The Nation December 10, 2012

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

BoT: North’s interest crisis rocks PDP

NEWS Page 2

•Anenih, Nnamani, 11 others in the race

Agencies confirm Zenith’s status NEWS

Page 10

•Rated Best Commercial Bank

www.thenationonlineng.net

VOL. 7, NO. 2336 MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

The Nation wins four awards at NMMA

Okonjo-Iweala’s mum’s W kidnap: Suspect arrested •SEE ALSO PAGES 2&3

CD: Abductors earn N750m monthly From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba and Nduka Chiejine, Abuja

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ECURITY agents were battling all yesterday to find the unknown gunmen who kidnapped Finance Minister Ngozi OkonjoIweala’s mother.

Prof. Kamene Okonjo, 82, was kidnapped by eight gunmen who stormed the Ogbe-Ofu palace of the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State in two cars shortly before 2pm.

The octogenarian Professor of Medicine is the wife of the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku, Prof Chukwuka Aninshi Okonjo, who was not in town at the time of the incident.

Delta State police spokesman Charles Muka said: “Yes, we have got the information on the kidnap. We also have information that will lead to the arrest of the hoodlums.”

The minister confirmed the kidnapping of her mother. A statement last night by her Special Adviser Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, entitled: “Abduction of Prof. (Mrs) Okonjo” said: “Earlier today, Professor (Mrs) Kamene Okonjo, wife of Professor Chukuka Okonjo, the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku and mother of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Continued on page 4

‘

At this point, it is difficult to say whether those behind this action are the same people who have made threats against the Coordinating Minister in the recent past or other elements with hostile motives.

•Prof. Okonjo

’

By Eric Ikhilae

ITH four awards, The Nation at the weekend confirmed its rating at the prestigious Nigerian Media Merit Awards (NMMA) in Lagos.

In all, 54 awards were given at the well attended event, the 22nd edition.

The awards included three which were given to distinguished Nigerians for their outstanding contributions to the society.

Editorial Board Chairman Sam Omatseye emerged the Columnist of the Year. Assistant Editor Olatunji Ololade was the centre of attraction at the ceremony. Ololade, who had four nominations, clinched two awards - the Ernest Sisei Ikoli Prize for Newspaper Reporter of the Year (which he has won for the past three years) and the BAT Prize for Industry Continued on page 4

•Members of the Bankers’ Committee, comprising managing directors of banks, discount houses and top officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), including the Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, cutting the “Sustainability and Renewable Cake” to depict the banking sector’s commitment to the development of the economy, at the 4th Annual Bankers’ Committee Retreat in Calabar ....yesterday •From left: The wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Abimbola Fashola; Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and Founder/Group Managing Director of Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Dr. Stella Stella Okoli at the company’s annual thanksgiving dinner held at Muson Centre, Lagos…at the weekend

•Omatseye

•Ololade

•Adetula

•GHANA PRESIDENT SET TO WIN P4 •JONATHAN DECLARES GAMES CLOSED P62

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

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NEWS

Southeast, The Southsouth geo-political zone used to be regarded as the base of kidnappers.

Not anymore; the Southeast has taken a prime slot in the business. Yesterday’s kidnap of the mother of Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has brought the issue to the fore once again • Former Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon (right) and Pastor Paul Adefarasin of the House on the Rock at a programme organised by the church in Lagos ... at the weekend.

PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

•Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi (left) presenting documents of the new Technical University of Oyo State to the Executive Secretary of the National University Commission (NUC), Prof Julius Okojie, in Abuja.. at the weekend

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N October 24, the police raided the hideout of a major kidnapping ring in Anambra State. In the process, it rescued a hostage and killed three kidnappers in a shootout. Three others were arrested.

The activities of kidnappers have given the country the image of being one of the worst countries in the world for kidnapping for ransom, a major criminal enterprise worth millions of dollars a year.

Anambra State Police Commissioner Bala Nasarawa said police raided the kidnappers’ hideout in the city of Ihiala, but they came under fire. “They have been responsible for most kidnappings in the state and environs,” he said, adding that the gang’s leader was arrested a few months ago and had helped police track them down.

“Our operatives are working assiduously to track down fleeing wounded members of the syndicate,” after the shootout, Nasarawa said, giving no details of how many had fled.

They had recovered a rocket launcher, four rockets, 18 AK-47 assault rifle magazines and several rifles, he added.

The state is among the parts of Ni-

geria worst affected by kidnapping, which include the oil-rich southeast.

Anambra State Governor Peter Obi launched a crackdown on kidnapping gangs in September , giving police authority to seal off or destroy the property of suspected gang members.

Two houses belonging to an armed robbery and kidnap suspect, Emeka Ezekude, were demolished on the orders of Obi. Obi, who led the demolition, said it was part of the war against kidnapping and other crimes in the state.

He said any building linked with kidnapping and armed robbery in the state would be demolished.

He warned that government would not allow anybody to benefit from proceeds of kidnap and other forms of crime.

Obi assured the people that government was already winning the battle as the wave of kidnap across the state had drastically reduced The governor praised the police and other security agencies for their sustained efforts to rid the state of criminals and assured them of continued government support.

The Deputy Commissioner of police in charge of Operations, Mr Ayole Abeh, who accompanied the governor to Uli for the exercise, explained that the sus-

ICRC Report vindicates us, says Bi-Courtney

By Wale Ajetunmobi

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• MD/CEO, Airtel Nigeria, Rajan Swaroop (second left), Celebrity judges on Nigeria's Got Talent (NGT) Season One, Yibo Koko (left), Kate Henshaw-Nuttal(second right) and Dan Foster (r) with NGT Season One Winner, Amarachi Uyanne on stage shortly after the eighth-year-old received the cheque of N10 Million grand prize at the OMG Studio in Lagos....at the weekend.

• Managing Director, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Mr. Thabo Mabe (left) presenting an award to New Burn Manager, Save The Child, Mrs. Abimbola Williams during the third Annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Day and launching of Unilever Sustainable Living Plan held at the company's headquarters, Oregun, Lagos ...at the weekend. With them is Campaign Manager, Hajia. Hadiza Aminu.

I-Courtney Highways Services Ltd has said the report of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC has vindicated the firm’s position on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The company, in a statement yesterday, said the report delivered to President Goodluck Jonathan by Chief Ernest Shonekan, who heads the ICRC, agrees with its stand on why it could not execute the concession on time.

Bi-Courtney won the concession to rebuild, expand and modernise the 34-year-old 105-kilometre expressway under a Build, Operate and Transfer (DBOT) arrangement in 2009.

The concession agreement was revoked by the Federal Government on November 19, over claims that the company breached the terms of the agreement with regard to the duration of reconstruction work.

In the 2011 annual report of the ICRC presented to the President last week, the commission noted that the implementation of the project was delayed due to various issues that were not addressed by both parties prior to the execution of the contract.

ICRC identified some of the issues as approval for the design of the road, securing the Right of Way, financial model and environmental and social impact assessment.

On approval for the design of the road, the report indicated that Clause 6.1 of the concession agreement identified the concessionaire as responsible for the preparation of the preliminary design for the grantor’s review and approval.

The report said approval for a final design was granted on May 10, 2011, two years after the concession agreement was signed.

“It is evident that the scope of the work was not fully documented and outline design provided before the concession was awarded,” said the report.

On the financial model, the commission observed that the cost of the project as included in the concession agreement was not based on the necessary studies.

The report reads: “Without an agreed design and scope of work based on the grantor’s performance and output standards, there cannot be an agreed fixed cost for the project.

“Without a financial model setting out the expected project costs and revenues, financing costs cannot be determined.

“The cost of the project as included in the concession agreement was not based on the necessary studies (e.g. traffic forecast) required

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

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NEWS

Southsouth: den of kidnappers

•Plastic containers hidden underground and used as armoury by kidnappers in Anambra State.

•Obi giving police instruction at the home of a suspected kidnapper

pect confessed to being an armed robber and a kidnapper during interrogation.

One of the buildings, a nine-bedroom executive bungalow, was still at the finishing touches, while the other was a four bedroom bungalow.

The suspect was said to belong to the kidnap gang led by Olisa Ifejika, whose mansions were demolished at Oraifite in Ekwusigo Local Government three months ago.

Ifejika was said to have named Ezekude as a member of his gang while being interrogated by the police and investigations led to the discovery of arms and ammunition in his house at Uli. Items recovered from the house included, one rocket grenade, three gre-

nade propellers, two A.K47 riffles, zero six riffle, 27 A.K47 magazines, 170 rounds of live ammunition and nine chains used in restraining kidnap victims.

The arms and ammunition were hidden underground in plastic containers in his premises. The demolition brings to three the number of the exercise already carried out in the state.

Foreigners are sometimes targets of abductions, especially oil workers, although this has sharply decreased since a 2009 amnesty with militants in the oil-producing Niger Delta.

Hardly does a day pass without a new kidnapping being carried out,

usually of professionals or relatives of politicians.

Police say kidnappings often increase towards Christmas, when gang members need more money for festivities and gifts. It is unclear if the kidnap of Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-iweala yesterday has anything to do with this trend.

The African Insurance Organisation recently reported that Nigeria accounts for 25 per cent of kidnap-for-ransom cases reported worldwide within the last one year.

The Insurance Institute of Mauritius, which hosted the AIO’s 18th African Reinsurance Forum, disclosed this in its newsletter on kidnap and ransom

insurance cover during the forum held in October 2012. The association stated that Nigeria had been designated as the global capital for kidnapfor-ransom due to the huge record of kidnap cases reported in the country yearly.

ASI Global Response, a leading response consultant in the field of kidnap for ransom, extortion and hostage-taking, in its report on kidnapping in Nigeria for the period of January to June 2012, said of the reported kidnappings that occurred in Nigeria, 50 per cent of the victims were businessmen, businesswomen or their family members.

The report reads: “The second

most targeted group in 2012 has been local rulers, politicians or their family members, at 24 per cent of reported cases. Doctors and priests/ pastors have accounted for nine and four per cent of victims, respectively.

Most abductions (43 per cent) occur while the victims are travelling on roads, although they often take place at victims’ homes (29 per cent) or their places of work (18 per cent). The average initial ransom demand in 2012 has been US$490,000 with settlements averaging US$50,000. It should be noted, however, that ransom figures are rarely reported and these averages may be on the low side due to lack of data.”

BoT chair: North’s interest tears PDP apart

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HE jostle for the chairmanship of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has split the organ with most members insisting on the zoning tradition of the party by allowing the North to produce the new leader.

Thirteen candidates have applied for the seat, including a former Chairman of the BOT, Chief Tony Anenih; a former National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Ahmadu Ali; ex-President of the Senate, Chief Ken Nnamani; Chief Harry Akande and Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu.

It was however learnt that some influential members of the PDP are mounting pressure on a former Vice-President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme to lead the BOT. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo vacated the seat in April.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh confirmed the number of interested candidates to our correspondent on telephone yesterday.

Metuh, however, could not give the names of all the candidates off hand, saying he was speaking from his village in Anambra and as such could not lay his hands on the file at the time.

"So far we have about 13 candidates on the list. I don't have the file with me so I cannot recall all the names off hand.

As a matter of fact I am speaking with you from my village in Anambra", Metuh said.

A high-ranking member of the party yesterday said Ekwueme has not formally applied for the office.

But there were strong indications that more candidates might apply following what a top member of the BOT described as the "continuous search for an ideal candidate."

Also, contrary to speculations, President Goodluck Jonathan has decided not to back any candidate.

From Yusu Alli, Abuja

Jonathan wants to leave the post open to BOT members to decide.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that there is a split among members of the BOT with most of them insisting on the zoning tradition of the party.

A reliable BOT member, who spoke in confidence yesterday, said: "Some of our leaders might have applied but it appears that we may need more leaders to signify their interest.

"I can say that the BOT is still searching for the ideal candidate because there are some variables which we still have to put into consideration.

"The position of most members is that the party must take its zoning tradition into consideration in choosing a new BOT chairman or else we may slip into a deeper crisis in the party.

"We have a tradition that anytime the North produces the President, the BOT chairman will come from the South.

"This is the zoning tradition we have adhered to since 1999. The last holder of the BOT chairmanship, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo came from the Southwest, what will be the rationale for choosing or electing a new one from the South again.

"So, you can see that we have a major zoning hurdle to cross in electing the new chairman of the BOT. The appropriate thing is for the North to produce the next BOT chairman.

"If Jonathan allows the party to abandon this tradition, we will assume that zoning is dead and this may affect the primaries for 2015 poll."

Asked why the North will push for BOT chairman when the secretary of the board, Alhaji Wali Jibrin is from the North-Central, the source added: "Wali came in as an interim secretary.

•Nnamani

When we meet, the North will have the option to either serve as chairman or secretary.

"If the North opts for the chairman of BOT, Wali has to automatically step down."

On the alleged intent of Ekwueme, the source said: "Some leaders of our party are pressurizing Ekwueme to lead this vital organ of the party.

"With age not on his side again, Ekwueme is actually not keen on the job. But our leaders won't allow him to rest because of what he did to reconcile aggrieved members of the party some years ago.

Concerning the alleged anointing of one of the candidates by the President,

•Anenih

the source said: "I am in a position to know, Jonathan has confided in some leaders of the party that he would allow democratic process to run its full course on BOT. "The President is not backing any candidate but it is convenient for some people to drop names."

But another source said: "You should also take note of the fact that the National Chairman of PDP is from the North-East. Do you want the North to produce the chairman of the BOT again?

"The situation is dicey. We have a tradition but this is a party that believes in equity too. I know at the right time, BOT members will iron out

issues and move forward.

"I am aware that we also have a group within the BOT calling for a younger element to lead this organ of the party. I am talking of a leader who is between 60 and 65 years."

Article 12.77 of the PDP reads in part: "The BOT shall elect a chairman and secretary from members of the Board. The chairman and secretary shall also be members of the National Executive Committee.

"Without prejudice to the provision of this Constitution, ensure that the person to be elected chairman and secretary respectively are of proven integrity and have contributed immensely to the growth of the party."

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

NEWS Don’t magnify Boko Haram threat, says SSS DG

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•Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan with the overall best team trophy of the National Sport Festival which ended at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos...last night. With him during a thanksgiving service at the TREM headquarters, Gbagada, Lagos are: Chairman Delta Sports Commission Mr. Amaju Pinnick and Team captain, Ruth Izenegwu, who won six gold medals in swimming

The Nation wins four awards at NMMA Continued from page 1

Reporter of the Year, which he also won last year.

Senior Cartoonist Muyiwa Adetula maintained his winning streak, emerging the Nnamdi Azikwe Cartoonist of the Year.

Omatseye, who is in the United States attending a conference, was delighted to learn that he won the award.

He said: “I’m delighted to win for The Nation and myself.”

He had a word for his readers and critics.

Omatseye said: “I thank the critics of my column and urge them to know that I write to reflect my deep love for Nigeria. I’m entitled to my views as they are entitled to others.”

Ololade said he was pleased to win the awards, adding: “Again, I am flattered by the awards. I appreciate the recognition. I also appreciate the facilities provided by The Nation to foster Feature Journalism that remains the fruit of experience and an enduring training process. With such encouragement, I can only aspire to higher standards of journalism practice. Development Journalism is a crucial factor in our march for societal progress

and ideal journalism practice; that efforts meant to shed light on our societal lapses are being adequately rewarded shows how far we have come in our quest for and appreciation of the ideal practice. I hope my colleagues doing great work across various media never get to rest on their oars.”

Adetula described the award as a motivation for him to aspire to greater heights.

He said: “I’m highly overwhelmed, yet immensely grateful for this award. I would like to thank the Board of Trustees of NMMA and the management of The Nation for giving me the opportunity to be a change agent.”

Elder statesman Yusuf Maitama Sule, publisher of Vanguard “Uncle” Sam Amuka Pemu and former Punch Chairman Ajibola Ogunshola got the Special Recognition Awards, bringing to five the number of people who have been so honoured in the event’s 22 years. The earlier two were the former President, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and the late Chief Anthony Enahoro.

Alhaji Sule and Ogunsola were present at the ceremony.

Amuka Pemu was represented by the President, Nigerian

Guild of Editors, Gbenga Adefaye, who is also Vanguard’s Editor-in-Chief..

The Punch won five awards.

They are Babatunde Jose Prize for Newspaper of the Year, Editor of the Year, News Photographer of the Year (Olugbon Adedoyin Saheed), Editorial Writing of the Year and Telecommunication Reporter of the Year (Oketola Adedayo).

The newspaper beat The Guardian and The Sun to emerge the Newspaper of the Year. Its Editor, Adeyeye Joseph, was named the Editor of the Year.

Other NMMA winners are: Adejuwon Soyinka of TELL, who won the Gani Fawehinmi Prize for Human Rights Reporter of the Year for the third consecutive year, Channels Television (the Television Station of the Year) , Deji Bademosi won the Television Reporter of the Year and Classic FM was declared Radio Station of the Year.

Okusan Olalekan of The Guardian won the Sports Reporter of Year. Akinloye Adebayo Apollos of National Standard was the Political Reporter of the Year, Ayodeji Adeyemi of Tell won the Entertainment Reporter of the Year; Mordi Raymond Osemudia of Tell is

Power Reporter of the Year.

Sina Fadare, National Mirror, emerged the Agriculture Reporter of the Year and Sulaimon Olanrewaju of the Nigerian Tribune won the Culture Reporter of the Year, Other winners are: Alabi Adebayo Mojeed (Newswatch) Education Reporter of the Year, Ogundare Tubosun Alani (National Mirror) (Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reporter of the year); Christopher Ajaero/Anthony Akaeze (Newswatch) jointly won Evironment Reporter of the Year, Chikodi Anthony Okereocha (Energy Reporter of the Year); Adebayo Folashade Grace of Tell (Foreign News Reporter) and Moreen Chigbo, Newswatch (Defence Reporter of the Year).

Ojo Abiodun Olawunmi of The Guardian won the Tourism Reporter of the Year. Helen Eni of the Broadstreet Journal (BSJ)won the Insurance Reporter of the Year. Nnorom Nkiruka Eucharia, Newswatch, got the Banking and Finance Reporter award. Segun Edwards of Nigeria Compass emerged the Capital Market Reporter of the Year. The Maritime Reporter Award went to Adenubi Adetola of Nigeria News Direct and

HE Director-General of the State Security Service, Mr. Ekpenyong Ita, has asked the media and Nigerians to deny terrorists, behind the insecurity in the country, the oxygen to survive.

Ita made the plea at the weekend during closing ceremony of a security training session for reporters at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) at Lower Usuma Dam, Bwari District of Abuja.

He said all Nigerians must rally around security agencies to combat terrorism.

The Director-General said: “As partners, we must, while performing our duties refrain from magnifying the threat and fear, instead we must allay such fears and continuously reassure the people.

Also, our reports of terrorism should be tailored to discourage more of such acts in order not to embolden the terrorists by the massive publicity they gain, thereby intensifying such acts. We must collectively deny them the oxygen they require to survive.

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

“We must realize that it is our sacred duty to be very objective and accurate in the way terrorism is reported.

Always remember that if any form of violence goes unreported or not reported sensationally, it s likely to have a reducing effect on such violence.

“The need to promote and protect national security for democracy and development has more than ever become paramount. Therefore, media practitioners must refrain from news reportage that tend to celebrate terrorists and their activities, since the consequences of such activities are grave to national unity, national security and development.

“There is need for closer ties and partnership between the media and unity agencies through their respective Public Affairs Departments. Security Services must keep the media consciously abreast of the sensitivity of their role in this war against terrorism.

Continued on page 63

Ghana President set for victory •Obasanjo: election credible

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HANA’s President John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was heading for victory yesterday in an election that has been described as a close race.

Mahama had garnered 50.66 per cent of the vote and Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotice Party (NPP) 47.76 per cent.

The electoral commission was releasing results on its website, but the most recent available included only 173 of 275 districts. Those results put Mahama at 49.61 per cent and Akufo-Addo at 48.9 per

cent.

A run-off election is to be held on December 28 if no candidate receives more than 50 per cent. Eight candidates contested the election.

Ghana, a new oil producer with a booming economy, is seeking to live up to its reputation as a beacon of democracy in West Africa.

Observers from the Commonwealth, West African bloc ECOWAS and local group CODEO have all said the vote held over Friday and Saturday had appeared peaceful and transparent.

Continued on page 63

Continued on page 63

Kidnappers make N750m monthly in Southeast, says CD

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HE Campaign for Democracy (CD) yesterday alleged that kidnapping has become a big business in the Southeast, with abductors making an average of N750 million monthly.

It said abduction had increased in the region after a lull. The rights group urged governors to intervene.

The CD said the situation had made the region unsafe for industrialists and businessmen.

Chairman of CD in the Southeast Dede Ujoh A. Uzoh, in a statement, said: “It is very depressing that notwithstanding the huge amount of money the governors of the five Southeast states collect each month, they as the chief security officers, are unable to contain the upsurge of kidnapping.

“An average of five persons are kidnapped per month in each state of the zone and

Okonjo-Iweala’s mum’s kidnap: suspect arrested Continued from page 1 who allegedly left the compound a few

Okonjo-Iweala, was abducted from her home in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State.

“At this point, it is difficult to say whether those behind this action are the same people who have made threats against the Coordinating Minister in the recent past or other elements with hostile motives.

“No possibility can be ruled out at this point.

“This is obviously a very difficult time for the entire Okonjo family. But the family is hopeful of a positive outcome as it fervently prays for the quick and safe return of the matriarch.”

The police said it had arrested a man From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi and Osagie Otabor, Benin

they pay between N30 million and N20 million each.

“This amounts to about N150 million per month from wealthy individuals in a state, thus, totalling N750 million per month from the five states.

minutes before the incident took place.

The man was said to have informed the housemaid that he was in the palace to take the queen mother somewhere in the town.

It was gathered that the kidnappers, numbering about 10, were lurking around the palace, until the woman and her maid came down to serve workers at the gate soft drinks.

An eye witness account said as soon as she came down from the main building towards the gate, the criminals moved in from the gate, grabbed her and pushed her into a waiting Golf Volkswagen car.

“The abductors were heavily armed. They were about 10. They held up the men fix-

“There has been this massive exodus of industrialists, businessmen and women from the zone due to activities of kidnappers,’’ it said.

The statement added that the recent escalation of kidnapping is more rampant in major cities of Onitsha, Aba, Owerri, Awka, Umuahia,

ing the interlocking tiles and asked them to lie face down. Immediately they saw her, they bundled her into the waiting Golf car. Another car was parked outside,” the witness said.

One of them went upstairs to collect the octogenarian’s handbag. The eyewitness said another maid, who saw the kidnappers upstairs, hid herself in the Kitchen.

The suspected kidnapper informed his accomplices that there was no one else in the house. They zoomed off with Mrs Okonjo.

At the palace yesterday, the atmosphere was gloomy. Sympathisers, including members of the community’s vigilance group, were discussing the development.

Enugu and Abakaliki.

“These are the cities where wealthiest people and their families live and carry out their businesses.

“This is making business and human security to collapse and the wealthy not free to move around within the zone due to fear of being

kidnapped,’’ it said.

The statement urged governors to help stop the present exodus of the wealthy people; which, if not checked within some months, the economy of the zone would crumble,’’ it said.

The statement also called on mobile phone service pro-

viders to assist the police and other law enforcement agencies to track kidnappers as they use mobile phones to network their operations.

“Efforts should be made to energise the Southeast Economic Summit to revive the moribund industries in the zone; taking a cue from the South-South.

“The revival of industries has become paramount so that workplaces would be created to contain youths that would likely join these bad eggs perpetrating these heinous crime,” the CD said.

ADVERT HOTLINES: 08023006969, 08052592524 NEWSROOM: LAGOS – 01-8962807, ABUJA – 07028105302 COMPLAINTS: 01-8930678

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

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NEWS Africa’s economy fast growing, says scholar

By Musa Odoshimokhe

FRICA’S economy is fast growing, an international scholar said at the weekend. Research Professor and Director in Global Governance and Human Security, University of Massachusetts, USA, Timothy Shaw, spoke at a lecture to mark the 10th anniversary of the Centre for Constitutionalism and Demilitarisation (CENCOD). The event at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, attracted the academics and civil society groups.

Shaw, who was the guest lecturer, in paper entitled: African Agency versus Dependency: From Fragile to Developmental States in the 21st Century, noted that half of the dozen of the fastest growing countries identified in the Economist’s World in 2011 were African countries, with Ghana the best example of democratic development and Angola the new oil giant.

He said African countries have entered and taken their seats in the multilateral arena, while regional integration has experienced a new drive.

Said he: “Given such miracles after a rather lacklustre first half century, in the second decade of the new century, a variety of forms of regional agency is thriving and may continue to blossom on the African continent.”

Shaw added that African economies have recovered from the crisis better than expected. “This unprecedented courageous departure from the discredited and disappearing ‘Washington Consensus’ has been followed up by a 2012 United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) reports.”

The research scholar, who believed that Africa has generated series of innovation no matter how problematic, reiterated that its efforts at transnational governance and ability to articulate its African Mining Vision (AMV) in response to dramatic changes underscored the progress made so far.

The Chairman of the lecture, Prof. Adebayo Williams, who narrowed his opening remarks to the home front, expressed misgivings about governance in Nigeria.

He said: “It is sad to observe that we seem to have moved from a situation of great hope and expectation to one of utter dejection and despondency.

“What seems to be going on at the moment is a demonisation and demystification of democracy as the best system governance, ever devised by the human political imagination. Nigerians, particularly some sections of the political class, are bent on giving democracy a bad name to hang it.”

Prof. Williams urged people to be vigilant because forces whose pastime was to undermine the political process were at work.

“If the political class is bent on committing political suicide, Nigerians have a right to retrieve their country from it before it pushes it over the cliff.”

Describing the rot in the polity as abysmal, he said what the nation was passing through did not begin with the present administration, but it had contributed its quota where it could be argued that President Jonathan had inherited an unlucky conjuncture.

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•From left: Bishop of Jebba, Rt. Rev. Sunday Adewole; the Vicar, St. James Anglican Church, Amuwo-Odofin, Rev. Olufemi Familoni; Bishop, Diocese of Lagos West, Dr. Peter Awelewa Adebiyi; his wife, Modupe with her son, Oluwapelumi; Chancellor, Diocese of Lagos West, Justice Babasola Ogunade; and Bishop of Igbomina, Most Rev. Michael Akinyemi, during the dedication of St. James’ Church building and hall at Amuwo-Odofin, Lagos...at the weekend.

EFCC: we’re probing Etete for fraud, forgery T HE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said it is investigating former Oil Minister Dan Etete for alleged fraud. The case involves the $1.092 billion paid by the Federal Government on transactions between Shell/Agip and Malabu Oil & Gas in respect of OPL 245.

The investigation, according to the chairman of the anti-graft agency in an interim report presented before the Leo Ogor-led ad hoc committee investigating the deal, was sequel to a petition brought against Etete by Mohammed Sani, (son of former Head of State, the late General Sani Abacha).

Lamorde said the matter before the commission “is the alleged conspiracy, forgery, altering of forged documents and fraud by the above stated suspects (Dan Etete and others) to the detriment of the complainants

From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

(Abacha and others).

The EFCC boss, giving a background in the issue, said: “In February 2012, the commission received a petition written by A.A. Umar & Co on behalf of PECOS Energy Limited and Mohammed Sani against Ednan Aganev of the International Consulting Limited of the Confederation of Switzerland, Geneva; Consular Service of USA, Mr. Rasky Gbinigie of Ikoyi, Lagos and others. The petition bordered on allegations of conspiracy, forgery and altering of forged documents for the purpose of misappropriating the funds of Maiabu Oil & Gas by Chief Dan Etete.

“The petitioner said his clients, Alhaji Mohammed Sani and PECOS Energy as well as

Kwekwu Amafegha (representing Dan Etete) were shareholders of Maiabu Oil & Gas with an equity ratio of 50:20=30. “They, however, alleged that Chief Dan Etete subsequently conspired with the Company Secretary of Malabu Oil & Gas, Mr. Rasky Gbinigie, to forge board resolutions and file documents purporting to alter the equity structure of the company and also transferred the complainants’ shares to Seidou Munamuna and Joseph Amaran.

“Upon discovering this, on October 17, 2008, Alhaji Mohammed Sani wrote a letter to the Corporate Affairs Commission with reference number AT/CUPNI/VOL. 1/129/08 through Atabo & Co to place a caveat restraining the company from transacting any business or effect-

ing any change in the ownership of the company without his or PECOS Energy Ltd’s approval.”

Lamorde said analysis and comparison of the obtained incorporation documents from the Corporate Affairs Commission and those submitted by the petitioners show “a suspicious variance strongly indicative of forgery of the documents submitted to the Corporate Affairs Commission.”

He went on: “A subsequent search conducted by Rickey Tarfa & Co dated 31/08/2007 as well as an undated search conducted by Wali, Uwais & Co showed that the corporate status, shareholding structure and the names of directors were changed and filed by Rasky Gbinige.

“Thus, Mohammed Sani was changed to Alhaji Mohammed Ahmed Sanni with four million shares in contrast to the original 10 million shares.”

ATM charges suspension begins Dec 17, says CBN OMMERCIAL bank customers using the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) for interbank withdrawals from their accounts will no longer pay service charges, beginning from December 17, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has said.

He also spoke of a plan by the apex bank to unveil a divestment programme that will make the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) divest from the three bridged banks —Keystone, Enterprise and Mainstreet on June 1, 2013.

The CBN chief, who doubles as the chairman of the Bankers’ Committee, dropped the hint at the 4th Annual Bankers’ Committee retreat in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

C

The retreat’s theme is: “Towards Economic Development and Sustainable Transformation.”

Commercial banks reached an agreement last month to suspend all charges from the use of their ATMs by customers, but some of the lenders are yet to comply.

According to the CBN Governor, the December 17 date, as agreed by the banks and their supervisor, has been fixed for the take off of the new policy.

He said: “We have agreed on a final date of Monday, December 17 for the kick-off.

On this day, every bank will take-off with the charges. We allowed some time for banks that have not configured their IT to do so and stop charging and hopefully, by December 17, you are not

going to have any customer pay additional charges.”

Sanusi said the CBN would on June 1, next year begin a process that would culminate in the divestment of AMCON from the three bridged banks by 2014.

Besides, he said banks’

lending to the agriculture sector had increased from 1.5 per cent of total industry portfolio to 3.5 per cent in 2012.

Banks, he said, have outlined strategies to attain seven per cent agric sector lending by next year and 10 per cent by 2017.

‘Free polio surgery to continue’ From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

THE Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, at the weekend assured that there would still be more opportunities for polio patients to undergo free corrective surgeries in Nigeria.

He spoke at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital after joining the Indian doctors to perform correcting surgery on one of the polio victims under the Nigeria–India Rotary International Polio Corrective Surgery Project.

The minister said some local associations are already perfecting arrangements to do more free surgeries on other polio victims.

He said: “Corrective surgery is done in Nigeria everyday except on Sundays by orthopaedic surgeons.

This one is a foreign mission by Indian doctors who are ready to give their time without getting even one rupee. They are losing money by being here, away from their families to a place where they don’t even understand the culture of the people. That is a lot of sacrifice. They are going to be here for 10 days and are aiming to treat up to 400 patients.”

Aero MD resigns

T

HE restructuring initiated by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) with the support of the board of Aero, has claimed a major casualty. The Managing Director Capt. Akin George has resigned.

A source said this is the beginning of a restructuring that will make the airline slimmer, stronger and more competitive.

George has served Aero for 24 years in various capacities.

The Chairman of the board, Mr. Funsho Kupolokun, said: “The board accepts the resignation of Capt. George and appreciates the

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

services he has rendered to this airline in the last two decades. We wish him the best in his future endeavours.”

Mr. Obaro Ibru, who until now was the Deputy Managing Director, has been appointed as the Acting Managing Director. He comes with extensive experience in the banking and aviation industries, ranging from Aviation Project Management to Consumer Banking Product Development, Strategy, ICC Internal Control and Compliance, and Business Process Engineering, among others.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10 2012

6

NEWS ‘Nigeria poised for greatness’

By Tokunbo Ogunsami

THE Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of VoiceGig in the United Kingdom, Mr. Simon Gibson, has said Nigeria will play a significant role in shaping the world in the 21 st century.

Gibson, who spoke at the weekend in Ikeja, Lagos, said Nigeria is poised for greatness because of its potential.

He said VoiceGig, in conjunction with the Cambridge University Press, UK Speechwriters’ Guild and European Speechwriter Network, specialises in speech writing and speech making, adding that speech is important because it helps to change and develop the world.

“Speech shares ideas.

It shapes the world.

Speech is important in people’s activities. We train people in speech writing. Our business is done online. We offer the database and basic services free of charge,” Gibson, who was on a visit to Nigeria with another official of VoiceGig, Henry Songeur, said.

Their representative in Nigeria, Mr. Olusegun Oladeji, said he is partnering VoiceGig to develop speech writing.

He said their target audience for now are universities and public organisations, adding: “We want to train Nigerians to become powerful speakers.”

N232b subsidy scam: Kwara NBA T calls for trial HE Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ilorin branch, has said the oil marketers involved in the alleged illegal collection of N232 billion fuel subsidy must not go unpunished.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala recently said 50 oil marketers illegally collected N232 billion.

The Chairman of the Ilorin chapter of the NBA, Rafiu Balogun, who spoke at the association’s annual dinner and award night, urged the Federal Government to discard increasing the pump prices of petroleum products as it would incur the wrath of Nigerians.

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

He said the recovery of N29 billion by debt swap from the illegally-collected N232 billion as stated by Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala was not satisfactory and called for the blacklisting of the marketers, in addition to their prosecution.

Balogun hailed the government’s efforts to sanitise the oil sector and enjoined it to ensure there is no sacred crowd.

He said: “Corruption in the oil sector is another vex-

ing issue of national importance, which must be tackled by the Federal Government.

The subsidy scam and the huge amount lost are worrisome and sad.

“We praise the government for the efforts made to sanitise the sector. The prosecution of the individuals and companies involved is commendable. We, however, warn that there must not be sacred cows. Government must be as transparent as possible.

“This takes us to the Ribadu Report. The Federal Gov-

ernment should not jettison the report as it could still be useful in the investigations into the fraud and the perpetrators. The recent revelation by the Finance Minister that a whopping N232 billion was illegally collected by 50 oil marketers and Federal Government has only succeeded in recovering N29 billion through debt swap is disheartening.

“It is in the light of the above that we call on the Federal Government not to make any attempt to increase the pump price of petroleum products. If it does, it will stir the anger of Nigerians. They will resist the increase because the subsidy issue has turned out to be

Adoke opposes state police

T

HE Minister of Justice and the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, has opposed state police.

Adoke, who spoke at the weekend at the 13th Convocation Lecture of the Benue State University (BSU), Makurdi, said the police should continue to serve the country as enshrined in Section 214 of the constitution.

He said: “The reality of our nascent democracy and the learning curve, which many of our political actors are still negotiating, stir debate

From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

as to the likely uses they can put the state police.”

The minister acknowledged the perceived inadequacies of the police force and said challenges could be addressed within the context of the present structure rather than seeking to impose a new constitutional amendment, which he said would have a negative consequence for the polity.

Mr. Adoke said no matter how beautiful a constitution is, failure to steer its evolvement through the popular

process can affect its acceptance.

He said the 1999 Constitution, just as the 1979 Constitution, is described as an imposition by the military.

The Minister stressed that one of the greatest drawbacks of the 1979 Constitution is its famed dubious origin, which states: “We, the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, having firmly and solemnly resolved, do hereby enact and give to ourselves the following constitution.”

He noted that many said this is a lie as Nigerians were not consulted in the process

•Adoke

leading to the adoption of the 1999 Constitution.

Adoke said whatever the constitution the country may finally have, it could only succeed through the operators.

Group cautions minister’s opponents A NON-profit group under the aegis of the Forum of Ex-NANS Leaders (FENL) has cautioned critics of the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Mr. Emeka Wogu, to desist from fabricating lies against him in the interest of growth and development of the nation.

Addressing a news conference at the weekend, the forum, comprising former leaders of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), said it was necessary for the citizenry to support the anti-corruption agents in the effort to develop the nation.

The statement, signed

by Comrade Etuk Bassey Williams, former NANS president; Comrade Jossy Ekpe, former secretary-general; Comrade Splendor Agbonkpolor, former Senate president and Igwe Cashir, faulted an activist, Mr. Dino Melaye and human rights activist-lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, in calling for the sack of the Minister of Labour from the President Goodluck Jonathan cabinet.

• Director, Mechanical/Electrical Signal and Telecoms, Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr. Fidet Okhiria (left), an engineer; Company Secretary, Mrs. Ifeoma Onyeato; Mr. Adeseyi Sijuwade, an engineer and Managing Director/CEO; Director of Operations, Mr. Niyi Ali; and Director of Administration, Mr. Aminu Gusau, at the NRC’s management retreat in Lagos.

PHOTO: SOLOMON ADEOLA

Islam facing great challenge, says Tambuwal H

OUSE of Representatives Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has attributed the enormous challenges facing Islam to the lack of proper understanding of its tenets by a few vocal people within its fold.

Tambuwal stressed the need for religious leaders and traditional rulers to redouble their efforts to inculcate the basics of Islam in the consciousness of the Muslim faithful, to correct the misgivings of the activities of some of the youth.

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

Speaking during the national prayer session organised by the Tijjaniyya Brotherhood at the Emir’s Palace in Kano yesterday, Tambuwal said despite insecurity and other negative challenges confronting the nation, the hope of a brighter future is not lost.

He said various problems are confronting Muslim youths, but he urged them

not to deviate from the teachings of their religion.

The Speaker said Islam, like other religions, encourages peaceful co-existence among people, stressing that any effort to undermine the peaceful atmosphere should be resisted by all and sundry.

While hailing the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, for organising the annual national prayer session, Tambuwal urged religious leaders to intensify prayers for the nation

•Tambuwal

and its leaders.

Tambuwal said lawmakers, especially those in the lower chamber of the National Assembly, would protect the interest of the people.

tainted with corruption and fraud.”

The state Chief Judge, Justice Olatunji Bamigbola, described legal justice as the mainstay of the country’s democracy and hailed the NBA for its contribution towards the sustenance of justice.

He also praised the NBA for inculcating in its members discipline and ethics of the legal profession.

‘Mandela stable in hospital’

F

ORMER South African President Dr. Nelson Mandela spent the second day in a Pretoria military hospital yesterday after medical tests. The government said his condition was stable.

President Jacob Zuma visited the 94-year-old Mandela , according to an official statement. It provided no other details of the health of South Africa’s first black president, who came to power after an historic all-race election in 1994, Reuters reports.

On Saturday, Zuma’s office said there was no cause for alarm and that the medical treatment Mandela was receiving in the military hospital in the capital was “consistent with his age.”

However, domestic media reports suggested that senior members of the government and people close to Mandela had been caught unawares by his admission in hospital.

The City Press newspaper said both the Nelson Mandela Foundation and his exwife, Winnie MadikizelaMandela, had not known about his transfer to the capital from his home in the remote village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape province.

South Africa’s Sunday Times said Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe had cancelled a scheduled visit on Friday to Mandela in Qunu after being told of his condition.

The mood around Pretoria’s Military One hospital was calm yesterday. Army personnel were searching all cars driving onto the premises.

Mandela is a hero to many South Africans and two brief stretches in hospital in the last two years have made front page news.

“I wish Mr. Mandela a quick recovery from his illness so that we can be with him all the time. He was a good president, a good leader, so he must be with us,” said John Sekiti, a filling station attendant in Pretoria.

Mandela was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital last year with a respiratory condition, and again in February because of abdominal pains. He was discharged the following day after a keyhole examination showed there was nothing serious.

He has since spent most of his time in Qunu.

His frail health prevents him from making any public appearance in South Africa, although he has continued to receive high-profile domestic and international visitors, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

7

CITYBEATS A

NSCDC to prosecute monarchs

ANY traditional ruler found conniving with pipeline vandals would be arrested and prosecuted, the Lagos State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Mr. Sunday Obafaiye has said.

Speaking yesterday, Obafaiye said, NSCDC has deployed its officers to monitor activities of traditional rulers in all communities where there were Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipelines.

"I am ready to move the security of the state to a higher level. Bunkering will no longer be business as usual in the state.

"We are equally going to bring to book traditional rulers found conniving with suspected bunkerers in the state.

"We have arrested some bunkerers at Arepo an Ogun State suburb and they have confessed that some traditional rulers were involved in the criminal business "`We are investigating their confessions. We have posted our armed men to all corners in Lagos State on 24hour surveillance," Obafaiye said.

On the command's plan for the yuletide, the commandant assured residents of adequate security during the celebrations.

"By our training, there is nothing like accidental discharge. We are well trained on how to handle arms and any officer that misuses his weapon would be punished accordingly.''

Obafaiye said officers of the command had been warned against indiscipline and riding motorcycles on restricted roads in the state.

SEVEN-MAN gang which specialised in robbing bus passengers with drugged bottled and sachet water has been smashed by the Lagos State Command’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

The water, which is laced with the pill Talin, knocks off the consumer for three to four hours.

Five of the suspects -Chibike Mbakwe; Tochukwu Eze; Chioma Chinonso; Ifeanyi Okeke and Okechukwu Mbakwe were arrested on November 20. The gang leader, Chioma Chidi and its armourer, also known as Bad Boy, are still at large.

Chibike Mbakwe, 24, from Orlu, Imo, State, said: “We put two sachets of ‘Talin’ tablets in one pure water sachet. Each sachet of Talin contains 15 tablets, which can induce a victim to go into three to four hours of deep sleep, which is enough time for us to operate.”

Commissioner of Police Umar Manko said the hoodlums’ targets are passengers travelling within and outside the state, especially those with cash, expensive mobile handsets, laptops, wrist watches, gold rings, necklaces and bangles, among others.

He said the gang members play different roles. Some, according to him, hawk the “drugged” cold water, others board the bus as passengers.

He said when their leader, who is usually the first among them to board a commercial vehicle takes his seat and identifies potential victims, others would join him and take the seats near the would-be victim.

A

29-YEAR-OLD MAN, Joseph Nwodu, who was arrested by policemen attached to Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, has been arraigned

The nation’s banking sector has evolved over the years.

Customers are pivotal to the sector’s development.

• •

‘Sport vital to growth’

•From left: Chibike, Tochukwu, Chinonso, Ifeanyi and Okechukwu. Inset: Some sachets of the drugged water PHOTO: EBELE BONIFACE

Police smash ‘drugged’ table water ‘robbers’ Ebele Boniface

Manko said once inside the vehicle, they would call their colleagues ‘hawking’ the drugged water and also invite the unsuspecting passenger to patronise the “hawkers.”

It was gathered that the suspects come on board with a bottle of clean water, which they would drink after exchanging it with the drugged one; the unsuspecting passengers take the drugged ones.

Once the victim falls asleep, Manko said, they would dispossess him of his money; handset; laptop and other items.

By the time they are through, they would alight from the bus.

The victim sleeps on.

Manko said following complaints from victims, he directed the SARS chief, Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police (SP), to fish out the hoodlums.

The bubble, according to Manko, burst when they attacked passengers in a bus going to Yaba

from Ikeja.

It was learnt that after the victims regained consciousness, they lodged a complaint at Sabo Police Station.

The gang members, it was learnt, were arrested as they attempted to operate in a bus which they had robbed before.

They were recognised by the bus conductor. Three of them were arrested instantly; four escaped.

Two others were arrested a few days later following the confessions of their colleagues.

LAGOS State Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello has urged the government to encourage sporting activities in schools.

Bello made the call at the 17th Annual Inter-House Sports Competition of Herbert Macaulay Junior High School, Okobaba, Ebute Metta, a Lagos surbub.

Bello who was represented

by Prince Suleiman Oloko, said: “Lagos State will continue to promote sporting events with a view to keeping our teeming youth busy.”

“Sport is a veritable factor that keeps our youth away from crime and criminal tendencies.”

He urged heads of schools to promote sport among their pupils, “as all work and no play slow down students’ knowledge acquisition.”

Teacher-General and Permanent Secretary, Education District IV, Sabo, Yaba, Otunba Ayobade Obajimi said school interhouse sports is “ a laudable programme which should be encouraged.”

Represented by Mr Rilwan Obajimi, he described interhouse sports as “an avenue to discover talents,” adding, that it is good for students outside normal class work.

The school Principal Mrs. Folashade Moronkeji, applauded the policy which made it mandatory for schools to organise interhouse sports annually.

She lauded the initiative of the Teacher-General for identifying sports as a critical factor for building students’ capacity.

Traffic offender gets eight-hour community service

Banking Customers’ Sur vey Survey •

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The Nation Survey on Efficiency and Satisfactory Customers Banking Service on December 17, 2012 will answer these posers.

The report will also showcase the competitive products and services of banks and related institutions.

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By Adebisi Onanuga

before an Alausa, Ikeja Special Offences’ Court for road traffic offence.

He was arrested on November 2, for driving against traffic.

Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Mr. Ade Ipaye, led two other lawyers, George Okeke and Femi Alabi, to prosecute the case before Senior Magistrate E.M. Johnson.

Ipaye alleged that the defendant was caught driving against the traffic at 1.05 am.

He said the defendant was coming from Campbell Street and going towards J.K. Randle Road on the Lagos Island.

Ipaye said the defendant’s vehicle was impounded and brought to the Task Force’s office at Alausa, Ikeja.

The Attorney-General urged the court to apply the Lagos Traffic Law 2012 against the defendant.

The defendant pleaded guilty.

His counsel, Mr. Segun Ayodele, pleaded for le-

•Nwodu (middle), with Mr. Bayo Osuporu (right) and Mr. Sunday Uwafor, observing their Community service at the premises of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Task Force, Alausa ...on Saturday

niency saying, his client is a first offender.

Ayodele said Nwodu lives in Dubai, adding that he came to Nigeria to attend to his ailing father who died five minutes before his arrest.

According to Ayodele, the day before his arrest, Nwodu was taking his ailing father to St. Nicholas Hospital and was with the deceased till he died that night.

He said the defendant was

going to his hotel to pick some things, including money, to pay for the body to be deposited at the morgue.

“It was in this emotional turmoil that the defendant set out to return to his hotel when he inadvertently headed one-way against oncoming traffic,”Ayodele said.

Ayodele pleaded with the magistrate to use her discretion in delivering judgment in accordance with Section

36(3) of Road Traffic Law 2012.

The magistrate found the defendant guilty and sentenced him to eight hours of community service.

She said she was mindful of the emotional shock the defendant was going through when the offence was committed.

The magistrate ordered the defendant to give an undertaking that he would not violate Lagos Traffic laws again.

Lagos hairstylists experience boom

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OME hair stylists in Lagos yesterday said they were experiencing increase in patronage ahead of the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

The hair stylists said they were having more customers and earning more money compared to what obtains the same period in previous years.

Mrs Rokibat Olagoke, a hair stylist at the Ajangbadi Market, said they had increased their charges because of the increase in customers ahead of

the Yuletide.

Olagoke, who said that some customers had started booking for “complicated hairstyles” were optimistic that more people would patronise them, in spite of the economic hardship in the country.

She said there had been a slight increase in hairdo prices since the first week in December.

Olagoke said at present, the cost of fixing a “lace wig” hair style ranges from between N4, 000 and N5, 000

against N2,000 in November.

Mrs Yetunde Osipitan, a hair stylist at Okokomaiko Market, said that prices of “retouching, washing and setting, and blow drying” had been reviewed upward.

Osipitan said that prior to this period, retouching a hair with relaxer cost N300, but the price had increased to N600.

She disclosed that the yuletide was a period for hair stylists to showcase their skills and justify their importance

to the society.

A hair stylist at the IyanaIba Market, Mrs Ifeoma Ujunwa, said that the period she spent fixing a customer’s hair would determine her fee.

“During Yuletide, I hardly have time for myself. Sometimes, I attended to more than six customers daily without even having time to eat,” Ujunwa said.

She said that she was charging N4, 500 for the “million braids” hair style as against N3,000.

8

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

NEWS

Let’s put civil war behind us, Fashola urges Nigerians •Lagos Governor speaks at Chinua Achebe Colloquium in US

L

AGOS State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola at the weekend waded into the controversy generated by Prof.

Chinua Achebe’s book, There Was A Country.

He urged Nigerians not to reopen old wounds but to strengthen inter-ethnic harmony.

Fashola spoke at the Chinua Achebe Colloquium, 2012, an annual intellectual fair held at the Brown University, United States, where eminent scholars, writers, diplomats, policy-makers and officials come together to tackle Africa’s challenges.

The theme of this year’s meeting is “Governance, Security and Peace in Africa”.

Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka and the late Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu were guest speakers in the past.

Recalling the ravages of the 30-month Nigerian Civil War between 1967 and 1970, Fashola said: “We salute the men and women who kept our nation together, especially those who paid the supreme price to do so.

“The only way we can honour their memory is not to re-open old wounds, but to resolve that never again will our people’s blood be spilled by their own people.

We must harness our diversity to make our union perfect.”

He said there was a generational theme to the controversy, explaining that he was still a little boy when the crisis raged and that the personages at the centre of the controversy, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the late Ojukwu, have moved on.

To buttress his point, he said after Awolowo’s death, Ojukwu referred to him as “the best president Nigeria never had”.

Fashola said: “But beyond that, my generation has moved on. We see our country differently.”

Achebe, on the wheel chair, kept a quiet and dignified demeanour during Fashola’s speech, with a few head movements and adjustment of his eyeglasses.

In the book, he accused Awolowo of genocide and insensitivity to the Igbo during the civil war.

Awolowo denied the accusations in his lifetime and a number of Yoruba leaders condemned Achebe’s remarks.

Fashola said the controversy marked by attacks and counter-attacks between the Yoruba and the Igbo almost compelled him to turn down the invitation, but he had to honour it.

He said: “But I resolved that the commitment I had made to attend was more im-

Ekiti shuts 166 unregistered schools

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HE Ekiti State Government has shut 166 secondary schools that failed to meet the required standard.

Speaking with reporters in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, Commissioner for Education Dr. Eniola Ajayi said: “The government’s stance is necessary to bring back sanity to schools, whether private or public. The standard is an irreducible minimum we cannot afford to fall below for the sake of our collective future.”

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

Explaining that the government was determined to provide a conducive teaching and learning environment, Dr. Ajayi said the administration recently renovated schools.

She advised proprietors, who cannot afford to run standard schools, to bow out gracefully, warning that the government would continually fish out sub-standard and unregistered schools.

• Fashola, Achebe and the writer’s son, Chidi...at the weekend.

portant than what anybody might say or feel. Those were the values on which I was raised.”

The governor said the controversy has not taken into cognisance the various examples of ethnic harmony that has existed between the Yoruba and the Igbo since the civil war ended.

He said it was only in Yorubaland that the crisis of abandoned property did not

‘The only way we can honour their memory is not to reopen old wounds’ erupt because the Igbo returned to reclaim their property in Lagos.

Fashola said when the Lagos State military government wanted to seize the late

Ojukwu’s property after the war, a Yoruba lawyer, Tunji Braithwaite, defended him in court.

He cited examples of inter-marriages between both ethnic groups , including that of a Yoruba General, who married off his daughter to an Igbo.

Fashola said his aunt married an Igbo man, adding that the union has been a blessing to his family.

He said there are two prominent Igbo players in his administration, Ben Akabueze, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning and Joe Igbokwe, who handles the state’s fiber-optic system.

Fashola also spoke on the challenges of democracy. He said available data showed that his administration has improved security, education, healthcare and infrastructure.

No plan to withdraw petition against Mimiko, says Oke T HE governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the October 20 election in Ondo State, Chief Olusola Oke, at the weekend said he had no plan to withdraw his petition at the Election Tribunal.

Oke is challenging Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s victory in the election on grounds that it was marred by irregularities.

Speaking with reporters at his Ijapo home in Akure, the state capital, Oke said no amount of intimidation would make him withdraw the petition.

He said the rumour that he was planning to withdraw the petition was one of the antics of the Labour Party (LP)-led state government to destabilise his supporters.

The former PDP National Legal Adviser, who was in the company of former Commis-

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

sioner for Information John Mafo, said he had the backing of the PDP at the state and national levels to challenge Mimiko’s victory.

Oke alleged that LP thugs, in collaboration with some security agents, have been arresting his party members and supporters since Mimiko was declared winner of the election.

He alleged that LP thugs had been assaulting his supporters in their homes.

Oke urged the InspectorGeneral of Police (IGP) and relevant agencies to call the hoodlums to order. He urged PDP members to remain calm and assured them that justice would prevail at the tribunal.

On the rumour that Mimiko was planning to return to PDP

next month, Oke said the purported defection could not stop him from pursuing his case.

He said: “I also heard the rumour, but I consider it a mere speculation that does not threaten my ambition or membership of the party. The speculation has been on since four years ago and it is no more news.

“The sky is wide enough for thousands of birds to fly in comfort and that is why the PDP logo is a wide umbrella. I went to court to ventilate our grievances that the election was marred by monumental corrupt practices and we are hopeful that justice will be ours.”

The three-man election petition tribunal is expected to

Woman dumps day-old baby

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WOMAN, Mrs. Adejoke Ojo (26), has dumped her day-old baby boy in a bush at IkereEkiti in Ekiti State.

She blamed poverty for her action.

The resident of No 9, Ikoyi Street, said her husband could hardly take care of their three children and she did not want to add more to their problems.

Mrs. Ojo said: “I am 26 years old.

I did what I did because of poverty.

I already have three children and I

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

cannot care for the baby.

“Throughout the pregnancy period, I did not attend antenatal and did not buy any stuff for the baby. How then can I take care of him?”

Mrs. Ojo and her husband, Mr. Dada Ojo, have been arrested by the police. Speaking with reporters, Ojo said: “I am not rich; I am a commercial cab operator and I give her money out of the N1,000 I make daily,

so that she can take care of our three children.

“I am surprised and disappointed by what she did.

She did not tell me about her plans. When I returned home in the evening, I asked after my child and she told me he was dead. I became suspicious because the baby was not ill when I left in the morning.”

The police said the couple would be arraigned when they conclude their investigations.

start sitting soon on the petitions filed by five parties.

The petitioners include the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), PDP, Accord, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and People for Democratic Change (PDC).

Osoba, Agagu for honour From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

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ORMER Governors Olusegun Osoba (Ogun State) and Olusegun Agagu (Ondo State) have been appointed Ambassadors of Mercy by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Feed The Elderly Foundation (FTEF), in recognition of their welfare programmes while in office.

The Ijebu-Ode-based organisation, which was established in 2007, gives food, drugs and stipends to indigent senior citizens monthly.

FTEF’s initiator Mr. Segun Oyebolu told reporters in Abeokuta, the state capital, at the weekend that 256 elderly persons are benefiting from the scheme.

He said Osoba and Agagu would be inducted in a fortnight.

Oyebolu said the ceremony would be followed by the inauguration of special ATM Cards, tagged Kaadi Aanu, to be given to the beneficiaries to enable them access their monthly stipends with ease.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

9

NEWS

‘N37 billion lost to demolition in Abuja’

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ROPERTY owners may have lost over N37 billion to the demolition of illegal structures in Lugbe, Abuja, between last year August and October, this year.

The National President of the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Chief Olabode Afolanyan, spoke at the weekend during a World Press Conference on demolition in Lugbe.

He said over 1,004 houses were demolished within the period under review.

Afolanyan said the demolition was crippling the economy.

He said: “Following the renewed move by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to demolish 38 housing estates in the Airport/Lugbe axis as stated by FCT Minister Bala Mohammed during his budget defense at the National Assembly on Tuesday, REDAN will resist further demolition.

“Events in the recent past, particularly in the housing

FCTA: the structures were illegal From Franca Ochigbo and Bukola Amusan, Abuja

sector, require urgent attention. You will recall sometime ago that we had an unfortunate incident, where a government agency went ahead against appeals and demolished houses built by members of our association in Lugbe.

“Shortly after, we had to engage ourselves and it had always been accusations and counter-accusations. We met and agreed to put all title documents together and address the issues, but two days ago, I read on the pages of newspapers that during the budget defence, the FCT minister said he would carry on with the demolition.

“I was shocked because leadership is not about forcing things on people, but allowing them to participate in decision-making. It is sad that the minister has chosen to abandon due process. You

will be shocked by the way land has been allocated in the FCT in the last one year.

“We urge President Goodluck Jonathan to call the minister to order. Nigeria is not a banana republic where anyone can talk and act as he wants without minding the effect of the economy. If people have erred, they should be called to order in a civilised manner.

“REDAN will resist further demolition in the FCT. Land racketeering in Lugbe needs to be addressed immediately because it has affected many businesses. The cement factory in Gboko has been closed down because of the glut in the market and the next thing that will follow is loss of jobs. Infact some construction companies have started laying off workers.

A Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Information Management and Strategy, Hajia Jemila Tangaza, yesterday said the number of structures demol-

‘The FCT is one of the five fastest growing cities in Africa and the administration will not condone illegality by developers. Abuja is the only planned city in Nigeria and such random developments will defeat the purpose for its creation’ ished was irrelevant because the buildings were illegal.

Hajia Tangaza said: “After we demolished the structures in 2011, the developers went on to rebuild. We sent them stop-work and demolitions

notices several times at various stages of development.

“We have documented evidences, including videos, pictures and newspaper publications to this effect. The developers ignored all these and went on collecting money from innocent Nigerians and building, even though they knew they had no Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) or building approval from the FCTA. “The FCT is one of the five fastest growing cities in Africa and the administration will not condone illegality by developers. Abuja is the only planned city in Nigeria and such random developments will defeat the purpose for its creation.

“The administration, under Mohammed, is committed to the provision of affordable homes for low income earners. That was why we introduced the social housing scheme. With this in place, dodgy estate developers will be out in the cold and ordinary Nigerians will stop being scammed by them.”

Cultural centre gets board members From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

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SUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has announced the names of members of the Board of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU) in Osogbo, the state capital.

Nobel Laureate Prof.

Wole Soyinka was named chairman of the 10-man board in August.

According to a statement by the governor’s media aide, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, the remaining nine members are: Special Adviser to the Governor on Culture and Tourism Mr. Ladi Soyode; two representatives of the Academia - Prof.

Olabimpe Aboyade and Dr. Wunmi Raji; Ambassador Olabiyi Yai, Chief Muraina Oyelami, Chief Nike Okundaye and a representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)/ Nigeria’s Permanent Delegate to UNESCO Dr. Wale Adeniran.

•From left: The bride’s father, rights activist Femi Falana (SAN); Governor Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); the couple, Oluwafolakemi and Oluwajuwalo Majekodunmi; Governor Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo); his wife, Florence and the bride’s mother, Mrs. Funmi Falana at the wedding reception in Lagos...at the weekend.

Ex-Governor Olunloyo defects to ACN

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ORMER Oyo State Governor Omololu Olunloyo has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

Olunloyo and other defectors from the Accord were received into the ACN by Governor Abiola Ajimobi at the party’s secretariat in Ibadan Southwest Local Government at the weekend.

Educating the people on ongoing projects of his administration, Ajimobi said the government has identified over 27 suitable locations for the building of neighbourhood markets.

He said modern

•Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Malam Nuhu Ribadu, Senator Oluremi Tinubu and the Ekiti State Governor’s wife, Mrs. Bisi Fayemi, at rights activist Femi Falana’s daughter’s wedding...at the weekend.

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

markets would be built at the locations to put an end to road side trading.

The governor explained that traders were asked to vacate the road sides to reduce accidents and maintain environmental sanitation .

He said maintaining a clean environment would ensure a healthy populace, prevent flooding and attract investors to the state.

Ajimobi urged traders in Ibadan, the state capital, to bear with the government on the demolition of illegal structures, adding that it was in the best interest of the state.

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Osun continues fight against malaria

HE Osun State Government at the weekend said it would extend the indoor residual spraying for malaria control to all parts of the state.

Commissioner for Health Mrs. Temitope Ilori said this while receiving the fact-finding report of the National Malaria and Vector Control team in the

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

Department of Public Health of the Federal Ministry of Health.

The state government, in collaboration with the Federal Government, recently carried out the indoor residual spraying for malaria control in Boripe, Atakumosa East and Irewole local government areas.

Also at the weekend, a group, the Osun Forum, educated people in Apomu, headquarters of Isokan Local Government, on how to diagnose malaria through the Rapid Diagnostic Test.

The former president of the group, Prof. Adetoye Faniran, said the sensitisation was in support of the efforts of the Gover-

nor Rauf Aregbesola administration to ensure a healthy populace.

Faniran said people can only be productive when they are healthy. He said it was time for those at the grassroots to know the importance of healthy living and their relevance to the achievement of the state government’s vision on mass food production.

10

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

NEWS The adage, ‘A gold fish has no hiding place,’ aptly describes Zenith Bank Plc. Whether as a national or a continental player, the bank has cut a niche for itself as the market leader. Local and global rating agencies have attested to its status, reports, SIMEON EBULU, Deputy Business Editor.

ZENITH BANK: National, Continental market leader

• Zenith Bank head office

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HE history and growth of the nation’s banking industry is replete with ups and downs.

The undulation has both micro and macro dimensions to it. Many have over the years been ran aground by those entrusted to manage them,, while a great number of others have been sounded the death knell by shear policy summersault, Notwithstanding the topsy-turvy environment in which they have operated, a few of the banks have distinguished themselves, and by so doing, have become the toast of investors both locally and internationally. Zenith Bank Plc is in this bracket.

In its 22 years of existence, since its establishment by Jim Ovia, the bank, as its name implies, has lived up to its name, as a leader in the financial services sector. As of December 2010, it was the second largest company in the country.

That was then. At the industry level, the picture is different today, going by the assessment of the Group Managing Director, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.

He said of the spiral growth of the bank and where it sits presently: “The increase in shareholder funds from $125,000 in 1990 to $2.3 billion today, means that Zenith is the biggest bank in Nigeria, West Africa and number six in Africa by this measurement.

22 years ago, we had one shop, but by 2012, Zenith Bank could boast of 500 well run branches and business offices,” he added.

Besides Emefiele’s assessment, CFI.Co (Capital Finance International), picked Zenith Bank for its cover story and named it the Best Commercial Bank in Africa, at its 2012 Awards. Zenith Bank was described by the judging panel as a future leader in international banking because of its excellent record at home and highly promising regional and international expansion programme. It said there is strong leadership at the bank backed with a solid growth trajectory.

Along with Zenith Bank, CFI.Co also rated JP Morgan, describing the 160 year old bank, as ‘The Best Private Bank in the United States.’

Alluding to the outcome of the rating and the award, Emefiele, said it did not come out of the blues, but it was indeed the outcome of hard and diligent work, consistent with the bank’s age-long work ethics of providing efficient service to customers and delivery of

• Emefiele

enhanced dividends to stakeholders, in line with the vision of its founder, Mr. Ovia.

GROWTH STRATEGIES He enumerated the strategies to, not only keep the institution afloat, but also to keep ahead of the completion.

His words: “The strategy for assessing and managing the impact of Zenith Bank’s plans on present and future regulatory capital, forms on integral part of the bank’s strategic plan. Specifically, it considers how the present and future capital requirements will be managed, and net against projected capital requirements based on its own assessment and against the regulatory capital requirements, taking account of the bank’s business strategy and value creation of all its stakeholders.

“The capital adequacy of the bank is reviewed regularly to meet regulatory requirements in order to adopt and implement the decisions necessary to maintain the capital at a level that ensures the requisition of the business plan with a certain safety margin,”Emefiele, stated.

STRENGTH The Group Chief Executive, said the bank’s liquidity profile remains very strong. He said the bank is a consistent Net placer of funds in the interbank market, adding that its risk management practices give assurance that this profile will be maintained.

He said Zenith Bank has formulated a sound and robust liquidity risk management framework that ensures it maintains sufficient liquidity, including a cushion of unhindered, high-quality liquid assets at all times, adding that the bank has unequaled record of consistent compliance with regulatory liquidity and funding requirements, as required by the regulatory authority.

Emefiele declared that Zenith Bank’s strong capital ratio, which he put at two and one-half times the allowed minimum, means, “we have the sixth largest bank capitalisation in the African continent.”

GAUGE INDICATORS The Group CEO described the 500 per cent subscription of the bank’s Initial Public Offer (IPO) in 2004, as a clear indicator of confidence the brand has with the

‘The capital adequacy of the bank is reviewed regularly to meet regulatory requirements in order to adopt and implement the decisions necessary to maintain the capital at a level that ensures the requisition of the business plan with a certain safety margin’ investing public. He said the success story of the IPO, was followed with the bank opening offices in the U.K, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, as well as representative offices in South Africa and China.

He stated that the move has paidoff handsomely. “I promise that we are going to service customers everywhere very well and grow this franchise, not only in Nigeria but also outside these shores,” he added.

EMPHASIS Emefiele highlighted the place of liquidity in relation to profit in the reckoning of the financial institution, saying liquidity takes precedence over profit, as the one drives the other. “Liquidity is even more important than profitability.

Indeed the latter follows on from the former,” he explained.

NON PERFORMING LOANS The GMD said the bank has fully updated itself following from the stress test conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2009. The lessons, he explained, have put Zenith Bank in a position where it emphasises risk management to ensuring that the bank’s Non Performing Loans’ (NPL) ratio continues to be the lowest in the sector.

He said the bank has gone all out to put these safeguards in place,

• Data as at March 31, 2012

because the CBN requires each bank to maintain a certain ratio of total regulatory capital to the riskweighted asset, at or above the minimum of 10 per cent, declaring that Zenith Bank has consistently met and surpassed this requirement.

He gave assurance that the bank’s capital is tier one (core capital), which consists essentially of share capital, retained earnings and reserves.

CAPITAL PLAN Emefiele said the group’s capital plan is linked to its business expansion strategy which anticipates the need for growth and expansion in its branch network and IT infrastructure. The capital plan sufficiently meets regulatory requirements, as well as provides adequate cover for the group’s risk profile. Its capital adequacy remains strong and the capacity to generate and retain reserves continues to grow, he stated.

RATINGS The Zenith Bank’s helmsman enthused that the institution has consistently recorded good ratings from both the international and local rating agencies. The ratings on Zenith Bank Plc are supported by its leading market position in all key performance indices. Zenith Bank has consistently put in place a robust system of corporate

governance, bearing in mind the key elements of honesty, trust, integrity, openness and accountability as well as commitment to the organisation’s goals. He listed Fitch Rating, Standard & Poor’s and Augusto & Co as among the rating agencies.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE To uphold strong corporate governance and transparency, the bank has adopted a robust public disclose policy to forestall incidences of abuse, such as insider trading.

All financial information, as well as exceptional and extra-ordinary events capable of influencing the public decision concerning the bank are approved for release by the board and then passed to the public through approved channels.

SERVICE OFFERING Zenith Bank operates in virtually all core banking areas in both the public and private sectors. Emphasis is placed on corporate and investment banking, commercial and consumer banking, personal and private banking, trade services and foreign exchange, as well as treasury and cash management.

Additionally, Zenith has substantial market share in the manufacturing, construction, general trade and commerce and logistics sectors.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

11

NEWS Lawmakers to remove Edo Speaker From Osagie Otabor, Benin

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OME lawmakers in the Edo State House of Assembly have begun impeachment move against Speaker Uyi Igbe over the passage of the Land Use Charge bill into law.

Sources told The Nation that 13 lawmakers have signed the impeachment notice to be read at plenary today.

Other reasons for the impeachment move were the dropping of some lawmakers from being chairmen of some committees.

The source said many of those dropped from the committees opposed the passage of the Land Use Charge Bill.

The bill, which was signed into law last week by Governor Adams Oshiomhole provides for the consolidation of all land based rates and charges payable into a single charge.

It was learnt that the speaker met with leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) last night.

The source said the speaker could only get assurances of six lawmakers and was unsure on whose side the five PDP lawmakers were.

There are 24 lawmakers in the house (ACN 19 and PDP five).

N1.5b for Delta scholarship

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ELTA State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has said his administration spends N1.5 billion annually on scholarship.

The governor spoke at the weekend in Asaba during the presentation of cheques to beneficiaries of the 2012 firstclass graduates and law school students’ scholarship schemes.

He said this was part of the human capital development efforts geared towards realizing the policy of ‘Delta Beyond Oil’.

He said the scheme comprises bursary award for undergraduates, students in the law schools, first-class graduates and PhD students.

The governor said 135 graduates have benefitted from the first-class graduate scheme with N476,086,400 for the third batch.

Each of the beneficiaries will get N5 million yearly to study up to doctoral degree level in any university of their choice.

Oshiomhole for Press Week

By Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu

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AGOS State Governor Babatunde Fashola and his Edo State counterpart, Adams Oshiomhole are expected at the press week of the Lagos State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Oshiomhole will deliver a lecture on the theme of the Press Week- Nigeria’s Democracy and Insecurity: The Way Forward.

The event will be chaired by Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido with activist lawyer Femi Falana and Femi Adesina, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Sun to discuss Oshiomhole’s paper.

The event began yesterday with a thanksgiving service at the Christ the King Church at Alausa.

A Media Legends Awards Nite at Combo Hall, Lagos Television, Agidingbi, Ikeja, will end the programme on Friday.

SSS beats The Nation’s reporter at Akpabio’s birthday

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PERATIVES of the State Security Service (SSS) in Akwa Ibom State yesterday beat up The Nation’s reporter in Akwa Ibom, Kazeem Ibrahim, during the 50th birthday celebration of Governor Godswill Akpabio.

Reporters who were to attend the church’s service were not allowed into the makeshift hall even as they were led by the Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Anietie Ukpe.

About 10 SSS operatives held Ibrahim by his neck, threw him on the floor despite Ukpe’s pleas that the victim is a known journalist to him. It took the intervention of other reporters to rescue him.

Reporters of the Corre-

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

spondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) arrived at the venue of the church service by 10.30 am but were barred from entering even with official invitation card.

After some were cleared, the security details at the gate stopped The Nation reporter from entering, rebuffing every explanation.

It was like a fight between reporters and security operatives until guests, who observed the crisis, cautioned the security men to be civil.

Reporters and other guests were shocked when an operative, believed to be a senior SSS official, identified as Shola, challenged Ukpe

and threatened to lock him up.

“Who are you? It takes anybody to be CPS but it takes people with intelligence to be in the SSS,” he retorted.

This action of chasing, beating, harassing reporters is common in Akwa Ibom State during official functions.

The NUJ condemned the practice of harassing and barring of reporters from official functions.

“The over-zealousness exhibited by some security operatives at state events is unreasonable and counter-productive as the press is not a security threat but has a sacred duty of purveying information for public good,” the union said.

SURE-P on course, says Kolade From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

•Kolade

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HE Chairman, Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), Dr. Christopher Kolade at the weekend, debunked claims that the committee has spent N2.2 billion on secretariat services in its 10 months of operation.

He said out of the N180 billion accrued from the subsidy, only 42 per cent went to the Federal Government. The states and local governments got 54 per cent.

Dr. Kolade spoke during an interactive session with editors in both the print and electronic media.

He said the committee has only spent N1 billion. “So, where is the N2.2 billion coming from?”, he said.

Dr Kolade went on: We did not receive any money from the government to carry out our responsibility until July.

“The money from the subsidy does not come to the committee directly but is lodged with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“So before we withdraw any money for any particular project, the budget office must approve of it."

"Government has determined the areas it wanted to intervene before we came on board. Our own responsibility is to ensure that money allocated for any project is used where it was mapped out for.

We did not determine what project we are carrying out.”

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

12

NEWS Ebonyi Varsity expels 33 students

•88 suspended for ‘exam malpractice’, others From Ogbonnaya Obinna, Abakaliki

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HE Senate of the Ebonyi State University (EBSU), Abakaliki, has expelled 33 students and suspended 88 others for alleged examination malpractice and admission racketeering.

In a statement by its Registrar and Council Secretary, Mr. Sam Egwu, the university’s Senate said at his 22nd emergency meeting on August 23, that it approved for publication the penalties against the affected students.

Egwu explained that the conduct of the students contradicted the guidelines and provisions for examination and admission ethics.

The Registrar said those expelled should not be seen in the institution.

He said those suspended would serve one to three years, adding that they are from various faculties and departments.

“The suspended students, for the stipulated period, are to fail their examination and, in addition, should stay away from the university for the period of the suspension. They will apply to the Registrar for re-admission when their suspension period ends,” Egwu said.

The Registrar said the university has withdrawn the degree issued to Agu Nweke of the Department of Agricultural Economics because he failed to appear before the institution’s disciplinary committee.

Knights challenge govt on insecurity

By Eric Ikhilae

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CHRISTIAN group, Knights of St John International (KSJI), Lagos Grand Board has described the incessant attacks on churches as a threat to the people’s right to freedom of worship.

The group, which rose from its fourth quarterly Board Meeting, in Lagos at the weekend, urged the Federal Government to improve on the security of lives and property in the country, and check the recurrent incidence of terrorism in the land.

The group’s Grand President, Sir Patrick Igwilo, said “the Constitution guarantees freedom of movement, association and worship, and it therefore behoves on the President to uphold its sacred provision.

“I therefore call on President Goodluck Jonathan to rise up to the challenge and return the country to the part of normalcy”.

Igwilo said government’s failure to end terrorism will engender anarchy in the country, because no group or individual has the monopoly of violence, or the use of instruments of violence.

He implored governments at all levels to do more work to enhance the security of lives and property especially in this period of Christmas and New Year festivities, The event held at St Joseph Catholic Church, Gowon Estate, Ipaja, Lagos, and attended by over 300 delegates drawn from the old Archdiocese of Lagos, comprising Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo and Kwara states, reaffirmed the sanctity of Christian worship and the rights to life and religious associations as enshrined in the Constitution.

•Wife of Enugu State Governor, Mrs. Clara Chime (third right) leads the women of Udi Local Government during a special thanksgiving service marking the end of the year, organised by the Enugu State Women’s Prayer Network……yesterday

Abia’s liabilities greater than assets, says Orji

•Orji

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BIA State Governor Theodore Orji has said the state would continue to prioritise its projects in line with its assets, which he said are less than the liabilities.

The governor said the era of ad hoc projects are over in the state.

In a statement by his Public Affairs Adviser, Ben Onyewere, the governor said: “The most important priority of this government

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is to provide a bedrock for the welfare of the people through the provision of an enabling environment to enhance the capacities of employment generation, sound and basic education and feasible health care facilities. These were not available before we came on stream.”

The governor decried playing to the gallery while tackling the immediate needs of the people, including rehabilitating their living standard.

He said: “Some of the challenges facing the government are embedded in the disparity between the infrastructural deficit and available funds. This is because nobody can command an economy. There is no magic wand around it. It is for this reason the state government is asking the Federal

Government to grant Aba the special status it deserves.

“This yawning gap was the reason the people called for the probe of the past administration because Abia was an abandoned property due to the recklessness of the past.

“Abia existed without a Government House, a conference centre, realistic educational and health programmes, besides the enormous task of provision of roads, before this administration came in.”

Orji said the era of spending the state funds on ad hoc projects are over.

He spoke yesterday at the inauguration of electricity and bore-holes at Umuuwaya-Mbara in Amuzukwu Area of Umuahia North.

The projects were part of the constituency of the law-

maker representing Oluchi Ibeji, Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency.

Represented by Mr Vigilus Nwankwo, the Commissioner for Public Utility, Orji said the state government would only embark on quality and enduring projects known under as “legacy projects”.

He said his administration had embarked on projects to reposition the economy of the state.

Orji said: “When we came on board, the contract for the execution of 133/132 injunction substation at Ohiaya was moving at a snail speed.

“Though a federal project, we awarded the contract for the provision of five feeders, now assisting evacuation of power from Alaoji to Umuahia.’’

Robbers kill NSCDC member, security man in Anambra

GANG of robbers, reportedly operating in a Hilux van, at the weekend killed a newly recruited member of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State.

He was reportedly killed at a filling station in Agulu, near Agulu Lake.

An eyewitness said the late NSCDC member was buying fuel at the filling station for his motorcycle.

The robbers were said to have directed him into the filling station and shot him at close range.

He was said to have died on the spot.

•Police arrest suspects From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

It was learnt that the victim was employed in October and posted to Awka South.

The robbers were said to have also kidnapped someone in the area and brought him to the boundary between Enugu-Ukwu, in Njikoka Local Government, and Nise, in Awka South Local Government.

They were reportedly queried by a security man, who was identified as Emmanuel Onyia (aka Idiagbon), from

Ngodo village, Nise.

He was said to be a security man at Eke Awka Market.

The robbers allegedly shot him three times.

Onyia was rushed to a hospital.

An informant, who allegedly worked with the robbers/kidnappers, was arrested by Nise vigilance group and handed over to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

Members of the squad were said to be combing Enugu Ukwu for other members of the gang.

The suspect reportedly told the SARS that the gang had shot three people, killing two of them at Agulu and Enugu Ukwu.

Police spokesman Raph Uzoigwe yesterday said Onyie died at the hospital where he was receiving treatment.

According to him, the police have arrested some suspects on the incident.

Also, there have been increased attacks on filling stations in Awka South Local Government.

Filling station owners in the area, it was learnt, have held a meeting on the matter with Police Commissioner Balah Nassarawa, to prevent further attacks.

Ojukwu’s children urged to respect Ikemba’s Will

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SOCIO-CULTURAL group, the Ndigbo Unity Forum, has urged the feuding children and relatives of the late Dim Odimegwu Emeka Ojukwu to accept the will of their late father and stop ridiculing the legacies of the former Biafran leader.

Its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Uzoma Anunihu, noted that the forum was uncomfortable with the media war that followed the presentation of Ojukwu’s will.

He said: “What should oc-

From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

cupy the children’s minds and those of the immediate family of the late Igbo leader should be how to keep his legacies alive and continue with the struggle for the emancipation of Ndigbo.”

Anunihu said the current face-off among the beneficiaries of the will has affected genuine attempts to unite Ndigbo, making Ojukwu the rallying point.

The Igbo leader hailed

what he called the “unprecedented unity and love displayed by Ndigbo before and during the burial of the late Biafran leader”.

He noted that this has been pulled down by the crisis that “has overwhelmed the family”.

Anunihu added: “Who gets what in the will should not tear the family apart and, by extension, the entire Ndigbo.

The aggrieved ones should look for better ways of seeking redress instead of dragging the name of the family in the mud by engaging in a

media war. This portrays Ndigbo as a materialistic people who can go to any length to acquire or covet wealth.”

The Igbo leader advised the children to table their grievances before reputable Igbo groups for an amicable solution.

He said: “We don’t want this show of shame on the pages of newspapers to continue. We won’t accept any further attempt to demean Ojukwu’s reputation because he remains the greatest Igbo leader, even in death.”

Collapsed church: ‘we had premonition’ From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

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LEVEN survivors of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Ifite, Ezinifite, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State, which collapsed on November 4 and killed three worshippers, yesterday relived their experiences.

Some of them said they had a premonition of the incident.

They, however, thanked God that they did not die in the building.

The Catholic Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, Rev. Hilary Odili Okeke, has visited the families of those who died in the incident.

The survivors include the parish priest, Rev. Cornelius Ezeoiloaku; Prof R. O. Ukeje, of the University of Port Harcourt UNIPORT); Chief Christopher Obijiofor, Chief Patrick Ohana, Greg Otuadinma, Hyacinth Okoli, Joakin Ezuluke, the Chairman of Ifite Community Development Association; Eric Abazonu and Leonard Eboh (aka Arere).

The dead are: Lady Regina Okoye, Leader of Ezinifite Women and foster mother of the major financier of the building, Chief Leo Ike-Okoye as well as the Transition Committee Chairman of Nnewi South Local Government, Egwuoyibo Okoye; Chief Innocent Ubadi, a prominent businessman and Miss Martina Oguine.

Some of the survivors said they had premonition that something strange would happen.

At the end of the church service that day at the temporary church hall, the 14 members of the building committee held a meeting on an assessment of the project.

A woman, identified simply as Ezimuzo, objected to the choice of the site for the meeting.

Police warn vehicle owners

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HE office of the Assistant Inspector General of police Zone 2 Onikan Lagos has warned owners of accident and abandoned vehicles parked in its premises to remove them or lose them to members of the public through auction.

The vehicles are A volkswagon GS Melon bus, marked RW483AJA, Lexus Jeep GH176ABC,Mercedes Benz V Boot AL540EKY, Mercedes Benz ML320 FJ232LND and Toyota Camry 904GGE

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POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

Plateau State is buffeted by religious, ethnic and political crises. Local government workers are up in arm against the Jonah Jang administration. Opposition political parties and politicians are cashing in on this. YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU reports.

Renewed rumble on the Plateau T

HESE are not the best of times for Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang and members of his state executive council who are still smarting from the protracted onslaught by bombers who have been spreading terror round the state. Today, local government workers’ anger over nonpayment of the N18,000 minimum wage has heightened his trouble.

Though the government is enjoying applause from members of the state civil service for implementing the new wage, it is a sour story from their counterparts at the local government level.

The development has placed the government and leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) on collision course. And the opposition politicians and the restive civil society groups are striking partnership with the workers. The result? Tension In contention is the non-payment of workers’ five-month salary arrears while they were on strike. And Governor Jang has said there is no going back, as, according to him, it’s ‘no work, no pay.’

The NLC national leadership has warned the state government that if the striking workers are not paid their arrears in 10 days, it will shut down the state. But the government feels that the labour union is attempting to over-shoot its constitutional powers. the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Edward Pwajok, said: “It will be recalled that since June 2012, workers in all the 17 Local Government Councils of Plateau State have been on strike.

There have been series of meetings between workers and government as well as stakeholders with several written correspondences including agreements and letters. It is necessary to clarify the position of the law on some of these issues, particularly in view of the letters written to the Governor of Plateau State and the Head of Service by the National Headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Plateau State Chapter dated November 29, 2012, but received on December 3, 2012.

“The letter under reference was derogatory and disrespectful to the office and person of the Governor. What purpose is that supposed to serve? Are the fine niceties of etiquette and diplomacy or respect for constituted authority which are part of all religions and culture no longer relevant? The letter cannot even be described as a notice of a strike as nowhere in the letter is the word, “notice” used. The letter, also in its heading, misrepresents the situation by describing it as “Dispute between the State Government and Local Government workers in Plateau State.”

“There is no dispute between the State Government and local government workers. The local government is another tier which has its own staff just like the State Civil Service is separate from the Federal Civil Service. The role of the State Government in the matter is only a fatherly one to assist in resolving the dispute between the local governments and their staff and to discharge its constitutional mandate of ensuring Law and Order and good governance which includes industrial harmony all over Plateau State.”

He spoke further: “Another misrepresentation is that Government is re-negotiating the National Minimum Wage lower than what was agreed upon, with a labour claiming to have accepted 55% of the minimum wage pending when the finances of Government improve. Both Government and Labour are bound by the Law and there can be no negotiation of the Law. For the avoidance of doubt, The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2011, Section 2(1) provides as follows: “As from the commencement of this Act, it shall be the duty of every employer (except as provided for under the principal Act as amended) to pay a wage not less than the national minimum wage of N18,000 per month to every worker under his establishment.

“The wordings of the Law are clear and do not contain any ambiguity. The law only says no employer in the relevant establishments which include Government should pay any worker any amount less than N18,000. The implication is that any worker earning less than N18,000 should be taken up to N18,000. The Law did not provide for a new wage structure or a general wage increase as is erroneously believed in some quarters.

“Also, 50 per cent of the minimum wage is N9,000 and 55 per

•Governor Jang

‘The wordings of the Law are clear and do not contain any ambiguity. The law only says no employer in the relevant establishments which include Government should pay any worker any amount less than N18,000. The implication is that any worker earning less than N18,000 should be taken up to N18,000. The Law did not provide for a new wage structure or a general wage increase as is erroneously believed in some quarters’ cent of the minimum wage is N9,900.00. I do not think both Government and Labour will accept those figures which in any case will be illegal. So, the issue of percentages does not arise and is illegal as it cannot be supported with reference to the minimum wage Law. “If some people insist on 50 or 55 per cent increase, should salaries of Chairmen and Councilors of councils be increased by that percentage? That will not only be unreasonable, but illegal.

The truth is the Minimum Wage Act did not prescribe a general wage increase. That is why salaries of many public officers including Governors, Legislators, Judicial officers and Commissioners among others have not changed after the passage of the Minimum Wage Act, 2011. For the avoidance of doubt, negotiation is allowed and encouraged by law at any time on a wage structure but not on minimum wage. It is better for all concerned to understand this and approach the issue from the cor-

rect perspective.”

Puncturing the labour’s ultimatum, Pwajok argued: “In any case, what is the legal basis for a 10-day ultimatum or strike?

Sections 41 and 42 of the Trade Disputes Act, 2004 CAP T8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria provide for 15 days notice to be given by workers in essential services before ceasing work and in circumstance, involving danger to persons or property respectively. It should be noted that the Law has categorised Local Government workers as those performing essential services defined in the 1st Schedule to the Trade Disputes Act, 2004 Section 2. This includes health workers, those involved in the transportation of goods, etc.

“Teachers are included under the Trade Disputes (Essential Services) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. But more fundamentally, the on-going strike or the threat is not in compliance with the Law. This is because the Trade Union Amendment Act 2005 makes such strikes illegal. It is important to quote Section 30(6)(a) to (e) of the Trade Unions Amendment Act, 2005.

30(6) “No person, trade union or employer shall take part in a strike or lock out or engage in any conduct in contemplation or furtherance of a strike or lock out unless: the person, trade union or employer is not engaged in the provision of essential services, the strike or lock out concerns a labour dispute that constitutes a dispute of right, the strike or lock out concerns a dispute arising from a collective and fundamental breach of contract of employment or collective agreement on the part of the employee, trade union or employer, the provision for arbitration in the Trade Disputes Act Cap 432, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990 have first been complied with; and in the case of an employee or a trade union, a ballot has been conducted in accordance with the rules and constitution of the trade union at which a simple majority of all registered members voted to go on strike.”

“What is the dispute between NLC and the Plateau State Government not to talk of the Local Governments in Plateau?” The commissioner asked, adding: “We have read where some Labour leaders said the 2005 Trade Union Amendment Act amended the Trade Disputes Act 2004 repealed the Section on “No work, No pay”. This is not true. I have earlier cited the relevant provisions of the 2005 Law which among other things make strikes illegal, and or provide stringent conditions which must be complied with before they are embarked upon. Those with a contrary view should cite the relevant provisions of the Law with dates that justify their positions.”

Apart from the illegality of NLC’s threat, he said the state also believes that the threat has weighty security implications on the fragile peace in the state. Plateau State chairman of Association of Local Governments in Nigeria (ALGON), Hon Emmanuel Loman, said, “the purported ultimatum of ten days given to the state government by the NLC threatening total shutdown of the state poses a fresh security challenge to the already peaceful atmosphere the state is already enjoying and could also be set-back to resolving the issue.”

“Whereas the stated objectives of the national leadership of the NLC during its recent visit to the state was to find amicable solution to the strike, its letter purportedly giving an ultimatum to the state shows insincerity of purpose and undue, ill-intentioned motive. The NLC national leadership ought to have been guarded in their actions and utterances as the labour law does not provide for such solidarity actions which could have security implications on the peace in the state. And we ought to remind them of the obvious too: do they have trade dispute with Plateau state government?” He asked, adding: “We strongly identify with the position of the Plateau State government on the issue at stake and on its resolve to sanitize the local government system towards bringing honour, integrity and accountability into it.

While he called on security agencies to hold the leadership of NLC and Trade Unions Congress (TUC) responsible in the event of a breach in the fragile peace being enjoyed in the state is breached as a result of the “total shut down”. He, however, preached understanding and people’s support towards arresting this impasse.

As the labour continues to flex muscles, time will tell how things eventually turn out.

• From left: Kaduna State Governor Patrick Yakowa, Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, Vice President, Namadi Sambo and Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, during the wedding reception for the Vice President’s daughter in Kaduna... at the weekend.

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POLITICS Adetunji Oyeyipo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, speaks with Correspondent BEN OGBEMUDIA on the politics of election litigations and the implications for democracy.

‘Judiciary has helped to entrench democracy’

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• Senator Solomon

•Senator Tinubu

•Senator Ashafa

Constitution review: ACN lawmakers to defend peoples’ interest

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TATE police, immunity for governors and status of local councils were prominent contentious issues that agitated the minds of participants at the public hearings held at the Lagos Central, West and East Senatorial Districts in Lagos State.

Other issues discussed by participants included devolution of powers, creation of more states, recognition of the three geo-political zones in the constitution, constitutional roles for traditional rulers, removal of Land use Act, fiscal federalism and the police. Others are rotational presidency, gender issues, residency and indigenship, and rotation of governorship across the three zones in the state.

Senators Oluremi Tinubu, Ganiyu Solomon and Gbenga Ashafa said that the interest of Lagosians would not be compromised during the constitution review. Also, House of Representatives members; Hakeem Muniru (Oshodi/Isolo Constituency), Deji Jakande (Somolu), Abike Dabiri-Erewa (Ikorodu), Dayo Alebiosu (Kosofe) James Faleke (Ikeja) and Lanre Odubote (Epe) who held similar public hearings in their constituencies, said they would not work against the interest of ACN on the floor.

It was clear that many participants at the public hearings lacked adequate knowledge and understanding about the core issues. For example, at the East District public hearing held at the Grand View Hall, Magodo, Senators Olorunnimbe Mamora and Chief Bisi Adegbuyi had to spend some time to explain the implications of all the items and issues being considered for the review to participants before taking any decision.

The senatorial district sensitisation programme organised by Senators Oluremi Tinubu (Central), Gbenga Ashafa (East) and Ganiyu Solomon (West) took place simultaneously in three locations in the three districts where stakeholders, including teachers, local government workers, politicians and members of the civil society organisations submitted memoranda on their position on the proposed constitution review.

The Lagos Central public hearing organised by Senator Tinubu was chaired by a member of the House of Representatives in the Second Republic, Pa Adekunle Ali. However, at Mrs. Tinubu’s senatorial office, Yaba venue of the exercise, the senatorial leader, Olusi, and people of the district agreed to set up four committees to critically look at the memoranda and come up with a position that will reflect the popular views of the district. The four districts were chaired by Pa AdekunleAli, former Minister of State for Defence Demola Seriki, and former state legislators; Wasiu Eshinlokun Samnni and Olajide Jimoh.

Also at the public hearing were Alhaji Mutiu Are, Abegunde Oloko, Alabi Macfoy, Lanre Oshun,

By Emmanuel Oladesu Deputy Political Editor

Tajudeen Ajide, Wale Adeniji, Abayomi Daramola, Akinyemi Obe, Yetunde Arobieke, Bamgbopa, Toun Adediran, Modupe Johnson, Sola Adetomiwa and Adegbenga Adebayo.

Explaining the justification for the proposed review, Senator Tinubu rejected the 1999 Constitution, saying that it was a legacy of the military government which has never reflected the collective will of Nigerians. She recalled that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) had consistently called for the complete overhauling of the constitution in a way that would guarantee true federalism, good governance and grassroots participation in government.

Senator Tinubu, who is a member of the Senate Committe on Constitution Review, disclosed that the committee had scheduled the Southwest public hearing for the Lagos Airport, Ikeja, today, adding that it is also an opportunity for Lagosians to express their opinions.

She added: “As people entrusted with your mandate in Lagos central Senatorial District and indeed, in the entire Lagos State, I and other members of our great party, the ACN, through several fora, have made known the party’s position on some issues highlighted above and consistently called for devolution of power, fiscal federalism and creation of state police”.

Senator Tinubu urged Lagosians to use the constitution review to demand for the listing of the Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the constitution and conferment of special status on Lagos.

Olusi called for state police, saying that it is long overdue. He said: “We need state police. If they say we are not ripe for state police, we are therefore, ripe for marauders who will come to knock our doors”..

The ACN leader also opposed the removal of immunity from the constitution, saying that it governors would be distracted by political foes.

He said erring governors can still face the wrath of the law after leav-

‘In any federal set up, we only have two tiers; the federal and state. In America and Europe, local governments are never listed in the constitution. Federalism is federalism, but we only talk of true federalism here because of the unitary way and manner the federal system is being run’

ing office.

Adekunle-Ali called for both structural and constitutional changes, adding that the constitutional issues are better discussed at a national conference. Quoting the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, he said: “A constitution is a lame duck, unless it is energised. What we have now is not a federal constitution, but a unitary-federal constitution. We want our LCDAs to be listed in the constitution”.

Seriki called for the scrapping of the minister of state portfolio, advising the President to appoint ministers based on the 36 state structure.

At the East forum, Senator Ashafa reasoned that the 1999 Constitution had been a source of disagreement among stakeholders, adding that the leadership of the National Assembly should be commended for mooting its review.

He stressed: “The National Assembly is quite aware of the popular agitation and perception that the 1999 Constitution has been militarised and it was written by a few chosen people, hence the decision to crossferterlise ideas and aggregate views of stakeholders across political, sectoral, social and religious divides to articulate a document that will truly reflect the wish of the people.

Ashafa said the constitution amendment would enhance transparency, credibility, and good governance in the polity to the betterment of the people. He assured that the National Assembly would also consider the views expressed in taking decisions on critical issues, including state police, revenue sharing, state creation, devolution of power, immunity and status of local government.

In his memorandum, former Lagos State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Rotimi Agunsoye, canvassed regional autonomy, constitutional recognition of the six geo-political zones, and retention of two tiers of government, and creation of state police.

Agunsoye said people needed enlightenment about federalism, pointing out that there are only two tiers in federalism. He also cautioned those calling for autonomy for local governments, saying that local government is a creation of the state Houses of Assembly.

Agunsoye said: “In any federal set up, we only have two tiers; the federal and state. In America and Europe, local governments are never listed in the constitution. Federalism is federalism, but we only talk of true federalism here because of the unitary way and manner the federal system is being run”.

The former commissioner rooted for state police, chiding those against it as those evading reality. He added: “We need state police and community police. People who are not familiar with an area should cannot effectively police that environment.

This is critical to security”.

ANY think that the judiciary is slow is dispensing justice. What is your view ?

I think everybody that has lived in Nigeria for 12 or 13 years will agree that the judiciary has helped in shaping democracy. The judiciary has done a lot in calling politicians to order. The judiciary has insisted that politicians should obey constitutions, including party constitutions. I give an instance, the case of Amaechi. The judiciary declared that, if a person has emerged in accordance with the primaries organised by the political party, that person cannot be substituted, unless it is done within the ambits of the law and that is how Amaechi became the governor of River State. Again, you remember the case of Atiku Abubakar. He was chased out of PDP and then, at a time, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said that, since he has moved to another party, he has lost the position of Vice President. Again, the judiciary stepped in and said no, the law doesn’t say that he has to leave because he has gone to another party, that both the President and Vice President contested the election together, one as substantive President, the other as Vice President and you both won the election together. So, it is joint and common tickets. The Supreme Court said the Vice President, Atiku, who was disqualified from contesting on the basis that he had been found guilty by a panel of inquiry and even INEC, cannot be disqualified like that. The coronary is that, sometimes, it takes time. You are very familiar with a case like Edo state and I must tell you that that was the shortest among them. The judiciary in Edo State was the one that came first when Adams Oshiomhole was ordered by the court to return as the duly elected governor in 2007. Then, in Ondo State where Mimiko was said to be elected. We had Osun State and then, Ekiti State.

But do you consider it correct to blame the delay on the judiciary and the lawyers?

There are a number of factors. the electoral commission uses documents like EC8A ballot paper and other sensitive and non-sensitive materials they issue to their officers to conduct election. When you are disputing an election in the court of law, you require those documents to tender them and you look at the document carefully to see if there is any form of irregularity. When you are able to find substantial evidences, you knock off the election. So, documents are very important. Now, the documents are in the hands of INEC, they are public documents. INEC will need to sacrifice those documents. Secondly, most of the materials are in the headquarters of the local government area. If you are contesting the results of an election like Edo State, you have to go to Igueben, Egor, Esan Northeast. Sometimes, these documents are many like ballot boxes. At the governorship election, you find out that there are over two million ballot papers that were used. Then, you look at the register. Each of the polling units has its own register and each runs into tens of pages. So, INEC has to sacrifice all these documents. These are sensitive document INEC want to limit the number of people certifying them so that there will be no fake document. In Edo State, where there are more than 2000 polling units, each polling unit has a register of voters that is up to 30 pages. The fault can come from INEC as a result of the structure and nature of the document they have. Look at the candidates themselves, you ask them to bring witnesses; they will say I will bring five; the next day they bring one or two. Then, the court is forced to adjourn.

What is the consequence of that delay?

Justice delayed is justice denied. But you cannot jump the process. You have to balance the two. I believe that six months are actually enough for the tribunal to determine the governorship petition, provided that that is the only matter the tribunal is hearing. If there are other matters, then, they will be competing for time as the six months run concurrently for all of them, What is your reaction to the refusal of the Federal Government to reinstate Justice Ayo Salami as President of Appeal Court?

The issue of Salami is just that Nigeria is still yet to adopt full democracy.

However, I am one of those who believe that Nigeria has progressed a lot along the democratic journey since 1999, but there is something that we need to get used to. The President needs to get used to the fact that he is an Executive President, but there is what is called Separation of Powers and the judiciary, legislature and executive have to know the limit of their powers. That is why you find the National Assembly always trying to act as if it is the executive and sometimes, the executive acts as if the resolutions of the law or even the budget passed by the National Assembly are not binding on them.

For the case of Justice Salami, the NJC that suspended him has said he should be reinstated. I really don’t see why he has not been reinstated.

As a stakeholder in the judiciary, don’t you think there is something the President saw that you may not see?

Well, I don’t know what the President has seen, but what I am saying is that, if I have the power to recommend that this person be suspended, and you have the power to actually suspend him, you must act on my recommendation. Assuming you also have the power to recall when the NJC said we have the power to recall, we don’t need the President to say go back.

What is your position on capital punishment, especially the death sentence?

Capital punishment is still in our law. On the case of homicide or murder punishable with death, if you are found guilty, when the judge condemns an accused person to death and it has to pass through the hierarchy of court up to the Supreme Court and the sentence is confirmed by the Supreme Court. Our law gives that person one last chance for the governor to exercise his right of prerogative of mercy by commuting to, either life imprisonment or lesser punishment. So, the issue is not whether there is capital punishment in our law; also the law gives the governor, looking at the circumstances of the offence to commute it. It depends on the circumstances of the case, but if you ask my personal view of capital punishment, I think I subscribe to it because, few days ago, a gentleman from Lagos State was shot dead in Shagamu, Ogun State. I think it was the height of wickedness to take somebody’s life.

We must have this capital punishment in our laws so that people who want to do that will think twice. There are many cases of assassinations and ritual killings in the •Oyeyipo society.

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COMMENTARY EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

COMMENT

The mortgage challenge

Petty vindictiveness •House committee was unfair to SEC team

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HERE was a decidedly sour note to the interactive session organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to find ways of plugging the leakages in the revenue generated by the MDAs and the nonremittance of such funds to the Federation Account/Consolidated Revenue Fund of Government.

As the committee chairman, Mr. Abdulmumini Jibrin, took a roll-call of the MDAs present, he appropriately called the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but oddly remarked that the agency was not supposed to be invited.

He then addressed the three-man SEC delegation representing its director-general (DG), Ms. Arunma Oteh, saying, “SEC was invited in error. As you are aware, the House is not supposed to have any dealings with you at the moment. Please, pack your documents and excuse us.”

It is laughable that he said the commission was invited by mistake. Who made the so-called blunder? Has SEC officially ceased to belong to the MDAs? Why should the House exclude the commission from a meeting it had a legitimate right to participate in? Was it in the public interest to shut out SEC from the session, and thereby block its input?

The intolerance and narrowmindedness displayed by Jibrin on the occasion only helped to replay a spiteful flashback. The House, following its probe of the near collapse of the capital market, had recommended Oteh’s sack on the grounds that her appointment was illegal; but the Presidency has not seen any reason to fire her.

Thwarted, the House passed an absurd

resolution not to recognise Oteh as the DG of SEC or have anything to do with the commission as long as she remained in charge. In choosing to blacklist Oteh, however, despite her recognition by the Presidency, which has the powers to dismiss or retain her, the House acted lawlessly, suggesting that it was power-drunk, especially given the context of governmental separation of powers.

In addition, the House, being an institution of the state, cannot irrationally decide to be selective in its dealings with the MDAs that come within the purview of its oversight functions. At all times the overriding interests of the country should be uppermost in the minds of the legislators as representatives of the people, even when their egos had been bruised, as in their dealings with Oteh in the past.

It is quite understandable that the House is still smarting from Oteh’s demeaning allegations against the Chairman of the House Committee on Capital Market, Herman Hembe, during its investigation of SEC some months ago. According to Oteh, “Hembe is corrupt and lacks credibility. For instance, he collected estacode and other travel allowances from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to travel to the Dominican Republic on a capacity enhancement conference for capital market regulators. He did not go; neither did he return the money collected.

Also, he asked the commission to contribute N39 million towards the ongoing charade of a public hearing and demanded another N5 million cash on Tuesday, March 13, 2012. He made both demands by proxy.”

Following Oteh’s scandalous claims, which amounted to saying that a member

of the House had behaved dishonourably and was caught with his hand in a cookie jar, not only was Hembe forced to resign his position on the committee, he was arraigned with his deputy, Ifeanyi Azubuogu, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on criminal charges for misappropriation and “dishonestly converting” $4,095 (N600, 000) public funds to private use.

Although this scandal, which has gone on record as the first major scam in the seventh House of Representatives, has expectedly caused bad blood between members of the House and Ms. Oteh, the federal lawmakers cannot afford to sink lower in the estimation of the public through petty vindictiveness that is counter-productive to the country’s overall interests.

‘Although this scandal, which has gone on record as the first major scam in the seventh House of Representatives, has expectedly caused bad blood between members of the House and Ms. Oteh, the federal lawmakers cannot afford to sink lower in the estimation of the public through petty vindictiveness that is counter-productive to the country’s overall interests’

Educational exodus •The world reaps rich rewards from Nigeria’s educational crisis

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NE of the most significant of Nigeria’s many paradoxes is the glaring disconnect between the academic prowess of its students and the decrepit state of the tertiary institutions available to them. This situation was recently decried by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities who claimed that Nigerians spend about U.S. $500 million, or about N78.5 billion, on foreign universities annually.

For a country that produced intellectual powerhouses like Professors Ayodele Awojobi, Kayode Osuntokun, Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka, among others, as well as centres of learning like the University of Ibadan, Ahmadu Bello University and the University of Nigeria, such news is tragic.

Much of the money spent on acquiring education in European and American universities strengthens their economic prospects and

‘To make matters worse, the Nigerian thirst for foreign learning has spread to countries in Africa and Asia which at first glance might be deemed to be no better than Nigeria. It is said that Nigerian students constitute the biggest source of external funding in Ghanaian universities. Such is the demand that Nigerian business and educational groups are actually building tertiary institutions outside the country’s borders’

enhances their teaching and research capabilities, while their Nigerian counterparts steadily decline into international irrelevance.

Encouraged by their embassies and high commissions in Nigeria, foreign universities regularly stage so-called “education fairs” in order to aggressively market themselves, and the high attendance figures are a testimony to their popularity. To make matters worse, the Nigerian thirst for foreign learning has spread to countries in Africa and Asia which at first glance might be deemed to be no better than Nigeria. It is said that Nigerian students constitute the biggest source of external funding in Ghanaian universities. Such is the demand that Nigerian business and educational groups are actually building tertiary institutions outside the country’s borders.

The increasing readiness of Nigerians to pursue tertiary education abroad in spite of the often-prohibitive cost is a testimony to how bad things have become in the country.

Age-old challenges like incessant strikes, inadequate infrastructure, cultism, and low levels of teaching and research have worsened rather than improved. Government policy is lamentably inconsistent, veering between demands that tertiary institutions become financially independent, and the refusal to grant them the autonomy vital to achieving that goal.

Instead of focusing on the comprehensive rehabilitation of public universities, the Jonathan administration appears to have adopted the strategy of facilitating the establishment of private universities which are accessible only to wealthy citizens. The recent setting-up of nine new federal universi-

ties in spite of the challenges facing their older counterparts is yet another example of the dubious policy framework that has aggravated already-intractable problems.

There can be little doubt that the huge amounts being spent on tertiary education outside Nigeria could have very beneficial effects on the sector if a larger proportion of it was utilised within the country’s borders. For that to happen, however, there has to be a comprehensive programme aimed at the revival of tertiary institutions. Their major requirements should be identified and concretely addressed, especially those relating to classrooms, laboratories, libraries and accommodation for staff and students. The curricula of the various institutions must be re-examined where necessary; this will involve the rationalisation of some programmes and the expansion of others. Universities must be given the freedom to charge commercial rates for their services, while a robust scholarship system should be established to ensure that capable students are not denied tertiary education simply because they cannot afford it.

It is clear that the long-standing opposition between tertiary education as a right, as opposed to a privilege is in fact a false choice. A truly qualitative tertiary education is relatively expensive and will have to be paid for. The Nigerians spending millions of dollars outside the country’s shores have already realised this to the disadvantage of their own country. If Nigeria can offer an educational experience that meets global standards, it will result in positive benefits for all citizens, and for the country as a whole.

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HE biggest economic policy error of President Obama’s first term was the failure to effectively address foreclosures. The administration’s efforts were far too limited for far too long. By favouring the voluntary cooperation of banks in reducing monthly payments for hard-pressed borrowers, they did more to shield the banks from losses than to help homeowners and stabilize the market.

Last year, as the campaign drew near, the administration began to reshape its flagging strategy by promoting more refinancing and principal reductions. But it is unclear whether the new efforts will pan out — and, even if they do, they still will not match the scale of the problem.

Recent signs of a housing recovery aside, nearly three million loans are now in or near foreclosure, according to Moody’s Analytics. In addition, some five million borrowers who are current in their payments have high-rate mortgages that they have not refinanced, in part because of excessive bank fees. In all, nearly 12 million borrowers collectively owe $600 billion more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, a loss of wealth and a load of debt that make a strong and steady economic recovery all but impossible.

The question now is whether Mr. Obama will use his second term to get mortgage relief right and, in the process, put the economy on a firm footing. A first test of his resolve will be the swift nomination of a new director for the agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage companies that own or back most mortgages. The acting director, Edward DeMarco, has opposed administration plans to reduce principal balances on underwater loans, even though research shows that principal reduction is generally the most effective form of relief. The fact that he is still in charge casts doubt on the administration’s commitment to debt forgiveness. A nominee who supports such relief would underscore the administration’s determination to improve and expand its relief efforts. Senate Democrats could help by revising the chamber’s rules to make sure the new nominee is not blocked by a filibuster.

A new director also could revise onerous rules that have prevented some borrowers from taking advantage of today’s low rates to refinance. Big banks won’t like the needed revision, because it would curb the fees and rates they charge on refinancing by fostering competition with midsize and smaller banks.

While new leadership at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is a key to more relief, the push for more help also could be strengthened through a pair of bills that would expand refinancing and principal reductions, introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, and by two other Senate Democrats, Barbara Boxer of California and Robert Menendez of New Jersey. The administration supports the bills, but what’s needed is a strategy for getting them passed, including the use of the president’s bully pulpit.

A sound mortgage-relief agenda also requires an enforcement plan. Last January, Mr. Obama promised an investigation into mortgage abuses to hold wrongdoers accountable and generate fines that could be used for providing mortgage relief. Vastly more resources are needed to support the investigation, which so far has yielded two pending cases against big banks by the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, and two settlements, by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In his recent budget, Mr. Obama has asked for $55 million, but in the deficit-obsessed Congress, the money won’t be forthcoming unless the president makes it a priority.

The White House must also champion strong national standards for banks to follow when processing mortgage payments, defaults and foreclosures. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to release new rules next year, but early indications are that the rules may be weak, allowing for many of the problems and abuses that have long plagued the foreclosure process. The White House cannot direct the rule-making process, but it can send a message to the banks and regulators by setting high and transparent standards, using as a template rules that it helped create in a recent legal settlement with big banks over foreclosure abuses.

There is also one thing that the administration must not do: get sidetracked into premature discussions about reprivatising Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The future of those two companies — and reviving the private mortgage market — is important, and the White House has put forth sound recommendations. But the foreclosure crisis, and its damage to homeowners and the economy, is still paramount. In the next term, the focus should be on debt reduction, refinancing, enforcement and true consumer protection.

– New York Times

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh • Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Kunle Fagbemi •Editor, Online Lekan Otufodunrin •Managing Editor Northern Operation Yusuf Alli •Managing Editor Waheed Odusile

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

20

CARTOON & LETTERS

S

IR: Why is Sanusi Lamido Sanusi so controversial? Why must this Central Bank Governor (CBN) be stirring up the hornet’s nest every now and then?

Is it in his gene or star or both?

Does he revel in it? His tenure has been marred by controversies.

If he is not quarrelling with members of the National Assembly over their pay package, he’s busy supporting fuel hike price. If he’s not donating towards an opaque cause, he’s planning to introduce 5000 Naira new notes.

Now his new fancy is in advising the Federal Government to reduce the civil service work force by about fifty percent as part of measures to reflate the economy. Is he idle as suggested by Peter Isele, President of the Trade Union Congress (UTC)? Who will save this man from himself? Obviously, not even the President can probably do that.

The National Assembly may be right after all in its attempt to amend the CBN laws apparently to curb the excesses of the Governor. If Saint Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is bold and sincere enough, let him go ahead and show the whole world the pay structure of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) staff. Nigerians would be scandalized and alarmed to know the hefty nature of their salaries and other perquisites especially those at the Director cadre.

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Sanusi Lamido’s hypocrisy A friend of mine recently and perhaps out of excitement called to tell me about his promotion as a Director in the CBN. After the usual exchange of pleasantries, he disclosed that his new status would fetch him 130000 Naira as Newspapers/Magazines allowance and 200000 Naira as Generator allowance. These are just two categories

of the many other allowances not stated here. And they are on monthly basis! He would be given about 4million Naira vehicle loan etc. I must confess that at a point, I switched off the phone because the figures he was reeling out were incredible and mind boggling.

After a day or two, my friend

called back again to know why I did what I did the last time we interacted on the phone. My response was that I would have fainted if I had allowed him to state all the full packages and entitlements. I further told him that my salary per month is not even as big as his generator allowance even though I’m a senior civil servant on salary

Stubbornness is dangerous!

S

SIR: The signs we see daily tell us that political and economic life of the citizens are at low ebb as majority of the polity are unhappy.

By implication, the country should try to avoid an outburst that may affect the cohesion of the country.

So many mysteries abound in the world and our part of the world is not an exception. There is man’s inhumanity to man. People are being denied justice and equity at will. The gap between the rich and the poor as we used to know get wider by seconds.

The rule of law is at a boiling point.

From 1959 to 1960, the nation passed

through serious political problems that in contemporary times are yet to abate. Leadership question have posed serious challenge and this is affecting our development as a nation and as such, we are on the same spot crawling. Also, our economic developments are nothing to write home about.

So many comments and criticisms have been offered without leading to any where. When our leaders want to criticize themselves they do that either at religious or book launch gatherings even when these have not changed their greedy political perspective in

the pursuit of selfish-interests. They still remain politically indiscipline in their attitudes and behaviours.

In the first Republic, we had three regions and three major political parties that were regionally based. The Northern People’s Congress was based in the North. The Action Group was based in the Western Region, while the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroon was based in the Eastern Region. During the 1959 Election, none of these 3 political parties had a majority votes to form a government without forming an alliance with the other. The overall

Ex-Gov Adamu Attah is still alive

S

IR: Since the demise of the strong man of Kwara politics and icon in Nigeria’s political landscape, the late Dr Olusola Saraki to the world beyond, after a glorious and well spent life on this earth, ex-governor Adamu Attah’s name became the reference point.

Writers have been quick to refer to the power struggle between the late Oloye when he was governor between 1979 and 1983, when the late Saraki reportedly denied him second time slot as the governor of the then Kwara State due to a certain disagreement between them.

The attention of this writer has

Grade Level 16!

The intriguing thing is that these allowances are exclusive of their actual monthly salaries. Your guess therefore is as good as mine. However, it is not certain if my friend is truthful because there is no documentary evidence to back this up; he could be pulling my legs or trying to impress. It’s now left for the CBN Governor to tell us that this is true or not true. And if it is true, then will Sanusi be justified to demand for a 50 percent cut in the workforce? Why would the sacrifice not start from the CBN under his watch before asking the helpless civil servants to be taken to Golgotha?

• Ogidiolu Ajayi, Asokoro, Abuja.

been drawn by some commentators who always refer to ex-governor Attah as late, meaning his no longer alive. No, he is still alive. He is not only healthy, he is living peacefully in Abuja with members of his family and close relations.

Attah played a great role as the governor of the then Kwara State by being the first executive governor of the state to create an enabling environment for the state.

Also, he made great effort to see to the early completion of the Ajaokuta Steel industry and Itakpe Irone Ore, which became his legacy while he was the governor of old

Kwara State.

Attah will continue to be remembered for his effort to ensure that he did not betray the confidence of his people and those who made him to become the first executive governor of the state.

While still alive, he is being vindicated that, his loyalty is to the people who elected him into office and he has sole responsibility of transforming their lives, as subsequent face-off between the late Dr Saraki and all those he installed as governors led to disagreement on basis of principle and political consideration.

The late Saraki distinguished himself as champion of the talakawas after the late Aminu Kano. We won’t forget in a hurry how his benevolence saw a lot of people in old Kwara that comprises the present Kogi were given seats to perform holy pilgrimage to the holy land.

We all know that before the death of the Great Oloye of Nigerian politics, both Attah and himself reconciled their political differences as good Muslims that they are noted for. All we need now is to wish Adamu long life and move on.

• Bala Nayashi, Yashi Area, Lokoja

majority in the House of Rep at the Race Course then were 312 seats. The NPC had 134, NCNC had 89 while the AG had 73. The AG and the NCNC had a plan to form a coalition but when this move leaked out, the NPC threatened to secede from the Federation, if the Federal Government was based upon the 2 southern parties. So in the end, the NPC and NCNC formed a coalition under the late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and the AG became the official opposition party. So many controversies and problems ensued after that.

When people say we should come together and talk at a round table conference, they are not telling us to talk about our past. Our past is gone.

This is a little insight. Our past experiences, as sordid at they were, have brought us to where we were today and with serious implications.

So there is need to come together to talk about our future for the survival of the nation if we are not deceiving ourselves. Our failure to come together portends danger and serious consequences. It will not be advisable to decide our future with gun and blood again; let us remember that we had fought a bitter civil war that lasted three years and, no nation fights two civil wars and survive. Now is the time to act.

• Prince Adewumi Agunloye, Satellite Town, Lagos.

21

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

COMMENTS

Garlands for Aminu Tambuwal

S

OKOTO state with a heritage of history, colour and pageantry blazed another trail when drums were rolled out in an evening set aside to recognize achievements which had brought honour to the state in various fields of human endeavours.

The government had set aside a day to honour indigenes of the state whose accomplishments in their chosen carriers could not be ignored. Among those honoured with the 2012 prestigious State Merit Award include the Speaker of Nigerian House of Representatives, Rt.Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

Others were the Car Designer with the General Motors Company of United States of America, (USA) Alhaji Jelani Aliyu Haidara Dogon Daji, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, Sarkin Gobir, Gwabadawa, Alhaji Mohammadu Zayyanu and the only female honouree, Hajiya Sa’adiya Omar Bello The auditorium of Sokoto state Polytechnic, venue of the award ceremony, was filled to the brim hours before the arrival of prominent indigenes of the state and other important dignitaries drawn from within and outside the country. As expected, His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar led other prominent indigenes of the state, which included former President Shehu Shagari to the epoch event, while Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko led government functionaries.

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was represented by the Head of Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bello Sali, while the National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamagar Tukur, was represented by his Deputy, Chief Sam Sam Jaja.

Also present at the Seat of the Caliphate for the memorable event was the former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Alfa Belgore.

For the Speaker, who was cheered into the venue by

‘The PDP Deputy National Chairman in his remarks applauded the state government for recognizing and honouring contributions to nation building by people from the state, noting that such honour will act as catalyst for others to do more.

He specifically commended the choice of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, adding that Tambuwal had done the party proud by leading the House very well’

By James Ojo hundreds of volunteers, the aphorism that ‘charity begins at home’ holds true. A prophet is now being recognized at home.

The arrival of the man of the moment, accompanied with scores of his colleague members, led by Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha electrified the entire venue of the event.

Secretary to the Government of Sokoto State, Alhaji Sahabi Isah Gada, was quick in laying the template and the motive behind the award, which was to honour indigene of the state at home and in Diaspora who offered quality service to humanity at all levels.

Linking the rich tradition of the Caliphate to the present and the future, he stated that the administration of Governor Wamakko was determined to recognize worthy individuals, whose achievements in life brought honour to the state. Like the Biblical saying that those who are diligent in their services shall stand before the Kings and not mere men, the honourees, including the Speaker stood before the King with cheers from the teeming crowd.

Tambuwal’s moment of glory came when he stepped forward to receive the Merit Award from Governor Wamakko when the hall erupted with a loud shout of Allah Is Great. The governor himself summed up the honour done to the Speaker in his remarks at the event when he remarked that Aminu Tambuwal had impressively lived up to the confident expectations of his colleagues and the people of Nigeria.

He enthused: “As an illustrious son of the Caliphate, he (Tambuwal) has taken up the challenge of national leadership foisted on him by his esteemed colleagues, who rallied round and almost unanimously elected him Hon Speaker of the Lower House over a year ago….No doubt, Alhaji Aminu Waziri has impressively lived up to the confident expectations of not only his colleagues, but indeed, fellow Nigerians with his calm and responsible leadership of the House in a manner that has strengthened our democratic dispensation and deepened our understanding of the delicate intricacies and the necessary symbolic relationship between the three arms of our democratic government.”

Without equivocation, the governor was emphatic that Sokoto state and the Caliphate are proud of the Speaker.

“I must say without equivocation, that we are deeply proud of this young man and charming public officer, particularly for being a worthy ambassador of the culture and traditions that define the significance of the enduring legacies of the Seat of the Caliphate in the evolution of the nation….We are also proud that through Aminu Tambuwal, the sterling human and leadership qualities

nurtured by his unique upbringing has once again proven to be not just relevant, but indeed indispensable to the much desired peace, unity progress and development of Nigeria.”

For earning the support and confidence of the diverse of Nigerians elected as Honourable members of the House of Representatives as the Speaker and Leader, Governor Wamakko concluded that Aminu Tambuwal merited the State Merit award.

President Jonathan in a message delivered by the Head of Service of the Federation commended the Sokoto State government for honouring people who had distinguished themselves in the service to humanity.

He stated that the gesture was in line with the transformation agenda of the Federal Government, even as government was intensifying efforts to tackle the security challenge facing the nation. The PDP Deputy National Chairman in his remarks applauded the state government for recognizing and honouring contributions to nation building by people from the state, noting that such honour will act as catalyst for others to do more. He specifically commended the choice of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, adding that Tambuwal had done the party proud by leading the House very well.

Tambuwal while giving the vote of thanks was cheered to no end indicating that his popularity and acceptance among his folks have continued to wax stronger based on his performance as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

While thanking the people for the honour done him because of his modest contributions to nationhood and that of other recipients, the Speaker said they have been challenged to do more for the sustenance of the rich tradition and culture of the Caliphate. Tambuwal said the State Merit Award was special to him because it came from his own people. He also promised that the House of Representatives under his leadership will continue to decide on the side of the people for improvement on their standard of living.

Aminu Waziri Tambuwal was elected the Speaker of the 7th Assembly of the House of Representatives. He was first elected to represent Kebbe/Tambuwal Federal Constituency of Sokoto State in 2003 and has held leadership positions as Minority Leader, Deputy Whip before his current position as Speaker of the House. A lawyer by profession, Aminu Tambuwal was a strong force in the politics of the Nigeria Bar Association [NBA]; he belongs to the Body of Benchers including being a member of the International Bar Association [IBA], as well as member of the American Bar Association.

• Ojo, Chief Press Secretary to the Honourable Speaker wrote in from Abuja.

The rhythm of governance in Osun

W

HEN the 19th century British novelist and critic, Aldous Leonard Huxley, wrote that “experience is not what happens to a man, it is what a man does with what happens to him”. One man who fits into his philosophy is no doubt the incumbent governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, whom, to all intent and purposes, is a study in administration. “Rauf” as he is fondly called by his admirers represents so many things to so many people. For some, he is the arrogant, boastful and brassy fellow, who happened on the governorship seat of the state of Osun by mere providence. They see him as a schemer; who initially presented a humble façade to hoodwink the hapless people of the state of Osun before baring his fangs. To them, even if the governor change the status of the backwater state to ‘Paris’, it just won’t score in their performance sheet. To others, Rauf is God sent. A quintessential leader, who is perpetually angry at the state of development of the state; a man set to change the Osun epic, to lift the people from the doldrums of poverty and underdevelopment, to one of poverty reduction, wealth creation and accelerated infrastructural development. They see him as the biblical Moses, who came to liberate his people and take them to the promise Land, the land full of milk and honey. Now, let’s look at the people in the two schools of thought. For the so- called anti Rauf people, who are basically found among the beneficiaries of the old order, that is, those that are benefitting from the profligacy of the PDP era, and, of course, his political opponents and their followers, who naturally should be expected to cuddle the sour grapes, Rauf can not be a performer. For the opposition, their mindset should be appreciated. They would give any thing to change the status quo. The only snag is that they work outside the established tenets of opposition as practiced in advance democracies. They would rather throw tantrum, turn the truth on his head,

By Lanre Aminu just to criticize in order to regain political relevance.

To discerning minds of the state of Osun politics, there is reason to wonder on which moral tripod the state of Osun chapter of the PDP stands to criticize a widely acknowledged performing administration like that of Aregbesola. How can it justify its attempt to con unsuspecting masses of the state of Osun to buy into this harangue bid ? Does it not take absolute morality to expose absolute immorality? It is very sad that this dinosaur of a party is applying every possible tactics to come back to public embrace through calculated media war and abracadabra. PDP’s selfish politics in the state of Osun is appalling. From what could be observed so far of the party, since its disastrous outing in the last election, what is left of it is its public relations desk which has been tirelessly using the media to sell the party’s “hard to sell image”. But political observers are not deceived because it is obvious that its main stakeholders are responsible for the political mishap it has suffered in recent elections in the state.

The party is today donating its voice to the public even when the voice has crass tones and cracked rhythms and rhymes. As a matter of fact, the party, including its affairs, was heading into oblivion, no thanks to Aregbesola led A.C.N administration’s unparallel sterling performance that has never been witness in the history of the state.

With the way and manner Osun PDP is operating in the state, its activities are causing most people to feel that everything is turning against it and that the party cannot stand firm. And to that extent, the party has become an object of ridicule and scorn. It is unfortunate that Osun PDP is suffering from a political glaucoma. The foregoing explains why it cannot see the positive transforma-

tion going on in the state of Osun in the last two years and consequently, boasting that it will “recapture” Osun and the other South-West states in the next election. It is dangerous when members of any organization are greedy; the members would automatically become expert in this aberration called choice.

The stock-in trade of the PDP is to acquire power and use it maximally, often without purpose, nothing is considered too sacred or profane. The end justifies the means. And for those who feel Ogbeni is the best thing to happen to the state of Osun, they readily points to his numerous development projects in all sectors and the numerous seeds of goodwill Ogbeni has planted for the people of Osun state. It is on record that he inherited a moribund state, bereft of good motorable roads, functioning rural and urban infrastructure, a suffocating debt of N18.3b and a forlorn citizenry, when he assumed office on November 27, 2010. After almost eight years of dashed hopes and unfulfilled promises, Governor Aregbesola has, within a period of two years, been able to stabilize the polity and consolidate democratic governance by instituting meaningful social and economic progress through Employment of 20,000 job seekers through Osun Youth Employment Scheme (OYES), revolution both in the Education (O’School) and Agric sector (O’REAP), People-centred health care delivery, workers welfare and re-focused civil service, environmental sanitation and beautification, erosion and flood control, Urban renewal, massive road rehabilitation, reconstruction, construction and drainage works going on in virtually every senatorial district makes the entire state one huge construction site. Furthermore, he has instituted a new regime of human resource development, administrative reforms, due process and accountability, proper social integration, public law and order to real-

ize a people oriented government.

So from schools to roads to hospitals to markets, employment generation, investment in ICT, name it, Ogbeni has succeeded in bringing forth an even developmental engineering throughout the three senatorial districts of the state. He has simply set a very high standard in governance. He has created a new benchmark. This is now the standard to beat. In other words, henceforth, whoever wishes to occupy the office of Governor of the state of Osun must be able to surpass this or at least match it. What that means to the people of the state of Osun, most importantly, is that henceforth it would be difficult for any charlatan without the capacity to deliver to present himself for governorship or any elective office for that matter. Ogbeni has through sheer brilliant performance turned the state of virtuous people into a one-party state. If he was an army general, the appreciative people of the state of Osun will follow him to the war front even blindfolded. He is a perfect illustration that the best form of political propaganda is to do the right thing.

• Aminu is the National Coordinator, Oodua Youth for Good Governance

‘It is on record that he inherited a moribund state, bereft of good motorable roads, functioning rural and urban infrastructure, a suffocating debt of N18.3b and a forlorn citizenry, when he assumed office on November 27, 2010’

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

22

COMMENTS

W

HAT should be the role of the media in the fight against terrorism in this country, has of recent been a matter for public scrutiny. In the last couple of days, this relationship has been the major concern of security agencies, the government and the discerning public.

The spokesman of the Joint Taskforce on Terrorism JTF, Col. Sagir Musa was the first to fire the salvo. In a well presented and very engaging article widely published in the media, he made spirited efforts to draw attention to the nexus between regular reportage of acts of terrorism in the media (albeit through sensationalism) and the festering of the malaise.

He contended that publicity is the oxygen of terrorism and that modern terrorists employ media terrorism to oil their dastardly acts. Musa further argued that terrorism makes sense only when it is conspicuous in that targets are selected for maximum propaganda and publicity value.

Also at a security training programme for the media, the Director-General of the State Security Services SSS, Ekpenyong Ita, arguing along the same line said terrorists craved for media attention. Hear him, “when they carry out attacks, they want as much publicity as possible and when the media sensationalize such an attack, the terror groups have achieved their objectives of getting wide publicity which is aimed at intimidating and instilling fear in the people” The presidency through Doyin Okupe also spoke in a similar vein while reacting to a

‘It was therefore not surprising that as soon as the government made clear it was not interested in negotiations with them and proceeded to place ransom on the heads of their leaders, they selected targets for maximum impact to demonstrate their capacity for evil. And they succeeded in doing just that’

T

Emeka OMEIHE 08121971199 email: EmekaOmeihe@yahoo.com

Media and terrorism media report to the effect that nowhere is safe in Nigeria.

The issues raised above would appear novel given our recent experience with the scourge of terrorism. Because we are experiencing it for the first time, there is the temptation to view these concerns as a challenge peculiar to Nigeria. And given the way things are handled in this country, it may not take long before the media are made to take vicarious responsibility for the ravaging insecurity accentuated by the activities of the dreaded Boko Haram sect.

There is a sense in which these arguments could be pursued and the inevitable impression created that the media have become the greatest impediment to the fight against terrorism. This is more so with spirited efforts to construct a link between terrorism and the media seen by our security experts as the oxygen without which the former cannot survive.

But this claim cannot find support for the very simple fact that one precedes the other. Terrorism takes place before the media record accounts of its deadly and devastating consequences. There is therefore a limit beyond which we cannot hold the media liable for the festering acts of terrorism. Moreover, it has neither been established nor can it be established that publicity is the driving force for terrorism undertakings. From what we know all over the world, acts of terrorism are largely driven by such societal malaise as injustice, religious fundamentalism, poverty and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, class or religion.

Terrorism is propelled and sustained by perceived grievances. And in all instances of

HE Senate voted late on Thursday to prohibit the government from imprisoning American citizens and green card holders apprehended in the United States in indefinite detention without trial.

A federal appeals court panel approved the detention of Jose Padilla, an American who was arrested in Chicago and accused of being a Qaeda operative.

While the move appeared to bolster protections for domestic civil liberties, it was opposed by an array of rights groups who claimed it implied that other types of people inside the United States could be placed in military detention, opening the door to using the military to perform police functions.

The measure was an amendment to this year’s National Defence Authorization Act, which is now pending on the Senate floor, and was sponsored by Senators Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, and Mike Lee, Republican of Utah. The Senate approved adding it to the bill by a vote of 67 to 29.

“What if something happens and you are of the wrong race in the wrong place at the wrong time and you are picked up and held without trial or charge in detention ad infinitum?” Ms. Feinstein said during the floor debate. “We want to clarify that that isn’t the case — that the law does not permit an American or a legal resident to be picked up and held without end, without charge or trial.”

The power of the government to imprison, without trial, Americans accused of ties to terrorism has been in dispute for a decade.

Last year, in the previous annual version of the National Defence Authorization Act, Congress included a provision stating that the government had the authority to detain Qaeda members and their supporters as part of the war authorized shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. But lawmakers could not decide whether that authority extended to people arrested on American soil, and so they left it deliberately ambiguous.

Ms. Feinstein, arguing that law enforcement officials have proved capable of handling cases that arise on domestic soil, said the amendment was intended to”clarify” that the government may not put Americans arrested domestically in military detention.

Senator Kelly Ayotte, Republican of New Hampshire, objected to the restriction on security grounds, saying that even American citizens arrested inside the United States on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack for Al Qaeda should be held under the laws of war and interrogated

terrorism, these grievances are articulated by its promoters and not difficult to locate.

The Boko Haram sect has been very unambiguous in its demands from the Nigerian state. It is opposed to western education and committed to imposing an Islamic state in the country. These are some of their known demands and grouses. It was therefore not surprising that as soon as the government made clear it was not interested in negotiations with them and proceeded to place ransom on the heads of their leaders, they selected targets for maximum impact to demonstrate their capacity for evil. And they succeeded in doing just that.

The bombing of a church right inside Jaji and the assault at the SARS headquarters in Abuja soon after that pronouncement, illustrate this point most poignantly. If the media proceeds to document these occurrences in the interest of the reading public, they are only acting within the confines of their profession calling. It will therefore be incorrect to convey the impression that the media provides the necessary and sufficient conditions for terrorism to thrive as our security chiefs have sought to do.

Even then, the media have not equally fared well in the hands of terrorists. Terrorists have variously targeted and levied maximum harm on media organizations and practitioners. They have been accused of bias in reporting and documenting the activities and views of the terrorists. The bombing of some media houses in Abuja and Kano by terrorists not long ago, was on account of perceived bias on the part of the media against them. They specifically accused the Thisday Newspaper of distorting reports by

not publishing some press statements emanating from them.

What this underscores is that the media are at the receiving end both from the point of view of the government and the terrorists.

The government would want the media to thread softly in the manner they disseminate information on terrorist activities given that their aim in selecting targets for maximum impact is to get maximum publicity and instill fear in the public. This could as well be.

But it is also the responsibility of the same government with the benefit of this strategy at its disposal, to make it impossible for them to reach such sensitive and high impact targets that will make for ‘sensational’ news for the media. If the military authorities and the police echelon could not adequately secure Jaji and SARS headquarters resulting to that unmitigated assault, they should squarely take the blame. If they cannot through surveillance and intelligence gathering nip these tendencies in the bud, they could be the real source of that oxygen for terrorist action. Moreover, the media have a social responsibility in regularly drawing attention to these terrorist acts.

They draw the attention of the government to the festering phenomenon with a call for more action and alert the public to the dangers they poses to their lives. If the government wants less of these reports, it must do more to tame the mortal danger terrorism has become on these shores.

Admittedly, there are bound to be some excesses in the manner some sections of the media handle some reports especially given the advent of what is now known as the social media. Their largely unstructured nature gives ample room for abuse. But this affects all spheres of the society and not limited to terrorism. The issues raised by our security chiefs are not entirely novel.

Before now, the role of the media in the fight against terrorism had engaged global attention. P. Wilkinson sees a symbiotic relationship between terrorism and the media.

But the dilemma in this relationship was succinctly captured by C.A Damm when he contended that terrorists are dependent on the publicity they receive and the media acquire from the terrorists that staple in news reporting: an event newsworthy, unexpected and violent which the public is drawn attention to hear. This appears a more apt way of representing the predicament of the media in the reportage terrorism in a country like ours.

US Senate’s votes to curb indefinite detention

By Charlie Savage without receiving the protections of ordinary criminal suspects, like a Miranda warning of a right to remain silent.

From the other direction, an array of civil liberties and human rights groups — including the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights First —objected to the amendment because it was limited to citizens and lawful permanent residents, as opposed to all people who are apprehended on United States soil.

“Senator Dianne Feinstein has introduced an amendment that superficially looks like it could help, but in fact, would cause harm,” said Chris Anders of the A.C.L.U. But on the floor, Ms. Feinstein said that she limited the amendment to citizens and green card holders because she believed that language would “get the maximum number of votes in this body.”

The Senate on Thursday also passed, 94-0, a series of additional American sanctions on Iran. The amendment would impose penalties on individuals selling commodities to Iran that might be used in ship-building or the nuclear program, including aluminium and steel. It also threatened countries, like Turkey, which are buying Iranian oil with gold, in an effort to circumvent banking sanctions.

The current language does not give the president the power to issue waivers, as he has done for countries like Japan, South Korea and India that buy Iranian oil. The White House has opposed the amendment, with officials saying they fear it could “threaten to confuse and undermine” existing effort to get allies, China and other countries to impose other sanctions already in the pipeline.

Also on Thursday, the Senate voted, 62 to 33, for a nonbinding amendment calling for an accelerated withdrawal of United States combat forces from Afghanistan. The measure was sponsored by Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, and was backed by 13 Republicans.

• New York Times

• Senator Kelly Ayotte

NCF to invite identified athletes to national team, says President

AFTERMATH OF FESTIVAL WIN Pg. 24

Discipline, hardwork, prayer, our secret — Team Delta boss

Sport Monday, December 10, 2012

The magic ends for Pacquiao, as Marquez knocks him

Cold

PAGE 23

NATIONSPORT MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

24

41

NATION SPORT

NATION SPORT

NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL...NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL...NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL...NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL...NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL...NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL...NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL...NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL...NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL...NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL

AFTERMATH OF FESTIVAL WIN

Gold medals thrill Imo athletes

NCF to invite identified athletes to national team, says President

Discipline, hardwork, prayers, our secret—Team Delta boss

By Tunde Liadi

By Innocent Amomoh and Akeem Lawal

•Amaju

EKO 2012 FINAL DAY MEDALS TABLE As at Dec 9, 2012

Lagos scrabble boss rates festival high

No.

States

G

S

B

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

Delta Rivers Lagos Edo Bayelsa1 Ondo Ogun Cross River Oyo Akwa Ibom Imo FCT Kano Plateau Ekiti Niger Benue Bauchi Nasarawa Ebonyi Jigawa Kaduna Osun Abia Enugu Borno Kogi Kwara Kebbi Anambra Taraba Zamfara Yobe Adamawa Gombe Sokoto Katsina TOTAL

116 76 65 25 9 18 15 12 12 7 7 7 7 6 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 426

97 71 47 23 17 12 22 14 13 18 14 12 4 9 1 2 5 3 3 2 0 2 1 6 5 3 3 1 0 3 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 420

75 71 71 44 23 28 31 23 17 19 18 10 12 17 9 5 21 7 1 3 6 7 4 13 8 5 3 9 1 2 1 0 4 3 2 4 3 580

Total 288 218 183 92 59 58 68 49 42 44 39 29 23 32 15 11 29 13 7 8 9 11 7 20 14 9 7 11 2 5 3 2 5 4 3 4 3 1426

• Enitan Oshodi

Lagos exhibited fair play—Amaju

NTTF to support physically challenged table tennis player

• Hameed Adeyinka

•Wale Edun

Martins fires

Eko 2012: Lagos discovers 13-yr-old swimmer who won 3 silver medals

T

Levante to another win Utaka scores in Montpellier win

F/Eagles get favourable AYC draw, as Eaglets battle Ghana

•Martins

•Utaka

Discovered athletes to be groomed for national duties

HE Lagos State Swimming Association (LSSA) said on Sunday that it discovered a 13year-old female swimmer who won three silver medals for Team Lagos at the just-concluded 18th National Sports Festival (NSF).

Samuel Ebito-Jesimiel, Chairman, LSSA disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

He gave the name of the youngster as Ayomide Bello, who won silver medals for the state in the women's 50 metres freestyle, 50 metres butterfly and 200m breaststroke events in swimming in 27.18 secs, 33.18 secs and 3 mins, 21.86 secs, respectively.

Ebito-Jesimiel said that he was impressed with the speed of the teenage swimmer, adding that if properly guided, she could be a worldbeater when she turns 18.

He said that Lagos State mostly fielded first-timers in swimming at the festival. ``We are particularly delighted that we discovered a 13-year-old, who was able to compete with seasoned swimmers and win three silver medals for us at the Games,'' Ebito-Jesimiel added.

NAN reports that Team Delta topped the standings in swimming with 47 medals, including 20 gold, 17 silver and nine bronze, while Team Ondo was second with 15 medals, made up of six gold, four silver and five bronze.

Team Edo placed third with six medals: four gold and two silver, while Team Lagos settled for the fourth position with 14 medals, including one gold, six silver and seven bronze medals. (NAN)

The 18th National Sports Festival in Lagos ends

•Fashola

25

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

JOBS

THE CEO

‘Insurance is more unpopular among the elite’ - P. 27

Waiting in the wings - P. 37 News Briefing CBN urges banks to protect customers THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged money deposit banks (MDBs) to set up effective consumer complaints management framework to protect the rights of their customers.

CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said the apex bank has created a customer protection unit to protect the interests of its customers, urging the MDBs to toe the line of the CBN because whenever customers have issues, not many of them come to the CBN to lodge complaints.

Diversion of containers: EFCC swoops on Lagos ports S ENIOR officials of the Economic and Finan cial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will visit the Lagos ports today, to investigate the illegal clearance of about 35 containers that were being moved to a Bonded Terminal in the Badagry- Expressway axis, but were allegedly diverted to an unknown destination without the appropriate duty paid to the Federal Government by the importers and the clearing agent, The Nation has learnt.

More workers join Trustfund pension TRUSTFUND Pensions Plc has recorded about 25 per cent increase in enrollees, its Managing Director, Mrs Helen DaSouza, has said.

- Page 39 DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$107/barrel Cocoa -$2,686.35/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢95.17pound Gold -$1,800/troy ounce Rubber -¢159.21pound MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE JSE NYSE LSE

-N6.503 trillion -Z5.112trillion -$10.84 trillion -£61.67 trillion

RATES Inflation -11.7% Treasury Bills -7.08% Maximum lending -22.42% Prime lending -15.87% Savings rate -2% 91-day NTB -15% Time Deposit -5.49% MPR -12% Foreign Reserve $43.5b FOREX CFA -0.2958 EUR -206.9 £ -242.1 $ -156 ¥ -1.9179 SDR -238 RIYAL -40.472

Sources said the Chairman of the anti-graft agency, Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, directed his officers to investigate the matter after realising that the duty paid on the diverted 35 containers is over N2.5 billion.

Sources said the Presidency became unhappy

when it realised the involvement of some senior Customs officers from Tin Can Port and directed the EFCC officials to unravel their involvement.

Sources said officials of the commission would also investigate other top officials of government agencies at the port and authenticate the freight forwarding firm that allegedly

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

Group to create 5, 000 jobs for Northern graduates

- Page 26

By Oluwakemi Dauda

cleared the containers.

“The government became worried when it was realised that some senior government officials were involved in the scam and that was why the EFCC has been drafted to the port to investigate the matter and other sundry issues to bring sanity to the port.

“The Presidency is not happy that such quantum of goods could get out of the port without anybody accounting for them.

“The issue becomes wor-

risome when certain individuals and agencies of government are deliberately thwarting the efforts of the Federal Government to sanitise the ports based on the high level of insecurity in the country. “If senior Customs officers can be involved in such shady deal, it means the government must be very vigilant so that some greedy individuals do not endanger the lives and property of the people,” the official said.

‘Demand for skilled aviation manpower will exceed supply’

- Page 26

THE National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) is set to create about 5,000 jobs in the sector for the unemployed graduates in the north, its founder Dr Boniface Aniebonam, has said in Lagos.

We want a SONCAP programme that would serve its purpose; a programme that would be dynamic, where all the identified loopholes would be effectively plugged thereby making it difficult for the plague of substandard products to continue to dominate the Nigerian business space.

- Dr Joseph Odumodu, DG, SON

• Dr Demuren

I

F urgent steps are not taken, demand for skilled aviation manpower in Nigeria would soon exceed supply as a large percentage of the current pool of skilled personnel in the industry are fast ageing, the DirectorGeneral of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr Harold Demuren, has warned.

The NCAA helmsman, who spoke with The Nation, lamented that the large pool of skilled manpower available in the industry are above 50 years of age, raising concerns about the future of the industry.

He said: “Statistics have also shown that the percentage of the youth, less than 40 years of age, is not enough to take over from the older generation. This may lead to scarcity of skilled professionals in the aviation industry.

According to him, the industry faces a bleak future as the few available skilled manpower available in the country are being poached by airline operators in the Middle East and Europe that are ready to pay fat remuneration to the.

He said,“Research has also shown that major carriers in Europe and the Middle East offer Nigerian pilots and engineers more than double the amount they earn in Nigeria and they are ready to poach the few available skilled personnel.”

The aviation chief said though some African carriers and civil aviation authorities have invested massively on the training of skilled professionals, the search for greener pastures makes male professionals to constantly be on the move, adding that this development has now made the NCAA to be at the vanguard of encouraging women to make careers in the aviation industry.

“While men are prone to constant migration, women are more stable. NCAA is now in the forefront of encouraging the training of women aviation professionals to take over from the ageing current skilled aviation professionals,” Demuren said.

According to him, in the last seven years, there has been an unprecedented number of females enrolling and graduating as aircraft pilots and maintenance engineers at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria.

He said: “Most of these graduates are gainfully employed with different air operating certificate holders and approved maintenance organisations. One milestone that was recently achieved was the all female crew of Aero Airline that operated on April 1, 2009, which was the first of its kind in Africa.”

Demuren lamented that insufficient training capacity to meet demand was also a major challenge confronting the industry in the country.

“There is also the problem of learning methodologies that are not responsive to new evolving learning style. Accessibility to affordable training, lack of harmonisation of competencies in some aviation disciplines are also challenges,” he said, adding that the train-

ing capacity is insufficient to meet current demand.

According to him, in the next 20 years, over a million pilots, engineers, technicians, cabin crew and air traf-

fic controllers will be required to keep the global industry running, adding that for the air transport sector to remain safe, efforts must be put in place by countries

to bridge the manpower gap.

Sector analysts say it is only through the provision of the requisite technical manpower that safety can be guaranteed in the sector and incessant air mishap stopped.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

26

BUSINESS NEWS Flight Schedule

CBN urges banks to protect customers

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

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

LAGOS – BENIN Arik 07.30 Associated 08.30 Aero 10.50 Arik 11.45 Associated 13.00 Aero 14.25 Arik 15.30 Associated 16.00

1.

2.

3.

4.

Arik Aero Arik Aero

1. Arik 2. Aero 1.

2.

3.

4.

LAGOS – CALABAR 07.30 11.20 12.50 16.00 LAGOS – JOS 10.55 11.15

LAGOS – KADUNA Aero 08.00 Chanchangi 10.00 Arik 10.00 Arik 15.10

T

HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged money de posit banks (MDBs) to set up effective consumer complaints management framework to protect the rights of their customers.

CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said the apex bank has created a customer protection unit to protect the interests of its customers, urging the MDBs to toe the line of the CBN because whenever customers have issues, not many of them come to the CBN to lodge complaints.

“But that is a problem because the only people that come to us are

By Taofik Salako

those who know they can come to the Central Bank. The major challenge is not for the CBN to protect consumers, but for the banks themselves to make sure that their customers are protected; and to make sure they put in place structures to receive complains without them coming to the Central Bank. We are working with Bankers Committee on that,’’ Sanusi said.

He outlined that the apex bank’s financial inclusion strategy provides the road map for the activities of all stakeholders in the pro-

vision of financial services for growth and development of the economy.

He reiterated that the CBN would aim to reinforce its function in ensuring monetary stability and sound financial structure, to enhance economic development According to him, in addition to the implementation of key interventions, the apex bank will continue to adopt some specific models to help drive financial inclusion, including the transformation of the payment system, ensuring healthy financial evolu-

08.30 09.10 11.50 12.45 13.40 15.20 16.30 16.40 08.50 12.40 14.10 17.20 12.15 12.45

• From right: Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Bank Limited and guest speaker, Mallam Ahmed Kuru; Chairman of Council, Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM), Chief Michael Olawale-Cole; Dr. Michael Omolayole, another guest lecturer, Senator Babafemi Ojodu, and Director-General, Kaduna Business School/National President, AIESEC Alumni Nigeria, Dr. Dahiru Sani, during the 28th Omolayole Management Lecture, at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos.

09.10 11.00 11.10 16.20

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

2.

3.

4.

5.

LAGOS – OWERRI Aero 07.30 Arik 07.30 Air Nigeria 13.40 Arik 14.00 Arik 16.30

08.40 08.40 14.55 15.10 17.40

1.

2.

3.

4.

Arik Aero Arik Aero

LAGOS – WARRI 08.15 11.50 11.55 14.55

09.1 12.50 12.55 15.55

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

LAGOS – KANO Air Nigeria 07.10 IRS 08.00 Arik 12.20 IRS 14.00 IRS 18.15

08.50 09.45 14.00 15.45 19.55

LAGOS – OWERRI 07.20 14.00 16.30

08.30 15.10 17.40

1. Arik 2. Arik 3. Arik

LAGOS – MAIDUGURI 1. IRS 11.15 13.15 2. Arik 15.50 18.00 LAGOS – ILORIN 1. Overland 07.15 2. Arik (M/T/TH/F) 17.30

08.00 18.00

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

tion through the development of specialized banks and alternative sources of finance and financial education and consumer protection.

He said the apex bank was committed to creating effective policy and regulatory environment that empower and protects the populace.

Microsoft lifts SMEs in Africa

U

NITED States technology gi ants, Microsoft, is launching a new programme focused on providing support, benefits and tools for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment in the Middle East and Africa region.

The online programme, entitled: ‘Keep your business moving’, is designed to assist the region’s budding entrepreneurs and provide advice to SMEs owners already in operation.Theprogramme’s website will provide information in English, French, Arabic and Turkish.

According to a statement, the programme will not only help entrepreneurs start a business, support them to take actions to grow their business, increase their profitability, it will also assist them to expand their reach into new markets.Through this initiative, Microsoft will help businesses by providing an online hub for business advice, and up-to-date information on products and solutions specifically available for SMEs. General Manager, West, East, Central Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, Hennie Loubser, said: “Studies indicate that SMEs in the Middle East and Africa are boosting regional GDP – in sub-Saharan Africa.

They contribute to over 50 per cent of employment and add 20 per cent to the continent’s gross domestic product.

With industry experts also forecasting rapid growth in IT spending in MEA in the next few years, we want to provide this innovative community with the tools and support they need to grow.

Nigerian firm develops e-voting platform

T • From left: Managing Director, LAWMA, Mr Ola Oresanya; Group Head, Collections, Mr Jide Sonoiki; Executive Director, South, Mr Lanre Adesanya; and a Financial/Regulatory Reporting expert,Bimpe Olambiwonnu, during a courtesy visit to Sterling Bank Plc by LAWMA management.

Nokia’s e-waste initiative suffers setback

A

S countries move to curb the harmful effects of elec tronic waste by halting its dumping, Finnish phone maker, Nokia, says its ‘take-back’ initiatve in Nigeria has not acheived the desired effects.

Vice President, West & Central Africa, James Rutherfoord, who spoke in Lagos said the firm would restrategise to contain e-waste from phone use in the country.

“We have not made enough progress. We will do some more take back. Cans are available at our care centres where we can collect it

By Lucas Ajanaku

(the disused phones, batteries, chargers). I think we need to do more in the coming years. We will focus on it and probably put some very good initiative in place. We will continue and put some new initiative in place,” he told The Nation in Lagos.

According to reports, every month, about 50 millions cell phones are replaced worldwide while only 10 per cent are recycled, adding that recycling will reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking 1,368

cars off the road for a year.

On the Nokia Asha 205 and Nokia 206 which were unveiled, he said both are available in single SIM or dual SIM versions and give people innovative ways to access social features and share their favourite content.

According to him, the Nokia Asha 205 and Nokia 206 are the first mobile phones devices to include Nokia’s exclusive Slam feature which allows consumers to share multimedia content like photos, music and videos with nearby friends almost instantly.

Group to create 5, 000 jobs for Northern graduates

T

HE National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) is set to create about 5,000 jobs in the sector for the unemployed graduates in the north, its founder Dr Boniface Aniebonam, has said in Lagos.

By Uyoatta Eshiet

He said there are lots of untapped opportunities available in the business of freight forwarding and trade facilitation in the country which have remained largely untapped and that his group, having identi-

fied this, wants to create the muchneeded employment.

To achieve this Aniebonam said his group is seeking partnership with different groups, such as the National Harmonised Traders Association of Nigeria (NHTAN) based in Kano.

HE Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NigComSat) has developed a platform for electronic voting (e-voting).

In a statement signed by its Head, Corporate Communication, Sonny Aragba-Akpore, said NigComSat, provided mobile internet via Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) for connectivity to broadcast events online real-time on the NigComSat-1R satellite.

President, Nigeria Society of Engieers (NSE), Mustapha Shehu Balarabe, commended the ingenuity of the engineers. “This innovation from our engineers at NigComSat is commendable. It is novel and we are the pioneers, and this has proved that so many good things could come out of Nigeria and we engineers are pioneers in this regard of evoting,” he said.

According to him, indigenous engineers have done what can be adopted by the Federal Government in future general elections and save the country huge cost arising from conducting the elections and post election litigations.

For the Chairman of the NSE Elections Committee, Charles Mbanefo, the fact that the election was conducted online eased his task.

President, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Dr. Chris Uwaje said: “It shows that indigenous technology is caich to most of them was fool-proof.”

27

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

THE CEO As important as insurance is, at the corporate and personal levels, many are still averse to it.This feeling is prevalent among the least expected segment of the society - the educated. In this interview with SIMEON EBULU and ESHIET UYOATTA, the Managing Director, Royal Exchange Prudential Life, Wale Banmore, speaks on the challenges and prospects in the sector, saying the future holds much promise for stakeholders. Excerpts:

‘Insurance is more unpopular among the elite’ T

ECHNOLOGY plays a key role in today’s business. How have you employed information technology (IT) to achieve your goal?

As far as any service industry is concerned, if you want to make an edge, you have to invest in IT. Though I may not be able to give you figures right way, I can assure you Royal Exchange as a group has invested so much in technology.

In the life aspect, we at Prudential Life pioneered the e-payment business in insurance in Nigeria. We upload our products onto a platform where people don’t need to pay by cash; all you need is to pay by recharge card.

You buy our recharge card which has a pin number and you are automatically credited in our office. Wherever you are, you get an alert that your policy has been loaded with so much amount.

In this regard, every other company is just following us. It is four years since we started it and has given us an edge over others. As a company, we are always trying to put an edge to it. We have some other innovations which will come on stream in the next few months, all aimed at making the process even more simpler.

To what extent have you employed etransaction and claims payment to drive the business?

Claims payment is the real essence of insurance. The payments are in form of savings. We have a very robust IT platform that takes care of all these items. By the time any customer comes on maturity, all we do is go to our IT, print out every detail of your transactions and send it to you to cross-check with your record at home, or you come for reconciliation. The process is very smooth and rewarding.

Have you had issues arising from this, issues, such as knowledge gap between your customers and the IT platform?

We have never had any issues with our clients. Where interests are calculated and there seem to be an area of disagreement, all a client does is simply come into our office with his observations and they are promptly sorted out.The system is working 100 per cent. This is so because most of the customers, at inception are educated; they understand how the system works. If any marketer comes to you, after marketing the different products, you are the one to indicate which product you want to buy. We discourage in totality, the use or exchange of cash, based on experience. You know the morality aspect of giving cash to individuals. There are a lot of temptations and this is one of the reasons we employed the IT platform to take care of our e-business.

How have you fared so far?

As of last year, our total premium at the Prudential Life was about N672 million, but for this year, we have already recorded over N1 billion in premiums. This is a giant leap considering where we are coming from.

What is responsible for the leap?

It is about being focused. As a team, we try as much as possible to examine where we are coming from. What enabled our growth is being focused and being proactive to the market. We try as much as possible to make our service delivery key to our clients by trying to revolutionise our processes, and knowing what our customers need.

NAICOM said less than 10 per cent of Nigerians have insurance cover, either general or life. What is your opinion?

• Banmore

It is true. It is actually less than eight per cent. Records actually show that less than six per cent of Nigerians have any form of insurance coverage. Insurance penetration in Nigeria is surprisingly low. You cannot trace it to education, in the whole of Africa we are leading in terms of education but it is even more unpopular among the elite.

In Nigeria, based on my experience, it is even easier to sell insurance to the semiliterates and even the illiterates than to the educated. People that don’t buy insurance in this country are the literates, except of course at the corporate level, where they take insurance to protect their businesses and properties, but can hardly take a life cover for themselves.

Now what we do is, if you pay premium regularly and suddenly, we don’t see you in a month or two, somebody will come to find out what is wrong.

In the past, most firms did not bother to check, so there was a lot of residual money

PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

with insurance companies, not because they did not want to pay, but because they did not go ahead to look for who to pay to.

If the wife or son of the late policy holder knows that their late father had a policy and never bothered to go and check, they will just carry the wrong notion that insurance don’t pay claims and the notion is still carried around even today.

Insurance pays claims, but because policy holders/beneficiaries do not know how to go about collecting their money, they say insurance firms don’t pay. Now there is consciousness that insurance firms pay claims, that is why our claims level is very high because of awareness among the people.

When people pay premium, they know when to come and collect their claims.

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, while in Nigeria recently, said 94 per cent of Rwandans are covered by life policy. What percentage of Nigerians are covered by life policy?

‘Insurance penetration in Nigeria is surprisingly low. You cannot trace it to education; in the whole of Africa we are leading in terms of education but it is even more unpopular among the elites’

I don’t have the figure as it were. Our percentage, or figure of those covered by life policy can be given by the industry regulator because they are the ones that collate these data. We have not had that kind of data in the last one or two years. On the whole, it is still less that 10 per cent in Nigeria, whether life or general. If you go to other African countries, it is alarming the level of awareness in those countries, even with the level of education when compared with Nigeria. In Kenya, South Africa etc, there is a high level insurance awareness. They are just conscious of insurance.

Nobody will buy a car and put it on the road in Rwanda without insurance, but there are a million cars in Nigeria travelling from one end of the country to another without insurance coverage.

How are you try to contain this level of ignorance?

The ignorance level in the past few years has actually reduced. There have been a lot of education/information dissemination in the country though the press by industry regulators – NAICOM and NIA. There have been a lot of seminars, advertisements, outreaches, all aimed at educating Nigeria on insurance. Our company has engaged in so many programmes this year. We sponsored one of the youth programmes in Lagos State, we organised workshop for them.

•Continued on page 38

28

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

THE CEO

‘Insurance is more unpopular among the elite’ •Continued from page 37

I even sponsored one of the leadership programmes in Lagos. It is all about trying to educate people at that early stage. When they have that awareness early in life, when they grow up, they will appreciate insurance.

About 70 per cent of Nigerians reside in the villages and insurance seems to be a city issue. What are you doing to reach out to this critical percentage of our population?

For my company, we have branches in all the states of the Federation. Apart from that, we have a lot of marketing outreaches in terms of agents who reside in these rural areas. The issue of infrastructure is still a challenge in the country. You and I know how many villages have electricity supply.

So even if you do advertisement, how do the people in the villages have access to the advertisement to see what is going on?

There is a limit to which you can go from house to house, door to door, advertising insurance. In villages in South Africa, no matter how few the people who live there, the houses have electricity and television.

So, when you advertise, they are aware and are able to follow up. Despite the challenges we encounter in Nigeria, we still try to be physically present in most of the local governments and state capitals.

Nigerians embrace banking without being forced, but are not embracing insurance.

Why? It is quite unfortunate, the two (bank and insurance) came from the same Britain together, but I don’t know at what point banking got far ahead of insurance. Now we are trying to catch up. I still believe it is a cultural thing. Even our educated people, when they are abroad, they don’t joke with insurance, but the moment they are back, they careless about insurance.

Is it something to do with enforcement?

We have a problem of enforcement. It has been our major challenge. We have always had laws, rules and regulations, but the fact remains that we have never had enforcement.

In most of these countries that record good insurance awareness, they have enforcement. In Nigeria, we don’t have enforcement. Somebody in Kenya, South Africa, etc cannot drive a car up to a kilometre without being arrested if he doesn’t have insurance.

But in Nigeria, people drive from Lagos to Kano, and all over the country without insurance and without molestation. In other countries the police have gadgets that will indicate that a vehicle does not have an insurance, but here in Nigeria, there is no such thing.

NIA came up with a similar idea. What has become of it?

It is still in the pipeline. I can assure you because it will go a long way to ensure enforcement. Look at life insurance, the law says employers of labour that have up to five workers must take group life policy to provide for them. How many factories, employers with 10, 20, 30 and more workers are operating without the policy.

Nobody goes to that factory to find out whether the group life policy has been obeyed by these employers or not.

Who is to do that?

Insurance cannot enforce. It is an organ of government that is supposed to do that. Insurance companies cannot go to a factory and demand to see whether the factory owners/manager has complied with the group life policy.

Agencies of the government go to these factories to inspect what they do, whether they do it right, collect taxes and ask for other payments, but do not ask to see the insurance policy for group life for the workers. No agency of the government asks these questions. That is why our union, the Nigeria Insurance Association (NIA), should not only be agitating for increment in premium. Other benefits of life that Nigerians are losing are so many. So many Nigerian employees are dying on their jobs without being adequately compensated. The employer will be doing himself a big favour if they subscribe to the group life policy.

It is not easy to write individual cheques of say N10 million or N20 million for employees, while if you have taken a group life insurance for your workers, you would have paid, may be as low as N200,000 and then when the disaster occurs, the insurer would have taken over the responsibility.

You could pay as little as N200,000 and when the man dies, you could collect compensation of say N15 million, that’s the es-

• Banmore

‘In Nigeria, based on my experience, it is even easier to sell insurance to the semi literates and even the illiterates than to the educated. People that don’t buy insurance in this country are the literates, except of course at the corporate level, where they take insurance to protect their businesses and properties, but can hardly take a life cover for themselves’

•Banmore

sence of insurance.

Do you raise these issues with your clients?

When we market, we always do, but the fact remains that some of them want to cut costs. When factories or organisations in Nigeria want to cut costs, one of the major areas they look at is insurance, it is really unfortunate. This is as a result of lack of enforcement. If a company has 10 vehicles and

PHOTOS: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

doesn’t bother about insurance, it is because he knows, his vehicles will not be impounded for lack of insurance. But if he knows his vehicles will be impounded for lack of insurance, he will insure them.

What’s the impact of the economic environment on the sector?

It has really affected insurance, but things are looking up. We all know the economy dictates the purchasing power of the people.

When organisations or individuals want to adjust, the first item they look out for is insurance. It is as a result of the scarce economic resources. Directly or indirectly, insurance thrives on the economy. When the economy is booming, insurance thrives, but when it is the other way round, people will try to adjust, including the government.

A lot of their properties are not insured.

Go to the government secretariat, you will see a lot of their damaged vehicles abandoned there. They don’t care about them because they did not take insurance cover for those vehicles or other state properties. Even as at now, only very few states have group life insurance for their workers.

For those that have it, their workers know that when they die, their families have something to fall back on.

When you go out to sell, who are your target?

We want to go fully into retail. My target is the individual, the corporate market is almost saturated. Individuals are our target.

We can no longer rely on government account, that is why we are driving our retail account very aggressively, especially the high networth and the middle class who can still spare something out of the little they are collecting as salaries or as income.

Nigeria has about 160 million people. What strategy do you have in place to reach the people?

The strategy we have in place is productwise. We designed several products for people of the different strata in the society. We have products meant for the executives, middle level workers, people like drivers and others. That is the major strategy we have.

We make sure all our products are tailored towards the high networth people, the middle class people, the lower class people, and whoever in the society, and make sure we speak their language too. We speak to them at their levels.

For our population of say 160 million, if just about 25 million of them are fully insured, there will be no complaints in the industry. But I can assure you, the economy is key; the economy has to be buoyant for people to have extra to put into insurance.

At the Nigeria Stock Exchange, insurance stocks are the least performing.Why? We all know what happened at the capital market. It is quite unfortunate. If we look back to when the capital market was very active, the shares of the insurance stock were all going up. The crash at the capital market was very unfortunate on the insurance companies because it was at a time people were buying more of our shares, If you look at it now, it will be a source of concern, but the fact remains that insurance companies have not been making that kind of profit to pay dividends. You can only ask to buy more shares if you are paying dividend.

For us in Royal Exchange Prudential Life, we paid dividends this year to our shareholders. The issue mainly is because most insurance companies have not been declaring dividends. It is only when you make profit, you plough back some into the operations of the company, then you can spare some to make the shareholders happy.

But things are really looking up in the industry. I am sure very soon, the share price of our company will rise. The major reason the insurance stocks at the capital market is at nominal value is because insurance companies have not been paying dividends to shareholders in the past few years after the capital market crashed.

Has ownership structure affected the level of acceptability of insurance companies?

Ownership structure is not the main issue.

If we want to invest in a company, the major thing you look out for is the ability to get returns, and you have to be conscious of the people driving it and the historical background of everyman there.

But even if the company is family owned, but is doing fine, investors don’t have that fear, it its performance that determines why people want to put their money into their stocks. In our own company, we don’t have that problem because we are an old British company that Nigerians bought into and become shareholders.

Our historical background is there for all to see.

We still have insurance that are owned by close families, but they are in the minority, even the ones owned by the banks are in the minority too. That is not an economic factor that people do not have confidence in insurance companies. What happened at the capital market was a major factor.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

29

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

30

MONEY LINK Naira firms on NNPC’s Judges to banks: Follow due dollar sale T process in handling transactions

J

UDGES have called on banks to follow due process, keep proper records and abide by all agreements between them and their customers.

Speaking at the National Seminar on Banking and Allied Matters for Judges held in Abuja, Chief Justice of the National Judicial Institute, Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, said bankers are also getting to appreciate the role and function of the judiciary better.

She said that the role of the judiciary as the arm of government charged with the responsibility of dispute resolution can hardly be overstressed. “This responsibility, no doubt, is an enormous one. But this is not just limited to settlement of disputes arising in the course of banker/customer relationship, but also for the purpose of setting standard, ensuring co-operate social responsibility and promoting public confidence in the banking industry,” she said.

According to her, the Judiciary has continued to play its role and discharge its constitutional mandate creditably but regretted that in the last couple of years, the enormity of delays experienced in the dispensation of Justice has been a source of concern to stakeholders. Judges, she said, are also concerned and uncomfortable with the situation.

Mukhtar added that these

Stories by Collins Nweze

challenges are not attributable to judges alone, promising that the judiciary will continue to do its best and perform optimally within the prevailing environment. She added that it was important for all and sundry to play their assigned roles.

She said that a major problem with banking related cases is poor documentation by bank officials adding that if and when litigation arises, inadequacy or poor documentation of requisite papers often result in negative out-

come for some of the cases.

She said that Nigeria had gone through the bitter experience of failed banks in time past and is even still experiencing some of the consequences of that bitter era, which should not be allowed to happen again.

“Judges take decisions based on evidences before them which require the need for all facts relevant to any case to be laid bare before the administrators of justice to enable them arrive at good and fair decisions,” she said.

Justice Umaru Eri, Administrator National Judicial In-

stitute Abuja said that in the last couple of years, both Judges and bankers have come to have a much better and deeper understanding of the workings and the challenges facing one another.

“For, in the course of their dealings bankers may be able to avoid disputes; yet the nature of Banker/Customer relationship is itself a fertile ground that can easily breed disputes and discharge of its constitutional duties of resolving these disputes without fear or favour and in an effective manner too,” she said.

Ecobank simplifies banking with new brand campaign

T

HE Ecobank Group has unveiled its first, fully integrated advertising campaign, designed to promote a new brand positioning and simplify banking in all the African countries where it operates.

Speaking at the media briefing on the campaign held in Lagos, Head Card Services and e-Channels, Ecobank Nigeria, Tunde Kuponiyi, said that the bank is committed to ensuring that its customers get quality services that align with the new brand positioning.

He said the campaign positions the bank as the pan-

to centralise and streamline their operations across Africa, Ecobank’s ‘‘One Bank” offering becomes even more compelling,” he said.

The campaign is being launched in eight Ecobank affiliate countries with a 60 second television commercial followed by advertising rolled out across all of the African countries where the bank operates.

Group CEO of Ecobank, Mr. Arnold Ekpe said the bank has been a leader in its field, embracing the cultural diversity of its people and adopting international best practices in all its operations.

African bank capable of creating positive change right across this dynamic continent for individuals and businesses alike. He explained that the bank, which operates in 33 African countries, is positioned to take banking to the people and facilitate cross-border trade and investment.

According to him, the campaign celebrates the bank’s success in building a pan-African platform, both in terms of scale and reaches adding that the bank aligns products and services to customer aspirations so as to meet their needs. “As organisations seek

FGN BONDS Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year 5-Year

35m 35m 35m

11.039 12.23 13.19

19-05-2014 18-05-2016 19-05-2016

Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

INTERBANK RATES 7.9-10% 10-11%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Amount 30m 46.7m 50m

Rate % 10.96 9.62 12.34

Date 28-04-2012 “ 14-04-2012

GAINERS AS AT 10-12-12 SYMBOL

AIICO UAC-PROP STERLNBANK NNFM OANDO ETERNA NEM UBA JAPAULOIL CUSTODYINS

O/PRICE

0.61 10.05 1.49 17.51 11.53 1.51 0.52 4.40 0.57 1.20

O/PRICE 0.61 0.89 0.92 1.42 2.10 3.20 15.22 0.96 6.26 2.86

tors in acquisition of productive assets. Lawanson stated that the leasing industry was engaged in providing access to finance to the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), increasing domestic capital base, financial product innovation and development of secondary market.

He, however, noted that the continuous growth and development of the industry depend on strong infrastructure including, conducive tax and legal frameworks which are part of the major pillars that drive the industry.

C/PRICE

0.66 10.60 1.57 18.38 12.10 1.58 0.54 4.56 0.59 1.24

CHANGE

8.20 5.47 5.37 4.97 4.94 4.64 3.85 3.64 3.51 3.33

C/PRICE 0.58 0.85 0.88 1.36 2.05 3.15 15.01 0.95 6.20 2.84

CHANGE -4.92 -4.49 -4.35 -4.23 -2.38 -1.56 -1.38 -1.04 -0.96 -0.70

Amount Sold ($) 150m 138m 113m

Exchange Rate (N) 155.2 155.8 155.7

Date 2-7-12 27-6-12 22-6-12

EXHANGE RATE 6-03-12 CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Year Start Offer

NGN USD NGN GBP NGN EUR NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N) (S/N) Bureau de Change (S/N) Parallel Market

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

147.6000 239.4810 212.4997

149.7100 244.0123 207.9023

150.7100 245.6422 209.2910

-2.11 -2.57 -1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

152.0000

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

153.0000

154.0000

156.0000

-1.96

DISCOUNT WINDOW Feb. ’11

July ’11

July ’12

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

12%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate Inflation Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00% 12.10%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00% 12.10%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00% 11.8%

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days 150 Days

NSE CAP Index

27-10-11 N6.5236tr 20,607.37

Rate (Previous) 4 Mar, 2012 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917 12.1250

Rate (Currency) 6, Mar, 2012 10.17% 11.46% 11.96% 12.54%

28-10-11 N6.617tr 20,903.16

% Change -1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

LOSERS AS AT 10-12-12

SYMBOL UTC MCNICHOLS NEIMETH LIVESTOCK HONYFLOUR FCMB PRESCO TRANSCORP NASCON REDSTAREX

L

EASING assets have hit N623 billion on rising commitment to providing loans for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), the Chairman of Equipment Leasing Association of Nigeria (ELAN), Mr. Kahinde Lawanson, has said.

He spoke at a one-day business forum on the “Implications of Current Tax Regime on Equipment Leasing Business in Nigeria.”

He said the subsector has continued to grow despite difficulties being faced by opera-

Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($) 350m 150m 350m 138m 350m 113m

Currency

Tenor 91-Day 182-Day 1-Year

How leasing supports SMEs, by expert

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM

MANAGED FUNDS

OBB Rate Call Rate

banks on Friday, Augustus Nwachukwu, analyst at Lagos-based Stanbic IBTC Holdings Co., said. The sale was speculated to be “between $400 million and $450 million.”

The Central Bank held its benchmark interest rate at a record high 12 per cent this year to ease inflation pressures and stabilize the naira. Inflation, which accelerated for the first time in four months to 11.7 per cent in October, remains above the bank’s target of less than 10 per cent.

The yield on 16.39 per cent naira debt due January 2022 fell nine basis points to 12.01 per cent, according to Friday’s prices on the website of the Lagos-based Financial Markets Dealers Association website.

DATA BANK

Tenor

NIDF NESF

HE naira advanced to its highest in a month after the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) sold dollars to banks, boosting supply.

The currency advanced 0.2 per cent to 156.975 a dollar, the highest since November 6, Bloomberg reports said.

The currency gained 0.1 per cent last week, its third weekly gain in five and has risen 3.3 per cent this year, the second-best performance among African currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

The NNPC periodically sells dollars to lenders to meet local spending needs. The oil companies pumping the country’s oil are the secondbiggest source of foreign currency after the Central Bank of Nigeria, which sells at twice-weekly auctions to support the local currency.

The NNPC sold dollars to

Offer Price

Bid Price

ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH 9.17 KAKAWA GUARANTEED 1.00 STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE 130.82 AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND 124.61 LOTUS CAPITAL HALAL 0.80 BGL SAPPHIRE FUND 1.11 BGL NUBIAN FUND 0.96 NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL DEB. 1,746.93 PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND 11.31 CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST 1.39 CENTRE-POINT UNIT TRUST 1.87 STANBIC IBTC NIG EQUITY 8,986.56 THE DISCOVERY FUND 193.00 FIDELITY NIGFUND 1.67 • ARM AGGRESSIVE • KAKAWA GUARANTEED • STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE • AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND

9.08 1.00 130.52 123.81 0.77 1.11 0.94 1,739.08 10.75 1.33 1.80 8,755.00 191.08 1.62

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK

Bank P/Court

Previous 04 July, 2012

Current 07, Aug, 2012

8.5000 8.0833

8.5000 8.0833

Movement

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

31

MONEY MARKET REPORT Forex utilisation by sector (% share)

Oil sector leads forex utilisation T

HE oil sector was the highest user of foreign exchange (Forex) in the first half of the year, despite the fact that the Federal Government reduced subsidy claims on petroleum imports.

According to a report released last week

by FBN Capital, the oil sector used $5 billion, which fell sharply from $6.4 billion recorded in the first half of 2011. This, it said, was due to fuel subsidy cut in January and the ensuing audits.

The substantial imports of food products, most of which could be grown locally, accounted for 13.5 per cent of the total.

Nigeria’s insatiable appetite for imports, which is a function of the limited productive capacity of its economy has assisted in raising the ceiling for forex use.

The report showed that $22.2 billion forex inflows were recorded from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) while autonomous sources consistently provided the greater forex supply worth $33.5 billion, adding that imports of goods and services hit $28 billion and $10.9 billion respectively.

Nigeria’s Eurobond yields fell for the seventh day to a record after CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said the nation’s financial system was not under threat from the withdrawal of speculative investments.

Borrowing costs on the $500 million debt due January 2021 slid four basis points, or 0.04 percentage point, to 4.162 per cent in Lagos, the lowest since it was issued in January 2011. The yields have dropped 213 basis points from a high of 6.29 per cent on December 21, 2011.

Inter-bank The inter-bank rate fell 104 basis points to 11.1 per cent on December 6, due to liquidity injection through matured treasury bills.

Although, the CBN auctioned N177.61 billion on December 5, the net withdrawal on December 6 was N49.6 billion.

Olukunle Ezun, a Fixed Income and Currencies Analyst at Ecobank Nigeria Plc, said CBN’s liquidity management remains active and supported by the circular issued on August 1, tightening currency and the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to leave the Monetary Policy Rate unchanged at 12 per cent.

The naira weakened 0.2 per cent against the dollar in the Inter-bank on 6 December, despite CBN’s liquidity management efforts.

It closed the week at N157.35 to a dollar.

According to Ezun, although the CBN has supplied sufficient dollar at the twice-weekly Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) auctions, the auction process is devoid of the required competition needed to generate significant secondary market activity.

Oil export/ corruption Oil exporting countries are more corrupt than they ‘should be’ than non-exporters, Renaissance Capital (RenCap), an investment and finance firm, said.

A report from the firm said oil exporters constitute 18 of the 25 countries that are measurably more corrupt in the Transparency International (TI) survey than per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures suggest they should be.

The worst performers, it said, include Equatorial Guinea and Kuwait, with scores at least 30 points lower on the 100-point scale than their peers.The next worst include Turkmenistan and Venezuela, while Greece, Italy and Afghanistan, were each 20 to 29 points lower than their peers.

The remaining countries include Iraq, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. “These are countries in which debt investors may feel more comfortable, as they can bypass corruption problems by dealing in international courts when things go wrong. But there has been improvements.

Russia, which was on the verge of being in Italy and Venezuela’s group, but in the past year, has clearly moved into the middle of the “slightly more corrupt” group,” the report said.

IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has developed a balanced view on the management of global capital flows to help give countries clear and consistent policy advice.

By Collins Nweze

In a statement, IMF said global capital flows have increased dramatically in the last decade, from an average of less than five per cent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during 1980 to 1999 to a peak of about 20 per cent by 2007. In the past, countries’ capital accounts have ranged from almost completely closed to completely open and, while most countries have moved in the direction of greater openness, wide differences remain.

It said the financial account in a country’s balance of payments covers a variety of financial flows, mainly foreign direct investment (FDI), portfolio flows including investment in bonds and equities, and bank borrowing which have in common the acquisition of assets in one country by residents of another.

Financial inclusion The number of adults excluded from the financial system would drop to 20 per cent by 2020, Chief Executive Officer, Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), Ms. Modupe Ladipo, said. At the moment, no fewer than 34.9million Nigerians, representing 39.7 per cent are excluded from financial services.

Unveiling the results of the EFInA Access to Financial Services in Nigeria’s survey, she said between 2008 and 2012, the number of adults that are financially excluded decreased by 10.5 million. She explained that the report was meant to measure trends in access and use of financial services in the country and establish credible benchmarks and indicators of financial penetration in the country.

Recurrent expenditure for states The recurrent expenditure of the 36 states was 58 per cent of last year’s budget, FBN Capital, an investment and research firm, said.

In a report obtained by The Nation, the firm said on the surface, states have a better mix of expenditure but recurrent items accounted for 58 per cent of their aggregate spending in 2011, capital items 38.9 per cent and extrabudgetary costs 3.1 per cent.

It said personnel consumed 19.2 per cent of the total and overheads, a further 13.7 per cent, even as Federal Government’s minimum wage legislation pushed up the cost of salaries this year.

At the Federal Government level, the firm said the rise in recurrent expenditure was affecting real sector funding and growth. It said personnel costs amounted to 36.5 per cent of total spending in 2011, and related overheads, an additional 14.3 per cent. Statutory payments to bodies, such as the National Judicial Council and the National Assembly, have accounted for 5.9 per cent of government expenditure year to date.

Offshore Banking Banks with foreign subsidiaries have been advised to use resources in their host-countries to boost their operations rather than ship funds from home.

In a statement, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) urged them to raise funds from the offshore capital market through private placements or public offerings.

CBN’s advice followed its earlier directive stopping banks from using local resources to fund their offshore subsidiaries.

It also stopped quarantee of deposits for foreign subsidiaries.

CBN Director, Banking Supervisions, Agnes Martins, advised that the banks could also pursue a merger or acquisition; or if

•Sources: CBN, FBN Capital Research

external capital raisings fail, submit a strategy for exiting the relevant foreign jurisdictions to the regulator.

The directive also barred Nigerian banks from guaranteeing the deposits of their foreign subsidiaries and mandates banks with foreign subsidiaries to submit plans showing that their subsidiaries are fully capitalised in line with Basel II and III accords.

Cheque transactions The value of cheque transaction declined by 13.5 per cent to N10 trillion during the first half of the year over increasing use of electronic payment. In a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) report on the first half of the year released last week, it said the value of electronic card (e-card) transactions rose by 32.8 per cent to N1 trilion from N764.14 billion in the first half of 2011.

Data on various e-payment channels for the period under review indicated that Automated Teller Machine (ATM) remained the most patronised, accounting for 96.4 per cent, followed by mobile payments with 1.3 per cent and Point of Sale (PoS) terminals, 1.2 per cent. The web (internet) was the least patronised, accounting for only 1.1 per cent of total e-payment transactions.

•Dollars

Financial Inclusion The number of adults excluded from the financially system would drop to 20 per cent by 2020, Chief Executive Officer, Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), Ms. Modupe Ladipo, has said.

At the moment, no fewer than 34.9million Nigerians, representing 39.7 per cent are excluded from financial services.

Unveiling the results from the EFInA Access to Financial Services in Nigeria’s survey, he said between 2008 and 2012, the number of adults that are financially excluded decreased by 10.5 million.

NDIC Microfinance banks (MfBs) that fail to live up to the legal requirement will be closed next year, the Managing Director, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Umaru Ibrahim, has said.

Speaking at a briefing in Lagos, he said that some MfBs have not lived up to expectations and have refused to pay their premiums to the corporation.

He said as at September 30, 2012, 698 MfBs and Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs) paid N980.79 million as premium to the corporation as against N1,06 million collected from 765 MfBs in the same period in 2011, representing a decline of 8.02 per cent.

As at September 30, 2012, 130 MfBs and 20 PMIs could not be assessed for premium collection as they failed to submit their certified deposit statements as well as call reports since December 31, 2011.

‘

The substantial imports of food products, most of which could be grown domestically, accounted for 13.5 per cent of the total. Nigeria’s insatiable appetite for imports, which is a function of the limited productive capacity of its economy has assisted in raising the ceiling for forex use

’

He said the corporation is still prevailing on the banks to ensure that it obtains their certified deposit liabilities statements or call reports. Ibrahim also said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is also considering issuing new licences to MfBs that want to enter the market.

Bank to bank report Ecobank Capital, the investment banking division of the leading pan-African bank, Ecobank, has announced that it has successfully raised a $202 million syndicated credit facility on behalf of IHS Holding Limited, Africa’s largest independent mobile infrastructure provider.

In a statement, the firm said the proceeds will be used as part of IHS’s acquisition of MTN Group Limited’s 1,757 mobile network towers in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire with the continuation of IHS’s solar energy and build-to-suit programmes for other wireless operators.

IHS Holding’s Chief Executive Officer, Issam Darwish, said he is happy with Ecobank, the co-arrangers and participating banks. “The facility was oversubscribed and securing this credit facility reaffirms our excellent reputation on the local and international credit markets. We are delighted the consortium shares our long-term vision of creating an indigenous force in mobile network infrastructure and collectively has the financial capacity to support our panAfrican expansion,” he said.

The Fidelity Helping Hand Programme (FHHP) instituted by staff of Fidelity Bank Plc to assist to support communities has donated some educational materials to Ikoyi Primary School. The group has also renovated the nursery section of the school to enable the pupils to have a more conducive environment for learning.

The bank’s Assistant General Manager, Public Sector Richard Madiebo said the THE Programme is the staff’s way of supporting the society.

He said the initiative has helped many people, schools and community to live better lives and achieve success in their different endeavours.

32

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

33

34

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 10-12-12

Ethical stocks lead market’s returns with 39%

A

N average investor whose beliefs constrain him from investing in certain groups of stocks can still make better returns than investors with unrestricted investment portfolios, according to latest returns analysis at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Year-to-date return analysis shows that ethical investor earns more than 10 percentage points above average return for general investor while investors in highly capitalised stocks and consumer goods companies are also likely to earn more than average return by portfolios that mirror the entire market.

Investors in insurance and oil and gas sectors continue to feel the pains of the recession, with double-digit negative returns.

Official data from the NSE indicates that the stock market opens today with average year-to-date return of 28.66 per cent. The All Share Index (ASI)- the benchmark index that tracks the changes in prices of all quoted companies, had recorded a modest gain of 0.67 per cent last week to close at 26,671.72 points.

The NSE has six group indices including indices for the 30 most capitalised stocks, banking subsector, insurance subsector, oil and

By Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

gas subsector, consumer goods subsector and ethical stocks.

Ethical stocks under the NSE-Lotus Islamic Index (NSE-Lotus II) open today with the highest year-to-date return of 38.98 per cent. The NSE 30 Index, which tracks the 30 most capitalised stocks, opens this week with a return of 37.10 per cent while consumer good index indicates year-to-date return of 36.71 per cent. The banking sector index shows a return of 13.82 per cent, indicating the dampening effect of the removal of the duo of FBN Holdings and Stanbic IBTC Holdings, which were reclassified under other financial sector.

However, oil and gas index opens trading with a return of -30.81 per cent while insurance stocks show year-todate yield of -18.60 per cent.

The NSE Lotus II is the first index created to track the performance of Shari’ah compliant equities on the NSE and also the first index to be developed in collaboration with local partners. It was developed by the NSE in conjunction with Lotus Capital Limited.

The NSE Lotus II excludes stocks in industries such as alcohol, interest-based financial services, tobacco, arms

and ammunitions, gambling, piggery and other businesses regarded by Muslims’ laws as unlawful.

The NSE Lotus II was introduced to increase the breadth of the market and create an important benchmark for investments as the alternative non-interest investment space widens.

The NSE had reasoned that NSE Lotus II would serve as an important diversification tool for ethically minded investors and portfolio managers both locally and from around the world, who seek to profitably invest in emerging African equities market.

It is also expected to serve as a general benchmark for ‘ethical’ funds and also basis for creating Mirror Funds, Index Funds, Exchange Traded Funds, Index options and other instruments, which would broaden the range of financial instruments being traded on the NSE. Meanwhile, aggregate market value of all quoted companies rose by 0.67 per cent to N8.522 trillion as most stocks ended with capital gains. Price movement analysis showed that 35 advancers against 31 decliners with highest gains concentrated in breweries, consumer goods and banking subsectors.

Total turnover stood at 1.14 billion shares worth N11.24 billion in 18,947 deals. Financial services sector was the most active with a turnover of 872.71 million shares valued at N6.80 billion in 11,398 deals. The consumer goods sector followed with 75.61 million shares valued at N3.12 billion in 3,812 deals.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 10-12-12

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10 , 2012

35

EQUITIES WATCH

Email: taofad2000@yahoo.co.uk

What premium for insurers?

Insurance stocks have generally stagnated at their nominal values. With a negative year-to-date return of 18.60 per cent, insurance subsector still shows the hangovers of the stock market recession. What will bring back premiums to insurance base values? TAOFIK SALAKO reports on the underlining pricing trends in stock market's largest subgroup

T

HE Nigerian stock market opens today with a year-to-date return of 28.66 per cent, indicating the generally bullish pricing trend that has characterised equity valuations so far this year. Substantial positive returns by other sectoral indices underscore widespread capital gains, which cumulated into the average overall return. Insurance sector index however opens today with double-digit negative return of 18.60 per cent, tagging along with the beleaguered oil and gas sector, which opens with -30.81 per cent.

Out of the 32 insurance stocks, only three stocks-Aiico, Wapic Insurance and Mansard Insurance, have so far this year posted positive returns. Twenty five insurers remain dormant at nominal values while four stocks lose varied values. Compare the pricing trends in January 2008 and now, the extent of the recession in the Nigerian insurance sector looms larger than the global economic and financial crises.

Insurance stocks have literally fallen off the cliffs. In the early 2008, nearly all insurance stocks were trading in three digits, in multiples of their nominal values and considerably in competitive prices with other related stocks.

Prestige Assurance and Intercontinental Wapic Insurance-two sectoral leaders by share prices, opened February 2008 with four-digit values at N11.40 and N10.60 respectively. Today, Prestige Assurance is stuck at 51 kobo per share while Wapic Insurance has slumped to 56 kobo.

Other insurance companies relate the same story. Aiico Insurance opened February 2008 at N3.43, Continental Reinsurance set out at N5.15, Cornerstone Insurance was N6.19, Crusader Insurance traded at N7.85, Custodian and Allied Insurance was N6.50, Great Nigeria Insurance opened at N3.80, Guinea Insurance's price on board was N4.30, Lasaco Assurance was valued at N4.88, International Energy Insurance opened at N5.94 while Law Union and Rock Insurance was traded at N6.10. Other market considerations then included Linkage

Assurance, N4.80; Mutual Benefits Assurance, N4.96; NEM Insurance, 4.35; Niger Insurance, N8.70; Oasis Insurance, N4.63; Royal Exchange Assurance of Nigeria, N5.43, Sovereign Trust Insurance, N4.56 while Unic Insurance opened February 2008 at N5.51 per share.

But contrary to the largely diversify and generally upward pricing trend in early 2008, insurance stocks open today with almost a generic depressive outlook. Currently, more than 78 per cent of quoted insurance companies are trading at their nominal value of 50 kobo per share while the remaining few are trading mostly around the nominal value.

Suffering from the hangovers Without major natural or artificial disasters that could have shaken risks-bearing companies to their net assets, the current outlook of the insurance sector is largely a direct result of the stock market recession. Heavily exposed to the equities market, unyielding depression in shares prices directly built up losses and provisions in the profit and loss accounts and balance sheets of insurance companies. On the other end, share prices of insurance companies have generally been the worst hit by the recession as a hangover of negative industry perception, streak of impaired portfolio-induced losses and reticent management combined to single out insurance sector as the highpoint of the bear market.

With huge funds raised during the capital market boom, and following the trails of squandering banks, insurance companies had turned mainly to the capital market to invest their bubble-induced assets. Small and medium insurance companies, which had metamorphosed into big companies with outstanding shares and equity funds larger than size of business, left the conservative nature of risk assessment and provision-the core expertise of insurers, and turned into speculators. However, the general depression in the insurance sector appears to be more

as a result of psychological investing or class phobia- a segregation that tends to view an entire group within the same window irrespective of individual potential. While the historic fundamentals of most insurance companies were discouraging, emerging fundamentals of several insurers show good potential, especially when viewed against the bottom-rock share prices. With improving bottom-lines in the immediate past year, several insurance companies had resumed dividend payments.

For instance, nine-month report for the period ended September 30, 2012 showed that Aiico posted a pre-tax profit of N1.86 billion as against N1.02 billion recorded in comparable period of 2011. Profit after tax increased from N836.69 million to N1.18 billion. Also, Oasis Insurance's profitability improved considerably with a pre-tax profit of N183.21 million by September 2012 as against N56.44 million by September 2011. Net profit after tax jumped from N45.98 million in 2011 to N171.55 million in 2012. Several other insurance companies have substantial net earnings while net assets are considerably higher than market values.

Discovering values for insurers While investors need to tread cautiously, the relatively low turnover-to-net assets ratios of most insurance companies and low share prices present attractive combinations for discerning investors. On one hand, there is significant headroom for underwriting capacity and growth. On the other hand, there is still much growth potential in the Nigerian insurance industry. From government to the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and to operators, insurance stakeholders have recently taken major steps to enliven the performance of the industry.

The passage of the Nigeria Content Development Act and other laws on compulsory insurance by government has opened up tre-

mendous business opportunities for insurance companies. The Local Content Act requires that all insurance risks associated with oil and gas sector including prospecting, exploration, drilling, constructions, shipping, distribution, marketing and transportation must be insured in Nigeria with registered Nigerian insurance company. This law alone represents immense opportunity for wellcapitalised and stable insurance companies.

Besides, NAICOM has also in recent period taken many far-reaching and proactive steps to standardize insurance operations and enforce conformity with best practices.

NAICOM has introduced new accounting standards with more stringent provisions to ensure that insurance profit and loss accounts and balance sheet showed the true state of affairs. Insurers are also expected to make timely rendition of accounts, making their returns more predictable. With the broad provisions of the Insurance Act and related NAICOM guidelines, the tough stand of the insurance regulator has greatly improved the operating environment. The industry regulator is also leading the charge for compliance with existing compulsory insurance laws.

Although insurance industry is still highly fragmented with some 51 insurance companies, well-managed quoted insurance companies stand to benefit both in the event of industry consolidation or market-driven competitiveness that places premium on security of insurance rather than lower rates. With estimated penetration of some seven per cent, Nigeria's large population and expansive economy also put insurers on good footings.

It is these medium to long term outlooks that should concern discerning investors. While immediate liquidity may be a challenge, relatively good and stable returns and appreciable long-term capital appreciation will compensate for the waiting period.

36

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10 , 2012

DUE DILIGENCE

Red Star Express: Modest gains, tough margins R ED Star Express Plc witnessed modest gains in key profit and loss items in 2012 but cost pressures thinned out margins, leaving the courier and logistic company with relatively subdued bottom-line. Latest operational report for the period ended September 30, 2012 showed single-digit growth in sales and profit, but the company's net earnings remain substantial to sustain previous cash payout trend. The second quarter report however indicated flat margin, replicating the performance trend in the immediate past audited year.

Audited report and accounts of Red Star Express for the year ended March 31, 2012 had indicated improvement in the underlying profit-making capacity of the courier and logistics company with about three percentage points in average profit per unit of sales. With relatively high operational costs, the company fell on internal cost management to improve profitability. However, 303 per cent increase in taxes reduced net earnings. Although the company's zero financial leverage remained supportive of the profit and loss accounts but marginal declines in the liquidity position and proportionate equity funds impinged on the balance sheet position.

Notwithstanding, the company sustained its cash payout rate of 30 kobo per share, although reduction in net earnings affected long-time dividend sustainability.

With earnings per share of about 31 kobo by the second quarter, the company appeared in better stead to sustain dividend trend. Gross profit margin slipped to 28.55 per cent by September 2012 as against 30.19 per cent in comparable period of 2011 while profit before tax margin was flat at 10 per cent.

Fiscal Year Ended March 31 Nmillion Profit and Loss Statement Main Business Segment Total turnover Cost of sales Gross profit Operating expenses Interest and other incomes Finance expenses Pre-tax profit(loss) Post-tax profit (loss) Basic earnings per share(kobo) Gross dividend (Nm) Cash dividend per share (kobo) Net Assets per share (kobo) Balance Sheet Assets: Fixed assets Total long term assets Trade debtors Current assets Total assets Liabilities: Trade creditors Bank loans Current liabilities Long-term liabilities Total liabilities Equity Funds Share capital Total Equity Funds

By Taofik Salako

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

• MD, Red Star Express, Mr Sule Bichi

Liquidity Financing structure Red Star Express's paid up share capital remained unchanged at N294.7 million but shareholders' funds increased by 10.5 per cent from N1.44 billion in 2011 to N1.59 billion. Total assets also improved by 13.5 per cent to N3.14 billion in 2012 as against N2.77 billion in 2011.

Current assets rose by 23 per cent from N1.87 billion to N2.3 billion while permanent assets had declined marginally from N896 million in 2011 to N845 million.

With zero bank borrowing, equity funds amounted to 51 per cent of total assets in 2012 as against 52 per cent in 2011. Longterm liabilities/total assets ratio slipped from 14 per cent to 12 per cent while current liabilities/total assets ratio weakened from 34 per cent to 37 per cent.

Efficiency The company showed better cost management and efficiency.

Improved midline cost management mitigated overall cost pro-

2012 12 months

% change

NA 5,030 3,380 1,649 1,059 50 0 640 327 55 177 30 270

NA 19.5 21.0 16.6 -0.1 -13.3 0.0 55.7 -1.9 -3.5 0.0 0.0 10.7

file, as total cost of business declined to 88 per cent of total sales in 2012 as against about 92 per cent in 2011. While average pretax profit per staff was N0.43 million on average staff cost per head of N1.06 million in 2011, there were no definitive details to determine the average productivity level per person in the immediate past year.

Profitability Interim report for the six-month ended September 30, 2012 showed that turnover rose by 8.6 per cent from N2.39 billion in 2011 to N2.60 billion in 2012.

Gross profit inched up by 2.8 per cent from N722.06 million to N742.4 million. Profit before tax stood at N260.27 million in September 2012 as against N239.62 million in corresponding period of 2011. Profit after tax increased from N167.71 million to N182.19 million, indicating modest increase of 8.6 per cent.

The full-year report ended March 31, 2012 showed that Red Star Express grew sales by about 20 per cent in 2012 but profit 2011 after tax dipped by 1.9 12 months per cent. Total turnover rose from N4.21 billion in 2011 to 2,925 N5.03 billion in 2012.

4,208 Cost of sales however 2,794 increased by 21 per cent to N3.38 billion as 1,414 against N2.79 billion.

1,060

58 0 411 334 57 177 30 244

673 845 1,351 2,298 3,143

-9.0 -5.7 12.2 22.6 13.5

739 896 1,204 1,874 2,770

175 0 1,171 382 1,553

8.4 0.0 25.4 -3.6 16.8

162 0 934 396 1,330

295 1,591

0.0 10.5

295 1,440

Gross profit stood at N1.65 billion compared with N1.41 billion, representing an increase of 16.6 per cent. Operating expenses remained flat at N1.059 billion in 2012 as against N1.06 billion in 2011. Non-core business income dropped by 13 per cent from N58 million to N50 million.

With these, profit before tax rose by 56 per cent from N411 million in 2011 to N640 million in 2012. However, significant increase in tax provisions from N77.71 million in 2011 to N313.14 million in 2012 depressed net earnings to N327 million compared with N334 million in previous year.

Underlying profitability showed a mixed-grill between the top-line and the midline.

While gross profit margin dropped from 33.6 per cent to 32.8 per cent, pre-tax profit margin improved from 9.8 per cent to 12.7 per cent. Also, return on total assets increased from 14.8 per cent to 20.4 per cent while return on equity slipped from 23.2 per cent to 20.6 per cent.

Basic earnings per share slipped from 57 kobo to 55 kobo.

The company meanwhile sustained its gross dividend of N176.8 million, representing a dividend per share of 30 kobo.

Net assets per share however improved from N2.44 to N2.70, indicating that the company has been trading largely around its book value.

Fiscal Year Ended March 31

2012 %

Financing structure Equity funds/Total assets Long-term liabilities/Total assets Current liabilities/Total assets Debt/Equity ratio

50.6 12.2 37.3 0.0

Profitability Gross profit margin Pre-tax profit margin Return on total assets Return on equity Dividend cover (times)

32.8 12.7 20.4 20.6 1.83

Efficiency Pre-tax profit per employee (Nm) Staff cost per employee (Nm) Cost of sales, operating exp/Turnover

NA NA 88.3

Liquidity Current ratio Working capital/Turnover Debtors/Creditors

1.96 22.4 771.0

2011 %

The liquidity position of the company declined marginally, although it remained considerably sufficient to meet emerging liabilities. Current ratio, which essentially measures the agility of the balance sheet to meet emerging financing obligations, slipped from 2.01 times in 2011 to 1.96 times in 2012. The proportion of working capital to total sales was flat at 22.4 per cent in 2012 as against 22.3 per cent in 2011. Debtors/creditors ratio stood at 771 per cent in 2012 compared with 745 per cent in 2012.

Governance & structures Incorporated as a private limited liability company in 1992, Red Star Express became a public limited liability company and was quoted in 2007. Wholly owned by Nigerian institutional and individual investors, the major core investor in Red Star Express is Dr. Mohammed Koguna.

Red Star Express has more than 4,200 shareholders with 589.4 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

Red Star Express generally complies with all relevant codes of corporate governance. Dr. Mohammed Koguna still chairs the seven-man board while Mr. Sule Bichi leads the executive management team as managing director.

Red Star Express operates defined charity programmes including the Red Star Foundation which receives 0.5 per cent of net earnings annually for scholarships in public secondary schools.

Analyst's opinion

Red Star Express shows steady outlook but it remains significantly challenged by relatively high input costs. While the topline performance reflects the gains of its recent diversification programme, which has created new growth centres, the flat bot33.6 tom-line underlines the limit of the modest increase in sale 9.8 amidst rising costs. The company 14.8 needs to increase sales substan23.2 tially to provide headroom for 1.90 profit growth. It particularly needs to address flagging margins, which may become more visible unless the company ad0.43 dresses the fundamental leak1.06 ages.

With earnings per share at 30.9 91.6 kobo by September 2012 as against 28.5 kobo in comparable period of 2011, there is reasonable 2.01 basis to assume that the company could maintain a sufficiently 22.3 positive overall outlook in the 745.0 years ahead.

52.0 14.3 33.7 0.0

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

37

• An agro-cargo airport.

The government plans to complete the construction of agro-airports next year. The airports will facilitate the ferrying of perishable agricultural products abroad, create jobs and grow the economy, writes AKINOLA AJIBADE.

L

IKE other sectors of the economy, the aviation industry has its own challenges. But despite these, it is forging ahead.

Determined to improve facilities at the the airports, the Federal Government recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 35 investors to remodel the 22 terminals to meet international standards.

Of the 22, seven are designated as agro- cargo terminals to help in taking perishable farm produce from the country to Europe, America and other parts of the woirld. The aim is to encourage the growth of the agricultural sector, and further increase its contributions to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Added to this is the issue of job opportunities arising from designating airports as agro cargo terminals. Aviation sector analysts said the terminals, which will be sited in Markurdi, Jos, Yola, Asaba, Enugu, Akure and Lagos airports, are meant to encourage the

Waiting in the wings growth of the agricultural and aviation industry and further create jobs for people.

Before now, the air cargo business subsector of the industry was under the control of companies, such as the United Parcel Service (UPS), DHL, FedEX, Abex among others. These firms do not only employ few hands, they also air freight non-perishable goods from one country to another. But with the planned take-off of agro cargo airports in 2013, a lot of job opportunities would be opened for Nigerians.

Experts said the development is the government’s first shot at agro air cargo business, as hitherto, what was on ground was cargo airlines, which were not specifically designated to do agro

business.

They said the development would have multiplier effects on the economy, by providing jobs for people across sector.

If well managed and properly executed, they added that it is capable of creating about one million jobs in the country.

These jobs would be for people in cargo companies, airports, farmers, among other stakeholders. They said the idea would reduce the pressure on the labour market, by providing different layers of jobs for people.

Jobs for cargo supervisors, ramp agents/baggage handlers, ramp operation managers, cargo customer service agents, technicians, junior maintenance officers, senior maintenance officers, trainee air cargo brokers, business de-

velopment managers, and security wardens are some of the job openings that would result from the implementation of the scheme.

Others are cargo handling assistants; cargo claims handlers, cargo control officers, drivers, office attendants, among others. Also, more people would be employed in haulage firms and farms in the process. According to them, Asian and European countries that have established agro cargo airports are generating huge revenues for the government.

Findings have shown that countries, such as China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysian, Korea and Singapore have not only designated some airports for agro allied businesses, but have been able to create millions of jobs through this means. Little wonder that Nigeria is taking a cue from those countries, by designating some airports as agro cargo terminals.

•Continued on page 38

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

38

JOBS

Waiting in the wings •Continued from page 37 the Managing Director, National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Mr Nnamdi Udoh, said the establishment of agro cargo airports would provide job opportunities. He said the idea has created jobs in countries that have established such airports, noting that Nigeria cannot be an exception.

Udoh said Nigeria is blessed with perishable products, such as mango, oranges, potatoes, pineapples, plantain, among others that can bring revenue to not only the farmers, but also the government. He said Benue State boasts of abundant agricultural products that would bring about job creation, if the people key in to the programe.

Also, the Managing Director, Best Foods Nigeria Limited, Emmanuel Ijewere said the agro cargo airports would provide jobs for the unemployed. He said the country produces tons of perishable products, and that they are wasted because there is no good storage and processing system in the country.

He said farmers would get more jobs and improve their productivity if the government

can run the agro cargo airports well.

He said: “When farmers are able to export their products, they would make money and employ more hands. The aviation industry will benefit by way of collecting certain fees/ charges.This means that the agricultural and aviation industries will enjoy in the long run.

The issue can be likened to a cycle, through which various parties co-exist for growth. That shows that different sets of people would get jobs to do when the idea materialises. It is now left for people to key into job opportunities that the agric sector is bringing into the economy.”

The Minister of Aviation, MsPrincess Stella Oduah, said the aim of designating certain airports as agro cargo terminals is to achieve significant value chain in farm-to-market concept, enhance rural transformation with multiple effects on job creation.

Oduah said immense job opportunities are going to be created through the initiative, arguing that various stakeholders would benefit from it.

“The value of perishable agro

•Princess Oduah

•Udoh

•Ijewere

businesses in Africa (mainly agricultural products stands at N245 billion (or $1.53billion).

The market is shared by only 16 countries in the continent. At the moment, Nigeria has no share in the growing market for foreign exchanges,” she said.

She lamented that Nigeria has no share in the agric cargo business because of lack of adequate storage processing and transportation of perishable farm products to local and international markets.

An economist with Lagos Busi-

ness School, Dr Austin Nweke, said there is nothing wrong in Nigeria enjoying a comparative advantage on some products.

He said the country boasts of many agricultural products that could be exported to bring in foreign exchange.

He said agro cargo terminals means a lot to the economy in terms of creating jobs, and increasing government’s revenue.

He said people would get jobs directly or indirectly through agro cargo terminals, when they start operating. He advised

people to look for compliementary skills, adding that it is only through this that they can get jobs.

Nweke said once Nigeria is able to get a good portion of the perishable agro market, it’s going to make money for economy growth.

“I cannot say specifically the number of jobs that would be created through agro cargo terminals, but there are enormous opportunities if the idea is well implemented,“ he added.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Coca-Cola appoints new Managing Director

C

• Adetunji

OCA-COLA Nigeria Limited has appointed Adeola Adetunji as its Managing Director.

He will replace Kelvin Balogun from January 1, 2013. Balogun is now President, Coca-Cola Central, East and West Africa (CEWA) Business Unit.

Adetunji is the General Manager for Manufacturing and Trading Services; he serves as Managing Director for Waveside (Pty.) Limited, a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company in South Africa.

Adetunji has spent 19 years in Coca Cola, serving in areas span-

ning finance, marketing and operations.

He joined the company in Atlanta in 1993 and was appointed the South Africa Division Accounting Manager three years later.

He led Coca-Cola in East Africa between 2003 and 2005 and helped to stabilise the business in Southern Africa between 2005 and 2007, before he moved to bottling operations in July 2008 as the East and North Africa Operations Director for Coca-Cola Sabco.

Prior to joining the Coca-Cola, Adetunji worked in audit and consulting with Spicer and

Oppenheimer (now Nexia International) for over three years.

He is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife), Nigeria and an MBA in Finance and Strategic Planning from the University of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, United States.

“We are very pleased to have another strong professional in Adetunji to lead the Coca-Cola business in Nigeria, one of our strategic growth markets,” said Nathan Kalumbu, outgoing President of Coca-Cola Central, East and

West Africa, who will be moving up as the Group President for Coca-Cola Eurasia and Africa Group.

“We are confident that he would focus on delivering our system growth plan, leveraging the solid groundwork laid over the past two years,” he added.

Adetunji said: “I am excited at the opportunity to return to Nigeria as steward the Coca-Cola business; and I look forward to working with the team to further strengthen the fundamentals of our business and grow our market leadership.”

CAREER MANAGEMENT

T

HE year 2012 is racing inexorably towards its end. So, you have been in the employment market throughout the year or even before, you will probably be concerned by now by your situation.You are probably strategising about next year. The starting point is why are you still unemployed? I don’t know.

Sure, you are the one to find the answers, mine is to ask questions, assist and encourage you. In this article some subsequent ones, I will try and help you to a new and profitable start in 2013. That was the promise I made earlier.

Our employment status is crucial and important to our lives. Why? Most of us start work in early 30’s and retirement often occurs in the mid–60’s. This implies that we spend 80 per cent of our adult life at work.

It will then be obvious that we need to get not just a job, but also a job of our choice. We need a job that will give us the greatest quality of work life, one that gives us the fullest opportunity for maximum expression of our needs, interest and values.

The unemployed is poor, feels loss of control over his/her life and faces social pressure (some unintended). He also feels frustrated, angry and has low esteem. in the

10 home truths

By Olu Oyeniran

same vein, sudden loss of job disrupts family and social life, leads to loss of income and identity.

The resultant change results in emotional turmoil, given the magnitude, speed and scope of change.

At another level, many are not happy with their jobs-and are passively or actively looking for opportunity for job/career change.

They all are really in the job market. The frank unemployment statistics (or better still, estimates) are not cheering: 16 millions Nigerians are unemployed - 25 per cent or four million are University/ Polytechnics graduates.

About 220,000 are produced from such higher institutions, and only 10 per cent obtain employment within one year post-NYSC. These were estimates made two years ago. I don’t think things are better now. In all, it may well be true that over 25 millions Nigerians in the job market-looking for job, a better job or a new career.

From the foregoing, it is obvious that the Nigeria Job market is tough. The hard reality is that it requires more than extensive cognate experience and academic ex-

cellence to obtain a good job in the Nigeria’s job market.

Question then is, at the personal level, is there anything you can do to get and stay ahead. Yes, you need to acquire job search skills. It is that simple. Buying an exquisite car will not give you the pleasure and pride of driving it, except you know how to drive.

In the same way, the vast majority of us will only enjoy the fruit of our formal education and training only through paid employment. It is therefore the ironic that few possess the requisite skills for effective job search. That is home truth no1: few of us possess job search skills Let’s look at the hiring process, from the point of view of the employer. It is a good strategy of war to have good understanding of the ways of your enemy. The hiring process consists of essentially 3 stages Recruitment, Selection and Placement.

Recruitment is the set of activities a firm uses to attract job candidates who have the abilities, knowledge and skills required for occupiers of the job position to help the firm achieve its objectives.

Home truth No 2: Most candidates failed even before the start- they do not get to know about job openings. They are not looking the right places or they are looking in wrong places.

Selection is the process of choosing the specific candidates for the job. It entails gathering sufficient information about the potential candidates for the purpose of evaluation.

The sequence may be as follows • Preliminary screening (basal evaluation of candidates’ application and Resume/CV. A candidate may be considered absolutely unsuitable for academic, vocational, vocational, experience etc reason) • Completion of Application Blank (candidates may be required to fill standardised application blanks which are required for information usually already available on the Resume/CV) • Selection Test- (usually pencil and eraser, designed to predict candidates performance on the job, intellectual ability, numerate/verbal aptitudes etc.)

• Interview (interaction and ex-

change of information between the employer and job seeker) • Decision to Hire (Making up the mind of the employer as regards that most suitable candidate) • Job offer (contacting and informing successful candidate about the decision of the employer to hire him and the terms of such employment).

Are you positioned to cross these hurdles?

Permit me to ask this obvious question again: Do you want a job?

Or, a better job? Do you know how to? From deciding what you want, to crafting a winning resume through job interview to negotiating your employment conditions reqires know-how.

JobSearchguru’s JOB-HUNTING MANUAL, is now published and available in the market. You can visit our website for further details. It is your complete job search tool-kit.

See you next Monday.

•Oyeniran is the Lead Consultant, EkiniConsult & Assoiciates & Author. Author Jobsearchguru’s Job-Hunting Manual. Website: Jobsearchhow.com,ng Tel 08083843230 (SMS Only).

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

39

LABOUR

More workers join Trustfund pension T

RUSTFUND Pensions Plc has recorded about 25 per cent increase in enrollees, its Managing Director, Mrs Helen Da- Souza, has said.

Addressing delegates at the Eighth National Labour Relations Summit and Fellowship Award at the Michael Imoudu National Institute of Labour Studies (MINILS) Ilorin, Kwara State, Mrs Da Souza, said Trustfund would soon make gains as it hopes to make its mark through a transfer window it would soon open.

“We are looking at the transfer window which we will soon open, where we would make our mark. We would end up by the day to be the next gainer.

The board is fully supporting the management to achieve our target,” she said.

She said the investiture of Nigeria Social Insurance Trustfund (NSITF) Chairman Mrs Ngozi Olejeme as a Fellow of the institute was well deserved, adding that the Board Chairman was the brain behind the Employees Compensation Act (ECA) that the government has just enacted.

“We cannot talk of Employee Compensation Act without mentioning Mrs Ngozi Olejeme, because she is truly the brain behind it.You see what she is doing in NSITF and Trustfund,

Stories by Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu

where she is the Chairman, that after working, after all the contributions, customers will retire to a comfortable way of living,’’ she said.

Mrs. Olejeme assured Nigerians of the Federal Government’s social protection that would boost essential health care benefits, as well as reduce poverty and inequality in the country She said this is a foundation for sustainable and economic growth that has proved to be a powerful anti-crisis measure that protects and empowers people, and contributes to boosting economic demand and accelerating recovery.

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Vice-President, Comrade Isa Aremu, said: “She did very well to consummate what was close to almost a decade of struggle, to bring the ECA into being. When we have people like this in the position of public responsibility, it tells you that, regardless of political affiliation, if you want to work, you would work very well.

And within a short time, that fund is already building up.

Not only that, they have started giving compensation to some of the workers who have sustained injuries at work. It is re-

• From left: Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Chukwuemeka Wogu reading the citation of Dr. Olejeme, who was represented by President, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Chief Richard Uche, at the event.

ally commendable. “ Trustfund is one of the leading PFAs in the country, with a better corporate governance. It has its challenges, but nonetheless, it has critical stakeholders- Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congree (TUC), Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) and Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

“That tells you that women are doing very well in the labour market, and they need to be encouraged in that respect,”

Union seeks payment of outstanding NITEL workers’ salaries T

HE Senior Staff Association of Communication, Transport and Corporation (SSACTAC) has asked the Federal Government to pay Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) workers their outstanding 11-month salaries.

In a communiqué signed by its President, Mr Adetunji Adesunkanmi and General Secretary, Mr Chile Ekeke, at the end of its National Executive Council meeting, the group said many of those associated with telecoms firm were unimpressed with government’s attempt to privatise it.

It said the privatisation had not impacted positively on NITEL’s operations.

It appealed to the Federal Gov-

ernment to conclude NITEL’s privatisation, adding: “Government should take the privatisation exercise seriously”.

Besides, the communiqué expressed worries over fuel shortage, insecurity and the state of the nation It condemned the continued fuel scarcity in the country, asying it affects the movement of people, goods and services, as well as, increasing cost of living and making inflation to go up.

It pointed out the need to address the challenges of insecurity.

“The session notes with great concern the high level of insecurity in the country, which discour-

ages investment, growth and development.

“We, therefore, urge the Federal Government to brace by nipping in the bud these senseless killings, kidnapping, armed robbery and political assassination being perpetrated against innocent Nigerians.”

It commended the prompt interventionist strategies used by the government and some relief agencies to address the flood disaster in the country.

It recommended the establishment of an environmental impact assessment committee at all tiers of government to guard against future occurence.

‘Use local contractors to save funds’

G

ENERAL Secretary, National Union of Civil Engineering, Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW), Mr Babatunde Liadi, has advised the Federal Government to use local contractors.

Liadi, who gave the advice during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, added that using local contractors would assist in creating more jobs and saving it foreign exchange.

“If the Federal Government can use more of our local engineering firms in the ongoing rehabilitation of roads, it will assist the economy and save money on foreign re-

serve.

“Before now our roads were death traps, killing and maiming many Nigerians. The bad roads also give room to hoodlums and armed robbers to operate, “ Liadi said.

He commended the Federal Government’s decision to revoke the concession agreement for the expansion, repair and maintenance of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway granted to Bi-Courtney Highway Services.

He said though the road had been re-awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and RCC, the new contractors should hasten the reconstruction and do a good job.

“Good roads are part of the dividends of democracy. If we have good roads, the number of accidents

will be reduced and more lives will be saved, “ he said.

Liadi advised state governments to embark on repairs and maintenance of roads and other infrastructure in their areas.

He urged governments, especially states and local governments to release funds for contracts that have been certified completed.

He said payment of completed contracts would protect workers, reduce unemployment and the number of companies being shut as a result of inability to pay salaries.

Liadi said from January next year, the union would protest the use of casual labour and other antilabour practices by employers.

he stated.

President-General, Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria, Peter Esele said as an investor in Trustfund, last year, he got 10 kobo per share, but this year, he received 15 kobo per share despite the worldwide economic depression. “That means the chairman has moved to a new level and I have also told her that this is what we expect for next year, as long as dividends are coming in, we know that the company is growing.”

• Mrs Olejeme

Oil workers threaten to shut down Onne FTZ

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IL workers, under the aegis of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have threatened to shut down oil and gas operations in the Port Harcourt zone if antilabour practices in Onne Free Trade Zone do not stop in three weeks.

The zone comprises Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Imo, Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, Anambra and Benue states.

In a communique at the end of a joint NUPENG and PENGASSAN (NUPENGASSAN) National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Calabar, Cross River State, the groups expressed worry about the alleged continuing anti-labour practyices by companies in the zone, saying its authorities and the firms have refused to heed the advice by the Labour Minister to respect the rights of workers to join trade unions.

They accused the firms and FTZE management of maltreating their workers. ”We observe that managements of the various companies in the Free Trade Zone continue to harass, intimidate and victimise workers. Consequently, NEC-in-session hereby directs the Port Harcourt Zone of NUPENG and PENGASSAN to shut down all oil and gas operations in Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Imo, Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, Anambra and Benue States if these matters are not resolved within three weeks.”

The workers also reminded Riv-

• PENGASSAN President, Babatunde Ogun

ers State Governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, of the agreement reached at the joint meeting of NUPENGASSAN on September 20, 2010, at Aldgate Congress Hotel, Port Harcourt, on the state social levy.

The agreement, they added, was a review of the levy for those that earn below N100, 000 to be treated as workers in the public sector; inclusion of two representatives of NUPENG and PENGASSAN on the Board of Governors of the new schools; commitment that the rate of the social services levy would not be subject to further review; and the inclusion of the TUC on the Board of Trustees of the Social Service Contributory Trust Fund.

The workers reminded the government of the commencement date of the law.

They called on Governor Amaechi to honour the state government‘s side of the bargain.

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Taxation

Dri ving ffor or eign dir ect in vestment with doub le taxa tion Driving oreign direct inv double taxation agreements, by Frank Onero Obaro

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HE Nigerian Tax System continues to undergo constant changes that are almost as dynamic as

those of the banking sector and other economic drivers.

Abroad, carbon tax and other innovative policies are continuously on the front burner for tax regulators to enunciate appropriate and fair rules to administer such revenue drives.

Tax treaty is one grey area where Nigeria has unfortunately not achieved commensurate growth as we have witnessed in other tax jurisdictions. It is imperative to note that the growth of double taxation agreements between countries globally impacts on the flow of foreign direct investment directly and indirectly.

In the current era of cross -border transactions across the world, and the dynamism of international trade and commerce and increasing trans-border interaction among nations, there is a continuous movement of human capital across borders where income is earned. One of the most significant results of globalisation is the noticeable impact of one country’s domestic tax policies on the economy of another country. This has led to the need for continuously assessing tax regimes of various countries and bringing about indispensable reforms.

International double taxation has adverse effects on trade and services and on movement of capital and people. Taxation of the same income by two or more countries would constitute an unfair burden on the taxpayer.

This article attempts to evaluate various facets of bilateral Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) with particular reference to Nigeria’s own version - Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement (ADTAs) as a tool for driving foreign direct investment.

Double Taxation Treaties are conventions between two countries that aim to eliminate the double taxation of income or gains arising in one territory and paid to residents of another territory. They work by dividing the tax rights each country claims by its domestic laws over the same income and gains. Over 2,500 Double Taxation Conventions exist world-wide. The United Kingdom has one of the largest networks with more than 100.

A peep into a typical ADTA prepared by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on behalf of the Federal Government shows that it grants concessions to beneficiaries and guards against the occurrence of a double non-taxation scenario in which a particular income escapes taxation from both the source state (where the revenue is generated) and resident state (state of residence of the enterprise) as it affects a taxpayer. It also captures exchange of relevant tax information beneficial to the contracting states for the operation of the agreement and assistance in the collection of taxes by either of the contracting states.

Establishment of the Mutual Assistant Procedure (MAP) for the resolution of disputes emanating from the implementation of the agreement or the taxation of income of residents of both contracting states is also enshrined in a typical document.

Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement (ADTA) is a written tax agreement between sovereign states called contracting states primarily on the allocation of taxing rights between both contracting states on the income of residents of either of the contracting states derivable from either states. Essentially, the ADTA is modelled to guard against the occurrence of a double taxation scenario in which a particular income is taxed in separate jurisdictions. It will also aid modification of domestic tax laws by reducing the domestic tax rate.

Will the ADTAs increase the flow of foreign direct investment into Nigeria? Many argue that the impact is not as substantial as it is been made to appear.

• ALHAJI KABIR MOHAMMED MASHI, AG. EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, FIRS

Double Taxation Treaties are conventions between two countries that aim to eliminate the double taxation of income or gains arising in one territory and paid to residents of another territory. They work by dividing the tax rights each country claims by its domestic laws over the same income and gains. Over 2,500 Double Taxation Conventions exist world-wide. The United Kingdom has one of the largest networks with more than 100.

With the goal of increasing FDI inflows in mind, developing countries have resorted to bilateral treaties to signal their commitment to stable, correct and often favourable treatment of foreign investors. By signing ADTAs, developing countries provide foreign investors with security and stability as regards the issue of taxation in addition to the relief from double taxation.

By signing bilateral investment treaties, developing countries commit to granting certain relative standards such as national treatment (foreign investors may not be treated any worse than national investors, but may be treated better and, in fact, often are) and mostfavoured nation treatment (privileges granted to one foreign investor must be granted to all foreign investors). They also agree to guarantee certain absolute standards of treatment such as fair and equitable treatment for foreign investors in accordance with international standards, after the investment has taken place.

Few would argue that the absence of double taxation agreements represents the major impediment to foreign direct investment in developing countries. And yet, all other things being equal, the avoidance of double taxation can make a country more attractive to foreign investors who often have a choice among multiple locations. As Egger et al. (2004: 1) have put it, “One of the most visible obstacles to cross border investment is the double taxation of foreign-earned income.”

Investors like stability and the legal and fiscal certainty that comes with ADTAs can re-assure foreign investors that profits from their investment are not doubly reduced by taxation in both host and residence

country (United Nations, 2001). As is the case with Bilateral Investment Treaties, the conclusion of ADTAs also sends a certain signal to foreign investors that goes beyond the mere issue of taxation, allowing the developing country partner to acquire “international economic recognition” (Dagan, 1999: 32) or, in the words of Rosenbloom (1982, cited in Reese, 1987: 380), a “badge of international economic respectability”.

Certainly, policy makers in developing countries must believe that the conclusion of ADTAs increases inward FDI as otherwise they would not go to the negotiation table signing more and more of such treaties. This is because, as already mentioned, the majority of ADTAs concluded between developed and developing countries limit source-based taxation, which means that developing countries can only collect tax revenues from foreign investors to a limited extent. For ADTAs among developed countries this does not matter so much as FDI flows more or less equally in both directions.

Economic relations between developed and developing countries are highly unequal, however, with the developed country being almost exclusively the country of residence and the developing country almost exclusively the host country.

While it is true that the existence of ADTAs will reduce the amount of tax withheld from interest, dividends, and royalties paid by a resident of one country to residents of the other country and/or limit tax of one country on business income of a resident of the other country to that income from a permanent establishment in the first country or even provide for exemption of certain types of organisations or individuals. It must also be stated that it drives FDI through the reduction of double taxation, eliminating tax evasion, and encouraging crossborder trade efficiency which are major factors that cannot be wished away in global trade. It is generally accepted that tax treaties improve certainty for taxpayers and tax authorities in their international dealings. The elimination of double taxation and the other advantages offered to taxpayers – in particular reductions in compliance costs from the treaty are expected to encourage inflows of investment.

If the tax treaty shifts taxing rights from the developing to the developed country, and the latter maximizes these taxing rights, that may create an incentive for investors to reallocate capital to the developing country, where the tax cost is lower. Tax treaties also offer stability for investors in tax treatment, since in most instances unilateral changes to domestic law cannot override the treaty unless it is renegotiated The rational choice model of tax treaty negotiation by developing countries rests on the hypothesis that tax treaties increase inbound investment. Another important purpose is the exchange of information. ADTAs help to combat tax evasion and tax avoidance and to prevent double non-taxation by making information from one contracting state available to the other contract partner.

In principle, these other aspects of DTTs could discourage FDIs. The conclusion of more ADTAs will make a serious statement about the Federal Government’s will to create an encouraging environment for FDI. Though Nigeria has comprehensive ADTAs with Canada, Pakistan, Belgium, France, Romania, Netherlands, United Kingdom, China, South Africa and Italy a lot more still needs to be done in this regard by the FIRS in these important area of economic development. More importantly, any loss of tax revenue can be justified if the wider economic benefits of attracting more FDI, such as knowledge and technology spill-over’s, higher economic growth, employment and living standards exceed these costs.

EKO 2012 IN PICTURES

• Team Lagos winner 4 x 400m Dead Relay Race

•Oshe Daniel Kogi state javelin thrower in action

Photo: BOLA OMILABU

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Monday, December 10, 2012

• Sijuade Olasele of Team Lagos

•A young swimmer at the festival

Photo: BOLA OMILABU

Photo: Innocent Amomoh

•Taekwondo action

Photo: BOLA OMILABU

•Gymnastics action with Adeyemi Adeyanju from Oyo state Photo: BOLA OMILABU

Photo: BOLA OMILABU

•Hameed Adeyinka in action at the Table Tennis event Photo: BOLA OMILABU

•Team Lagos (White) against Team Osun at the female football tourney Photo: BOLA OMILABU •William Ukari of Benue in Shot put action

•Ngozi Sanyaolu a deaf athlete from Team Lagos Photo: BOLA OMILABU

•Hockey action with Ogun State (Yellow) and Kebbi Photo: BOLA OMILABU Photo: BOLA OMILABU State (Green)

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

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76TH KANO STATE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING

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n Wednesday, 5TH December, 2012 (21st Al-Muharram,1434AH) the Kano State Executive Council held its Seventy Sixth (76th) sitting in continuation with its constitutional role of deliberating on important issues, policies and programs aimed at impacting positively on the lives of its citizenry for the overall development of the State.

It could be recalled that during the Seventy Fifth (75th) sittings, the Council approved an expenditure of N1, 804,639,292.23 for the execution of various capital projects across the State. At the recent sitting, presided over by the Governor Engr. RABIU MUSA KWANKWASO, FNSE a number of memoranda were submitted by MDAs for deliberation to the Council where an expenditure of N3,721.044,060.00 was approved for the execution of different projects as well as directives on certain policies and programs as enumerated below: MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND BUDGET a) Request for funds to organize a bilateral Budget discussion for 2012 Budget;Council attention was drawn to the annual bilateral budget discussion, which has become a tradition, where Ministries and Extra – Ministerial Departments are given opportunities to present and defend their capital budget proposal.

In view of that, the State Ministry of Planning and Budget proposed an estimate of the sum of N10,799,500.00 for the procurement of working materials to facilitate the discussion.

Council is satisfied with the development and in its desire to pursue the fiscal policy management and allocation of resources judiciously, approved the release of N10, 799,500.00 for the conduct of the exercise.

MINISTRY OF LAND AND PHYSICAL PLANNING a) Committee Report on the findings for the revalidation of some Road projects in the State metropolisCouncil recalled the setting up of an Executive Council Committee to inspect some inherited metropolitan roads under construction to assess the extent of works executed by the contractors. The roads are(i) Upgrading of Gidan Buhari- KERD- Dan agundi Road; (ii) Kansakali- Aminu Kano way (FCE junction) Road, and (iii) BUK new site- Gwazaye -Madobi Road- Pan Shekara Road.

Council studied the submission of the Committee and directed that more inputs are required from the Ministries of Finance and Land and Physical Planning for the report to be comprehensive enough for the Council to take appropriate decisions on each of the roads. Council directed the Committee to revisit some of the fundamental issues raised and resubmit its findings at the next sitting. (b) Supervision and project management services for the ongoing mega projects (Hadejia and Sheik Jafar Road)Going by the concern of the Kano State Government for improved road networks in the metropolis and rural areas it embarked on the dualization and expansion of four (4) major roads. Out of the 4 roads (3) three are owned by the Federal Government (i.e. Zaria Road, Hadejia Road and Gwarzo Road) and (1) one belongs to the State (i.e. Sheik Jafar Road).

The contracts, which were awarded to recognize constructing firms will consume around N14 billion. Triacta Nig. Limited (the company executing Gwarzo Road dualization/ expansion contract), TEC Engineering (handling the Zaria Road) and CGC (executing Hadejia Road) have achieved tremendous progress and are within schedule. The government is, however, not happy with the performance of the contractor (Soject Nigeria Limited) handling Shiek Jafar Road. Council directed the Hon. Commissioner for Land and Physical Planning to draw the attention of the contractor of Government’s displeasure and on the possibility of revoking the contract if it failed to hasten the execution of the project as scheduled. c) Construction of a Dual Carriage Way on Airport Road from Air Force Base Clinic to Ashton Road to Hajj Camp RoundaboutAirport Road is one of the major roads in metropolitan Kano, which is being used by heavy and light-duty vehicles thereby reducing traffic congestion into and out of the city center.

This road services commuters going to Aminu Kano International Airport, Military and Air Force Base, Nomans Land and Panishau Ring road. The road has been left unattended for years by the previous administration leading to its deterioration thereby affecting economic activities of the neighboring communities.

Kano State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KNUPDA) proposed the upgrading and the construction of a dual carriage way on the road at the sum of N1, 326,212,359.46. Recognizing the importance of the road, Council approved the award of the contract at the sum of N1,012,459,710.49 after making some adjustments to the scope of works to be executed by the contractor; d) Revalidation of inherited Mandawari to Kwanar Goda road projectThe present administration inherited numerous projects that were awarded in haste at the tail-end of the immediate administration, which were started without cash backing to commit the incoming administration. Most of these projects were abandoned by the contractors after the electoral defeat of the ANPP. This administration since inception had to assess these projects and reviewed the contractual agreement reached between the past government and the contractors downward leading to a saving of over N700 million. One of the projects inherited is the Mandawari to Kwanar Goda road, which this administration selected amongst those to be completed. Already, the government had released funds for the completion of Duala Hotel-Hadejia road, Kofar Mata- Kanti KwariKwanar Singer road. Council deliberated and approved the completion of the project by the contractor, AL-USABS Construction Nig. Ltd, using the principle of measured and pay. e) Payment of compensation for structures within the site acquired for the Drugs and Medical Consumables Supply Agency at Kwanar Madobi, Madobi Local GovernmentCouncil recalled its decision for the transfer of Drugs and Medical Consumables Supply Agency from the former Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport Yard at Kofar Nassarawa (now being occupied by the Governor’s College) to Kwanar Madobi. In the process of the relocation lands and existing structures belonging to individuals were affected and have to be compensated. Council approved the payment of the sum of N4,962,570:00 as compensation for the lands and structures affected at Kwanar Madobi by this project. f) Request for the reconstruction of Ribadu and Isa Kaita Road: This memorandum solicited for the re-construction of 2 secondary distributor roads namely: Ribadu and Isa Kaita Roads that are serving Hausawa/Gyadi-Gyadi axis with a view to provide better traffic circulation and improve the economic and social activities of the neighborhoods and the City at large.

After assessing the level of deterioration of the said roads, Kano Urban Planning and Development Agency (KNUPDA) came up with an estimated proposal of N360, 652,204.99 for the project. Council after reviewing the proposal approved the sum of N358, 368,555.18 for the re-construction of the two roads.

MINISTRY OF WORKS, HOUSING AND TRANSPORT: a) Request for the provision of streetlights along Gwagwarwa, Brigade and Tudun Murtala, and from King’s Garden to Tudun Wada Mosque using recovered poles:In Continuation of the Kano State Government’s effort in the provision of Streetlights, a laudable development worthy of appreciation by all and sundry, the State Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport solicited for the extension of the project to communities outside the metropolis.

Pursuant to this, the Task Force on Repairs and Reactivation of Street and Traffic lights assessed and came up with a Bill of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation (BEME), which was vetted by the Ministry in the sum of N59,012,749.50 as against N67,369,249.00 using new fabricated poles.

Council has in view of that, considered and approved the release of the sum of N59,012,749.50 to the Task Force to install streetlights alone Gwagwarwa, Brigade and Tudun Murtala, and from King’s Garden to Tudun Wada Mosque using recovered poles. b) Request for the provision of streetlights along Marhaba-Ado Gwaram Street: The Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport solicited for the Council approval to install streetlights along Marhaba- Ado Gwaram Street using recovered poles at the cost of N11,790,563.80. Council deliberated and weighed the importance of providing such a facility to the stated road for the security and social well-being of the communities residing around that area. Council approved the request. In the same vein, Council approved for the release of the sum of N55,681.075.90 for a similar project of installing streetlights from Gwale Police Station to Veterinary Clinic to Kwanar Diso to Chiranci quarters to Tudun Wuzurci junction including Gidan Wambai loop with new Poles. This project will provide lighting to the affected area. (c) Request for the Continuation of Demountable Aluminium Partition for the Northwest University Temporary site at Ado Bayero House:Northwest University is the second university established by the administration, which was meant to admit qualified youths who have completed their secondary education and seeking to further their studies. The State Government has already appointed the principal officers and admission of students is being processed and will soon be released for academic exercise. However, since the permanent site is under construction a temporary site was allocated to the university at Ado Bayero House. Floors 4th & 5th that were identified for the provision of classes to the students and office accommodation for the teaching staff have to be partitioned for such purpose.

The Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport proposed a budget of the sum of N53, 734,800.00 for the partitioning work.

Considering the significance of the project to the progress of the University, Council approved the sum of N53,734,800.00 for the project. d) Kano State Road and Traffic Agency (KAROTA) and Messes Shanxi Auto Logistic and Solution LimitedCouncil recalled an earlier discussion on the proposal by the Messrs Shanxi Auto Logistic and Solution Limited to operate Bus Mass Transit to serve in the State on the following metropolitan roadsc) Kwanar Dawaki Kudu – Zaria Road – Ibrahim Taiwo Road to Yankura and d) Dorawar Na’abba – Hotoro – Radio Kano - Yankura roads.

Council measured the requirements for a successful operation of this program by Messer Shanxi Auto Logistic and Solution Limited. Council noticed that Clause 3.1, Section iii, v, and vii required further discussion between the Government and the Company. Council

mandated the Deputy Governor to sit with the company and submit the outcome of their discussion at the next sitting.

MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY a) Executive Council Committee report on the training program of 220 Youth on Football Production and 440 youths on Chalk making: It could be recalled that the State government has recently committed 220 youths from across the 44 Local Government Council Areas to learn how to produce chalk and Football with a view of making them self-reliant, which will translate into the self and economic development of the State.

In view of that good gesture, the Committee set up for the training of the youths sought the approval of the Council to among other things direct (4) four Local Government Councils namely Wudil, Kura, Rimin Gado and Gwale to hasten the installation/commissioning of the major production equipment/machines, which includes 15KVA generator, hydraulic press cutters, and air compressor so that they can be utilized fully by the trainees. These machines are meant for the production of footballs. The Committee also recommended that the Council should assist the trainees with a total sum of N50,000 each as a takeoff capital so that after graduation the trainees can be on their own and continue with their productions.

After due consideration and noting the recommendations made by the Committee, Council approved the release of N22,000.000.00 to the participants of the training as a takeoff capital, and it further mandated the State Deputy Governor to instruct Local Government Councils to patronize and purchase the byproducts of these trainees.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION a) Request for ratification on the approval for the procurement of two (2) Hilux Double Cabin for the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB): This memorandum appreciated the present administration’s efforts in the general development of education. It is in line with that commendable work that SUBEB Kano deemed it necessary to request for Council’s approval for the procurement of 2 Double Cabin Toyota Hilux to the Committee on Qur’anic and Tsangaya Education to facilitate its assignment, which entailed engagements within and outside the State as well as for the office of the Special Assistant to the Governor on Primary Education for the performance of his official duties.

Council approved the procurement of 2 Double Cabin Hilux Toyota for the stated purposes at the sum of N13, 900.00.00. b) Request for the approval of overseas studies on salary option for a staff of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA) at the University of Twente in Netherland: In consideration with the present administration initiative for the sponsoring of 501 Kano State indigenous youths to study at foreign universities, this memorandum solicited for Council’s approval for the release of Muhammad Usman Sa’id; a Geologist and a staff of Ruwasa to undertake an 18 -months masters degree on Geo-information Science and Earth Observation for Water Resources and Environmental Management.

Council deliberated on the request vis-à-vis Government’s commitment in the educational development of the State and approved the release of the officer to pursue further studies on a salary option.

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES a) Proposal for the construction of Block Wall Fence at the Poultry Institute, Makoda: The Makoda Poultry Institute was a brain child of the Kwankwaso led administration, which was initiated with the aim of training women on poultry farming as part of its determined commitments on Youth and Women Empowerment Initiative in the State. To prevent the Institute land from trespassers and speculators, the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources resolved to solicit for Council’s approval to construct a permanent wall fence that will demarcate the land of the Institute and neighboring lands owned by private individuals. It, therefore, requested for the approval of the sum of N47, 843,300.00 for the project. Council approved for the release of the same amount, i.e. N47, 843,300.00 for the construction of the wall fence for the Institute. b) Request for general rehabilitation/renovation of Bagauda Fisheries Institute: In preparation for the admission of students into the Bagauda Fisheries Institute, which was also established by the Kwankwaso led administration this memorandum reminded the Council of the need to construct/rehabilitate some structures and facilities for the efficient running of the Institute.

It explained that already classrooms had been completed while other facilities need to be renovated to meet the required standard of an Institute like that. Some of these structures include junior staff quarters, Boat/Metal Workshop, Hatchery/Laboratory Blocks, Office Block and outdoor Hatchery. To execute the renovation/rehabilitation of the structures, the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources proposed a budget of N44, 266,231.72 for the project.

Owing to the importance of the project, Council approved the release of N44, 266,231.72 for the project execution.

(C) Request for approval of funds to Augment for 2nd batch training and renovation/ rehabilitation of infrastructure at the Bagauda Livestock Institute;Bagauda Livestock Institute is amongst the (20) twenty institutions established by the present administration for youth empowerment and skill acquisition. Since inception, the Institute had been training youth in animal husbandry and has graduated its first batch of trainees in Bull and Ram’s fattening as well as Rabbit Production. Council noted that the training for the 2nd Batch had been scheduled to commence on 18th December 2012 and a sum of N6,141,400.00 was estimated for the feeding of the trainees, payment of honorarium to resource persons, fueling and payment of ad-hoc staff. The sum of N11,008,800.00 was required for the procurement of training packages, which are to be distributed to the trainees.

Council approved the release of the sum of N11,008,800:00 for the stated expenditure.

A related memorandum notified the Council that the Institute had completed plan to introduce other courses, which will increase the number of participants. This explains the request for the renovation of some structures for the accommodation of the students and staff offices at the sum of N27,624,933.50.

Council approved the release of the requested sum of N27,624,933.50 for the renovation of some structures for the expansion of the Institute capacity to admit more participants.

MINISTRY OF FINANCE a) Request for counterpart funding for a Taxpayers Identification number (TIN) project: This memorandum reminded the Council about the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) program initiated by the Joint Tax Board in collaboration with the Federal Inland Revenue Services and the 36 Boards of Internal Revenue across the country. The TIN is an electronic system taxpayer registration that would uniquely identify all taxpayers nationwide.

For years, the State Tax System as that of the other States and the Federal Government has been struggling with the challenges of how to register and track taxpayer transactions within the State and outside to ensure that objective assessment can be made of their tax obligations. Through this program, tax evaders can easily be identified and the required revenue expected from taxes will be collected. Thus, the importance of the program to the development of internally generated revenue, which is the number-one priority of the present administration, cannot be overemphasized. The overall objective is that a taxpayer must quote the TIN number anytime he transacts taxable transactions nationwide. This makes it easier for Boards of Internal Revenue to assess taxable individuals.

However, for the program to kick-start the Federal and the State Governments must contribute funds for the project amounting to N7,230,600,000:00. The State Government as other States in the Federation will release a counterpart fund of N147, 580,000.00. Council weighed the benefits to accrue and approved the release of the sum in installments. b) Procurement of Operational Vehicles for the Board of Internal Revenue : The Board expressed appreciation to the State Government for the procurement and allocation of 15 Peugeot 406 for Official duties last year. The content of this memorandum notified the Council the need for the procurement of additional operational vehicles to enhance the efficiency of the Board.

It was in view of that, Council approved the release of N24, 800,000.00 for the purchase of the following fairly used operational vehicles: i) 7No. Peugeot 406 ii) 6No. Toyota Saloon iii) 2No. Toyota Bus 16 seater Request for the General Renovation of the Board of Internal Revenue Headquarters: The Board of Internal Revenue Headquarters is in dilapidated condition, thereby affecting the efficient execution of official activities. The Board solicited for Council’s approval to embark on the general renovation of the Headquarters.

Council while appreciating the performance of the Board since the inception of this administration approved the release of the sum of N64, 585,949.38 for the renovation project. c) Renovation of the Board’s Training School and five Daily Prayers Mosque at Noman’s land:The content of this memorandum solicited for the Council’s approval to embark on the renovation of the Board’s Training School situated at G. A. Bello Avenue in Noman’s land, which has been providing basic training to its Staff as well as accommodation of Sabon Gari Area office of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

The memorandum further requested for the Council to approve for the renovation of the five Daily prayers’ mosque at the training school to wear a new look.

To facilitate these renovation projects, Council approved the release of N9,999, 041.18 d) Payment of the 2012 Statutory Contribution Arrears of 2011 and building fund contribution to Joint Tax Board (J.T.B): This contribution as explained by the content of this memorandum was initiated by the 36 member States to positively maintain the operations and activities of the Joint Tax Board for better result and that the funding is on 50 – 50 basis between the Federal and the State Governments.

To cater for its 50% contribution, the Kano State Board of Internal Revenue requested the Council to approve the payment of the sum of N5million for the payment of 2012 statutory contribution, 2011 arrears of contribution, building fund contribution and International Tax Conference Levy to be up-to-date in such a contributory scheme.

In light of the foregoing, the Council approved the sum of N5, 000,000.00 as State contribution.

MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCE

a) Procurement and installation of 2 High lift nd Pumps at Challawa 2 Water Treatment Plant: The content of this memorandum recalled the appreciable concern of the present administration in the area of water supply to the people of the State resulting in an initial approval for the execution of short-term measures to restore water supply immediately after the inception of the administration.

It, however, reminded the Council that the High-lift pumps at the 2 nd Challawa Water Works were installed 14 years ago, among which 2 of them were replaced by the administration in 2011 while the other 2 have completely worn out, hence the need for their immediate replacement.

Looking, at the importance of water supply for the teeming population, Council approved for the release of N149, 860,200.00 to purchase and install the high lift pumps.

MINISTRY OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRY, COOPERATIVES Rabi’u Musa Kwankawaso AND TOURISM (a) Proposal for the construction of Kwankwasiyya Ultra Modern Market;To boost business and other commercial activities in the State, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Cooperatives and Tourism is coordinating a proposal for the construction of a befitting international market to be named “Kwankwasiyya Ultra Modern market “ at the outskirt of the State metropolis on an estimated land of 16,000 m2.

The proposed market according to this proposal should contain 10,255 shops/stalls of various sizes, 362 storage/warehouses, 80 different Offices, 10 Restaurants, 2 Banks, 1 Recreation facility, Police Station, 5,000 car capacity parking spaces and independent electricity among others.

This proposed project was estimated to gulf N15.2billion out of which 70% would be financed by equity participation through the coordination of Inter-Tropical Consultants; an Abuja based company while 30% equity would be sourced from the State Government fund. Council noted the presentation and mandated the Deputy Governor to review the proposal together with the company; Inter-Tropical Consultant and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Cooperatives and Tourism.

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE a) Letter of appreciation from the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, Kano State Branch on the gesture done to the families of late Justice Muhammad Halliru Abdullahi: The above union expressed its appreciation to the State Government over the recent gesture it extended to the family of late High Court Judge, Justice Muhammad Halliru Abdullahi, who died recently.

The union described the gesture of bequeathing the official house of the late judge to his family as well as a promise to continue to sponsor the education of his children as a landmark in the history of the State Judiciary. The Union also commended the government for the promotion of about 1000 of their members.

The Council noted, appreciated the content of the letter and promised to provide a more enabling environment for the members and other judicial staff in the State for the Judiciary to continue developing.

MINISTRY OF RURAL AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT a) Purchase and Installation of Additional 2.5MVA, 33/11KVA Transformer at Audu Bako Secretariat Complex, Kano: Audu Bako Secretariat had been facing erratic electricity supply for sometimes and the only solution as proposed by professionals was to provide an additional 300KVA transformer. The Secretariat complex housed the Office of the Head of Service, Ministries of Finance, Planning and Budget, Environment, Justice, Information, Internal Affairs, Youths, Sports and Culture, Civil Service Commission, and the Office of the State Auditor General. These important offices have been finding it hard to operate due to ecliptic electricity supply. The present administration’s commitment towards improving the civil service delivery and productivity system is coming out glaringly by the minutes. A lot was being done for civil service improvement and for the civil servants’ welfare and comfort such as the recent disposal of government houses to the occupants. Council approved the procurement of 300KVA transformer at the sum of N31, 807,616:00 to be installed at the Audu Bako Secretariat. b) Progress report on EU/UNICEF supported Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) under 10th European Development fund (EDF) program in Kano State: Pursuant to the Joint Steering Committee meeting on the supported program of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) meeting held in Calabar a decision was made by the organization to intervene and support 2 Local Government Areas in each of the six States across the country. Kano State was amongst the States selected to benefit from the program.

Madobi and Takai Local Governments were submitted to the International Donor Agency as the Local Governments to benefit from the intervention.

MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION a) Proposal for the construction of a Senate Building at the Northwest University Kano: In continuation with the construction works at the permanent site of the Northwest University, which is in progress, the Ministry of Higher Education observed the need for the provision of a befitting Senate Building for the Senate members of the university.

According to the memorandum, provision of the Senate Building will facilitate the smooth running of the university. Therefore, the Ministry proposed a budget of N855, 383,384.71 for the project.

In view of the importance of the project, Council approved the execution of the project at the sum of N855,383,384.71.

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY TO THE STATE GOVERNMENT A) TRAINING EXERCISE FOR 1000 SELECTED BUTCHERS IN THE STATE It is pertinent to note that the Office of the Special Adviser, Metropolitan Affairs had proposed to the Council for an approval to embark on training of some selected butchers in the State as well as providing them with modern working equipment such as roasting tri-pods, with wire gauze, deep freezers, Aluminium Glass meat box, large frying pan and cutlery/cutting axe among others to enhance their businesses.

In order to make such proposal a reality which may result in the improvement of the sanitary condition of the meat being sold by the butchers, Council approved the sum of N488,487,500.00 for the program.

UPDATE ON ACTIVITIES OF THE 76TH EXECUTIVE COUNCIL SITTING 1.

KANO CONTINGENT AT THE NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL Council noted with delight the recent performance of Kano State Contingent at the National Sports Festival. Similarly, the newly established State Sports Academy will soon take off in order to compliment Government’s efforts in sports development in the State.

10,000 KANO FARMERS WHO BENEFITED FROM COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (CADP) Council noted with appreciation the successful launching of the Commercial Agriculture Development Program (CADP) ‘Initiative 5-3-3-5 and the distribution of cheques worth about N35million to service providers under the scheme by Governor Engr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso. The project unlike the previous agricultural interventions is demand driven, and beneficiary oriented. So far, 160 Commodity Interest Groups were supported with grants of over N200 million to implement business plans along the value grains’ chains of Maize, Rice and Dairy products. This World Bank supported project is also aimed at shifting perception and motive of food production away from subsistence to commercially inclined agriculture.

2.

LAUNCHING CEREMONY ON THE SALE OF GOVERNMENT HOUSES TO CIVIL SERVANTS Council noted the flag-off ceremony of the sale of Government Houses (GPs) to the State Civil Servants. This program is aimed at providing housing to the State workers occupying the GPs. Accordingly, the present administration had completed plan to construct more government housing projects at Kwankwasiyya and Amana cities in order to provide shelter to other civil servants.

3.

AWARDS PRESENTED TO THE GOVERNOR 4.

Council noted with pleasure the prestigious award of excellence and good governance

by Utmost Community Health Incorporation, Texas to the Governor Engr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso in recognition of his tireless and extraordinary leadership in the development of the State and the Nation at large. Similarly, the Governor received the award of the best Governor in Nigeria in the field of Mass Housing and Urban Development. In addition, another award for Visionary Leadership was given to the Governor by Platform of Young Entrepreneurs.

FLYOVER TAKE-OFF PROJECT IN KANO METROPOLIS 5.

Council noted the successful take-off of the gigantic flyover project in the metropolis where major roads linking to the main city center will be closed for the work. Therefore, the public are implored to bear with the difficulty and use alternative roads such as Lawan Dambazau Road and Abdullahi Bayero Road. Government is soliciting for public support and understanding for any inconveniences caused.

Further information about Kano State Governmen can be found @ www.kn.gov.ng/ new/

SIGNED: HON. COMMISSIONER, Ministry of Information, Internal Affairs, Youth, Sports & Culture

MOTORING

51

THE NATION

MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.net

With a reduction in noise levels for a serene cabin and redesigned slender front leather seats for better support, the new BMW 7 series offers auto lovers new interior colour scheme called Ivory White/ Black and Veneto Beige/Veneto Beige to pick from, writes TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO

•BMW 7 Series

New BMW7 redesigned for executive comfort T

HE new BMW 7 Series is set to reinforce its position as the most innovative limousine in the luxury segment. The flagship model series of the BMW fleet embodies sporting elegance, refined powertrain technology and luxury comfort in equal measure. By making a clear step up in product substance, the car is set to underline its leadership.

The new car was presented to motoring journalists at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The new BMW 7 Series boasts of new LED headlights, an upgraded interior with optimised soundproofing, markedly improved ride comfort, a comprehensive selection of optional equipment and state-of-the-art safety technology combined to create an in-car experience from the top drawer. A line-up of either new or optimised drive systems, including the world’s most powerful sixcylinder in-line diesel engine and the secondgeneration BMW ActiveHybrid 7, set new performance and efficiency benchmarks.

According to President, Coscharis Group, Dr Cosmas Maduka, the BMW 7 Series Sedan is the flagship within the BMW Product range.

Maduka, who was represented by BMW Group General Manager, Mr Sola Adigun, said, it represents the best the BMW brand has to offer.

Exclusive manufacturing makes it something special and claims a sustainable long term leadership in the Premium Segment.

He said: “True exclusiveness doesn’t need to

prove anything. True perfection doesn´t need arguments. The real number one doesn´t need rivalry. It is above such things. Just like the new BMW 7 Series. Its impressive appearance is statement enough. In every point it represents, the highest state of sovereignty. The BMW 7 Series LCI embodies the separation that is sharpening within the BMW range. Luxury is growing on its own and clearly separating from the traditional Premium segment.”

He explained that the new BMW 7 Series is the contemporary luxury experience for the performance elite.

It is a timeless elegance and contemporary innovation, a true luxury filled with heritage, craftsmanship, passion and emotion.

“We are not celebrating our successful past as a company, but more importantly, we are looking into the future. A future that starts with the launch of the all new BMW 7 Series LCI and the opening of our Lekki Office; both being part of our drive to incessantly reinvent the company and our BMW brand’s portfolio. We are showing that we have the potential to continue exploiting the high value-added auto sector.

“Coscharis Motors shall endeavor to provide the highest levels of customer service for this elite brand, in line with international quality standards. We are committed to serve our customers, who seek innovative and high performance luxury cars like the BMW 7 Series LCI across our branches nationwide,” Maduka said.

The 7 Series presents the automaker’s leading

edge of luxury, comfort and technology. Supple leather and rich wood accents adorn almost every surface, and the available 14-way adjustable front seats ensure comfort for virtually any body type.

The driver seat can be fitted with ventilation, adjustable thigh support, and an articulating back rest with plenty of headroom and legroom available for the lankiest occupants.

Engine The manufacturer offers three engines in the BMW 7-Series for 2012/2013.

In 740i and 740Li models, a three-litre, twinturbo inline six-cylinder engine puts 315 horsepower to the rear wheels. Power is routed through a six-speed automatic transmission that features a manual shift mode. While the 740i is a six-cylinder car in a class packed full of V8s.

BMW 7 Series owners can tailor their driving experience with the driving dynamics control system, which allows users to adjust their suspension and steering with comfort, normal, and sport settings.

Interior Reviewers praise the 2012 BMW 7 Series with its roomy cabin and high-quality materials.

The vehicle is equipped with a suite of cabin tech comprising standard Bluetooth, navigation, iPod/USB connection and a 10speaker stereo.

Many test drivers are also pleased that

BMW’s iDrive, which controls navigation and entertainment settings, has become easier to use than it was in previous models, according to The Best Car, an auto segment of the US Ranking and Review.

Exterior The new BMW 7 Series is a timeless elegance and contemporary innovation, a true luxury filled with heritage, craftsmanship, passion and emotion.

Experts, including online reviewer, thecarconnection.com feel there is a lot to like about the current fifth generation of the 7 Series.

For instance, the good amount of wedge to the shape (always hard to achieve in a long flagship), more kick in its tail, and with the long-wheelbase version, another 5.5 inches of rear-seat legroom.

Safety The 2012 BMW 7-Series has a good track record for safety plus one of the best rosters of safety gear, says thecarconnection.com.

It also says every 7 Series gets standard front, side, and side-curtain airbags; rearseat side airbags; front-seat active head restraints; and knee airbags.

Other safety features are standard antilock brakes, traction and stability control.

Like all BMW models, the new 7 series equipped with a rear-view camera, a frontview 180-degree camera, and parking sensors to assist drivers in keeping the vehicle clear of parking-lot trouble.

52

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

MOTORING

Hyundai opens ultra-modern facility H

YUNDAI Motors Nigeria has inaugurated another ult ramodern sales service support facility in Ijesha, Lagos.

The facility, similar to the centre in Gbagada, Lagos, will provide full-scale support to the growing Hyundai clientele and enhance customer-dealership relations.

The company’s Managing Director, Mr Parvir Singh, who led motoring journalists round the facility, said the centre will allow existing and future customers to appreciate the convenience of complete one-stop shopping, covering all aspects of vehicle ownership and seamless access to quality service.

He described the centre as the biggest in Nigeria and

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

West Africa “As a global brand with reputation for excellent performance, Hyundai takes pride in positioning the brand to meet global corporate identity for quality service and customer satisfaction. And that is why we are expanding our network to cater for all our customers irrespective of their location,” Singh said.

Hyundai Nigeria, he noted, is committed to upholding the reputation of the brand and to make Hyundai Nigeria’s most sought after passenger car.

The firm operates in nine states namely Abuja, Kano, Enugu, Sokoto, Imo, Rivers, Oyo, Cross-River and Lagos.

According to Mr. Jatin Nadkarni, the General Manager, the dealership’s obligation is to make owning a Hyundai vehicle an enjoyable experience.

Also speaking, General Manager-Aftersales, Mr Gurtej Singh Chhina, said the company has retrained all the technicians and acquaints them extensively in Hyundai’s always-changing technology.

“We have some of the best technicians and they are trained to handle auto-repair jobs. Our client testimonials are a proof of our good work and reliability while our honesty, dedication, friendly behaviour and quality of service has kept our clients, both old and new, returning to us time and again,” Chhina said.

Firm to boost transport in Lagos

A

N authorised distributor of China National Heavy Duty Truck in Nigeria, Richbon has inaugurated an ultra-modern truck servicing centre and spare parts centre in Lagos.

The event saw Richbon partnering China National Heavy Duty Corporation (CNHTC) further as it played host to its parent company for the first time in Nigeria during the commissioning.

Chairman, China National Heavy Duty Corporation (CNHTC) Ma Chunji, who led the delegation expressed satisfaction.

By Paul Oluwakoya

“Currently we produce 150,000 trucks annually and have seen a large truck being bought to Nigeria, making the market one of our most viable. At the top are very professional and very demanding customers from other African countries asking for good products, to meet their needs, But Richbon has facilitated our consistence in Nigeria in the last 10 years with great quality services,”

Chuji said.

Chairman, Richbon Group, Cajetan Munagolu said the new centre is part of ongoing efforts to boost the transport sector.

“In the last 10 years, we have gained national and international recognition and reputation. Our trucks were accepted by multinational companies and the growing transport industry in the country,” he said.

Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation Kayode Opeifa, hailed Richbon’s commitment to quality products.

•The new centre

F

EDERAL Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Nsukka Unit Commander, Enugu State, Mr John Eneze, has urged road users to avoid acts that could cause accidents during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Eneze said this during an ‘ember’ months campaign rally organised by the unit to enlighten drivers and other users on safe driving.

The Sector Commander, Mr Funmibi Olawoyin, represented by Ogochukwu Ogbonna, a Deputy Corp Commander, said the commission was determined to ensure accident-free Yuletide.

“The problem is not in ‘ember’ months or roads but the manner of driving. Ember months are like every other month of the year. If drivers drive carefully, carry normal loads and obey traffic rules, there will be no accident. The problem is not from ember

Commuters urged to avoid accident-prone behaviours months but drivers, who want to go hundred times in a day.

If we exercise patience and avoid taking alcohol while driving, we will reach our destination safely,’’ he said.

He urged drivers to always check their oil level, radiator, headlights and tyres before embarking on any journey.

He said research by the commission had shown that majority of accidents happened because drivers did not check their vehicles before embarking on a journey.

Olawoyin pleaded with transport companies, NURTW and motorcycle associations to prevail on their members to avoid over-speeding and over-loading to avert road crashes.

Similarly, the corps at Itori

No going back on traffic law, says lawmaker

L

AGOS State House of Assembly Chairman, Committee on Transportation, Commerce and Industry Hon. Bisi Yusuff has said the state government would not reverse its decision on the traffic law.

He disclosed this at a meeting with the Motorcycle Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) held at the Assembly complex.

The lawmaker noted that before the Assembly passed the traffic law, there was a public hearing where all

By Oziegbe Okoeki

stakeholders in transportation was present and the opinion of the people were taken into consideration before it became law.

Yussuf pointed out that “the law simply restricted the movement of Okada in some designated areas in the state.

They are not banned outright.”

According to him, many people have lost members of their family while riding on okada on highways saying that Government would not

fold its hands and watch its people being killed by reckless Okada riders.

“As we speak now despite the law being in place, there are some Okada riders riding against traffic on highways,” he noted.

The lawmaker appealed to the association to come up with a specified design of transportation system that would not kill people like Okada.

Contributing, a member of the Committee, Hon. Yinka Ogundimu urged MOMAN to

educate Okada riders not to vandalise government property adding that anybody caught would be dealt with according to the law.

Earlier, the Chairman of the association Mr Oladipo Adediji, praised the state government for the vision and the ban of motorcycling in 475 roads out of 9,000 roads in the state.

“In as much as we support the policies of the state, we are pleading with you to make good use of your office for a review of the number of

roads where Okada is banned from plying,” he pleaded.

He said the restriction will also hurt the economy in general; the mechanics, vulcanizers and spare parts dealer’s even families will be affected.

The association noted that the umbrella body of Motorcycles Assemblers and Manufacturers have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the economy and have generated employment for thousands of school leavers.

Unit in Ogun State last Friday took the campaign against dangerous driving and disobedience of traffic regulations on highways to the mosque in the area.

The Unit’s Commander, Fatai Bakare, who addressed Muslim faithful at Itori Central Mosque, urged them to be aware of their various responsibilities while in commercial vehicles.

Bakare noted that passengers had roles to play in order to reduce accidents on the highways, adding that drivers and their vehicles must be thoroughly looked at by passengers before embarking on any trip.

He enjoined the congregation to caution drivers when they are becoming reckless, saying that if any driver refuses to listen to correction, he should be handed over to the nearest corps official.

Bakare warned them not to board vehicles by the road side when going on a long distance journey. ‘’It is a dangerous adventure to overtake a vehicle by the road side. ‘You can’t trace the driver or the vehicle if anything goes wrong and apart from that, those who park to pick you may even be ritualists. Our mission is to let you be aware of what is expected of you while on the highway; even if you are not driving, you can help avoid road crashes,’’ he said.

SAFE DRIVING

T

HERE have been lots of accusations and counter - accusations about the six PhD holders, 704 Masters Degree holders and 8,460 Bachelor's degree holders who applied for driver's job in Dangote Group.

Many people criticized the applicants for descending low while several others condemned the government for neglecting their role of creating jobs for unemployed graduates.

In my opinion as a stakeholder, there is nothing wrong in the development.

In developed countries, there are many educated university graduates driving trucks and they earn salaries higher than their managers.

Several irreparable lives and valuable properties have been lost to the articulated vehicles that were involved in traffic crashes in the past. A lot of strategies have

Phd truck drivers

been mapped out by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and many other stakeholders towards finding solution to the menace of the articulated vehicles on the road.

Our academy also packaged a special course for the drivers of articulated vehicles to expose them to the vehicle dynamics and other vital issues they need to know and apply to prevent accidents on the road. Our experience, however, revealed that virtually all the drivers of articulated vehicles cannot comprehend the principles, not to talk of the rightful application of the principles.

For example: Kinetic energy, Centrifugal force and circular motion, Centripetal force and Inertia, Road Banking, Vehicle Characteristics, Driver Diary

and Fatigue Management, Energy Level Management.

The above and allied topics must be well understood and practiced by every driver of articulated vehicles to ensure safety at all times.

The main goal of education is to enable people do things better than the illiterates.

The main purpose of employment is to earn a living. If these are true, there is nothing wrong in having a PhD, Masters or Bachelor's degree holder from applying for the job of a driver.

Having educated drivers to handle articulated vehicles will enhance effective control because most of these vehicles are getting more sophisticated and they will better understand the laws and principles highlighted above for effective and safe vehicle control.

Another point that I want people to understand is that driving is a noble profession just like other professions. It has therefore become necessary for Nigerians to begin to treat all classes of drivers with respect and as professionals. It is time to stop referring to drivers as "common drivers". We should stop seeing driving as a job for drop outs or non-entities. The old mentality must change.

In developed countries, drivers are well treated, respected and well-paid. As a mark of development, same should begin to happen in Nigeria as well.

The Office of the First Lady in collaboration with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) is also training and empowering lady drivers.

Some people may be seeing this as a taboo but it is another good

development to further boost the driving profession.

The Federal and state governments should however, support and finance such good initiatives which are lacking the necessary funding. It must be total empowerment for the women willing to take up driving as a profession.

I wish the new graduate drivers success in their new-found profession. And to those who are seeing the development as degrading. The should remember that Alhaji Aliko Dangote had a humble beginning even as an apprentice. As the years passed by, he rose up from that level to become who he is today.

With this current trend, we might have

Jide Owatunmise •Registrar / Chief Executive , Professional Driving and Safety Academy

pretty soon, PHD truck drivers that will become assemblers of trucks or even manufacturers of truck spare parts in Nigeria. The journey of a thousand miles starts with a step.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

53

NEWS Senate to recommend best practices From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor

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•From left: Former President-General Ohanaeze Ndigbo Eze Ozobu; President of the Igbo Youth Movement Elliot Uko and former Military Governor of old Imo State, Rear Adm Ndubisi Kanu (rtd) at the Igbo Youth Movement Colloquim in Enugu...yesterday.

Maitama Sule blames Nigeria’s woes on bad leadership E

LDER statesman Maitama Sule has blamed Nigeria’s stagnated development on the absence of qualitative, committed and selfless leadership.

The acclaimed diplomat, who expressed hope in the country’s ability to overcome its challenges, said the nation would only surmount its travails when the peoples resolve to place the interest of country above self.

Sule spoke at the weekend at this year’s edition of the Nigerian Media Merit Award (NMMA), where he got the Special Recognition Award.

He lamented the decline in the nation’s sense of value and the inability of the leadership to place the country above self.

Sule advised against the politics of bitterness and hatred. He urged today’s leaders to imbibe the culture of service as was the case in the past.

He praised the effort of the nation’s founding fathers to build a united and prosperous nation, noting that “these great men of the First Republic laid a firm foundation for Nigeria despite their political, tribal and religious differences; they accommodated one another, cooperated with one another, respected one another and placed national interest above their personal interest.

“These were people who went into politics to serve and not to be served. Those were the days when Nigerians held their heads high everywhere they went. Those were

Balarabe Musa: blame Fed Govt for insecurity

NATIONAL Chairman, Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) and former Governor of old Kaduna State Alhaji Balarabe Musa has said the Federal Government should be held responsible for the insecurity in the country.

Musa, who spoke to The Nation at the weekend, lamented the upsurge of insecurity in the land.

He expressed concerns over the looming danger ahead during the 2015 general elections, if no drastic steps are taken to stem the tide.

The former governor said the terrorist group, Boko Haram, whose violence has left 3,000 dead, was not the only security threat befalling the nation.

He said the North was very much safer than the South despite the insurgence.

According to Musa, there is organised violence across the country, political assassinations as well as kidnapping.

He said the government had failed in securing life and property, despite allocating one quarter of the annual budget to security.

He said: “The Federal Government is directly responsible for insecurity throughout the country, not only in the North. Although the

By Eric Ikhaile

the days when people thought that in the next 20 years, Nigeria will join other great countries of the world,” he said.

He said it was regrettable that the nation’s foundation had been battered and its hope of greatness still remains mere hope over 50 years after independence.

“I went into politics at 20.

I went to the Parliament at 24 and became a minister at 29. I have seen it all. I participated

By Precious Igbonwelundu

North seems worse, there is organised violence, political assassinations and kidnapping in the South.

“Despite Boko Haram in the North, people move freer there than in the South. In the South, there is robbery, assassination, kidnapping, among others.

“Some important people in the South cannot move without armed guards which is not the case in the North.”

On the solution to insecurity across the country, Musa said the Federal Government must be more responsible and sincere in its fight against corruption, adding that the high rate of unemployment must also be reduced.

He said: “First of all, the Federal Government has to be more responsible and sincere in its fight against corruption. The massive youth unemployment across the country must be reduced drastically.

“Also, executive power across the country must be exercised with care and caution at every level of government, adding that true federalism should be adopted.

in the pre-independence politics, independence politics as well as post-independence politics. I have seen a lot.

Then, Nigerians loved and respected themselves, but today, things have fallen apart,” he said.

He lamented that the nation’s sense of values has been eroded, noting that respect for elders and constituted authority, which used to be our cardinal principle, is now in its lowest ebb. He decried the frightening level of insecurity and hatred in

the country.

Sule said he believes the country would assume its rightful place in the comity of nations, but if only the people can work hard and ensure the enthronement of worthy and selfless leaders.

“May God grant us leaders who are not rulers, leaders, not looters, leaders, who will accept in public what they accept in secret,” he said. He prayed for love and mutual respect and understanding among the people.

DPR warns petrol stations not to hike price

T

HE Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) at the weekend threatened to seal off any petrol station that sells products above the official N97 pump price.

Speaking with reporters in Abuja at the weekend, the Head of Downstream Operations Yerima Kollomi said the agency would hand over any arrested suspect to the police.

He said the DPR on Thursday sealed off a petrol station at Gwagwalada for selling above the pump price.

The dealer, according to him, bought products from other marketers and sold above the

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

pump price to customers.

Kollomi added that the department is prepared to rid the streets of illicit fuel traders.

His words: “Of course, that is one of the measures we are going to take. When we get them arrested we will hand them over to the police.

“The police will prosecute them because if you are dealing in petroleum products you must obtain a licence to do that .

“Anybody operating without a licence is operating illegally. “ While commenting on the

essence of ridding the street of black marketers, he depicted the situation as a shame to the country.

He said: “It is a nationwide operation because it is a directive from the headquarters and we have started.

“As far as the DPR is concerned, the official pump price of PMS remains N97 and we will enforce that to the best of our ability.

“Yesterday, we went to one station in Gwagwalada and shut it down because we were made to understand that the dealer was the kingpin of the people violating the pump

price.

“The information we gathered is that some people will bring their products here to sell at exorbitant prices.”

DPR agents and police operatives narrowly escaped the onslaught of a mob of black marketers in the Federal Capital Territory.

The traders, it was learnt, almost set the operation van ablaze.

The enforcement team, including armed policemen, raided the Banex Junction in Wuse 2 and its environs but the traders resisted, throwing stones at the team.

HE Senate Committee on Constitution Review will recommend best federal practices to Nigerians, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, has said.

A statement by his Special Adviser, Media, Uche Anichukwu, said Ekweremadu spoke at the closing of a study tour of “The American Federalism” by selected members of the committee.

Ekweremadu, who is also the Chairman, Committee on Constitution Review, said the study tour, which took some members to Canada, United States and India, were co-sponsored by development partners, namely the United Nations Development Programme, (UNDP), United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the European Union (EU), to help Nigeria towards strengthening its federalism and democratic governance.

Ekweremadu said the constitution review committee needed morr information from democracies and federalisms such as those of the USA and Canada, which he said, were much older than Nigeria’s as well as those at relatively the same level of development with Nigeria, such as India and Brazil.

He said:“This is a global world; no country can live in isolation, hence problems are easily handled these days because you can easily find examples from places on how they have been able to resolve their own problems.

“If you try to be too indigenous and ingenious the way you do your own, you may be wobbling in the dark; it is important for you to see how others are doing their things and getting better results.

“So that is why it is important for us to study those areas and ensure that we follow the best examples without also losing sight of our local peculiarities.”

He regretted that Canada, which remained a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic society, is able to live together as one while Nigeria had not been able to manage its diversity.

Akpabio is knight of Methodist Church

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KWA Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio was yesterday conferred with the title of knight of John Wesley in the Methodist Church of Nigeria.

Akpabio’s conferment coincided with his 50th birthday which drew dignitaries into Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.

The Prelate of the Methodist Church, Bishop Sunday Makinde, congratulated the governor for transforming the state through his various policies which are impacting di-

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

rectly on the citizenry.

Bishop Makinde said: “Akwa Ibom is a mini-London.

Lagos where I live is almost a mini-London. When you provide social amenities for the people, it is the best.”

The cleric also commended the governor on his free and compulsory education policy, saying he was a beneficiary of the late Obafemi Awolowo’s free education policy.

Akpabio said he shall plan his exit from the Government House in due course.

Group seeks clarification

A

GROUP, Good Governance Network (GGN), has asked for an immediate explanation from the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani AlisonMadueke following her link with an oil servicing company, West African Ventures (WAV) Limited.

The group expressed concern over the continual use of the minister’s pictures in WAV’s advertorials and her continued silence on the matter.

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

Addressing reporters in Abuja at the weekend, the group’s Coordinator, Bamidele Akande, said: “We urge the minister to come out and clear the air on this immediately.

Failure will compel us to invite the relevant security agencies to look into the matter.”

He said in line with the posture of the Jonathan administration and the code of conduct for public office holders, the minister must come out and clear the air.

Assessment for FAAN workers

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HE Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is undertaking a professional assessment of its staff.

This is to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skill that would ensure the success of the transformation agenda in the aviation industry.

The assessment exercise entails a process that would enable staff key into the transformation agenda and identify their expected roles in the aviation master plan.

The Federal Government has made it imperative for staff to re-orientate for the success of the aviation road map.

CARNIRIV begins

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HE Rivers State Government has formally opened its internationally-acclaimed cultural-cum entertainment festival, CARNIRIV. The carnival, which started yesterday, in Port Harcourt, will end on Saturday.

The Director-General of State Tourism Development Agency (RSTDA), Sam Dede, hoped that the cultural festival, if properly developed, could attract massive direct and indirect investments.

Grammy Award-winning reggae star and rapper, Shaggy;

fellow reggae singer, Patra popularly called the Queen of the Pack; and gospel music sensation, the Soweto Gospel Choir from South Africa are among the international music acts who have arrived in Port Harcourt to lighten up the state at this year’s edition of CARNIRIV. Dede said many local artistes like Seun Kuti; Tuface; Dede Mabiaku; Majek Fasek; Nigga Raw; African Chyna; Asa; Timaya and Duncan Mighty have also confirmed their attendance at the carnival.

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NEWS Wada to critics: you can’t distract me From Muhammad Bashir, Lokoja

KOGI State Governor Idris Wada at the weekend told his critics that no amount of condemnation would distract his administration from transforming the state.

The governor was reacting to what he called baseless allegations against his administration by some elders of the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said the criticisms were targeted at derailing him.

According him, his administration is focused on developing Kogi State to make it compete favourably with any other state in Nigeria.

Wada said: “We are too focused to be distracted.”

The governor spoke at the weekend in Lokoja, the state capital, during an interaction with the correspondent chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ).

He listed the major policy thrust of administration as agriculture, semi and medium scale industrial development, investment in road rehabilitation/ construction and comprehensive youths and women development programmes.

Wada warned that his administration would not condone corruption and wastage.

The governor urged the residents to cooperate with his administration to build a more prosperous state.

He said: “As for me, I will not be corrupt. I want to once again assure the people that I will not take kindly to any reported cases of corruption, irrespective of who is affected. So, I call on all our people to join me to build a more prosperous Kogi State.”

Tahir’s son is Talban Bauchi From Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi

THE Emir of Bauchi, Dr Rilwan Suleiman Adamu, has turbaned Tahir Ibrahim Tahir, the 35-year-old son of the late Minister of Communications, Dr Ibrahim Tahir, as Talban Bauchi.

The ceremony was held at the weekend at the palace of the emir amidst a crowd of relatives, friends and well wishes.

Dr Adamu urged the new Talban to emulate his late father “even though you cannot be like your father, but try and emulate him”.

Tahir said: “As a proper Muslim, I feel most grateful to Almighty Allah for the blessing. He has bestowed on me by giving me the chance to serve as the new Talban of Bauchi.

“I thank God and extend my gratitude to the Emir, Alhaji Adamu. I know it is a worrisome task because of the cavity that the late Talban left by his demise.

“My father did a lot to propagate the title of the Talban. He was an embodiment of humanity. He lived a life that is larger than life and Talban was well known beyond Bauchi State…”

JTF recovers more arms in Yobe

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HE Joint Task Force (JTF) yesterday in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, recovered more arms from a notorious area of the town.

Displaying the arms, its spokesman Lt. Lazarus Eli said the seizure occurred in Khandahar, a part of the town noted for criminal activities.

The recovered arms are nine Fabric Nationale rifles and two riot guns.

Lt. Eli said the guns were recovered following a tip-off and the JTF’s search in the area.

The task force urged the residents to give useful information to security operatives to enable them end the crisis in the state.

The JTF and police yesterday

•Arrests 28 suspects in Kano From Duku Joel, Damaturu and Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

in Kano arrested 28 suspected terrorists in separate raids in the city.

The raid was reportedly carried out at Yankaba, Rijayar Zaki and Kurna Asabe following series of attacks by suspected terrorists.

It was learnt that at Yankaba, two teenage students, Chukwuemeka Ebuka (16) and Daniel Nwachkwu (17), were killed last Thursday by gunmen.

Twelve suspected militants of the Boko Haram sect were

arrested; six were rounded up in Kurna Asabe.

A JTF member, who spoke in confidence, explained that the 12 suspects arrested in Yankaba just arrived in Kano from Yobe State.

He said the task force acted on intelligence report.

Also, it was learnt that another team of security operatives, acting on a tip-off, raided a compound at Rijayar Zaki.

The team reportedly arrested 10 suspected Boko Haram members at the compound.

Among the items recovered

from the suspects were military uniforms and some incriminating items.

As at the time of filing this report, the suspects had been handed over to military authorities.

JTF spokesman Lt. Ikedichi Iweha said the task force would liberate the state free from terrorists.

He said the JTF would routinely raid the hideouts of suspected gunmen and terrorists.

Iweha said: “Our plan is to suffocate them. We are doing and getting the desired results.

“You can see what they are doing now is to throw cans indiscriminately to sustain their terror. But I assure you we are on top of the situation.”

•Managing Director, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Wolfgang Goetsch (left); Financial Director, Wolfgang Kollermann (right), presenting 40 Years Long Service Award to Mr Nwosu Peter, at the annual Long Service Award ceremony of the company in PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE Abuja...at the weekend.

Benue poll: ACN candidate won’t go to tribunal

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HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate for Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue state, Dickson Akoh, has said neither him nor his party would seek any justice on the newly constituted Election Petition Tribunal on the November 24 council poll.

Addressing reporters in Makurdi, the state capital, Akoh said the decision to boycott the tribunal was borne out of the fact that the election defied constitutional order that should have certified its cred-

From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

ibility.

According to him, all those drafted to the tribunal, especially the one sitting in Otukpo, are allies of the present administration in the state.

The politician alleged that the tribunal members would expectedly do the biddings of their benefactor.

Akoh said appearing before the tribunal would mean that his party had accepted that an election took place.

He said: “We will not give credibility to the November 24 election. Therefore, we will not go to the tribunal. Doing so would amount to us giving credibility to the election which, in our submission, did not even hold because the electorate was disenfranchised.”

The chairmanship candidate also expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the state Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC).

He noted that the electoral agency performed below the

expectation of the people, despite the assurances from its chairman, Prof. Phillip Ahire, to deliver an election devoid of malpractices.

Akoh urged the National Assembly to scrap the states’ bodies to pave the way for a single national electoral commission, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The politician noted that this is to ensure free, fair and credible elections that would no longer be manipulated by governments in power.

Northern governors hail Danjuma at 75 Ex-Army Chief celebrates birthday

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•Gen. Danjuma

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HE Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) yesterday described the life of the former Chief of Army Staff, General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, as a testimony to the power of good leadership and purposeful living.

Gen. Danjuma celebrated his 75th birthday yesterday.

The Chairman of the forum and Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu sent a con-

ORMER Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (rtd) yesterday celebrated his 75th birthday.

A get-together was held at the Expo Hall of the Eko Hotels and Suites on Vicoria Isalnd, Lagos.

It was a gathering of frontline Nigerians in political and economic circles.

The senator representing Taraba South, Emmanuel Bwacha, noted that the celebration was significant not only to Taraba, the general’s home state, but also to Nigeria and African because the general is beyond the Nigerian nation.

Bwacha said: “The occasion is a celebration of God’s mercy and mercy on the life of General Danjuma, who has been so favoured

by God in the political and economic landscape of the Nigerian nation in past decades. Having traversed the Nigerian landscape like a colossus that he is, he has every reason and his friends, family and admirers have every reason to celebrate this day with him. It is so unique. At 75, we can well say that he has paid his dues to the Nigerian nation state; he has paid his dues as a soldier, as a politician and as a businessman and as a father to so many.”

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

gratulatory message to the celebrator on behalf of the forum.

The message was signed by the governor’s Chief Press Sec-

retary, Malam Danladi Ndayebo.

The forum said Danjuma impacted positively on his profession and became Nigeria’s most

powerful Chief of Army Staff because of his rare vision and virtuous leadership.

Eulogising the man he called the soldiers’ soldier, the forum said: “Were General Danjuma not as visionary and courageous as he is, the Army would not have attained the height it has reached and Nigeria would have been the worse for it.

“It is no longer news that General Danjuma rose through the ranks to reach the highest echelon of the military by sheer dint of hard work, perseverance and honesty and used his office to preserve the oneness of Nigeria.”

The statement noted that in and out of public offices, the former Army Chief has continued to impact positively on Nigeria with his awe-inspiring selflessness, networking, philanthropy and patriotism.

Monarchs meet in Katsina for national peace * NOA partners traditional rulers for community dialogue

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RADITIONAL rulers from across Nigeria will tomorrow meet in Katsina to design a new framework for peaceful coexistence among diverse communities in the country.

The meeting, being promoted by the National Orientation Agency (NOA), will attract monarchs from the host state, including the Emir of Katsina, Alahji Abdulmumini Kabir Usman; the emirs of Daura and Dass as well as the Ataoja of Oshogbo.

Others are: the Chairman of Imo Traditional Rulers Council and the chairman of the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers’ Council.

The Director-General of NOA, Mr. Mike Omeri, spoke yesterday on the event.

The NOA chief said the dialogue is in conjunction with various stakeholders to stop violence and kidnappings across the country.

He said: “We want to support communities and a network of organisations, religious leaders, women and youth leaders, among others, who can promote and participate in dialogue, to reinforce the civic role of religion, culture and politics in promoting peace and respect for pluralism in the community.”

Omeri said violence was alien to Nigerians, adding that there is need for synergy in the dialogue to stop it in Nigeria.

He said the dialogue framework would also help to cultivate a culture of inclusion and peaceful communication for amicable settling of conflicts that may arise from differing religious, political and cultural commitments.

Ilorin Emirate decries declining members’ fortunes From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

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HE Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) has expressed worry over the dwindling economic fortunes of its members.

It has urged indigenes to support the emirate’s leadership to boost members’ economic status.

IEDPU National President, Justice Saka Yusuf (rtd), spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at the union’s maiden economic summit.

He said the traditional leadership of the emirate and IEDPU executive members were worried about the downturn in the economy of the emirate.

This, he said, has caused a horde of unemployed youths.

Yusuf, a former Chief Judge of Kwara State, urged prominent indigenes of the emirate to establish businesses that can empower the youths, as was the practice.

He noted that government alone cannot create jobs for everyone.

The frontline lawyer called for the union’s support to establish an endowment fund to boost youth employment programmes.

He said: “There is no doubt that the economy of the country is in a mess, not to talk of that of Ilorin. All of us here were witnesses to what obtained in the olden days with many industries around. There were jobs available for young people...”

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FOREIGN Zambia absolves firm of fraud

Minister among 100 influential Africans

By Eric Ikhilae

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THE Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has been named by the New African magazine as one of the 100 most influential Africans.

The pan-African current affairs magazine, in its annual list of the 100 Most Influential Africans published in its December edition, lists 100 Africans who, according to it, “can move markets and sway decisions.”

The magazine said the 2012 list has eight categories, namely: Politics, Business, Civil Society, Media, Religion and Traditional, Science and Technology, Arts and Culture and Sports.

It said it is a recognition of the immense contributions of individuals in Africa’s renewed drive for development.

Adesina, an agricultural economist and graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly University of Ife), was listed for his agricultural policy initiatives in Africa and the silent revolution he has embarked upon since he became Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development over a year ago.

Ebonyfile plans Pan-African roll-out

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BONYlife, an indigenous multi-broadcast media and entertainment network has announced plan to rollout its programming across Africa soon.

It has invited willing leading local and international brands with which it could work in achieving its planned intention to provide the world with quality content from the continent.

Chief Executive Officer, Ebonylife, Mo Abudu said, in a statement that the rollout will be on the DSTV platform by virtue of a channel distribution agreement between Multichoice Africa and a joint venture agreement with the Cross River State Government.

Abudu, who said the project was aimed at building “Africa’s first global multi broadcast platform,” utilising the state-owned Studio Tinapa, added that the company is adopting distribution strategy which includes Sky TV (UK) and DISH in the United States, with plan to include Brazil, Canada and other parts of Europe.

She said the company’s vision is to strategically position African brands among leading global brands.

“For the first time, Nigeria and African high networth and growing brands will have the opportunity to stand shoulder with international brands on the global stage.

“One of the most exciting value propositions of the Ebonylife offering is its partnership with Globecast, the leading global provider of content management and worldwide transmission services for professional broadcast delivery, to provide technical backbone and drive Ebonylife’s content distribution on Android, tablets, mobile and web,” she said.

Members of the Ebonylife management team include well-known names in the broadcast industry both locally and internationally

•Soldiers stand in line beneath a concrete block wall as opposition supporters climb on it after they broke through the sealed off precinct in front of the presidential palace in Cairo...yesterday

Egyptian opposition rejects referendum

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GYPT’S main opposition coalition rejected yesterday Islamist President Mohamed Mursi’s plan for a constitutional referendum this week, saying it risked dragging the country into “violent confrontation”.

Mursi’s decision on Saturday to retract a decree awarding himself wide powers failed to placate opponents who accused him of plunging Egypt deeper into crisis by refusing to postpone the vote on a constitution shaped by Islamists.

“We are against this process from start to finish,” Hussein Abdel Ghani, spokesman of the National Salvation Front, told a news conference, calling for more street protests on Tuesday.

The Front’s main leaders Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and leftist Hamdeen Sabahy - did not attend the event.

Hundreds of protesters milled around Mursi’s palace, despite tanks, barbed wire and other barriers installed last week after clashes between Islamists and their rivals killed seven people.

“Holding a referendum now in the absence of security re-

Timeline of crisis •Nov 22: Presidential decree gives Mr Morsi sweeping new powers •Nov 30: Islamist-dominated constituent assembly adopts draft constitution •Dec 1: Morsi sets 15 December as date for constitutional referendum •Dec 2: Judges go on strike •Dec 5: Clashes outside presidential palace •Dec 7: Protesters breach palace cordon •Dec 8: Morsi rescinds his presidential decree but remains firm on referendum flects haste and an absence of a sense of responsibility on the part of the regime, which risks pushing the country towards violent confrontation,” a statement from the Front said.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled Mursi from obscurity to power, urged the opposition to accept the referendum’s verdict.

Islamists say the vote will seal a democratic transition that began when a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak 22 months ago after three decades of militarybacked one-man rule.

Their liberal, leftist and Christian adversaries say the document being fast-tracked through could threaten freedoms and fails to embrace the

diversity of Egypt’s 83 million people.

Mursi had given some ground on Saturday when he annulled the fiercely contested decree issued on November 22 that gave him extra powers and shielded his decisions from judicial review.

But some measures taken under the decree remain in force and the president has insisted the referendum go ahead on December 15.

Liberal opposition leader Ahmed Said earlier described the race to a referendum as an “act of war” against Egyptians.

Egypt is torn between Islamists, who were suppressed for decades, and their rivals, who fear religious conservatives want to squeeze out other voic-

es and restrict social freedoms.

Many Egyptians just crave stability and economic recovery.

Brotherhood spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan said the scrapping of Mursi’s decree had removed any reason for controversy.

“We ask others to announce their acceptance of the referendum result,” he said on the group’s Facebook page, asking whether the opposition would accept “the basics of democracy”.

The cancellation of Mursi’s decree, announced after a “national dialogue” on Saturday boycotted by almost all the president’s critics, has not bridged a deep political divide.

Prime Minister Hisham Kandil, a technocrat with Islamist leanings, said the referendum was the best test of opinion.

“The people are the makers of the future as long as they have the freedom to resort to the ballot box in a democratic, free and fair vote,” he said in a cabinet statement.

But opposition factions, uncertain of their ability to vote down the constitution against the Islamists’ organizational muscle, want the document redrafted before any vote.

US court to review gay marriage

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HE United States Supreme Court has agreed for the first time to hear challenges to laws banning gay marriage in the US. The court will hear challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act (Doma), which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

It will also consider Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment in California that overturned a state law allowing gay weddings.

The court is likely to hear the cases in March next year.

A ruling could be issued in

June.

Both Proposition 8 and Doma have been previously struck down by lower courts.

The Supreme Court has the option of reversing the lower judgements - thus reinstating both laws - or upholding them, which could afford gay weddings legal status under the US Constitution.

However, the justices have also reserved the right to decide that they do not have jurisdiction to hear the cases.

Backers of the California case argue that voters in the state breached the US Constitution by passing Proposition 8.

They will argue that a state Supreme Court ruling allowing gay marriage to go ahead should stand. No gay weddings are currently allowed in California, pending the outcome of the Proposition 8 case.

Doma, a federal law signed by former President Bill Clinton, has been overturned by four federal courts and two courts of appeal. They said Doma unfairly discriminated against same-sex couples.

It was most recently rejected by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, which ruled 2 to 1 on October that it violated the equal protection

clause of the Constitution.

President Barack Obama, who backed gay marriage in May, also took the unusual step of announcing that his administration would not back Doma in court.

Although the federal government no longer defends Doma, it is the New York case, first brought by a widow called Edith Windsor, that the Supreme Court will hear.

She was forced to pay more than $350,000 (£220,000) in taxes after the death of her wife because Section 3 of Doma defines “marriage” and “spouse” as only relating to unions of men and women.

HE Zambian Government has denied uncovering fraudulent dealings among individuals and companies engaged in crude oil purchase agreement with the Federal Government.

The Zambian position contained in a letter from the Ministry of Justice, signed by the country’s Solicitor General, Musa Mwenye puts to rest the unfounded allegation linking a Nigerian company, the Ayiam Osigwe Group with the purported fraud in the execution of the agreement.

Mwenye stated that the permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Energy and water Development, Gearge Zulu had addressed a press conference where he denied accusing the Nigerian company of being involved in the alleged fraud.

Mwenye’ letter addressed to the firm of Messrs Kabesha and Co is titled: “Re: Crude oil allocation to Zambia by the Government of Nigeria.” It is dated September 19 this year.

It reads in part: “We have since conferred wit George Zulu, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water Development.

“Zulu advises that he has never made the comments attributed to him and he has since been in touch with your client through the Zambian High Commission to Nigeria.

“Zulu has since made a public statement clarifying the matter and absolving your client from the comments which were attributed to Zulu.

“I trust that the clarification and the corrective steps taken by Zulu sufficiently settle the matter. I would appreciate your confirmation that we can now treat this matter as closed.”

Part of Zulu’s press statement, announcing “the conclusion of the tendering process for finished products,” a copy of which was attached to Mwenye’s letter reads: “I wish to inform the nation that the government is in the process of finalizing arrangements of procuring crude oil from Nigeria through a government to government bilateral arrangement. This agreement has been in place for the past few years except that the previous administration treated this matter in a confidential manner, such that we are not sure whether the nation benefited from from this arrangement due to this uncertainty.

“The government would like to the investigative wings to look into this matter to ascertain what actually happened. If it is found that some individuals’ actions will be found wanting in this matter, then the law will take its course.

The nation will be kept abreast of the development on this issue.

Fed Govt, varsity workers’ meeting ends in stalemate

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HE planned strike by the non-teaching staff unions in the nation’s universities will begin tomorrow.

No thanks to the weekend’s irreconcilable meeting between the unions and the Federal Government. The planned strike was over the Earned Allowance and the report of the committee on NEEDS Assessment.

The meeting was held at

...Seven-day warning strike begins tomorrow From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) in Abuja.

The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU); Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institution (NASU) and the National Association of Academic

Technologists (NAAT) were an attendance.

According to SSANU’s President Samson Ugwoke, President of NAAT Comrade Sani Suleiman and the General Secretary of NASU, Comrade Peter Adeyemi, the meeting chaired by the SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, with the Minister of Edu-

cation, Prof. Ruqquatu Rufai in attendance, could not reach any meaningful conclusion, foreclosing the need to retreat from the planned warning strike.

Adeyemi said his union has invited its members to a meeting at the University of Ibadan tomorrow to deliberate on the outcome of the meeting with the

government and decide on the way forward.

Ugwoke declared that the unions would use today to mobilise their members across the country for the commencement of the strike tomorrow.

Suleiman said the decision to go on the strike remains, and the union has directed its branches to hold congress meeting and embark on the strike on today.

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FOREIGN NEWS Italian PM to resign

Largarde warns of doom in US economy

Romania votes for Parliament

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HE head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the American economy won’t grow next year without a deal on the fiscal cliff.

Chistine Lagarde, the managing director of the IMF, spoke to CNN’s Candy Crowley on “State of the Union” about the consequences of the president and Congress failing to reach a comprehensive deal on the automatic spending cuts and tax hikes that would occur without an agreement before the end of the year.

“If the U.S. economy was to suffer the downside risk of not reaching a comprehensive deal, then growth would be zero,” she said. “It would

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POLLING stations have opened in Romania’s parliamentary elections.

Opinion polls suggest a win for the governing centreleft coalition led by Prime Minister Victor Ponta.

But the result could trigger renewed political instability as Romania negotiates a vital loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Ponta and centre-right President Traian Basescu have been bitter enemies since Ponta’s government tried to impeach the president last July.

Analysts say that, in the event of Ponta’s Social Liberal Union (USL) winning, the president may ask someone other than Ponta to form a government.

The BBC’s Nick Thorpe in Romania says President Basescu has said clearly he will use his powers to appoint a prime minister “in the national interest”.

Given the enmity the president feels towards Mr Ponta, it is hard to imagine he has the leader of the Social Liberal Union (USL) in mind, he says.

But any attempt to appoint someone else may result in a constitutional crisis, our correspondent adds.

If the USL wins a clear majority, analysts say the president may ask someone other than Ponta from within USL to become prime minister, using the argument that the USL is not a party but a coalition.

TALIAN Prime Minister Mario Monti says he plans to resign after Silvio Berlusconi’s PDL party withdrew its support for the government.

Monti, who heads a nonelected cabinet of technocrats, said he will try to pass a budget and financial stability law before standing down.

Hours earlier, former Prime Minister Berlusconi said he will run for office again next year.

He said Monti’s austerity policies had harmed Italy.

Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party withdrew its support from the government on Thursday.

A statement from the office of President Giorgio Napolitano said that Monti “does not think it possible to continue his mandate and consequently made clear his intention to present his resignation”.

If the law for next year’s budget can be passed “quickly”, Monti would immediately confirm his resignation, the statement said.

Earlier, Berlusconi confirmed he would lead his party into next year’s elections now on course to be held slightly earlier than expected.

An election must come within 70 days of the government resigning. Italy had been due to go to the polls by April at the latest.

Berlusconi said he felt a “responsibility” to step back into the arena because of the severity of the country’s economic problems.

The BBC’s Alan Johnston in Rome says that Berlusconi’s critics will argue he is only interested in being in a powerful enough position to protect his own business and other interests.

Berlusconi, 76, resigned in November 2011 over Italy’s economic troubles.

He was convicted of tax fraud in October, though he is appealing against that ruling.

Berlusconi is also on trial accused of paying for sex with an underage prostitute in the so-called “Ruby” case. He denies any wrongdoing.

He has already served as Italy’s prime minister for three separate terms and built up what is believed to be a vast personal fortune from his business empire.

Monti - an economist - replaced Berlusconi as prime minister just over a year ago, and launched a programme of reforms aimed at pulling Italy out of economic crisis.

U

be much better to actually have a more comprehensive approach and to deal with all the issues.”

U.S. gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2.7 percent in the third quarter of 2012, according to the Department of Commerce.

Going over the fiscal cliff could jeopardise economic growth and put the United States back into a recession.

“The real threat that we have at the moment is really here with us,” Lagarde said when asked about the biggest threat outside the United States. “That can be addressed.”

A former finance minister of France who has been working to stabilize the Eu-

ropean economy since taking office in July, Lagarde pressed for a comprehensive solution in lieu of a temporary one that Congress may negotiate before the end of the year.

“I don’t think [a temporary fix] is enough because there is still that degree of uncertainty that fuels doubt that prevents investors, entrepreneurs, households from making decisions, because they don’t know what tomorrow will be,” she said. “They know that a fix has been found for today. But there is still work to be done tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.”

Lagarde predicted the immediate aftermath would cause a “lack of confidence;

Cancer surgery for Chavez •Rebel fighters sit at the Sheikh Suleiman base, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) northwest of the city of Aleppo...yesterday.

PHOTO: AFP

Hundreds still missing in Phillipines

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HE number of people missing after Typhoon Bopha struck the southern Philippines has risen to more than 800, with 620 confirmed dead.

The number of missing had risen dramatically because contact was lost with 300 fishermen at sea, Civil Defence chief Benito Ramos said.

Rescuers are continuing to search parts of Mindanao island devastated by the ty-

phoon on Tuesday.

Bopha is due to return, in a much-weakened state, later yesterday.

Storm alerts have been issued for provinces in the northern island of Luzon.

President Benigno Aquino has declared a state of national calamity, which should allow officials to control the basic price of commodities and enable local governments to access funds

for relief efforts.

Japan, the United States, Australia and Canada have all pledged to give aid.

Mindanao’s two eastern provinces, Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental, were the worst hit by the high winds and heavy rain brought by Typhoon Bopha.

In New Bataan, in Compostela Valley, several buildings - including emergency shelters - were washed away or

Envoy: US, Russia still back Syria settlement

.S. and Russian officials have given their commitment to a political solution for the deepening Syrian conflict, a United Nations envoy said yesterday, but Moscow dismissed speculation it was preparing for President Bashar al-Assad’s exit.

With rebels now fighting on the doorsteps of Damascus, Assad’s forces kept up their now daily artillery strikes and air raids on eastern suburbs as well as some rebel-held districts on the capital’s outskirts.

U.N. special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met the U.S. and Russian deputy foreign ministers in Geneva for the second session of tripartite talks in less than a week, apparently in response to rising violence that now threatens to engulf Damascus.

“All three parties reaffirmed

markets, I think, would react very quickly… the stock markets really taking a hit.”

“The truth of the matter is that the best way out of this would be a balanced solution,” she said. “The best way to go forward is to have a balanced approach that takes into account both increasing the revenue, which means, you know, either raising tax or creating new sources of revenue, and cutting spending as well.”

A lawyer who grew up on Capitol Hill, Lagarde said she hoped a “sense of pragmatism will prevail and will bring people to look at a broader picture than, you know, what happens within the Beltway.”

their common assessment that the situation in Syria was bad and getting worse,” a statement from Brahimi said.

“They stressed that a political process to end the crisis in Syria was necessary and still possible.”

Notwithstanding his comments, commitment to a political process could be at risk.

Western officials were among those who helped rebels to create a unified chain of command at the weekend, and Washington is expected to recognize the opposition as the sole representative of the Syrian people next week.

Russia, Syria’s main arms supplier, insisted its position on Assad had not softened and it was not negotiating on the future of the president, whose family has ruled Syria for 42 years.

“We are not holding any talks on the fate of Assad,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying by ItarTass news agency in Moscow.

“All attempts to present the situation rather differently are shady.”

Several countries are believed to be supplying both sides in the conflict, with Iran bankrolling Assad’s war efforts while its regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Qatar arm the rebels.

Brahimi said the talks aimed to find a solution based on last June’s Geneva Declaration, which called for a transitional government. This proposal originally foundered over different interpretations of that transition; Washington said Assad could not play a role but Russia insisted that his fate should not be decided outside

Syria.

Syria’s 20-month-old uprising, which began as peaceful protests but has descended into civil war, has become increasingly bloody with over 40,000 people killed The rebels have gained momentum in recent weeks, capturing a series of military sites across the country often with the help of radical Islamists. However, some activists believe the opposition is still far from toppling Assad, whose army has largely held together and who has many heavy weapons.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported army shelling and clashes across the country on Sunday, with 60 counted dead before evening.

Death tolls have averaged at around 100 per day in recent weeks.

buried by flash floods and mudslides.

More than 300,000 people were forced into evacuation centres.

Food and water is becoming hard to come by and there have been reports of looting in some areas.

Families were lined up along roadsides in Compostela Valley holding up signs asking for food.

“Have mercy on us, please donate,” read one sign held up by some children.

A UN aid assessment team found 100% destruction” upon its arrival in Mindanao, said spokeswoman Imogen Wall, who warned that civilians there will “need a lot of help” for a long time.

“This is a very poor area where everyone is dependent on agriculture. If people can’t earn money from crops they won’t be able to put food on the table for their families,” she told the AFP. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said on Sunday that the death toll now stood at 620, nearly 1,500 had been injured and 817 were missing.

Civil Defence chief Benito Ramos said that the number of missing - which stood at nearly 400 on Friday - had more than doubled because some 300 fishermen had been added to the list.

VENEZUELA President Hugo Chavez says he will return to Cuba for more cancer surgery, and has spoken openly for the first time of a successor.

In a televised address to the nation, he named his Vice-President Nicolas Maduro as the man to replace him, if anything should happen to him.

He only returned from cancer-related treatment in Cuba on Friday.

He said thorough tests undertaken during his stay had detected more cancerous cells.

“Unfortunately, during these exhaustive exams they found some malignant cells in the same area. It is absolutely necessary, absolutely essential, that I have to undergo a new surgical intervention,” he said.

“With God’s will, like on the previous occasions, we will come out of this victorious.”

But, he acknowledged the seriousness of the situation. “There are risks, Who can deny it?” he said.

Chavez said his doctors had recommend he stay in Cuba and undergo surgery this weekend, but he told them he wanted to return to Venezuela first - even though the pain he is experiencing is “not insignificant”.

Speaking from the Miraflores presidential palace, Chavez said if his health failed and a new election had to be held, his supporters should vote for Nicolas Maduro.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

58

NATION SPORT Serena is the butt of Wozniacki's joke during exhibition match in Brazil

Bangladesh clinches ODI series against Windies

F

ORMER world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki uses some extra padding on Saturday as she has a little fun at Serena Williams' expense during an exhibition match in Brazil.

The 22-year-old Dane was beaten 6-2, 7-6 by Maria Sharapova but enjoyed plenty of banter with the crowd including boyfriend Rory McIlroy.

Butt no, butt yeah, butt no: Caroline Wozniacki impersonates Serena Williams Butt no, butt yeah, butt no: Caroline Wozniacki impersonates Serena Williams Wozniacki said: 'I really love the crowd here, they're open and they have a lot of fun.'

The joke was not lost on Williams, also in Sao Paulo to promote the 2016 Games.

She tweeted: 'Do they make Brazilian bikinis for, um, well, me?'.

B

•Wozniacki

Hamilton: It's the hardest decision I've made, but I'm leaving McLaren to grow up L

EWIS HAMILTON walked out of the McLaren headquarters on Friday after delivering a heartfelt and candid farewell speech to the workforce who supported his journey to Formula One stardom.

Hamilton's relationship may have soured with McLaren chairman Ron Dennis, the man who bankrolled him for 14 years from his childhood days as a karting prodigy, but he relished the opportunity to explain personally why he has chosen to drive for Mercedes from next year.

'It was the hardest decision I've ever made,' admitted Hamilton, granted a dignified departure by McLaren, a rare privilege in a sport renowned for being heartless when drivers switch allegiance.

Yet it was the right moment, insisted Hamilton, for him to explore life beyond the boundaries of McLaren.

'It is to do with the process of growing up, of leaving home,' he said. 'That's why I am taking the next step, to grow as a driver and as a human being.'

Yet Hamilton, who was leading his last race for

•Hamilton

McLaren in Brazil a fortnight ago when he was driven off the circuit by Nico Hulkenberg, acknowledged the inherent risk he has accepted by signing for Mercedes, a team with one win in three seasons.

'The team I'm joining isn't yet performing well,' he said. 'But I hope I'll be able to help them get where they want to be.'

Hamilton has been lured from McLaren to Mercedes by more than the simple economics of a threeyear contract worth £60million.

He is attracted by the challenge of attempting to become the catalyst for the Mercedes team's development - and future success - under Englishman Ross Brawn, who worked a similar alchemy with Michael Schumacher during their time together, first with Benetton, then with Ferrari. Hamilton is banking on Brawn - and Mercedes making capital gains when new 1.4 turbo engines are introduced to Formula One for the 2014 season.

Importantly, Hamilton also wants to be freed of the influence of Dennis, which in

recent years has become claustrophobic.

Dennis similarly fell out with Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, although all of them would testify to the brilliance of his leadership and vision for McLaren.

Hamilton enjoyed his working relationship with

Martin Whitmarsh, who succeeded Dennis as McLaren team principal, but during his contract negotiations this summer the 27-year-old British star realised that he needed a fresh start.

Dennis is believed to have been bitterly disappointed and his relationship with

Hamilton was irrevocably damaged.

At least Hamilton and Dennis, who achieved so much with one another, held a private, convivial chat on Friday.

'By all accounts, it was a warm and friendly farewell,' said a source.

•Senior

Senior wins Australian Open

P

ETER SENIOR won the Australian Open by one stroke Sunday, overcoming severe weather conditions that forced a threehour suspension because of gale-force winds.

The 53-year-old regular on the U.S. Champions Tour shot an even-par 72 in the final round at The Lakes to become the oldest Australian Open champion.

Senor finished with a total of 4under 284, keeping his composure while several other contenders struggled with the winds to drop down the field.

Fellow Australian Brendan Jones was second after a 71, while countryman Cameron Percy finished third after a 73, two strokes behind.

Englishman Justin Rose finished in a tie for fourth after a 76, three strokes behind Senior.

"Winning the (Australian) PGA a couple of years ago up at Coolum was great, but I tell you what, nothing beats winning right here," Senior said.

Senior had 10 top-10 finishes

on the Champions Tour this year, but no wins. That made the victory Sunday - with his son Mitch caddying - all the more special.

"It doesn't get any better than this,'' Senior said. ''We've had three years on the Champions Tour where Mitch has caddied for me for the last two years, and we've lost three playoffs, so it feels unbelievable to win with him on the bag."

The previous oldest Australian Open champion was five-time British Open champion Peter Thomson at the age of 43 in 1972. Senior won the Australian Open for the first time as a 30-year-old in 1989.

On Sunday morning, gusts of up to 80 kph (50 mph) during a southerly wind change caused one television tower to topple, balls to move on the fairways and greens and sand to be blown from bunkers and into the galleries and fairways.

You can't win 'em all, but you can go home with a winner.

Take a peek at golf's gorgeous

wives and girlfriends.

The gusty winds remained after play resumed, and thirdround leader John Senden shot 82, second-round leader Marcus Fraser had an 81 and Adam Scott carded 76 to finish well of the pace.

Joining them, defending champion Greg Chalmers and Geoff Ogilvy each shot 77s. But 1984 champion Tom Watson was lucky to have started early Sunday morning, shooting a 69 before the storm hit to climb into a tie for 28th.

Tournament chief Trevor Herden said officials had no alternative but to suspend play when the fierce winds hit the course just before midday in Sydney.

"Obviously there's nothing we can do to protect anybody other than to get them out of danger,'' Herden said. ''We have an obligation to the public and the players and then there's the golf course, which at that point became unplayable.''

ANGLADESH cricket captain Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Mahmudullah do a jig after defeating the West Indies in the fifth and final one-day international.

A spirited Bangladesh led by all-rounder Mohammad Mahmudullah edged out the West Indies in the seriesdeciding fifth one-day international by four wickets in Dhaka.

Mahmudullah took 2-38 to help bowl the tourists for 217 in 48 overs and then scored a polished 48 as the home team chased down the target for the loss of eight wickets with six overs to spare.

Bangladesh won the first match by seven wickets and the second by 160 runs - both in Khulna. The West Indies levelled the series with a four wicket win in the third and 75 runs in the fourth.

Both teams will now play a Twenty20 international in Dhaka on Monday.

It was Mahmudullah and captain Mushfiqur Rahim (44) who set the home team on the victory path through their 91run stand for the fourth wicket after paceman Kemar Roach (5-56) had derailed the hosts in the early overs.

Roach struck three times in his first five overs, removing Tamim Iqbal (eight), Anamul Haque (nought) and Jahurul Islam (10) to leave the home team in disarray at 3-30.

Mahmudullah hit seven boundaries in his 45-ball knock while Rahim smacked as many boundaries in his 56ball knock.

Nasir Hossain (39 not out) and Mominul Haque (25) added 53 for the sixth wicket as Bangladesh survived a late order slump to reach the target. Nasir hit Andre Russell for the winning boundary to send the packed crowd into jubilation.

Earlier, Kieron Pollard had a return to form with a robust 74-ball 85 and Darren Bravo notched a sedate 108-ball 51 during their 132-run fourth wicket stand to lift the tourists to 217 after they were put into bat.

Bangladesh had removed Kieran Powell (11), Marlon Samuels (one) and Chris Gayle (two) by the eight over.

Pollard, who like Gayle was a big flop in the last four matches, hit a six for his first scoring shot as he batted with aggression. He hit five boundaries and eight towering sixes to take the attack to the Bangladeshi bowlers.

•Mushfiqur Rahim

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

NATION SPORT

PREMIERSHIP ...PREMIERSHIP ...

59

Benitez writes open letter to Chelsea fans after first league win

R

AFA BENITEZ has written an open letter to the Chelsea fans and says he will do all he can to bring success to Stamford Bridge.

The Chelsea interim manager has endured a testing baptism to his time in the Blues hot-seat and has been jeered by some supporters unhappy with his appointment in the wake of Roberto Di Matteo’s sacking.

The former Liverpool boss won his first league game in charge of his new side at the fourth attempt in the 3-1 win over Sunderland on Saturday just days after their Champions League defence was brought to a shuddering halt at the group stage.

The Spaniard has highlighted the relentless schedule of matches since his appointment, with the Sunderland game their fifth in a fortnight, and was keen to pay tribute to the Chelsea fans who have been in touch to offer their support.

•Van Persie

MANCHESTER CITY 2-3 MANCHESTER UNITED

Van Persie decides derby day in thrilling fashion

M

ANCINI'S TEAM launched a fine comeback after Wayne Rooney's double had put the visitors 2-0 up but the Dutchman had the final say with an injury-time free-kick Robin van Persie’s injury-time free-kick inspired Manchester United to a 3-2 win over Manchester City in a barnstorming derby.

Wayne Rooney had put United two goals up after 28 minutes as the visitors counterattacked in clinical fashion.

But Yaya Toure pulled one back for City to set up a thrilling last half-hour, and Pablo Zabaleta sent the home support wild in the 86th minute when he made their relentless pressure count by shooting through a crowded goalmouth.

However, it was Van Persie, the player who City tried to sign in the summer, who had the final say in a magnificent game with a deflected 25-yard freekick that nestled in the bottom corner.

United’s landmark victory in the biggest domestic match of the season so far condemned City to their first defeat at Etihad Stadium for nearly two years.

In a match that typified the passion, entertainment and commitment of the Premier League, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team will feel that justice was done, given that Toure’s strike came 60 seconds after Ashley Young had a goal disallowed for off-side even though he appeared to be level.

United have now claimed four big scalps in the opening 16 matches of the season, having already won at Liverpool and Chelsea and beaten Arsenal at home.

With Hollywood royalty Tom Cruise and Robert Duvall watching on, Mancini sprung a surprise by opting to pair Sergio Aguero with Mario Balotelli rather than Carlos Tevez.

For United, David De Gea got

the nod to start in goal, Tom Cleverley was chosen to partner Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia returned after three weeks on the sidelines.

City completely dominated the early exchanges but after Balotelli and Aguero had wasted good opportunities, Rooney’s classic sucker-punch goal put the visitors 1-0 up.

A brilliant Van Persie chest-

down on the half-way line allowed Young to gallop down the left flank, from where he found Rooney in space on the edge of the box. The forward’s shot was mis-hit but it caught out an unmoved Joe Hart in goal, dribbling into the corner of the net.

The home fans were momentarily stunned, and there was a further blow when

WEST HAM 2-3 LIVERPOOL

Liverpool rallies to snatch win at West Ham L

IVERPOOL proved they could win without talismanic striker Luis Suarez as they fought from behind to take three points from Upton Park.

Uruguay international Suarez was serving a one-match ban but the Reds struck twice late in the game to seal a win that sees them leapfrog West Ham in the table.

Former Hammers' defender Glen Johnson opened the scoring for the visitors with a tremendous effort before a Mark Noble penalty and Steven Gerrard own goal turned the game in West Ham's favour before the break.

It was another West Ham academy graduate in substitute

Joe Cole who pulled the visitors level in the second half with a James Collins own goal completing the comeback for Liverpool.

Gerrard, returning to captain the visitors after recovering from illness, saw an early effort deflected behind for a corner following some good work by Jonjo Shelvey.

West Ham then had a few minutes of dominance and Mohamed Diame, a one-time Liverpool target, saw his shot deflect off the back of teammate Carlton Cole and drift just wide of Jose Reina's goal.

West Ham's Matt Jarvis was getting a lot of the ball down the left flank but was soon found wanting when he was

tested defensively.

Gerrard played the ball out to Johnson on the touchline and the England full-back cut inside Jarvis with ease before arrowing a strike past the outstretched hand of Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Johnson did not celebrate out of respect for his former club but the Liverpool bench was up in unison as the visitors grabbed an early lead.

Raheem Sterling had two chances to double Liverpool's advantage, firstly firing wide of Jaaskelainen's near post as Gerrard's shot was cleared straight to his feet.

EVERTON 2 TOTTENHAM 1

Toffees strike late to snatch Spurs win

E

VERTON scored twice in the last couple of minutes to snatch a well-deserved 2-1 victory from a Tottenham side who looked to have escaped the Goodison Park fortress with all three points.

Despite dominating, David Moyes' side found themselves trailing to Clint Dempsey's 76thminute deflected strike.

However, Steven Pienaar headed an 90th-minute equaliser and Nikica Jelavic turned home the winner in added time to

extend their unbeaten home league record to 12 matches.

Had they not got at least a point it is certain Moyes would have been complaining about a penalty claim which did not go their way late in the first half when Pienaar's shot hit the arm of William Gallas.

Fortunately he did not have reason to complain after his team's late turnaround ended a dismal sequence of seven draws in nine Barclays Premier League matches.

With the injured Gareth Bale out of the team Tottenham did not have the same attacking thrust down their left. As a result Everton were able to take advantage, particularly in the first half, by pouring forward down their right side.

Everton began to dominate without threatening. Shouts for a penalty against Dempsey after the ball came off his chest were magnified greatly when Pienaar's shot hit Gallas' arm but referee Kevin Friend was not interested.

•Johnson

skipper and defensive leader Vincent Kompany hobbled off after 20 minutes with what appeared to be a groin injury.

Curiously, Kompany was replaced not by Joleon Lescott but Kolo Toure, who was not deemed good enough to be selected for City’s Champions League squad.

•Benitez

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

60

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL...

NATION SPORT

'It's about time referees made a mistake in Real Madrid's favour' —Sergio Ramos

S

ERGIO RAMOS has complained that Real Madrid have been the victim of constant errors by referees this season, claiming that officials have "harmed" them in more than one match.

The Spain international saw a goal wrongly ruled out for offside as his side came from behind to claim a 3-2 win over Valladolid, and

although Mesut Ozil later sealed the win, the defender is far from happy.

"It was a goal and it annoys me that they ruled it offside, even though in the end we got the three points," the 26-yearold was quoted as saying by AS. "With another result the consequences would be very different. They've harmed us

in more than one match now.

It's about time they make a mistake in our favour."

Los Blancos currently sit third in La Liga with 32 points from 15 games and Ramos stressed that any small error could strike a blow against their chances of catching Barcelona, who have an eight point lead over their rivals.

"The distance between us

and the leaders is a big one.

Any slip would make things impossible and we wouldn't like that to be down to the officials."

Howedes rues Schalke collapse

S

CHALKE defender Benedikt Howedes has lamented his side's league collapse after the 3-1 defeat by Stuttgart on Saturday.

A hat-trick from Vedad Ibisevic was enough to condemn Die Konigsblauen to a fifth league game without a

win, as they slipped further behind runaway leaders Bayern Munich.

Schalke, who managed to top their Champions League group ahead of Premier League side Arsenal, have also now lost their last four league games in a row, bringing a rather blunt

PUBLIC NOTICE YOUTH IN AGRICULTURAL REVIVAL AND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE (YARD Initiative) This is to inform the public that the above named Organization has applied to the corporate affairs commission Abuja for registration under part C of the corporate and allied matters act 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE Mr. Lekan Adeboye Mr. Akin Akinpelu Miss. Oluwaseun Awotunde Mr. Olanrewaju John Ogundeyi Mr. Olanrewaju Akeem Olorode Mr. Morufdeen Alani Bello Mr. Emmanuel Olaomo Balogun AIM AND OBJECTIVE • To revive and embrace our food production culture and imbibe agricultural values into our youths to become self-reliant.

• To re-awaken the interest of farming in the youth • To avert the impact of food shortage due to the impact of global warming • To encourage farmers group and societies among secondary school students.

• To work with the pressure groups to encourage government in giving adequate attention to farming and agriculture.

MISSION STATEMENT Nurturing our youths for food sovereignty

comment from Howedes.

"We are in the process of destroying our good position in the league, that sucks," the Germany international todl Bild.

But Schalke director Horst Heldt insisted that the side will assess themselves during the winter break, but first called for a win in the final round of games in 2012 next week.

•Sergio Ramos

Rexach: The great virtue of Messi is that he listens more than he talks

F

ORMER BARCELONA coach Carles Rexach has praised the humble attitude of Lionel Messi, whom he discovered and signed for the club.

The 65-year-old said he admired Messi's personality, and insisted that the Argentina star's traits were an important thing for football.

"Along with [Alfredo] Di Stefano, these are the two players who play without a position, and [still] score.

They were the only ones I've seen do that throughout my life," Rexach told AS. "One of Messi's great strengths is listening more than talking, and that is very important in football and in life.

The fact that Leo has grown up with many of his peers makes no player jealous of Messi. He is not a figure that puts his chest out."

Messi, who has 84 goals in

PALERMO 0-1 JUVENTUS:

TORINO 2-4 AC MILAN

Rossoneri fights back to win thriller

A

C MILAN turned on the style as they came from behind to beat Torino 4-2 at Stadio Olimpico thanks to a potent display from their front-line.

Goals from the attacking trio of Robinho, Stephen El Shaawary and Pazzini helped the Rossoneri cancel out Mario Santana's opener as they continued their resurgent form in Serie A. The hosts came close to scoring with their inaugural attack of the match when Mario Santana was given room to take aim at Marco Amelia's goal, the Argentine rasping his effort just wide of the right-hand post.

Milan began to find their feet after the early scare and they amassed a number of decent chances before falling behind.

Only an important block from Angelo Ogbonna prevented Ignazio Abate’s low centre from picking out Giampaolo Pazzini, while Antonio Nocerino fired wide from

outside the area and Pazzini also had a header clear the crossbar.

The visitor’s best chance to open the scoring fell to the inform Stephan El Shaawary but he couldn’t hit the target when Pazzini cut the ball back for him inside the area.

Milan were made to pay for their profligacy and a mistake

by Antonio Nocerino gifted Torino the lead on 28 minutes.

The Milan midfielder attempted to play the ball back to his defence but could only watch on in horror as his loose pass was seized upon by Mario Santana, who was given the freedom of the Rossoneri’s half as he bore down on goal and nonchalantly rounded Amelia before rolling home the opener.

Torino’s lead was short-lived however and Massimiliano Allegri’s side were able to level before the break through Robinho, who produced a moment of Brazilian flair to

this calendar year - one short of the record set by Gerd Muller in 1972, was injured in Barcelona's 0-0 draw with Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday, but is expected to return against Real Betis on Sunday.

Barcelona's game at Estadio Benito Villamarin kicks off at 21:00CET.

outsmart the Torino defence.

Mattia De Sciglio managed to get forward down the left flank once again and his pass into the box fell at the feet of the former Man City player whose irresistible dummy threw the last defender and afforded the forward the space to poke the ball into the roof of the net.

Milan took the lead shortly after the break when Antonio Nocerino atoned for his earlier mistake by nodding in from 6yards.

El Shaawary worked his way into the box and chipped in an inviting ball which JeanFrancois Gillet could only parry onto the head of Nocerino who made no mistake, his relief in making up for his first half error evident in his celebration.

The visitors strengthened their grip on the game when Giampaolo Pazzini added a third just after the hour mark in controversial fashion.

Lichtsteiner earns three points for returning Conte

T

HE Old Lady came out on top in a tightly contested affair in a cold and wet Renzo Barbera thanks to the Swiss' second-half strike.

Juventus extended their lead at the top of the Serie A with a hardfought 1-0 win away to Palermo.

Stephan Lichtsteiner was the hero for the Old Lady, with his solitary goal being enough to separate the two sides on an ice cold afternoon in the Sicilian capital.

Juventus coach Antonio Conte returned to the bench following his four-month ban for his part in a betting scandal and he made a couple of changes to the side that overcome Shakhtar Donetsk midweek with Alessandro Matri coming in for the suspended Sebastian Giovinco while Claudio Marchisio was restored to the side in place of Paul Pogba.

After a scrappy first 10 minutes, the game’s first attempt on goal finally arrived when Palermo’s Jasmin Kurtic sent in a pile driver from distance but Gianluigi Buffon was well placed to fist the ball to safety.

RESULTS EPL Man City 2-3 Man United Everton 2-1 Tottenham West Ham 2-3 Liverpool Serie A Cagliari 0-2 Chievo Palermo 0-1 Juventus Pescara 2-0 Genoa Siena 1-3 Catania Torino 2-4 AC Milan Inter 1-0 Napoli Li-Liga Levante 4-0 Mallorca Bilbao 1-0 Celta de Vigo Atletico 6-0 La Coruna

•Muller

Muller: Dortmund should forget the title

B

AYERN MUNICH forward Thomas Muller has advised his Borussia Dortmund counterparts to forget about the title after Jurgen Klopp's men faltered once more.

Jupp Heynckes' side maintained their near-perfect away form with a 2-0 win over Augsburg, ensuring that they go into the winter break

with just one goal conceded on their travels.

In contrast, the champions lost 3-2 at home to Wolfsburg, leaving them 14 points behind Die Roten with Muller conceding that the next few weeks will be 'boring' for his side.

"As a Dortmund player I wouldn't talk that much about the title anymore. The result

[of Dortmund] doesn't make us unhappy," the 23-year-old told Sport1.

"The next few weeks [are going to be] boring. We must not dull ourselves with the big advantage that we have right now."

Meanwhile, team-mate Mario Gomez echoed Muller's sentiments, by insisting that Bayern can only

stop themselves from winning the Bundesliga title.

He added: "The title won't be decided between Bayern and Dortmund. We can only stop us by leaning back and relaxing."

Heynckes' men encounter Borussia Monchengladbach next weekend at the Allianz Arena in their final league game of the calendar year.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

61

SPORT EXTRA COPA LAGOS OPENER

Lebanese Coach wants IWF course for 35 foreign, showdown with Sand Eagles national officials ends in Lagos L

N

O fewer than 35 weightlifting technical officials from Nigeria and six other West and Central African countries featured in a 4-day International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) course which ended on Sunday in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the course, organised in conjunction with the Africa Weightlifting Federation (AWF), featured officials from Kenya, Zanzibar, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Cameroun.

The participants also included officials who officiated at the 18th National Sports Festival

which ended on Sunday in Lagos.

Uche Onwumeh, Secretary, Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF), told NAN that it was the first time the federation would hold such a regional course in Nigeria. ``The international course was aimed at upgrading coaches and referees of the sport on current technical rules, as well as upgrading national referees to a higher level. ``The course has enabled the participating officials to be internationally upgraded from category 1 to 2 and has opened up avenues for them to be invited to officiate in regional

•Manu Garuba

tournaments,`` she said.

The secretary added that the course would also assist the officials to impart the newlyacquired training to their athletes.

She said that the resource person at the course, Nobert Keller, from Germany, had a wealth of knowledge on the technical rules of weightlifting.

The secretary urged participants at the course from the festival to maximise the opportunities and get acquainted with the current developments in the rules and regulations of the sport.

Some of the participants applauded the NWF for organising the course, saying the course had widened their knowledge in the technical know-how of the game.

The respondents included Coaches Helen Asemota from Edo, Nkechi Odibeli from Lagos and Reginald Briggs from Rivers.

Chimdi Ejiogu, NWF President, told NAN that the federation accepted the hosting rights to enable the body's technical officials to benefit from the current developments in the sport.

Ejiogu said it was considered that not all weightlifting officials could afford to travel abroad to partake in such international courses to update their knowledge.

Manu tipped to win U-17 World Cup

G

OLDEN Eaglets coach Manu Garuba has been tipped to lead the national U-17 team to win the cadet World Cup if the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), continues in their support for the team.

Making this remark is the Executive Chairman of the Gombe State Sports Commission, Malam Farouk Yarma during the 18th National Sports Festival (NSF), Eko 2012.

Yarma said given the experience of the coach in past engagement coupled with coaching prowess exhibited in recent times, the coach has what it takes to excel with the team all

By Innocent Amomoh things being equal. “ Manu is one of the finest coaches in Nigeria. While he was playing he stood out as one of the best midfielders at that time.

During his University days he graduated with a 2-1 and when he attended the National Institute for Sports for his coaching course he came out with distinction.

That was why the late Yemi Tella who was an instructor at the institute insisted he wanted to work with the coach to the 2007 U-17 World Cup which Nigeria eventually won.

“If you ask me I will say he is the best man for that job. You

can see what he is doing with the team at the moment. They will win in Morocco and go ahead to win the World Cup. Manu also have some the best assistants in Emmanuel Emuneke and Nduka Ugbade, so he has everything going on well for him,” he said.

The Team Gombe boss also cautioned that the current crop in the Eaglet team should be allowed to develop and form the core of the future Super Eagles team.

“I don't know why we don't allow successful teams graduate from one category to the other in Nigeria like it is done in other part of the world,” he said.

Kalu Uche scores 9th goal for Kasimpasa

N

IGERIA international Kalu Uche extended his fine form with Turkish club Kasimpasa when he scored to salvage a draw for them.

The former Almeria striker scored his ninth goal in the league when he equalised for Kasimpasa to bring the scores with visitors Genclerbirligi to 1-1.

Uche scored in the 52nd minute in a game which finished 2-2.

Kasimpasa are now fifth on the table with 23 points from 15 games.

The Nigerian striker is two goals short of league leading scorer Bulut of Galatasaray.

Also former Eaglets striker Macauley Christantus was on song for his Spanish Segunda team Las Palmas in a 4-0 bashing of Huesca on Saturday.

Chrisantus came in as a substitute in the 63rd minute for Javi Guerrero and increased Las Palmas lead to 3-0 in the 71st minute.

He has now scored four goals for his team this season, while Las Palmas are seventh

on the table with 26 points from 17 games.

In Albania, former Flying Eagles left back Nurudeen Orelesi, who has been outstanding for champions Skendebeu Korce, was on song for his team in an Albania Cup game in a 4-1 win over SHK Umbini Peqin.

He hit target in the 76th minute for his team's fourth

goal.

Ranti Martins maintained his leadership on India Ileague goal scorers' chart when he scored his 13th goal of the league in Prayag United 3-1 loss to former team Dempo FC. Martins opened scoring in the 21st minute before champions came from behind to win 3-1.

``Our officials need to enhance themselves, so as to be able to develop their athletes because they handle the athletes before they get to the national level,'' he said.

The president then urged the participants to use the knowledge acquired at the course to modify their training programmes and ensure that it was reflected in the performances of their athletes.

NAN reports that the course was supported by the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Gregory University, Uturu, Abia, World Travel &Tours Ltd and Eagle Scientific/ Laboratory Equipment Company. (NAN)Kickboxing event inconclusive as festival ends.

EBANON coach KarimMoghadam and his team are looking forward to taking on defending Champions Nigeria on the opening day of Copa Lagos. The 3-day beach soccer tournament begins on the 14th December at Eko Atlantic.The tournament has a strong line-up this year with Argentina, 6 times European Champions Portugal all confirmed along with defending Champions Nigeria and Lebanon.

Coach KarimMoghadam has been the mastermind behind Lebanon's rise in Beach Soccer.

Earlier this year Lebanon finished 4th in the Asian games their best ever finish, Lebanese striker HaithamFattal finished the tournament as top scorer.

Lebanon defeated the UAE in that tournament, the same UAE that defeated Nigeria recently in

Dubai.

Despite Lebanon's recent success Moghadam refuses to get carried away and is aware that taking on Nigeria on their home turf will not be easy, he said, “The Nigerian national team will be the toughest team in the championship and they will be the best candidate to win this tournament.”

Coach Moghadam plans to use Copa Lagos as an opportunity to give his squad beneficial tournament experience which he hopes will see Lebanon continue their upward trend in Beach Soccer, he revealed, “The Lebanese national team is looking forward to the Copa Lagos championship as a great opportunity to show the skills the players have, and to gain experience for the coming events especially for the Asian world cup qualifications.”

Enyimba blocks want-away Eagles ace Uche

E

NYIMBA will not release Eagles’ ace Henry Uche who said he does not wish to play for them again as they owe him over seven million Naira.

Eagles midfielder Uche has insisted he does not wish to return to the Aba club because his contract with them is over and they also owe him more than seven million Naira in unpaid signing-on fees over four seasons.

A top source close to the Eagles’ star informed MTNFootball.com that Uche has already formally quit the sixtime NPL champions, but top

officials have insisted he returns to train with the team for the new season.

“His contract with Enyimba has ended. What he agreed and negotiated with the club was a year's contract and that has now ended. He is therefore willing to forfeit what the club owes him because he simply does not wish to play for them anymore. He is just fed up with their many unfulfilled promises,” a source informed.

Enyimba team manager Deboy Ekweronu has instead told Uche to return to the club because they wish to cash in on his transfer to another club.

“We have invested in you and exposed you and now you want to leave us when we want to get our returns on you. You cannot fight Enyimba and so you better come back to the team,” Ekweronu warned the former Shooting Stars midfielder.

Enyimba has given several players like defender Kenneth Anyanwu, a free clearance because they do not have the money to pay what they owe them.

Anyanwu is owed about 14 million Naira by the Aba club, but he has now been told he could move on as a free agent as they cannot pay him.

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

62

SPORT EXTRA

Jonathan declares games closed

T

HE 18th National Sports Festival, Tagged Eko 2012 ended yesterday amidst a remarkable closing ceremony and a presentation of trophies, as President Goodluck Jonathan declared games closed.

The 12-day event came to a close after 8,095 athletes competed in 25 sports and 450 events. Out of 22,893 persons registered, only 11,549 were accredited for the Games.

Representing the president at the occasion, the Minister for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi said the nation has witnessed a transformation of the festival from one edition to the other.

“We have witnessed a spectacular performances from athletes from different states and they have demonstrated the spirit of sportsmanship , and a show of determination and tenacity as they involved in the activities of the National Sports Festival, the 18th edition.

“This festival has witnessed a tremendous transformation both in participation and organisation. This can be seen in both the opening and the closing ceremonies of Eko 2012.

I want to commend the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola for

•Fashola lauds organisation •As Cross River receives 2014 hosting flag

By Innocent Amomoh and Akeem Lawal accepting to host the festival, especially with the excellent facilities on ground.

“All the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory deserve our commendation for effectively participating in this festival and promoting the bond of friendship and unity. I urge you all to make the festival part of your calendar and to prepare well for the next festival coming up in Calarbar in 2014. Let me congratulate all our medal winners because soon some of you will be called to represent this country in future international competitions. “ In his speech, Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola said in spite of all the challenges faced in organising the festival, the state was able to live up to expectation.

“The unusual responsibility that the National Sports Festival brought and for an event that had to be organised in one year instead of the traditional two years, this has never been done before. Above all the challenges, we did not fail. This shows that as a people if we are committed

to anything we can achieve it, hosting our brothers and sisters all over the country and showing them our traditional hospitality.

“I want to thank the presidency under the leadership of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, ably represented here today by the Hon Minister for Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi for their support. To Delta State who won the overall position on the medals table, I want to say a big congratulations.

Meanwhile, Cross River has received the flag for the hosting of the next edition of the National Sports Festival, tagged Calarbar 2014.

Receiving the flag, Commissioner for Sports in Cross River State, Patrick Ugbe said it is a privilege to host the games in Calarbar, which incidentally is the first national capital of the country in a significant year 2014.

“We receive this flag as host of the next sports festival in 2014.

It is the remarkable because it is the year of Nigeria’s hundred years of amalgamation. We can’t wait to host a spectacular festival of all times.”

Team Delta wins 18th National Sports Festival

D

ELTA State has emerged overall winner of the 18th edition of the National Sports Festival tagged Eko 2012.

The Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan motivated team floored all other states with an overwhelming performance which saw them winning 116 gold, 97silver and 75 bronze, making a total of 288 medals.

Rivers State came second with 76 gold, 71silver and 71 bronze, making 218 medals in total, thus losing the title they won at the 17th edition of the Games to Delta.

•Dethrones Rivers

By Innocent Amomoh and Akeem Lawal Host of the 18th edition of the National Sports Festival, Lagos State placed third by winning 65 gold, 47 silver and 71 bronze medals, making a total of 183 medals.

With this achievement, the top three states are to share the N45 million promised by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. Delta State will take N20 million, Rivers State goes home with N15 million, while Lagos State pockets N10

million.

The host of the Eko 2012 was followed by 2002 National Sports Festival host, Edo State, which finished in fourth position with a distant 25 gold, 23 silver and 44 bronze, a total of 92 medals.

Bayelsa who are bidding to host the 2016 edition of the National Sports Festival finished in the fifth position with 19gold, 17silver and 22 bronze medals. They have a total of 58 medals.

With this overall title, Delta made it history number five in the biggest sporting fiesta in the country.

•Lagos Deputy Governor Princess Adejoke Orelope Adefulire (L) Team Lagos Captain Muhammed Babatunde and Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola Photo: BOLA OMILABU

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

63

NEWS

The Nation wins four awards at NMMA Continued from page 4

Emmanuel Ufot of Newswatch got the Aviation Reporter of the Year.

Tony Manuka of BSJ won the Money Market Reporter of the Year Award. Goodie Ofose (Daily Independent) is the Brand and Marketing Reporter of the Year. Maureen Chigbo (Newswatch), Oil and Gas Reporter of the Year, Tony Manuka(BSJ) got the Business Reporter of the Year award, Helen Eni of BSJ was the Female Reporter of the year, Kemi Ishola Balogun (Vanguard) is the Investigative Reporter of the year, Adekunle

Yusuf (Tell) got the Print Journalist of the Year and Muyiwa Lucas (Tell) is the News Features Writer of the Year.

Stella Sawyerr of Tell is the Estate/Construction Reporter of the Year; Business Day emerged the Business Publication of the Year, Tell, News Magazine of the year; Adetayo Solomon of Radio Nigeria got the Radio Reporter of the Year Award, Cordelia Okpei (FRCN, Network) as Redio Presenter of the Year, Ezebue Ifeyinwa Helen (VON) won the Redio Programme of the year category; Anthonia Ike_Mbanefo got the Radio Pro-

duction of the Year Award, Seun Olagunju of NTA is the Television Newscaster of the Year and Yvonne Henry Bassey, whose programme is aired on DSTV/AfricaMagic, got both the TV Prograame Presenter of the Year and TV Production of the year awards.

Prof Ralph Akinfeleye of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), who is the Chairman of the NMMA’s Panel of Assessors, said the screening was thorough and rigorous. He said the cut-off mark was 70 per cent.

NMMA Board of Trustees Chairman Vincent Maduka said the choice of the honourary

Continued from page 4

awardees was informed by their contributions to the society.

He said the body’s decision to promote excellence in journalism by instituting the awards, was informed by its realisation that “integrity, credibility and excellence of the media industry are crucial to the development of any nation”.

Maduka said the board was considering a staggered hosting of the event in future, in view of the increase in the award categories.

Ghana President set for victory Continued from page 4

Nigeria’s ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo who led the African Union (AU) and the ECOWAS monitoring team said the election was credible.

The opposition however issued a scathing statement alleging fraud.

“Indeed, we have enough concrete evidence to show that the 2012 presidential election was won by our candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo,” the NPP said.

“We have noticed a pattern of fraud, where substantial numbers of votes are either added to the NDC candidate or subtracted from the NPP presidential candidate.”

It demanded an audit of collated vote figures as well as of data from the biometric verification machines used in the election before the results are officially announced.

“We call upon our party

members and the general public to ignore the tainted provisional results announced through the mass media,” the NPP said.

A crowd of about 200 NPP supporters sought to march on the electoral commission Sunday afternoon. They remained peaceful as they stood behind security forces who blocked a main road to the commission, shouting “we want justice,” an AFP correspondent reported.

Akufo-Addo has not spoken publicly, but Mahama told reporters his team had “a fair idea” of the results based on its own tallies, but would wait for the electoral commission to make an announcement.

“We all will await peacefully the (commission’s) verdict and we will abide by whatever verdict the electoral commission gives,” said Ma-

hama.

The 54-year-old took power after John Atta Mills died in July. Akufo-Addo, 68, a Britain-trained human rights lawyer and son of a former president, lost by less than one per cent in the 2008 poll.

Some analysts say the parties do not have major ideological differences, but the ruling NDC is seen as slightly centre-left while the NPP is viewed as more free market-oriented.

Ghana’s presidential and parliamentary polls were held on Friday, but polling stations in some areas reopened on Saturday after problems with a new biometric system and late delivery of materials led to delays.

Elections since the return to civilian rule in 1992 have seen both parties voted out of office, establishing Ghana’s democratic credentials in a

‘Don’t magnify Boko Haram threat’

region that has had its share of rigged polls and coups.

Obasanjo described the election as peaceful, transparent, free and fair, and should, therefore, be emulated by other African countries.

He said: “By this successful and peaceful election, Ghana has again added another beautiful block to the already political edifice it has built over the years.”

The former President spoke when he visited President Mahama at his official residence in Accra.

Also at the meeting was Vice President Paa Kwesi AmissahArthur, Alhaji Baba Kamara, Ghana’s High commissioner to Nigeria among others.

Obasanjo said Ghana’s democracy had reached a level where there would not be any need to resort to any court cases regarding this year’s election.

“The propaganda by the terrorist sects can easily be countered by providing a continuous flow of credible, reliable, timely and accurate information through the media to the public. Such help will assist the security agencies to defeat efforts by the terrorists to diminish national will, destroy our collective patrimony and deliberately turn public opinion against security agencies.

“The fight against terrorism should not be the concern and responsibility of only the Federal Government and security agencies. It must be a collective effort, a national war whereby states and local governments must be seen to be involved and are active participants especially in the areas of development and good governance.”

He said journalists should be appreciated and protected by the society.

He said: “In conclusion, let me reiterate that as agents of information and a vital tool for the sustenance of democ-

racy, journalists deserve special appreciation and protection from the society.

“Relevant security agencies must ensure the security of media practitioners in the country. At the individual level, don’t be a hero but you must continually be vigilant and dogged to shoulder the burden of your noble responsibilities and calling amidst incessant threats.”

Ita explained why security agencies are prevailing on the media to exercise caution in managing information relating to terrorism.

He said the advice is not meant to censor the media in any manner whatsoever.

Guest of Honour at the ceremony, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, who is the Chairman of DAAR Communications, said the “days of fears and uncertainties between the SSS and the media are gone for good. In those days, the media were used to be seen as enemy number one but now, we are talking of partnership.. There is indeed a new dawn.”

Abductors still holding Edo businessman

K

IDNAPPERS of an Edo State businessman, Mr. Omoruyi Oloton and an Estate Valueyer, Mr. Dan Odiete are yet to release them.

They were kidnapped the same week in Benin City by gunmen operating in two Sport Utility Vehicles.

Dan was abducted on November 28 in front of his office along Akpakpava road and his police orderly killed by the kidnappers.

Omoruyi popularly known as Uyi Technical was abducted in front of his office along Mission Road on November 30 after the kidnappers opened fire on his two police orderlies.

071

10-12-12

TODAY IN THE NATION

MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL 7 NO 2,335

‘‘It was therefore not surprising that as soon as the government made clear it was not interested in negotiations with them and proceeded to place ransom on the heads of their leaders, they selected targets for maximum impact to demonstrate their capacity for evil. And they succeeded in doing just that’’ EMEKA OMEIHE

C OMMENT & D EB ATE EBA

F

EW Nigerians know of a place called Providence, even though most citizens grapple with the idea of the word.

Providence the idea fascinates us and not Providence the place.

But last week, the providence of Africa was the subject of discussion in the city of Providence, in a state called Rhode Island in the United States. The man at the bottom of this is Chinua Achebe, Africa’s leading novelist, who incidentally touched off a tempest with his flawed new book, There was a Country.

He is a professor at Brown University, a member of the American Ivy league and one of the best schools in the world. He started the Chinua Achebe Colloquium, a talk shop of the world’s top exponents on Africa to chart a new way out of the ennui and tragic turbulence of a people.

It was my first attendance, and it was a feast of ideas, if the menu did not always flatter the mental palate. A wide range of persons spoke, from university professors from such upscale schools as Harvard to institutes like the Centre for Strategic and International Studies to a businessman like Mohammed Ibrahim to men of power like our own Babatunde Raji Fashola(SAN), the governor of example and chief executive of Lagos State.

The presence of two speakers resonated throughout the event, and they were Mo Ibrahim and Governor Fashola, in earnest because of the positions they advanced.

Achebe, aplomb in his wheelchair, never uttered a word throughout the conference, maintaining an avuncular aloofness from the friendly affray of the sessions. He did not only not convey what he felt, he did not want his enveloping silence ruffled with interaction. It was an irony of a convener, a magnet that attracted without being touched.

Even when Fashola stirred the hall with incisive comments about his new book, the most Achebe did was the lofty mannerism of touching his eyeglass and a little tic of his face and movement of the head. It seemed, at the hoary age of 82, Achebe was only interested in vocalising through his most potent forte: the written word.

Mo Ibrahim came across, in spite of his wealth and status, with a touching modesty, interacting with everyone as much as he could before he left. He spoke with great passion about the failing of his continent.

He noted that for a continent with so much promise, it is failing in all the important indices of governance, which included the rule of law, economic performance, participation and transparency, and gender issues.

His speech was, however, significant for a question he propounded. He wanted the

RIPPLES NIGERIA MAY MISS VISION 20:2020 - NESG

we knew all along that it was APRIL FOOL

idea of democracy for development. The second was on Achebe’s book, There was a Country. He took on the prose stylist for provoking a debate of old wounds belonging to a passing generation, and how his generation and the future generations should be left to grapple with challenges not fraught with the divisiveness of his book.

He felt as a man brought up on Things Fall Apart as one of the diets of his education, he felt engaged with the author and that was why Achebe should allow ethnic disputes between the Igbo and Yoruba be at ease, so the falcon can hear the falconer.

Going into history, he said both Awo and Ojukwu had moved on, and so should the rest of the country. He argued that some sapient harmonies had been ignored in the tempest. One, the Yoruba did not lay any proprietary claims to abandoned properties after the war. In fact, as somebody pointed out to me as the governor spoke, some Yoruba kept the full rent money for the landlords until the battle field fell silent. Two, that Ojukwu’s property was saved from the grasping lust of the Lagos State military government by the brilliance of a Yoruba lawyer, Tunji Braithwaite. Three, that a Yoruba general married off his daughter to an Igbo. He buttressed this with his family and his uncle who attended school the same day with Ojukwu. Four, that in Lagos State, some of the assets of his administration were Igbo, singling out Ben Akabueze and Joe Igbokwe for mention.

On the value of democracy, he noted that

Africans were not grappling with democracy alone but a series of existential distractions that made democracy to appear like an impediment.

With insights into history and law, he argued that Africans had yet to come to terms with the anachronisms of kings and conquerors in a modern world of cooperative living. Yet we cannot ignore our past, and that is where his speech fascinates.

African roots with the traditional obeisance, zest for divinities and the fear to experiment have often killed a greed for the future. Adam Smith had argued centuries ago that societies with big families under a patriarch would always abide with tyrannies.

Our extended family system with the power of one man has reflected in the entire democratic experiments of our people. What complicates it is the inevitability of modernisation: the rise of the city, capitalism, the modern bureaucracy, the clash of culture at the linguistic and social levels. These are breaking down the family structure while we resist them. That is why in one breath we accept democracy and in another resist it.

We cannot look beyond our ethnic cleavages or the big man syndrome in our politics. Democracy will not come a la carte.

We must be ready for the sacrifices. So the problem is not that democracy will not work, but it is not enough. We see democracy only as election. It is beyond that. It is about a culture. A culture that is corrupt cannot produce a vibrant democracy.

It is like administering a pill for malaria.

You have to use it with the necessary nourishment of food, rest, hydration, room temperature, etc, before the quinine will work. Otherwise, you will keep blaming the drug instead of the man.

“Except a corn of wheat fall to the ground and die, it abideth alone. But when it dies, it bringeth forth new fruits,” said Jesus Christ.

What parts of our culture are we ready to let die in order to enjoy the fruits of democracy?

As Mo Ibrahim said, countries like Cape Verde and Botswana are African and they are good models. Why not Nigeria? The fault is not in democracy, but in our culture. It takes leaders to save us from this fixation on kings and predators and fear of opposition when we win. Mo Ibrahim gave an example of a Cape Verde leader who, having no home or money, returned to his mother’s home after losing the election. He organised and won the next time. It is with such leaders that democracy delivers dividends.

HARDBALL

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above

SAM OMATSEYE

IN TOUCH

intouchsam@yahoo.com 08054501081(sms only) •NMMA Columnist of the Year

Democracy is not enough

•Fashola

audience to tell him the leaders of Cape Verde, Botswana and Mozambique. Few could answer. But everyone knew who Mobutu, Idi Amin, Abacha and Mugabe were.

He lamented that we did not celebrate what good we interred in our African bones. These three countries had great indices.

With due respect to the host, Achebe, Mo Ibrahim said this was no time for poetry, but for facts, for getting our hands dirty to save the continent from the jaws of poverty. He said the conflicts in Africa were about the poor fighting against the poor.

Fashola’s speech was marked by two main positions. One was the workability of the

I

N an open letter circulated to the media at the weekend, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, a former Foreign Affairs minister, has defended the public policy advocacy role the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has assumed with gusto. He did not always agree with the banking chief, said Akinyemi, himself an erudite policymaker, if also a controversial one, but it was necessary for someone who could command attention to fill the vacuum created by the exit of great Nigerians like Chike Obi, Tai Solarin, Ayo Awojobi, Aminu Kano, Gani Fawehinmi, Bala Usman, Obafemi Awolowo. Akinyemi’s position is indeed intriguing. Whether we will discover the true reasons he supports Sanusi remains to be seen. Hardball can hazard a guess that Akinyemi defends Sanusi because the indisputably controversial top banker is a kindred spirit to the former Foreign Affairs minister.

This column recalls that though Akinyemi as minister was not a public policy advocate in the Sanusi mould, having as an intellectual appreciated the incompatibility of his position in the Ibrahim Babangida years with that unusually public role, he was nonetheless very controversial. Yet, even his controversiality at the time was not because he was recklessly garrulous or because he was an overexcited policy wonk, but because his ideas, such as the Concert of Medium Powers, were misunderstood, being somewhat far ahead of his time. Akinyemi

Akinyemi on Sanusi will recall that his Medium Powers idea actually got off the ground, and did not cause the administration either headache or heartache. Yet Babangida still felt queasy about the controversies that dogged Akinyemi’s lively and fecund tenure, and shuffled him out of the cabinet. At the time, some of his supporters felt that IBB moved against Akinyemi because the former military president was uncomfortable with his intellectualism and visibility.

It is true Akinyemi hedged his support for Sanusi by warning that he did not always agree with the top banker’s views. But it is still surprising that as a seasoned public policy expert himself, Akinyemi is still willing to condone what are sometimes divisive and indefensible policy interventions simply because certain economists he consulted assured him Sanusi’s interventions had not had adverse effect on economic policies. But can anyone deny that some of Sanusi’s interventions have had aggravating effects on the polity generally, as the banker seems to have acted or spoken on some occasions parochially and insensitively to the point that a few regional interests have accused the banker of ethnic favouritism? Must the country wait until things go wrong with the economy

much more than the general governmental incompetence has provoked before asking Sanusi to shelve his ambitious public policy advocacy pastime?

There is no conceivable way to justify the spirit behind Sanusi’s interventions, notwithstanding the rightness of some of those interventions. Public policy advocacy is incompatible with the functions of a CBN governor, here and anywhere. Sanusi must be encouraged to choose between the two roles. Nor is Akinyemi right when he observed in his letter that, “As far as I am concerned, and others may hold different views on this matter, you (Sanusi) are the only one right now holding a position that empowers his views with such gravitas that they command attention. That they often lead to controversy is beside the point.”

The fact is that it is indeed truly worrisome that Sanusi’s views often lead to controversy. This fact is certainly not beside the point. Akinyemi also unhelpfully imbues Sanusi’s sometime extreme and undiscriminating views with more importance than they deserve when he suggested that the top banker was the only one with the gravitas to make his views command attention.

After all, Sanusi’s views on Boko Haram were atrociously divisive, and his comments on “the size of the bureaucracy, the pernicious 1999 Constitution, the need or non-need for more states, the redundancy of Local Governments, to mention a few” were doubtless superfluous.

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