can be improved upon.

The theme of the conference is ‘Modernising inland waterways infrastructure and vessels for safe and sustainable inland water transportation, and it is expected to draw experts from the International Maritime Organisation(IMO) inland waterways operators, boat operators, marine and dredging companies, ferry services operators, and oil and gas firms, banking institutions.

States with inland waterways are also expected to participate.

The conference, NIWA said, is expected to showcase development in the inland waterways sub-sector.

NIWA’s General Manager Public Relations Mr Tayo Fadile said President Goodluck Jonathan was being expected as the special guest of honour, Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar is the chief host,while the Managing Director of NIWA Hajiya Inna Maryam Ciroma is the host.

NIWA, he said, has organised several awareness and safety campaigns in various parts of the country including Niger, Ondo and Lagos states to boost water transportation.

NIWA, he said, donated more than 1000 life jackets across the country to boost safety i n the sector.

Fadile said the event was borne out of the need to bring to the knowledge of the local and international community the business potential of the dredged River Niger.

He said the Federal Government had pumped a lot of money into dredging the River Niger and it was only fit to have it put to a profitable use.

“The idea is to bring relevant stakeholders together both locally and internationally to brainstorm and examine critically how the nation’s inland waterways infrastructure including vessels can be improved upon.

Experts from the international maritime organisation will be part of the conference.

“Several inland waterways operators including marine and dredging companies, ferry services operators and oil and gas firms have confirmed participation at the conference while several states with inland waterways activities are also billed to participate at the conference,” he said

Customs launches camouflage

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HE new camouflage uniform of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has been launched at its zonal headquarters in Yaba, Lagos.

Its Zone ‘A’ Cordinator, Assistant Comptroller-General, Osita Gbemudu, who launched the uniform with the Area Controllers in the western zone, said the new attire would further boost the morale of the officers.

He said the essence of the launch was to sensitise the public on the new look of the service officers, so

that they don’t see those on the uniform as fake ones.

“The management is coming with this to make people aware; already the Comptroller-General wore this uniform with his management staff two weeks ago. We are just trying to replicate what they did in Abuja here in the western zone,” he said.

He said soon, the uniform will be given to all the officers at their commands, but that for now, it is worn by the Controllers and their security orderlies.

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MARITIME

Ebola: Customs sensitises over 3,000 at border • NPA issues guidelines for port users on virus T HE Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi, has sensitised over 3,000 persons at Seme border on the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

He urged them to take precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

Customs has also limited the movement of commercial motorcyclists at the border from 6.00am to 10.00pm as part of its pro-active measures.

Speaking at the border security meeting at Seme, Abdullahi, represented by the Area Controller, Willy Egbudin, said though the borders remained open, the Customs and other security agents, were partnering to prevent the desease from spreading further through Seme.

He urged the Port Health Services to enlighten the people on the symptoms and effect of the contagious disease and how to prevent its spread.

Many Customs personnel, Port Health Services, Army, Police and Immigration officials attended the event.

The Customs boss, specifically, told the people to stop eating bush meat and bats to avoid contracting the disease.

He urged them to maintain a

Stories by Oluwakemi Dauda

high standard of personal and environmental hygiene, asking them to give information to security agents on suspicious movements and happenings in their areas.

“The borders are not closed but we are here to sensitise the people on what to do, what to avoid and to stress the need to maintain personal hygiene because of Ebola.

“Before the outbreak of the Ebola virus, we have been talking about security issues and that has to do with restricting okada movement because in our security meeting, we discovered that some contrabands coming into the country were being carried out through the use of motor cycles.

He said the service had been receiving reports of suspicious travellers being dispossessed of their valuables by some unscrupulous commercial motorcyclists/tricyclists.

He said some motorcyclists had also been dispossessed of their motorcycles by criminals who pose as passengers.

Sadly, some motorcyclists did

not live to tell their stories as they were murdered by some presumed normal passengers, he said, adding that investigation has also shown that these nefarious acts and other cross-border crimes were mostly committed in the late hours of the night.

“In view of the foregoing, the joint border security meeting in partnership with the association of commercial motorcyclists and tricycles, has decided to flag off this pro-active security measure towards national security at Seme border.

“On this note, operational activities of the two associations at Seme border and its environs will start from 6.00am and end before 10.00pm everyday, for security reasons,” warning that offenders will be arrested and prosecuted.

Customs and other security operatives around the border, he said, have no option than to take security of the nation serious with the prevailing health and national security challenges.

“At a time like this, we are all working in synergy to prevent the deadly Ebola virus disease from entering the country

• From left: Capt O. Essang, Willy Egbudin and Controller of Imigration Service Domyil Barko during joint PHOTO: OLUWAKEMI DAUDA security meeting at Seme border.

Fed Govt to tackle marine pollution

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HE Federal Government is determined to combat marine pollution caused by oil spillage across the country.

The Minister of Environment, Laurentia Mallam, has said while receiving a letter of approval for Nigeria to host the Regional Coordinating Centre to Combat Marine Pollution in West, Central and South Africa.

The letter, according to a statement from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), was handed over to the minister by the United Nations Environment Programme Regional Coordinator on Abidjan Convention, Mr. Abou Bamba, in Abuja.

Mallam said the hosting of the centre was an advantage to Nigeria, adding that it would build more capacity and technical competence to tackle marine pollution in Nigeria and beyond.

“The regional headquarters is an advantage to us and this shows that if we did not have

the technology and the capability to handle it, they wouldn’t have come to us.”

She assured UNEP coordinator that the government would provide an office for the centre to begin operation in six months.

Bamba, who is also the Executive Secretary of the Abidjan Convention, said the hosting of the headquarters was another step in tackling marine pollution.

According to him, this will also speed up the clean-up of Ogoniland.

He said the Abidjan Convention would provide adequate logistics to make the centre succeed.

Bamba said the UNEP and the Federal Government would meet to discuss the memorandum of understanding that would be signed by the government and the Abidjan Convention for the establishment of the centre.

Bamba said: “The Abidjan Convention will provide adequate

office space, staff, materials and equipment, and the convention would cover the initial and recurring operational costs needed for the centre.

“In the meantime, I will be pleased to visit the installations, which will host the centre and report to the UNEP on the major findings and observations. We estimate that in six months, the centre should be operational and start its first assessment activities.

“Nigeria is not by its own, the Abidjan Convention and UNEP will support as much as they can to make this unique experience a success.”

He said with the new status, Nigeria would be in charge of the coordination of combating trans-boundary marine pollution from Mauritania to South Africa.

The Director-General, NOSDRA, Peter Idabor, said the hosting of the centre would enhance the country’s capability to tackle marine pollution.

through any of our borders.

“As a nation, we are passing through serious health and security challenges in our development that requires the collective efforts of all citizens,” Abdullahi said.

Also, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has issued guidelines to its employees and port users on the risks posed by Ebola.

NPA’s Managing Director, Mallam Habib Abdullahi has, therefore, urged port operators, especially first-line contact officers, against negligence when dealing with foreigners and vulnerable groups, adding that the Nigerian ports are gateways and that they could be vulnerable.

“We have begun enlightenment campaign at all ports and terminals about the origin, symptoms and mode of trans-

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mission of the virus. They are also being taught how to identify people at high risk, diagnose, contain and prevent infection.

“The medical department of the NPA has equally issued guidelines to all its personnel on protection and prevention measures to be adopted in the discharge of their duties.

“These precautionary measures to be instilled in the workplace environment and in the port terminals will be carried out in collaboration with the Health, Safety and Environment Division of the authority,” Abdullahi said.

The NPA boss said the move was in line with the information from the World Health Organisation (WHO). He expressed sympathy to those who had contracted the virus in the course of duties, noting that the NPA would ensure that port facilities were Ebola virus-free.

‘Make dry port functional’

HE Oyo State Shippers Association (OYSSA) has urged the Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) to make the dry port at Erunmu, near Ibadan, and the Trans-National Border Market (TBM) at Saki operational.

The council, he said, is responsible for the dry ports.

Its President, Dr Ayo Omotosho, said such a move would boost economic activities in the area.

He praised the government for providing the enabling environment for the export of agricultural produce and made-in-Nigeria goods.

Omotosho said he was happy the government provided loans to importers, industrialists and farmers in the state, saying the loans had boosted the purchase of farming equipment. He added that the Oyo State Government has provided the association with an administrative office and a vehicle for the TBM project.

“The OYSSA’s visit to Oyo State Government made us to understand that the state government will reconstitute and inaugurate the implementation committee on the dry port as well as the TBM project.

“The committee, which will include the Organised Private Sector (OPS) as well as government’s officials, is to fast -track the development of the dry port and the market,” he said.

The Executive Secretary of the Shippers’ Council, Mr Hassan Bello, said there are 27 shippers’ associations in the country, including OYSSA. “It is pertinent to note that from our investigations, some of the 27 associations have not been living up to the expectations of the NSC,’’ Bello said.

He said admission of persons, who were not genuine shippers into the association was not good.

He urged the association not to pursue a path that would not be in consonance with the objectives of the association, urging members to live above board.

“Maritime industry remains a key gateway to the nation’s industrial growth and the pivot on which even the oil and gas industry stands.

“At the centre of operation in the industry, the key players are the shippers whose cargoes are the major attraction to both the shipping companies and the terminal operators,’’ Bello said.

He said the shippers’ associations were expected to play critical roles that would enhance the ports’ “regulatory responsibility”.

Bello said this would enable the council to succeed in restoring sanity and regulating the charges being imposed by the firms and the terminal operators.

Maritime Academy to introduce new scheme

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HE Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, in Akwa Ibom State is to introduce a new employment scheme to boost workers’morale.

The Rector, Joshua Okpo, has inaugurated a 17-man committee to prepare new conditions of service for the Governing Council and send to the Federal Ministry of Transport.

He urged the committee to ensure that the aspirations of the academy’s employees were met in the new conditions of service.

Describing the committee members as wise men, Okpo said the academy deserved better conditions of service outside that of the public service.

“As a member of this committee, you are expected to bring out programmes that will address the needs of employees of this institution. Our conditions of service must be different from those of conventional institutions or establishments.

“Particularly important is the issue of retirement. We believe when you are discussing among

yourselves you have to come out with measures that will address staff welfare during retirement.”

He said when he assumed duty as Rector of the academy, he noticed that there were many employees who were due for promotion, but were not promoted, adding that many of them are serving as Senior Lecturers, Chief Lecturers, Deputy Registrars, Directors and Acting Directors.

He assured the staff of improved and enhanced conditions of service, advising them to reciprocate the kind gesture through dedicated service.

Okpo said he was working to make the academy a degreeawarding institution before the end of his tenure.

A member of the committee, Jide Kupoluyi, thanked the rector for the opportunity to serve, promising to justify the confidence reposed on them.

He said the Act, which established the academy, empowers the management to propose a suitable conditions of service for the academy.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

18

THE NATION

BUSINESS PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT

* The Environment * Mortgage * Apartments * Security * Homes * Real Estate Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.com 08062722507

property@thenationonlineng.net muyiwalucas2002@yahoo.com

•Properties in Lagos... cashcow for estate agents.

The government of Lagos State has started moves to regulate the practice of estate agency to protect tenants and prospective tenants. But how far can this effort pay off? MUYIWA LUCAS reports.

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Lagos to sanitise estate agency

HEY all defiled the downpour last Thursday. And by 11 a.m, the Adeyemi-Bero Auditorium at the Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja was filled, spilling over to where canopies had been provided outside. It was not a political rally but an event organised to seek and end to the unregulated and unprofessional state of affairs in the estate agency sub-sector.

To the ordinary man on the street of Lagos, estate agents pose the biggest challenge to their ability to rent a decent accommodation. This is because of the outrageous agency fees they are charged for their services. A participant told this reporter of his experience. “The apartment cost N500, 000, but the agent insisted on collecting N200, 000 as agency fee, which I find ridiculous,” he lamented.

It is for this reason and more that the state government organised a workshop with the theme: “Real Estate Agency Fees in Lagos State” under the auspices of the Lagos State Real Estate Transaction Department (LASRETRAD), a unit in the Ministry of Housing. The functions of this body include sensitising the public about estate agency and attendant rules, risks and benefits; keeping a register of egistered qualified estate agency practitioners; protecting citizens from illegal operators;

creating a forum for affected members of the society to lodge complaints against unscrupulous agents; monitoring compliance with the state tenancy law and other legislations on land transaction; and prosecuting agents who violated the laws.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Mr. Tunji Odunlami, set the tone of the day when he said public concerns on the outrageous commission being charged by estate agents had become worrisome. He blamed the situation on the shortage of housing units, which has created an opportunity that agents latch on to exploit would-be tenants.

Similarly, the Special Adviser to the governor on Housing, Jimoh Ajao, noted that the government realised that estate agents charged varying percentages as agency fees, some as ridiculous as 75 per cent of rent for low-end properties. This, he explained, influenced the decision to bring all stakeholders together to deliberate and agree on a fixed rate.

He said LASRETRAD would tackle quackery in the industry.

In his paper titled: ‘Agency fees and

its Related Issues’, the AttorneyGeneral of Lagos State, Mr. Ade Ipaye, represented by the Senior Special Adviser to the governor on Justice, Mr. Olanrewaju Akinsola, noted that agency fee is a contractual agreement which is subject to negotiation.

Drawing a comparison between Nigeria and other countries, he said Nigeria’s agency fees are the highest.

For instance, in Ghana, agency fee is five per cent; in Kenya it is 1.25 per cent and in South Africa, it ranges from four to eight per cent. He said agency fees in these countries are either paid by property owners or shared by owner and buyer/tenant. but in Nigeria, estate agency fees range from 10 per cent to as high as 75 per cent.

Though a communique is yet to be released on the forum, Ajao told The Nation that all the participants have agreed that they have set a standard for them to operate. Ubani Onyekachi, of Ubani and Co, property consultants, agreed that is “very good we regulate our fees and even the practice generally to elimi-

nate the quacks and fraudsters in the industry”.

He regretted that a lot of quacks have invaded the industry and given it a bad name. For him, there must be an industry standard which must be in black and white. He, however, said there must be a way for a tenant and the agent on how much to be paid as agency fee. This, he said, must be left open so that both parties can agree on what to take. However, he explained, in the absence of such an agreement, there must be an industry standard which must not be exceeded. This, he reckoned, makes for transparency, efficiency and regularity.

“I think what the state government is doing is what the agents should have done internally, by organising themselves and have themselves recognised and give some measure of transparency in their transaction and then suggest fees chargeable, then come and liaise with the government. But since they were unable to do that, the government is calling them into a stakeholders’meeting for them to

‘It is unimaginable for an agent to charge agency fees of same amount as the rent. The government is only trying to sanitise the industry.

By doing this, these nefarious activities will come to an end’

agree. Such action by the Lagos State government is highly commendable.

At the end of it all, it will pay everyone - tenants, landlords, and practitioners in the industry that there is a proper documentation and transparency in the entire industry.

If we don’t do this then we are not doing this industry any good,” Ubani said.

The Chief Operating Officer, Property Communications, Boye Ajayi, said the sector had been in a chaotic situation in the sense that most citizens don’t even know what to pay as estate agents charge indiscriminately. He said for someone to rent a room apartment, such a person must be economically handicapped, asking: why would an estate agent charge such a person huge amount as agency fee?

“It is unimaginable for an agent to charge agency fees of same amount as the rent. The government is only trying to sanitise the industry. By doing this, these nefarious activities will come to an end. There must be a regulated fee so that somebody who wants to buy or rent a house will know what he has to pay,” Ajayi said.

Ajayi is right about estate agents nefarious activities. It would be recalled that last year, an estate agent, Michael Olabameji was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment by an Ikeja • Continued on page 47

THE NATION TUESDAY,AUGUST 12, 2014

19

COMMENTARY EDITORIALS

FROM OTHER LANDS

Whither value for money?

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•This is the question for DSTV, GSM, power firms, etc. Regulators, save Nigerians

N other climes, the issue of value for money goes beyond merely being the article of faith governing the relationship between the consumer and the relevant service provider. It is, in fact, its directing principle. In Nigeria, it is at best a catch-phrase; an elusive quest as one chasing a lone piece of needle in a haystack – no thanks to the hordes of predatory private sector operators with their unbridled, institutionalised exploitation of the Nigerian consumer.

From the relatively less-organised informal market, where transactions are governed by the rule of the thumb in the absence of standard weight and measures, to the so-called world-class service providers, the story of the crass exploitation of the Nigerian consumer is not just familiar; there is a common denominator in non-delivery of value for the kobo

‘What obtains in the country today is a regulatory vacuum that is at once being exploited by different classes of service providers to the detriment of the ordinary consumer.

Unfortunately, the Federal Government was until recently, part of the racket.

It is about time it addressed the issue once and for all’

spent. The tragedy is that it has since been accepted as the way we live – the norm, so to speak.

As it appears, no sector of the economy is spared. In the telecommunications industry, subscribers are billed not just for dropped calls but also for calls that were never made; this is aside the countless unsolicited value-added services that get charged into their accounts. In the electricity sector, Nigerians are as familiar with the nightmare aptly described as ‘crazy bills’ as they are of the contentious issue of ‘fixed’ charge routinely slapped on them for being hooked on the grid whether or not services are provided.

This is no less applicable in the home entertainment sector where the major players are known to bill their subscribers during long, unbroken downtime periods, even when service disruptions are at the instance of the service provider.

Clearly, there is a sense in which some of the obnoxious business practices can be attributed to the absence of real competition given the relatively few number of service providers. A good example is the home entertainment industry where only one dominant player calls the shot.

Here, the tariffs are not just among the highest in the world, it is arguably one of the most uncompetitive in terms of what is put on offer when compared with what obtains in other climes.

In the telecommunications industry where we have a semblance of competition, theirs has been one of failure to expand capacity in the face of ever-growing

demand. As for the electricity sector, what we have is a club of disparate players segmented along geographical boundaries, with no signs of improvement in quality of service on the horizon. The missing elements in all the cases are competition, self-regulation and commitment to global best practices.

We aver that effective regulation can make a whole of difference. We understand that even in the best of competitive environment, the activities of service providers would still need to be regulated to prevent players from preying on hapless consumers. However, what obtains in the country today is a regulatory vacuum that is at once being exploited by different classes of service providers to the detriment of the ordinary consumer. Unfortunately, the Federal Government was until recently, part of the racket. It is about time it addressed the issue once and for all.

To be sure, the issue isn’t so much about the existence of several regulatory bodies, which more often than not, are missing in action when it matters most. Rather, it is about giving the different bodies the teeth to be able to perform their statutory duties. It goes without saying that our regulators have a lot to learn from other jurisdictions in terms of what should be the responsibility of the service providers to the consumers. At the moment, we do not see the multiplicity of regulatory agencies as doing nearly enough to ensure that Nigerians are availed full value for their money’s worth.

Damning report •The Fed Govt should investigate Amnesty’s alleged human rights abuses by the military

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HE report by an international human rights organisation, Amnesty International (AI), indicting the Joint Military Task Force and its civilian collaborators who are fighting the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria can be adjudged a nightmare.

This is because the insurgents are made up of such horrendous murderers, that it will sound ridiculous to an average person, to ascribe any form of respect for their human rights. Yet, regardless of our common indignation against the criminal elements, the protocols of the Geneva Convention on War Criminals cover them (insurgents). So, instead of a sweeping denial of the allegations, the Nigerian military command, and indeed the Federal Government should investigate the video report and react appropriately.

We agree that the level of cruelty exhibited in the video can only be ascribed to a criminal organisation, instead of the national army of a respected member of the international community, such as Nigeria. Yet it will be playing the ostrich to pretend that the Nigerian Army, just like we have seen in other countries, is incapable of having within its ranks roguish elements, who can descend to such bestiality. Indeed, if such group exists in the Nigerian Army, it is in the country’s interest that the members are routed and brought to justice, to save the greater image of the national army. So, the way to go is to set up an independent enquiry to sift through the evidence provided by the group.

Importantly, we appreciate the difficulty faced by our military personnel, in fighting a group that lays no claim to any form of respect for the international rules of military engagement. This is a group that relishes mass murder and the greatest acts of bestiality, as its form of military chivalry; but for which the international community in their common wisdom contends should not be subjected to the same measure as they give. We subscribe to that wisdom; otherwise it will be difficult to sift conventional armies from roguish armies of international criminal gangs such as the Boko Haram.

That is the burden of doing the right thing, as against being an outlaw.

We hope the human rights group also took into cognisance the fact that the Boko Haram elements have conducted their bestiality wearing the uniforms and camouflages of the Nigerian Army. As such, we hope they thoroughly conducted their enquiries before releasing that damning report. We also appreciate that with modern technology, images can be superimposed and fictions represented as visual facts, to mislead the public.

Before coming to their conclusion that it was the Joint Task Force of the Nigerian army that was shown in the video, we hope AI took steps to eliminate these margins of error.

After discountenancing these scenarios, the Nigerian Army, as we stated earlier, must use this crisis of confidence as a test case of the fidelity of its officers and men.

Such enquiry will not derogate from the

fact that they are engaged in the patriotic responsibility of confronting perhaps the greatest threat to the corporate existence of Nigeria since the end of the civil war.

There is no gainsaying that their responsibility is onerous and very dangerous.

Despite that, they must not allow in their ranks those who share similar traits with the insurgents they have forsworn to defeat. This regrettable allegation against our military is also one more reason why their involvement in policing operations must be curtailed. Prior to the Osun State election, Nigerians were appalled as hooded armed persons wearing military uniforms, intimidating freely in the state. Such conducts raise fears about the integrity of any national army.

‘Regardless of our common indignation against the criminal elements, the protocols of the Geneva Convention on War Criminals cover them (insurgents). So, instead of a sweeping denial of the allegations, the Nigerian military command, and indeed the Federal Government should investigate the video report and react appropriately.

US must champion its ties with Africa

– America needs more skin in the game to win back leverage

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HE speed with which Africa was eclipsed by Iraq on Washington’s agenda was startling. It happened the moment Barack Obama left the first summit of African leaders convened by a US president and stepped into his limo alongside the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. African delegates who flocked to the US capital last week appeared as if they had stayed beyond last orders. It was a reminder of the need for strong champions if the spirit of engagement between Washington and African capitals is to be kept alive.

The US has been slow to respond to rapidly changing dynamics on the continent where a decade and a half of rapid economic expansion has seen the emergence of more assertive governments, a consumer class and a host of fresh suitors from the developing world in search of commercial opportunity.

The raw pioneering capitalism with which Americans built their nation has been notably absent from the US approach. Instead it is the Chinese who have taken on that role. In pursuit of resources to fuel domestic growth and markets for manufacturers, Beijing has adopted a long-term view of the continent’s potential, marrying its interests to Africa’s need for railways, roads and fast money. The Turks, Indians, Brazilians and others have followed.

By contrast, Washington has appeared complacent, stuck in an era when the consensus remedy to debtridden economies emerging from dictatorship was named after America’s capital, and the medicine of free market economics and political freedom was universally if unevenly prescribed. China’s willingness to provide billions of dollars of investment free of politicised conditions has weakened the intellectual hold of the so-called Washington Consensus. If the US is to regain influence it needs to become more actively involved.

It was in belated recognition of this that Mr Obama called the summit. In many ways it surpassed expectations, showcasing to Africans the capacity America has to mobilise capital and expertise. The $37bn pledged towards investment and development comes from a blend of sources, not all American and not all new. But as a headline figure it matched what Beijing has offered.

The summit revealed to US businesses a fresh side of Africa. Thousands of Africans flew in for the occasion. While official delegations brought little new to the occasion, there was also a range of dynamic nonstate participants eager to strengthen US-Africa ties.

Out of this jamboree, a more pro-active and holistic US approach could be born. In the past decade, US policy has become increasingly militarised, with concerns over security, and the spread of Islamic extremism, often taking precedence over democracy. Some of Washington’s strongest allies in Africa are its most autocratic. This has weakened Washington’s message on human rights and made Africans acutely sensitive to US double standards.

It is no longer enough to preach. If Washington wishes to maintain its influence over political and security developments, it needs to play a stronger role in Africa’s economic evolution. The focus Mr Obama has brought to trade and investment, and greater state backing with credits and guarantees, is a necessary step. That makes it all the more important to sustain Eximbank, if US companies are not to be put at a disadvantage.

With US businesses playing a bigger part in driving growth and creating jobs, African governments will pay more attention on other fronts. To persuade US businesses to invest more, African governments need to strengthen the rule of law. The Chinese are building physical infrastructure. The US can bring technology, business knowledge and institution-building expertise. Prospects for African prosperity will be healthier with all aboard.

–Financial Times

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

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

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THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

20

CARTOON & LETTERS

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IR: There is no way to describe the outcome of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly's unsuccessful impeachment move against Governor Tanko AlMakura than to say that it is a boost to our constitutional democracy much as it will, in the meantime, reduce such sinister ambition being nursed by other states Houses of Assembly. From all indication, the peevish lawmakers went to equity with soiled hands. And it follows naturally that they got what they bargained for. Others should draw a lesson from this.

To be sure, the lawmakers had instituted an impeachment procedure against the governor few days ago, apparently drawing inspiration from the Adamawa's imbroglio wherein Governor Murtala Murtala Nyako was kicked out of office by their Yola counterparts.

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Panel's verdict and Nasarawa Assembly Surely, the so-called gross misconduct levelled against Al-Makura was nothing but a smokescreen by the lawmakers who had set out ab initio to see the exit of the governor at all cost. The motive was as selfish as it was victimising. Like the Adamawa's case, the said offences were not committed recently; they are as old as the present House and yet they wanted the public to believe that what appeared like their sudden wake from a long slumber was done in the best

interest of the state. They merely took the advantage of the porous nature of our impeachment law to settle a political score with the governor, the same way and manner the Ebonyi state House of Assembly recently squared up with its speaker and the ongoing charade in Enugu state. All these are 2015 general election manoeuvring and nothing more!

Clearly, the lawmakers allowed their personal ego to diminish the interest of the poor majority of the

state on whose back they rode to prominence. This was eloquently evident in the manner they attempted to usurp the powers of the panel and the Chief Judge. By asking the latter to "reconstitute" the panel, the lawmakers demonstrated their poor understanding of Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution (as Amended) on which they relied to initiate the now infamous proceeding. Perhaps, they failed to realise that the Chief Judge of a state, as far as impeachment procedure is con-

Republic of Congo, which is formerly called Zaire. It was contained there, then. Now, the disease has re-appeared on the African continent with ferocity, starting from Guinea, and sweeping through Liberia, Sierra-Leone and Nigeria like whirl-wind.

Over 950 people have died of the disease since its latest outbreak occurred in Guinea. Superstition as well as myth woven around it has increased its momentum. People in some countries affected by the disease believe that it is introduced into their countries by white people to decimate their population.

More so, in some countries, the practice of washing corpses before burying them has increased the spread of the disease.

With the death of a Liberian in Lagos, Nigeria, the disease has entered the shores of Nigeria. Only one of the nurses who attended to the Liberian had died of the Ebola disease. Others tested positive to it.

Air travel which is the fastest means of transportation has made many countries susceptible and prone to experiencing the outbreak of Ebola disease in their countries. It has become a global health scourge and menace.

Sadly, health infrastructure and facilities in West African countries

are pathetic and dysfunctional. Liberia, Sierra-Leone, and Guinea that are being ravaged by the disease are poor and underdeveloped countries. They need monetary aid as well as medical assistance from the Europe and America in order to curtail the spread of the disease in their countries. In Nigeria, the health care delivery system leaves much to be desired, with doctors in the government’s employ always embarking on perennial industrial action. Here, in Nigeria, wellheeled Nigerians travel to India and South-Africa to seek cures for minor ailments. That is a testimony of the state of our hospitals.

Nigeria has the financial capacity to develop its health institutions, and transform the governmentowned hospitals to centres of medical excellence. More so, thousands of Nigerian-born medical doctors are excelling in the medical profession in the Diaspora. They rub shoulders with the white people in their medical endeavours. If our leaders are visionary and competent, they can lure back those health professionals and entrust them with the task of re-building our health sector. But, leadership is myopic and inept here. Consequently, government hospitals are criminally neglected.

The fact is that a paralytic and bumbling government begets universities where lecturers do not engage in scientist researches. Have our virologists and epidemiologists come up with learned works on the Ebola disease? No, we are always waiting for the white people to save us from danger. Now, information about the efficacy of bitter kola as a cure for Ebola disease is making the rounds in our country with a vengeance. Some people are dipping themselves in salty warm water and drinking the same in order that they will not contract the disease. We are in the twenty first century, but our country has been transported back to the medieval period.

We have a health emergency on our hands. Happily President Goodluck Jonathan has declared the outbreak of Ebola ‘a national emergency’ and approved more than $11 million to help contain it.

In the past, humanity suffered swine flu and bubonic fever diseases; yet, those diseases were contained. We can stop the deathly march of Ebola disease in its track in our country if we show the will and do the right things.

• Chiedu Uche Okoye Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State

Living in the throes of Ebola

IR: Nigerians are living in troubled times now. It is not the best of time to be a Nigerian.

Has death not been let loose from the pit of Hades, and sent to Nigeria?

Death is stalking all of us in Nigeria.

In the north-east, members of the Boko Haram have embarked on a killing spree there, turning the area into a river of blood. The South-east and South-south states are reeling under the strangle-hold of armed robbers and kidnappers. There is blood everywhere. To compound our national woes, the Ebola virus disease has crept into our midst; brought into our country by one Patrick Sawyer, a citizen of Liberia.

Sadly, the Ebola disease has started claiming lives of Nigerians. We are afraid of the disease because its lethality is swift and fast.

But, what is Ebola disease? Ebola is a hemorrhagic fever. One can contract it when one’s bodily fluids come into contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. It can be contracted by eating bats, too. It is not an air-borne disease. Relatives and care-givers of people suffering it are at a great risk of contracting it.

The symptoms of the disease are high fever, bleeding and central nervous system break-down.

In 1976, the Ebola disease first afflicted people in the Democratic

cerned, becomes functus officio the moment he constitutes the panel as required by Section 188 (5) of the same law, implying that he (the CJ) cannot interfere with panel's affairs and proceedings thereafter. The House cannot be a judge in its own case. This is the rational behind the above provision.

The insistence of the lawmakers to carry on with the impeachment of the governor, notwithstanding the dismissal of the charge against him on the issue by the panel, is a clear indication that they are fully determined to plunge the state into political unrest. The threat is misconceived, unnecessary and unfounded. The Musa Ahmed-led house needs to take another closer look (assuming they did that before) of Section 188 (8) of the 1999 Constitution (as Amended) with a particular attention to the phrase "No further proceeding shall be taken in respect of the matter" in that provision. In case they are still confused after perusing that Section they should see the case of Dapianlong v Dariye (2007) 8 NWLR (PT. 1036) 332, Per Ogbuagu JSC (as he then was) where he stated explicitly that "The impeachment or removal of a Governor is a serious business or matter and therefore, the provisions of Section 188 of the Constitution must be strictly complied with".

Similarly, the House's contention that Subsection (7) of the said Constitution was not complied with by the panel, in my own view, is hollow. The said provision does not give the lawmakers exclusive power to prescribe the procedure(s) for the panel. The fact that the provision uses the word "may" clearly suggest that either the house or the panel could set the procedure. The panel's finding cannot be defeated only on the ground that it did not wait for the non cooperative House to set a guideline for her sitting.

Equity regards substance rather than form. The House has two options in the ensuing farce; challenge the report of the panel in a court of competent jurisdiction or eat the humble pie and allow the electorates to decide the fate of the governor through the next year's election.

• Barrister Okoro Gabriel, Ebonyi.

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

COMMENTS

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21

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OR federal electoral bandits, Osun Many Nigerians, particularly proved a bridge too far on August a South-South/South East col9. umn, rabidly cheer on Jonathan, And in the spirit of routed bandits, a even as he embarks on hidemobile policeman in Ode-Omu, reportous constitutional abominaedly in the convoy of exiting Jelili tions. This is ominous. Since Adesiyan, Police Affairs minister, allegindependence, such uncritical edly shot at a crowd celebrating Goverbabble often precedes Nigeria's nor Rauf Aregbesola's victory, injuring descent into the abyss. Everyone Idowu Mufutau, according to an one must rise to save this presiOlakunle August 11 report by The Nation. dent from himself.

In combat metaphor, Osun must rank lordbeek1@gmail.com, 08054504169 (Sms only, please) Abimbola A normally reasoned reader, as Nigeria's electoral equivalent of the responding to "For Osun, for 18 June 1815 Battle of Waterloo (then in Democracy, for Nigeria" (last Holland, but now in Belgium). As the week on this page), declared all-conquering Napoleon met his doom himself convinced the Osun in Waterloo, federal election-fixers met people were eager and ready decisive defeat in Osun. dier (captured on the front page in the August 7 issue of The to trade Governor Aregbesola for Mr. Omisore. Ripples just This write-up's title is straight from World War II lore. A Nation) helped to thwart organised Labour's last endorsement responded: "Okay o, we shall see".

Bridge Too Far, a 1977 film adapted from a 1974 book of the rally for the governor, mum was it from Jonathan.

But how could rational humans trade solid emerald for brosame title by Cornelius Ryan, captured the epic collapse of the When PDP partisan and Defence minister of state, Musiliu ken Sprite bottles? And any normal Yoruba person choose audacious attempt, by the Allies, to halt World War II in 1944. Obanikoro, invaded with his soldiers, with the body language Omisore over Aregbesola -- Omisore, with his terribly flawed That air-borne operation was to capture a couple of bridges, of Mission-Crush-the-Opposition, mum was it from Jonathan. persona? chief among them Arnhem, in German-occupied Holland; and That some of the soldiers still acted professionally made the Another elderly citizen declared himself custodian of God's therefore cut off German defences. But Arnhem proved a bridge point that the problem was not soldiers per se,but unscrupujudgement about to descend andwipe out the extant political too far, leading to horrendous losses in the Allied camp. lous political masters, prompting them to muscle the vote. At order in the South West, starting with Ekiti; and ordained to Closer home, it was at the Osogbo battle of 1840 that the any rate, involving soldiers in elections is proven democratic continue in Osun. That partisan wish is hardly a crime. It is a Ibadan forces halted the Fulani jihadist push into Yorubaland. suicide. democracy after all!

Some 174 years later, Osogbo was again at the centre of the When Jelili Adesiyan, Police Affairs minister, Obankoro's Still, the old man is always driven by spite, bigotry and deep defeat of another imperialist power push. Ironically, at the tag-team partner and Omisore's close ally put on his own show hatred for particular personalities that Ripples did not bother epicentre of the August 9 Osogbo rout was a "Jihadist" -- at -- hooded DSS men, pre-election shooting into the air to create with a response. But Ripples thought: God is no spiteful tin least from poisoned and bigoted partisan view -- who led his panic, and even the election eve glorious capture of Lai Mogod, of the old man's dream, that rewards beneficence with people to stand firm against electoral capture, by any means hammed, APC spokesman and Sunday Dare,Asiwaju Bola ingratitude. That played out perfectly in Osun, negating all possible, by President Goodluck Jonathan and his Peoples Tinubu's spokesman, mum was it from Jonathan! efforts to steal the vote.

Democratic Party (PDP). It is a classic example of glorious Nor did the president find his voice after the hooded security PDP's Omisore ran an ultra-negative campaign: blackmail, history repeating itself -- but this time, not as farce! operatives' attack on former Governor Isiaka Adeleke, and threat, spite, dissembling and ill grace; not telling anyone what It is tribute to the in-your-face dissembling of the Jonathan wide-spread attacks to cripple other opposition leaders. Yet, he would do, but swearing how much of the present benefits Presidency that the president's congratulatory message to the president deceives himself he guaranteed a free, fair and he would destroy.

Governor Aregbesola tried to put a spin to electoral robbery credible vote! He can tell that to the marines!

Governor Aregbesola, on the other hand, even while mobigone awry.

Truth be told: Governor Aregbesola triumphed despite clear lising to face head on the federal vote-stealing Leviathan, After bland congratulations, came the real message: "The federal booby traps; and the not-so-veiled mandate for men in pointed to what he had done and what he would do, if reoutcome of the election has also given a lie to the false, unfair uniform, genuine or fake, to commit electoral crimes, and steal elected. Incidentally, two programmes: free train rides to Osun and uncharitable allegations that measures put in place by the the Osun governorship. during festivities and Walk for Life just dovetailed into the federal government for the Ekiti and Osun State elections were Besides, when will someone tell Nigerians hoods are now electioneering period. partisan and designed to achieve a favourable outcome for his part of the Nigeria military's accoutrement? That is the abomiAlas! No one could accuse the governor of electioneering party". Really? nable nadir Dr. Jonathan has sunk the presidency in his tempostunts, since the two programmes had started from the inceprary care! tion of his government. That was salute to belief and consistWhen Iyiola Omisore, the PDP candidate, walked his talk Prof. Attahiru Jega's INEC tried its best on election day. ency. that hooded security operatives would be unleashed on his Voting qua voting, it organised a decent poll. But it must stop Still, with his renewed mandate, the Ogbeni must learn to opponents, mum was it from Jonathan. When a hooded sol- playing dumb to rigged pre-election processes. As Ripples eschew needless controversies that hand his enemies the ammo insisted after Ekiti, you can't have a free election when a party to demonise his person, his programmes and his government. the process is unfairly harassed and detained. As it was in A renewed mandate is a call for more hard work.

‘With his renewed mandate, the to Ekiti, so was it in Osun.

Ogbeni must learn to eschew needless The PDP desperation for power is well known -- though that Ripples goes on leave no exclusive vice of the federal ruling party. Neither hidden controversies that hand his enemies isis President Jonathan's almost unconscionable longing for 2015, This column signs off today on a yearly leave. Though it the ammo to demonise his person, his despite demonstrable suspect competence. But the real danfeels like deserting the front when the battle is hottest, the ger, for the country's goodwill, is the mass falsehood, bigotry, spirit is willing but the body is tired. See you at the other programmes and his government’ hate and spite sown all round. end of September.

epublican ipples

I

N the sweetness of the resounding victory handed to their visionary, hardworking governor, Rauf Aregbesola last Saturday, it is so easy to forget that the victory did not come at a bargain price. To be sure, nothing in the outcome deviated from expectation. To anyone familiar with the real-politik in the state as against the hype, it would have taken an outright subversion – or if you like, an electoral coup – to achieve a different outcome.

Guess it seems so easy now to celebrate the process said to have delivered the outcome. The truth however is that the real credit belongs to the iron will and determination of the people. Like the Rock of Gibraltar, they stood together in their defiance of tyranny; theirs was not going to be a conquered territory.

Now, there will be enough time for the good people of Osun to relive the comic sides of the process: the spectacle of one gubernatorial wannabe on Okada clutching two cobs of corn; the farcical reductionism of the context to one of choice between real development and stomach infrastructure; the desperate but opportunistic play of the religious card by the PDP candidate, Iyiola Omisore.

Yours truly was certain that these were going to be unlikely deciders of the contest. Is yours truly right? You be the judge!

Victory at last? That is unmistakeable. The figures, as returned by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says it all. In 24 out of 30 Local Governments, it was a clear, emphatic show of superiority by the incumbent. The number of votes returned in favour of the victor and their spread comes close to rout – a shellacking!

The result of the election obviously goes beyond returning a verdict of victory for the incumbent. First, it is a major setback for the unscrupulous wayfarers pretending to the high pedestal of political leadership in the South-west. Clearly, the people have spoken of the place of reward for honest and well meaning service. They have affirmed their rejection of strange corrosive values of instant gratification which the PDP insists on foisting on them. Theirs was a clear repudiation of PDP’s divisive politics, their cynical play on the sensibilities of the people for megalomaniacal ends.

Clearly, the people have spoken of the place of reward for honest and well meaning service. They have affirmed their rejection of strange corrosive values of instant gratification which the PDP insists on foisting on them.

A bridge too far

Policy Sanya Oni sanyaoni@yahoo.co.uk 08051101841

Osun: The morning after

Above all, it was the opportunity for the people to demonstrate that no amount of brute force would suffice to cow them.

No doubt, there has been a lot of talk about the cost of victory. Those worrying about the humongous cost of electoral management have good reasons to be. Under President Goodluck Jonathan, we have seen every successive cycle of election grow in leaps and bounds. By this, I do not mean mainly of naira and kobo, in men and materiel terms, but in the sheer number of agencies suborned to the process.

Once we thought that the cost of the Edo governorship was barely passable; Anambra would turn out to be worse; and then Ekiti and now Osun – each cycle progressively mounting in their costs. But then, the per capita cost comes nowhere the cost of impunity, the abuses of the security agencies, the trampling on individual rights and freedoms. What about the trauma forced on the people only because they have the burden of an election to discharge? Do these matter, and to who?

Obviously, in President Goodluck Jonathan’s book, neither the economics nor the socio-political factors matter; the end would suffice to justify the means. Has anyone considered the economics of the deployment of 55,000 boots in an election where less than one million voted in a nation with 20,000 men fighting in the increasingly one-sided war in the North-east? Madness or desperation – a sign of insecure presidency?

Where would they get the numbers in 2015? Recruit more of the hooded enforcers as we saw in Osun? And where would that lead to if not Jonathan’s self-help republic? Isn’t that a curious route to democratic consolidation?

Now to the good in the madness. Surely, the lesson from Osun must be the fact that no force on earth would suffice to stop the march of a people determined to be free. I honestly shudder to imagine what could have happened had the outcome of the election ran against the grain of the people’s expectation. Osun should be a sobering lesson in the limit of raw power.

This one for Pa Ashadele

As a general rule, I try to refrain from joining issues with readers of this column. I understand that the burden of writing a column carries the risk of being misunderstood.

But to go as far as imputing base motives to nearly every idea published on this page is not just cheap but clearly opportunistic.

Here is what Pa Lai Ashadele wrote in response to my column titled “Power Sector: Lest we forget” published last week.

He writes: “It should not have been the caption for your article but OUT TO BLAME GOVT (sic)”.

He went on: “where is the justification for your beration (sic) of the government if there was an increase in power generation from 1500MW then to 5000MW now?

You mentioned vandalisation of the structures that would assist to increase the megawatts by hoodlums, the receding flow of water to power plants and non availability of coal, which depends on nature, but offered no solutions. Media men in the past blamed government at various times of meddling in the affairs that were preserves of the private sector and called for the privatisation of the power sector which the present government has brought to fruition and yet all it gets are unending blames by the same media in spite of their bereftness (sic) of ideas on the way out all premised on political bias. A positive attitude is all we need now for survival”.

Clearly, this is not the first time yours truly would be adjudged guilty of political bias. I offer no defence. As for my piece on the power sector, I didn’t say anything extraordinary, at least nothing that the Man on the Street has not expressed in one form or the other. My understanding of the purpose of government is that it exists to solve the problems facing the people. In this case, it has failed. What is interesting is that Pa Ashadele does not believe that the nation deserves better than what presently obtains – after pouring more than $20 billion in the last decade.

No wonder Pa Ashadele touts handing over the power entities to private sector as an achievement! Before now, I had thought that the privatisation was only a means to an end. Pa Ashadele believes it should equate abdication.

Talk of the divide between an analogue and digital generation! No offence meant please!

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

22

COMMENTS

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HESE are not the best of times for roasted bush meat sellers out there whose means of livelihood are being threatened by the Ebola Virus Disease which literally flew into the country on July 20 from Monrovia, Liberia.

The dreaded disease arrived in Lagos on that day when a Liberian/American, Patrick Sawyer already infected landed at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja and shortly after collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed to have been infected with the virus. He died a few days. Two of the medical personnel that attended to him later tested positive to the virus, one of them, the nurse later died.

And since that incident, business has gone down for bush meat sellers as their customers, out of fear of contracting Ebola whose origin has been traced to certain bush meat commonly eaten in West Africa, have been boycotting their delicacies, some opting for fish.

In these hard times, one can imagine what these sellers are going through now trying to put food on the table for their families against the odds. And with help not likely to come from any source, one can only pray that a solution to Ebola would be found quickly before it becomes an epidemic.

While our sympathies go to these unfortunate bush meat sellers, our condolence to the family of the late nurse who like other brave medical personnel dared Ebola by attending to Sawyer, even at the risk of their personal health.

The ease at which Sawyer was able to import the virus into the country without being detected even when he knew he had been infected back home in Liberia raises doubt about the ability of our Port Health authorities to detect and prevent the importation of dangerous/infectious diseases into the country. It also calls into question the kind of cooperation (if any) existing between health authorities across the West African sub region.

Quite annoying was the revelation that the Liberian authorities knew or suspected that Sawyer was carrying the virus and they could not stop him from flying into Nigeria, even when they knew he was heading to Lagos. And if they couldn’t stop him at home why not alert their Nigerian counterpart that Sawyer was heading to our

This Ebola virus disease country and he should immediately be quarantined on arrival. Now the failure or inability of the Liberian government to do what every responsible government should do to safeguard public health has thrown Nigeria into trouble over this Ebola outbreak.

If there is nothing in the ECOWAS protocol to compel governments in the sub region to prevent exportation of diseases from their country to other member states, then the Authorities of Heads of States and Governments should act fast to review the laws where necessary. The founding fathers of ECOWAS probably did not for see an Ebola outbreak or a trans-West Africa public health crisis when they agreed on the protocol in the 70s. It is about time we took a second look at the relevant provisions of the protocol, including those dealing with cross border crimes like armed robbery and terrorism, and even the 90 days residency without visa/work permit.

The ECOWAS protocol has encouraged free movement of people and goods across the sub region by citizens of ECOWAS but the downside of this unfettered freedom of movement is the freedom to move about with deadly diseases like Ebola and most tragic of all, the freedom to spread terror like Boko Haram. Something has to be done and urgently too.

But if Liberia couldn’t do what she supposed to do to prevent exportation of such diseases as Ebola to Nigeria or any other country, did that also excuse the Nigerian government from protecting her citizens from such dangers as Ebola? I mentioned Port Health earlier; in an ideal society this body should be the leading the fight against importation of all forms of diseases into

D

R. Michael IheonukaraOkpara (1920-1984) took over as Premier of Eastern Nigeria in January 1960 from Dr.Nnamdi Azikwe (1904-1996). The old Eastern Nigeria now consists of nine states namely Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu and Anambra states. For six years he was head of government of Eastern Nigeria. Dr. Okpara was the son of a labourer but rose to become a medical doctor of distinction. He practised what is termed “Pragmatic Socialism” and his hobby was building infrastructure development for Eastern Nigeria as well as encouraging agriculture. After the unfortunate civil war, he went to exile in Ireland where he practised Medicine. Before his return from exile in 1979, his close associates took up a collection to build him a house in his village at Umuegwu in Umuahia, Abia State and that was the only house and property he ever had. He died on December 17, 1984 and today a University of Agriculture is named after him in Umudike and likewise a street is named after him in Abuja. It was in the house built by his friends that he was buried in 1985.

Apart from Dr. Olusegun Kokumo Agagu (1948-2013) no other elected leader is better appreciated and admired in Ikale land particularly in Osoro Kingdom, in Ondo State, than Chief Christopher Oluwafunmi Akinfosile (1920-1996), Minister of Communication in the first Republic. He was an encyclopaedia of ideas. His hobby was in giving scholarships to students, building schools, roads, post offices and agricultural settlements in Ikale land. I was, in away, his chauffeur, assistant and friend between 1977 and 1984 when he was the National Chairman of NPP. Although I was still working in The Punch as National Assembly Editor but there comes a time in a reporters’ career when your reporting career goes beyond mere coverage of a leader you are assigned with. Several times during that period, I would give Chief Akinfosile a ride in my old Volkswagen from a flat he rented at Mende in Maryland area of Lagos, to political meetings.

On October 18, 1979 through the NPN/NPP accord, he made some notable NPP members including Paul Iyorpuu Unongo (77), Mrs. Janet Adefenwa Akinrinade, Geofrey Ademola Thomas(1925-2013) and others, Ministers under President Shehu

‘The life style of these men, is in sharp contrast to the conduct and personal fortunes of the present day generation of political class who have made the looting of the treasury their desperate hobby and passion. I believe great leaders are better remembered and admired after their demise, more for services provided, goodwill cultivated, the structures they were able to build while in power’

the country. But is this body capable of protecting Nigerians? I have my doubt. And I will tell you why.

In most parts of the world a yellow card is expected from travelers at the point of entry into their destinations. The card is supposed to confirm your status as regards immunization against some diseases. West Africa is an endemic region for Yellow Fever and other forms of malaria, hence all travelers from Nigeria and other ECOWAS member states are expected to be vaccinated against the disease before they could be allowed to enter another country. But you can get that card in Nigeria from any of our public hospitals, Health Centres, Local Government headquarters and the Port Health without being vaccinated.

So if we can give a clean bill of health to someone who is probably infected with a dangerous disease without testing his health status, how can we then prevent someone with dangerous disease from entering the country, since we are not averse to exporting such? Until we stop and arrest our crooked ways people like Sawyer will continue to bring diseases like Ebola to us.

I am sure if the man from Liberia had not collapsed on arrival, he would have entered the country freely and spread the disease to God knows how many Nigerians he would have had contact with before being struck down by the ailment. The fact that a flight was coming from an Ebola infested country should have alerted our health authorities to quarantine all passengers on board that flight for any sign of the disease. How many flights had arrived Lagos from Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and the other countries similarly affected by Ebola before the one that brought Sawyer into

The houses they built

By Eric Teniola Shagari.

Myself and his cousin, Opeyemi Oyedele alias John Bull persuaded him to make himself a minister or someone from Ondo State. He rejected our plea insisting it will be the greatest height of nepotism to do so. Yet interms of physical cash he had none.

Chief Akinfosile was a very forthright individual, highly principled and too much in love with his people. With my cousin, Chief Babu Akinbobola, I attended his funeral service held at St. John’s Anglican Church, Igbotako on Saturday November 2, 1996. It was a befitting burial organised by his children, relations and friends including Egbon George Akinfosile, Femi Omoniyi, John Bull Oyedele and his brother, Ife Oyedele, a public relation guru. The house that he built in Igbotako is in the hearts of the people of Ikaleland and they expressed their gratitude, some with tears, in their eyes, on the day he was buried. And they still remember him till today.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo (1906-1987), a man with a commanding presence and magic touch, was Premier of Western Nigeria between October 1 1954 and December 15, 1959 – about five years before he made the mistake of crossing to the centre.

Imagine the lasting achievements he made in that region within such a short period.

One of the most romantic figures in Ibadan politics was Alhaji Adegoke Oduola Akande Adelabu (1915-1958) alias penkelemesi. My friend Akogun Lekan Alabi has written so much about the man. Yet when he died in a car accident on March 23, 1958, Adelabu, “the lion of the west”, had no house.

Today in Ibadan the house he built is still in the hearts of the people that is 56 years after his death.

Since the people’s lawyer late Kanmi Ishola-Osobu himself an advocate of the oppressed introduced me to late Mallam Muhammed Aminu Kano (1920-1983) in 1975, I could count on how many clothes the late Mallam wore throughout my coverage of him till he died on April 17 1983. People hardly noticed because he wore only white with his customary red capnow the trademark of Engineer Rabiu Musa Kwankaso, Minister of Defence in 2005, and now second term governor of Kano State. In terms of money, he had none even though he was born into wealth like Dr. Yusuf Bala Usman (1945-2005), a defender of the destitute and the needy. He chose to be poor to fight for the talakawas like Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi (1869-1948) of India. He once said that “All parties are but the expression of class interests, and as the interest of the talakawa (commoners) is diametrically opposed to the interest of all sections of the master class, a party seeking the emancipation of the talakawa must naturally be hostile to the party of the

our country? Did we bother to check them?

It is not unlikely that many people carrying the virus had been flown in from these countries before the July 20 flight that brought Sawyer; where are they now?

It has often been said that we attach little value to human lives in this country as a few deaths here and there, even in their thousands no longer mean anything to us.

A responsible and responsive government would have placed restrictions on all flights coming from these Ebola infested countries the moment the outbreak of the disease was reported there. But here in Nigeria, our government and its agencies had to wait until Ebola was flown into our country before they could act; and by then it was rather late, what a shame. Ebola is here with us now. How do we fight it?

Even when the affected state called on the Federal Government to close our borders with some of our neighbours, the call was treated as a political talk coming from the opposition and it was dismissed. Now we are somehow in a crisis. May be if we had closed the borders that would have at least sent a message to our neighbours to act fast against the spread of the disease. I haven’t heard Benin Republic say anything yet, but if Ebola gets into that country or is already there and nothing is being done, then Lagos is in trouble. And if the disease becomes an epidemic in Lagos then Nigeria is in trouble. And if anything happens to Nigeria, West Africa is gone. It is as simple as that.

I agree this is no time to apportion blame as all hands must be on deck to fight the Ebola Virus Disease. Wherever the cure/ drug is Nigeria must get it, no matter the cost. We cannot afford an Ebola epidemic.

It is too grave to contemplate.

‘A responsible and responsive government would have placed restrictions on all flights coming from these Ebola infested countries the moment the outbreak of the disease was reported there.

But here in Nigeria, our government and its agencies had to wait until Ebola was flown into our country before they could act’

oppressors”.

People often forget that Mallam Aminu Kano was once Minister of Communication (1967-1969), Minister of Health (19711975), leader of Northern Element Progressive Union (NEPU), 1950-1966 and leader of People Redemption Party until his death. He is best remembered as the leader of the poor people.

After his death the only house he had, was in Kano which was converted to the Centre for Democratic Research under the Bayero University in Kano.

Nigeria’s first and only Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912-1966) who was from Jere ethnic group (a branch of the Hausa), had neither fortune nor palaces when the military killed him on January 15 1966.

He left behind 19 children, an ailing mother Hajia Inna, a posthumous daughter Zainab, a home in Tafawa Balewa in the present day Bauchi State, a farm, a small bungalow in Kaduna which was later donated to Jamatu Nasri Islam, a wrist watch, a worldwide short radio, a ceremonial scimitar given to him

by Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello and three wives including Laraba and Jummai.

His own fate was far better than that of the late leader of government business of Northern Nigeria between 1951-1954 and Premier of Northern between 1954-1966and also leader of the ruling Northern People’s Congress (NPC). Sir Ahmadu Bello (1909- 1966) who had no house in Kaduna yet he was the most powerful politician during his era. The two houses he had were at Sokoto and in his village at Rabbah. He was the grandson of Usman Dan Fodio who founded the Sokoto Empire. After he too was killed on January 15, 1966 with his most senior wife, Hajia Yangu Wan, all his belongings at the Premier’s lounge were looted. His head of the domestic staff at that time Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki (90) was in Mecca and his most senior permanent secretary, Alhaji Ali Akilu was hidden by the then Commissioner of Police for Northern Nigeria, M.D. Yusuf from being killed by the military. Only a few of his aides including the Minister of Land and Survey and a wealthy Kano businessman Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gashash, his Chief Private Secretary, Alhaji Gidado Idris (79) and Turaki Zazzau Alhaji Aliyu, were brave enough to organise his burial at Sultan of Sokoto’s residence in Kaduna. He had no bank account.

The life style of these men, is in sharp contrast to the conduct and personal fortunes of the present day generation of political class who have made the looting of the treasury their desperate hobby and passion. I believe great leaders are better remembered and admired after their demise, more for services provided, goodwill cultivated, the structures they were able to build while in power, the amenities they were able to provide, more than the billions of dollars and naira they looted in power.

And as they say in Latin “fax mentis incendum gloriae”, which means “the passion for glory is that of the torch of the mind”.

• Teniola, a former director at The Presidency lives in Lagos.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

25 presence of military men could be intimidating and should ’ The not be encouraged under any guise for conduct of election otherwise we are indirectly extending invitation to the military in our very fragile democracy ’

– See page 26

E-mail:- law@thenationonlineng.net

A new dimension has been added to the conduct of elections. Last week, armed personnel wearing masks were deployed in Osun State for the governorship election. They were carrying sophisticated rifles but their gears were not really the army’s. Who were these snipers? The development is coming against the backdrop of anti-militarisation of election compaign by Nigerians. This and the various challenges in the country have further raised anxiety about the 2015 elections, writes ADEBISI ONANUGA.

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The Issue

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SIDE from the Boko Haram insurgency in the North, there is another sign that terrorism in gradually goring in Nigeria.

A week to the June 21, 2014 governorship elections in Ekiti State, armed personnel were drafted to the state to carry out surveillance before the election was held.The armed personnel were equipped with helicopters, armoured personnel carriers, patrol vans, sniffer dogs and other gadgets. The then InspectorGeneral of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, charged them “to respect the citizens’ rights, the rule of law and other rules guiding the conduct of the election”, adding that the Police Code of Conduct must be their guide in the discharge of their duties.

But no sooner did they get to Ekiti that they threw caution to the wind and started assaulting people without any justification. The armed soldiers committed a lot of human right abuses, maiming innocent people, including illegal arrest of those whose names were believed to have been penciled down for arrest, just as they usurped police duties of maintaining law and order before and after the election. Even the Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, was not spared as they shot at his convoy. Heavily-armed policemen and military personnel were visible in almost every entry and exit point of the state ahead of the election.

Expectedly, the action of the security agents received wide spread condemnation. A number of residents outside the capital were disallowed from coming back to town on the eve of the election, thus, disenfranchising them. Some non indigenes and others suspected to be All Progressives Congress (APC) members were harassed and expelled from the state by the “army”, some who are chieftains of the PDP, including two serving ministers, were allowed to “monitor” the election.

Similar acts were repeated in Osun State about two weeks to the August 9, 2014 governorship election. This time, the operatives in army camouflages who were hooded and wore brown boots were seen brandishing weapons. In spite of the fact that they wore military camouflages, the masks and the non-conventional boots (brown colour) they wore made it difficult for people to accept them as real soldiers. This was so because the governorship candidate of one of the parties in

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This, in effect, means that before the armed forces may be involved in the maintenance of law and order there must have been insurrection or civil disturbances which cannot be contained by the Police

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•A Nigeria soldier at work? One of the men in Nigerian Army uniform who stopped a rally for Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola in Osogbo before the election.

Killer squad on the loose? last Saturday’s election, was going round the town with masked security men intimidating those perceived to be in opposition.

Reports from Osun State stated that the armed personnel mid-last week took over the venue of a rally organised by workers to show support for the re-election of Governor Rauf Aregbesola. According to reports, stern and gun-wielding security operatives stormed the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, venue of the rally, as early as 7am and disrupted activities and occupied the place. The securitymen gave no reason for the unlawful occupation of the venue.

Kunle Oyatomi, Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy for the APC in Osun, said more worrisome was the concealment of the identities of the supposed security agents some of whom threatened to shoot those who had arrived early for the programme. And like they did in Ekiti, there were a lot of human rights abuses since they arrived Osogbo. It is these developments that observers of the polity described as “official terrorism”.

In what pundits described as a declaration of war on the citizens of Osun State, about 73,000 armed security personnel from the Nigerian Armed Forces, Nigeria Police Force, State Security Service, Federal Road Safety Commission, Nigerian Prisons Service, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Nigerian Security and Defence Corps were allegedly deployed in Osun State for last Saturday’s election. More disturbing was the masked men, who shot sporadically into the air to intimidate people.

Media reports also said on the eve of the

election, many who did not commit any offence were arrested by the armed personnel who played their well thought-out script for the election.

National Publicity Secretary of APC Alhaji Lai Mohammed was arrested in Osogbo a few hours to the commencement of the election.

He was said to be one of the many leaders of the party and supporters targeted by the security agents. About 30 students said to be staunch supporters of the APC were said to have been picked up in Ilesa before the election. Also arrested was a member of the state House of Assembly representing Ilesa West, Hon. Fafowora Fafiyebi. In another incident, suspected PDP thugs abducted the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Adedoyin and the Osogbo Local Government Area chairman. They were released after the election.

Another of such illegal arrests took place at Oke Ila in Ifedayo Local Government Area, where an 80-year-old lawyer, Chief Dapo

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The Police Act nor the Electoral Act has authorised the wearing of masks by security personnel during elections in Nigeria

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Fakayode and 50 others were taken to an unknown destination. Femi Falana (SAN) said they were eventually traced to the compound of a retired army captain in a neighbouring town where they were held incommunicado throughout the election.

“Through my appeal to the Police Authorities, Chief Fakayode was released unconditionally after he had spent over 10 hours in illegal custody.

But the 50 others were held illegally and prevented from exercising their democratic right to vote for the candidates of their choice. They were only released after the election had been concluded! Several other persons were arrested last night by the snipers. In fact, some of the detainees were brutalised by the state sponsored terrorists. In some polling units party agents were beaten up and chased away by thugs with the connivance of the security personnel,” he added.

Former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo last December, in an open letter, alleged that President Goodluck Jonathan was equipping a killer squad ahead of the 2015 elections. He alleged that no fewer than 1,000 people have been placed on “political watch list” in a bid to achieve his ambition. He further accused the President of secretly training snipers and other armed personnel at the same place that the late Head-of-State, General Sani Abacha, “trained his own killers”.

•Continued on page 26

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

26

LAW COVER CONT’D

Killer squad on the loose?

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Allow the police whose responsibility is to provide security and prevent breakdown of law and order to perform their constitutional role as oppose to usurpation of their duties by the military”

•Continued from page 25

In an 18-page letter to the President, dated December 2 and titled: A letter of appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan: Before it is too late, Obasanjo accused Jonathan of taking actions that are against the country’s best interests.

“Nigeria is bleeding and the haemorrhage must be stopped,” Obasanjo wrote in the letter, adding that Jonathan has failed to deliver on his promises to stem corruption, and strengthen national unity and security. Jonathan, according to him, is determined to win the 2015 presidential election at all costs.

“Allegation of keeping over 1000 people on political watch list rather than criminal or security watch list and training snipers and other armed personnel secretly and clandestinely acquiring weapons to match for political purposes like Abacha and training them where Abacha trained his own killers, if it is true, it cannot augur well for the initiator, the government and the people of Nigeria,” he further stated.

Pundits reasoned that if Nigerians failed to take heed, then developments in Ekiti and Osun states may actually be a pointer to the fact that a killer squad may actually be on the loose.

This position is further reinforced by the statements creditted to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, who said last week in Lagos that the deployment of armed security during an election does not discourage people from participating in electoral process but, instead, helps to drive people’s confidence to participate in the process.

Citing Ekiti State election, Jega said despite the presence of heavy security during the election, it recorded an unprecedented voter turnout of 49 per cent, which is the highest in the electoral history of Nigeria.

He said: “I want to state that the use of military is not necessarily a disincentive for participation in an election. In fact, Ekiti election that we had and people were complaining of the highest level of military mobilization, had 49 per cent voter turn-out, which is the highest in all the elections we have ever had in this country. This means that the presence of security gave people the courage to come out and vote.”

Observers who watched developments in the two states are suspicious that there may be a sinister motive behind the deployment of masked armed men for elections other than for ensuring peace as claimed by the authority. Many of them feared what might likely happen in 2015 given the abuses perpetrated by the masked armed personnel s before and during the elections in Ekiti and Osun states. Aside from the fact that they considered the deployment of armed personnel as a breach of the constitution, pundits are quick to ask if wearing of mask by “military men” is a new phenomenon in the country.

Reactions Falana, however, see the development from another perspective. He said under this constitutional dispensation the President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces lacked the power to involve soldiers in maintaining law and order during elections. According to him, the deployment of the armed forces for the maintenance of law and order during elections cannot be legally justified in view of section 215(3) of the Constitution which vested the Police with the exclusive power to maintain and secure public safety and public order in the country.

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•Otayemi

•Falana (SAN)

•Farounbi

•Omoyinmi

However, the President is empowered by virtue of Section 217(2) of the Constitution to deploy the armed forces for the “suppression of insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore law order”.

This, in effect, means that before the armed forces may be involved in the maintenance of law and order there must have been insurrection or civil disturbances which cannot be contained by the Police.

The Constitution, he said, never envisaged that the armed forces will usurp the powers of the Police with respect to the “preservation of law and order” in any part of the country. I wish to submit that under the current constitutional dispensation the President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces lacks the power to involve soldiers in maintaining law and order during elections. Even in the Northeast region, a state of emergency had to be declared by

the President to justify the deployment of members of the armed forces as part of the extraordinary measures he was required to take to restore law and order pursuant to section 305 of the Constitution. Even then, the President had to seek and obtain the approval of the National Assembly for the said deployment for a specific period of time.

Contrary to the positions of the Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Suleiman Abah, the erudite lawyer argued that neither the Police Act nor the Electoral Act has authorised the wearing of masks by security personnel during elections in Nigeria.

He drew the attention of the Federal Government to Section 280 of the Nigeria Police Force Regulations which provides that “Orders of dress and dress regulations, shall be promulgated by the Inspector-General of Police in Force Orders.”

“The Inspector General of Police has neither promulgated that police personnel involved in election duties should wear masks nor published any such dress order in the Police Force Orders. To that extent, it is illegal on the part of the police or other security personnel not to wear name tags for proper identification during election duties,” he stated.

He also observed that in the governorship election in Ekiti State, there was no deployment of security personnel wearing masks.

He, therefore, wondered what has warranted the desperate deployment of masked men to police the Osun State governorship election.

Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association

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It is illegal on the part of the police or other security personnel not to wear name tags for proper identification during election duties

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(NBA), Ikeja branch, Yinka Farounbi said it is illegal and grossly unconstitutional to deploy the army to monitor elections in any part of the country as that assignment purely belongs to the police, and “we were not told the police could not cope.”

“To worsen the violation, no approval of the National Assembly was sought and obtained before the redeployment. Could it be that we are being governed by illiterates who see the fundamental law of this country , the constitution, as mere book meant to dress the shelf rather than for governance.

“As if the illegal deployment of our army to Osun was not enough, some “militants” were seen parading the street to equally monitor the election. I called them militants because their faces were masked. So, why send masked men to Osun?” Farounbi said.

A member of the Ogun State Judicial Council, Abayomi Omoyinmi, said the deployment of masked personnels to both Ekiti and Osun states during elections is against all civil norms and contrary to civil process of electioneering. “I think it is the police that should provide the necessary security.

Otunba Olusegun Otayemi, recalled that the masked men first manifested behind Senator Iyiola Omisore, the Osun State gubernatorial candidate of the PDP as he moved around during the campaign.

“I was shocked when a retinue of so called DSS operatives moved into Osun dressed in black, wielding sophisticated guns and wearing hoods like armed robbers or kidnappers. The act of terrorism is unprecedented,” Otayemi noted.

Way forward Farounbi said the implication of what the government did in the two states “is that if the army did it in Ekiti and militants in Osun, then gorillas will do it in 2015 throughout Nigeria, particularly for the presidential elections. In fact, the results of 2015 are with us already”, he stated adding any aberration on our laws should not be encouraged in order not to truncate the nations’s nascent democracy.

Omoyinmi said the presence of military men could be intimidating and should not be encouraged under any guise for conduct of election “otherwise we are indirectly extending invitation to the military in our very fragile democracy. The only way to prevent manifestation of such deployment of military for 2015 election is for the government to provide a conducive environment towards preparation for the election. Allow the police whose responsibility is to provide security and prevent breakdown of law and order to perform their constitutional role as oppose to usurpation of their duties by the military”, Omoyinmi stated.

Otunba Otayemi said: “If Jonathan can go this far to get Osun, then opposition parties, civil society groups and everyday voter in Nigeria must brace up for the worst in 2015. We must all rise up to resist this despot! With the level of desperation displayed in Osun, I won’t put anything past him (Jonathan) in 2015.

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

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LAW PERSONALITY

Implementation of laws will stem piracy Justices of the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal and judges from the Federal High Courts converged last week on Lagos for the Mainframe Seminar. Hassan Bello, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, says the learned men called for the implementation of the municipal laws to stem piracy on our waters. Legal Editor JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU met him.

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HAT is your assessment of the just concluded Maritime Seminar for judges?

The 13th edition of the Maritime Seminar for Judges has been adjudged yet another success, what is frightening is that every time we have this seminar, the bar keeps on rising , what was unique about the 13th edition of the seminar was that it was organised by a couple of young men in Nigerian Shippers Council who were my successors in the Legal Department and you could see the difference they brought in, the innovation and this time we had the highest participation of judges.

What do you mean by this?

Yes, we had the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, the Minister of Transport, President Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, so all the heads of our superior courts of record were there. We had six Supreme Court Justices, 31 Judges of the Court of Appeal, and 30 Judges of the Federal High Court, but more instructive is that we about 80 Judges from the States High Courts. We also had about 54 members of the public, mostly lawyers who paid a token fee to participate in the Seminar. We also had a representation from the Judiciary of Ghana, the Union of African Shippers with headquarters in Cameroun and also Niger Shippers Council. So it was attended by both Judges and lawyers all over the Country. The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Marine transport, Senator Zainab Kure was also there and we had representation from a cross-section of the maritime industry.

What issues were canvassed and how do you think they will move the maritime sector forward?

The issues that were discussed at the seminar were quite relevant and germane for the growth of Nigerian economy. The issues were of significant, we talked about piracy which is a burning issue, and called for the implementation of municipal laws to govern piracy because there is a lacuna there, we talked about the liability of terminal operators, insurance of oil and gas carriage and the Admiralty Jurisdiction Act (AJA).

More significantly, we also looked at the introduction to maritime law and admiralty Jurisdiction for the new judges who were there in the over all, I think that we had a very successful seminar by all dimensions.

The Federal Government has appointed the Shippers Council as economic regulator in the maritime sector. How far have you gone with this assignment and what are the challenges of this responsibility?

The appointment is a confirmation of the fact that Shippers’ Council has always had some regulatory powers. The Federal Government has shown so much concern about activities at the ports, it has realised the importance of the ports to the economy of this country. So, it has made concerted efforts to make sure that our ports are efficient, they are competitive and that our ports should be positioned so that the contributions of the maritime sector to the national economy will be substantial. According to the concession agreement, there ought to be an economic regulator right from the onset, but coming right now, it is not too late but you will agree with me that we have a peculiar task because the game had already started when we were introduced. But all the same, because of our pedigree and experience at the NSC, we have been able to brace to address the situation.

How are you going about this responsibility?

The first thing that we did was to have wide consultation with all the stakeholders and this consultation has yielded a lot of positive results. Because we have been welcome warmly, are now an arbiter, we are the referee, we neutral and we are transparent. But most of all we are scientific, all we want to do is to sanitise the ports to make sure that our ports are friendly and efficient.To make sure that our ports are competitive and to ensure that Nigeria becomes the hub of the trade in the region. Since that time, we have been on it and we have met with all the segments of the ports system and even

beyond. We are talking with the truckers, the freight forwarders, the terminal operators, we are talking with the shipping companies, the Nigerian Ports authority (NPA), we are talking with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Authority (NIMASA), the Nigerian Customs Service, Immigration and so on. We have gone to them and explained our role in the system and now we are consolidating.

How are you consolidating?

Yes, we have started actual negotiation with the Shipping, what we want to remove now is arbitrariness, a situation where people or some section fix prices any how without reference to the Nigerian Shippers Council be you NPA, terminal operator of a freight forwarder it must now be understood that there is an economic regulator. We are on the right path, it is not a quick fix and I also know how impatient Nigerians are, they should give us time to firm up our activities before the results will manifest.

Already, we have abrogated certain charges and this will go a long way in consolidating our position but our own is not just to abrogate charges, our own is make sure that each participant or player in the port industry does its work properly, efficiently, with high level of transparency within the ambit of the law in the overall interest of Nigerian economy.

What are the major problems of the ports?

What is really lacking is co-ordination; there are so many interests at the ports; so many players, so you will need to have co-ordinator, you need to have a supervisor, you need to have a referee, you need to have somebody who will introduce balance and symmetry, because these things must be done in unison and in a perfect order. What we have now is a les affair, brigandage or chaos at the ports and that we are not going to accept.

What level of support have you enjoyed from the government and operators in the port system in pursuance of these objectives?

We have had tremendous support from the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE); they have given us tremendous support, we also have had support from Nigerian Customs Service, the Immigration, players like the shipping companies and terminal operators, the freight forwarders. So, we are going scientifically, we going systematically, openly and transparently to do these things.

A corollary to good port system is a good and efficient transport system. Apapa road has become a night mare of a sort in recent times, how does this affect your regulatory role in the ports?

What steps have you taken to make sure good are seamlessly moved to and fro the Nigerian ports.?

The Federal Government is so concerned about what is happening in Apapa that they have taken practical steps to find a solution to it.

The Special Assistant to the President on Valuation and Monitoring of project, Prof. Monye Sylvester together with the Special Assistant to the President on Maritime affairs, Olugbenga Leke Oyewole, Shippers Council, NPA, other stakeholders had a meeting recently , this role has been given to us to co-ordinate because what is happening in Apapa first, I think the Port met the city and you will have some problems with that. Some part of the road also is motor able, there is no call system or any system at all put in place to make sure that these trailers are there only when they are needed. So what you have is chaos and chaos will not bring sanity at all, it makes the port environment unwholesome, so we cannot have that so Shippers Council has been given the same role of coordinating this and we

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are now talking to the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), we are talking with a task force that has been set up, we are talking to Lagos State Government and some agencies. It is the whole system of traffic management that has to be overhauled. We all the trucks, most of them unserviceable trucks coming to carry goods, there are so many accidents on the way, the containers are not latched to the body of the trailers; these are some of the infringements. The containers fall on the roads and block everywhere, this cannot continue to happen. There must be a well regulated system and the Shippers Council is talking with the Federal Government about this.

How do you intend to do this?

We want to make sure that even the truckers must have a system. For example, you cannot, register unless you have so and so number of trucks, you must have an office, you must have a tracking system and some other facilities.

What we have is one man with his motor boy, it is the motor boys between 17 and 18 that drive those trucks. The owner is somewhere sleeping and waiting for his motor boys to bring money to him, that kind of things can never happen again. So, we want to reorganise the truckers for their advantages and for their own benefits.

We have to inspect the vehicles together with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) and so on, there must be some conditions and criteria for them to operate, so Shippers Council is bringing the whole system together with the NPA and other stakeholders. Secondly, in respect of our traffic management and our truck management system, we ought to have a tracking base, we need to have an effective marshalling yard so that these trailers are well parked when they are not needed, up to the gate of the NPA, there ought to be some electronic platform, a call system so that trucks are called in only when they are needed it not like what obtains now where you see a lot of vehicles and people moving up and down doing nothing actually, we are advocating that there must be a system in place.

People have advocated for the relocation of the tank farms as a solution to the problem, what is your reaction to this?

The tank farms are also causing some obstruction at the ports; no doubt, we must also find

‘

We talked about piracy which is a burning issue, and called for the implementation of municipal laws to govern piracy because there is a lacuna there

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the best way to manage the tank farms. It is not just like saying remove the tank farms or don’t remove them no, we are studying the system to see how best we can handle the situation. Apapa ports are city ports and access to the ports are mainly by roads. A port should have other modes of transport; they should have a well defined expansive rail system; they should have linkage with inland water ways so that goods are effectively evacuated but here, we have roads and these roads are not exclusive to the ports, they also lead to other places and are equally used by individuals. All of us use the port roads, so do the trucks and the tankers; so you could imagine the chaos and the attendant challenges; that will not happen in other ports that we are developing in this country.

How are you handling the new ports?

The situation actually is modern deep sea ports, they have expansive roads, railways, and other facilities that are exclusive to the ports only. Even when you come to Apapa, you will see the difference, it really needs serious coordination. We are seriously meeting over this issue of access roads and I am sure that we are going to find a solution to it.

Before your appointment as the Executive Secretary of the Council, you had advocated for the expansion of the ports through the establishment of the Dry Ports, otherwise called the Inland Container Depots ( ICD).

What is the role of the ICDs in the chaos in Apapa?

The ICDs are also long term solution to the congestion at the ports and the unwholesome activities of that we have in respect of access to Apapa because if you have an off dock facility in Ibadan for example, the trucks will stay in Ibadan, all of them have no business coming to Lagos to go and line up in Apapa. At the Dry Ports, the goods will be inspected there, duty paid. They are ports just like Apapa port or Tincan Island port, only that you don’t see water there.

This definitely reduce congestion, for trucks to come all the way from the north to Lagos to carry goods, nobody does that anywhere in this world, so we have to rely on these Dry Ports.

The Minister of Transport is on top of it and you know he set up a committee which has provided a legal solutions. These ports are ports of origin and ports of destination, which means that you can consign your goods to these ports, you can have your bill of lading reading Liverpool to Isiala Ngwa and they will be inspected there. So, you don’t need all these trucks coming to Apapa, we are on it and very soon, pa ublic declaration will be made.

The idea of 48-hour clearing of goods in the country was canvassed, how feasible is this and what is your take on it?

This is feasible and it is one of the things which •Continued on page 27

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THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

LAW & SOCIETY

Court urged to restrain EFCC in land sale dispute involving ex-Minister

C

AN the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) validly reopen a case five years after a court held it lacked the powers to investigate civil transactions devoid of criminal elements?

Can a party a completed transaction return to demand a refund having been adequately compensated?

These form part of issues a Federal High Court in Abuja has been invited to determine as it opens hearing today in a suit seeking to, among others, restrain the EFCC from reopening investigation into a civil contractual dispute involving former Information Minister, Emeka Chikelu, a firm – Bedding Holdings Limited and a businessman, Alhaji Dahiru Barau Mangal.

The applicant in the suit - a fundamental rights enforcement application - the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bedding Holdings, Sylvester Odigie is contending that EFCC’s move to reinvestigate the transaction, which was completed in 2005 and over which a court had given judgment, amounted to flouting a subsisting court order restraining it (EFCC) from dabbling into a private contractual dispute.

He contends that since there were no new developments in the case and the EFCC having failed to appeal the restraining order made against it in 2009 by Justice Ishaq Bello of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in suit: FCT/HC/M/4949 the commission could not validly reopen the case upon a b fresh petition by Alhaji Mangal and his company – D.

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

B. Mangal Nigeria Limited.

Odigie argued that it was unlawful for Alhaji Mangal and his company to prompt the EFCC to re-arrest and detain him about six years after a court had pronounced on the dispute between them, penalized the commission for its unlawful involvement in the case, and issued a perpetual restraining order against the EFCC and its agents, stopping them from further harassing or inviting him over the issue The applicant, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/534/2014, with EFCC, Alhaji Mangal and his company as respondents, is claiming N100million damages against the respondents for subjecting him to emotional, psychological and bodily trauma; social humiliation and embarrassment following the EFCC’s threat to re-arrest him.

Odigie, who was earlier arrested and detained by the EFCC for 57 days in 2006 over the same issue, wants the court to declare as illegal and a violation of his rights plans by the EFCC to re-arrest and detain him the second time over his company’s sale of its land known as plot 527 within the Cadastral Zone A7, Wuse District, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to Alhaji Mangal and his company.

He equally seeks an order of perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC and its agents from further taking steps to re-arrest and detain him in respect of the transaction or inviting him on the instigation of Alhaji Mangal and his company as such ac-

tions amount to a violation of his fundamental rights and the subsisting restraining order issued against the commission in a January 15, 2009 judgment by Bello.

The applicant stated that his company – Bedding Holdings – had in 2005 sold the plot of land to Alhaji Mangal and his company through their solicitors, Messrs Shehu Wada and Co at N125million. He added the buyers only made payment having been convinced by the outcome of the searches it conducted at the relevant government agencies including Department of Land Administration and Resettlement of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).

He added that some months after the transaction was complete and when Alhaji Mangal and his company were about to commence development, they learnt that the FCDA has reallocated the plot to then Minister of Information, Emeka Chikelu and his company, Jimec Company Limited, prompting Alhaji Mangal and his company to demand refund from Bedding Holdings.

Odigie averred that his company consequently sued the FCT Minister, FCDA, Alhaji Mangal and two companies owned by Chikelu – Jimec Company Limited and Matterson Properties Limited - in its bid to recover the land for Alhaji Mangal and his company.

He added that despite the pendency of the suit marked: FCT/HC/CV/ 1074/2006 filed by his company before the High Court of the FCT, the EFCC, upon a petition by Alhaji

•From left: Former General Secretary NBA Mr. Olumuyiwa Kinboro; Mrs. K. Ajose; former President NBA Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) and NBA Second Vice-President-elect Mr. Taiwo O.Taiwo at the NBA delegates conference in Abuja.

Mangal and his company, arrested and detained him for 57 days (from May 22 to July 12, 2006) and was arraigned before Justice Abubakar Umar of the FCT High Court on allegation of obtaining money under false pretence.

Justice Umar struck out the case on January 27, 2009 for want of diligent prosecution by the EFCC. Justice Ishaq Bello (also of the FCT High Court) upheld Odigie’s fundamental rights enforcement suit, with which he challenged his detention by the EFCC for 57 days.

The judged, in the January 15, 2009 judgment, declared EFCC’s conduct illegal, awarded N3million damages in the applicant’s favour, and ordered the commission to tender public apology to him and restrained the EFCC from further harassing, inviting or arresting him over the land sale issue.

Justice Bello, in the judgment, a copy of which is included in the bundle of documents filed in the fresh fundamental rights enforcement suit, deprecated the conduct of the EFCC and held that “it is regrettable to observe that it is now fashionable to dress civil cause with criminal regalia in order to satisfy the yarning of some powerful beings.

“It is outrageous and indeed, a demonstration of abuse of power. The powers of the EFCC operative are circumscribed by law and do not in my view possess the power to enforce private contract between the applicant’s company and Alhaji Mangal. The EFCC is a creation of law and must be seen to operate within and under the laws. It is not a matter of choice.”

The applicant stated that while he was in custody, the FCT Minister, upon the intervention of the Information Minister (Chikelu), reallocated another land at plot 1405 Zambezi Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi, Zone A05, Maitama to Alhaji Mangal and his company as compensation for the plot his (Odigie’s) company sold to them and which was wrongly revoked.

He averred that Chikelu, who claimed to have expended about N300 million in the development of the Wuse 2l and, approached him last year and appealed to him to withdraw the suit filed by his (Odigie’s) company challenging the purported revocation of its right over the Wuse 2 land.

Odigie stated that on realising that Alhaji Mangal and his company had been compensated with “a bigger” land, Bedding Holdings acceded to Chikelu’s request and withdrew its case in April this year after Chikelu paid it (his company) N150m to cover the cost of the suit, lawyers’ fees among others in line with the agreement signed by parties signed an agreement as condi-

tion for to discontinue the suit.

The applicant said he was however taken aback when, in June this year, he got a letter from the EFCC, written by Head, Economic Governance, Olufunke Adetayo-Ogunbode, directing him to report to Usman Imam for questioning on the same 2005 land transaction between his company and Alhaji Mangal and his company.

He stated that the fresh invitation

by EFCC is based on a fresh petition

by Alhaji Magal’s lawyers, who are again seeking the refund of the N125m he paid for the 2005 transaction even when Alhaji Mangal and his company have fully developed the new plot with which they were compensated for the wrongly revoked Wuse 2 land.

The applicant, who has also filed a fresh suit to among others, compel Alhaji Mangal and his company to accept the N125 million, which Bedding Holdings was willing to refund on the condition that they (Alhaji Mangal and his company) give up ownership of the plot on Zambezi Crescent, Maitama, which was reallocated to them as compensation for the Wuse 2 plot, which was wrongly revoked.

Alhaji Mangal, in the fresh petition by his solicitors and, on which basis the EFCC seeks to reinvestigate the transaction, is seeking the refund of what he paid for the Wuse 2 plot on the ground that, Bedding Holdings having allegedly been paid Chikelu’s companies - Jimec Company Limited and Matterson Properties Limited to withdraw its suit, he (Mangal) was entitled to a refund.

In a letter written by his lawyers dated May 26, this year, Alhaji Mangal said he was aware that Odigie and his company had been paid by Chikelu’s companies to discontinue the suit against the purported revocation of the their right over the Wuse 2 land and requested that the N125 million he paid in 2005 be refunded.

In their response to the suit by Bedding Holdings, Chikelu’s companies, sued as fourth and fifth defendants, denied any wrong doing. They argued that the plaintiff lacked the locus standi and urged the court to dismiss the suit.

They claimed to have been duly allocated the land and argued that, even if the plaintiff had any interest in the Wuse 2 land, it could no longer sustain the suit because the party to which it sold the land (Alhaji Mangal) had been duly compensated with the land on Zambezi Crescent, Maitama.

Respondents in the suit were yet to file their response as at last Friday.

When the case came up last Thursday, Justice Adeniyi Ademola ordered the applicant to serve the motion on notice on the respondents and fixed hearing for today.

Implementation of laws will stem piracy •Continued from page 27 we are pursuing. We had a discourse where all the stakeholders came around and we were discussing the 48hour clearance; we are building a lot of bridges to make sure that Nigerians are able to clear their goods within the shortest possible time without stress. This will definitely promote trade and enhance economic growth.

We cannot have the primitive way of clearing goods any more, it cannot happen and that is why we said that freight forwarders will have to be re educated, they should be able to stay in their offices and clear their goods without coming to the ports. We don’t need a multitude or an army of freight forwarders loitering around the ports, no, it is not going to happen, it will soon to an end.

How are you going to achieve this?

The shipping companies must provide platforms, the terminal operators must provide electronic platforms just like the custom is doing, leading the way and the Shippers Council will coordinate. We will have a high command where we will co -ordinate in-

formation, where we will co-ordinate trade facilitation, with this arrangement, you will clear your goods within 48 hours. It is the human content that has made our ports nauseating, it is the human content that has made our ports corrupt. The Shippers Council will not allow that to continue, so we are working on several fronts, the work is enormous. I want Nigerians to trust the Federal Government, to trust the Shippers Council and to trust all the other agencies working at the ports because we are all working for the same purpose but what is lacking is co-ordination and the Shippers Council is providing that now.

It was reported that you met with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Is the bank part of the agencies working at the ports. What is their own role in the scheme of things?

The CBN, in fact, all banks are critical to port operations. Since 2008, the Nigerian Shippers Council has been confirming the reasonableness of trade freight rates as a precondition for the purchase of foreign exchange from the CBN by commercial banks on behalf of shippers for the payment of freight

rates or Charter party fees. This is done to stem capital flight from the country and to ensure that these freight rates are reasonable, because some people inflate this freight rates and the Nigerian Shippers Council is statutorily enabled to make sure that these freight rates are reasonable, they are obtainable in the market, what we have is the use of freight rates as capital flight. Shipping companies operating in Nigeria are supposed to have disbursement account through which their principals abroad will finance them for any payment that is not done in local currency.

All local port charges are supposed to be paid in Naira, not in U.S. Dollas, many deposit banks were not aware of the illegality of sourcing foreign currencies locally for the payment of freight related charges. The payment of such fees with Nigeria’s foreign exchange amounts to capital flight that affect the nations balance of payment negatively. So, we have collaborated the CBN and our position is that we have statutory powers re-

garding monitoring and stabilising of freight rates in Nigeria which by extension gives us the power to know how much a shipper has paid to the shipping companies for the purpose of negotiation of freight rates or charter party fees.

What was the purpose of this?

The purpose of this was to stem capital flight and also to make sure that these freight rates are reasonable because some people inflate rates and Nigerian Shippers Council is statutorily enabled to make sure that these rates are reasonable, they are obtainable in the market. What we have is the use of freight rates as capital flight, all shipping companies operating in Nigeria are supposed to have disbursement account through which their principals abroad will finance them for any payment that is not paid in local currency. All local port charges are supposed to be paid in Naira not in US Dollars, money deposit banks were not aware of the illegality of forcing foreign currency locally for the payment of freight re-

•B e l l o

lated charges, the payment of such charges with Nigeria’s foreign exchange amounted capital flight that affect the nation’s balance of payment negatively.

So, we have collaborated with the Central Bank and our position is that we have statutory powers regarding monitoring and stabilising freight rates in Nigeria, this by extension gives us the power to know how much a shipper pays as freight to shipping companies for the purpose of negotiation of freight rates.

Newspaper of the Year

AN 8-PAGE PULLOUT ON NORTHERN STATES

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

PAGE 29

‘We produce quality graduates’

•PAGE 30

NNN: Travails of the northern voice •PAGE 31

•One of the buildings in Yankari Games Reserve

Rediscovering Bauchi’s tourism potential S

ITUATED in the northeastern part of Nigeria, Bauchi State remains a tourism haven. It boasts warm and hospitable weather and over15 memorable destinations that have earned it “the Pearl of Tourism” tag.

The state’s natural endowments are raw and beautiful. It is also blessed with spectacular sights which are awe-inspiring beauty.

The state has a rich historical heritage, such as the ancient Babban Gwani local structure in Kafin Madaki and Ganjuwa local government areas; the first mining Beacon in Nigeria at Tilden Fulani, the Panshanu Stone heaps in Toro Local Government Area, the Geji Rock Paintings in Shira Local Government Area and the Shadawanka Rock Paintings and the famous Tomb of Nigeria’s first and only Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, in Bauchi metropolis.

Home to over six million people, the state hosts about 55 ethnic groups, each with its striking and colourful traditions and festivals.

Festivals, such as the Kyaro War Dance of the Warji ethnic group, the Afizare Dance (Jarawa people), the Takai Dance popular among

By Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi

Hausa-Fulani, the Ngat-Zal Bajar Dance peculiar to the people of Dass, the Lawurba Dance common with the people of Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro, make Bauchi a melting point for traditional and cultural tourism.

The most outstanding of the festivals is the Durbar which has been embraced by the people and is a major aspect of the Sallah celebrations in the state. The Durbar is a display of horsemanship by hundreds of horse men adorned in traditional attires, marching to the drumbeats. There are gun salutes and the blaring of trumpets before a crowd of eager spectators, who are ever happy to pay homage to traditional leaders.

The palaces of the six first-class traditional rulers are a blend of old and modern architecture. The state is also known for its traditional wrestling and boxing contests.

The state is noted for its art and craft which include beautiful embroidered caps and gowns, fibre craft and calabash carvings. It is also good in metal works, pottery, mat-weaving and leather works.

Most importantly, Bauchi is en-

‘The state is noted for its arts and crafts which include beautiful embroideries of caps and gowns, fiber craft and calabash carvings. It is also good in metal works, pottery, mat-weaving and leather works’ dowed with natural ecosystems in the Lame-Burra Game Reserve that hosts a variety of wildlife.

These reserves are home to rare species of birds, monkeys and other wild animals. The Lame Burra was proposed as a Game Reserve in 1978 to boost tourism.

But several years after, its treasure and natural resources are yet to be exploited.

Interestingly, what is regarded

as Africa’s biggest game reserve, the Yankari Games Reserve, is strategically located in Bauchi State.

Yankari is, undoubtedly, the most developed wildlife park in Nigeria. It has a variety of fauna and flora and attracts visitors from across the globe annually.

The Yankari Games Reserve, which has become inseparable •Continued on page 30

Ebola in the mind of residents •PAGE 33

NGO, firm renovate school •PAGE 34

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

30

THE NORTH REPORT

Rediscovering Bauchi’s tourism potential •Continued from page 29 from the famous and popular natural Wikki Warm Spring, is a large wildlife park in Alkaleri Local Government Area. It covers an area of almost 2,244 square kilometres.

Its location in the heartland of West African Savannah makes it a unique destination for tourists, holiday-makers and seekers of a few hours of fun watching wildlife in their natural habitat.

Investigations revealed that the reserve, founded in the 1950s, habours over 69 indigenous wildlife, including baboons, monkeys, warthogs, hippopotamuses, lions, elephants and leopards.

Others are buffalos, gannet, roan antelopes, bubal, hartebeest and spotted hyenas in addition to African hunting dogs, cheetahs, western kobs, gazelles, water-bucks, grimm’s duckers, oribi and duckers. It’s home to more than 350 species of indigenous birds, 26 species of fish, seven amphibians and 17 species of reptiles. It is the most popular destination for tourists in Nigeria and plays a crucial role in the development and promotion of eco-tourism.

Birth of Yankari Game Reserve The history of Yankari Game Reserve dates back to 1934, when the Northern Regional Committee recommended to the Executive Council to set up a pilot game reserve in the Bauchi Emirate. It was the idea of Alhaji Muhammadu Ngeleruma, a minister in the then Northern Nigerian Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

By 1956, the Northern Regional Government approved the plan for the creation of a ‘’Game Preservation Area and Yankari was readily identified as a region where large numbers of animals existed and could be protected. To this end,

‘The focus is to make Yankari the most sought-after tourists’ destination where people will appreciate its ospitality and ourism potential’

Sogame Preservation Area was carved out and constituted as the Bauchi Native Authority Forest Reserve.

Available records showed that it became a premiere games reserve and was opened to the public in December 1962 under the Northeastern Regional Government. It was later transferred to the Bauchi State Government. A visit to the place reveal an open country and villagelike scene. Though there has been no known human settlement in the park, there is, however, evidence of earlier human habitation in the park which includes iron smelting sites and caves.

and 17th centuries.

There are also historical monument of Shau-Shau iron smelting works located 45 kilometres into the Yankari Forest, measuring 250 square metres and used by ancient tribes as a local iron smelting factory. The iron smelting area which has over 60 standing shaft furnaces is believed to be the largest historical industrial complex of its time in the West African sub-region.

The over 139 wells, also have interconnecting shafts surrounding the settlements and the wells are said to have been used as resting places by the trans-Atlantic slave traders. The Duguri Hill within the reserve enables tourists to have a bird’s view of the park. The Kanyo Hill, east of Marshall Caves, is a beautiful picnic ground that provides good view of the wildlife forest while a big cave of 10 metres wide provides a popular camp at the Paliyaram Hill.

Tourists’ inflow to the facility Records showed that in 2000, over 20,000 tourists from about 100 countries visited the facility, making it the most popular destination in Nigeria. The place became dilapidated which resulted in low patronage.

The state government added about 300 animals of six species from Namibia to the existing ones.

They included giraffe, eland, kudu, impala and zebra which were donated by the Namibian government. They are kept in an eightsquare kilometre Sumu Wildlife Park.

As the world explores the use of eco-tourism as a vehicle for sustainable development, the state government is determined to transform its fortunes by investing about N12 billion in the facility.

Governor Isa Yuguda said recently that the focus was to make Yankari the most-sought-after tourists’ destination where people will appreciate its hospitality and tourism potential.

Since 2006, the facility has been rehabilitated and developed to meet international standard.

The reserve’s museum serves as a

•An elephant in the Yankari

conservation and educational centre, displaying hunting gears and traps used by poachers. But to fasttrack the transformation of the facility into money-spinning ecotourism centre, the government is upgrading its infrastructure which includes Wikki Warm Spring that pumps 21,000 litres of water.

Besides the above recreational facilities, there are historical human adventures at the park, especially inside the Marshall Caves. Our correspondent gathered that Mallam Ahmadu Makama, a retired Chief Park Ranger, first discovered these

caves in the shallow forest of Yankari in sandstone escarpments over 52 years ago. They are located at Borkono gorge, seven kilometres northeast of Wikki Camp.

The caves are home to 59 dwellings marked with defined rock paintings and engraved figures according to families. Each of the caves has an average of 0.5 metres diameter entrance, 2.5-metre diameter chamber and a roof height of 1.5 metres and is interconnected. Researchers believe they were refugee camps used by ancient people as shelter during the slave trade and wars between the 14th

Security in the park Despite insecurity challenges in the country, especially across the Northeast geo-political zone, Yankari Games Reserve has remained peaceful. This is because Yuguda is committed to securing the entire state, even as he is transforming the reserve into a moneyspinning eco-tourism venture through private partnership participation.

He believes that Yankari Games Reserve and Resort project, to be unveiled soon, will re-launch the state and Nigeria into the international tourist destinations scene.

We produce quality graduates, says NOUN V-C Professor Vincent Ado Tenebe is the Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). In this interview with TONY AKOWE, he speaks on the institution’s mandate and his achievements in the past four years. Excerpts:

•Prof. Tenebe

M

ANY are of the view that graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria will not be accepted for the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC). How true is this?

The National Open University of Nigeria, like any other university in Nigeria, is a federal university accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC). We have programmes approved for students to study for their degree in various disciplines up to Ph.D. The university has various schools comprising a Post-graduate School, School of Social Sciences, Education, Law and the School of Science and Technology. We have just added the

School of Agriculture and School of Health Sciences.

When you visit our website, you will see other courses like Mass Communications, Economics and English Studies, among others.

There are various courses that one can study at the Open University. For the reason that open and distance learning system of education is new in Nigeria, people assume that it is another part-time programme.

Programmes offered at the Open University are not part-time. They are offered on full time basis. One of the things we are trying to push forward is to make Nigerians realise what we are talking about.

On the issue of eligibility for NYSC, there is no reason to exclude graduates of NOUN who are within the age bracket from the NYSC programme because they have gone through the same curriculum with their counterparts in the conventional universities.

The only reason for the seeming challenge is that, when the NYSC started in 1973, the Open University system was not in place. At the moment, the NYSC is issuing exemption certificates to all our graduates. But that is not good enough. I foresee a situation where our graduates who are still within the age bracket will be allowed to participate in NYSC after going through a programme of four or five years.

As for our degrees or certificates, holders of our certificates compete

‘Our graduates who are still within the age bracket will be allowed to participate in NYSC after going through a programme of four or five years…As for our degrees or certificates, holders of our certificates compete favourably with their counterparts from the conventional universities. Compare our graduates with their counterparts from the conventional universities and you will realise that they are among the best in the country today’ favourably with their counterparts from the conventional universities.

Compare our graduates with their counterparts from the conventional universities and you will realise that they are among the best in the country today.

We are not marketing our graduates for nothing, but we are confident that they are the best. In the next few years, the public will confirm that products of the Open University are the best. So acceptability is not a question at all.

At the moment, what is the student population of the university?

When I assumed duty in 2010, the

student population of the National Open University of Nigeria had dropped from 32,000 to 16,000. We had to go back to the drawing board and we were able to raise the student population to 53,000 within one semester.

However, by my last assessment recently, student population stands at 308,000.

We have just started semester registration and already, 65,000 students have registered. I am confident that the number of students will increase because Nigerians will always wait until they know that examination is around the corner before they start

looking for who to beg to allow them register.

We are still not happy because I set a target for myself that before I leave office next year, God willing, I want to see that the student population of the university hits 500,000. But the target set for this university is that it has 1.5 million students in its enrollment.

We are the only university in Nigeria that matriculates twice a year. We have students’ registration every semester. We are the only university that democratises education. We allow you to register this semester and next semester you might disappear only to appear in another semester and we will not question you because we have given you that liberty.

One of the major problems in the world today is cyber crime. Considering that most of your activities are carried out online, what are you doing to ensure that this does not affect your operations?

It is true that some of our activities like admission, registration and even accessing some of our materials are done online. Since we are aware that we have some technological challenges, we often use the media to reach out to our students. Sometimes, we have network challenges. We do experience that sometimes and we have to cope with it. We are not different from other organisations that have their operations on online. The banks, •Continued on page 31

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

31

THE NORTH REPORT ‘We produce quality graduates’ •Continued from page 30

•The New Nigerian Newspaper office

NNN: Travails of the northern voice ‘Wamakko was able to fulfill T

HE New Nigerian Newspaper (NNN), once one of the adored newspapers in the country as a result of its quality editorial contents, is now in a deplorable state. For the past 16 months, this paper has been off the newsstands. This has provoked fears that the newspaper may soon be liquidated.

Although the paper was privatised as the Daily Times was, its travails didn’t emanate from the privatisation exercise. The problem was its inability to pay workers their monthly salaries, thus resulting in the workers refusing to continue work without pay. In the circumstances, the company was closed down on January 22, 2013.

Before then, the workers had earlier embarked on a four-month strike in February 2012 over non-payment of six months’ salaries. The strike was called off following the intervention of Sokoto State Governor, Aliyu Magatarda Wammako who was chairman of the committee set up by the Northern State Governors’ Forum to look into the problems of the company and find ways of address them.

Chairman of the New Nigeria Newspapers Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Amos Thomas told our correspondent that

From Tony Akowe

they called off the strike because Wammako appealed to them to go back to work, even as he promised that the problems of the company was over.

“He came and addressed us, telling us that the problems of New Nigeria Newspaper were over. He gave the company N60 million to pay outstanding salaries and also promised to be giving the company N5 million monthly to keep it going. We were paid for three months, with a balance of three months. But after that, the situation relapsed. Even the promise he made was not fulfilled,” he said.

The failure of the governor to respond to the distress calls from the company apparently forced the workers to down tools again. This time, they were being owed 11 months salaries, while retirees were being owed several months entitlements.

About 19 months after, the owners, the 19 Northern State Governors have not done anything to bring the newspaper back to the newsstand. At a news conference in January, 2013 preparatory for the strike, the Joint Consultative Committee of the workers’ union in the organisation accused the man-

part of his promise by releasing N60 million for the payment of our six months’ salary; leaving a balance of four months at that time. For that gesture, the workers were grateful to him and will remain grateful to him’

agement of failing to meet its financial obligations to the workers, coupled with the unacceptable behaviour of the 19 northern ownergovernors towards the company.

In view of this, the union said: “We are left with no other alternative than to shut down the company, pending the time the owners are prepared to turn around the fortunes of the company through whichever way deemed necessary.”

•Rev. Fr. Raph Asika (left) giving Holy Communion to parishioners in their palms due to fear of Ebola at St. Paul Catholic Church, Gwagwalada

The union also expressed disappointment over the inactivity on the part of the northern state governors towards reviving the newspaper, recalling that “Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Magatakarda Wamakko, in his capacity as the chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) Committee on New Nigerian Newspapers came to the company in the wake of our strike in May 2012 and appealed to us to call off the strike, promising that the owners would not only ensure that all our arrears were paid, but would as well guarantee regular monthly payment of our salaries with effect from the period he intervened.

“We, however, suspended the strike then. Wamakko was able to fulfill part of his promise by releasing N60 million for the payment of our six months’ salary; leaving a balance of four months at that time.

“For that gesture on his part, the workers were grateful to him and will remain grateful to him. However, between that time and now, the payment of salary in arrears which he condemned and described as antilabour is still the order of the day in the company.

“This is viewed as a contradiction of the statement he made that he had come to NNN to ameliorate the workers’ pains and long-suffering.”

While the northern governors failed to address the plight of the workers, they took their cry to the pan-northern socio-political organisation, the Arewa Consultative •Continued on page 32

security, even the mass media, sometimes have network failure. As regards cyber fraud, we have not experienced that yet because we have put in place strategies to deal with it.

Nigerians believe that the present administration is not doing enough to improve the education sector. What is your view on this?

As an active participant in the educational sector in Nigeria, I can tell you that we are doing our best to ensure that we keep pace with other parts of the world. I do not agree with those who keep saying that the standard of educational in Nigeria has fallen.

Educational standard has fallen all over the world, not only in Nigeria.

The only way to ascertain whether educational standard has fallen in Nigeria or not is to bring together students or graduates from Nigeria and their counterparts from other parts of the world. Give them a test and if the Nigerian graduates perform below average, then it will be established that standard of education has really fallen.

How many graduates from Nigerian universities have gone abroad for post-graduate studies and are withdrawn because of poor performance?

But the story we hear is that they always beat their counterpart abroad because we learn through the hard way and when they go to where there is technology, it becomes so easy for them.

So, it is not right to give negative information that will portray us in bad light. There are more good things happening in this country. Our educational system is not bad, it is good.

I don’t believe that we are not doing well.

What is the way out of the present educational situation?

Somebody once asked me why we are still producing graduates when there are no jobs? The primary aim of acquiring education is not for you to get a job. Being educated is to develop your mind. It is to expose you so that you can become an individual that can find your way in life. It is to equip you; and once you are equipped, you can find your way in life.

The world over, there is no country that does not have unemployment issues. My advice is for the government to encourage open and distance learning because through it, you produce an individual that is creative, who can study on his own, an individual that is self made and an individual that requires minimal supervision. Once that person graduates, he is not going into the streets looking for an employer. He is going to become an employer himself. That is why in the Open University, one of our recent developments is to create an advancement office, through which we are going to encourage entrepreneurship.

The Open University has been able to acquire a micro-finance bank to ensure that all the students we are to enroll into Open University and are not working are thought how to utilise products offered by our bank to be self-reliant. This will be done in collaboration with our entrepreneurship centre.

Since our motto is work and learn, once an individual gets admission, we empower that individual to enable him or her to carry out business either in hair salon, photography, or whatever business. Once that individual does business for the period of five years and is paying back the loan given to him or her on schedule, by the time the individual graduates, he is not going for a N50, 000 monthly jobs, because he would have become an employer.

So, through the Open University system, government can create jobs for unemployed Nigerians.

32

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

THE NORTH REPORT

‘I have passion for my people’s welfare’

T

HOUGH from the famous Gambari royal family of Ilorin Emirate, Princess Tinuola Bilikisu Gambari derives joy in identifying with people at the grassroots who she serves with passion. She also fights for the wellbeing of the downtrodden.

What attracted her to the murky waters of Nigerian politics still remains a puzzle. Explaining why she ventured into politics, she said: “The dilemma of my people in Kwara State as regards the political structure that we’ve had since 1979 gave me the impression that democracy is all about the right of every citizen to participate in as against a particular group of people imposing themselves on the people against their will. I realised that it will pay me to be on the side of the masses that yearn for change.”

Going down memory lane, Gambari said the political terrain is not a jolly ride but that which has a lot of challenges and disappointment.

“Actually, it hasn’t been easy. The first time I ventured into politics was just to support my sister who contested for the House of Representatives in 1999. “Watching her and her campaign and every other thing, I saw a lot of things that I

‘You have to remember that today in Nigeria, all political parties preach the same thing: education for all, water for all, road, healthcare. The difference is the individuals that form the party; their drive, ideology and principles…So, 2015 is not going to be about the party but about the people in Kwara State’

By Sina Fadare

thought could be done differently.

But unfortunately, after the elections, she got a job with the United Nations and she left the country.

So, she wasn’t able to continue.

“I knew what to expect. What happened were things I did not envisage would have happened. For me, it wasn’t about winning election but more about making a statement. That we would aspire, campaign and might not win didn’t matter. What mattered was that a statement has been made. That statement you have the right to aspire and contest any election and it is your right to drive round the city, telling them about what you want to do for them. But all the resistance I received actually made me stronger.”

On her criticisms of the Saraki Dynasty she said: “As much as I criticise Saraki and his style of democracy and politics, there are still certain aspects that I notice are good. I have imbibed those good ones and also tried to put them to use. One thing that he did over the years is to gather caterers to cook for ordinary people who are hungry.

•Princess Gambari “People would get together in his house to eat. Then, when they are going, they get transport money too. Anybody coming from outside would see it as political strength and not just that they are being fed.

“That was a good one and so, I copied it. For me, it is not the feeding that matters but the joy I derive from it. By so doing, I started having more people around me and the Saraki’s Dynasty saw it as an affront and a reason to also attack.”

Twice, Gambari had contested for the Kwara Central Senatorial District elections without any success.

She still would want to take a shot at it whenever the opportunity comes, even as she alleged she was

rigged out.

“The problem is that we have not really had anybody to oppose the Saraki dominance in the past. Most of the people that had challenged him are people that passed through his ‘school’. In my own case, I have never been to Saraki for anything before. I came out on my own and joined the party that I wanted.

“Regarding my chances, I contested in 2007 and did so well that even the Saraki family had to start campaigning. They never were used to campaigning; it was just a question of ‘Oloye has endorsed this person and everybody would just be going to congratulate him.’

“I know that if they had allowed a situation of one man, one vote, they knew it was over. That was why they rigged the election.”

She explained that if there is free and fair election in her senatorial district today she is sure of victory

because she has what it takes to win.

“If we have an election as free as those of Ekiti and Osun where military men were on ground to make sure everything is done correctly; INEC is ready to do it right, the police that they usually use are not participating, then, I know I have a very good chance.

Still on her chances, Gambari pointed out that the game is still open for any contender.

“You have to remember that today in Nigeria; all political parties preach the same thing: education for all, water for all, road, health.

The difference that you get is the individuals that form the party; their drive, ideology and principles.

“So, the 2015 is not going to be about the party but about the people in Kwara State,” she said.

parties and different interest groups.

Whose interest will the newspaper protect when it comes back to the newsstand?

“Wammako who heads the committee on the revival of the company set up by the northern governors is no longer a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Kwara State Governor, who is a member of the committee, is also no longer in the PDP. The Chairman of the NSGF and Niger State Governor is a member of the PDP. “So, you can see that the interests are diverse and I think that is why nobody is saying anything about the prolonged strike by the workers,” said Musa Yakubu, a resident of Kaduna metropolis and an avid reader of the newspaper.

When our correspondent visited the premises of the company located along the busy Ahmadu Bello Way,

weeds have taken over the compound while the offices were covered with dust. Most members of staff hang around the NUJ premises located few metres away, hoping that things will soon be better.

The workers alleged that their working condition was worsened by the lackluster and unimpressive management style of the Managing Director, Malam Abdulrah-manTukur.

At a news conference preparatory to their strike in January, 2013 they said: “Since Tukur assumed office as the Managing Director in 2010, he has not been inward-looking enough to turn around the fortunes of the company by way of improving the situation he met on ground.

“For instance, rather than improving on the print run, it has continued to nosedive, thus making the company to run at a loss while a handful of management staff are feeding fat at the expense of the generality of the workers who are made to produce a few copies.

“The tenure of Abdulrahman has witnessed the suspension of two titles in the stable of the New Nigerian Newspapers, namely Weekly and Sunday New Nigerian. The suspension of the titles which is seen as the first ever since the floating of the titles resulted from the Managing Director’s management style.

“Amid the excruciating pains resulting from non-payment of salaries by his management, the Managing Director blamed the inability to pay salary on the staff strength of the company by sacking about 28 members of staff without their entitlements.

“Efforts by the company’s labour union to make the Managing Director to consider his action as being antilabour law proved abortive as he refused to rescind his decision on the so-called termination letters.

The workers also said they had made several attempts to meet the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, the Kaduna State Governor, Mukthar Ramalan Yero and other northern governors concerning the situation of the company without success, even as they said Vice-President, Mohammed Namadi Sambo had been briefed on the situation of the company.

Efforts by our correspondent to have Abdulrahaman comment on the issue were futile as he was said to be having serious health challenges.

NNN: Travails of the northern voice •Continued from page 31 Forum.

The former leader of the forum, Aliko Mohammed promised to look into the plight of the workers. But months after the promise, nothing concrete has been done aside the fact that the northern state governors are believed to be waiting for the Federal Government to pay the entitlements of those who worked in the company before it was handed over to the northern states in 2006.

However, our correspondent gathered that the Northern Governors have asked the management of the company to compute the total liabilities of the company which they are expected to pay after the Federal Government must have paid its own liabilities.

The management, it was learnt, was also told to verify some of their landed properties; value them and report back to them with a view to selling one of such properties to settle the outstanding liabilities and then revive the newspaper.

The intervention of Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo made the Federal Government to agree paying its liabilities to the workers in three different installments.

Secretary of the NNN chapel of the NUJ, Nasiru Suleiman said the Federal Government had paid part of its liabilities to the workers in two installments, adding that most of them are old staff and retirees. He also said the northern governors have directed the management of the Newspaper to evaluate some of the company’s properties with a view to selling some of them to offset their liabilities and may be revitalise the

•Another office of New Nigerian Newspaper office

company or privatise it.

One of the staff of the company told our correspondent that even though they could not confirm the information, they learnt that the management has concluded the evaluation exercise and had reported back to the government.

This has raised the hope of the workers that they would soon return to work or be paid their 25 months’ salary.

However, some of the workers seem to have lost faith in the company and are not sure the newspaper will hit the newsstand again.

Many northerners are not happy with the state of the company. They accused the northern governors of allowing the legacies left behind by the late Premier of the North, Sir Ahmadu Bello to waste. Some of them made reference to the extinction of the Bank of the North and Kaduna Textile Lim-

ited as well as the sorry state of other institutions put in place by the late Premier.

Sources close to the Northern State Governors’ Forum told our correspondent that with the current attitude of the governors, it will be difficult for the newspaper to be on the newsstand again.

“I am sure that if the Federal Government hands over the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Kaduna Polytechnic back to the northern state government, they will go comatose within a short period like they did with the New Nigerian Newspapers.

They took over the newspaper from the Federal Government and have refused to fund it.

“The fact that the North is made up of19 states makes it difficult for them to speak with one voice on this issue.

On the other hand, the northern states are controlled by different political

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

T

HE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed has carried out a major reshuffle that affected several directors in the services of the FCT Administration.

In the exercise, Mohammed approved the immediate appointment of Mr. Salihu Hawat Mohammed as the new Director of Establishment and Training.

He is a graduate of Public Administration from the Ahmadu

Page 33

Website: http://www.thenationonlineng.com

Minister reshuffles exco From Gbenga Omokhunu

Bello University, Zaria and holds Master’s degree in Political Economy from the University of Abuja.

According to a statement issued by Assistant Director/Chief Press Secretary to the minister, Muhammad Sule, Mr. Mohammed was in the employ

of the Niger State Government in 1985 before transferring his services to the FCT Administration in 1993.

Other Directors affected included Mallam Bashir Mohammed, former Director of Security who is currently the Director of the FCT Muslims’ Pilgrims’ Welfare Board. He replaces Hajiya Fatima S. Gumi.

Jibrin Ibrahim, Director of Special

Duties is now in charge of the Security Department.

Former Director, Admin and Finance (DAF) in the Primary Healthcare Development Board (PHCDB), Mrs. Habeeba Babata Sulaiman has been moved to Legal Services Secretariat as Director of Administration and Finance; while Mr. Tony Edekobi of the Legal Services Secretariat was redeployed to PHCDB as Di-

rector of Administration and Finance.

Mrs. A.I. Odey-Achu, Director of Administration and Finance, FCT Emergency Management Department has also been redeployed to Health and Human Services Secretariat as Director of Administration and Finance.

The minister has also approved the appointment of Hajiya Safiya T. Umar as Acting Director, Administration and Finance, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC).

•Health workers attend to an Ebola patient

Ebola in the mind of residents W

HEN news of the Ebola virus that was ravaging most parts of the continent broke out, Nigerians, especially residents of Abuja, regarded it as something happening in another planet which will not be experienced in the country.

This was the thinking before Patrick Sawyer; a Liberian who was infected with the virus came to Nigeria. With his coming, the city of Lagos which residents of Abuja always considered the fun town became threatened. Residents began to realise how close to home the deadly virus is getting.

Unlike some other cities in the country, Abuja is no stranger to threats, with the Boko Haram insurgents and their bombings that have continued to keep residents on the alert. Residents’ already jittery mood is now compounded by the fear of Ebola regarded by many as latest enemy.

Just as expected, residents have taken up what they considered the most precautionary measures which mostly involves avoiding everyone as much as possible.

From Grace Obike

For example, the popular designers’ market which always attracted so many ladies who go to shop for affordable clothes did not witness half of its usual crowd of customers.

Most of the shoppers that came around the last time mostly did not wear their usual short skirts; neither did they try to make body contacts with other shoppers.

When mistakenly some of the ladies realised that an unknown person had unknowingly had contact with them or came close to doing that, they will dodge and scream “Ebola”.

Even though the FCT Administration, unlike the Lagos State Government, hasn’t done much in terms of educating residents on what the virus is all about, its symptoms and what to do to avoid contracting the disease, except the campaign being carried out by the Federal Ministry of Health, residents, on their own, have taken up measures that they believe would work for them.

Before now, residents always shake hands with and hug their friends. But

‘Because of this Ebola outbreak, people now eat bitter kola. I have finished selling my own bitter kola even before the cashew nut or groundnut. For me this is good for business because people need to eat bitter kola to protect themselves…I don’t care if the Minister of Health said bitter kola cannot cure the Ebola virus…He doesn’t know anything about all the wonderful healing powers of this bitter kola’ these days, they have refrained from such acts. They politely avoid this by saying “sorry we can’t shake hands anymore because of Ebola,” among other polite ways of avoiding contacts with people.

Some employees of banks around the city now wear masks and gloves as precautionary measures, some

private establishments in the city have begun applying sanitisers on the palms of customers and visitors to avoid the possible spread of the virus, especially on their door knobs or rails.

Bitter kola which the present generation had considered meant for the old men and women is now very

much in vogue. Those who deal in bitter kola are now into lucrative business as residents willingly stock-pile it.

Jane, who sells bitter kola, kola nut, cashew nut and groundnut close to the Wuse Market, confirmed that more people are now buying bitter kola unlike before.

“Because of this Ebola outbreak, people now eat bitter kola. I have finished selling my own bitter kola even before the cashew nut or groundnut. For me this is good for business because people need to eat bitter kola to protect themselves,” she said.

Her customer, who refused identifying himself, spoke a bit harshly when reminded of the fact that bitter kola has not been scientifically proven to prevent the virus. He said: “I don’t care if the Minister of Health said that the bitter kola will not work because I believe that he doesn’t know anything about all the wonderful healing powers of this bitter kola. Prof. Maurice Iwu that said that it could work was not •Continued on page 34

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ABUJA REVIEW Traders seek tight security at Gosa Market From Gbenga Omokhunu

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•From left: Vikram Jamwal, Business Development Manager, Transcorp Hilton; Shola Adeyemo, Public Relations Manager, Transcorp Hilton and PHOTO: GBENGA OMOKHUNU Kiki Harrison, founder and President, ACE Charity Foundation Africa during the event.

A

S part of its community development initiatives, Assisting Caring and Empowering (ACE), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), in collaboration with Transcorp Hilton Hotel, has embarked on the renovation and fencing of Durumi II Community Primary School.

The founder of the group, Miss Kiki Harrison, told reporters that the aim of the exercise was to provide an environment conducive enough to teaching and learning.

She said: “We want to improve the lives of the children and we also want to give them gift that nobody can take away from them which is education.

“We want to improve the lives of the children and we also want to give them gift that nobody can take away from them which is education.”

Explaining further, Kiki said: “We cannot ignore the state of their learning environment. They have broken chairs, the ceilings are falling off and they have environment that is not conducive to teaching and learning. We have provided all the resources needed.

“We have come to the school today to set things right by renovating the school and fence the school as well.”

Also speaking, the Public Rela-

•Continued from page 33 drunk when he made that statement.

“What do you mean by scientifically proven? Did our forefathers wait for science when treating themselves with roots and herbs? They lived longer than us that are waiting for the Whiteman’s science and dying like chicken. I’m sure that it is the Whiteman that said bitter kola is not scientifically proven to be an antidote to the Ebola virus.

“They can never believe that anything good could come from Africa, unless it comes from them.

As long as I am concerned, I will continue to consume this bitter kola in large quantity until they say the Ebola virus has come under con-

NGO, firm renovate school From Gbenga Omokhunu

tions Officer, Transcorp Hilton Mr. Sola Adeyemo said it’s a gesture and commitment to improving the lives of people living in Abuja communities.

He said: “That is why we at Transcorp Hilton and, in line with our mission to be part of the community where we live and work, we decided to come out as a team to associate with this local school.

This is because we believe that the environment we live in has a lot of impart on the learning ability of students.

“When we got to this school, we found a lot of dilapidated infrastructure. The floors of the classrooms were not cemented, the ceilings were falling off, the walls were not painted and the chairs are broken. Therefore, we thought that there is no better way to do this than in partnership with this charity group and to really take our time to improve the school’s environment.

“Consider the fact that we are recementing the floors, fixing the ceilings, painting the walls, we are planting trees and flowers around the school. For us, it is not about

‘When we got to this school, we found a lot of dilapidated structures. The floors of the classrooms were not cemented, the ceilings were falling off, the walls were not painted and the chairs were broken. Therefore, we thought that there was no better way to do this than in partnership with this charity group and to really take our time to improve the school’s environment’ the money spent but the impact we are able to make on the school and the students.

“We are not going to stop here.

We are still going to other community schools.”

Responding, the Head teacher of the school Mr. Bitrus Zakoyi expressed his appreciation to the group and Transcorp for coming to the aid of the school at the very time they needed such assistance.

Zakoyi, who regretted that some of the classrooms that have capac-

ity for about 60 students and 45 students have no chairs and ceilings, said it seemed that government had forgotten the school.

“We have only nine teachers tutoring 320 pupils. In some of the classroom, we have 60 pupils, in some classes we have about 45 pupils and in the remaining classes we have 35 pupils,” he said.

He, however, appealed to the group to extend such gesture to other community schools having the same challenges.

Ebola in the mind of residents trol. This is nothing but a conspiracy.”

Even though no one has claimed to have proved its potency when it started spreading all over the country like wild fire, Nigerians, especially residents of Abuja, believed the rumour whole heartedly.

Another angle to the healing and prevention theory was that of bathing with water mixed with salt to prevent the Ebola virus.

By Friday morning, people all over the country started calling their loved ones to inform them of the salt and water bathe in order to prevent the virus.

Most residents confirmed that they

had actually bathed with the salt and water mixture, even though they knew that it was not possible to prevent the virus with such a remedy.

Usman Kunle, a resident of Nyanya confirmed that he really woke up early to bath with salt water.

His words: “My parents from the village called me very early this morning and insisted that I bath with salt water. I actually asked my neighbours and realised that everyone else was doing it, so I simply joined even though I do not believe in such superstition. Sometimes you just do some things to please people.”

A scary rumour began to make the

rounds the same day that a man had flown into Abuja from Lagos and they realised that he had Ebola and was taken to the Garki General Hospital. Some even claimed that he had already infected about 21 persons.

People became scared but eventually the FCT Health Secretariat was able to confirm that the report was false and that so far, there was no case of the virus in the FCT. As long as the virus is not air-borne and can only be contracted through physical contact or exchange of bodily fluid from a carrier, we can prevent it by being careful and constant washing of our hands.

RADERS at Gosa Market have appealed to the Federal Government and the Federal Capital Territory Administration to provide more security at the market to prevent Boko Haram insurgents from destroying it.

Some traders told our correspondent that as a result of threats of Boko Haram attacks, the market doesn’t witness huge crowd of customers as it used to.

The market, located outside the city centre along the Airport Road attracts many sellers and buyers within and outside Abuja opens on Fridays. Due to the influx of people, security operatives especially, the police are always present in order to forestall any breakdown of law and order.

The insecurity situation in the country orchestrated by the Boko Haram Islamist sect is currently hindering activities at the market. People who visit the market on Fridays do so out of fear.

A Garri seller Mrs. Abigail Simon told our correspondent that fear people carry out transactions in the market in fear, even as she urged security operatives not to rest on their oars. She said security in the market is gradually dwindling.

Mrs. Simon, who has been selling Garri at the market for over three years said: “Since I have been selling garri here, the crowd that comes to this market every Friday is unprecedented. Before the bombings in Abuja, people move freely in and out of the market without fear. But now the situation is changing.

“People are no longer coming to the market as before. Though security operatives are doing their best, people need to be re-assured that Boko Haram do not destroy the market. I do not know where to go to.

This is the place I make money for the upkeep of my family.

“I am a widow and a mother of three. I always pray every Friday when coming to Gosa Market. I know God will not allow Boko Haram’s wish to prevail.”

Another seller, John Okwe, who sells secondhand clothes told our correspondent that business was on the upbeat before the current security situation, adding that many people, especially his customers, do not come to the market again due to bomb scare in Abuja.

Okwe said: “I do not blame them.

Who wants to die? But all I am begging is for government to further secure our markets within FCT, especially Gosa Market. We the sellers are begging for more security.”

Ibrahim Umar, who always visits the market every Friday to buy things, expressed his fear that steps need to be taken to avoid crisis at Gosa Market.

His words: “I cannot do without coming to the market every Friday.

I always shop here because goods are cheaper and affordable here. I am used to coming to this market and I cannot afford to stop coming here.

Government should intensify action towards securing this place. The market is where most less-privileged people come to buy goods because things are cheaper here.”

The traditional head of Gosa community in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Mr. Wakili Istifanus also urged watertight security measures for the market.

He called on the chairman of the area council, Micah Jiba, to provide the management of Gosa Market with the necessary apparatus to enable traders to carry out their business activities without fear.

One hopes that other markets in the FCT will receive genuine security attention to avert calamity.

Many markets, malls and stores •Continued on page 36

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ABUJA REVIEW

•From left: Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu; Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro; Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Kabiru Taminu Turaki and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke during the Federal Executive Council meeting at the State House, Abuja.

•Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen (right) presenting 60th birthday card to the VicePresident Namadi Sambo at the Presidential Villa.

•Vice-President Namadi Sambo with the delegation of Edo State Elders’ during their visit to the VicePresident at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

•From left: Minister of National Planning, Alhaji Abubakar Suleiman Olarewaju , Minister of State for Works, Prince Adedadyo Adeyeye, Minister of the FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed; Minister of State for Finance, Alhaji Bashir Yuguda during the Federal Executive Council PHOTOS: AKIN OLADOKUN meeting at the State House Abuja.

•From left: Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Benjamin Dikki; Minister of Mine and Steel Development, Musa Sada and Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen during the National Council on Privatisation at the Presidential Villa Abuja.

•Director Consumer Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission, Mrs. Mariam Bayi (left); Chief Executive Officer Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Matthew Willsher; Deputy Director, Telecoms Services Ministry of Communication, Mrs. Ngozi Ofujiofor; A musician, Miss Seyi Shay; and Director Government Regulatory Affairs Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Dikko, during the inauguration of Etisalat experience centre in Abuja.

•Minister of National Planning , Abubakar Sulaiman (right) with Acting Director-General National Pension Commission (PenCom), Chinelo AnohuAmazu during a visit by the minister to the headquarters of National Pension •Members of 2014 Batch B Corps during their swearing-in at National Youth Service Corps Kubwa Abuja. Commission in Abuja PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

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ABUJA REVIEW

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HE deadly Ebola virus disease ravaging some West African countries ignited some drama at the beginning of last week’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Ebola, which currently has no cure, according to World Health Organisation, has claimed the lives of over 930 victims mainly in the West African sub-region and have infected over 1,700 persons.

While a Liberian, the late Patrick Sawyer imported the virus to Nigeria, one Nigerian nurse was confirmed dead last week and five other Nigerians have been confirmed carriers of the virus.

Most members of the Council who normally shake hands and hug while greeting each other before the meeting begins, jokingly refrained from such acts last week for fear of contacting the disease.

When the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku came into the Council Chamber, he did not shake hands with colleagues of his as he went round greeting them by holding his clinched fist towards his chest in the northerners’ way of greeting.

At each point, he maintained a safe distance from his colleagues and was saying Rankadede, Rankadede, Rankadede.

The joke took another dimension when the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu entered the Council Chamber.

As soon as some of colleagues of his saw him coming in, they left his path and refused to shake hands with him.

The Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, who was discussing with the Ministers of Labour, Emeka Wogu and Sports, Tamuno Danagogo by the entrance asked Chukwu when he approached them with his hand stretched out: “Make I shake you?”

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, who was approaching the four ministers as the joke continued with Chukwu, brought another angle to the drama., He started shouting ‘Ebola’, ‘Ebola,’ ‘Ebola’ as he ran away from the Health Minister. He refused to shake hands with the minister.

On his way to his seat after leaving the four ministers, Adoke saw the Minister of State for Health, Khaliru Al-hassan and asked him in Hausa language: ‘Ka je Lagos?’

(Meaning: ‘have you been to Lagos?).

After the Minister of State for Health responded by saying ‘no’, Adoke then shook hands with him.

It will not be surprising to see some ministers coming to FEC meeting tomorrow wearing hand gloves, nose masks, thick eyegoggles and other gadgets to prevent contracting the disease.

Ebola drama at FEC meeting Besides the jokes and drama, threat of the Ebola virus and how to contain it was the only matter that engaged the attention of the Council presided over by Vice-President, Namadi Sambo when the meeting started around 10.15 a.m. last week., Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Chukwu said: “We have a national emergency, indeed the world is at risk. Nobody is immune. The experience in Nigeria has alerted the world that it takes just one individual to travel by air to a place to begin an outbreak.”

“It is an emergency and secondly everyone is at risk. We have recorded seven confirmed cases, which were in contact with the first imported index case from Liberia. Yesterday, August 5, the first known Nigerian to die of the EVD was recorded and this was one of the nurses that attended to the Liberian. The other five cases are currently being treated at the isolation ward in Lagos.”

On some steps being taken to stop the spread of the disease in Nigeria, he said: “This morning, I sent an email to the Director of the US Centre for Disease Control. We have being in communication in the last 36 hours. We are getting reports that the experimental seems to be useful. It is also possible that we can have access for our own people who are cur-

From the Villa

By Augustine Ehikioya rently being treated under isolation.

“We are making efforts, we are relating with them and we are doing everything possible that will ensure that we contain this disease.”

President Goodluck Jonathan could not attend the FEC meeting as he was in Washington DC, United States of America, attending the United StatesAfrican Leaders Summit along with other African leaders.

Just about 25 per cent of the current number of ministers did not attend the FEC meeting.

Out of the present 43 ministers holding various portfolios in the cabinet, 27 of them attended the Sambo-led FEC meeting last week.

A statement by the Special Adviser to President Jonathan on Media and

Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, last week disclosed that four ministers will be in Washington DC with the President for the summit.

That means that 12 ministers who did not travel with the President did not attend the FEC meeting last week.

The ministers, who accompanied the President, according to the statement, were Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali, the Co-ordinating Minster of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, and the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo.

The 27 ministers who were in the Council Chamber when the FEC meeting began last week were Min-

isters of Agriculture (State), Asabe Ahmed, Aviation, Osita Chidoka, Defence, Aliyu Gusau, Education, Ibrahim Shekarau, Environment, Laurencia Mallam.

Others at the meeting were the two ministers for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Senator Bala Mohammed and Mrs. Oloye Olajumoke-Akinjide, Finance (State), Ambassador Bashir Yugudu, Foreign Affairs (State II), Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed, the two ministers for Health, Prof.

Onyebuchi Chukwu and Dr Khaliru Alhassan.

Also at the meeting were Ministers of Information, Labaran Maku, Interior, Abba Moro, Justice/Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu, Mines and Steel Development, Mohammed Sada, National Planning, Abubakar Suleiman and Niger Delta Affairs, Steven Oru. The other ministers who were also at the meeting were Power (State), Mohammed Wakil, Science and Technology, Abu Bulama, Sports, Dr. Tamuno Danagogo, Trade and Investment (State), Samuel Ortom, Transport, Idris Umar, Women Affairs, Mrs. Zainab Maina, the two Ministers of Works, Mike Onolememen and Adedayo Adeyeye and Special Duties, Taminu Turaki.

Traders seek tight security at Gosa Market •Continued from page 34 where people shop dot the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Among the major markets are Wuse, Garki; Utako and Garki markets. Others are the Dei Dei Building Material Market, Gudu Market and Maitama Fruit Market.

Of these, Wuse Market is the most famous and is located in Zone 5 of Wuse District. It is a general market where one can buy almost everything; ranging from food stuffs, fresh vegetables, meat, clothes, electronics, furniture, phones, rugs and carpets, among others.

Prices of goods in Wuse Market are relatively high compared to what obtained in other markets like Utako and Garki. The prices are cheaper when compared to prices in malls and stores. One good thing about the market is that it is organised and clean.

One sore feature of the market is traffic jam that motorists experience while driving into or out of the market, especially in the evenings.

Another market for general goods is the Garki Market located in Garki District of Abuja. It also has variety of items from food stuffs to clothes but it is not as famous as the Wuse Market. Food stuff is cheaper in Garki Market compared to what obtains in Wuse Market.

Utako Market is another general market located in Utako District of Abuja.

Garki International Market is a modern market located in Garki 2 District of Abuja.

Dei Dei Building Material Market is another market where specialised wares are sold. The main feature of this market as the name implies, is building materials. It is located in Dei Dei District at the outskirts of Abuja.

•Groom’s mother and Director-General, Consumer Protection Council, Mrs. Dupe Atoki (left); the couple, Kali and Folajimi; Ambassador of the Saharawi Arab Democratic, Republic of South Sudan, Ambassador Bachir Elouli and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Interior, Mrs. Fatima Bamidele at the wedding ceremony in Abuja.

PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

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LAW & SOCIETY

Right to life as mother of all rights Introduction

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HE book begins with an overview of the 16 chapters. It starts with the first chapter, which deals with constitutional concepts and focuses on the primary concern of constitutional law. The second chapter is focused on the legal regime of amalgamation in Nigeria, which the authors indicate as absent in earlier works.

Chapter three chronicles the journey from Nigeria’s dependence to independence; Chapter Four looks at constitutional developments in Nigeria from 1900 to 1999 beginning with the annexation of Lagos in 1861 and carefully reviews all constitutions from the Clifford Constituion of 1922 to the 1999 Constitution.

Chapter five specifically addresses the literal and liberal approaches to interpretation of the constitution. It looks at the canons of interpretation and focuses on the interpretative jurisdiction of the judiciary on account of Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution. Chapter Six looks at the Fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy. Chapter Seven deals with fundamental rights, here each of the constitutional provisions on Fundamenatl Rights were clearly set out and discussed with the aid of decided cases. Chapters Eight, Nine and 10 deal with the Judiciary, Executive and Legislature respectively.

Chapter 11 covers citizenship; Chapter 12 deals exhaustively with the principles of locus standi.

Here the authors contend that the rigid rules about locus standi have to be relaxed and brings a new dimension, that all tax paying adults in the local government council area are to be invested with the rights to call the council to order whether or not their individual interests are adversely affected.

Chapter 13 examines access to information as fundamental human right, it juxtaposes the experiences of the other jurisdictions to bear on the issue. Chapter 14 covers both freedom of information as well as national security in Nigeria, it touches on Nigerian secrecy laws, the scope of the Freedom of Information Act and the concept of national security. Lastly, Chapter 15 and 16 deal with presidential powers and states of emergency as it has been invoked in the governance of Nigeria. The chapter reviews the first state of emergency declared in Nigeria in 1962 and the cascades to the emergency declaration in Plateau and Ekiti States under President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

In these last two chapters very salient legal and constitutional questions are raised

Constitutional law concepts This chapter begins with the rudimentary, reminding the reader of the relevance of certain very salient concepts. Perhaps this chapter would be considered to be one the most crucial as it lays the foundation for further discourse. The authors begin by classifying pertinent concepts that pertain to the constitution and follows with some relevant definitions. It is worthy to note that the authors think that “no country can afford to have a weak central government that will have coordinate powers with state government in this present age of science and technology when the survival of countries, as a whole, is the main concern of federal governments”, further proffering that what is needed is equality of states and central governments in a federation

Legal regime of amalgamation in Nigeria This chapter gives a brief historical account of the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates and the real reasons behind the amalgamation and the system of administration adopted. The chapter addresses various academic studies on the economic and fiscal policies of the British before 1914 and the impact of the unprofitability of two separate protectorates as a result of the vast territory without the requisite manpower which would not have been in the interest of the British had they not been brought together. The authors review the system of indirect rule as practised in the Northern and Southern protectorates and the setting up of an advisory body known as the Nigerian Council which served mainly as a deliberation and advisory body. The authors are critical about the council and refer to various scholars who indicate that traditional chief had no functions at all. Very interestingly, the authors are of the view that if the objective of the colonial administration was the independence of Nigeria, then this had hadly begun

ers v. Attorney-General of the Federation. In this case, the authors challenge the constitutionality of the action taken by the National Assembly and uphold the view that the decision was unconstitutional.

The Legislature The legislature does a whole lot more than law making, the authors will reveal the constitutional balancing roles and numerous oversight This chapter deals with the details of the legislative arm of government and will reveal its numerous oversight responsibilities. This chapter brings out the relevant constitutional provisions regarding their powers, functions, composition, and how members can be removed. The authors contend that watertight compartmentalisation is old fashioned and unworkable in the present democratic setting, thus why the representatives of the people in the legislature have oversight functions. The authors further postulate that the constitution makes no pretence to turn the legislature to an alternative judicial body which runs contrary to the theory of separation of powers on which the constitution stands.

Key Issues In Nigerian Constitutional Law Authors: Prof Nnamdi Aduba and Mr. Samuel Oguche Book Reviewer: Laura Ani Chapters: 16 Number of Pages: 435 Title:

because Nigerians were bystanders.

Constitutional developments in Nigeria from 1900-1999 This chapter is an empirical research on constitutional developments in Nigeria since the annexation of Lagos in 1861. The historical nature of this chapter is central considering its relevance in giving the reader an in-depth understanding of Nigeria’s constitutional history. By the nature of this chapter, it shall be considered the most important. The chapter begins with the administration of three entities (the Colony of Lagos, the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria and the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria) under Lord Lugard which was later reduced to two entities in 1914 and in 1919 became the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. The authors review the Clifford era where a new legislative council was set up and later gave birth to the Clifford Constitution in 1922, the principle feature being its elective principle and political awakening. The authors also review the Bernard Bourdillon era which led to the Richards Constitution in 1944 which had at its mainstream to bring the Northern Provinces into the Nigerian Political development, this brought about some criticisms as the North had no political organisations.

The authors also discuss another important landmark in our constitutional history, which is the breakdown of the Macpherson Constitution.

The authors indicate that inherent in the constitution are the perceived weaknesses in the system which include its failure to provide responsible government at the centre due to allegiance of ministers to their regions, hence the Lyttleton Constitution was born and heralded as the first genuine Federal Constitution of Nigeria that enhanced the standard of the Regional Legislatures and governments. The authors also drew light on the Independence Constitution of 1960 which brought various fundamental changes, so also was the review of the Republican Constitution of 1963 to reflect more realistically on the independence and sovereignty of Nigeria and was promulgated as an entirely new independent instrument to reveal its indigenous character and political autonomy

Principles of constitutional interpretation in Nigeria This chapter focuses on the Interpretative jurisdiction of the Judiciary by virtue of Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution which confers judicial powers and in so interpreting the courts have recourse to certain canons or rules of interpretation as justice of each case demands. In this chapter the authors look at the canons of interpretation of statutes and also make a distinction between interpretation of statutes and constitution. The authors give an exhaustive discussion on the literal and liberal approach and rightly recall the case of Attorney-General of Bendel State .v. Attorney General of the Federation as the premise for constitutional interpretation.

‘

One of the important tenets of our constitution is the Separation of Powers. Here, the authors have given an exhaustive analysis on the judiciary, particularly focusing on its independence

‘

Citizenship

Fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy This chapter looks in detail at the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of States Policy, with the particular novelties in the 1999 Constitution which were absent in the 1979 Constitution.

The authors have looked at Sections 13-24 of the 1999 Constitution and highlight various novelties. Unfortunately, the authors reiterate the nonjusticiability of the rights and indicate that they run subsidiary to the fundamental rights contained in Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution.

Fundamental rights The authors state that the rights as enshrined in the constitution are the rights which the executive, the legislature and the judiciary are all enjoined to protect. This chapter is thoroughly exhaustive as the authors will give a very detailed analysis on all the rights as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution. Firstly, the authors begin with the foundation of making the very important distinction between human rights and Fundamental rights and further classifying the rights into three categories, absolute, qualified and protection rights. It is based on this classification that authors go on a voyage on the analysis of every right as enshrined in the constitution. The authors review the Right to Life as the first generation right and acknowledge that the right to life is the mother of all rights known to mankind and further indicate that the right to life is an inalienable right and individuals lack the ability to forfeit it. The attitude of the courts on the Right to Life in Nigeria was carefully analysed by the use of case law. It is worthy to note at this juncture that the chapter is an explosion of case law and review and the reader is placed at a vantage in a clearer understanding of the intricate nature of these rights. The case of Bello v. A.G of Oyo State which clearly gave an exception to s.33(1) where the apex court unanimously held that by execution, the deceased had lost both his right to life and the right to prosecute his appeal.

Also the authors introduced the case of Gbemre v. Shell where the Nigerian Federal High Court held that the Right to Life in Nigeria is extended to healthy environment

The Judiciary One of the important tenets of our Constitution is the Separation of Powers. Here, the authors have given an exhaustive analysis on the judiciary, particularly focusing on its independence. This chapter lays some very fundamental issues, apart from the preliminary which deal in part with the jurisdiction of the courts, here the authors have delved into more complex issues. They juxtapose the provisions of the 1979, 1985 (Draft) and 1999 Constitution. The authors look at various innovations in the latter constititution as well as impediments as it affects the independence of the Judiciary.

The Executive In this chapter, the authors look at the merits of the Single Chief Executive as opposed to the plural executive of the parliamentary, here the authors contend that the single chief executive has the merit of unity, energy and dispatch which are the ingredients of good government.

The authors further analyse aspects of the constitution that strengthens executive independence, most profoundly discussed was the case of Incorporated Trustees of Nigeria Bar Association and oth-

The chapter reviews citizenship in Nigeria by looking at citizenship pre and post independence.

The authors highlight past constitutions and the present constitution created under section 7 of the Independence Constitution of 1960, chapter 2 of 1963 Constitution, Chapter 3 1979 Constitution and now Chapter 3 1999 Constitution. Interestingly, the authors note that all constitutions failed to provide for the definition of a Nigerian Citizen but rather provide for the means of its acquisition and other matters relating. The chapter basically reviews all rights guaranteed by the constitution for the enjoyment of citizens, how citizenship can be acquired in Nigeria by virtue of s.25, 26 and 27, denunciation of citizenship s.29, Deprivation of citizenship s.30 and dual citizenships s. 28 of the 1999 Constitution.

Judicial interpretation of the principle of Locus Standi in Nigeria This chapter adduces the reasons for the existence of the principle of locus standi and its characteristics. It gives an in-depth analysis with case law on what constitutes sufficient interest or not.

The chapter is subjected to a thorough critical analysis and will expose the reader to very interesting arguments on whether or not there are consistent criteria for the granting of locus standi. This chapter is in several folds as it looks at locus standi in enforcement of fundamental rights, the position of the Attorney General and the inherent abuses.

The controversies surrounding the issues of locus standi is well discussed by the authors in this very exhaustive and lengthy chapter. First, the authors address its strict interpretation as encapsulated in the case of Adesanya v. President 1981 2 NCLR 358 which was decided under the 1999 Constitution and then makes a shift to a more lenient interpretation by virtue s.36 (1); s.46 (1) and s.6 (6) (b) of the 1999 Constitution and Order 1 Rule 2(1) of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure) Rules and arrives at the revolutionary judgement in the case of Fawehinmi v. President F.R.N (2007) 14 NWLR (Pt 1054) 275 Flowing from Section 46 (1) of the 1999 Constitution where the proceeding for human rights enforcement is instituted by the victim only, the authors analyse it from the view of Locus Standi to enforce Human Rights on Behalf of a Person. Here the authors elaborate on some very interesting case law, Richard Oma Ahonaruogho v. Governor of Lagos State and Ozekhome v. The President. The authors also brilliantly do a comparism between Section 46(1) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria and Section 18(1) of the 1996 Constitution of Botswana and identifies the problems inherent in the restrictive interpretation of the two provisions.

The author’s identify and proffer that the s.38 of the 1996 Constitution of South Africa has a very robust interpretation and is wider than the Nigerian and Botswana Constitution.

Access to information as a fundamental right This chapter focuses on the desirability of having access to information as a fundamental right and the compelling arguments for and against it.

The authors bring in very compelling postulations from various scholars on the subject matter, some are worthy of mention The authors have rightfully quoted Sekhar, who states that “democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of governance which are vital to its functioning and also to contain corruption to hold governments and their instrumentalities accountable to the governed”.

•To be continued

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

38

LEGAL OPINION

Democratisation of NBA Being the speech delivered by FEMI FALANA (SAN) at the Bar dinner of the Ibadan branch of the NBA in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

•Continued from last week

I

ALSO opposed the appointment of the immediate past President of the NBA, Mr. J. B. Daudu (SAN) as the Chairman of the National Disciplinary Committee on solid legal grounds. Since the NBA executive led by him had sent several petitions alleging professional misconduct on the part of a number of lawyers I was of the strong view that the committee headed by him could not hear and determine such matters on the principle of nemo judex in causa sua. To back up my position I drew the attention of the NBA leadership to the case of Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee v Fawehinmi (1985) 7 NWLR 300. Although my suggestion was also ignored some lawyers have challenged the competence of the committee to sit in judgment over them on grounds which are similar to my objections.

Shadrath Ramphal, a former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, once asserted that “the law has a greater, more positive, more exciting role in discerning change and legitimising progress. It is a role played consistently over the ages as the law fulfilled its noblest purposes with consumate discretion in such areas as hman bondage, desegregation and women’s rights”. In recent time, the law has been discredited in Nigeria by some

judges and senior lawyers. While successful lawyers are smiling to the bank the rule of law is yielding place to impunity. Already, chaos and disorder have become the order of the day in many parts of the country. As I noted a few weeks ago, all the election petitions and corruption cases which have exposed Nigeria to ridicule, locally and internationally, were handled by eminent Senior Advocates of Nigeria. To save the legal profession from itself the NBA has to lead a campaign that will lead to the restoration of confidence in the legal system.

In view of the serious security challenge facing the nation, Nigerian lawyers should rise up and join other patriotic forces to save the democratic process from imminent collapse by campaigning against official impunity which is the bane of political instability in the country. In the ongoing war on terror the NBA should ensure that the Joint Task Force does not engage in the violations of the human rights of the people in the north east zone. With respect to the Chibok girls the NBA should pressurise the Federal Government to release the wives and children of suspected boko haram members in exchange for the release of the abducted girls. It should be pointed out to both sides in the conflict that abduction or detention of innocent persons in lieu of their wanted relations

•Falana (SAN)

is unknown to the Nigerian criminal justice system.

To remain relevant the NBA has to address the security and welfare of its members. In the last one year, not less than 10 lawyers have been killed by assassins, armed robbers and terrorists. The NBA ought to launch a fund to cater for the family members and dependants of such lawyers. Since lawyers have become vulnerable like other unprotected citizens the NBA ought to launch a life insurance policy for its members. I also suggest that the NBA should take up all cases of extra-judicial killings which are now on the increase throughout the country.

Since the national NBA is comatose some

of its branches have not been found wanting in commenting on national issues. Embarrassed by the development the NBA leadership decided to gag branches by asking them to refrain from issuing statements on national affairs. Happily, the illegal ban was treated with disdain . It is particularly worthy of note that some civil rights lawyers have continued to defend the interests of the people through public interest litigation. Just a few days ago, Olisa Agbakoba SAN. A former NBA president won the legal battle for financial autonomy for the judiciary. Another colleague has secured a court order restraining the Federal Road Safety Commission from compelling vehicle owners to pay for new plate owners with effect from June 1st, 2014.

In a suit filed against the removal of fuel subsidy by Bamidele Aturu, the Federal High Court held that the decision of the Federal Government to allow market forces to determine the prices of petroleum products was illegal and unconstitutional. A couple of weeks ago, I secured a court order directing the Federal Government to establish the Nigerian education bank to enable indigent students to access loan to study in institutions of higher education. Before then the ECOWAS Court had upheld the fundamental right of every Nigerian child to universal basic education.

Permit me to conclude this dinner speech by urging Nigerian lawyers to restore the lost glory of the NBA by ensuring that it is led henceforth by those who have the vision, experience and commitment to lead a progressive bar. That can only be possible if bar leaders are elected through adult suffrage.

•Concluded

Following the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of Independent Television/ Radio v. Edo State Board of Internal Revenue, that tax authorities have the legal powers to seal off business premises and confiscate the properties of tax evaders after giving them sufficient notice of their tax obligations and opportunity to pay, a Lagos lawyer and Legal Adviser to the West African Union of Tax Institute CHUKWUEMEKA EZE examines the decision. He concludes that the fear of the taxman remains the beginning of wisdom.

Seizure of tax evaders’ properties legal

•Continued from last week

T

HE warrant to break open shall be executed by or under the direction of and in the presence of the inspector, and any distress so levied shall be kept for five days at the costs and charges of the licensee.

(6) If the licensee does not pay the sum due, together with the costs and charges within the said five days, the distress shall be appraised by a competent valuer and shall be sold by public auction for payment of the sum due and all costs and charges. Any overplus coming by the distress, after the deduction of the costs and charges and of the sum due, shall be restored to the licensee.

(7) If the premises are unoccupied and no distress can be found thereon at the time the tax is payable, the inspector may at any future time when there is any distress to be found on the premises enter, seize and sell under the same powers as if a distraint had been made on the premises at the time the tax became due and as if the licensee had been in occupation at that time. f) Section 15 of the Lagos State Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant Consumption Law of 2009: Without prejudice to any other power conferred on the Service for the enforcement of payments due to the government under this or any other law , where an assessment has become final and conclusive and a demand notice has been served on a person to make payment, if payment is not made within the time limited by the demand notice, the Service may, in the prescribed form, for the purpose of enforcing payment of the tax due(a) distrain the defaulter by his goods or other chattels, bonds or other securities; (b) distrain upon the relevant facility, or other place in respect of which the defaulter is the owner and, subject to the provisions of this section, recover the amount of tax due by sale of anything so distrained.

The facts of Independent Television/Radio v.

Edo State Board of Internal Revenue are as stated here: The respondent (Edo State Board of Internal Revenue) sent to the appellant (Independent Television/Radio) an assessment of tax liability valued at N19,199, 947.18 via a letter dated February 10, 2012. The tax authority/respondent on March 16, 2012 wrote a letter inviting the appellant to a meeting for reconciling the tax position with the Board. Upon failure of the appellant to attend that meeting, the respon-

dent on March 19, 2012 wrote another letter inviting the appellant for another tax review meeting on March 22, 2012.

The appellant failed again to attend the tax review meeting slated for March 22, 2012 and on March 27, 2012, the respondent wrote another letter to the appellant inviting it for another tax review meeting stated again for March 30, 2012. Again, the appellant did not honour the invitation. On April 25, 2012, the respondent wrote another letter inviting the appellant for tax review meeting stated for April 30, 2012 but later postponed it to May 2, 2012. The respondent, on May 15, 2012 wrote another tax review meeting invitation letter to the appellant stated for May 21, 2012. The appellant still failed to attend the meeting.

On May 23, 2012, the respondent wrote the seventh letter of invitation to the appellant and the meeting was stated for May 28, 2012 yet the appellant failed to attend. On May 31, 2012, the respondent in its eighth letter to the appellant fixed another meeting tor June 5, 2012. The ninth letter was inviting the appellant for a meeting stated for July 20, 12 but the defaulting tax payer/appellant still did not attend the meeting. The tenth letter of invitation for tax review was written by the respondent to the appellant on August 16, 2012 for a meeting slated for August 28, 2012.

Finally, on September 7, 2012 there was a tax review meeting between both parties at the State Board of Internal Revenue where the appellant’s tax liability was reduced to N15,199,947.18 and the appellant was given seven days to pay up the said sum. The appellant paid the sum of N2,317,350.75 to the tax authority on September 12, 2012 being PAYE tax for 2005-2010.

The respondent commenced an action before the High Court of Edo State by a motion ex parte dated November 1, 2012. This motion was supported by a three-paragraph affidavit, one exhibit and written address filed on the said November 1, 2012. The applicant prayed the court for the following: 1. An order to distrain upon the land, premises or place of business in respect of which the Defendant is the owner at Glass House Airport Road and Communication Village, Oluku, Benin City.

2. An order to distrain against any movable goods, chattel, bond or securities or any kind of property belonging to the defendant in satisfaction of the liability established against the defendant as final and conclusive taxes due to the applicant.

On November 2, 2012, the court having heard

K. Odabi Esq. for the respondent ordered as follows: ...Applicant (by or through his officers) is hereby permitted to distrain upon any land, premises or place of business in respect of which the Defendant-Independent Television/Radio is the owner at Glass House, Airport Road, and Communication Village, Oluku, Benin City.

It is further ordered that applicant is authorized and permitted to distrain against any movable goods, chattel, bond or securities or any kind of property belonging to the Defendant-Independent Television/Radio in satisfaction of the tax liability in sum of N12,882,596.43 established against the Defendant-Independent television/Radio as stated in Paragraph 3(i) and (j) of the affidavit in support of the motion as final and conclusive taxes due to the applicant on behalf of Edo State Government.

The appellant in turn filed a motion on notice dated November 9, 2012 praying the court for an order discharging the order obtained ex parte by the respondent. The trial judge fixed the appellant’s motion for hearing on the November 20, 2012. On November 20, 2012, the respondent in response to the appellant’s application for discharge of the ex parte order, filed a counter affidavit which prompted the appellant’s counsel to seek adjournment in order to respond to the counter-affidavit.

The trial Judge adjourned the hearing of the application to December 6, 2012.

The Appellant then filed a reply to the Respondent’s counter-affidavit on November 23, 2012. On November 30, 2012, the Respondent filed a further counter-affidavit. In turn, on December 4, 2012, the appellant filed a motion praying the court to set aside the respondent’s further counter-affidavit. In the early hours of December 5, 2012, the respondent through its officers, visited the appellant’s premises and sealed up the place. On the same day, the Appellant filed a motion to unseal its place of business as well as other injunctive reliefs. The motion was taken and argued on November 6, 2012.

Thereafter, the trial judge gave his ruling on the motion while the two other pending motions were adjourned to January 22, 2013.

In the said ruling delivered on December 6, 2012 the trial court ordered that: “1. The defendant/applicant pay the sum of N12,882,596.43 as contained in the order of court made on November 2, 2012 into the coffers of the Treasury of Edo State Government.

2. Upon the presentation of a receipt of such payment, the claimant, that is Edo State Board of Internal Revenue shall forthwith unseal and

•Eze open the premises of the Defendant/Applicant.

3. If upon the determination of the defendant’s application filed on November 9, 2012, the issues are resolved in the defendant’s favour, the said sum of N12,882,596.43 or any part thereof shall be refunded or paid over to the defendant within 48 hours of the ruling and receipt of the order by the claimant and/or Edo State Government.

The motion on Notice filed 9th November 2012 and all other applications are adjourned till January 22, 2013" Dissatisfied with the ruling, the Appellant on December 12, 2012 filed its notice of appeal before this Court. The appellant’s brief of argument was filed on January 21, 2013 while the respondent’s brief was filed on February 28, 2013.

The appellant, in the brief settled by Chief (Dr.) Alfred O. Eghobamien (SAN), distilled four issues for determination as follows: 1. Whether the refusal of the trial Judge to hear and determine the appellant’s motion on notice dated and filed on November 9, 2012 and motion dated and filed on December 4, 2012 respectively occasioned a miscarriage of justice and denial of fair hearing.

2. Whether the learned trial Judge has the jurisdiction to adjudicate on the matter.

3. Whether the learned trial Judge was right in making the order for payment of the sum of N12,882,596.43 (twelve million, eight hundred and eighty-two thousand, five hundred and ninety-six Naira, forty-three Kobo) suo motu without calling on parties to address him on the issue and/or refused to pronounce on issues canvassed before Him. 4. Having regard to the totality of the documents before the learned trial judge, whether the learned trial judge was right in making an order of payment of the disputed amount in issue to the respondent.

•To be continued next week

39

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

LEGAL OPINION

UNILAG don sues eight banks for alleged internet fraud

A

UNIVERSITY of Lagos (UNILAG) don, Dr. Oluwatosin Sanu has sued eight commercial banks for alleged internet fraud on her bank accounts.

In a writ of summon filed by her counsel, Prof. Akin Ibidapo Obe before a Lagos High Court, Dr. Sanu, who is an associate professor and Consultant Orthodontist in the Faculty of Dental Sciences at University of Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH), is asking for N55,050,237.54 being special general and exemplary damages for alleged negligence in the handling of her two bank accounts with the first defendant bank.

The claimant also asked the court for cost of the action which she assessed at N2million.

The claimant alleged that the negligence on her account by the first defendant bank resulted in unauthorised withdrawals of N3,050,237.54 from her two accounts through the internet and unauthorised payments into beneficiary accounts domiciled in the eight defendant banks.

The claimant also prayed the court for interest to be calculated on the lost sum at the prevailing rate as from September 6, last year to the date of judgment.

The defendants bank include United Bank for Africa Plc, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Diamond Bank of Nigeria Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Enterprise Bank Plc, Access Bank of Nigeria Plc and Stanbic IBTC Bank.

The writ of summons is supported by a 49-paragraph statement of claim and a 70-paragraph affidavit made on oath in support of the statement of claims.

She alleged that 20 unauthorised withdrawals totaling N2,580,693.25 was made from her current account with the first defendant, number 1002717118 between September 3 and September 6, last year.

She further alleged that eight unauthorised withdrawals totaling N469,134 was also made from her Gold Savings account with the first defendant, number 2060668002 between August 23, 2013 and September 5, 2013.

The claimant averred in the statement of claim that following a petition on the matter dated October 30,

By Adebisi Onanuga

last year, made to the Nigerian Police, a thorough investigation was conducted into the alleged internet fraud on her two accounts.

The Police, she claimed issued a report ascribing the loss to negligence and collusion of the first defendant’s servants.

The claimant stated that on August 10, last year, she travelled to United States for a conference and vacation and that while there, received a call from her daughter, Dr. Sope Akeredolu, informing her that her bank account officer at the first defendant’s bank, Mr. Olatunbosun Alakija had been trying to reach her on phone without success.

She said that when he eventually got through to her on telephone, she was told that there were purported “transactions” going on in her bank accounts but that no details was given.

She claimed to have repudiated the transactions as not coming from her, more so that her cheque book and ATM card were with her in the US. On her return from the US, she met with her account officer and branch manager, Mrs. Patricia Ozukwe.

She said she was told that a total transfer of N3,050,237.54 had been made on her account to various purported beneficiary accounts through the bank’s internet banking transaction.

The claimant alleged that the first defendant breached the duty of care owed her and was negligent in the management of her accounts when it facilitated such huge withdrawals without her knowledge and authorisation.

According to her, the first defendant or its internet banking officer ought prudently and reasonably to have contacted her through telephone,sms or electronic mail for her authorisation of the internet withdrawals, particularly where huge sum was withdrawn from her two accounts through multiple transactions in one day.

For instance, she said N650,850.50 was withdrawn from her current account in six transactions on September 4, last year; that N660,992.25 was withdrawn from the same account in seven separate internet transactions in one day on September 5, last year while in her Gold savings account, a

sum of N451,567 was withdrawn in four transactions on August 23, last year, among other internet withdrawals.

The claimant averred that contrary to the statement of the accounts, the report of the Customer Fulfillment Centre(CFC) did not capture some of the purported withdrawal transactions.

The claimant said she wrote a formal letter of complaint dated September 17, last year to the manager of the Idi-Araba branch of the first defendant, repudiating the unauthorised purported transactions on her two accounts and asked for the reinstatement of the funds but that nothing was done on her request for refund.

She claimed that her solicitor also wrote to the managing director of the first defendant, copied the Idi-Araba branch, on the issue on September 26 consequent upon which the first defendant implored the claimant’s counsel to stay action on the matter pending investigation into the allegations.

She averred that on October 3, last year, the service manager of the first defendant, one Mr. Johnson Onyiriuka rather sent an electronic mail directly to her that her “issue” (complaint) had been “closed”, adding that the first defendant breached its duty of care owed her by sending the said electronic mail dated October 3.

It said the email communication of the Service Manager caused the claimant to needlessly undergo pain, suffering and trauma that her loss was irreversible, adding that it was also “deliberate and contrived to intimidate the claimant into abject submission and to accept her “fate”.

She averred that her counsel again attempted to work out an amicable resolution by writing another letter dated October 28, last year to the Manager of the Audit and Compliance unit of the first defendant requesting him to intervene but that no response had been received from the unit up till date.

She said the development informed the petition sent to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Division (CID), Panti to investigate the matter.

The court is yet to fix a date for the hearing of the suit.

LAW AND PUBLIC POWER

with gabriel AMALU email:gabrielamalu1@yahoo.com For comments: 08033054939 (sms only)

Rights abuse during elections

T

HE 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended, elaborately provides for fundamental human rights in sections 33-44. The constitution however in section 45 provides for derogation to the fundamental rights guaranteed in sections 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41, on a limited circumstance.

That restriction on rights exists with respect to only a “law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society – in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health, or – for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedom of other persons”. The constitution also makes allowance for certain acts of parliament in “the period of emergency”.

Considering this limited provision for constitutional infractions, it is fair to ask on what basis are we experiencing widespread infractions of the fundamental rights of partisans during elections; which cannot be justified on the exceptions in Section 45 of the 1999 Constitution, as there are no provisions in the electoral law made to derogate the fundamental rights of persons under that section. So on what basis does our security agencies engage in clear abuse of the rights of citizens, through arbitrary arrests and detention during the preparations for elections, all in the name of security. Recall that before Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti was defeated in the last state gubernatorial election in questionable circumstance, his fundamental right and that of his followers to freedom of movement as enshrined in Section 41 of the 1999 Constitution were allegedly threatened. Also affected were the rights of his supporters and colleagues from other parts of the country.

While Governor Rauf Alegbesola may have convincingly won a deserved re-election for a second term as the Governor of Osun State, the fact that a number of his supporters and party officials were allegedly arrested and detained before the election gives cause for concern. Also, the allegation that hooded men paraded as security agents before the election and had a field day threatening and intimidating citizens of Osun State, as if such conducts constitute part of their security brief, deserves to be thoroughly investigated and where there are infractions, those responsible should be punished. It will be unreasonable for all the alleged breaches of security protocols to be swept under the carpet, without any lessons for those who may have abused the laws of our land, for partisan purposes, being held to account.

Part of the responsibility of our democratic process should be to train the police and the military agencies, if we must use them, for civil purposes during election. While the democratic process envisages that only the police authority should be engaged during elections, as the responsibility of the military are clearly spelt out under the law, our experience is however that our military personnel are also engaged to provide security during elections. So, it might pay our democracy better, if there is a special training for the security personnel that will be engaged during elections. If we consider the fact that security agencies will be drawn thin during the 2015 general elections which will take place simultaneously across the country, with the commander-in-chief as a partisan, then it will be understood why our security agencies must be engaged in a training process to make then less partisan.

Such tutorial will be necessary to enable the security agencies to understand the need to respect the fundamental provisions of our constitution, so as not to bread fundamental ill-feeling that can jeopardise our fledging democracy. During that process the leadership of the security agencies, should be engaged by international institutional agencies to appreciate the difference between obedience to the laws of the land and obedience to the temporal office holders, such the President, the Governor or even high ranking legislative officials across the land. As we experience during elections, many of the agencies have the illusion that their primary responsibility is to ensure the success of the party of the commander-inchief or the executive governor or other high ranking state official, even at the detriment of the survival of the very process, which is the democratic governance, that produced the official, for whom the security agent has become glaringly partisan.

The threat from Ebola

•Mr. Jude Ogamba (left) and former Chairman, NBA Owerri branch, Mr. M. I. Opara at the NBA delegates conference in Abuja.

Police arraign three for ‘stealing’ N6.69m

T

HREE men have been arraigned at a Lagos State magistrate court, Ikeja for stealing and for obtaining N6,697,000 under false pretext.

They are Ibrahim Suleiman 30, Habeeb Quadri, 42 and Rauf Adebayo 44.

They were arraigned before the court presided by magistrate Mrs. E.A. Fabanwo.

The Police prosecutor, Inspector A. Samson, alleged that the defendants,

By Toyosi Babatunde

about 10.45am on May 14, this year at Ogba, Lagos conspired to obtain money under pretext, thereby committed an offence and punishable under Section 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.

According to Inspector Samson, the defendants obtained the amount from Temilola Akintayo to import fabrics, thereby committing an offence punishable under section

312(1a)(3) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.

The defendant were also alleged to have stolen N6,697,000 belonging to Temilola Akintayo, thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 285(1)of the criminal law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Magistrate Fabanwo granted them bail for N500,000 each and two sureties in like sum.

The closest to the threat from Ebola Viral Disease (EVD), I guess, is the remote fear of a nuclear show down between the world powers. Even the fearful Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) does not have as much potency as EVD to disrupt over lives. The simple reason for this near helplessness is the fact that one can become a victim of EVD, even with great circumspection, unlike AIDS. That perhaps explains the mass hysteria that herald the birth of the disease in Nigeria.

Thankfully the federal and Lagos State governments are taking steps to contain the dreadful disease. It is such a hard task, considering the population of our country and the boisterous nature of our living. As many are asking, how on earth can we contain a disease that transmits by contact, when we must go to market, hop into a bus, warmly embrace our neighbours and eat whatever we can on the go? But as we experienced during the last Sunday service, the usual handshake which forms part of the mass ritual in the Catholic Church was skipped. Even the children are getting sensitised after their early morning bath within last week following the ridiculous hysteria that bathing with salt and warm water is an antidote to EVD. Thankfully again the doctors have called off their strike. While I sympathise with them over their demand for a better working condition, it would be ridiculous for them to keep away form work during this type of emergency. The world must find a cure for EVD, fast enough.

40

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

LAW REPORT

Tenancy at Will: Court of Appeal rules on adequacy of quit notice IN THE COURT OF APPEAL IN THE COURT OF APPEAL IN THE LAGOS JUDICIAL DIVISION HOLDEN AT LAGOS ON THURSDAY, THE 10TH DAY OF JULY, 2014 BEFORE THEIR LORDSHIPS UZO I. NDUKWE-ANYANWU, J.C.A. SAMUEL CHUKWUDUMEBI OSEJI, J.C.A. JAMILU YAMMAMA TUKUR, J.C.A. CA/L/354/2012 (2014) LPELR-23358(CA) BETWEEN MRS AGATHA OYEGBESAN ……………………………….….…… APPELLANT AND DR. OLUFEMI ADELEKE OYEGBESAN …………………….... RESPONDENT LEAD JUDGMENT DELIVERED BY UZO I. NDUKWE-ANYANWU, J.C.A.

T

HE Appellant as claimant in this case brought an action at the High Court of Lagos State against the respondent as defendant claiming a declaration that the claimant is a joint owner of and has a valid and subsisting interest in the property known as and situate at Block 141, Flat 1, LSDPC Medium Cost Housing Estate, Ogba, Lagos State; a declaration that the Defendant is not entitled to sell, lease, transfer, alienate or otherwise deal with the property without the consent of the claimant; a perpetual order of injunction restraining the defendant by himself, servants, agents or assigns from selling, leasing, transferring, alienating or dealing with the property situate at Block 141, Flat 1, LSDPC Medium Cost Housing Estate, Ogba, Lagos with the consent and approval of the claimant; and a perpetual order of injunction restraining the defendant by himself, servants, agents or assigns from removing or ejecting the claimant and her children from the property. The appellant and the respondent were married couples living in the property until the dissolution of their marriage.

The appellant after the dissolution of their marriage continued to live in the house with their three children of the marriage whereby she claimed to have a right as part owner of the premises. At the High Court the Appellant had sought to retain the property in issue, claiming that she was a joint owner of the property. The respondent put in his defence and counterclaimed that he is the owner of the property. He tendered all the documents showing how he purchased the property in issue. At the end of the trial, the Lagos State High Court found as a fact that the claimant had no claims to the property. The High

Court declared the Respondent owner of the property in issue who has an inextinguishable right to do whatsoever he desired with his property. The respondent thereafter gave the appellant notice to quit. The claimant was dissatisfied with the judgment, hence this appeal. The appellant filed her brief in which two (2) issues were formulated for the determination of the appeal as follows: i. Whether a tenant at will is legally entitled to be served a notice to quit the premises as well as a seven days notice of intention to recover possession before the tenant can be legally evicted. ii. Whether a clamant is required to include a document on its list of documents before such a document can be admissible at trial.

The respondent adopted the issues as formulated by the appellant for the determination of the appeal.

Arguing issue 1, learned counsel to the appellant submitted that in order to legally evict a tenant from the premises, the tenancy must first be determined by the service on the tenant of a notice to quit. By virtue of the Rent Control and Recovery of Residential Premises Law of Lagos State Cap R6 Laws of Lagos State 2003, the required length of notice necessary to determine a tenancy at will is seven days. Counsel further submitted that to recover possession from a tenant at will a landlord is required to issue two statutory notices. The first is a notice to quit, which determines the tenancy. The second is a notice of intention to apply to court to recover possession.

Counsel stated that this requirement is fundamental to any action to recover possession and non-compliance invalidates the said action. Counsel referred the court to Odutola vs. Papersack

(Nig.) Ltd. (2006) NWLR (Pt. 1012) 470; (2006) LPELR-2259(SC). Counsel argued that a tenant at will is to be served with the notice to quit which as stipulated in the law, is a week’s notice, after which the tenant can be given the seven days notice of the landlord’s intention to apply to the court to recover possession of the premises.

Counsel to the respondent submitted that the only notice required of a landlord in the case of a tenant at will is seven days notice of intention of the landlord to recover possession. That the law states that a tenancy is determined by only seven days notice and not two statutory notices as contended by defendant’s counsel. Counsel submitted that the respondent gave the appellant 14 days notice more than the seven days stipulated in Section 14 of the Rent Control and Recovery of Residential Premises Law of Lagos State 2003. Learned counsel submitted that the appellant, the tenant, is not a rent paying one and as such was she entitled to be served any notice. Counsel aligned himself to the decision in Odutola vs. Papersack (Nig.) Ltd. (2006) Odutola vs. Papersack (Nig.) Ltd. (2006) NWLR (Pt. 1012) 470; (2006) LPELR-2259(SC) and stated that there was no where the Supreme Court specifically stated that two notices were required in respect of a Tenant at will. Counsel, therefore, urged the court to hold that the notice issued on the appellant is proper notice and resolve this issue in favour of the respondent.

In determining this issue the court stated that both parties at the trial court agreed that the tenancy was one at will. Citing the case of Odutola vs. Papersack (Nig.) Ltd. (2006) NWLR (Pt. 1012) 470; (2006) LPELR-2259(SC) the court stated that in a tenancy at will, the lessee (the tenant) is the tenant at will because the lessor (the landlord) can send him packing at any time the lessor pleases, subject only to issuance of proper notice by the lessor. The court stated further that the trial court had already declared the Respondent the safe owner of the premises and the appellant invariably knew that at any moment that the respondent would give her seven days notice to quit. The court noted that the Respondent by a letter dated November 7, 2007, Exhibit P16, gave the appellant a notice that he would repossess the property on November 20, 2007 and the notice gave more than seven days. The court stated that the landlord, vide Exhibit P16, had given the statutory seven days notice to the appellant to quit and his intention to repossess his property.

The court held that the respondent did comply with Section 14(1)(a) of the Rent Control Law in giving the appellant adequate notice to quit or intention to repossesses his property. This issue was resolved against the appellant.

On issue 2, learned counsel to the Appellant

submitted that the trial Judge erred in law when she struck out the Appellant’s claim in the lower Court and went ahead to still rely on Exhibit P16 filed by her. Counsel argued that the said Exhibit P16 was not listed by the respondent in this appeal. Counsel referred the Court to Order 3 Rule 2(1) of the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2004 which requires all originating processes to be accompanied by copies of all documents to be relied on at the trial.

Counsel argued that the respondent did not file Exhibit P16 along with his pleadings and the trial Judge had not otherwise ordered or directed that Exhibit P16 was admissible for special reasons. Counsel, therefore, urged the court to discountenance Exhibit P16 and refuse to admit it in evidence and resolve issue 2 in favour of the appellant. In response, the learned counsel to the respondent submitted that Exhibit P16 was properly admitted in evidence without any objection by the Appellant’s counsel. That the trial court properly admitted Exhibit P16 and, therefore, need not make any further direction or order concerning it. Since the appellant’s counsel did not object to the tendering of Exhibit P16, the issue that the Exhibit was wrongly admitted can no longer be raised on appeal. Counsel argued further that Exhibit P16 is a relevant document to the Respondent’s case so it was properly admitted. See Oyediran v. Alebiosu (1992) 5 NWLR (Pt. 249) pg. 550; (1992) LPELR-2868(SC). Counsel, therefore, urged the Court to hold that Exhibit P16 was properly admitted by the lower court.

The fact of not listing as part of the documents sought to be relied on is just a mere irregularity.

Counsel urged the court to resolve this issue in favour of the respondent.

The court held that what determines admissibility or otherwise of a particular piece of evidence or document at the court of law is the Evidence Act. See Klifco (Nig) Ltd. v. NSITFMB (2005) 6 NWLR (Pt. 922) pg. 4; (2004) LPELR-5788(CA).

That the appellant had already listed the document and it formed part of the case of the appellant. When she did not lead evidence, the Respondent, therefore, tendered it and was received in evidence without objection. The court held that Exhibit P16 was rightly presented and received in evidence as P16. This issue was resolved against the appellant.

The two issues articulated by the Appellant were resolved against her. This appeal was held to be unmeritorious and therefore, was dismissed. The judgment of the lower Court was affirmed.

Edited by LawPavilion LawPavilion Citation: (2014) LPELR-23358(CA)

Lagos fisherman freed of alleged robbery

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LAGOS High court in Ikeja has discharged and acquitted a 25-yearold boat operator and fisherman, Emmanuel Egbayelo, of armed robbery.

He had been arraigned on a three-count charge of conspiracy, stealing and alleged armed robbery. He was discharged last Thursday after spending four years in custody.

The court presided by Justice Lateefat Okunnu held that the prosecution failed to prove the allegations preferred against him.

“The prosecution has not done enough to prove the armed robbery incident and enough has not been done to prove the defendant’s guilt. It is the view of the court that the allegations against the defendant are mere suspicions and suspicion has no place in law,” the judge ruled.

Justice Okunnu further held that the evidence given by the first prosecution witness was in English language and was not interpreted to the defendant hence, she disregarded it.

The judge also dismissed the testimonies of the second and third prosecution witnesses on the grounds that they were not relevant directly to the crime for which the suspect was charged.

“The evidence before the court does not prove the charge; there is no evidence of committing the act. Conspiracy cannot be proved by mere inference and as such the charge fails.

It is hereby dismissed and the defendant is hereby acquitted and discharged,”she stated.

According to the police, the suspect was arrested on March 22, 2010 around 4am while operating a boat on the Kikiriki waterside.

One of the prosecution witnesses, Sergeant Festus Okoebor from the Marine Police Command, told the court that Egbayelo was arrested while on patrol with two of his colleagues.

According to him, the suspect was arrested

By Adebisi Onanuga

in a boat about 3.30am with items, such as a revolver, a locally made double barrel gun, four laptops, seven handsets, two hair clippers, one hack saw and one wrist watch.

Though by the time the police team sighted the boat, there were between 10 and 12 men in the boat, only Egbayelo was caught while the others escaped.

The court heard that Egbayelo was taken to the office of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ikeja where his case was assigned to an officer, Felix Igbasan and others to investigate.

Igbasan, who was the first prosecution witness, told the court that after cautioning the suspesct, he obtained his statement and told him to sign because he could not write.

He said during his investigations, the defendant led him to No. 31, Virgil Dike Street, Okota, Lagos, the scene of the crime, adding that one Inspector Frankling Adeleke and Inspector Babakunle were with him.

He further told the court that the victims of the robbery, one Chiamara Emmanuel and one Oguabi Raymond, showed the police how the robbers had broken into their house.

He said the recovered items were returned to the victims.

But Egbayelo told the court during trial that he was only a boat operator and that it was one Odudu, who he had only met a couple of weeks before, that called him on phone around midnight on that day to help him carry some bags of rice at Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) where he worked.

He said on getting to the scene, he met Odudu and other persons not known to him and that he protested that he would not take them in his boat but Odudu persuaded him to take them with a promise to give him N2,000 instead of the normal N1,500.

•From left (sitting): Justice Mukhtar (CJN); Justice Fabiyi (JSC), Justice Muhammad (JSC); Standing from left: Arshard Ghaffar, Paul Bugden, and Momoh Kadiri at the conference

CJN, others at London arbitration conference

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HE Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar (CJN) and Justice John Afolabi Fabiyi (JSC) were among participants at the just-concluded International Commercial Arbitration Conference for West Africa at the Hilton Hotel, Canary Wharf, London.

The forum focused on international commercial and investment arbitration with particular emphasis on the West African users of oil and gas, international trade, maritime, shipping, and construction sectors respectively.

It was a collaboration between two London-based leading arbitrators - Momoh Kadiri and Paul Bugden.

The CJN led some judges, among them were two justices of the Supreme Court; Justice John Afolabi Fabiyi (JSC) and Jus-

By John Austin Unachukwu

tice Musa Dattijo Muhammad (JSC), to the event.

Speakers include Nicholas Chambers QC, Olumide Sofowora (SAN); Chairman of the General Council of the Bar of South Africa and Co-Chair of the Forum for Barristers and Advocates of the IBA Jeremy Gauntlett, Stephen Ruttle QC, Arshad Ghaffar, Mahnaz Malik, and Paul Bugden.

Topics discussed at the conference include: Award writing and judgment - key practical differences, enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and ethics in international arbitration, the mediation phenomenon, appeals from arbitration awards, and a Nigerian perspective on London commercial arbitration.

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

42

SHOWBIZ

Africa Film Academy plans charity gala night

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S part of the yearlong activities marking the 10th anniversary of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), the Africa Film Academy (AFA) will host an anniversary charity gala night this Saturday at the Grand Ball Room of the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The founder of Africa Film Academy, Ms. Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, who recently stepped down as the Chief Executive Officer of AMAA, said the charity gala was conceived to raise funds to support AFA’s

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work across Africa.

She added that Africa had come of age and the positive stories about the continent must be told to the rest of the world through motion pictures.

“We want to raise funds to support our training and other talent development programmes across Africa.

We are selling tables and souvenirs to raise the funds. It will be a gala night with Joyous Celebration, Africa’s largest Gospel band from South Africa, on stand to entertain our guests. We are praising God for blessing our

work in the last 10 years and raising awareness about the work we do through our Film-in-a-Box project across the continent. We call on our partners, sponsors and other corporate bodies to support us the more,’’ she said.

According to the organisers, five of the 10 short-listed Nigerian journalists will be honoured in the AMAA Media Recognition Awards on the occasion for their efforts to project the awards and the motion picture industry to the rest of the world in the last 10 years.

The media award carries

$10,000 prize money, which will be shared among the three clear winners and two consolation prize winners.

The AMAA’s Media Recognition Awards three-man committee was coordinated

by Mr. Steve Ayorinde, Chairman of AMAA 2014 Jury. Other members of the screening panel for the media award were Thisday newspaper columnist, Mrs. Onoshe Nwabuikwu and Dr. Ifeoma Amobi of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Akoka.

The 10 finalists and their nominated entries include: Business Day’s Funke Adetutu( Peace AnyiamOsigwe on a show beyond the continent); Sunday Tribune’s Akintayo Abodunrin( Catalyst to greatness: How AMAA aided their rise to the top); Business Day’s Daniel Obi( African Film Industry, AMAA and FDIs); National Mirror’s Terh Agbedeh( Nigerian film industry regains credibility at AMAA) and Punch’s Akeem Lasisi(Thumbs up for Figurine on a night of perfect picture).

Others include The Guardian’s Chuks Nwanne (At 10, AMAA rolls the drum for mother Africa); E24-7’s Biodun Kupoluyi(Night of AMAAzing performances in Bayelsa) and Nolly SilverScreen’s Isabella Akinseye(AMAA: A decade of uniting, celebrating and rewarding African filmmakers).

Also, a Kenyan, Njenga Micugu, from Nairobi Digest made the list with his entry titled African films should go digital to discover more Lupitas as well as Collins Ukaonu’s interview on Reel Nollywood on Galaxy Television.

MTN backs Battle of The Year 2014

TN, a telecommunications company, has thrown its weight behind this year’s edition of the annual Battle of The Year dance competition, otherwise called BOTY. Battle of The Year is an annual international breakdancing series that began in Hannover, Germany over 20 years ago. Its uniqueness is the battle among various breakdance crews as opposed to individual break-dance battle.

Usually, regional qualifying tournaments, also known as preliminaries, are held worldwide culminating the World finals event in Germany.

According to the organisers, the Battle of the Year Nigeria is the Nigerian preliminary to the annual international Battle of the Year break-dance championship featuring the best B-boy crews from across the count r y

By Mercy Michael

competing for the spot to represent Nigeria and Africa at the Battle of the Year international events.

The event, which is attended annually by over 1,2000 visitors across the world, features the best and most innovative breakdance crews from all over the world creating an environment for friendship, international exchange of culture and knowledge.

It responds to the influences, energy and aspirations embedded in youth culture, providing access for youths to learn new skills and explore the uncommon world of opportunities.

Jolomi Kendaboh, CEO of House of Royalty and Project Coordinator BOTY, said: “Expect that this year’s edition to be better than the last with MTN’s backing as we hope to take the standards of the dance competition to the next level.”

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I’m not obsessed with TV series, says Toyin Alausa

By Babatunde Sulaiman

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ONTRARY to insinuations in some quarters, popular actress, Toyin Alausa, has revealed that her frequent acting in television series, rather than home movies, is not due to any obsession.

While the single mother of one, who started out as a kid actor at eight, maintained that she would pick up any good script with attractive fee, she however decried a practice in the Yoruba movie sector of Nollywood, where majority of producers operate on what she described as “You-help-me-I-helpyou” basis.

When asked if she feels more comfortable acting in TV series than home movies, Alausa, who is also passionate about catering, said: “The truth is, I will answer whoever calls me up for a job. I am an actor, so I don’t see any reason why I will be receiving some jobs and rejecting some. I attended a lot of movie casting in January and February and the producers said they would get back to me, but they never did. So, what do you want me to do? But if someone else calls me up and says he or she has a role for me in a TV series and everything else is smooth, won’t I do it? So, it is not a matter of choice that I don’t feature too often in movies. I will never reject a good script.

People just assume I don’t like to do movies, but I think it is because they don’t want

to pay. They are used to ‘Please, help me…” Therefore, if you say you can’t do such stuff, they tag you a bad person. I don’t have any issues with films or movies, as long as we are all in the same industry.

“Yes, I started with TV series, like Drama Showcase, Tales by Moonlight etc.

Maybe because of the training, I got used to TV series until the advent of movies.

Though I get more roles in TV series than in movies, I won’t say I am more comfortable with one over the other.”

Iyanya shoots Mr Oreo video

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ENSATIONAL singer, Iyanya, has shot the video for the hit single, Mr Oreo.

Mr Oreo directed by The Mega Boi was shot at an upscale apartment in one of New York’s most populous neighbourhoods.

Named after the global cookie brand and ice cream, the artiste said he chose Brooklyn, New York to interpret the unique vocals and rhythm of the song, which is one of his credits in the album titled The Evolution.

His current tour of the U.S. has further confirmed his rating as one of the wave-making acts from Nigeria. The tour, the artiste revealed, would also feature business meetings, club appearances and event performances.

According to information, the tour will be rounded off soon, with official announcements anticipated from the label.

I’ll go into music, says Kehinde Bankole

OPULAR Nollywood actress, Kehinde Bankole, has revealed her plans to go into music.

“There is the possibility of music around the corner. Yes, I’m going into music. It’s one of my passions and I will not let it lie low for too long,” she said.

Meanwhile, the beautiful actress also spoke on her role in the highly anticipated movie, October 1, which screened to critical acclaim recently.

The Lux ambassador revealed that she had

By Mercy Michael

gotten to a crossroads in her career and came to the conclusion that if she had to remain in acting, then, she had to do things differently.

“I got to a point when I was confused. I said if I was going to stay in acting, then, I have to do things differently.

That was when Kunle Afolayan’s October 1 came. It

took me to the next level of my career. My work, often times, is not about money.

It’s about the project you are working on and how you can transfer that value to me; so, that was what happened,” she said.

The actress revealed that she had to go extra miles to darken her skin so as to fit into the role. “When Kunle saw me, he said he knew me

to have a brown skin, but that I have become lighter.

And he gave me one month to get darker, if I had to stand a chance of getting the role before he even asked me to read. I used Shea Butter and everything that I could lay my hands on. By the expiration time, I had achieved the colour I think I would like,” she added.

POLITICS

TUESDAY AUGUST 12, 2014

43

THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

OSUN POLITICS Osun State Govenor Rauf Aregbesola has braced all odds to secure a second term in a critical election that has affirmed the relative commitment of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the sanctity of the ballot box. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU writes on the lessons of the poll.

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OR seven and half hours, there was suspense at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office on Gbogan-Osogbo Road, Osogbo, the Osun State capital. That was between 12 midnight on Saturday and 7.30 on Sunday, when the people anxiously waited for the announcement of the final result of the governorship election by the Chief Returning Officer, Prof. Bamitale Omole, the Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. Hours before the Local Government Collation Officers (CO) returned to the INEC office from 30 local governments, there were jubilations in many parts of the state, particularly Osogbo, Ede, Iwo, Ejigbo, and Ilesa. Based on the reports of the All Progressives Congress (APC) agents, party chieftains were also in celebration mood. But, the celebration of the governor’s victory was suspended, following the delay by the university don.

At 1.51 am, Omole, who was accompanied by the INEC National Commissioner, Ambassador Mohammadu Wali, the National Commissioners for Election Operations, Nuhu Yakubu, Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Olusegun Agbaje and his Ondo State counterpart, Akin Orebiyi, begun to receive the results from the local governments. As the COs begun to submit the results one after the other, there was no panic and no eyebrow was raised by any of the political parties’ representatives. However, tension rose when it took Omole a long time to announce the winner.

Party leaders from far and near bombarded the electoral agency with phone calls and text messages. Suddenly, the rumour of likely malpractice and distortion of the final result at the final collation spread like a wild fire. Many had kept vigil as they were glued to television sets monitoring the collation. Sources said that Aregbesola, who had returned to the Government House, Osogbo from Ilesa, where he had gone to cast his vote, was restless. At the APC Situation Room, a party chieftain shouted: “I suspect a foul play. It appears that they wanted to rig the election, even at this stage.” Nobody could assuage that shared fear.

When the rumour spread to the final collation centre that midnight, many people were enveloped in anxiety. Reporters, security agents, party agents and others were discussing in hush tones.

“Is it true that there is an order from above putting the announcement on hold,” a party chieftain asked some reporters. There was no answer.

One of the chieftains of a smaller party alleged that a notable Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gladiators from the Southeast had advised the Federal Government to deploy more troops to curtail any violent reaction, if the PDP candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, was declared winner. The allegation could not be substantiated. But, a misleading statement in the social media by a former minister that PDP chieftains and followers were also celebrating victory heightened the tension.

The APC agent at the collation centre, Hon. Oladosu Rasak, was worried by the turn of events.

He noted that the submission of results by 30 LGA COs could take time because of the distance between some local government headquarters and the state capital. But, he said the delay in final collation was suspicious. Asked to react to the allegation that the loser may be declared the winner, he said: “I have had that too, but how it can be possible is what I don’t know.” Another APC chieftain, Ajibola Famurewa, a member of the House of Representatives, said: “At this stage, it is too late to rig. We will wait for the pronouncement by the chief returning officer.” But, Information Commissioner Hon. Sunday Akere, was confident that the verdict will not be aborted.

“We have voted and the people have decided.

We know the result already. We are only here for validation and affirmation by the INEC,” he said.

Around 7 a.m, reporters and party agents were running out of patience. “All we are saying, give us the result,” they chorused in protest. The RO was not indifferent to their protest. Urging them to exercise more patience, he said: “I thank you for your patience. Give me two minutes to round up and announce the result.”

The OAU Vice Chancellor was conscious of his historic duty. The work of a Returning Officer is sensitive. Apparently, he scholar was not unaware of the suspicion of the INEC by stakeholders. He

• Aregbesola at Freedom Pack, Osogbo, shortly after he was declared winner by the INEC.

Triumph of people’s will wanted to make sure that the final collation was neatly done and right figures were released. The old teacher shunned the calculator and opted for manual calculation. Omole did not request for any assistance from mathematicians and statisticians from the OAU and the University of Ibadan who were Local Government COs. The manual calculation was done for almost three and half hours. During that suspense, anxiety and tension had brew.

The announcement of Aregbesola as the winner by Omole doused the tension in seconds.

Aregbesola’s vicroty became the PDP’s nightmare.

The party had invested much in the exercise. Party chieftains, including the candidate, Omisore, the Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan, Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, and South West PDP Contact and Mobilisation Committee Chairman Buruji Kashamu, were full of bravado. Unable to reconcile expectation with reality, the PDP agent at the collation centre, Hon. Bolu Ajao, was downcast. When the Chief Returning Officer asked him to sign the result sheet, he refused. “We have notified the commission about the lapses in the election. We have issue with the integrity of the process. Our candidate is in the best position to take an appropriate action,” he told reporters.

According to the result, the governor, who won convincingly in 22 local governments, scored 394,684 votes, beating his main challenger, Omisore, who polled 292,747 and second runner-up, Fatai Akinbade, who got 8,898. Omisore won in eight councils. The analysis confirmed the two-party pattern in Osun State and underscored the weakness of smaller parties merely warming the INEC register.

But, the outcome of the poll also has implications for 2015 general elections. If this pattern is sustained, the PDP may dislodge some APC legislators in the House of Assembly and the National Assembly in next year’s election.

For Aregbesola, the road to victory was laced with thorns. Ahead of the poll, the PDP, basking in the

euphoria of its victory in Ekiti State, boasted that the governor’s days in office were numbered. The campaigns were hot and chaotic in some areas.

Lies and fabrications were reeled out on the podium by the opposition to discredit the government and get a upper hand. The idea of stomach infrastructure also came on the front burner, with the PDP chieftains urging prospective voters to ignore performance and embrace transient cash gifts and foodstuffs. The governor was portrayed as a reckless administrator who had plunged the state into debt. Many PDP chieftains also incited civil servants, motor cyclists, artisans and peasants against him, saying that he was their lives would be in jeopardy in his second term.

Omisore also relied on the federal might. Under the pretext of maintaining order, soldiers were deployed to Osun. The PDP flag bearer copied the style of his Ekiti State counterpart, Ayodele Fayose, by going populist. He rode on okada to rallies and bought roasted corn and banana on the road, projecting himself as the man to beat. Few days to the poll, former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, a defector from the PDP to the PDP, put spanner into his calculation. Describing Omisore as incompetent, he warned the people against voting for an ex-Agodi Prison detainee.

Aregbesola ran an issue-oriented campaign. His strength lied in his achievements, power of ideas and courage. In every local government, he pointed at development projects completed by his administration. He said he needed a second a term to consolidate his service delivery to 30 local governments.

Many observers pointed out that the poll was largely free and fair. Throughout the state, only results from three polling booths were disputed.

The Collation Officers cancelled them and notified the REC. Thus, many party leaders hailed the electoral commission for their commitment to the sanctity of the ballot box. However, selected party agents had an axe to grind with the INEC

‘Aregbesola ran an issue-oriented campaign. His strength lied in his achievements, power of ideas and courage. In every local government, he pointed at development projects completed by his administration. He said he needed a second a term to consolidate his service delivery to 30 local governments’

on poll day. They complained that they were not allowed to monitor voting by INEC officials and security agents, owing to their lack of identification tags. To douse the anxiety, Agbaje, directed that some officials to issue the tags to the affected agents. The REC later explained to reporters that the non-issuance of tags to the agents was not deliberate. Agbaje said: “ I have received calls from party leaders on the complaint. Many party agents did not show up with their tags. They did not go to the polling booths with tags. We have directed that the specific electoral officer should return to the INEC Office to release the tags to them.”

From 8 am to 4pm, movement was restricted across the state. Nature was kind to the State of Living Springs. The weather was benevolent. Voters stormed polling units for accreditation without fear of intimidation by thugs. Owing to the huge turnout, accreditation could not be completed at noon. However, prospective voters who came late were not allowed to join the queue by polling officers and security agents. Ahead of the poll, sensitive and non-sensitive polling materials had been deployed to the local governments by INEC. Unlike the controversial 2007 poll, there were no complaints about shortage of voting materials, late coming by polling officers, absence of accreditation materials, lack of voters’ register and harassment and molestation of voters by security agents. Also, there was no case of ballot snatching by thugs. Unlike the eve of the election, when APC leaders were harassed and arrested by policemen, there was respite on poll day. The only chieftain who was harassed was former Governor Isiaka Adeleke. But, when police invaded his polling unit at Ede, he escaped being arrested.

Therefore, he could not vote. His aides were not lucky as they were arrested and taken to Osogbo.

The pre-election experience of some APC chieftains created doubts about the possibility of a credible poll. Alarmed at the massive presence of soldiers, Aregbesola cried out that the PDP wanted to stage a civilian coup, adding that the state is under the siege of the gun. It was an understatement. No fewer than 50 chieftains and supporters were arrested and detained. Among them were the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Hon. Wale Afolabi, his Ministry of Agriculture counterpart, Wale Adedoyin, Mr. Tijani Oladosun and party supporters. Another chieftain, Hon. Bamisaye, a legislator from Ilesa, had to run into the bush to escape arrest.

Bamisaye, who spoke with reporters on phone, said that “hired policemen had chased APC members into the bush in Ijesa area”. He added: “I can’t reveal where I am now. I escaped into the bush.

Many of our leaders are in the bush; wounded.

We don’t know whether they are policemen or fake police.”

Adedoyin, who was released around 11.30 am, said the arrest of party leaders was unfortunate.

Narrating his ordeal, he said: “Around 9.15 pm, some people were banging my gate in my house at Ilesa.They said I should open the gate. I reported to the SSS. The SSS said that I should not open.

After 15 minutes, one of them jumped the fence into my house. They said that, if I don’t open my door, they will blow up my house. They said they wanted to interrogate me at their office in Osogbo.”

During the door-to door campaign by the APC, party followers were educated on how to handle the ballot papers, to avoid another “photocromic” experience. Former APC Interim National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande objected to the decision by some INEC staff to stop voters from folding the ballot papers after voting. He said they had the constitutional right to do so. Akande addded: “Voters are at liberty to fold the ballot box before dropping it. A voter can even put the ballot paper inside his pocket and refuse to drop it” Akande also berated the security agents for molesting APC supporter.

Decrying the arrest, Aregbesola said that it was part of the flawed process that heralded the poll.

“The problem is not with the people, but with the institutions charged with the conduct of the election. The crackdown on APC leaders was unwarranted. They were molested, brutalised and incarcerated. Osun is under the siege of the gun. What does the Federal Government want? Do they want to force their candidate on the people or they want the people to exercise their right to vote. They want to stage a civilian coup in Osun.”

THE NATION TUESDAY AUGUST 12, 2014

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POLITICS OSUN POLITICS Despite its victory at the governorship election, the Osun State All Progressives Congress (APC) has another hurdle to cross at next year’s parliamentary polls, if the pattern of results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is sustained. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the challenges ahead.

• Senator Omisore

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• Obanikoro

• Adesiyan

• Bello

•Kashamu

APC, PDP and battle for 2015

SUN State All Progressives Congress (APC) has survived the federal onslaught. But, it has more hurdles to cross as next year’s elections into the House of Assembly and the National Assembly draw near. Although Governor Rauf Aregbesola has secured a second term, the party, according to analysts, must not sleep on guard.

As an observer put it, “the euphoria of victory should wither immediately because there more challenges ahead and more work to do”.

The next battle is the parliamentary election. The outcome of the gover-

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OTH the All Progressives Con gress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) prepared well for the governorship election. But, there were some principal characters whose involvement shaped the contest. These stakeholders are the winners and losers of the contest.

Winners: APC Few months ago, the party was down in Ekiti State. During the governorship election, its candidate, Governor Kayode Fayemi, lost to the PDP candidate, Mr. Ayodele Fayose. The outcome of the poll was surprising because the governor has performed in office. The PDP had boasted that its victory meant that it was now well positioned to recapture the Southwest.

But, the it is now a draw. The APC has maintained its hold in Osun, despite its defeat in Ekiti.

Tinubu No doubt, the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s leader. The governor, who had served under him in Lagos as Commissioner for Works for almost eight years, is a dependable and loyal party man. Tinubu played a major role in his ascension to power in Osun State. Although Tinubu is a national figure, the Southwest is his primary base. He is the leader of the progressives in the region. When Ekiti was recaptured, it was insinuated that his sphere of influence had reduced.

But, with the victory of Aregbesola, the party has received the tonic to forge ahead into 2015 electoral battle.

Akande The elder statesman is a father figure to the progressive bloc in Osun State. In 2003, the former APC Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, lost the governorship election to former Governor Olagunsoye

norship poll has implications for the next contest.

Political watchers are of the opinion that how the election was fought played an important role. Other factors that played an important role was the candidates’ origin. While the PDP flag bearer, Senator Iyiola Omisore won massively in four local governments in Ife, Aregbesola got a massive endorsement at Ilesa, his native local government.

According to the final results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the APC got 394, 684 votes. The PDP had

292, 747 votes. The 101,937 margin is a bit wide, but it means that the APC has a sizeable support. The APC has overwhelming support in 22 local governments. The PDP has roots in eight councils. To have a breakthrough at the parliamentary election, not only should the APC guard its strongholds jealously, it must also work hard to regain the confidence of the eight states.

In Bolorunduro Local Government Area, the PDP had 5,035 votes. The APC had 4,891 votes. In Odo-Otin, both parties ran neck. The margin between 11,950 scored by the APC

and 12, 902 got by the PDP is 1,048.

Many factors will influence the parliamentary poll, which is more local.

But, the pattern suggests that the PDP has a bright chance at the parliamentary poll like the APC. In Isokan, the APC had 9,758 and the PDP 10,028. In Ayedire, APC had 7,724 and PDP 7813. This means that the two parties have substantial influence and support in these areas.

Statistically, it could be inferred that Ife has slipped away from the APC. In 2011 elections, the four local governments supported the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). But,

Winners and losers Oyinlola. It was painful to lovers of progress and prudence. Now, the second term he could not achieve or what he lost to alleged rigging has now been achieved by one of his political children.

Aregbesola His victory can be described as the triumph of the people’s will over the federal might. The stomach infrastructure theory collapsed. Aregbesola fought for three years to regain his stolen mandate. In almost four years, he has demonstrated the brilliance of a patriot, astute administrator and performer. A week to the poll, a Lagos APC chieftain said it would be difficult for to rehabilitate Aregbesola by the APC, if he is defeated or rigged out. “He has been working and there is no evidence that he has amassed wealth. He deserves victory. I know he will win, but we must not sleep on guard,” said the legislator. With his endorsement for continuity, he has emerged as one of the undisputed leaders of Osun politics in post-Bola Ige era and the toast of the people.

Adeleke The former governor, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, defected from the APC to the PDP, few months before the poll.

He was harassed on the eve of the election by policemen who covered their faces to avoid being identified. The PDP had picked Hon. Adejare Bello from Ede, his base, as Omisore’s running mate. The former Speaker of the House of Assembly had boasted to deliver the area to the PDP. But, it amounted to day dreaming. The success of the APC in Ede has affirmed Adeleke’s stature and popularity at home.

‘Aregbesola’s victory can be described as the triumph of the people’s will over the federal might. The stomach infrastructure theory collapsed. Aregbesola fought for three years to regain his stolen mandate. In almost four years, he has demonstrated the brilliance of a patriot, astute administrator and performer. With his endorsement for continuity, he has emerged as one of the undisputed leaders of Osun politics in post-Bola Ige era and the toast of the people’ Adeyeye and his team Prof. Sola Adeyeye, the vocal senator from Osun Central, was the Chairman of Rauf Aregbesola Campaign Organisation. He and members of his team organised rallies and campaigns for the governor. He was not afraid of molestation by security agents. When the Acting Inspector General of Police Abba visited the state, he complained about the victimisation of the APC members. “I have signed my will”, he said, daring the security agents.

Osun voters Osun has the highest number of urban centres and towns in the country.

Across the three districts and six zones, Aregbesola is loved by the people.

Although they were wooed with cash gifts and food stuffs, they voted for their conscience. They trooped out in large numbers to exercise their voting rights. In particular, they also

shunned unruly behaviour. Not only did they vote for the governor, they also defended their votes.

INEC The electoral agency also conducted a fairly credible poll. Complaints by stakeholders during the election were responded to by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Olusegun Agbaje.

Polling officers reported for duty in time. There was no shortage of polling officers, ballot boxes and papers.

Unlike 2007,there was no aiding and abetting. INEC staff did not collude with security agents to abort the wish of the people.

Losers: PDP The greatest loser is the PDP. The party has been checkmated in its bid to recapture the Southwest. Politically, President Goodluck Jonathan may have an axe to grind with Aregbesola because he could not garner votes from the state at the 2011 presidential election. That was due to the governor’s influence. The PDP was said to have invested a lot in the exercise, in terms of logistics. The outcome of the election has shown that there is a limitation to the power of federal incumbency.

President Jonathan When the President visited Osun State for campaign, he boasted that PDP chieftains would return to the state for the inauguration of Senator Iyiola Omisore as governor. Instructively, the President could not point to the achievement of his administration in the Southwest state in the last three and half years. He said he would speak on his achievements after Omisore might have won the poll.

the four local governments-Ife North, East, Central and South voted massively for the PDP. If this trend is sustained in 2015, then, the APC would have to rely on votes from Ijesa axis to neutralise the effects of the bloc votes from Ife. In Ife Central, PDP got 24,555. It was a wide departure from APC’s 9,680.

In Ife East, PDP got 20,831. The APC polled 13,821. In Ife North, the margin is not too wide. While the PDP secured 9,841 votes, the APC got 8,603.

In Ife South, the PDP got 12, 811 votes and APC had 7,325. The margin is wide.

Omisore and Bello The politician from Ile-Ife is a veteran governorship aspirant. His ambition to rule the state started during the Abacha days. Indeed, it was said that the Alliance for Democracy (AD), which fielded Akande as its flag bearer in 1999 relied on Omisore’s structure to win the poll. In 2002, the former deputy governor showed interest in the governorship. He left for the PDP, contested the senatorial election in detention and won. He was re-elected in 2007. But, in 2011, he was defeated by his kinsman, Senator Babajide Omoworare. The PDP candidate, who emerged as the PDP flag bearer at a rancorous shadow poll, was determined to dislodge Aregbesola. Like his Ekiti State counterpart, he indulged on riding okada to rallies. He was also sighted on the street eating corn and roasted plantain. But, he was rejected by the people. Although he garnered substantial votes from his town, Ile-Ife , they were inadequate to make him governor. Before the poll, Omisore’s running mate, Bello said that he would pull the rug of Adeleke’s feet at home. But, after the close of the poll, he failed to deliver.

Southwest PDP The crisis-ridden zonal chapter was motivated by its marginal success in Ekiti to challenge the APC to a duel in its stronghold. Its members holding important positions in the Federal Government threw their weight behind the PDP candidate. Among them were the Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro and his Police Affairs counterpart, Jelili Adesiyan. The Chairman of the Contact and Mobilisation Committee, Buruji Kashamu, also gave a helping hand. But, the rainbow coalition could not match the APC arsenal.

HEALTH

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

45

THE NATION

E-mail:- health@thenationonlineng.net

Containing the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak is the major challenge both the Federal and the Lagos State governments are grappling with. OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA and WALE ADEPOJU report.

Can Nigeria win the war against Ebola?

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AN Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) be contained in Nigeria? With 139 suspected cases, two deaths and nine confirmed cases, the country seems to be running against time. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Ebola outbreaks can devastate families and communities, but the infection can be controlled through the use of recommended protective measures in clinics and hospitals, at community gatherings, or at home.

Nigeria was never proactive in the prevention of the disease.

An outbreak of EVD in West Africa was first reported late March 2014. As of August 4, this year, according to the WHO, 1,711 cases and 932 deaths (case fatality 55-60 per cent) have been reported across the three affected countries. This is the largest outbreak of Ebola ever documented and the first recorded in West Africa.

So far Nigeria's case fatality rate for Ebola Virus Disease is 28.6 percent. In the ECOWAS region, the case fatality rate stands at 55 percent, which means 45 percent of people who have suffered Ebola are alive and living witnesses.

EVD is one of numerous viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHF). It is a severe, often fatal disease in human and nonhuman primates. EVD is spread by direct contact with the blood or secretions (urine, faeces, semen, breast milk, and possibly others) of an infected person or exposure to objects that have been contaminated with infected secretions.

The incubation period is usually eight to 10 days (rarely ranging from two to 21 days).

While neighbouring countries on the Western coast were recording confirmed cases and deaths, Nigeria was paying lip service to precautionary measures and campaigns to sensitise the citizenry on what the disease is; mode of transmission and contraction, among other recommendations by the WHO, inspite of the porous borders.

And with the index case of late Patrick Sawyerr, an American-Liberian, on July 22, in Lagos; the governments are now trying to contain Ebola’s spread. The development is already creating anxiety among the populace.

A nurse and a doctor who attended to the late Sawyer died. Ebola disease has no known cure, for now.

Though at the international scene there are two drugs- TKM-Ebola and ZMAPP with the potentials to treat the disease, the country is yet to access the drugs due to logistics reasons.

President Goodluck Jonathan has declared an emergency over the Ebola outbreak and approved N1.9 billion to contain it. The money is expected to be used in strengthening steps to contain the virus by putting up additional isolation centres, case management, contact tracing, deployment of additional personnel, screening at borders, and the procurement of required items and facilities.

So far, the Federal Government in

conjunction with the Lagos State Government has been able to put up some tents at the General Hospital, Mainland, Yaba, former Infectious Disease Hospital, to quarantine suspected cases.

The Management of the University Teaching Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State has stated that it can deal with Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola HF) outbreak.

According to the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof Temitope Alonge, Ebola belongs to a group of Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs), which refer to a group of illnesses that are caused by several distinct families of viruses.

The CMD said his hospital has the human capacity and facility to detect and manage the Ebola because, “We have been proactive as far back as 2012, by setting up VHF isolation precautions as well as standard precautions, which enabled us to manage Dengue fever and other outbreaks back then. It was later confirmed that no further nosocomial transmission of the virus was documented, indicating that although Dengue is highly infectious, the use of these measures is effective in preventing the spread of disease and other Viral hemorrhagic fevers, such as Ebola.”

According to Alonge, UCH has one of the best virology laboratories in West Africa, with capacity to test hemorrhagic and contagious diseases like Dengue, Lassa fever and Ebola disease.

He said UCH had taken proactive steps since 2012 to prepare for emergencies like this, by setting up the UCH Emergency Response to Disaster Committee, though the concern then was cholera, and Lassa fever last year.

“I’m surprised when people say we cannot make diagnosis of Ebola and that is not true. The Minister of Health has said we can. UCH has the biggest virology lab in terms of clinical care. We look after polio and ours is a place where we would give you all the strains of polio in Nigeria and the Lassa fever detected in Mokola some years ago. We have a lab that is part-funded by the WHO that has the facility to diagnose not only Ebola, but Lassa and Dengue fevers. We have the capacity to do 500 cases as I speak. But on daily basis, we can collect the specimen and run it. With the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we can do 35 cycles within a day. To say that we cannot make diagnosis in Nigeria is not correct but what we normally do and in line with international standard, we collect another sample for further sampling.”

F

He said UCH is prepared not only to take care of, “our patients if they come but also to educate the public.

We have been doing this before now and have started setting up our tents before any institution in the country starts.

“We are also prepared to assist any state that can bring samples to Ibadan for analysis. The only challenge we have now is having no space for whole cremation, but partcremation, which we have been doing for the likes of diabetes-foot among others,” he said.

The CMD said the institution would stage an awareness campaign to enlighten members of the public on the disease.

“We have provided simple fliers to tell the public what Ebola is, symptoms and what people can do to prevent it. They are to be distributed in Gbagi market, Dugbe market and Gbagi Titun, so that people can have an idea. We have also gone ahead to translate the language to Yoruba and Hausa,” he said.

He said the major challenge now facing his hospital is how to cremate bodies of Ebola deceased, should there be in his hospital, but, “we have contacted the India communities and other experts in that field and they are ready to collaborate with us should the need arises. We have also printed out pamphlets in English, Yoruba and Hausa languages on what Ebola is, mode of

transmission and preventive measures. We have enough Personal Protective Garments (PPG) for the workforce, so UCH is ready and prepared. It will be irresponsible of anybody to say we do not have the capacity in terms of laboratory to diagnose Ebola. The Minister, Prof Onyebuch Chukwu has clearly stated that Nigeria can make accurate diagnoses of Ebola.

“Not only that, we have a bill board that scrolls every five minutes at the main gate, called orita mefa (six-T-junctions), where passers-by stay glued reading the information on Ebola. The important thing now is to prevent contracting same by washing of hands with either soap, ash or use sanitizers.”

Meeanwhile, the government is soliciting for volunteer health workers because medics in its employment are on strike, just as nurses are skeptical of their full service delivery.

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), which is the parent body of all doctors association in the country is concerned about the safety of its members, who would treat the Ebola patients. Members want government to stipulate in clear terms the coverage of the insurance policy.

In the wake of this, the 38-day old strike was called off, but the association is divided over whether Nigeria has what it takes to solve the problem.

WHO recommendations on Ebola include:

AMILES or communities not to care for individuals who may present with symptoms of Ebola virus disease in their homes.

Rather, seek treatment in a hospital or treatment centre staffed by doctors and nurses qualified and equipped to treat Ebola virus vic-

tims.

If you do choose to care for your loved one at home, WHO strongly advises you to notify your local public health authority and receive appropriate training, equipment (gloves and personal protective equipment [PPE]) for treatment, in-

structions on proper removal and disposal of PPE, and information on how to prevent further infection and transmission of the disease to yourself, other family members, or the community.

• Source: www.int.who

A faction among the association said the country is ill-equipped to contain the outbreak.

Nurses, too, are against the government for the death of their colleague to Ebola virus disease (EVD).

They said they wont be cajoled into signing their ‘death warrant’.

Past National Deputy President, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, (NANNM), Mr Olufemi Tonade, described the death of the nurse as unfortunate, pathetic and painful.

He said it is quiet unfortunate that the Federal Government has not addressed basic needs of healthcare workers, especially nurses.

Tonade said nurses will not be swayed by government’s deceit because there is dearth of equipment.

“We have concluded that we are not going to sign a death warrant.

How will the government who cannot resolve basic health needs solve the problem of EVD, which has posed a very serious health hazard.

This has shut down Liberia and may shut down other West African countries,” he said.

He said the government did not get its priorities right because EVD is deadly and cannot be politicised.

It should be addressed with all fiat by any serious government, he added.

He said no hospital in Nigeria is prepared to handle the disease.

“They should not politicise it that they have protective equipment. It is no longer preventive in Nigeria rather it is now curative approach,” Tonade noted. The United States, he said, has just tested a drug. “So, all we are saying is that the government should be decisive and tackle the disease headlong.

He said NNMAM is trying to identify the matron who died from the disease.

“For now, we do not know if she is in the private sector or public sector. No amount of money can be given to nurses to attend to an Ebola patient.

This is because nothing is working in Nigeria. The Insurance industry is not effective in Nigeria. The government insurance scheme could be likened to the third party insurance people have on their car. And you know with third party insurance, you do not expect anything when your car gets damaged,” he said.

He said nurses do not have faith in government’s life insurance coverage, saying: “Insurance system in Nigeria is not effective. We cannot promise our members to take such life insurance.”

Besides, we will not allow our members to sign such a death warrant, although it is true we have the man power but no facilities.

He said that is why health workers resisted the government from bringing Ebola patients to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) because there are no facilities there.

He said: “In a third party insurance, you don’t have to wait for anybody to repair your car and that is exactly what the government’s life insurance is all about. “What would the government give that could compare to the lives of doctors, nurses and pharmacists, among other health professionals,” he said.

He advised the government to seek help from developed countries, such as the US. “ Let them bring in the drugs that the Americans are currently using for their people. Yes we have quarantined them but we need serious commitment on the part of government,” Tonade stated.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

HEALTH

Girl needs N8.5m for transplant

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OMADE Balogun is a pretty young lady battling with chronic kidney disease. The 26-year old was initially diagnosed to have had high cholesterol level after noticing a swelling on one foot in 2006. Since then, she has been fighting the kidney disease with numerous medications coupled with several visits to the hospital.

From Ekiti State hospital to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Yomade started receiving treatment under the supervision of Dr Busari at Gbagada General Hospital until the commencement of the ongoing strike of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

She is presently receiving dialysis treatment at Clinis Health Care costing N100, 000 twice a week to survive. Dialysis is the artificial process of eliminating waste and unwanted water from the blood i.e. an artificial replacement for lost

• Yomade

By Temitayo Ayetoto

kidney function.

Now she has been advised to go for an urgent kidney transplant with

a cost projection of N8.5million which her widow and civil servant mother working with SomoluBariga Local Government in Lagos State cannot afford. She is seeking assistance from Nigerians in her battle against the disease.

Yomade graduated from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife in 2009 after which she was posted to Yobe State for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) the following year.

Upon completion, she enrolled for CIPM (Chartered Institute of Personnel Management) and learnt sewing. The Ondo State indigene and fashion designer is hopeful if promptly rescued.

She wants all financial support directed to these accounts: Balogun Yomade Yewande GTB: 0130520176, DIAMOND BANK: 0051136447, ZENITH: 2084974783.

• From left: Chief Medical Director (CMD), University Teaching Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, Prof Temitope Alonge;

President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Olumide Akintayo; Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), UCH, Ibadan, Dr Abiodun Otegbayo and Director of Administration, UCH, Mrs Olufunke Adepoju during a courtesy visit of the UCH Management to the Pharmacy House in Lagos. PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAM.

PSN urges research on Ebola

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ORRIED by the outbreak of Ebola virus disease, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has urged researchers to conduct a study to identify a vaccine for the prevention of the disease.

In recent reviews by the PSN research and study group, it was discovered that some previous work had been conducted through these reflected studies: • High-titeredhyperimmune horse anti-Ebola serum has been protective in baboons experimentally challenged with Ebola (1).

• Monoclonal antibodies from the marrow of Ebola survivors (2) • A potential, promising vaccine that offered considerable protection against Ebola to guinea pigs (3).

• In mice used as a model for Ebola infections, a series of nucleoside analogue inhibitors of Sadenosylhomocysteine hydrolase provided protection against EbolaZaire when administered within 2 days of Ebola-Zaire infection.

Three companies, the US government and the Public Health Agency of Canada are behind the experimental drug.

“ZMapp was first identified as a drug candidate in January 2014 and has not yet been evaluated for safety in humans. As such, very little of the drug is currently available”.

Promoters of “ZMapp and its partners are co-operating with appropriate government agencies to increase production as quickly as possible.”

ZMapp is a drug still in its experimental stage being produced by Mapp Biopharmaceuticals in collaboration with LeafBio (San Diego, CA), Defyrus Inc. (Toronto, Canada), the U.S. government and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). This drug is composed of three humanised monoclonal antibodies manufactured in plants specifically the plant Nicotiana which is commonly used in tobacco production. Genes of the necessary antibodies are fused to the tobacco genes, infecting the tobacco with the virus. The plant then produces

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

wanted antibodies that are subsequently separated from the plant when it is ground up. The body’s immune system can vigilantly fight off the virus once the antibodies from the serum are present in the blood system. The treatment offers an artificial immune response to the virus, and the labmade antibodies then fight the infection by binding to the Ebola virus. Since it is still in the experimental stage, it has not yet been tested in humans for safety or effectiveness and more study is needed.

ZMapp is not a vaccine and is being designed solely for treatment of the Ebola disease; however the NIH (National Institute of Health) in the US is working on developing a vaccine. It is also supporting the Crucell biopharmaceutical company in its development of an Ebola/Marburg vaccine as well as Profectus Biosciences in its development of an Ebola vaccine.

Additionally, NIH and the Thomas Jefferson University are collaborating to develop a candidate Ebola vaccine based on the established rabies vaccine. Zmapp has yet to enter Phase 1 testing but has shown some success in treating Dr Kent Brantley and Nancy Writebol who contracted the virus while working in Africa. Although neither patient is cured each has shown considerable improvement in their condition.

The FDA has recently authorised the use of a diagnostic test for Ebola developed by the department of defense called the DoD EZ1 Real time RT-PCR Assay to help determine if aid workers and responders are infected. Until experimental drugs pass clinical trials and are available for human treatment, the best treatment for individuals infected with the virus is supportive care. This includes, providing fluids, maintaining blood pressure, providing oxygen as needed, replacing lost blood and treating other infections that develop.

Bodies celebrate world Breastfeeding Week

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HILD Health Advocacy Initiative (CHAI) has collaborated with Ikeja Local Government and the Lagos State Ministry of Health (LSMOH) to celebrate the 2014 World Breastfeeding week. It is a celebration that is set aside every year globally to commemorate the world Breastfeeding week.

The theme for this year is “Breastfeeding: score a goal; save a life”, at the Ikeja Local Government Hall, Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja, Lagos.

It is a call for action to support breastfeeding, calling on policy makers, healthcare providers, employers and the community at large to support mothers in reaching their personal breastfeeding goal.

In attendance were: Mrs Lola Alonge, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Director of Child Health Advocacy Initiative (CHAI), Hon. Wale Odunlami, Chairman of Ikeja Local Government, Mrs Toyin Adams, representing the Commissioner of Health, Lagos state, Dr. Yemi Sofola, acting Chairman Health Board amongst others.

The Chief Executive Officer of CHAI, Lola Alonge expressed joy, saying: “CHAI, a United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is one of the major advocates of breastfeeding in Nigeria for 10 years.

She said: “Breastfeeding is the right of the child and the best investment that can be given to the child.”

Hence, exclusive breastfeeding, an adequate complementary feeding are key interven-

By Inimfon Otung

tions for improving child survival and saving the lives of about 20 per cent of children.

The principles of breastfeeding, she said, includes breastfeeding a child within 30minutes of delivery and continuing until six months of age, continue with other foods until two years.

Alonge said during exclusive breastfeeding, a child should not be given water, herbal drink, or other foods, unless prescribed by the doctor. The baby’s mouth must be wide open and should cover most of the black area of the nipple (Areola), adding that, “the baby’s head and body must be in a straight line during breastfeeding and the baby’s nose must be opposite to the nipple.”

Hence, mothers should position and attach the baby to the breast properly and allow their hands touch the breast while feeding, she said.

She further said: “The baby’s whole body should be supported and be held close to the mother’s body”. Also, the mother should look into the eyes of the child when breastfeeding.

The benefit of breastfeeding is enormous both to the mother and child, adding that; “it helps to reduce poverty because the mother will save money on formula, it helps in child spacing and also creates bonding between the mother and child.”

Other benefits are that it is highly digestible, it comes out in

normal temperature, it makes the child intelligent. Also, it is cheap and doesn’t cost anything to produce. It makes the child healthy and prevents the child from illnesses.

According to her, for mothers to achieve the best, there must be an enabling environment and places where mothers can breastfeed in public. Thus, women should not be intimidated or harassed for breastfeeding in the public.

She said more awareness about breastfeeding must be given to mothers who go for ante-natal in health care centres.

To support the programme, Alonge said: “CHAI has introduced breastfeeding counseling line for mothers to come and receive support where necessary.”

She urged mothers to always seek advice from experts on the type of drugs to take when breastfeeding so as not to affect the child.

She said, in Section 227 of the Criminal code law of the Lagos State, 2011, states that: “a man cannot abandon a woman who is pregnant for him, neither his child which is his responsible for. He must be responsible for the antenatal and post-natal of the mother and child, and also the upkeep of the child.”

Chairman of Ikeja Local Government, Hon. Wale Odunlami, urged mothers not to forget the immunization of their children of the ages of zero to five, and to keep abreast of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) situation. He enjoined

mothers to keep a good hygiene to prevent illnesses.

Odunlami thanked CHAI for their support to mothers and the women present at the event for coming out with their babies in large numbers.

Representing the Commissioner of Health, Lagos state, Mrs Toyin Adams, said breastfeeding prevents the child from diarrhea, breast cancer, ovarian cancers and other illnesses. Adding that, “a child that is well breastfed has higher intelligent brain. This can only be achieved with exclusive breastfeeding.”

She said people need to bring their attention to the current national exclusive breastfeeding rate, as at 2008 13 per cent, while in 2011 15 per cent, which is the multiple total survey carried out in Nigeria.

By 2013, the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS)

indicated that the national exclusive breastfeeding rate is 17 per cent, which is grossly unacceptable, she said.

Adams said “CHAI in the past 10 years has been supporting breastfeeding in Lagos State, technically with bill boards, provision of price for breastfeeding champions”.

She enjoined mothers to visit the primary health centers in case of breast feeding challenges because they are professional health workers and would be of assistance to them. Adding that, “ the Lagos state government is putting all its best in ensuring that the health centers are up to standard.”

She said, youths need to be stimulated about breastfeeding becoming parents for adequate knowledge of it. She therefore appealed to the media that their reports on the breastfeeding week should be yearly.

What are typical signs, symptoms of Ebola?

S

UDDEN onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat are typical signs and symptoms. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding.

Laboratory findings include low white blood cell and platelet counts, and elevated liver enzymes.

The incubation period, or the time interval from infection to onset of symptoms, is from 2 to 21 days. The patients become contagious once they begin to show symptoms. They are not contagious during the incubation period.

Ebola virus disease infections can only be confirmed through laboratory testing.

• Source: www.int.who

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

47

PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT

A

Six years after, Tejuosho Phase 1 ready for use

FTER about six years of construction, the new Tejuosho Main Market, Phase 1, has been completed and ready for use.

The market, burnt in December 2007, was reconstructed through a public-private partnership (PPP)

by Stormberg Engineering Limited, an indigenous firm. The PPP is for 25 years.

Stormberg’s Project Director, Mr. Abiodun Oshodi, said all is set for the take-off of business in the new complex. He explained that the complex was built to cater for both the high end owners and petty traders.

The lock-up shops, basically for the high end buyers, are 80 per cent sold out, while the K clamp stalls have been sold out. He explained that the facility is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. For instance, the control of fire incident

Stories by Muyiwa Lucas

has been adequately taken care with the provision of 500, 000 litres of water at the basement.

Also, permanent fire men have been stationed in the building while a device has been put in place to alert the nearest fire station, in the event of an outbreak of fire.

For conveniences, 240 toilets were built, while there is a police post and private security; 537 cars will be accommodated at the basement.

Maintenance of the facility has been contracted to two facility management companies - a South African firm and a Nigerian firm.

The Executive Directive, Corporate Banking, FirstBank of Nigeria, Mr. Tokunbo Abiru, who’s bank is providing mortgage finance for the project, explained that there are two types of financing undertaken by his bank in the project- the construction

finance and the mortgage finance.

The construction finance was to Stormberg Engineering towards the building of the market, while the mortgage financing was to the public. Abirun, however, declined to disclose the amount involved in the construction financing to Stormberg.

He, however, explained that for the mortgage finance, prospective beneficiaries are to contribute a certain percentage as equity while the bank would finance the remaining; repayment period is over a period of eight years.

Other concessions given for the mortgage include a no collateral regime - as the shop purchased is used as the collateral, and ease of accessibility to the loan.

“This is the type of banking service FirstBank will give to any developmental project. We are committed to PPP to move the economy forward,” Abiru said.

Lagos to build Ikoyi, Lekki link roads

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H E L a g o s S t a t e go v e r n ment has approved the construction of Ijeh road leading to Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi and Igbokusu Road in Lekki.

The Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, said the measure would ensure that the roads are made passable before they are accommodated in the state’s budget.

He added that it would involve the use of materials that would still be useful during the major road construction. While the Ijeh road is about 735 metres, Igbokusu road is about 2.1km, adding that it would be constructed in phases.

Hamzat explained that the reason the state government was focusing on the inner roads was because they help to discharge water from the major roads, adding that construction is not just about building the road but about the fallout where the water will be discharged to.

“We cannot construct all the roads at the same time. It is just not feasible. We don’t have the resources; we don’t have the capacity of contractors to even do that even if we have the money.

Let us even assume that we have all the contractors in the world that can do these roads and we

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie and Ayetoto Temitayo

have the money, the truth is we won’t do it because it means we will then paralyse the state,” he said.

Hamzat warned residents to stop blocking drainages with refuse to avoid their blocking them. He lamented some people block the drains, which subsequently affect the roads.

He said: “Lagos is a coastal city, it’s a flat terrain while most areas are below sea level. The most important thing is how to move water because it may eventually destroy the road if not properly channelled. The need to move water is a critical consideration in what road we undertake.”

The commissioner said the Ministry of the Environment has also awarded the contract for the replacement of the damaged culvert on the road to ensure free flow of the water and ensure the road is useable.

As a temporary measure, a wooding bridge constructed by AAA RESCUE has been put in place, while the State government has provided alternative route for the residents pending the completion to compliment the temporary bridge constructed.

NESREA to tackle air pollution

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• From left: Mr Ifedolapo Atinmo, MD Stormberg Engineering Ltd; Mr Abiodun; Mr Abiru and Mr Jide Aiyerounwi, Group Head, Energy & Utilities Corporate Banking Group FirstBank at the event.

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‘Why we are partnering Lagos on enterprise development’

HE need to encourage skills acquisition has been identified as the reason Nigerite Limited, a building solutions company, is partnering with the Lagos State government on enterprise development.

The Marketing Director the firm, Mr. Toyin Gbede, made this known at the second Lagos State Enterprise day in Lagos.

He said realising that the future of the country cannot be separated from the existence of the company, Nigerite believes that such partnership has become increasing important for the benefit of all.

Besides, Gbede contends that in view of the fact that no nation can be considered developed without having a strong enterprise state, and with the way the changing world, it has become imperative that youths and made to develop strong entrepreneur-

ial spirit, otherwise, employment will become more difficult.

“For the world to survive the level of unemployment around the world today, which is more prevalent in sub Saharan Africa, youths must be developed into being entrepreneurs, that is, business creators as against job seekers.

It is for this reason that Nigerite has collaborated with the Lagos State government on Enterprise Day,” he said.

The Nigerite boss advised states and federal government to create entrepreneur units in all ministries. For instance, he said the Ministry of Works should take it upon is shoulder to see to how bricklayers, carpenters and other artisans can develop their skills into becoming entrepreneurs, while the Ministry of Commerce and Industry can see to how market women and the petty traders can harness what they have to become

entrepreneurs. This, he says, will ensure that the country is developing a society of entrepreneurs.

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adejoke OrelopeAdefulire, said the occasion presented another opportunity for the government to demonstrate its renewed commitment to revamp Technical and Vocational education in Lagos State.

“This initiative of our government has been properly articulated to foster enterprise education among technical college students, encouraging them to embrace entrepreneurial activities and developing the right attitude towards entrepreneurship activities and selfemployment,” Mrs. OrelopeAdefulire said.

Lagos to sanitise estate agency •Continued from page 18

High Court for defrauding 100 accommodation seekers of N29.8 million.

In the verdict, Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo observed that the convict inflicted untold hardships on the victims, depriving them of their money under the pretence of getting accommodation for them.

The LASRETRAD initiative is coming on the heels of an earlier move by the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) to regulate the sub sector of the industry. At its 20th yearly John Ekpenyong Memorial Lecture in

Lagos last March, with the theme: ‘Estate agency: Have we lost it? Mr. O. J. A. Idudu, a while presenting his paper, observed that the way quacks operate in the estate agency subsector of the industry called for serious concern.

“They are proud; they are unfriendly, impolite, insulting because they believe we are in competition. They are not trained, not disciplined and some of them can be fraudulent, but the estate agent who is regulated by NIESV cannot do that,” Idudu said.

Estate agency, Idudu continued, came into being through Decree 24 of 1975; and is an aspect of the profes-

sion under the supervision and regulation of NIESV. Therefore, he said, to practise as an estate agent, such a person is expected to register with the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON), or he is treated as a practitioner is portrayed as a quack. But that is at the federal level, since the body is being regulated by the Federal Ministry of Lands and Housing.

Laudable as this initiative is, it still appears to be a long walk to actualisation considering the pockets of discontents expressed at the workshop. This is a challenge for LASRETRAD, an expert said.

HE National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement (NESREA) has said it is putting guidelines in place for vehicular testing centres to reduce air pollution emanating from vehicules and enforcing a sustainable environmental campaign that will keep the air clean intensifies.

The agency said it would set up three testing centres in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as a pilot scheme before extending it to other states.

The Director-General of the agency, Dr. Benebo Ngeri, who made this known at the stakeholders’meeting on National Vehicular Emission Control Programme (NVECP).

He said the move would safeguard citizens from air pollution, which poses a major health risk.

She regretted that despite its numerous benefits, automobiles have continued to be a major source of air pollution, noting that there has been an increase in the number of cars on the roads, which has compounded the problem of pollution.

“In Nigeria, vehicular emissions have been more intense by

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From Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

the increasing number of old and poorly maintained vehicles.

About 10 million vehicles and three million motorcycles ply our roads with a greater number concentrated in the urban centers.

For instance, about 1.2 million vehicles ply the FCT,” the NESREA boss said.

Ngeri, who insisted that reducing vehicular emission is a key to tackling air pollution, regretted that about seven million death was recorded in 2012 globally due to air pollution, adding that air pollution is the world’s largest single environmental health risk.

And as a result of this exposure to air pollutants, the human race, she said, is faced with several environmental challenges such as climate change, acid rain, threat to ecosystems and biodiversity.

“All these can lead to major irreversible destruction of our environment. Air pollution is also associated with health problems such as respiratory infections, eye infections, cardiovascular diseases, cataracts and cancer,” she added.

Minister promises quality roads

HE Minister of State for Works, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye has assured the people of Delta State and Nigerians of Federal Government’s readiness to deliver on the Presidential mandate of providing good roads across the six geo-political zones in the country.

Prince Adeyeye spoke when Ebu-Illah, Emu Inyele and Igbedo communities where Utor River Bridge in Delta, Edo and Anambra states, is built led by their community leaders paid him a visit in his office.

The minister, who reiterated the administration’s commitment to deliver on critical road infrastructure in the country, expressed confidence that Nigerians would, once more, experience good road infrastructure

development if only Nigerians would shun negative attitudes and embrace peace.

Earlier, Chief Sunday Obiafulu Ofunne, who led the delegation, appealed for the dualisation of the road to accommodate the envisaged high traffic volume when the bridge is inaugurated.

He added that the communities “are not unmindful of the construction of the Second Niger Bridge, adding that there is the need for a Bye pass to the existing road in accordance with its original blue print”.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Abubakar Koro Muhammad, assured that all their demands, as promised by the Minister of State would be looked into and the Utor Bridge would be inaugurated in the next two months.

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

THE NATION

BUSINESS ENERGY

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Fed Govt opts for ships to beat vandalism, others

HE Federal Government may have found a solution to pipeline vandalism but at a huge cost.

It has started using ships to supply crude oil to refineries to sustain uninterrupted product supply.

Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, said at the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) conference and exhibition in Lagos that the ship supply would shoot up the cost of refining a barrel of crude by $7.52. represented by the Deputy Director, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Emmanuel Bekee, the minister said: “It is common knowledge that the oil industry has been plagued with a plethora of challenges that have negatively impacted on our ability to meet national crude oil production tar-

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By Emeka Ugwuanyi

get, loss of revenue to investors, environmental degradation and sometimes loss of lives, among others.

“The most prominent among these is theft related vandalism leading to significant production deferments, theft and decline in revenue to the investors, which include the country and the international oil companies (IOCs).

“The development though not completely new, rather metamorphosed to the current trend and scale from community agitation for resource control, pipeline sabotage to attract contracts for remediation, militant activism

and theft of condensate and refined products.

“Due to theft related vandalism, crude oil supply to our domestic refineries remain constrained thus affecting our refining uptime and volume. In order to mitigate this anomaly, the option of crude transportation by marine vessels has been deployed thereby increasing the operating cost of refining by an additional $7.52 per barrel.”

The implication of the increased cost in refining is that the subsidy reimbursement for refined prod-

ucts especially for premium motor spirit (petrol), which dropped significantly last year when compared to 2011 subsidy scam, will shoot up again. Money spent on fuel subsidy in 2011 was in excess of N2 trillion, which reduced to N1 trillion in 2013 but as things are currently, 2014 subsidy payment may be close to or more than N2 trillion.

Mrs Alison-Madueke, however, assured that relevant government agencies and companies are collaborating with other

stakeholders to find sustainable solution the problem.

She said: “NNPC in collaboration with relevant stakeholders organised a security workshop to discuss and proffer strategy for improving the security of crude supply and evacuation of refined products to and from the refineries.

“Far-reaching solutions and combination of strategies were adopted and are being recommended to the Federal Government. Nigeria needs to recognise and declare the pipelines as national assets. The next step is to organise and harmonise its institutions responsible for pipeline infrastructure protection, and invest appropriately in this light for effectiveness.”

‘Gas’ll enhance Nigeria’s global relevance

IGERIA must harness its gas-to-power resource to attain global relevance in energy sufficiency and accelerated growth, the Chief Technical Officer of Seven Energy, an indigenous oil and gas company, Campbell Airlie, has said.

He spoke at a forum titled: The changing global energy supply balance and Africa's economic transformation at the just-concluded 38th Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE) of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).

He said for Nigeria to achieve its economic goals, it should focus on accelerated development of gas-to-power initiatives because stable power is a catalyst for the growth of every sector of the economy.

Airlie said in addition to investing more in developing the gas resource, Nigeria needed to improve the skills of indigenous manpower.

"Nigeria has some of the best gas reservoirs in the world, but what we need now is not just the best technology but good skilled hands to manage the technology.

That is why I am very pleased with Nigeria's transformative thinking in the area of gas development," he dded.

He said Seven Energy remained at the forefront of developing gas resources with several investment initiatives According

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E-mail:- energy@thenationonlineng.net

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

to him, Seven Energy and its wholly owned subsidiary, Accugas, has closed $170 million medium-term acquisition financing with FirstBank of Nigeria (FBN) UK Limited and Ecobank Nigeria Limited to partfinance the acquisition of East Horizon Gas Company Limited.

Airlie also said the company had continued to invest in the development of the Nigerian workforce to support its growing investment in gas. He said Seven Energy was proud to support NAICE as a demonstration of its commitment to the development of the industry.

The panel of discussants included the Group Coordinator, Corporate Planning and Strategy, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Tim Okon who represented the Group Managing Director, Joseph Dawha; Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Lagos State, Taofiq Ajibade Tijani and Chairman, SPE Nigeria Council, Bernard Oboarekpe, among others.

The NAICE conference with the theme "Africa's energy corridor; opportunities for oil and gas value maximisation through integration and global approach" attracted hundreds of participants across the industry value chain.

‘Privatised power sector will reposition gas’

HE private sector-driven power firms will help in taking gas higher height, the President, Nigeria Gas Association (NGA), Saidu Mohammed, has said.

Mohammed while speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos, said the companies would propel the utilisation of the abundant natural gas and further ensure its place as the core factor in resolving the perennial power problems.

He was of the view that gas has received increased interest in the last past years as a result of the development of the power sector.

He said: “With at least 70 per cent of Nigeria’s power generation facilities being gas-fired, the demand for gas for this new market

By Akinola Ajibade

is set to put gas in the rightful place as the core driver in the efforts to bridge the power supply deficit in Nigeria.

“The obvious problems facing the gas industry is how to ensure greater penetration of the product into various parts of the country and to sustain gas usage in such a way that it would displace other fuels in the energy mix.”

He said the challenge in the coming years would centre around how to find, develop, process, transport and distribute sufficient gas to the power sector and other sectors that use the product for their production.

•From left: Regional Manager, Eaton West Africa, Charles Iyo; Country Manager Temitayo Awojole and MD, Africa, Electrical Sector Shane Kilfoil at the launch of Eaton’s office in Lagos.

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SON seizes 5,000 obsolete, substandard cylinders

HE Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has seized over 5,000 obsolete and substandard cooking gas cylinders.

SON’s Head of Enforcement, Bede Obayi, said the organisation impounded the cylinders in line with the Federal Government’s directive to phase out old and substandard cylinders from the market and replace them with new ones.

He said the cylinders were seized across the six geo-political zones to ensure wide coverage of the exercise, adding that the exercise would continue in 27 states and the Federal Capital Authority (FCT).

He said the exercise began early in the year, following the government’s decision to phase out old cylinders.

The aim is to encourage the production of cylinders locally, protect the consumers and further promote a cleaner and safer environment.

He said the withdrawal of old cylinders would pave the way for new ones, adding that the confisticated cylinders didn’t meet

By Akinola Ajibade

International Standard Organisation (ISO) requirements. He said they were unsafe.

The Nation had reported that the government was planning to revive the Nigerian Cylinder Manufacturing Company and Midland Cylinder Manufacturing Company in Ibadan, Oyo State and Abeokuta, Ogun State. It said the Federal Government had a meeting with the members of the Nigerian Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA) on the issue of revamping the firms.

Obayi said the seized cylinders would be crushed and converted into other metals to discourage more people from using them.

He said: “Over 5,000 gas cylinders were confiscated, warehoused by SON, and would be sent to the steel companies for melting and production into other metals. More cylinders are going to be seized, melted and used for production of other metals soon. The agency is on top of the game, and wouldn’t back out in the fight against the usage of bad products in the country.

“We would pick up bad cylinders anywhere we see them because we want to get rid of them. Globally, the usage of uncertified cylinders is dangerous. A country that uses old cylinders is sitting on keg of gun powder. The reason is because such cylinders can leak and cause explosion. If the usage of such cylinders is not curbed or banned in Nigeria, it would gradually destroy the country.”

He said the agency would move from confiscating obsolete cylinders to ensuring that the marketers of such items are arrested.

“Our team has been going round the country, and once we know where marketers of obsolete cylinders are, we would go there,” he added.

Also, the President, Nigerian Liquefied Petroleum gas Association, Dayo Adesina, said the removal of obsolete cylinders is not immediate, given the complex nature of the country.

“The withdrawal of old cylinders is not a one-off thing. It is a gradual process. This is evident by the way SON and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) is going about the issue,” he added.

THE NATION TUESDAY, August 12, 2014

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ENERGY

52% of Nigerians don’t have G electricity, says survey A BOUT 52 per cent of Nigerians do not have access to electricity, a global power management solution firm, Eaton, has said Its Managing Director, Africa, Electrical Sector, Mr. Shane Kilfoil, said it was important for the government to continue to increase the country’s capacity in the sector’s value chain because it’s expected that the population will increase by 153 per cent by 2050, which will put more pressure on energy demand. He noted that it is more important to put in place technologies that will help manage the outputs in prudent ways.

Kilfoil spoke during the opening of the company’s West Africa office in Lagos.

He said the generation targets and timelines set by the government should be met to prevent energy crisis. He said the Lagos office would serve the needs of Eaton’s customers in Nigeria as well as Western Africa.

He said the event represented another milestone in Eaton’s expansion and investment in key locations across Africa, adding that the company specialises in helping customers manage their electrical, hydraulic and me-

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

chanical power more reliably, efficiently, safely and sustainably, employs over 103,000 people worldwide and serves customers in 175 countries. In Africa, the company focuses on the creation of customised solutions to meet customers’ specific power management needs.

He said: “The achievement and use of innovative technologies is critical in increasing energy efficiency in Africa. Africa’s energy challenges lie not in building more and larger power generation plants but instead in investment in advanced power management technologies to enable businesses do more with less energy in an increasingly resource constrained world.”

He noted that Eaton was committed to bringing the best of global technologies to Africa and Nigeria; committed to providing employment for competent Nigerians, working across the various sectors to help grow the economy.

The Regional Sales Manager, West Africa, Charles Iyo, said the emergence of Nigeria as an economic power house is de-

pendent on developing innovative technologies to solve the country’s toughest power management challenges.

He said: “The power reform agenda of the Federal Government is aimed at a complete restructuring from vertically integrated monopoly industry to privatised competitive electricity market. The reform will enable Nigeria to overcome its huge deficit in the supply of electricity and Eaton is well positioned to support businesses with customised end-to-end solutions for their oil and gas plants, utility requirements and renewable energy management needs.”

As part of its growth agenda, Eaton would hold an Eaton Technology Day next month at Eko Hotel in Lagos, adding that the forum would provide a platform for Eaton to showcase its solutions in key segments to industry leaders.

He said the Tech Day is expected to attract policy and decision makers, partners, customers and stakeholders in the oil and gas, power management industry from Nigeria and from the broader West African region.

ENERAL Electric (GE) is discussing with the Federal Government on how to provide applications that would enhance the operations of the refineries, its Chief Operating Officer in West Africa, Uzochi Nwagwu has said.

He said this while unveiling the company’s plan for the industry. He said at the end, a strategy on how to improve the refineries’ capacity would be announced.

He said the company also planned to invest $1 billion in the industry over the next five years.

Nwagwu said $250 million of the amount would be spent on infrastructure and development of its facility in Onne, Rivers State, while the balance would be for maintenance of operations.

He said: “We will continue to operate in Nigeria irrespective of challenges facing the country. That is why we are committing a lot of money to our operations as well as trying to help the energy sector by deploying solutions that would meet its needs.

“The company is having a broadbased discussion with the Federal Government on the issue of helping improve the capacity of the refineries. We are looking at the basic components we can bring into the refineries. This may not necessarily address the entire problems facing the refineries; how-

Nebo, others advocate renewable energy in Africa

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INISTER of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo and his Tanzania counterpart, Sospeter Muhongo have called for the implementation of the policy on renewable energy in Africa.

Speaking during the United States-Africa Leaders Summit in New York, the ministers said the continent’s future depended on renewable energy because of it is cheaper to access than hydro and gas method of energy.

The ministers, who joined their colleagues from other countries to deliberate on electricity problems facing the continent, said renewable energy was the way to tackle energy challenges in Africa. According to them, the continent has been battling power problems for long and, therefore, needed to find lasting solutions to it.

Nebo said: “Africa is hugely in darkness. Whatever we can do to get Africa from a place of darkness to a place of light ... I think we should encourage that to happen. Renewable energy is one options we think can solve the problem.. I think Africa should be allowed to develop its coal potential. This is very critical. There are

By Akinola Ajibade with Agency report

so many areas in Africa that will help to generate power for the over 60 per cent of Africans that have no access to energy at all,” said Nigeria’s Nebo.

Mohongo urged the continent to explore opportunities in solar, coal, biomass and other sources of renewable energy.

“We, in Africa, should not be in the discussion of whether we should use coal or not. In my country of Tanzania, we are going to use our natural resources because we have reserves which go beyond five billion tons,” “If some people have taken a position where we say no coal, no nuclear, no hydro, then we’re really not serious,” he said. Big hydropower, in particular, demands new acceptance, he said, arguing that the multilateral donor agency has learned lessons from past disastrous projects and is much better-equipped to work with indigenous communities and others affected by new dams. We, in Africa, we should not be in the discussion of whether we should use coal or not. In my country of Tanzania, we are going to use our natural re-

sources because we have reserves which go beyond 5 billion tons,” Muhongo said.

He said his country was on the verge of becoming a middle-income nation and aims to grow its gross domestic product about nine per cent yearly. To do that, coal reserves and Tanzania’s 50.5 trillion geologic feet of natural gas are critical.

Also, the Chief Executive Officer, Mara Group, Ashish Thakkar, said: “We need 20 times more power than we have today, and by the time we get there, we’re going to need 30 times the amount of power we need today.”

Thakkar said African gas production is expected to double in the next two decades, adding that the continent needs $400 billion in that time to provide power to the full half of the population that is without it.

“I think Africa should be allowed to develop its coal potential. This is very critical. There are so many areas in Africa that will help to generate power for the over 60 percent of Africans that have no access to energy at all,” said Nebo.

By Akinola Ajibade

ever, we are having discussions to see how we can help in solving some of the problems.”

According to him, the company is not new in oil and gas business as many have been made to understand.

“Our interest in oil and gas is more than a decade, though our core areas are power, health and transportation sectors. The need to tap into the huge opportunities in the oil and gas informed the decisions now. As regards oil and gas, we have substantive infrastructure in place to meet the needs of the operators,” he added.

He said the fiscal regime is not friendly to both the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the local operators. “We see Nigeria as a country with 170million population; a country where there are challenges in the areas of hydrocarbon, power, healthcare, and transportation. In those challenges, we observe that there are immense opportunities for General Electric to play its roles as a global energy solution provider.

“With respect to fiscal regime, we do hope that the climate would change for better because we provide services to IOCs, and national oil companies. We would like to see an investment-driven climate for the good of operators,” he added.

NAPTIN, power firms collaborate on workforce development

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•From left: Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Commercialisation and Privatisation, Senator Olugbenga Obadara, receiving a gift from the Managing Director, Benin Electricity Distribution Company, Mrs Funke Osibodu during the committee's assessment of the company's operations in Benin, Edo State capital. With them are Executive Director, BEDC, Abu Ejoor(left0 and Chief Technical Officer, Major Bshakar Pola.

Fed Govt, GE partner on refineries’ future

HE National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) is partnering generation and distribution firms and some state governments to address the dearth of qualified personnel for power equipment and facilities.

The induction of young graduate engineers recruited by the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) and the Taraba State Government, took place in Lagos, to kick start their one-year training.

NAPTIN’s Director-General Reuben Okeke told The Nation that the recruitment and training became imperative because there had not been any in the sector in the past two decades, adding that apart from the huge deficit of technical workforce, most of the workers were aged, a development he described as a threat to the sector.

Okeke said: “This is NAPTIN programme. The Sahara Group, the owners of IKEDC and Egbin power station recruited about 110 engineers and the Taraba State Government recruited about 50 engineers and brought them to NAPTIN to undergo one year graduate skill development programme, which was started since 2012 to build capacity in the power sector.

“IKEDC and Sahara Group in particular wanted us to train the young engineers they have recruited and, today, we kicked off the programme.

It will ensure that the huge investment that Mr. President is making in the power sector receives a matching competent workforce that would be able to manage and operate these equipment and facilities in the power sector when they are commissioned.

“Some of the equipment and facilities have been inaugurated but we lack the human capital and competent workforce to man them. Sahara Group has recruited a large number of engineers and is about to recruit linesmen and artisans, which they will bring to NAPTIN for training.

“The Taraba engineers will be trained in NAPTIN training centre in Jos, Plateau State. The engineers after leaving school with B.Sc. or HND still need to acquire one year development skill acquisition where they do applied engineering and hand-ontraining on light equipment.”

On how the training will translate to power supply improvement, Okeke said: “What a competent workforce can do in an industry such as power is huge. If you don’t have a

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

well-trained skilled staff, the improvement we are witnessing will not be there. Without a competent hand, there is no way the facilities that will improve the power sector will be operated.

“We graduated 243 in 2013 and we have about 500 undergoing the programme. This is important because for over 20 years, there has not been training in the power sector and without training in any endeavour, you cannot get what owners of that business want and that is the reason private sector doesn’t joke with training.

“So, what we are doing in NAPTIN is the mandate of the Federal Government to ensure that we provide a competent workforce that will operate the infrastructure. The engineers undergoing the training are already employed because we have quite dearth of technical workforce in the power sector, the engineers, linesmen, cable joint workers are not there and those ones that are there are aged.

“We don’t have people that will fill in that gap. Those who graduated from NAPTIN will be beautiful brides because the regulator is insisting that before you import any skill you have to get a ‘No Objection’ from them; besides, universities and polytechnics are turning out electrical and mechanical engineers every year.”

On technology, tools and personnel to train the engineers, Okeke said the institute was partnering some organisations to address such problems to ensure that the engineers get world standard training.

He said: “We have development partners that are helping us both in training the trainer as well as training the candidates. The Federal Government has approved substantial amount of money even though not enough for us to acquire the training aids and equipment. We have partnership with National Power Training Institute of India, General Electric, which we are about to sign; we have already signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Schneider; we have the support of French Development Agency; and the World Bank has given us some facilities, in which we have some foreign experts who come to help us review our curriculum and bring it up to date. We have a lot of partners and trainers that will train these people.”

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MONEYLINK Enterprise Bank expands operations

Nigeria’s trade value hits N5tr

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HE total value of Nigeria’s merchandise trade at the end of first quarter stood at N5.5 trillion, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has said.

The figure represents a 6.8 per cent increase from the value of N5.1 trillion recorded in the preceding quarter. In comparison with the corresponding quarter of 2013, the value of the total merchandise trade increased by N406 billion, or 8.2 per cent.

The NBS said the Merchandise trade growth report released last night in Abuja for the first quarter of 2014, saw a N492.6billion, or 14.2 per cent rise in the value of exports, alongside a N140.6billion or 8.3 per cent fall in the value of imports against the forth quarter of 2013 figures.

The resultant trade surplus of N2.4 trillion, represented a 35.4 per cent increase from the surplus observed in the previous quarter.

Comparison with the first quarter of the previous year revealed that the value of the nation’s trade surplus increased by 34.3 per cent, or

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From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

N618.6 billion as a result of a decline in imports by 6.2 per cent, while exports increased by 15 per cent during the period.

The crude oil component of total exports stood at N3.2 trillion for the first quarter (81.5 per cent of total exports), while the non-crude oil accounted for N735.9 billion.

Also the total value of Nigerian imports stood at N1.5 trillion during the period. This was 8.3 per cent lower than the value of N1.6 trillion recorded in the preceding quarter.

Comparison with the corresponding quarter of 2013 showed a N101.3 billion, or 6.2 per cent lower value.

Classified by Section, the structure of Nigeria’s import trade was dominated by the imports of boilers, machinery and appliances, which accounted for 23.7 per cent of the total value of import trade during the first quarter.

Other sections of commodities that contributed notably to the value of

import trade in the quarter, were Mineral products (16 per cent), Vehicles, aircraft and associated parts (13 per cent), Base metals and articles of base metals (9.5 per cent) and products of the chemical and allied industries (8.5 per cent).

Import trade classified by Broad Economic Category revealed that Industrial supplies not elsewhere classified had the greatest value with N435.3 billion or 28.2 per cent of total imports. This was followed by Capital goods and parts, with the value of N344.4billion or 22.3 per cent and Transport equipment and parts, with N222.6billion or 14.4 per cent of the total import value.

At the product level, motor spirit holds the greatest value of imports, at N192.5 billion or 12.5 per cent of total imports for the first quarter of 2014. This was followed

by Spelt, common wheat and meslin with N54.2 billion or 3.5 per cent, and Machine tools for working stone, ceramics, concrete etc, with N46.5 billion, or three per cent of the total value of imports.

•Enterprise Bank CEO Ahmed Kuru

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NTERPRISE Bank Limited has expanded its operation with the opening of a new branch in Gusau, Zamfara State.

In a statement, it said with the feat, the public in Zamfara State and its environ will now enjoy seamless banking services via fully strengthened Automated Teller Machines, Point of Sale (PoS) terminals, Mobile and Internet Banking services that are available at the new branch.

The bank’s Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Mallam Ahmed Kuru, said the lender moved to the state to provide its

Why NFIU should be autonomous, by GIABA

HE Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) has called on the Federal Government to grant operational autonomy to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU). This was contained in the agency’s 2013 Annual Report released yesterday.

The NFIU is a government agency created to safeguard the financial system and contribute to the global fight against money laundering, terrorism financing and related crimes through the provision of credible financial intelligence.

GIABA said taking such step would facilitate the removal of obstacles

By Collins Nweze

to effective administration of justice with regard to Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/ TF) cases in the country.

It said ML perpetrators usually use invest in real estate, wire transfers to offshore banks, political party financing (conduit contributions), bulk cash smuggling, deposits in foreign bank accounts among other avenues. Others are the use of microfinance channels and investment in the stock market.

“Nigeria is cognizant of the enormity of the ML/TF risks it faces, and has recently made significant progress towards fortifying its

Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.

The major improvements made by the country include the enactment of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act 2012 and the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act 2013,” it said.

GIABA said the country has issued the Terrorism Prevention (Freezing of International Terrorist Funds and Other Related Measures) Regulations 2011 and has also addressed a deficiency relating to Recommendation five of the revised Financial Action Task

Force (FATF) Standards.

This, it said, criminalizes terrorist financing, including the financing of a terrorist organization and an individual terrorist, and covers issues relating to terrorist funds, use of funds, intentional elements of the terrorist financing offence, location of the offender, ancillary offences, predicate offences of money laundering, liability of legal persons, and sanctions.

In recognition of the progress GIABA has recorded, Nigeria was removed from the FATF’s monitoring process under its ongoing global AML/CFT compliance process in October 2013.

DATA BANK

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

Offer Price

AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH BGL NUBIAN FUND BGL SAPPHIRE FUND CANARY GROWTH FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CORAL INCOME FUND FBN FIXED INCOME FUND FBN HERITAGET FUND FBN HERITAGET FOUD FBN MONEY MARKET FUND • UBA BALANCED FUND • UBA BOND FUND • UBA EQUITY FUND • UBA MONEY MARKET FUND

168.45 9.17 1.12 1.19 0.69 1.39 1,676.09 1,117.13 121.58 121.70 1,117.51 1.3620 1.3560 1.0221 1.1841

Bid Price 167.01 9.08 1.12 1.19 0.69 1.33 1,676.09 1,116.32 120.71 120.84 1,116.70 1.3529 1.3570 1.0039 1.1841

SYMBOL

RETAIL DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM (RDAS) Transaction Dates 30/07/2014 23/07/2014 21/07/2014 ECONOMIC INDICATORS

8.2%

Monetary Policy Rate

12.0%

CHANGE

Foreign Reserves Oil Price (Bonny Light/b)

O/PRICE

C/PRICE

PREMBREW

0.80

0.88

0.08

FIDSON

3.00

3.15

0.15

PORTPAINT

5.37

5.63

0.26

Swiss Franc

170.4263

171.5277

Yen

1.5028

1.5177

CFA

0.2966

0.3166

236.1789

237.7053

Yuan/Renminbi

25.0351

25.1978

Primary Lending Rate (PLR)

JAPAULOIL

0.52

0.54

0.02

21.68

22.50

0.82

ROYALEX

0.57

0.59

0.02

CONTINSURE

1.00

1.03

0.03

REDSTAREX

4.28

4.40

0.12

-3.71

NCR

14.44

13.72

-0.72

184.15

175.01

-9.14

NB

$110.44

298.7093

0.02

70.54

155.73

207.3691

0.52

74.25

154.73

Euro

0.50

CADBURY

US Dollar

N16.76 trillion

PRESTIGE

CHANGE -0.06

$39.3b

262.1247

0.03

C/PRICE 0.71

Selling (N)

260.4415

0.77

O/PRICE 0.77(0.85)

Buying (N)

Pounds Sterling

0.74

SYMBOL ABCTRANS

Currency

N15.9 trillion.

IKEJAHOTEL

LOSERS AS AT 11-08-14

Amount Sold in ($) 381.27m 272.9m 399.01m

Money Supply (M2) Credit to private Sector (CPS)

NNFM

Amount Offered in ($) 400m 300m 400m

CBN EXCHANGE RATES August 1, 2014

Inflation: June

GAINERS AS AT 11-08-14

unique banking and financial solutions to the growing business and financial activities in the area.

Kuru added that Enterprise Bank is also appreciative of the huge investment of the government in the state to create an enabling environment for investors to thrive; a development he said has continued to be attractive to businesses.

He called on the government and people of Zamfara State to lend their support to ensure that the bank’s coming will not only be highly rewarding and mutually beneficial, but attract other investments to the state.

Kuru said opening the new branch was a project the management considered top priority because it has provided the bank another opportunity to demonstrate its readiness to partner with the people, government and organisations in Zamfara State and beyond, especially considering the strategic position of Zamfara in the area of commerce.

According to him, Enterprise Bank over the years has successfully built relationships in different states, a trend the bank will continue to explore in Zamfara, adding that the bank will be willing to partner with the government in areas that will be mutually beneficial to the government, the people of Zamfara State and Enterprise Bank. This he stated is because the bank is seriously committed to its vision, which is to be the preferred bank for value creation.

Kuru also said he hoped that Enterprise Bank will grow in the state and contribute to the rapid transformation of Zamfara State into one of the most economically viable destinations in the country.

16.5%

NIGERIAN INTER-BANK OFFERED RATES (NIBOR)

Tenor

Rate (%)

Rate (%)

WAUA

Overnight (O/N)

10.500

10.500

Riyal

41.2569

41.5236

1M

12.175

12.101

SDR

27.8076

279873

3M

13.328

13.225

6M

14.296

14.-85

FOREX RATES

UPDCREIT

9.95

9.46

-0.49

LEARNAFRCA

1.60

1.53

-0.07

R-DAS ($/N)

157.29

157.29

COSTAIN

1.15

1.10

-0.05

Interbank ($/N)

162.75

162.75

RTBRISCOE

0.95

0.91

-0.04

CAVERTON

6.19

5.93

-0.26

Parallel ($/N)

167.50

167.50

MBENEFIT

0.54

0.52

-0.02

GOVT. SECURITIES YIELD – SECONDARY MARKET

Tenor

Rates

T-bills - 91

10.00

T-bills - 182

10.07

T-bills - 364

10.22

Bond - 3yrs

11.37

Bond - 5yrs

11.41

Bond - 7yrs

11.86

54

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

55

THE NATION TUESDAY AUGUST 12, 2014

56

NEWS Elechi: Speaker was never impeached From Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ebonyi State chapter, said yesterday that the impeached Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr. Chukwuma Nwazunku, was never impeached.

It said the issue, which led to the impeachment, was not good enough to justify it.

Nwazunku was impeached on July 21 by 18 of the 24 lawmakers, but he described the action as illegal.

PDP, after a meeting with the legislators, told reporters that its findings showed that the Speaker was never impeached.

The party’s position was made known by Governor Martin Elechi at the secretariat in Abakaliki.

He said Nwazunku remains the Speaker.

The governor added that the decision to reinstate Nwazunku is not negotiable.

The Minority Leader, Enyi C. Enyi, described the party’s interference in the matter as unconstitutional.

“It is unconstitutional for anybody who is not a member of the House to interfere in its internal affairs.”

He said no person, except a court, could declare Nwazunku’s impeachment as illegal.

Herbalist in police net for ‘robbery’

A

HERBALIST and nine others believed to be members of a robbery gang have been arrested by the police.

They were arrested after allegedly robbing residents of Ngwa Road in Aba and killing three people.

A source said the suspects attacked residents of 38, Mbaitolu Street on Osunkwo axis, Obohia and 9, NEPA Street, off Ngwa Road, on the outskirts of Aba and injured them. A two-year-old child was reportedly hit in the leg by a

•Nine others too From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

stray bullet.

The source said the injured were hospitalised.

A resident, who preferred anonymity, said the suspected robbers, discovering that a member of their gang was attacked, stormed the house and fired shots.

It was learnt that the suspected robbers killed a male tenant in his 30s. He

was said to have been hit in the neck by stray bullets.

The source said: “A woman was shot in the thigh.

Another woman, the mother of a two-year-old baby, was shot in the leg and hand. The robbers stole belongings and money.

“Eight persons were hospitalised after the attack, and three died.”

It was gathered that a police manhunt for the sus-

pects paid off, as the men led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Crescent Mamah arrested the suspects at a location in Aba. The Nation learnt that those arrested assisted the police, leading to the arrest last weekend of other members of the gang, including the herbalist.

Police Commissioner Ibrahim Adamu confirmed the arrest.

He said they would be charged to court after investigation.

Man arrested for killing school pupil

A

28-YEAR-old man, Mr. Sunday Nwali, has been arrested by the Ebonyi State Police Command for allegedly killing a pupil, Miss Chioma Ezekele, of Kingdom Secondary School, Ikweator Idembia in Ezza South Local Government.

Nwali, aka Machine, also allegedly defiled Chioma’s co-tenant, Sandra.

The deceased was said to

From Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

have been killed in her hostel when she refused to sleep with the suspect.

Briefing reporters in Abakaliki, Police Commissioner Mr. Maigari Dikko said Nwali went in company of Chukwuma Elom and Friday Ebenyi of the same address.

He said Chioma resisted

his sexual overtures and he became angry and shot her dead.

Dikko said the suspect dragged Sandra to a bush, defiled her and bolted.

Said he: “Chioma resisted a move by Nwali to have carnal knowledge of her and in annoyance, he shot her dead.

“He then dragged Sandra to a nearby bush, defiled her and ran away. His two ac-

complices, who were later identified by Sandra, were arrested and charged to court for conspiracy/murder.”

The police boss alleged that Nwali was also co-opted by a three-man gang to attack Mr. Orie Okorie, adding that when they got to the man’s home at Effium and did not meet him, Nwali suggested that they should kill his son and they did.

MTN Foundation donates vans to Abia From Ugochukwu Ugoji-eke, Umuahia

THE MTN Foundation has donated five Toyota double cabin Hilux security vans to the Abia State government.

This is to complement its efforts in combating crimes.

Speaking in Umuahia while handing over the keys to Governor Theodore Orji, a director at the foundation, Dennis Okoro, said they donated the vans to help the government in its war against crimes.

He said the foundation has noticed the efforts of the Orji administration to stop kidnapping and other crimes.

Okoro added: “We decided that the only way to complement the efforts of the government is to go further than we have been doing.”

He noted that government has made a breakthrough in its fight against crimes, saying the only way to support its efforts is to give a helping hand to enable it sustain the fight against crimes.

The MTN Foundation director said they were prompted to donate the vans “because the governor is not only a focused man, but also a worthy partner of our foundation, who deserves all the help he can get to continue doing his good work.”

He said the foundation spent over N9 billion since inception, adding that the state has benefitted from nine of its 300 programmes, including eye clinic, under which over 3,000 beneficiaries have undergone eye surgery and obtained glasses.

Okoro said their programmes were advertised in the media to enable state governments and other organisations apply.

Imo varsity campus for completion

by December

I

MO State Governor Rochas Okorocha has assured Mbaise people that the building of the Imo State University campus at Mbaise will be completed by December.

He spoke when Mbaise monarchs and political leaders visited him at the Government House, Owerri to invite him for the Iriji Mbaise Festival.

Okorocha, who hailed the leaders for their sense of purpose and for upholding the bond among Mbaise indigenes through the festival, promised to ensure the people’s happiness.

He said his administration has built 36 primary schools, three general hospitals and over 40-km asphalted roads in the town.

The governor thanked the people for supporting his government.

Okorocha vowed to reconstruct the 1.5-km Douglas Road at Mbaise and meet the people’s other needs.

The traditional ruler of Amanano Obohia Aboh Mbaise and Chairman, Owerri Zonal Traditional rulers, HRH Eze Chidume Okoro, thanked the governor for carrying the indigenes along.

He said the cultural festival, which has been celebrated since 50 years ago, unites the 91 kingdoms that make up Mbaise.

The monarch appealed for government sponsorship and assured Okorocha of their support.

Ex-OSIEC chief Olagunju dies at 68

T

•From left: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Dr. Jamaila Shuara; Minister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka; Chief Operating Officer, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operator of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), Ms. Adebisi Awoniyi and the Chief Executive Officer, BASL, Mr. Christophe Penninck, during the minister’s inspection tour of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (Domestic and International)…yesterday.

Igbo community crisis resolved in Akwa Ibom

T

HE leadership crisis, which has rocked Igbo community in Akwa Ibom State for more than 15 years, has been resolved.

Details of the resolutions were contained in a document presented to the wife of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mrs. Ekaette Unoma Akpabio, during a visit to her by the group at the Government House, Uyo. Speaking on behalf of the group, Chief Godian Uzoma told the governor’s wife that the Igbo had come a long way in Akwa Ibom State, having settled in the area before the civil war.

He said the war led to the destruction of property belonging to the Igbo, adding that because of the

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

peaceful and prosperous condition of the area, the Igbo returned after the war in 1972 and organised themselves into an umbrella body to foster peace and progress.

Uzoma regretted that sometime in 1999, the leadership of the group succumbed to the forces of disharmony, which led to a protracted crisis in the Igbo community in the state.

He hailed the governor’s wife for allowing God to use her as a pillar of support for him in transforming the state, especially the free and compulsory education policy that does not discriminate against non-indigenes.

Chief C.Y.C. Ezeumeaku-

ka and Ichie Barnabas Nwannewuihe, the ex-factional leaders of the Igbo community and Igbo Union Federated praised Mrs. Akpabio for promoting peace.

They promised to abide by the resolutions reached at the meeting and hoped that the peace would last.

Speaking on behalf of the women, Mrs. Bridget Okpala, President Ohanaeze Women, acknowledged the role of the governor’s wife in resolving the crisis, describing it as a feat.

She described Mrs. Akpabio as a peacemaker, adding that the resolutions would impact positively on Ndigbo across the country.

A leader of the group, Chief Richard Onuchukwu, apologised to the governor’s wife over the crisis.

Presenting the resolutions, the leader of the Reconciliation Committee, Mrs. Maureen Aniekan Umanah, lauded Mrs. Akpabio for allowing God to use her to resolve the crisis, noting that one of the resolutions reached was that any member found guilty of contravening the peace accord would be banished from the state.

Mrs. Akpabio hailed members of the group for sheathing their swords.

The woman, who holds the title of Adadioramma 1, urged the group not to succumb to the forces of retrogression, but should cooperate with Governor Godswill Akpabio to build a greater Akwa Ibom State all Nigerians would be proud of.

HE death has occurred of Asiwaju Michael Adebayo Olagunju, the patriarch of the Olagunju family at Ile-Osolo Aagba in Boripe Local Government Area of Osun State.

He died on August 9 during a brief illness. He was 68.

The deceased was an astute politician and a devout Christian. He was the secretary of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the old Oyo State and the secretary of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) from 2004 to 2009.

Pa Olagunju was until his death a member of the Local Government Service Commission in Osun State and the Asiwaju of Aagba land.

He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Modupe Motunrayo Olagunju, children and grand children.

Funeral programmes will be announced later, according to a statement by his son, Tomi Olagunju.

•The late Chief Olagunju

THE NATION TUESDAY AUGUST 12, 2014 PUBLIC NOTICE

NEWS

Ugborodo crisis: Troops on surveillance

I

NDICATIONS emerged yesterday that the Federal Government might wield the big stick against the recalcitrant elements in the crisis at Ugborodo community in Warri Southwest Local Government Area of Delta State.

There were reports that troops have been deployed to carry out surveillance in the community.

The crisis relapsed when members of the two warring factions resorted to arson, destroying houses and cars worth millions of naira in Ugborodo and Warri.

The fragile peace hitherto achieved, collapsed following the opposition of the Dav-

From Bolaji Ogundele, Warri

id Tonwe group to the return and re-absorption of members of the Thomas Ereyitomi into Ode-Ugborodo, over the allegation that the people committed a sacrilege against the community.

The Federal Government, which designated a $16 billion Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in the community early in the year, brokered peace, which yielded an agreement, suggesting, among others, the return and resettlement of displaced persons. All the parties were signatories to the agreement.

However, following the difficult attitude of some ele-

ments in the crisis, towards the execution of the terms of the agreement, especially the resettlement of displaced persons, the Commanding Officer of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta, Navy Captain Musa Gemu, last week warned troublemakers not to force security agencies to employ harsh means to ensure peace.

He gave them one week to settle the disagreements.

Sources told The Nation in Warri yesterday that troops were sighted in the community since Sunday, fuelling fears that the armed men were on a surveillance, preparatory to a probable larger operation, which might be in line with Gemu’s warning last week.

At a meeting last week, which was boycotted by Tonwe but attended by other community stakeholders, including the Olaja-Orori (Spiritual Head) and Chief Ayiri Emami of the Thomas Ereyitomi-led faction, youths from Aruton, Madangho, Ogidigben and Ajudaibo as well as Austin Oborogbeyi, the Chairman, EPZ Interface Committee and representatives from the Police, Army and the Air Force Command in Warri; the Navy boss said after one week, the task force might use its military might to enforce the terms of agreement reached by both sides at the naval headquarters in Abuja in May.

NSCDC warns vandals to stay away from Bayelsa

T

HE Bayelsa State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) yesterday warned pipeline vandals and persons involved in illegal bunkering to stay away from the state.

It said the creeks were unsafe for illegal activities, adding that it had evolved new strategies to sanitise them.

The NSCDC Commandant, Mr. Desmond Agu, who spoke in Yenagoa at the monthly briefing of officers and men of the command, said operators of illegal refineries would be out of business without the activities of the vandals.

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

Agu, who expressed his commitment to motivate operatives of his command, used the forum to honour three of the officials for their dedication to duty in the third quarter of the year.

The beneficences are Mr. Inspector Ogbosain, who went home with a Plasma TV, Mr. Alasuo Randoph, who got an SV2,200 generator and Mr. Sumbiri Kalizibe, who received a decoder with a dish.

Agu said the exercise would be done quarterly to encourage men of the command.

He said the command had

entered into a partnership with other security agencies and council chairmen to rid the state of vandals.

According to him, through such collaboration, the command destroyed more than 142 illegal refineries in Southern Ijaw Local Government.

Agu said over 17 suspects arrested in connection with vandalism have been arraigned while more than 18 persons have been remanded.

The NSCDC chief reassured the federal and state governments, Minister of Petroleum and that of Interior of the command’s commitment to stop what he described as “econom-

ic sabotage” going on in the Niger Delta.

He, however, said lack of adequate logistics, gunboats and operational equipment were some of the challenges facing the command.

Agu warned officers and men against engaging in acts capable of tarnishing the image of the command and advised them to be committed to their duties.

“You must be security conscious and monitor the activities of the public, most especially at this period of insurgency. Do not intimidate and extort money from the public,” he said.

Police hunt man over lover’s murder

T

HE police in Delta State said yesterday that they were trailing a middle-aged man for allegedly killing his 25-year-old lover, Augustina Edika.

The suspect, identified as Tomson, allegedly killed his girlfriend on Sunday at Obiaruku in Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State.

Police spokesperson Celestina Kalu, who confirmed the incident, said the suspect stabbed the lady with a knife in the heart before hitting her head with a pestle.

The suspect reportedly locked the deceased inside the one room apartment and ran away.

T

HE Urhobo Political Initiative (UPI) has endorsed Ovie Omo Agege for the governorship in Delta State next year.

It urged the indigenes to support him.

A statement by the Secretary-General of the group,

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

Sources said the lovers quarrelled the previous night and the issue was settled before they went to bed.

They said about 5am the next day there was a noise from the lovers’ apartment which aroused neighbours.

The Nation learnt that before they could force the door open, the lady died and she was found in a pool of blood.

Kalu said the matter was reported at the Obiaruku Police Station, adding that the parents of the deceased have been contacted, while efforts have been intensified to arrest the suspect.

Group mobilises for Omo Agege Comrade Aghogho Igho, said Omo Agege is a tested hand, who has served in positions in the government, “so, he has all it takes to improve the lives of Delta people.”

The group said: “It is time

the Urhobo should come together, form a platform of unity and avoid bickering.”

It said the Urhobo have all it takes to rule Delta and Omo Agege is the best choice.

UPI enjoined other Urhobo

aspirants to step down for him.

“He is a man who has served eight years in the Delta State government in capacities. Thus, he knows where the shoe pinches the people,” the body said.

Ex-senator flays govt’s scholarship

T

HE pioneer National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Anietie Okon, decried yesterday the 254 names published by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta as the beneficiaries of the special scholarship programme for students from the Niger Delta.

anomaly with its attendant capacity to undermine the intent and standing of governments and the leadership of the region.

The office on August 1 published a list of 254 people as the beneficiaries of the special scholarship programme for students from the Niger Delta, who passed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination He said: “We are forced to (UTME) and are qualified for question whether the Office of admission into the universities. the Special Adviser on AmnesAccording to the list, of a total of 254 beneficiaries, Akwa Ibom got three; Bayelsa, 102; Cross River, three; Delta, 55; Edo, 10; Imo, 10; Ondo, 43 and HE home of the Publisher and Editor–in-Chief of the Rivers, 28.

Okon noted that it was emNational Chronicle, Mr. Timothy Okojie, has been gutbarrassing for a state like Akwa ted by fire.

According to a statement by Okojie, the inferno, which start- Ibom, the leading oil produced about 12:30am on Monday at his home in Idimu, Lagos, was ing state, to be allocated only caused by a generator, which supplied power to his three bed- three; Edo State, the cradle of knowledge to get only 10, room apartment.

He thanked God that nobody died, but said belongings worth while Bayelsa got 102.

He stressed that it was a conthousands of naira were lost.

Okojie thanked his neighbours, who prevented the fire from firmation of the narrow prismed understanding “of the dycausing more damage. ty is still representing the interest of the people of the region, given the persistent exclusivity that has become evident in the execution of the brief and mandate of the office.”

Okon, a delegate representing Akwa Ibom State at the National Conference, reacting to the list, urged President Goodluck Jonathan to draw the attention of the Special Adviser on Niger Delta, Kingsley Kuku, to what he termed a grave and an unacceptable

Fire guts National Chronicle publisher’s home

T

namics of our political survival realities and an unfortunate exhibition of misplaced callous insensitivity as well as political naivety”, adding that the move was capable of “damaging the cohesion and shared common interest of the people of the region.”

“It is a callous act of insensitivity and political naivety on the part of the Special Adviser on Niger Delta, to posit that justice and transparency prevailed where only three students from Akwa Ibom and Cross River states and 10 from Edo State enjoyed the scholarship. This can damage the purpose of the intervention initiative. It makes nonsense of the call for unanimity in the area. The mindless impunity implied is as grievous as it is equally pathetic. How can they explain this absence of rationality? It is unacceptable. I demand that those responsible for this outrage get real.”

PUBLIC NOTICE

57

NYECHE

OPEYEMI

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS. BEATRICE CHIZIM NYECHE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. BEATRICE CHIZIM ECHIKWA. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Ojekunle Opeyemi Oyeshola now wish to be known as Ojekunle Opeoluwa Oyeshola. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

58

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

NEWS Kwarans in diaspora honour Ahmed

K

WARA State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has been given an award by Kwarans in the Diaspora at the weekend at their national convention in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.

Ahmed was awarded with the “2014 KSANG Merit of Honours Award” at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Schaumburg, Chicago, by the Kwara State Association of Nigeria, North American Chapter (KSANG).

He is the second person in the 13-year history of the association to receive this honour.

The pioneer winner was former Governor Bukola Saraki, in 2010 at Seattle in Washington State.

The ceremony, which climaxed a three-day Seventh national convention, was witnessed by the Lt. Governor of the State of Illinois, Sheila Simon, among prominent American and Nigerian dignitaries.

KSANG cited Governor Ahmed’s “ exemplary and unprecedented collaboration with KSANG in developing Kwara and the governor’s “proactive and productive engagement of youths “ as reasons for its award to him.

Lt. Gov Simon, who watched a video clip of the governor’s activities, hailed KSANG “for recognising competence in governance”.

She promised that the State of Illinois would collaborate with Kwara.

Governor Ahmed, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Communication Strategy, Alhaji Abdulraheem Adedoyin, accepted the honour “with humility” and praised KSANG for partnering his administration, especially in the area of healthcare.

The governor acknowledged the medical missions to Kwara by KSANG, citing that to Ilorin where over 4,00 kwarans were screened and treated for diabetes and blood pressure.

He urged Kwara indigenes to “come home and invest”, stressing that Kwara needs their talent, expertise and global experience.

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. Ibrahim Gambari and ex-KSANG President Alhaji Lateef Amolegbe were also honoured.

Ex-FAAN chief Yusuf is dead

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

T

HE Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN) has announced the death of its former Managing Director, Alhaji Mohammed Yusuf.

A statement signed by the General Manager, Corporate Communications Mr Yakubu Dati, said Yusuf died at a hospital in India.

Dati said the remains of Yusuf would be buried at his home in Zaria, Kaduna State, tomorrow.

The late Alhaji Yusuf joined FAAN as the director of Administration and became managing director and chief executive officer in 2006 till November 2007.

He would be remembered for pioneering some welfare policies and his contribution to the design of airport concessions for FAAN and the automation of its operations to boost revenue.

Nyako: Assembly writes Jega as INEC prepares for poll

F

OLLOWING the impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako, Adamawa State House of Assembly has written to the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega.

Jega has directed the Chairman of INEC’s Operations Committee to prepare for the governorship election.

In an August 5 letter by its Speaker, Kwamoti Laori, the Assembly asked INEC to fill the positions of the governor and Deputy Governor, Bala James Ngilari, who ‘’resigned from office’’, within three months.

The letter reads: “Be informed that the House of Assembly on July 15, pursuant to Section 188 of the 1999

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

Constitution (as amended) impeached the Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako.

“The Deputy Governor, Bala James Ngilarri, on July 15, in accordance with Section 306 tendered his resignation, which was accepted by the former governor.

“In compliance with Section 191(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Speaker was sworn in as the Acting Governor.

“The acting period specified by the constitution is three months after which elections shall be held to fill the positions of the governor and the deputy governor.

“You are, by this letter,

notified to make preparations to conduct elections into the Offices of the Governor and Deputy Governor.”

INEC chairman has directed the Operations Committee to prepare for the poll.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The chairman has directed the Operations Committee to step up preparations for the election.

“Hopefully, on or before October 15, the election should hold in Adamawa State. The guidelines will soon be issued on the timeline for primaries and campaign. Normally, the three-month period ought to be from the date the Acting Governor, Umaru Fintiri, was inaugurated.”

Kano spends $1.2m on medical students abroad

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ANO State has spent over $1.2 million in sponsoring 90 indigenes to study health-related degrees at Mansoura and 6th October universities in Egypt.

Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, who met with the students in Cairo on Sunday, said the aim was to address the shortage of medical personnel.

He said 50 of the 90 students are at 6th October University, studying medicine and 40 at Mansoura University,pursuing degrees in Nursing and Midwifery.

He said his administration has also given scholarships to 300 school leavers to study medicine and pharmacy in Sudan, Egypt, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and India.

The governor said: “My visit to this place is to assess facilities, the environment of

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

your universities in addition to your welfare.

“I am satisfied with my assessment of your academic progress”, he stated.

The governor said the state would soon engage doctors from Egypt.

Governor Kwankwaso earlier visited the 99 students in four universities in Sudan.

He visited the Governor of Khartoum State, Dr. Abdurrahman Al- Khidir, who praised Sudanese-Nigeria relations.

Governor Kwankwaso thanked the government for the hospitality and hailed the relationship between Nigeria and Sudan.

Wamakko approves nine-man voter registration panel From Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

T

•Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun signing a condolence register when he visited the home of the late Prof James Oyebode Shopeju in Abeokuta...yesterday. With him are widow and Special Adviser to the Governor on Commerce, Tinuola (right) and elder sister of the deceased, Mrs. Dupe Akinola

Gunmen kill 14 in Plateau attack

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UNMEN killed 14 persons on Sunday night in an attack on two villages in Plateau State.

The two villages are Jala in Fobur, Jos East Local Government Area and Yelwa-Shendam in Shendam Local Government Area.

Police spokesman Abu Emmanuel said the gunmen stormed Jala village by 9

• 230 cattle stolen •Police claim only seven killed From Yusuf Aminu Idegu, Jos

pm and Yelwa-Dhendam at 10:30 pm.

He said: “The gunmen attacked a shop and killed two persons before robbing the shop. There was a distress call from residents and the police responded.

“The gunmen fled when

they noticed the arrival of the police.

Emmanuel said in the Shendam attack, armed cattle rustlers killed five persons.

“Armed policemen were drafted to the scene to restore normalcy”.

But eyewitnesses said 12 persons were killed at Shendam. They said the rus-

Six injured as PDP thugs clash in Gombe

S

IX people were injured when thugs loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) clashed yesterday at the durbar, organised for Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo of Gombe State in Kumo.

Governor Dankwambo, who could not attend because of the clash, was represented by Secretary to the Gombe State Government (SSG) Alhaji Abubakar Sulei Bage.

Chief of Staff, Gombe Government House Alhaji Ahmed Yayari decried the involvement of youths and advised them to desist from

From Vincent Ohonbamu, Gombe

violence.

Yayari called on parents and guardians to call their children and wards to order.

“I am assuring you, Lamido Akko that I will come with my politician brothers so that we can amend the characters of the youth of this town (Kumo)”.

Eyewitnesses said trouble started around 1:15 pm when factions loyal to the member representing Akko, Alhaji Usman Bello Kumo and those of the

Commissioner for Education and aspirant to the same seat, Hajiya Nana Aishatu Ahmed, clashed.

They said: “At about 1:15 pm when people were gathering at the Emir of Kumo’s Palace for the durbar, youths chanting slogans, attacked homes of their opponents.

“Over six persons were rushed to the Kumo General Hospital.

Although sources said one person died, it was gathered that no life was lost.

The timely intervention of the police helped in restoring peace to Kumo.

tlers stole 230 cattle.

A resident, Usman Kawu said: “The gunmen came around 10 pm and shot sporadically to scare people.

They killed 12 people and set about 17 houses ablaze’’.

The police said no arrest had been made.

O ensure a successful voter registration, Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Wamakko has set up a nine-man committee for mobilisation and enlightenment in the state.

Special Assistant to the Governor on Press Affairs, Abubakar Dangusau issued a statement in Sokoto yesterday.

The committee, the statement said, has the Information Commissioner, Malam Danladi Bako and Ahmed Bello, Director of Administration, Ministry of Environment as chairman and secretary.

Governor Wamakko also approved sub-committees for the two exercises in each of the 23 local governments.

“The committee is to liaise with INEC and sub-committees to ensure the success of the two exercises.

“This is to ensure the participation of Sokoto residents at the distribution of permanent voter cards, which begins on Friday till Sunday.

“Ensure that all those whose names are missing or who have not registered are mobilised to participate in the continuous voter’ registration holding between August 20 till 25,” the statement added.

It said the committee would undertake adequate publicity on the two exercises to ensure wider coverage and participation of all those that attained the age of 18 years and above.

EFCC seeks help in battling corruption

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From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

HAIRMAN of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Lamorde has sought the assistance of the media in the battle against corruption.

He said the commission needs the media to expose graft and draw attention to challenges to the anti-corruption campaign.

Lamorde spoke in Kano on Sunday, while addressing journalists in the Northwest zone at a workshop on ‘Reporting Economic and Financial Crimes’.

The EFCC chairman, who was represented by the Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Osita Nwajah, said the commission got 117 convictions on various financial crimes in 2013.

He said “we have stepped up financial intelligence and the tracking of illicit transactions across the borders.

“The policing of major entry and exit points recorded the seizure of large amounts of money at the three airports in Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt. Some suspects have been prosecuted and convicted,” he said.

Lamorde said the commission is also pursuing alleged corruption in the justice delivery process and assured that the commission would prosecute culprits in the judiciary and other sectors, such as pension.

In his paper, Kano State Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information Alhaji Mohammed Danyaro said the media no longer reports objectively, adding that this should be the core value of the profession, noting that the media should promote unity in diversity.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

NEWS Polls: Jonathan insists on heavy security Continued from page 4

some of the people have not gotten back their houses.”

Jonathan went on: “We know what happened in Akwa Ibom where some criminals even had to severe the genitals of some men in the name of politics. Demons who want to hold political office. In that kind of situation, how would a person who called himself a labour leader come out publicly to say government should not secure people. I don’t agree with them. My promise of free and fair elections is clear.

“All governorship elections that had been conducted so far, you will agree with me have been free and fair. I am from the PDP, the ruling party but I don’t use that strength to make sure that PDP must win always. The PDP has lost election in Edo State, we lost election in Anambra State, we lost election in Ondo State and, of course, only two days back, we have lost election in Osun State.”

Jonathan added: “But we have said that this country must change. The kind of elections that we had in the 60s that led to the crisis in the West that threatened the sovereignty of this country cannot come up again. The kind of elections we had during the Second Republic that some people won elections as governors and ran away from the state that they claimed elected them, cannot come up again. Nigerians must vote and our vote must count.”

He said if he was interested in manipulating elections, his party, the PDP would not lose governorship election in any state.

He said: “All what we want is credible election. I always tell politicians that none our own ambition is worth the blood of any one Nigerian. If anybody wants to be a president, governor, a senator or anything, know that your ambition is not worth the blood

of any Nigerian.”

“How many of us can line up our children and kill them just because we want to be president. Can we use our children for sacrifice because we want to be governors? Why do we want other people’s children to die? Do we politicians think that we are created differently by the Almighty God? “ “I think we are just privileged to hold the offices we are holding and we must know that, we must make sure that this incessant killings must stop.

“Responsible politics is the politics of service. Anything short of these attributes makes politics a bad thing and destructive. We must continue to preach this message for people. Politics is all about serving people and if people don’t want you to serve go and stay in your house.

“Our states are not our private estates. This country is not owned by any individual. If you are called to serve, you serve. If it is not your turn, you leave; whenever it is your time, people will say come and serve at all levels.”

On the conference, he said: “It is heartwarming that there are people of diverse religious in this conference today. This is for our good; it is a clear demonstration of deep religious tolerance and understanding that have permeated minds of Nigerians out to embrace one another, having realised the need for mutual tolerance and understanding.”

“The interfaith initiative, as I understand it, is conceived to be a unifier, it is an avenue for all and sundry to engage with one another constructively, to understand one another, to respect one another and to care for one another.”

The President praised the organisers for the foresight in convening such a conference on a topical issue that seems to encourage political understanding among religious adherents.

He pointed out that there are

many countries with one religion and still at war with one another.

“We have seen countries with one single cultural heritage go to war because of minor reason. We are a people created by God and we enjoy the creation. Our country was also possible by Him the Almighty and I am confident that working together we can make our country even a better place for ourselves and our children,” Jonathan said.

“I will rather that we focus on the mechanism that we have developed by ourselves as we evolved into a viral nation.”

“Having said this, I do not run away from the fact that we have challenges, just like any other country. I do not deny the fact that there is a reason for people to express fears about our future.

“Some politicians have been making reckless and irresponsible statements that are capable of stoking tention and inciting people to take laws into their hands and destablise the country. But we have to understand that these statements are not borne out of the genuine reason of mood and temperament of Nigerians. Rather, these enemies of peace are only trying to spoil the mood and create tempetous temperature, but they will fail.”

“Unfortunately these statement are coming from very senior people. Our elders are making the whole country to boil. From my interactions with so many young Nigerians, just a few days back, I addressed a group of young professionals, the young generation want to live together. They want a better country where they will have the infrastructure - power, good health services, good educational facilities, roads etc. They are not interested in breaking the nation.

But those of us who are old mainly from my age and above will continue to breach peace in this country. We are not helping our children at all.”

its past and present leaders to utilise all access to power which they enjoy, to bring us redress and relief. General Yakubu Gowon, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, General Muhammadu Buhari, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, General Abdussalami Abubakar, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Architect Namadi Sambo, General T.Y Danjuma and all retired Chief Justices of Nigeria from the North represent grossly under-utilised assets of the North.

“The NEF joins millions of Northerners in appealing to these leaders to raise their levels of involvement in the fortunes of our region in every endeavour or fora they are involved. In these difficult days when every hand must be on deck, if these leaders cannot visibly help to transform the fortunes of the North in the next few months, they will leave northerners with the damaging impression that they have abandoned the region and the people to its seemingly irreversible decline and ultimate destruction.”

The forum also called on all leaders and political parties to demonstrate highest levels of commitment to the rule of law and the demands of the electoral process. “At all cost, the 2015 elections must be free and fair. This means that any

threat which may provide a cover for militarising the electoral process must be eliminated before the elections.

Every part of Nigeria must participate in these elections, and no citizen should be deprived of his right to vote under any excuse,” the forum said.

On the alleged clash between soldiers and Shite members in Zaria, Kaduna State, the NEF called on President Jonathan to set up a Judicial Panel to investigate the incident where over 30 members of the group, including three sons of its leader, were allegedly killed.

The forum said: “The internal investigations by the military in an event in which soldiers are involved will not meet the minimum standards of fairness and acceptability.

The Forum reminds the nation that it was the murder of Muhammad Yusuf by the Nigeria Police in 2009 that formed the major point of escalation in the activities of the group(s) known today under the generic term of Boko Haram.

“We also call for a thorough investigation into the attempted assassination of General Muhammadu Buhari and Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, and the publication of the outcome of these investigations.”

‘Get girls out by Oct. or forget 2015’ Continued from page 4

and related security challenges pose threats to the 2015 elections and the survival of our nation, we strongly advise President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to bring an end to the insurgency in all its manifestations and produce the Chibok girls before the end of October, 2014.

“The circumstances under which our fellow citizens in and around Gwoza in Borno State in particular live and die will not be tolerated by any people who have a government and a leader sworn to defend them, and they must be reversed immediately.”

If President Jonathan fails to end the insurgency, Nigerians will be left with the only conclusion that he has forfeited his right to ask for their mandate beyond 2015.

Said the NEF: “The Forum notes that the state of security and economic challenges of the North are deteriorating, in spite of its wealth of leaders and elders who should use their God-given privileges, power and influence to affect a reversal of these dangerous trends. It is no secret that the vast majority of Northerners lament their marginalisation, insecurity and poverty, and blame it in large part on the inability or unwillingness of

THE NATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

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FOREIGN NEWS

Residents in Donesk and Luhansk are facing food shortages and power cuts due to the PHOTO: AP fighting

Russia warned against Ukraine military action

E

U Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso has told Russia’s Vladimir Putin not to carry out unilateral military action in eastern Ukraine under any pretext.

The two leaders spoke over the phone as the Kremlin announced it was working with the Red Cross on sending a humanitarian aid convoy to the region.

Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has accused Russia of using humanitarian grounds as a pretext for military intervention.

The Red Cross is yet to comment.

At least 1,500 people have died since Ukraine’s new government sent in troops to put down an insurrection by proRussia separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in

mid-April.

The fighting has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom have fled to Russia.

Ukrainian forces have now encircled Donetsk, a city of one million people before the unrest began, and residents are struggling without power or reliable sources of food.

In a statement after Mr Putin’s conversation with the European Commission president, the Kremlin said: “It was noted that the Russian side, in cooperation with representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, will send to Ukraine a humanitarian convoy.”

It did not say when the aid convoy would leave. The Red Cross acknowledged last week that it had received an offer

from the Russian foreign minister about organising aid convoys to the affected areas in Ukraine.

But the Ukrainian government in Kiev and Western powers fear that a Russian humanitarian mission in the east could be used as a pretext to bring Russian military forces across the border.

In a telephone conversation with President Putin on Monday, the EU Commission’s Jose Manuel Barroso “warned against any unilateral military actions in Ukraine, under any pretext, including humanitarian,” an EU commission statement said.

President Barroso made a separate telephone call to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to discuss the situation in Luhansk, it added.

Australian boy ‘displays severed head in Syria’

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R Abbott, now in the Netherlands, announced laws restricting travel to certain conflict areas last week Australian PM Tony Abbott has voiced strong condemnation after an image emerged showing a boy, reportedly the son of an Australian ex-terror convict, holding a Syrian’s severed head.

Sharrouf, who served time for planning attacks in Australia, has now joined Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria.

Mr Abbott said the image showed “just how barbaric” IS militants were.

The image shows a young boy - who looks to be of early primary school age - wearing a baseball cap and a blue shirt, using both hands to hold aloft

the severed head.

A caption was included that read “That’s my boy”, The Australian said. It said the image was taken in the northern Syrian city of Raqa.

Another picture showed Sharrouf wearing combat fatigues posing with three children believed by security personnel to be his sons, the newspaper reported.

“What we’ve got to appreciate is that Islamic State... is not just a terrorist group, it’s a terrorist army and they’re seeking not just a terrorist enclave but effectively a terrorist state,” Mr Abbott told Australian radio from the Netherlands, where he is discussing issues related to flight MH17, the passenger plane brought down in Ukraine.

“And this does pose extraordinary problems... not just for the people of the Middle East but for the wider world.

“And we see more and more evidence of just how barbaric this particular entity is.”

Sharrouf was jailed in 2009 for four years for being part of a cell planning attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.

After his release he was banned from leaving the country but used his brother’s passport to travel to Syria with his family.

Australia issued a warrant for his arrest in July after images emerged on what is thought to be his Twitter feed of another Australian, Mohamed Elomar, holding the severed heads of Syrian government soldiers.

U.S. fails to probe Afghan civilian deaths, says report

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ANY Afghan civilians are injured and killed as a result of roadside bombs laid by the Taliban The US has failed to properly investigate Afghan civilian deaths caused by their forces, human rights group Amnesty International says in a new report.

Amnesty International alleges that even potential war crimes have gone uninvestigated and unpunished.

The report focused primarily on air strikes and night raids carried out by US forces between 2009 and 2103.

Nato told the AP news agency it would review the report and respond later.

A spokesman told AP they take allegations of civilian casualties extremely seriously and fully investigate all reports.

The number of civilians killed and wounded in the conflict in Afghanistan rose 14% last year, UN figures show. Nearly 3,000 civilians were killed and more than 5,600 were injured in 2013.

Most casualties in 2013 were a result of roadside bombs laid by the Taliban or getting caught in the crossfire during ground battles between Taliban-led insurgents and Afghan forces.

But the issue of civilian casualties caused by Nato is highly sensitive in Afghanistan and has long been a source of tension between Nato forces and outgoing President Hamid Karzai.

Last year the Afghan leader banned foreign air strikes in residential areas after civilians were mistakenly killed in a night raid.

But Amnesty’s 84-page report, Left in the Dark, focused on how the US investigates such attacks and what it describes as the failure of accountability for US military operations in Afghanistan.

“Thousands of Afghans have been killed or injured by US forces since the invasion, but the victims and their families have little chance of redress. The US military justice system almost always fails to hold its soldiers accountable for unlawful killings and other abuses,” said Richard Bennett, Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific Director.

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TODAY IN THE NATION

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL.9

NO. 2,936

‘With his renewed mandate, the Ogbeni must learn to eschew needless controversies that hand his enemies the ammo to demonise his person, his programmes and his government’

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

A

LL is quiet now in the aftermath of the governorship election in Osun State, bar the exuberant rejoicing in re-elected Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s circle, which stretches all the way from Osogbo to Bourdillon Road in Ikoyi, Lagos, the grieving in Aso Rock and in Wadata Plaza and the gnashing of teeth in the palaces of some wayward monarchs.

Make no mistake about it: The election was a contest between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Ogbeni Aregbesola, on the one hand, and President Goodluck Jonathan, and the entire apparatus of the Federal Government on the other, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Iyiola Omisore, playing along as bit actors.

With the Federal Juggernaut behind you – slush money, logistics, the police, the army, the secret service, clandestine armed services of no known provenance, and the desperate craving to “capture” more opposition territory – with these and much more behind you, who can stand in your way?

Besides, the governorship election in Ekiti two months earlier had not only pointed up a winning formula that accorded sophomoric stunts a greater salience than solid achievement, it had also shown that the entire Southwest was politically ripe for the picking.

But something went horribly wrong on the way to the orchard.

The would-be harvesters suffered a comprehensive sandbagging.

All the intimidating display of force and might, the warrantless arrest of officials and operatives of the governing party in the state, the bullying, the stoking of religious differences, the claim to possession of private facts that showed Omisore not only leading but coasting to victory —everything ended in a puff, “just like that,” to borrow a phasing from Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the Afrobeat king.

Such was the compass of the intimidation that Chief Isiaka “Serubawon” Adeleke, who once governed the state on the Caligula Principle —”You can hate us, so long as you fear us” — was driven by fear to flee his home in Ede and go into hiding as the Federal Juggernaut widened the reach of its ravenous dragnet.

At Aso Rock and in the palaces of the wayward monarchs and in Wadata Plaza and in the ranks of Dr Jonathan’s private army of ghost “public affairs analysts” and “public affairs commentators”, who invariably live in Abuja, they must be wondering how what was supposed to be an easy take-over turned into a comprehensive rout of the would-be receivers.

They conveniently forgot that Osun is not

RIPPLES OSUN PDP REJECTS RESULT–News

I just hope you know what to do...

GO TO COURT

OLATUNJI DARE

AT HOME ABROAD olatunji.dare@thenationonlineng.net

Osun: The morning after

‘

•Aregbesola

Ekiti. Believing that the dividends of democracy begin and end in the stomach, they could not see beyond the stomachs of the electorate. Accordingly, they tailored their messages to appeal to that organ and its immediate satiation. They mis- apprehended an outlier, an aberration, for a trend. They willfully set aside the public record and stuck with their private facts.

And so, what was supposed to serve as a bridgehead for the capture of the Southwest in Dr Jonathan’s all-but-certain presidential run in 2015 ended up as the graveyard of that strategy. They will now have to go back to the drawing board on that one. And, despite the gain in Ekiti, his faction of the National Governors Forum remains a minority; the most it can hope for is parity in membership with the group from which it was suborned to defect.

The Osun verdict is on one level a personal triumph for the austere and driven Rauf Aregbesola. Unlike some who stumbled into

The man, who could win election to the Senate from prison where he was being held as a suspect in the prosecution of the murder of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, has now twice failed to win election from the outside. He lost his reelection bid to the Senate, and was crushed in his governorship quest

’

office in a fit of absent-mindedness or were dragooned into it, he entered office fully prepared, a man with a mission, armed with blueprints for transforming the State of Osun.

From his first day in office, he has pursued his progressive agenda with a singularity of purpose that has alienated some around him who regard political office not as a summons to service but an invitation to eat, drink and be merry.

The election outcome is also a victory for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the National Leader of the victorious APC. Following the party’s freak defeat in the Ekiti governorship race, some commentators had begun to script his political obituary. They said he was waning as a political force in his Southwest redoubt, and was headed for the abyss.

It is not the first or the second time such things are being said of him, and it won’t be the last. Those counting him must be pre-

HARDBALL

T

HERE have been some politicallymotivated statements and articles of late about the role of the okada, the commercial motorcycle, in the lives of Lagosians, and some of them have not done justice to the conscience of the commuter. When the matter came to the boil about a year ago, the misunderstanding was clear.

The Babatunde Raji Fashola administration introduced a restriction in the circulation of the machines. But swiftly the spin that went to town was that it was a ban. This is a misuse of language for a tendentious end. But at the time it was not read as an act of overt political counter-narrative against the Lagos State government.

The state made it clear that it wanted to restrict their operation for a number of reasons. Not among this reason is the inconvenience it potentially could impose on the average commuter in the city. The principal reasons were linked with safety. In some of the hospitals, the okadas

Lagos okada, not for politics

had become synonymous with slow lynching. Some of the hospitals in Lagos had become acquainted with the gloomy images of the victims. Legs broken, charred flesh bleeding profusely, tears in deluge, deaths to tell the story. And newspapers, including this one, reported many of those stories, gory pieces of young, old, men and women, frittered away in one okada’s nervous tilt into disaster.

Governor Fashola announced a restriction from the major arteries of the city, where the heavy traffic snarl is characterised by such heavy duty vehicles like the trucks, trailers that sometimes bear crates without hinges. The roads also came with various lanes making the trajectory of the okadas so serpentine that they lost their bearings and collided with these mammoth contractions.

If cars could meet perilous destinies on these

OLAKUNLE ABIMBOLA

pared for a long wait. The man’s capacity for resurgence is simply astonishing.

The election was in a way a proving ground for the Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, whom I got to know quite well when he served as a consultant to the Editorial Board of The Guardian, where I was chair of the board and editorial page editor.

He acquitted himself magnificently, displaying the intelligence, the sharp, analytic mind, the capacity for sustained engagement, the eloquence, the resoluteness and the forthrightness that made him one of the youngest, if not the youngest person to be appointed permanent secretary in the Federal Civil Service.

The decisiveness with which he moved the APC machinery to Osogbo to counter the designs of the Federal Might was vintage Oyegun. He is not combative by nature, but he is not afraid of a fight. You can count on him to fight a good fight.

I cannot recall the context now, but in one of the many conversations I had with General Olusegun Obasanjo during visits to his farm in Ota, I mentioned that Oyegun had marked his 55th birthday lately. Obasanjo, who is as flinty with praise as he is with his money, spoke glowingly of Oyegun who served with him when he was head of state.

He asked me to convey to Oyegun his desire to host a birthday luncheon for him, his family and friends. The luncheon did take place, several weeks later.

That is a measure of the esteem in which Oyegun is held.

The on-again, off-again candidate of the Labour Party, Fatai Akinbade, finished as an also-ran. But he provided a comic relief that dispelled somewhat the high tension that marked the vote tallying. Losing on every turf and registering for the most part less than token presence, his spokesperson nevertheless called on the candidates of the APC and the PDP to withdraw if they felt threatened by Akinade’s profile.

At this writing, Omisore has not conceded.

The man, who could win election to the Senate from prison where he was being held as a suspect in the prosecution of the murder of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, has now twice failed to win election from the outside. He lost his reelection bid to the Senate, and was crushed in his governorship quest.

His political future is uncertain. Dr. Jonathan may well compensate him with a ministerial appointment, an ambassadorial post, or some other sinecure.

In whatever case, you will never see Omisore again riding an okada or devouring a cob of roast corn purchased from a street vendor.

•For comments, send SMS to 08111813080

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above roads, the matter of the thin, fragile okada without unprotected passengers was a foregone conclusion.

That informed the decision of the Lagos State government to the bold step. In spite of the restrictions, the okadas still operate in 95 per cent of the roads in the city. The statistics bear out the wisdom of the action. From the records so far, before the restrictions the number of accidents per month was about 600 on the average. By the recent reports, it is about 100. Deaths per month averaged 15. Today, it is about one. Sources say in the past few months, no deaths have been recorded.

The decision may have started in Lagos, but others have since followed suit. And the decision has not had any partisan flavour. Abia State, Akwa Ibom State and Rivers State are a few of the states that have followed that path.

So, anyone who wants to politicise a matter of public safety because of the ambition for power must be courting death and disaster for people and their families.

Published and printed by Vintage Press Limited. Corporate Office: 27B Fatai Atere Way, Matori, Lagos. P.M.B. 1025,Oshodi, Lagos.

Telephone: Switch Board: 01-8168361. Editor Daily:08099365644, Marketing: 01-8155547 . Abuja Office: Plot 5, Nanka Close AMAC Commercial Complex, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja. Tel: 07028105302. Port Harcourt Office: 12/14 Njemanze Street, Mile 1, Diobu, PH. 08023595790 WEBSITE: www.thenationonlineng.net E-mail: info@thenationonlineng.net ISSN: 115-5302 Editor: GBENGA OMOTOSO