The Nation February 07, 2012

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

News CPC, CODER allege Adamawa election manipulated P8 Sport Drogba savours team’s smooth run at Nations Cup P24 Business Nigeria’s oil export threatened, says Shell MD P11 www.thenationonlineng.net

VOL. 7, NO. 2028 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

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JTF declares bombing suspects wanted

M

ILITANTS yesterday vowed to launch more attacks on oil pipelines in the Niger Delta.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) at the weekend attacked a pipeline belonging to Italian oil giant Eni SPA in what looked like a resurgence of their activities.

The Federal Government has put security on the red alert.

Besides, the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in Bayelsa State has declared seven people wanted in connection with the attack on Agip facilities.

In a statement in Yenagoa, JTF spokesman Lt.-Col Timothy Antigha named Friday Burutu, Lord Onipa, Robinson Agagudu,

•Mr. Wale Tinubu, Chief Group Executive, Oando PLC (right) congratulates Mr Bandele Badejo, CEO, Oando Energy Services Limited, at the commissioning of ‘OES Passion’, a state-of-the art swamp rig just prior to deployment to Shell for a two-year N16 billion drilling contract at a ceremony held in Port Harcourt at the weekend.

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja and Isaac Ombe, Yenagoa

Eyala Karo, Stanley Uduorie, Para Ekiye and Rasmus Omukoro as the masterminds of the attack.

Lt.-Col. Antigha advised the suspects to report themselves to the JTF authorities in Yenagoa today.

He said: “The Joint Task Force wishes to reiterate its earlier warning that the suspects and their cohorts are out to swindle Niger Deltans by appropriating the identity of the erstwhile leadership of MEND to advance their selfish interest.

“For the avoidance of doubt, people who were the leadership of MEND are now responsible members of the society, having accepted Continued on page 2

Suspect gives SSS Boko Haram operations clues Sect strikes in Borno, Kano

MT Mbu is dead •Jonathan, others mourn

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

D

ETAINED Boko Haram spokesman Abu Qaqa has given State Security Service (SSS) operatives “reasonable clues” on the sect’s operations, The Nation learnt yesterday.

Qaqa reportedly spoke of how some members of the sect who were tired of fighting were “slaughtered” in the presence of members of their families. Seven were killed recently, he reportedly told detectives. The killings were said to have been ordered by the sect’s leader, Iman Shekau.

Qaqa is said to have confirmed that among members of the sect are Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri, Chadians and Nigeriens.

Besides, detectives discovered that the spokesman was using four pseudonyms to avoid being arrested.

But the SSS has established that Qaqa is an Ebira from Ajaokuta Local Government Area of Kogi State – the scene of last week’s devastating attack on a bank, which was bombed by yet unknown men.

While the SSS is grappling with the interrogation of the Boko Haram spokesman, there are indications that the FBI and other foreign experts brought in to probe the June 16, 2011 bombing of the Police Headquarters in Abuja may have been stuck.

A source close to the SSS probe of Boko Haram activities said: “The arrest of Qaqa has Continued on page 2

F

IRST Republic Minister Matthew Mbu is dead.

He died yesterday in London. He was 82.

A statement by his family said: “It is with the deepest regret, but also with total submission to God’s will, that the family of Ambassador (Dr.) M. T. Mbu regret to announce the passing of their patriarch in London at the age of 82. Funeral arrangements to be announced in due course.”

Continued on page 2 SEE ALSO PAGE 6

•National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Director General Muhammed Sani-Sidi (right) during a visit to injured head of Police Anti-bomb Squad for Jigawa/Kano states, Mr William Ilobor, at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital ... yesterday. SEE STORY ON PAGE 63

•The late Mbu

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THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

NEWS YOU, THE REPORTER Dear reader, here is an opportunity for you to join our team of reporters. You can send in stories and photographs, which you consider to be newsworthy. Our telephone number is 08082036515 (sms). The email is info@thenationonline.ng.net – Editor

MT Mbu is dead Continued from page 1

•Students of various Arabic Schools in Lagos marching during the 2012 Maulud Nabiyy celebration organised by LSMC at Tafawa PHOTO: TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos ... yesterday

Matthew Tawo Mbu, popular as MT Mbu, was born November 20, 1929. A lawyer, politician, diplomat and a permanent fixture in Nigeria’s political affairs for more than 50 years, he was born in Okundi, Cross River State.

He received his early education at Okundi Primary School from 1937 to 1940. He also attended the Kakwagon Seminary School between 1941and 1943, before proceeding to Middle Temple and University College, London, from 1955 to 1959, where he received the LLB and the LLM. Mbu was called to the Bar, Middle Temple.

Mbu’s political career began with his membership of Parliament from 1952 to 1955. He served Nigeria in various capacities, including: Federal Minister of Labour, 1954, High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK), 1955 to 1959 and Representative of Nigeria, Washington DC, 1966.

He was the youngest Nigerian ever to be in the federal cabinet.

Between 1960 and 1966, Mbu was in Parliament. During the

latter period in Parliament, he was Minister of Defence in charge of the Navy.

He was appointed Chairman, Eastern Nigeria Public Service Commission in 1967, and became Member, Constituent Assembly from 1977 to 1978. He was the first national vice-chairman of the Nigeria People’s Party from 1979 to 1981 before moving to the National Party of Nigeria from 1981 to 1983.

Mbu represented the country as an ambassador to some countries, including a recent appointment as Ambassador to Germany.

Mbu was Foreign Minister from January to November 1993.

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday described Mbu as a nationalist and globalist.

The President, who paid the tributes through a statement last night by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati said: “He was an icon of the legal profession and the Diplomatic Corps, who served Nigeria selflessly as a Minister; as Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and in several other capacities.”

JTF declares seven wanted over Agip facility bombing in Bayelsa Continued from page 1

the amnesty.

“In the light of this, the general public is advised to remain calm and discountenance the tissue of lies issued by these suspects as their raison d’être, because the relevant stages of the amnesty which was granted to

authentic ex-militants and all the attendant benefits are still on course,” the statement said.

MEND said in an e-mailed statement yesterday that last weekend’s attack in Brass, Bayelsa State, affected 200,000 barrels a day.

But Rome-based Eni, whose

facilities were attacked, said it lost “around 4,000” barrels per day of “equity production” from the incident.

The pipeline carries crude to an export terminal in the coastal town of Brass, about 250 kilometres (155 miles) southwest of Port Harcourt, said

MEND’s spokesman, Jomo Gbomo.

MEND said that in the next few weeks, it would carry out “major attacks on oil installations to demonstrate to the world the helplessness of oil companies and the Nigerian military.”

The Federal Government yesterday directed security agencies to nip in the bud any form of insecurity in the Niger Delta.

According to a statement by the Head of Media and Communications of Presidential Amnesty Office, Henry Ugbolue, the Special Adviser to

the President on Niger Delta and Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Hon. Kingsley Kuku, urged security agencies to devise proactive and creative ways to stop such attacks.

Continued from page 61

Suspect gives SSS clues about Boko Haram’s operations Two killed as sect strikes in Borno, Kano

Continued from page 1

led to the unraveling of many leads on the operations of the sect. The suspect, who has cooperated with us so far, has confirmed our initial clue that foreign elements from Chad and Niger Republic are key members of the sect.

“That is why it has been difficult to check the Boko Haram insurgency. They have operation bases in Nigeria, Chad, and Niger. So, each time they attacked any institution, they retreat to these bases.”

Detectives are sure that Qaqa is “critical” to the sect’s operation. “Yet, he only read Social Work and Administration,” said the source, who pleaded not to be named because of the “sensitivity” of the matter.

The source also quoted Qaqa as saying that before his arrest, Boko Haram was getting wearied.

Besides, it was learnt; he hinted of a division within the sect, following continuous arrests of non-Kanuri members (Hausa, Fulani, Chadians and Nigeriens) of Boko Haram.

The source quoted Qaqa as saying: “Before I was arrested, some of us were already showing signs of tiredness. Most of us were tired of fighting, but we couldn’t come out to say so because of fear of reprisal from leader Imam Shekau on dissenting members.

“Several of our members who denounced the violent struggle were slaughtered in

T

WO persons were last night shot dead in a house at Ummarari ward in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Also last night, there were explosions in the metropolis, after which the Gamboru market went up in flames.

It was gathered that the assailants stormed the house and headed straight for the apartments of their targets and shot them dead.

A family friend to one of the deceased, who spoke to reporters, said: “The other occupants of the house had fled before we got there this morning (Monday) but somebody told us that the gunmen came at about 10pm in the night when everybody was fast asleep.

They said the killers went to the first target, an Ebira man named Dele, from Kogi State, since his apartment was closer to the main entrance leading to the house. They then headed for Mr Ore’s room and shot him too. I am just coming from the place and as I am talking to you now, Ore’s body is still lying on the floor in front of his room.”

It was gathered that the late Ore, from Kabba in Kogi State, was planning to front of their wives and children. Seven were killed recently.

“Besides some of us, the non-Kanuri (Hausa, Fulani and others) in the sect were worried at the trend of arrests of our members. It is either that the security agents were so good at their job or some of our members were moles giving us out.

“The worrying aspect was that most of our key members arrested were non-Kanuri,

From Joseph Abiodun, Maiduguri and Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

relocate to his home town before he was killed. “He initially refused to relocate with his family last year but his younger brother wanted him to leave Maiduguri at all cost. He was said to have promised him money this week so that he could park his belongings.

Unfortunately, we have informed the brother now that the man has been killed,” the family member said.

Police spokesman Samuel Tizhe said the command had not received the report of the killings. The Joint Task Force (JTF) could not also comment as at the time of filing this report.

Following the multiple explosions, residents were thrown into anxiety as people within the Gamboru Market around the Custom area ran for dear lives.

Thick, dark smoke billowed in the sky. Sources said the explosion, which occurred at about 4pm, might have been planted in a drainage. But an official of the JTF, who would not want to be quoted, said the billowing smoke was caused by an electric machine gutted by

which raised fears that there’s sectional betrayal of members.”

Responding to a question, the source added that the SSS has succeeded in verifying the identity of the Boko Haram spokesman.

He said: “He is an Ebira man.

He was involved in Boko Haram assaults on Bauchi State and was arrested. But he was set free by members of the sect.

“No wonder there has been

fire.

Some hoodlums suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect yesterday in Kano attacked a police station.

An eye witness, who described the attack as “serious”, said the gang stormed the Sharada police station on motorcycles and vehicles.

Residents said they heard gunmen shooting and shouting “Allahu Akbar”.

There was an exchange of gunshots with policemen at the station.

The gunmen, according to an eyewitness, stormed the police station at about 6.45pm when residents were rushing to beat the curfew imposed on the city.

Police authorities confirmed that there was an attack on the station but that the military and the police overpowered members of the sect, making it impossible for them to bomb the police station.

“The prompt action of our men made the sect members to flee as they were promptly overpowered.”

Police Commissioner Ibrahim Idris could not be reached for comments.

There was no confirmation of any death.

unease in the sect since Qaqa was arrested, considering the huge volume of information at his disposal.

“Abu Qaqa, 42, has variously used the names: Mohammed Shuaibu, Mohammed Bello, Abu Tiamiya, and Abdulrahman Abdullahi.

“When he was set free after the Bauchi jail break by some of their members, he adopted Abu Dardaa and ended up with Abu Qaqa,

until his arrest.

“He holds an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in Social Work and Administration from Ramat Polytechnic in Maiduguri , Borno State .

“He is from Ebiya South Village in Ajaokuta Local Government Area of Kogi State.”

The source said investigation was shifting to the uncovering of the sponsors of Boko Haram and how the sect has been sourcing its

arms.

Also yesterday, there were hints that the FBI and other foreign experts brought in to probe the June 16, 2011 bombing of the Police Headquarters in Abuja were stuck.

A police source, who pleaded not to be named because he is not permitted to talk to the media, said the experts could only conduct forensic examination on the wreckage of the vehicles and shrapnel of the bombs.

“The former InspectorGeneral of Police, Hafiz Ringim, brought in these foreign bomb experts without allowing local input from crack investigators in the police.

“I can tell you that these experts have been stuck because they do not know the terrain. They cannot speak our language and they do not understand our culture,” the source said, adding: “Worse still during the period, the Police Special Investigation Unit was more or less technically disbanded. Is it not disturbing that we have not been able to investigate bomb explosions at our doorsteps?

“If you look at how the SSS arrested Abu Qaqa, it was a Hausa speaking officer, who just returned from a training session in London that made the breakthrough. We hope the new IGP, Mr. Mohammed Dikko Abubakar, will revisit the probe into the explosions at the Force Headquarters.”

ADVERT HOTLINES: 01-280668, 08070591302, 08052592524 NEWSROOM: LAGOS – 01-8962807, ABUJA – 07028105302 COMPLAINTS: 01-8930678

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

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THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

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NEWS NATIONAL NEW YEARSUMMIT MESSAGES

Nwabueze, Musa, Fasehun, others •Clark, Fani-Kayode disagree over troops deployment in Lagos

S

TATESMEN, political leaders, right activists and representatives of ethnic nationalities yesterday reiterated their calls for a Sovereign National Conference (SNG), warning that Nigeria was heading towards a failed nation.

At a pre-National Conference brain-storming session in Lagos organised by the National Summit Group (NSG), delegates also stressed that only a national conference of over 484 ethnic nationalities can midwife a peoples’ constitution for the country to replace the 1999 Constitution, which came into being following the promulgation of Decree 24 of 1999.

According to them, the National Assembly, as it is presently constituted, lacks the competence to make a new constitution for the country.

Issues discussed at the summit, which was chaired by the convener, Prof. Pat Utomi, included corruption, rule of law, checks and balances, security, power and revenue sharing by tiers of government, the constitution, wealth creation by states, education, and leadership failure in the country.

Participants at the meeting, which held at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, included the leader of Patriots, Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN), former Secretary to Federal Military Government Chief Olu Falae, former Governors Balarabe Musa (Kaduna State), Felix Ibru (Delta), Chukwuemeka Ezeife (Anambra), and Victor Attah (Akwa-Ibom); former Federal Commissioner for Information Chief Edwin Clark, former Finance Minister Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu, former Information Minister Chief John Nwodo, former Aviation Minister Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) founder Dr. Fredrick Fasehun,former Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) secretary Dr. Kunle Olajide, former national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Audu Ogbeh, frontline activist and publisher Chief Arthur Nwankwo, Chief Ralph Obiorah, Ambassador Grace Ekeh, Chief Alabo Douglas and Arewa Youth Consultative Forum leader Alhaji Shettima Yerima.

Also at the summit were Prof.

Akin Oyebode, Chief Mike Ozehekome (SAN), Lagos State University, Ojo (LASU) teacher Dr. Lakin Akintola, Denzil Ketenbe, King Jaja of Anaboyabo Kingdom, secretary of yoruba Council of Obas, Oba Aderemi Adedapo, Elder Seidu Dogo, Mrs. Joy Okunnu, Mrs. Ganiat Fawehinmi, and her son, Mohammed, John Kolawole, Dr. Peter Esan, and Lagos State Commissioner of Police Yakubu Alkali.

Solidarity messages came from invited delegates who could not make the meeting, including Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Ogoni leader Leedun Mitee, Prof. Grace Alele-Williams, Justice Isola Oluwa and Alhaji Maitama Sule. Proceedings were transmitted live on the Channels Television.

Amid the conference, a quarrel brewed between former Information Minister Chief Clark and former Aviation Minister Chief Fani-Kayode over the deployment of troops in Lagos State by President Goodluck Jonathan in the wake of the national protest against fuel subsidy removal.

Clark, who decried the hypocri-

• From left: Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu, Chief Edwin Clark, Prof. Ben Nwabueze and Alhaji Balarabe Musa

• Mr. Femi Falana and Chief Femi Fani-Kayode

• Dr. Ishaq Akintola

• Chief John Nwodo and Chief Tonye Graham-Douglas

• Dr. Fedrick Fasehun

• Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife

•Sheik AbdulRahman Ahmad

• Lagos State Commissioner of Police Alkali (left), former Akwa Ibom State Governor Victor Attah (centre) and Chief Felix Ibru

• Mrs. Ganiyat Fawehinmi PHOTOS: DAVID ADEJO

u

s

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

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NEWS NATIONAL SUMMIT

unite for National Conference

By Emmanuel Oladesu Deputy Political Editor

sy of opponents of troops deployment in Lagos, pointed out that these critics had kept quiet over the deployment of soldiers to the Niger Delta for some years. He said: “There are soldiers in Warri, PortHarcourt and Yenogoa. Why are they protesting the presence of soldiers in these areas? Why is Lagos different?”.

Fani-Kayode, who spoke after the elder statesman, disagreed with his view, pointing out that a difference existed between keeping soldiers in troubled spots and invasion of soldiers in peaceful territories.

He stressed: “There is a difference between keeping soldiers in Port-Harcourt, Warri and the North where there are bombings and Boko Haram and Lagos where there was peaceful protest”.

Lagos lawyer Femi Falana, who apparently aligned with Fani-Kayode’s view, said: “Under the principle of federalism, if you want soldiers to terrorise your people, I have the right to say I don’t want soldiers to terrorise my own people”. However, Pa Clark insisted on his view, although he did not have opportunity to elaborate his point.

Welcoming the delegates, Summit Secretary Tony Uranta dismissed insinuation that the meeting was sponsored by the government. He said: “This is not a government initiative. The initiative is borne out of the desire for the restructuring of the country. The Abuja Political Conference and Pro-national Conference Organisation (PRONACO), which I was part of, did not achieve it. This effort will lead to a national conference”.

The convener, Utomi, said that he was seized by sadness and hope as the arrowhead, stressing that while he is sad that Nigeria is on the brink of precipice, he had to take solace in the possibility that the country has a future as a potentially fast growing economy.

He lamented the raging poverty, deep cleavages, absence of checks and balances and loss of accountability, warning that, in the absence of true federalism, many people would abdicate their responsibilities in the system.

Utomi said: “States should challenge the centre. We need state constitutions so that governors can create conditions for prosperity for their people. A process has been set up, but it is inadequate.

Elected representatives are not living up to expectation. We must create a situation where the cost of government will be low and people will see being in government as a service”.

Musa, who kicked off the discussion session, warned that Nigeria was on the verge of a failed state in every respect, adding that leadership failure has remained the bane of the country.

Lamenting the lopsided federal arrangement, Falae said the National Assembly is not truly representative of the 484 ethnic groups constituting the country, adding that it cannot make a new constitution for the country. He said since over 50 ethnic groups are not represented at all in the National Assembly, the body is not qualified to act on their behalf.

Falae stressed: “In 1958, as a prelude to independence, our leaders converged in London to evolve a covenant, a federal constitution. The Englishman was not a fool for agreeing to a federal con-

stitution for the 484 ethnic groups.

“Every region had its constitution, coast of arms, Agent_General in London. Thus, Nigeria had four ambassadors in London. as a student of the University of Lagos, I studied four constitutions. There was healthy competition. Awo wanted five shillings as minimum wage, free education. others were not ready. Military threw away the federal covenant. They imposed a quassi-unitary constitution which cannot take Nigeria to the future.

Sovereignty belongs to the people. All these problems are symptomatic of fundamental disequilibrium.

Nwabueze, who narrated to delegates how he was tear-gassed during the protest against troops deployment in Lagos, said it is imperative for the ethnic nationalities to converge for a Sovereign National Conference for the purpose of making a peoples constitution for the country.

He added: “Anybody who is opposed to a Sovereign National Conference is an enemy of Nigeria. The National Conference will draft the constitution and we will march to Abuja to deliver copies to the National Assembly and President”.

Ogbe reviewed the state of the nation, contending that Nigeria must return to true federalism, evolution of productive states, housing through mortgage scheme and agricultural development for food security.

Ijaw leader Clark backed the call for national confernce, stressing that “we must know why we are living together”. He added: “States should move at their own pace, and not that if you cannot move, I must not move”.

Prof. Oyebode cautioned against the feeling that the unity of Nigeria cannot be negotiated, drawing attention to the eclipse of some countries which failed to resolve their national questions.

He said: “There is definitely the need for a new constitution. Abdulsalami Constitution, written by 25 people, is now outdated. It was for a brief, transition period.

The National Assembly cannot create a new constitution. Only a Legislative Assembly can do it, not a National Assembly that is set up to make law for the good order.

“The National Assembly is incompetent to give Nigeria a new constitution. After the peoples’ constitution is made, a referendum is conducted. If 51 percent says yes, the 1999 Constitution is put in abeyance. There is the need for devolution of power. Why should we have a register of births and deaths in Abuja? Nigeria’s unity is negotiable. That it is not negotiable is an infantile statement. if we don’t do the right thing, Nigeria may become a past tense”.

Dr. Olajide said: “Government should listen to criticisms. We must move this movement from zone to zone. National Assembly can only amend the constitution, but we don’t have a constitution to amend”.

Obiorah said: “The President should create a state of emergency in the four states of the north threatened by Boko Haram. Today, every household in Igbo is mourning. Igbos are the truest Nigerians. Governors of Ebonyi and Imo states asked them to stay on in the north to prevent the repeat of 1967 saga”.

Dr. Kalu said: “Some people fear that the country may break down, if Sovereign National Conference is held. That confirms the need to talk and allay their fears. We need peace with security, peace with jus-

• From left: Chief Olu Falae, Chief Audu Ogbeh and Chief Mike Ozekomeh... yesterday

• Utomi and Wale Okunniyi... yesterday

tice, peace with the rule of law, and an acceptable constitution where these things come from.

“Federalism is not an excuse for the high costs of governance. It is a question of leadership. Sovereign National Conference does not mean that a government will be displaced. But what emerges from a Sovereign National Conference becomes sovereign”.

Fani-Kayode warned that Nigeria may break like old India and Sudan, lamenting that “some people believe that, if the federal government is not in their hand, there can be nom peace”.

He added: “Sovereign National Conference should bring equity and justice. We have taken our unity for granted. In 2012, before entering the church in the north, people and cars are being searched.

There is need for a full force against Boko Haram. No to negotiation with them. They are not powerful than government. Some people say there is a link between Boko Haram and revenue allocation. It is unacceptable”.

Mrs. Fawehinmi asked the delegates never to relent on the subsidy question, recalling that her late husband had published a book 10 years ago, which described it as a ruse. He warned that fuel price may go up to N300 in the next two years, thereby making it unaffordable to Nigerians.

Douglas frowned at the refusal of many northern elite to publicly decry the menace of Boko Haram, adding: “We can’t be myopic that we don’t know the operators and

•Mr. Tony Uranta

perpetrators”.

Nwankwo said: “Time is running out. This government should be in a hurry to call a Sovereign National Conference now or they perish”.

Nwodo said: “Our leaders should come out to take a position on the Sovereign National Conference. Our present constitution has failed. In Patriots, we drafted the constitution and sent it to the National Assembly and President. Nobody took us serious.

I was the government’s spokesman when the 1999 Constitution was made. It did not evolve from

a Sovereign National Conference.

People were in a hurry to return to civilian rule”.

Ezeife said: “The President cannot transform Nigeria without restructuring. All the sections need one Nigeria. Igbo will continue to live everywhere in Nigeria, even if the country breaks up. We need zonal police, zonal army commanders, a unicameral, part-time legislature.

“Sovereignty belongs to the people. But it must be clear that the tenure of the National Assembly and President is not affected. That done, nobody born of woman will reject the recommendations of the Sovereign National Conference”.

Falana recalled that when the agitation for a Sovereign National Conference started, some of those who sent police after the agitators are now part of the summit. He added: “The issue of structure can only be discussed in a conference. When 84 percent of the resources go for recurrent expenditure, what is left for development? No value has been added to oil. we don’t know the amount of money made from oil. Over 70 percent of our people live with less than N300 daily.

“National Assembly is opposed to any form of national conference.

We should tell them that we want to write a new constitution, not to stop their jumbo pay for now, but that 1999 Constitution, which is Decree 24 of 1999 cannot stand”.

Fasehun said: “If the federal government is afraid of Sovereign National Conference, let us invite Prof.

Attahiru Jega to conduct a national referendum on it before it starts”.

The two-day summit continues today.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

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NEWS Ex-militants: Nigeria decries bad reports in South African media From Olugbenga Adanikin, Abuja

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HE Federal Government has urged the South African Government to correct the negative reports by its media against former Niger Delta militants currently undergoing trainings in South Africa.

Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Kingsley Kuku condemned the reports, saying they are an attempt to provoke the South African Government against the former militants.

Kuku spoke in Abuja when South African High Commissioner, Ambassador Kingsley Mamabolo, visited the Presidential Amnesty Office.

He criticised a recent documentary on the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), saying it degraded the ex-militants in South Africa.

In a statement by the Head of Media and Communications, Henry Ugbolue, the Federal Government said: “This is not fair; it is unjust, especially given that these youths were sent to the friendly country of South Africa with the best of intentions; to have them trained in first class facilities so as to achieve their speedy reintegration into the civil society.

Fed Govt to involve private sector in security From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

THE National Orientation Agency (NOA) has said it would engage the private sector in enhancing security of life and property through mass mobilisation for peace and security consciousness.

In a statement in Abuja by the NOA’s Assistant Director of Press, Fidel Agu, the agency’s DirectorGeneral Mike Omeri noted that peace and security would not be easy to attain if the private sector left the job for the government and its agencies alone.

He said the NOA would engage not only communities in its campaign for peace and social stability but also the private sector.

Omeri said: “What we intend to do, in addition to engaging communities, is also to engage the private sector because they are beneficiaries. We will engage other arms of the political strata.”

Jonathan to clerics, monarchs: tackle Boko Haram

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday urged religious leaders and traditional rulers to assist him in ridding the nation of the Boko Haram insurgency.

The President hailed them for enhancing national unity and promoting peaceful co-existence among Nigerians.

He assured that his actions are motivated by the desire to improve the lives of Nigerians.

A statement on his social network page, Facebook, to mark the birth of the Prophet Mohammed (SAW), said the President vowed to continue the fight against corruption, eliminate waste in government and redirect national re-

Promises to curb corruption, eliminate waste, others From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

sources to indentified priority areas.

Dr Jonathan urged Nigerians to remain prayerful, assuring that his administration is committed to the successful implementation of the national transformation agenda.

The statement reads: “I greet you all, especially our Muslim brothers and sisters, as we commemorate the anniversary of the birth of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (SAW).

“As we celebrate the anniversary of the Prophet’s birth, I urge all Nigerians to collec-

tively reflect on the virtues and ideals which he exemplified and taught. The proper internalisation of these virtues and ideals will undoubtedly benefit our nation immensely as we confront current security and developmental challenges.

“I sincerely believe that we will make much faster progress towards the realisation of our shared vision of a strong, united and prosperous nation, if more of our people imbibe the Prophet’s lessons of peace, peaceful co-existence with others, tolerance, honesty, selflessness, sincerity, justice, equity and fairness to all.

“My administration greatly appreciates the untiring effort being made by our religious and traditional rulers to foster national unity and promote the peaceful coexistence of all Nigerians in the face of current challenges and I urge them to do more in this regard.

“We shall continue to do all that we can in the coming months to curb corruption, eliminate waste and redirect national resources to indentified high priority areas, such as public infrastructure, power supply, transportation, agricultural development, education and other sectors that will have a direct

Eminent Nigerians mourn Mbu

By Emmanuel Oladesu, Deputy Political Editor

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•Three mechanic apprentices were yesterday killed when this waste disposal truck fell on the car under the Obadore-LASU bridge, Lagos, at a mechanic workshop.

PHOTO: JOHN EBHOTA

Obasanjo is liability to Ogun PDP, says Okupe

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ORMER Presidential spokesman Dr. Doyin Okupe yesterday said former President Olusegun Obasanjo is a liability to the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He noted that the former President has not only “erred politically”, but may also cost the party its victory in future elections in the state.

According to him, if Obasanjo’s leadership style is left unchallenged, Ogun PDP will be doomed.

Okupe spoke at the Ijebu– Igbo home of billionaire hotelier and politician, Prince Buriji Kashamu.

He was the former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Obasanjo between 1999 and 2003.

He said: “Obasanjo is our leader. We have a lot of respect for him; we are proud of his achievements. But politically, he has erred; that’s

From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

the truth. Politically, he has erred and his style of leadership is not such that will develop the party.

“We do not want this party to die. Some of us were in this party before Obasanjo came. So, we are not going to allow it to die. But if we go the way they are leading us, the party will die. So, it’s a rescue mission.”

Okupe noted that Obasanjo, being the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of PDP, wields enormous power.

He said: “I will be honest with you; the chairman of the BOT is not a small person in any political party.

Obasanjo is the chairman of the BOT; so you cannot rough-ride over him anyhow, even if his demands are undemocratic or unreasonable.

“Still, they (party members) have to be very care-

ful. He is our natural leader here in Ogun State. Like they say in Yoruba, we can’t look him in the eye.

“We just feel that what is right should be done, irrespective of who is doing the wrong thing. If we cannot do that, then we are not worthy of the leadership positions we occupy. That is the only basis of our disagreement.”

The former presidential spokesman said the Ogun PDP is factionalised into three unequal units – Kashamu’s group, Obasanjo’s group and what remains of former Governor Gbenga Daniel’s group.

He said: “Kashamu is the largest of the units; in fact, the mainstream.”

Okupe said the formation of the Transition, Reconciliation and Congress Committee (TRC), headed by Chief Bode Mustapha, by the National Vice-Chairman of the party in the Southwest, Alhaji

Tajudeen Oladipo, was wrong and divisive.

He alleged that the TRC was an illegal body conscripted to usurp the legitimate roles of the Dayo Soremi-led Executive of the party by Obasanjo’s minority group.

Oupe said: “We just don’t feel that it is right for the minority to be tyrannical over a majority. That is why we went to court. The court has re-emphasised our position that our Exco is the legitimate exco.

“Whatever illegal contraption that was conceived by the Southwest leadership – what (Transition, Reconciliation and Congresses Committee) they contrived only exists in the Southwest; it doesn’t exist elsewhere.

“This TRC Committee is just a device to usurp the constitutional authority from legitimately elected leaders.

That is undemocratic and is not right.”

Businessmen hail choice of Abubakar as Acting IGP

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GROUP of Lagosbased businessmen, under the aegis of Trade Fair Stakeholders’ Forum, has said the recent appointment of Mohammed Dikko Abubakar as the Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP) is one of the best appointments by President Goodluck Jonathan.

In a statement in Lagos by the Chairman, Balogun Business Association (BBA),

and positive impact on wealth creation and employment generation.

“I thank you all for your continuing support and understanding in spite of being called upon to make additional sacrifices for national development recently. Remain assured that all my actions as President are motivated by a burning desire to significantly improve the lives of the people of this country within the tenure of my administration.

“With your support and God’s guidance, I will succeed.

May God Almighty continue to bless, guide and protect our dear country.”

Leonard Ogbonnia, and Chairman of ASPAMDA, Chief Tony Ughagwu, the group noted that Abubakar’s training, deployment, performance and personality have prepared him for his new role.

It dismissed as contrived mudslinging the characterisation of the acting IGP as a “religious fanatic”, saying the allegation cannot stick because the Acting police

chief “is widely acknowledged to be a devout and liberal Muslim, a highly cosmopolitan, accessible, generous and open-minded officer, who is known to have bought copies of the Holy Bible and other Christian religious items as birthday/ Christmas gifts for his Christian friends and subordinates”.

The group said: “If all the facts above are viewed

against the background that Abubakar, in his capacity as the Plateau State Police Commissioner, was never issued a query over his actions or inaction during the Jos Crisis - as confirmed in a statement by the Police Service Commission - and the fact that not once in all his years of service was he linked with any action precipitated by religious bigotry, one would see that

those holding on to the Niki Tobi Panel report to seek to discredit the Acting IGP are not being fair to him.

“It is also noteworthy that apart from Plateau, Abubakar has also served as Police Commissioner in Kwara, Abia, Kano, Airport and Lagos; he was Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) at different times in charge of Zones 2, 5, 6 and 12.”

MINENT Nigerians, including former Kaduna State Gover-

nor Balarabe Musa; former Ogun State Governor Segun Osoba; former External Affairs Minister Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi and Afenifere chieftain Chief Ayo Adebanjo, yesterday expressed shock at the death of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Matthew Mbu. Adebanjo, an associate of the late Western Region’s Premier, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, recalled the life and time of the deceased.

He noted that Mbu was a legend of the First Republic politics.

Adebanjo said: “He was one of the pioneers of the independence struggle. He was a frontline independence politician, a great leader of the National Council of Nigerian Convention (NCNC) and a nationalist. You may not agree with his politics, but he was a great politician. His death is a great loss. God will provide for Nigeria men of stature like Mbu.” Osoba described the late minister as a great Nigerian and member of the old order.

He said: “He (Mbu) was perhaps the youngest High Commissioner we ever had in the United Kingdom. He was a gentleman and a respected Nigerian.”

Akinyemi said: “Ambassador Mathew Mbu was practically Mr. Foreign Policy for Nigeria. He had been involved in the foreign policy field for as long as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs existed. He served as an ambassador and foreign minister. His words of wisdom and vast knowledge would be vastly missed.

“I had many interactive sessions with him publicly and privately. He was a repository of facts and knowledge, especially about the beginning of our foreign policy. He lived a full life.

He served his country well.

I hope he will be given a befitting burial.”

Musa said: “I send condolence to the family. My reaction is an expression of loss.

May his soul rest in perfect peace.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

7

NEWS Fayemi inaugurates council caretakers today

Ajayi Crowther Varsity shut indefinitely

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JAYI Crowther University, Oyo, has been shut indefinitely by the authorities following a protest by the students.

The protest started Sunday evening after a 300-level Computer Science student, Elvis Abu Paul (22), died at the institution’s health centre.

The students blamed the death on the poor quality of service at the centre.

They said Paul’s death could have been averted, if the centre had been well

From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo

equipped.

One of them said: “Paul was put on oxygen. But when the electricity supply went off, we begged them to put on the generating set, but they said they can only do so when the Vice-Chancellor is around.

“We attempted to take him to a reliable hospital, but the security men asked us to go and get a pass before leaving the campus. At that point, Paul started gasping for breath.”

Paul’s death led to a protest by the students, in which property was destroyed at the Faculty of Management Science, Department of Economics, Health Centre and the security portal at the main gate.

A portion of the university’s fence was also pulled down.

A top official of the university, who pleaded for anonymity, denied the students’ allegations, insisting that the health centre personnel are competent.

It was gathered that when the father of the deceased arrived the campus in a Honda Accord CRV car, marked Abuja HP 494 ABC, he attacked the Vice-Chancellor, but people held him back and appealed for patience.

Efforts to speak with the Vice-Chancellor proved abortive, as he was in pensive mood.

Students have vacated the campus and policemen are stationed at its main gate.

An Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) is also stationed at the gate.

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KITI State Governor Kayode Fayemi will, today, swearin appointed caretaker chairmen to run the affairs of the council areas.

Also appointed to work with them are secretaries, council assistants to the governor, supervisors and special advisers.

According to the governor’s spokesman, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, the appointees will be sworn in at Adetiloye Hall of the Fountain Hotel in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, by 4pm.

The caretaker chairmen are: Mr. Olotu Ezekiel (Emure), Mr. Folayan Adio (Efon), Chief Olusoga David (Moba), Mr. Omoleye Francis (Ijero), Mr. Aregbesola Oluwasanmi (Ikole), Mr. Abegunde Omoniyi (Gbonyin), Mr. Genge Julius (Ekiti Southwest), Mr. Akingbolu Tajudeen (Ekiti West), Pastor Agbeyo Ebenezer (Ido/Osi), Mr. Adekamimo James (Ikere), Prince Bamigboye Adegoroye (Ilejemeje), Mr. Ajidara Rotimi (Ekiti East), Mr. Ajayi Ilori (Ise/Orun), Major Awe Tajudeen (rtd.) (Irepodun/Ifelodun), Mr. Adekoya Adewale (Oye) and Mr. Ibitoye Sunday (Ado).

Ilaro gets Oba From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

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RINCE Adedeji Olugbenle has emerged the Olu-elect of Ilaroland in Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State.

Olugbenle (72) hails from the Ashade Agunloye Ruling House. He beat five other contestants for the seat in an election conducted on January 26.

The last Olu of Ilaro from the Ashade Agunloye Ruling House was Oba Olusoji Agunloye II, who reigned between 1913 and 1937.

The Chairman, Ilaro Regency Council, Chief Jas Oyekan told reporters yesterday that the Olu-elect polled the highest number of votes cast by the council members.

The other contestants are: Victor Olugbenle, Adebola Dada, Adeyanju Taiwo, Kehinde Olugbenle and Gbadebo Olugbenle.

Oyekan said: “Prince Adedeji had five votes, Prince Kehinde had four and the other four candidates had zero. “The five of us that voted for Adedeji Olugbenle signed a Certificate of Return, which was sent to the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs for processing.”

He said the state government has 21 days to confirm the nomination of the Olu-elect, who is also the Paramount ruler of Yewaland.

•Oyo StateGovernor Abiola Ajimobi (middle); Senior Transport Specialist, Transport Policy Programme (Sub-Saharan Africa) of the World Bank Mrs. Camilla I. Lema (left); and Professor Ademola Ariyo of the Oyo State Economic Management Team (OSEMAT) at the Government House, Ibadan...yesterday.

Oyo ACN says PDP reconciliation’ll fail

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HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Oyo State has said “the pseudo-reconciliation” in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will fail.

It said ACN would nail the PDP’s coffin in 2015.

The party was reacting to boasts by PDP chieftains, after a reconciliatory meeting at the weekend, that the party would reclaim Oyo and the Southwest in 2015.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Dauda Kolawole, ACN described the PDP as “an assemblage of failed politicians, many of whom, in 2011, could not win their wards.”

It said: “We wish them well in this pseudo-reconcil-

•Slams Ms Akinjide iation. The people of Oyo State are waiting for them.

They apparently think we have forgotten, so soon, how they arrested the development of Oyo State when they were in power.

“Our people know the PDP is an assemblage of scorpions, leeches and caterpillars, who are coming together for the benefit of their stomachs. Soon, what united them will scatter them.”

ACN alleged that unknown to PDP members, the reconciliatory meeting was aimed at positioning the party for the governorship ambition of the Minister of

State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Ms Jumoke Akinjide.

It said: “The people of Oyo State will patan fun (take down the memory lane) Jumoke Akinjide, a failed senatorial candidate, when the time comes.

“Within its short time in office, the ACN government has shown the people what good governance is, as opposed to the sham governance of the PDP. The battle would be of responsiveness and loyalty to the electorate.

“Our people have not forgotten how the PDP turned Oyo State into a battlefield,

killing one another and spilling the blood of our people.

“The ACN government has restored peace and we will ask our people if they want the state returned to the era of Eleweomo and Tokyo.

“Check out those who gathered at the so-called reconciliation meeting, they are all politicians who failed woefully at the 2011 polls. They are PDP in the morning and ACN at night, with their siblings and children in our government.

“They are failed politicians who cannot thrive in an atmosphere of peace, except brigandage. When the time comes, our people would remind them that they are not fools.”

Ondo targets safe delivery of 30,000 babies yearly

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HE Ondo State Government has approved the replication of its safe motherhood, “Abiye,” programme in all the local government areas.

Commissioner for Health Dayo Adeyanju said this means that 30,000 expectant mothers would be delivered of their babies safely.

Adeyanju said the replication of the programme would cost almost N2 billion.

The pilot scheme was inaugurated on October, 2009, at Ifedore Local Government.

The Abiye programme was designed to address high maternal mortality and the death of children under five years.

Adeyanju said the scheme

From Damisi Ojo,Akure

has provided qualitative and accessible health care to women and children, and increased the utilisation of health care facilities.

He said 31,000 patients, including 11,879 normal deliveries and 1,400 caesarean sections, have been treated at no cost under the programme.

Adeyanju said the government established 10 basic health centres in all the wards in Ifedore for the pilot scheme, besides the four comprehensive health centres and one general hospital in the council.

But he said the number of health facilities would be reduced, owing to the personnel challenges being faced by the programme.

Adeyanju said: “The mid-

wives we have on ground are not enough to go round.

We have mapped out the facilities to ensure equity in their distribution.

“We have to scale down to four basic health centres and two comprehensive health centres, which is where surgical operation can take place. Each of these will be in one ward.

“We will complement the remaining four wards with tricycle ambulances, which will move them from the hinterland to the basic health centre or the comprehensive health centres.

“The comprehensive health centre can also send its four wheel ambulance to move them from their homes to address the delay in accessing health care.”

He said the semi urban wards would have compre-

hensive health centres, while rural communities would have basic health centres and tricycle ambulances.

The commissioner said all the facilities, equipment and funding needed for the prgramme have been put in place and the shortage of manpower is being addressed.

He said: “The Council of Midwifery has approved that we retain all the products from our School of Midwifery, so that they will partake in the Abiye programme. We had 32 last year and are expecting another 32 this year.

“With that, we will have enough manpower. We will be able to navigate rural areas and ensure that the rangers are in regular contact with their patients.”

Court stops dissolution of Ekiti PDP exco

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HIGH Court, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, has stopped the National Executive of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from dissolving the party’s executive in Ekiti State.

It also stopped the national executive from constituting any caretaker committee for the state party.

Last November, the national executive set up an Ad Hoc Committee, headed by the former Minister of State for Energy (Gas), Mr Babatunde Odusina, to supervise the constitution of state caretaker committees.

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

This was perceived as circumventing the relevance of the elected State Working Committee, led by Chief Bola Olu-Ojo. Members of the state executive challenged the national body’s decision at the High Court.

Last week, Justice A.K.Fowe restrained the national executive from ending the tenure of the plaintiff, setting up a caretaker committee in the state, pending the determination of the suit.

The case was adjourned till March 5.

‘Aregbesola pride of Yoruba race’

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SUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has been described as “the pride of the Yoruba race” by two governorship aspirants of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State, Mr. Saka Lawal and Chief Jamiu Ekungba.

They spoke at the weekend during the 50th Anniversary celebration of Anglican Grammar School, Arigidi Akoko, Aregbesola’s alma mater.

Ekungba thanked Aregbesola for donating an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Centre, named after former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu, and a bus to the school.

He said the governor’s actions and projects reflect the “people-oriented” programmes of the ACN. Lawal, a former Special Adviser (SA) to the Ondo State Governor on Planning and Strategy urged Governor Olusegun Mimiko to learn from Aregbesola’s education policy.

He said: “Our governor has to stop wasting billions on the

•Aregbesola From Damisi Ojo, Akure

construction of mega schools, which add no value to education. He has wasted billions on primary education, while most of our secondary schools are in a sorry state.

“Does it make sense for pupils to enjoy a nice environment at the primary level and later attend a secondary school where classrooms have no roof?

“The state polytechnic and university have been neglected. The polytechnic is just a glorified primary school.”

Lawal urged the people to vote for ACN at next year’s governorship election, so that they can enjoy “meaningful development.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

8

NEWS Six ex-militants arrested over hotel blast

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HERE were fresh security concerns in Delta State yesterday following the bombing of the popular Lawfab Hotel, located barely one kilometre from the Shell Petroleum Development Company-operated Osubi Airport, near Warri, Delta State.

The incident occurred at about 4am yesterday and it affected two floors in the new section of the hotel.

The masterminds of the blast were not immediately known. But there was a report that the hotel is home to exmilitants undergoing rehabilitation under the Federal Government's amnesty pro-

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At least six of the ex-militants lodging in the hotel before the blast have been picked up by security operatives.

Sources said the incident occurred barely hours after some of the ex-militants protested what they called shabby treatment by the handlers of the programme and management of the hotel.

One of the hotel employees who preferred anonymity said: "I was sleeping, it was about 4am or thereabouts, when I heard a loud explosion accompanied by the shattering of windows and doors.

People around the premises at the time immediately ran for cover.

"It was later that we learnt that some sections of the first and second floor of the new wing of the hotel were affected. They were brought down by bomb planted by unknown persons. Everybody was confused."

Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Tsafe and other operatives have visited the scene.

Police Public Relations Officer Charles Muka confirmed the report.

THE MAKURDI CLUB 1930

RC NO. 3304 M No 3 Chief Ason Bur Street, P.O. Box 3, Makurdi, Benue State 08036177505, 08036312151

PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given to the general public that following the demise of its Trustees to wit Chief Ason Bur, Dr. Joshua Atume Adagba, Justice John Aboyi Ikongbe, Mr. Anthony Hanmation, the Club at its last Annual General Meeting held at the Club House in Makurdi on 31st August, 2011 unanimously elected the following as the new Trustees of the Club.

1. Dr. Ameh Idoko 2. Justice Terna Ufefa Puusu 3. Professor David Iornongo Ker 4. Justice Joseph Shagbaor Ikyegh 5. Mr. Emmanuel Omanga Atini Any objection to the above persons or any one of them becoming Trustees or a Trustee of the Club should be filed with the Corporate Affairs Commission No 23.

Railway Bye Pass Makurdi within Twenty Eight days of this publication.

PDP manipulated Adamawa governorship •CODER alleges poll, says CPC malpractices

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HE Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) yesterday accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of manipulating the just concluded Adamawa State gubernatorial election.

The party alleged that the declared results did not reflect the true electoral wishes of the people, adding: “The oddity of this electoral outcome is seen in the mismanagement by the PDP administration in the last four years, especially in the naked abuse of executive powers: the pauperised citizenry has been adjudged as electing the same oppressive regime!”

In a statement in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashakin, the CPC said it was disappointed by the outcome of the election.

It said: “The CPC, having reviewed the electoral process leading to the declared results of the last governorship election in Adamawa State, believes it falls far short of acceptable standard for fairness.

“The ruling PDP, preying on the endemic poverty that its successive 12 years of governance of the state has foisted on the people, shamefully embarked on monetary inducement of the voters and law enforcement agents. The arrests made were those of the opposing parties’ agents that openly showed disapproval!

“In most parts of Gada Local Government Area, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) refused to return CPC agents’ forms, thereby allowing the PDP to substitute with its agents to corrupt the process…”

NBA: there was under age voting

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HE Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) has alleged that there was under age voting during the governorship election in Adamawa State on Saturday.

It urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to use electronic voting machines.

The body told INEC to prosecute some of its employees and ad hoc workers for obstructing the work of election observers.

In its statement entitled: “A peaceful and orderly election”, the NBA, however, lauded political stakeholders’ conduct, which paved the way for a successful election.

The statement, signed by Dafe Akpedeye (SAN) and Festus Okoye, Chairman and Alternate Chairman of the NBA Election Working Group, urged INEC to hasten the process of constituency delineation as most polling units were unmanageable during the election due to large turnout of voters.

From Gbenga Omokhunu and Sanni Onogu Abuja

The party alleged that a PDP chieftain in Ganye Local Government Area, was caught with six ballot boxes for thumb-printing in his house.

In Furore Local Government Area, another highly placed resident allegedly paid urchins to chase away observers and party agents to manipulate the election.

“As a party, we reject the declared results of the Adamawa State governorship election as not reflective of the electoral wishes of the people, though we believe it is otiose pursuing any judicial redress,” CPC said.

The Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform (CODER) yesterday said there were pockets of electoral malpractices during last Saturday’s governorship election which returned Murtala Nyako as Adamawa State governor.

In statement in Abuja, the organisation said its team of observers in the 21 local government areas reported cases

of “serious electoral irregularities”.

It noted that the malpractices were successfully carried out by PDP agents in collusion with their “collaborators” in INEC. CODER said: “The election cannot be said to be generally free and fair, despite the overall good intention of the electoral commission, except for the state collation in Yola, which was obviously under the full glare of the media as well as the international community.”

The statement reads: “CODER noted that series of gross electoral malpractices, rigging, ballot stuffing, ballot snatching, intimidations, financial inducements, and in some locations voters and observers alike where openly harassed in some polling units and some collation centres in order to pave way for these dastardly acts of outright subverting the true wishes of the people to elect a credible leader through a free and fair process.

“In this preliminary report, as observed by our team of observers, there were serious electoral irregularities at the following locations, polling units, wards and local government ar-

Bombing of Minister’s house: Security agencies trail five suspects

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ECURITY agencies have recovered a note left by bombers who attacked the Ogbogbabene country home of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, in Delta State.

The agencies are also on the trail of five suspects involved in the bombing of the residence of the minister.

But the agencies claimed that the bombing of Orubebe’s house had much to do with the alleged involvement of the minister in Bayelsa politics.

From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

The country home of the minister in Burutu Local Government Area was bombed on January 28 by some aggrieved militants, who claimed to be members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

The claim led to a comprehensive investigation by security agencies.

The agencies have, in a report, returned a verdict that the explosion had no link with MEND.

LOSS OF CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY

The entire public is hereby notified that the original Certificate of Occupancy with title No. BN 7209 belonging to Finbar Construction Company (Nigeria) Limited is missing/lost. Any one, who comes across it or has useful information, should contract the MD/CEO on 07031894525 or 08096442260, or contact the Company’s Legal Adviser on 08030816475.

eas:“Our observers reported that there were no result sheets at the following locations Maiha, Madagali, Ganye, Michika, Jada, Fufore, MayoBelwa.

“There were also reported cases of flagrant disregard of Non- Compliance with the existing Electoral Act in these areas mentioned.

“There were cases of serious disregard for due process of Voters Accreditation as stipulated in the Electoral Act. “Cases of violence were also reported in these locations, deliberately perpetrated to intimidate and distract the people from exercising their basic fundamental right, the right to vote and freely choose their choice Leader.

“CODER also observed that there were reported cases of high voter apathy, with only about 36% voters recorded from the polling units, and yet the party declared winner was able to score over 80% in the 7 local government areas mentioned earlier.

“A clear case is that of Madagali, which has become a subject of dispute as we speak.

“Another case in question is Fufore, which is claimed to have a highly questionable 30, 000 voters!

“In many locations covered by our observers, voting stated without accreditation, result sheets were manipulated “In Kirehina, our observers reported cases of snatching of ballot papers and thumb printed.

“There were reported cases of violence and burnt ballot boxes at Wega ward, Tur and Zeka units.

“Therefore, it is so unfortunate that in spite of the efforts put in place by INEC, some fraudulent minds were still able to perpetrate acts which discredited the transparency of the election in Adamawa state.

“CODER intends to make available its comprehensive report on the gubernatorial election in Adamawa State by the end of the week.”

SSS man killed in Yobe attack From Duku Joel, Damaturu

A •Orubebe

A source said: “Investigators have so far recovered a note left behind by the assailants. The note actually warned Orubebe to stay away from the politics of Bayelsa State.

“Five of them were involved in the attack. One of them left a note in the house and declared that Orubebe should stop meddling in Bayelsa politics if he wanted to be saved.

Thus, we are working on the theory that Orubebe was the target of the bombers, but he was not at home.

“We are currently on the trail of these suspects in order to bring them to justice.

They are on the run, but security agencies will get them.”

Responding to a question, the source added: “We are going to do forensic examination of the note.”

STATE Security Service (SSS) officer was on Sunday night killed by some gunmen in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital. He was identified as Mamman Shettima.

An eyewitness said Shettima was trailed by the two gunmen and shot at close range in front of his house in Ajari Ward, a densely populated area of the metropolis.

Another eyewitness, who spoke in confidence, said: “The two gunmen came to the area around 7.30pm, 30 minutes before the beginning of the curfew, and shot the man at very close range where he was sitting with some friends.

“The gunmen first detonated an explosive, which caused panic, before shooting the officer. They immediately fled.”

Confirming the killing, Police Commissioner Lawal Tanko said: “I heard of the attack. My men went there swiftly. He was shot on the thigh. We thought he would not die, but by the time he was taken to the hospital, he had lost too much blood. He died from the excessive lost of blood.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

9

NEWS

Two robbery suspects killed in Warri WO robbery suspects were at the weekend killed by the police in Warri, Delta State.

An AK 47 rifle allegedly snatched from a Police Corporal, who was killed by armed bandits last month, was recovered.

A gang of three was said to have engaged the police in a gun battle at Ekpan Shrine after snatching a white Toyota Hilux.

One of the robbers

T

From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Warri

escaped; two were killed.

Speaking to reporters at the Area Commander’s Office, Warri, the Commissioner of Police, Mamman Tsafe, said the police are on the trail of the suspect.

Tsafe said: “At about 2300hours on February 5, patrol team from Area Commander’s Office, Warri, engaged three robbery sus-

pects in a gun battle at Ekpan Shrine.

“The bandits had snatched a White Hilux with Registration No. Lagos DN 815 JJJ owned by Rev. O.J. Agbara.

“The patrol team were tipped off and chased the robbers.

“There was an exchange of gun fire.

“Two of them, Felix Omerita (male) and Ifeanyichukwu Onyem

(male) were killed; the third escaped.

“Recovered from them were a police AK 47 Rifle No. 24811 with police colour magazine with 11 rounds of ammunition allegedly snatched from the late Ernest Ubong attached to Zonal Task Force, who was killed on January 23 by these hoodlums.”

Tsafe said the bodies have been deposited at Warri Central Hospital mortuary.

Human rights bureau for Ogoni

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HE Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) MOSOP President, Dr. Goodluck Diigbo, has inaugurated the Ogoni Human Rights Watch Bureau in Bori, Ogoni.

The bureau will be headed by a retired Chief Superintendent of Police, Yaesu Neebee. He will be assisted by a retired Assistant Superintendent of Police, Lucky Nuataa.

Former Chairperson of the 2010 and 2011 Ogoni Referendum Committee Ms. Christiana Nwiko is to serve as Secretary.

The bureau, collaborating with two law firms, will document human rights situations at the village or city level in a fair, impartial and competent manner.

Already, 17 city representatives have been recruited by MOSOP secretariat to coordinate activities at the village level as grassroots monitors. Each village or city has 14 days to set up a grassroots centre.

The bureau will cover all human rights issues and cooperate with MOSOP Peace and Security Council to end illegal and random land survey by security forces.

Akwa Ibom contractors angry

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THE Association of Ibom Contractors yesterday berated the Akwa Ibom State Government over the noninvolvement of indigenous contractors in the construction of the stadium complex in Uyo, the state capital.

The body warned the government not to make the project a sole contractual venture of one company.

In a statement by its National Chairman, Lawrence Bassey, the group advised the government to involve more reputable construction firms in the

Cross River LP gets candidate

•Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole (left) at the inauguration of a water project donated to Uzanu community by Prince Clem Agba and his wife…at the weekend.

Why we invested in education, by Oshiomhole

E

DO State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said the future of the state lies in the quality of its human capital.

The governor spoke when the Students Union Government of Ekiadolor College of Education visited him.

Oshiomhole said the government would deliver 1,000 school desks to the college next week.

“I believe that the future of Edo State lies in the quality of the human capital.

Nations may have or may not have solid or liquid minerals but nations that have

made it around the world when you look at the developmental literature it is very clear that it is the quality of human capital that drives the pace of development,” he noted.

He said in Nigeria there is so much oil to export, so much solid and non-solid minerals and yet we are getting poorer because we lack the necessary managerial capacity to translate and to manage these resources in a way to impact the quality of life of the people.

“The foundation for edu-

cation depends on the quality of primary and post-primary education.

“Everybody will never be a graduate and everybody does not need to be a graduate but everyone can have sound qualitative education.

“That is the reason that informed our investment in primary and post-primary education,” Oshiomhole added.

According to him, the Rapid Response Agency will be directed to assess the water system in the institution to ensure the flow of water.

“The government will also extend the building of facilities to Ekiadolor.

“We will do our best to reposition education across the state and the state cannot be the same again,” he noted.

The Students Union President, Orhiakhi Augustine, hailed the government for focusing on qualitative education and development.

“We are praying and will continue to pray that God sustains your on-going democracy because you are the Moses to Edo State.”

Opponent‘s supporters join Imoke’s campaign

S

UPPORTERS of defeated Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aspirant in Cross River State Soni Abang have joined the campaign of ousted governor Liyel Imoke.

The state coordinator of Cross River for Good Governance, one of the campaign organisations that rooted for Abang, Prince Ekanem Ekpo, told reporters in Calabar: “Fellow Cross Riverians, the time has come for us to critically analyse the political situation in our state and to provide an indepth analysis on where we are, and where we need to go as a people.

“Government policies all over the world take at least six to eight years to impact on the people. “ Those discrediting and castigating the leadership of our beloved state cannot do better.

“Against this background, I, Prince Ekanem Ekpo, the state coordinator of Cross River for Good governance,

PDP candidate begins campaign From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

T

HE governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State, Liyel Imoke, has embarked on a statewide tour of the 18 local governments.

Imoke started the tour yesterday in Yala and Ogoja local government areas.

The PDP candidate had flagged off his campaign last Wednesday with a reception at the Cultural Centre Complex in Calabar.

Imoke, who described the large turnout as a ‘sign of victory’, said the people had spoken in a voice which is stronger than the Supreme Court judgment, which terminated his tenure.

According to him, the people had hitherto been disadvantaged as those in the rural areas had not seen or felt government but his administration had changed that.

He promised to do more if he is re-elected.

From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar and a personal member of staff of Ambassador Soni Abang wishes to state as follows: “That I have withdrawn from all the actions that I was being used against the former governor of the state.

“That I and my organisation, Cross River for good governance, denounce, and dissociate ourselves from Ambassador Soni Abang’s campaign organisation as we have now known the truth.

“That nobody should use our organisation’s letter headed paper, which was

allegedly collected under false pretence by Dr Amanke on behalf of Amb Abang for the purpose of petitioning, and blackmailing the former governor.

“That the public should beware, and should not allow themselves to be derailed by people who do not want the progress of our dear state.

“That myself and the entire members of Cross River for Good governance deeply and sincerely apologise to Senator Liyel Imoke and his wife any embarrassment our publication might have caused them.

“That I call on the security agencies, particularly the police and the SSS, to be on the alert.

“That my name should not be brought to disrepute, as I have cleared the air today.”

He said he had already spoken to his over 5,000 members across the state to defect with him, adding, “the future of Cross River would be bleak without Liyel.”

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo project.

According to Bassey, by splitting the major construction of the project, the indigenous contractors can participate through subcontracts in supplies and ancillary construction jobs.

The association said the Abuja National Stadium was not built by one company, saying the construction was handled by a consortium of firms, which included Julius Berger Plc, Bouygues Nigeria Limited and CCECC.

From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

•Mrs. Adegoke

M

RS. Imah Nsa Adegoke has emerged the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Cross River State.

She was elected by the unanimous affirmation of delegates at the primary in the Labour Party secretariat in Calabar.

LP’s National ViceChairman Lawson Osagie said Mrs. Adegoke emerged as the sole aspirant of the party after fulfilling all requirements by the national secretariat.

Mrs. Adegoke said she was coming in to make a difference.

Her words: “My mission is to emancipate Cross Riverians by renewing our minds.

“It does not matter where you are coming from, what matters is where you are going to.”

She summarised her programme in the acronym, I HEAR U. I stands for infrastructure, H (Health), E(Education), A (Agriculture), R (Research) and U (You, the people).

Labour threatens showdown in Rivers From Clarice Azuatalam, Port Harcourt

T

HE ORGANISED labour has threatened to strike if Pabod Breweries, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, fails to rescind its decision to punish workers who took part in last month’s nationwide strike.

The breweries, formerly owned by the government, had during the strike, insisted that none of its workers should join the strike.

Speaking in Port Harcourt yesterday, the State Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Chika Onuegbu, said the Federal Ministry of Labour has invited them for a meeting.

Onuegbu said: “We are still battling with some anti-labour companies like Pabod Breweries over their insistence to apply the “no work, no pay” rule to its workers.

“We have informed the Federal Ministry of Labour about our determination to shut down the state, if the management of Pabod Breweries goes ahead with its plan.”

The TUC chairman, however, expressed regrets that the media did not appreciate the role Labour played during the strike.

He said: “The media also did not give us credit for putting our members in PENGASSAN on the red alert for shutdown, which put immense pressure on President Goodluck Jonathan to talk with labour and civil society organisations during the strike. These members are largely based in Rivers State and the Niger Delta.”

10

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2011

NEWS ‘Council polls will hold’

‘Two million have HIV in Anambra’ From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

THERE are over two million people living with HIV/AIDS in Anambra State, a member of the State Action Committee on AIDS (ANSACA), Emeka Ejide, has said.

He said: “The rate of HIV/AIDS is alarming and nobody would believe that in Anambra 20 per cent of the population is infected with HIV/AIDS. “How can you know who is infected? It is not written on the face but I am telling you based on field survey and statistics available.”

Ejide, who is the Director, Child Development in the Ministry of Women’s Affairs said: “We have eight clusters in the state and more than 42 support groups utilising the clusters- that is hospitals with facilities for people living with HIV/AIDS. “The government, through the office of the commissioner, Mrs. Ego Uzoezie, gave N55,000 each to the clusters.”

Chaplains for Akwa Ibom schools THE Akwa Ibom State Government will post chaplains to all secondary schools to teach pupils moral education.

Deputy Governor Nsima Ekere said this at the weekend when he represented Governor Godswill Akpabio at the 50th birthday of the State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bishop Cletus Bassey, at Destiny Chapel International, Uyo. He said the Akpabio-led administration reintroduced the programme, which will be coordinated by CAN, to instill the fear of God in the pupils.

Ekere described Bassey as a mentor, a teacher, a man of integrity and character and a study in humility.

He declared that the cleric was God’s gift to the state, pointing out that as CAN Chairman he has led the church to partner with the government in the interest of the state.

The Deputy Governor prayed God to strengthen Bassey to do more for the state.

Anambra gets IGR chair From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

ANAMBRA State Commissioner for Information Maja Umeh yesterday in Nnewi said the state has appointed Nwanne Ejikeme as the chairman for the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) Board.

He said: “Ejikeme is a chartered accountant. He was the Special Adviser on Project Monitoring.

“He is to enhance the revenue of the state.

Ejikeme has a monthly target of N1 billion.”

G

•Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola (second right), his deputy Mrs Titilayo Tomori, Agriculture and Rural Development division of Agence Francaise and Development Officer, Didier Baillet (left) and the Senior Infrastructure Economist, Transport Sector of the World Bank, Nicolas Peltier-Thiberge during a courtesy visit of the team on Rural Mobility and Access Project (RAMP 2) Pre-appraising Mission at the Goverment House, Osogbo...yesterday

OVERNOR Peter Obi has restated his administration’s commitment to conduct a free and fair local government election in Anambra State.

Obi spoke when a delegation from Justice Development and Peace Commission, Civil Society Organisation and Media Policy Advocacy Network visited him at the Governors Lodge, Amawbia.

The governor recalled that efforts by his government to conduct the election in 2009 were frustrated through a court action.

He said unlike previous administrations who appointed their relatives to head the State Independent Electoral Commission, his government appointed credible candidates, including clergymen, into the commission to conduct an election that would be acceptable to all.

Road contract terminated

Anambra ACN chairman escapes assassination T T •Vehicles burnt HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Chairman in Anaocha Local Government of Anambra State, Raphael Egbobe, has escaped an attack by gunmen.

Two campaign vehicles belonging to the party were set ablaze.

The incident took place at Ogbu-ifite at the weekend.

The police have placed a 24-hour watch on 11 local governments, ahead of the rescheduled rerun elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) The elections will be held on February 15 for Idemili South, Anaocha, Njikoka

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

and Dunukofia federal constituencies.

The Nation gathered yesterday that the Anambra South senatorial election has been postponed indefinitely.

But INEC spokesman Frank Egbo said he was not aware of the postponement.

Police spokesman Emeka Chukwuemeka confirmed the incidents, adding that a manhunt for the hoodlums

is on.

He warmed parents to control their children and go about their activities peacefully.

Chukwuemeka said: “Anybody who allows himself to be used as a political thug will be dealt with.”

The spokesman said the town crier, who was to announce the party’s campaign rally, Emeka Okafor, was attacked.

He said policemen had been assigned to protect the families of the victims.

Egbobe said his children told him some strange men invaded his home, asking after him and his wife.

He said they told the children that they had a message for him.

“At 11 pm, they came back and started shooting sporadically into the air.

“They set the vehicles ablaze and fled when my family ran out.

“My brothers, it was a horrible experience. This is not the first time or the second, they always attack me any time there is an election,” Egbobe said.

Ebonyi community appeals to Elechi

O

VER 5,000 displaced persons in EkpaOmaka community in Ikwo Local Government of Ebonyi State have called on Governor Martin Elechi to intervene in the communal crisis between the community and Inyimagu.

The people said they fled their homes, following the incessant killings by the people of Inyimagu community.

They said they are exposed to economic hardship and diseases.

Nine people have been killed in the communal crisis, with property worth millions of naira destroyed.

The communities are fighting over the ownership

of a piece of land and a fish pond.

A displaced person, Ifeanyi Ogah, said: “Yes since the government’s intervention and the visit of some stakeholders from both communities, we can say we now have relative peace.

“But we must not deceive ourselves, what we are experiencing now could be simply described as the peace of the grave yard.

“I must tell you, there is anguish, bitterness and frustration among the people, some of this people you see here are people who had homes but now they have been displaced and are taking refuge in another community.

“The question is, when would they go home and if they do are they sure of security of their lives because you can’t talk of property since all they own have been destroyed.”

Another displaced person, Mrs. Veronica Onwe, decried the wanton destruction witnessed during the crisis.

She blamed the government for the continued disturbances between the communities.

“Our people are being slaughtered like goats because we don’t have people in government.

“The people of Inyimagu are more populated than us so they can always do anything and get away with it.

•Elechi “All we are asking the governor to do is intervene and help us continue with our lives.”

The wife of the governor, Mrs. Josephine Elechi, has visited the community to condole with the families of those affected by the crisis.

She urged the people to embrace peace.

MASSOB opens displaced peoples’ camp at Okigwe

T

HE killing of Igbo in the North has forced the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) to open a displaced peoples’ camp to give temporal shelter to the returnees.

Speaking with reporters in Umuahia while welcoming 102 returnees from Kano, who arrived in Abia Tower yesterday,the group’s Aba Regional Administrator, Larry Odinma,

From Ugochukwu Eke, Umuahia

said over 740 persons had been evacuated from the North in the last one week.

Odinma said the camp was established to cushion the trauma experienced by the returnees while escaping from the North.

He condemned the continued attack of the Boko Haram sect on southerners, especially the Igbo.

Odinma warned that those

whose lives are threatened may be forced to defend themselves.

The MASSOB Aba regional administrator advised Igbo who may have decided to stay back in the North to reconsider their decision and return home.

Odinma said: “I know that one problem that have made these our brothers to continue staying back is that of their property, but, in any circumstance, life first before investment.

“ In the East, there is more peace, and they will not be treated as sacrificial lambs all the time.”

The returnees comprisedchildren, women and some elderly people.

Two returnees Mary Nwogu and Comfort Nzeadibe said they left Kano because the North is no longer safe.

They called on Southeast governors to evacuate other people who are still in Kano.

From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

HE Anambra State Government has terminated the contract of the Aguluezechukwu-Ogboji-Akpu-Ajalli road handled by Breeco Construction Company.

The government has reawarded the contract to Nigercat Limited at N1.4 billion.

The government apologised to the people for the inconveniencies suffered.

The new contractor has a year to complete the job.

Governor Peter Obi announced this in Nnewi yesterday as he flagged off the reconstruction of the five-kilometre Nkwo Nnewi triangle from Nnobi.

The Managing Director of IDC, the contractor handling the project, Chahid El Ahl, said the road would be completed on schedule.

It is expected that Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu’s burial will attract more development to Nnewi.

Hearing today in Akpabio’s, Udoedehe’s suit From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

HE Akwa Ibom State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal will today continue hearing the case between the Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and two others.

ACN’s governorship candidate John Akpanudoedehe and his running mate, Ime Umanah, are challenging the declaration of Akpabio and his running mate, Nsima Ekere, as the winners of the April 26, 2011 governorship election.

The three-member panel, headed by Justice Kwajafa and two others, after entertaining arguments from ACN’s lawyer, Kola Awodein (SAN) and the respondents’ counsel, Bayo Ojo (SAN), at the resumption of the last hearing date on January 26, adjourned the hearing till today.

T

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

11

BUSINESS THE NATION

An additional generation capacity of 960MW is expected to be recovered from the rehabilitation of units at Kanji, Shiroro, Ughelli, Egbin and Geresu power stations during this fiscal year.

- Prof Barth Nnaji, Minister of Power

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

NSE records N478.62b in foreign portfolio investments

By Akinola Ajibade

T

HE Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) recorded a total of N478.62billion in foreign portfolio investments last year, The Nation has learnt.

Also, the market recorded an investment outflow of N312.65billion translating to a net flow of N165.97billion during the same period.

Sources close to the Exchange said the investment outflow was on foreigner investors, who sold their shares to reinvest the proceeds in other foreign markets.

“The foreign portfolio investors were attracted by the positive showing of multinationals, such as Nestle Nigeria Plc, Mobil Nigeria Plc, United African Company of Nigeria (UACN) Plc, among others.

They bought more bluechip stocks because of their huge prospects. All the stocks of big multinationals are the ones that foreign portfolio investors have interest in, and nothing more,” the source added.

Market watchers said the net flow of N165.97billion, signifies a positive development for the market which has, since 2008, been witnessing a surge in the movement of foreign investors.

Speaking on the issue, the Managing Director, First Registrars, Bayo Olugbemi, said foreign portfolio investors are gradually returning to the market.

“Though investors have not come 100 per cent. They have been showing genuine interest in the market. I’m talking about real investors, not passers-by,” he added.

He, however, refused to disclose the identity of the foreign investors, saying he preferred to keep that confidential.

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 -10.5% 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 $33.01b FOREX CFA 0.2958 EUR 206.9 £ 242.1 $ 156 ¥ 1.9179 SDR 238 RIYAL 40.472

Shell chief frets over rising crude theft • Oil export threatened T

HE Managing Director of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), Mutiu Sunmonu, has decried the rising incidence of crude theft in the Niger Delta.

He said the increase in crude theft on the new Nembe Creek Trunkline (NCTL), barely 16 months after the old line was replaced due to repeated sabotage attacks, threatens the export of 140,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Sunmonu, who spoke to reporters in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital yesterday, after overflying the Nembe Creek where illegal bunkering and illegal refining were still ongoing, with the environment being polluted, urged youths in the Niger Delta to give peace a chance.

From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

Hostilities by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) had resumed last Saturday with an attack on the facility of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company in coastal Brass, Bayelsa State. The group yesterday also threatened to launch more attacks on oil installations in the country.

He said on December 24, last year, the Nembe creek trunkline was shut because of leaks caused by two failed bunkering points and since the repairs were completed, more than 50 theft valves had been discovered. He noted that in one case, 17 illegal bunkering points were found within a distance of 3.8 kilometres.

The overfly confirmed thriving crude theft at Tora Manifold, Santa Barbara River, SEGO Manfiold, Awoba, Krakrama, Bille, Cawthorne Channel and Alakiri in Rivers and Bayelsa states, with some connections made directly to wellheads and no longer pipelines.

Sunmonu said: “I feel extremely saddened, as a Nigerian, at the scale of lawlessness, the scale of criminality, the scale of lack of care for neighbours in view of the activities that are ongoing in the areas you have overflown today.

“I am extremely worried and frankly, something has got to be done. Otherwise, our entire oil and gas operation in the Niger Delta

will not be sustainable. The level of crude theft at NCTL can no longer be tolerated.

There have been multiple facility trips caused by pressure drops resulting from illegal offtake.

“This is more than Nigeria losing money from lost production, costly repairs and clean-up and facility downtime. It is a sad story of consistent pollution of farmlands and rivers by people, who are not bothered by the effects of their actions on the environment.

“If you talk to any of the international oil companies (IOCs) or any operator in the Niger Delta, I am sure they have similar stories to tell, but on a smaller scale than that of Shell, because of our footprints in particular. This is very worrisome.

“It is difficult to sustain production in the circumstance, as we have to shut down when a

facility fails and fix the cause before restarting. This happened three times just between January 26 and 30, 2012.

“We have increased surveillance of the route, so we can detect crude theft and respond early to spills, but what is urgently needed is robust intervention at federal, state and local government levels. We need increased patrols of creeks and waterways, removal of illegal offtake points and dismantling of illegal refineries.

“The best we (Shell) can do is to continue to play a strong advocacy for change, a strong advocacy for enforcement of the rule of law, a strong advocacy to make sure that the government security agencies, who are protecting these strategic national assets, are effective.”

• From right: Mr Bayo Adeyinka, Regional Head, Victoria Island, Lagos, Enterprise Bank Limited; Mrs. Dalley Olabisi Olayemi, one of the winners of a DVD Player during the draws of the bank’s Beta Life savings product in Lagos; Mrs. Nneka Okpala, the bank’s Head, Retail Banking and Mr Emmanuel Eremosele, a staff member of the Adeola Hopewell branch of the branch during the presentation, at the bank's head office in Victoria Island, Lagos ... at the weekend.

NNPC has fuel to last Nigeria 33 days, says Presidency

T

HE uncertainties sur rounding the fuel sub sidy regime will not affect supply of fuel across the country, the Presidency has assured, noting that it has 33 days sufficiency.

A few of the major and independent marketers, it was learnt, are skeptical about importing fuel over fear that the government might fail in repaying the differential between actual cost of the product and regulated pump price of N97 per litre as previously done.

The marketers, it was also learnt, are seeking guarantee from the government on the payment of the difference before going ahead to import the product.

But the Federal Government has assured that the issue would be resolved.

The government has also doused the fears of imminent fuel scarcity, saying that

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has enough petroleum products to last the country for at least 33 days in case of any emergency.

A senior officer in the Presidency, who spoke on the issue, said contrary to reports, the country was not short of petroleum products.

The source, who preferred not to be mentioned, said it was untrue that the major and independent marketers have suspended fuel importation over the subsidy probe.

The source, however, confirmed that there are minor issues that needed to be resolved and that is not to say that “marketers are not importing fuel.”

The source said: “The issues raised by the marketers over subsidy payment

are being addressed by the Federal Government. Because of the controversy that trailed the subsidy removal and the eventual adjustment of the pump price of fuel, a few of the marketers really want to know the true position of things as far as the payment of subsidy is concerned, whether the government will pay subsidy or not. The Federal Government has actually reassured the marketers that all the outstanding issues will be addressed.

“Nigerians should not panic because of the alleged drop in the volume of fuel imports into the country. The rumour is designed by some unscrupulous elements in the country to cause panic for Nigerians. There is no need for panic at all as the government is determined to eradicate fuel scarcity in

the country.

“President Goodluck Jonathan is determined to address the nagging issues in the downstream sector of the economy. In fact, all the stations have fuel and there is no cause for alarm. The government is working hard to eliminate queues from our petrol stations.”

The source said the Coordinating Minister for the economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, when she appeared before the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee probing fuel subsidy, assured that the government would need to accommodate subsidy money in the 2012 budget, hence the readjustment of pump price of petrol.

She disclosed that the government owed marketers an outstanding N600 billion on subsidy, noting that N155 billion has been set aside in the

2012 budget to service part of the subsidy debt.

The Director-General, Budget Office, Dr. Bright Okogu, also confirmed that the Federal Government was actually working on the estimate of the subsidy to be forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration following the N97 pump price adjustment. ‘’We are working on the amendment but right now, nobody can say exactly what we will be presented to the National Assembly.

“Nobody can say for now because we need to look at all the elements so that we can be as close as possible to the real amount we need for the subsidy.”

He described the prevailing oil price in the international market as one of the factors that would be put into consideration in drawing up the subsidy estimate.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

12

BUSINESS NEWS Flight Schedule

Jonathan to open Ibeshe cement plant

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

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

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 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. Dana 09.27 10.40 5. Aero 10.50 12.30 6. Arik 11.40 13.00 7. Air Nigeria 12.00 13.10 8. IRS 13.30 15.00 9. Arik 14.00 15.20 10. Dana 15.03 16.20 11. Air Nigeria 16.00 17.10 12. Arik 16.10 17.30 13. Aero 16.15 17.30 14. Arik 17.10 18.30 1.

2.

3.

4.

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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.

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Arik Aero Arik Aero

LAGOS – WARRI 08.15 11.50 11.55 14.55

09.1 12.50 12.55 15.55

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LAGOS – KANO Air Nigeria 07.10 IRS 08.00 Dana 08.10 Arik 12.20 IRS 14.00 IRS 18.15

08.50 09.45 09.40 14.00 15.45 19.55

LAGOS – OWERRI 07.20 14.00 16.30

08.30 15.10 17.40

LAGOS – UYO 10.35

11.35

1. Arik 2. Arik 3. Arik 1. Dana

LAGOS – MAIDUGURI 1. IRS 11.15 13.15 2. Arik 15.50 18.00 LAGOS – ILORIN 1. Overland 07.15

08.00

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

T

• From left: General Marketing Manager, La Casera, Mr Dave Van Bensburgs; Director, Mr Bankole Animashaun; Chief Operating Officer, Mr Prahlad Gaugachuaran and Managing Director, Mr Otis Ojeikhoa, at the unveiling of the biggest La Casera bottle in Nigeria in Lagos.

Nigeria needs 9,000 pilots, says NCAA boss F

OR the country’s aviation in dustry to remain relevant globally, the sub-sector requires no fewer than 9, 000 pilots in the next five years, the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCCA), Dr. Harold Demuren, has disclosed.

Speaking with The Nation, Demuren said the rate at which the global aviation industry was moving, the request for technical personnel would increase. He urged stakeholders to show more commitment to the industry.

Demuren said NCAA has issued out over 5,656 pilots licences, out of which 1,032 are validly held, with 2,625 cabin crew licences issued, out of which 1,318 are validly held.

For aircraft maintenance engineers, over 3,049 has been issued, but only 923 are validly held.

He said: “International aviation will double in the next 20 years

and demand will strain the supply of all types of safety personnel, including pilots, maintenance engineers and air traffic controllers. So, there will be need for more pilots, engineers, cabin crew, more air traffic controllers, more flight dispatchers and more airports operation personnel.

“Unfortunately, skilled aviation professionals like pilots, maintenance engineers, air traffic controllers and others cannot be cloned overnight. It takes time, it requires money and requires years of experience after training.”

He, however, lamented that the continent’s aviation industry including Nigeria is losing skilled aviation professionals to the Middle East and Asian airline operators who offer better conditions of service such as double

salary, free medical, zero tax and free holidays twice in a year.

Demuren said most male technical personnel in the industry are prone to constant migration for improved packages while their female counterparts are more stable.

He explained that because of the constant movement of male personnel, NCAA devised means to attract and retain skilled personnel by encouraging the training of women aviation professionals in the sub-sector.

But emphasised that aviation training is capital intensive as one-third of the agency’s budget is committed to the training of safety professionals, maintaining that the regulatory agency is pushing for 10 per cent of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement funds be dedicated for training of pilots, engineers, cabin crew and air traffic controllers at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria.

‘Cash-less policy won’t eliminate use of cash’

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HE Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) proposed cash-less policy will encourage more electronic-based transactions, the Branch Coordinator, Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement Scheme (NIBSS), Owoeye Oluwaseun, has said.

He explained that cash-less policy will also not eliminate the use of cash or encourage the use of only cards and other instruments.

In a lecture entitled: Cashless economy; prospects, challenges and expectations, delivered at the weekend at the Ilorin Bankers’ Committee Annual Dinner in Kwara State, the banker said the cash-less policy was only aimed at reducing the amount of physical cash circulating in the economy.

“It should be noted that there is no economy in the world that operates with zero cash. Rather, each strives to rely less on cash. It does

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

not mean you cannot use cash again,” he explained.

According to him, the cash-less policy would reduce cases of armed robbery and other cash-related crimes.

He added: “It also minimises associated risk of carrying huge cash for businesses and enhances economic growth for job creation.”

Besides, he said it reduces revenue leakages, corruption and makes it possible for electronic notification of all transactions on customer’s account.

He called on the government, the CBN and other relevant stakeholders to encourage traders and retail market operators in the market to embrace the policy and to assure them their money would be safe.

Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed said the policy

had the potential of enhancing consumer banking and further the development of banking in the country.

The governor, represented by Finance Commissioner, Ademola Banu, said his administration recognises private sector as a vital partner in the match towards a greater Kwara State.

He added that he would continue to support such policies and other innovations in the private sector, which have the potential to benefit the people and businesses at large.

The Branch Controller of the CBN, Mr Onoriode Olotewo, restated the commitment of the CBN to provide framework for economic development and achievement of food security of the Federal Government through risk mitigation programmes and schemes.

HE multi-billion dollar Dangote Cement plant, located at Ibese, Ogun State will be opened on Thursday

by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The new plant, according to a statement, has an installed capacity of six million metric tons of cement per year.

When opened, Dangote Cement’s total capacity will be 20.25million metric tons of cement per year with Obajana Cement producing 10.25 million metric tons per year and Gboko Plant with an installed capacity of four million metric tons.

“We are marking the closing ceremony of cement import in Nigeria with the coming on stream of our Ibese cement plant, which will be producing a combined six-million tons per annum from its initial two lines while addition two will be added immediately to increase its production to 12 million tons per annum,” the management of Dangote Cement said at the weekend.

President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had said his organisation was taking up the challenge to lead the way in the effort of making the nation self-reliant in cement production as the nation was losing huge sums in foreign exchange to importation.

He said the desire of the Dangote Cement is to ensure the country not only moves away from export of certain commodities, of which cement is one, but to strengthen the local production capacity to make her exporting nation and increase her foreign reserves.

Omatek plans multi-billion naira factory

By Adline Atili

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NDIGENOUS Information and Communications Technology (ICT) firm, Omatek PLC, has concluded plans to set up a production factory in the country as part of moves to provide a platform for the country to join the knowledge society.

According to the company, the factory, which is expected to gulp billions of naira, is aimed at developing the nation’s ICT sector, addressing unemployment, as well as consolidating on the company’s achievements and extensive presence in the country.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Florence Seriki, said funding for the new factory would come from offshore and local financial partners.

She added that the company’s financial base was being expanded to enable it extend its portfolio of services through the company’s Consumer Scheme Finance and Omatek Resource Centres.

Mrs Seriki disclosed that the new factory’s line of business would uphold energy efficiency and reduce carbon imprint through manufacture of solar panel and Light Emitting Diodes (LED) bulbs.

“Our 24-hour solar/inverter/battery hybrid solution is a great innovation and is pioneered by Omatek and the first of its kind in Africa .

World Bank praises Aregbesola on road project

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ENIOR Infrastructure Econo mist, Transport Sector (African Region) of the World Bank, Mr Nicholas PelthierThiberge, has commended the Osun State government for leading other participating states in the implementation of the Road Access and Mobility Project, also called RAMP 2.

The leader of the bank’s visiting team described the state government of Governor Rauf Aregbesola as examplary and visionary because of its collaborative efforts

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

and enthusiasm about the project.

Leading the World Bank and the French Development Agency on RAMP on a courtesy visit to the governor in the Government House on yesterday, Pelthier-Thiberge also noted the involvement of the Osun State’s Youth Employment Scheme (OYES) in the project at the Iwo-Patara farm settlement, which his team had earlier visited.

He said the Osun State government had proved that the initiative

is not isolated by engaging the youths and supporting the farmers to take interest in the development and maintenance of roads in the locaties.

Osun is among the six states in the federation already participating in the project. Kaduna and Cross River states are in first phase of the project while Osun State takes number one position in the second phase and is followed by Enugu, Adamawa and Niger states.

Aregbesola said he had no option than to be enthusiatic and commit-

ted to the initiative, since it was meant to improve the economic wellbeing of the people and the state.

Aregbesola said RAMP has provided an opportunity for him to live up to his promise to the people to stand up to the challenges of food security while seeking mandate to lead the state.

“I am committed to improving access to rural areas in order to accomplish the goal of massive food production and better living conditions for the people.”

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

Adamawa: How parties, candidates fought the battle Admiral Murtala Nyako has been returned to power by the Adamawa State electorate. How did he perform the feat? How did Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains fare in their constituencies? How did the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) promise fizzle out? What happened in the homesteads of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) leaders? Group Political Editor BOLADE OMONIJO presents the facts, the figures and the moves.

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HE election in Adamawa State last Saturday was expected to redefine the present and point to the future. The ideas were well canvassed by the parties’ candidates. At last, the result. Admiral Murtala Nyako who had occupied the seat since 2007 was returned to the office. He was credited with 302,953 votes, while his closest two rivals, Marcus Gundiri of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Buba Marwa of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) polled 241,023 and 107,546 votes respectively. Unless the courts intervene, Nyako, 68, would be in the saddle for another term.

Beyond the total votes polled by the three men, how did the electorate interpret the campaign messages of the political parties? The reelected governor hails from Mayo Belwa local government area. He won there by a wide margin, polling 26,134 votes to his closest rival’s 14,124. More than double. The CPC as in all the local councils was a distant third. It appealed to only 3,702 voters.

The ACN candidate performed the same feat. Gundiri, who hails from Hong polled 22,747 votes to Nyako’s 11,562. Gundiri got massive support from Boss Mustapha, a National Vice Chairman of the party who has been involved in the political field since the Third Republic when he served as state chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Marwa got the nod from only 5,951 voters.

Michika was expected to be a battle ground. It is home to leader of the ACN and former governor of the state, Mr. Boni Haruna as well as the CPC’s Marwa. Still, Marwa polled the least votes with 9170 to PDP’s 10,477 and ACN’s 13,655. By the result, Haruna confirmed himself as the master of the game in Michika.

It may also be a sad commentary on the political standing of Marwa whose larger than life image is linked only to his performance when he served as military governor in Borno and Lagos States.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is a force in Adamawa politics. When he moved to the ACN and picked its presidential ticket ahead of the 2007 general elections, he shook the national political firmament but was especially a factor at home. He was also expected to pull his weight in the 2008 rerun which Nyako, however, won. Despite his reservations about the politics of Nyako who has never been his political ally, Abubakar pledged his support for the governor-elect before last week’s election. In Jada, his home local council, Abubakar pulled his weight as the PDP polled 16,893 votes to the ACN’s 14,650.

Marwa earned 5,515.

Perhaps another contributor to the success of the party in the area is Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, a business mogul in the race for national chairmanship of the party. However, it was expected that the margin of victory would be wider with the two chieftains. The fact that Gundiri polled just about 2,000 votes less is an indication that the party worked hard and could still perform better in future polls.

Fufore is home to Chief Joel Madaki who is credited with political wizardry. It is also the base of

•INEC Returning Officer Prof Hamisu Mohammed announcing the result ... Sunday.

THE RESULT LG ACN Girie 7,922 Yola North 12,103 Guyuk 15,021 Lamourde 12,874 Song 15,160 Mayo Belwa 14,124 Shelleng 6,742 Michika 18,655 Demsa 13,765 Fufore 7,953 Gombi 12,449 Hong 22,747 Jada 14,650 Mubi North 14,340 Mubi South 5,535 Numan 14,037 Ganye 12,237 Maiha 4,688 Yola South 9,083 Madagali 8,559 Toungo 3,829 TOTAL 241,023

ADC 80 208 99` 94 170 152 56 233 161 161 116 191 246 231 69 138 175 71 126 142 69 2,846

Senator Tukur. The standing of the men was evident in the commanding performance that earned their party, the PDP, 23,107 votes to Gundiri’s 7,953 and CPC’s 7,008.

From Mubi North hails Chief Paul Wampana who has been a factor in the politics of the state since the Second Republic and now reigns as deputy National Chairman of the PDP. It is also home to Senator Pindo.

Both men earned 17,132 votes for the PDP, against ACN’s 14,340.

The Acting Governor is from Madagali local council. Although many doubted if he would wholeheartedly work for the PDP, having once defected to the ACN and demonstrated independence by making appointments across party lines immediately he was sworn in to fill the gap after the Supreme Court verdict that dethroned Nyako and four other

ANPP 111 198 133 95 210 205 86 384 139 283 182 174 311 126 115 91 296 128 228 234 89 3,885

CPC 3,190 8,807 2,950 3,053 3,712 3,702 3,536 9,170 3,159 7,008 4,370 5,951 5,515 9,118 6,331 1,687 8,764 3,997 6,247 4,952 2,231 107,546

PDP 12,920 23,133 9,860 8,236 15,342 26,134 10,370 10,477 14,193 23,107 10,080 11,562 16,893 17,132 10,035 10,444 11,087 19,624 20,841 16,129 5,000 302,953

governors, there were fears that his local council could go to the main opposition party. This was not borne out by the result. The ruling party won 16,129 votes to the main opposition party’s 8,559. The CPC was a poor third with 4,952.

Gundiri’s running mate, Namdas Abdulrazak is a chieftain of the ACN in Ganye. He succeeded in narrowly defeating the PDP’s candidate by polling 12,237 votes to the PDP candidate’s 11,087.

Senator Jonathan Zwingina and Air Commodore Dan Suleiman (retd) are from Guyuk local government. Although Zwingina once dumped the PDP, his return to the party before last year’s general elections relocated him at the heart of the party. He played a major role in the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation and used that to revive

his flagging political structure at his home base. The strength of Suleiman could not be easily assessed. Having doggedly fought dictatorship in the Abacha days as a prominent member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Suleiman returned to the country to join forces with others who founded the PDP. Both men could not boost the image and standing of the PDP in Guyuk.

The ACN won 15,021 votes to PDP’s 9,860 votes.

Prof Jubril Aminu’s voice is very audible in Adamawa State. He is from Song local council and has held that forte for some time. The party went into the electoral battle divided owing largely to the implacable opposition of Aminu to Nyako’s candidacy. At first, he backed former minister Dr. Idi Hong. Later, when Dr Umar Ardo appeared to be making more waves and taking swift strides, Aminu saw him as a viable alternative. However, the moves failed as the party lords locked them all out of the political theatre, despite protests by Ardo.

When it was time to test strength in Song, it could not be easily determined how the Aminu factor could worked. Did Aminu campaign for either of the opposition parties? Did he heed entreaties from the party to back his party, or did he stay neutral? The results gave the ruling party a very narrow lead. It polled 15,342 votes to Gundiri’s 15,160. The CPC candidate managed to attract the support of 3,712 of the electorate.

The battle has been fought, won and lost. The three candidates now know how they stand. Observers say the victory of Nyako could be attributed to the coalition of forces that fought for him. The deployment of such national heavyweights as former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Vice President Namadi Sambo and Chief Anthony Anenih helped to pull many of the estranged party members into the fold. While reiterating his opposition to Nyako’s style of politics, Atiku Abubakar said he would work for the party. And he did.

Besides, the PDP structure in the state is very formidable. It has effective presence in all the local government areas, has appointees in the state government from all parts of the state and has overwhelming majority in the House of Assembly where the ACN is represented by five members and CPC one. The officials were the commanders of the troops for the election. Money, a major lubricant of election machinery was never in short supply.

Neighbouring PDP states, at the instance of the national secretariat made available more than was needed for the exercise.

But, the efforts of ACN cannot be dismissed. With very little resources, compared to the PDP, it showed what could be achieved if the structure is maintained and nurtured over time. The party had hoped to cash in on alleged non-performance of the ruling party. It was perhaps unable to do as much as needed because of paucity of resources and inadequate time.

Supporters of General Marwa were disappointed. Following in the tradition from the 2011 general elections, his party could not live up to expectation as it lacks the structure needed to post impressive campaign and harvest the votes. It was surprising that despite the media presence and the role played by the General in forcing Nyako out of office, he lost even his local government area to the ACN. He had realised from political calculations and permutation that an alliance with the ACN could do the trick. He however did not see why he should step down for Gundiri. He offered the ACN candidate the running mate position.

As the major opposition party whose hands had been strengthened by it performance at the polls last April, Gundiri, a former Director in the federal civil service promptly turned down the offer. The ACN argued that if there would be an alliance, it should be the senior partner, and the CPC the junior. The inability of the parties to sink their differences led to the disastrous outing.

Added together, the two opposition parties polled 348,587 votes to PDP’s 302,953.

Would the chieftains learn needed lessons from the outcome? From the Marwa performance, and General Muhammadu Buhari’s before then, it is obvious that personal standing is not enough. To penetrate the grassroots, there is a need to put together an effective and efficient structure. While Marwa had more name recognition than Gundiri, the ACN machine proved to be more efficient.

Now that Nyako has been rolled back into power, what options are open to the opposition within the PDP? What could the main opposition parties do in preparation for future elections, legislative and executive? Can the ACN and CPC fuse?

Would Marwa and his men return to the ruling party? How would the ACN, beyond challenging the result at the tribunal, respond to the new reality?

The Adamawa political scene is very complex. Battles are joined at different levels. Given the combined strength of the opposition, Nyako should expect regular tests and faceoffs in the years ahead.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

POLITICS As the five states in the Southeast step up plans to bury the late Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the choice of Chief Ralph Uwazuruike as his successor as Eze Ndigbo Gburugburu is generating ripples. Is he a popular choice?

OKODILI NDIDI presents the issues and the reactions.

Politics of Ezeigbo and Uwazuruike’s struggle W ITH his recent installation as the “Ezeigbo gburugburu” (paramount leader of Ndigbo) after the demise of Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Chukwuemeka OdumegwuOjukwu, the leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, may have an uphill task combining Igbo leadership with the agitation for an independent Biafran state.

His office as Ezeigbo makes him a father figure and a rallying point and with this should be forthcoming on national issues and politics as it affects the Igbo race. He is expected to come out with positions that will be considered representative of his people in any worthwhile issues.

But Uwazuruike does not believe in the Nigerian nation and as such cannot dabble into its social, religious and political issues which may pitch him against the aspirations of a section of Ndigbo, especially the political class. This may be a dilemma.

Already, a section of the people are beginning to express worry over the development which they said will result to serious setback in the struggle for the emancipation of Ndigbo, meaning that his blunt approach to issues that had, many times, earned MASSOB the wrath of the Federal Government and subsequent incarcerations of its members, may be stifled to accommodate igbos of all shades of opinion, belief and philosophy.

During a visit to Uwazuruike’s home, the operational base of the MASSOB at Okwe in Imo state before his coronation, Eze Nri, the custodian of the Ezeigbo title, Eze Obidiegwu Onyesoh, the monarch repeatedly maintained that the Igbo would not fight another war, remotely implying that his choice as Ezeigbo does not mean that the igbos maybe hounded out of Nigeria to achieve a sovereign state of Biafra.

Although Obidiegwu hinted that the choice of Uwazuruike as Ojukwu’s successor was premised on an unbiased and judicious considerations of his massive and sustained contributions to the struggle for the emancipation of Ndigbo, he

pointedly told him that as Ezeigbo, his days of incarceration and endless arrests by security operatives are over, stressing that Ndigbo cannot have their paramount leader undermined.

Obidiegwu further reminded him that he will have a major role to play at bringing igbo politicians together to achieve the age long ambition of producing the next President of Nigeria by 2015, saying that with Uwazuruike new office, he wield tremendous power to influence the political direction of the people of the zone.

This and many other developments may imply that for Uwazuruike to successfully serve as Ezeigbo, he may have to jettison his stand on Biafra which had kept him constantly on collision course with the Nigerian authorities. Like the biblical saying that one cannot serve two masters at a time, influential Igbo leaders say he may have, as a viable option to keep the mission of MASSOB in focus, delegate powers to a competent subordinate.

He noted that he was surprised when the Nri Monarch told him that he had been chosen to succeed Ojukwu, “even though I served Ojukwu closely before his death, I never thought or schemed to succeed him. The whole thing was a surprise, but it has not interfered with my activities as MASSOB leader yet, when that happens I will know what to do”.

According to those who see rare qualities in the new Ezeigbo the choice of Uwazuruike is one of the best decisions ever taken in the interest of Ndigbo. They argued that, after Ojukwu, Uwazuruike is the next Igbo man who enjoys massive support of Ndigbo, irrespective of religious or political inclinations due to his intimidating track record of service and sacrifice for the Igbo agenda.

But Uwazuruike does not appear to be deterred because, according to him, the sovereign state of Biafra is the only viable solution to the suffering, intimidation and deprivation of Ndigbo in the Nigerian state, “I cannot abandon Ndigbo for any personal interest or position.

Even those who do not share my views on Biafra have come to realise that Nigeria is no longer safe and

‘APGA must rediscover itself in Anambra’ Chief Azuka Okwuosa is a chieftain of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA. A former Chairman of Nnewi Local Council and former Commissioner for Works during the Mbadinuju administration. He spoke with Correspondent EMEKA ODOGWU on how he was orphaned by the party when he needed it.

W •Chief Uwazuruike

Ndigbo do not have a place in its bleak future “.

According to a political analyst, Dr Theophilus Nweze, the crowning of Uwazuruike as Ezeigbo will not in any way affect the agitation for Biafra. The don said that various experiences have shown that Biafra will be the best option for Ndigbo and Uwazuruike’s new office will further give credence to the struggle.

Dr Nweze insisted that the emergence of the MASSOB leader as the new igbo leader is a testimony that his efforts and struggles are appreciated by a very large section of Ndigbo. “If his emergence did not get the people’s approval it would have been harshly opposed and challenged in the law Court.”

In his opinion, the MASSOB Director of Information, Uchenna Madu, said that Uwazuruike’s emergence which he said was not political, will catapult the Biafra agitation to a higher dimension and deepen the people’s belief in the struggle.

A major difference between Ojukwu’s agenda as Ezeigbo and Uwazuruike’s, is Ojukwu’s political dispositions. This might have resulted from the demised leader’s failure to give Ndigbo an independent Biafra through the Ahiara Declaration and the consequent civil war. Ojukwu thus, probably employed politics as a viable option to emancipate Ndigbo.

But Uwazuruike in very clear terms has echoed his disapproval of the Nigerian state and cannot meddle into Nigerian politics or internal issues. “I don’t believe in Nigeria so I cannot get involved in her politics or internal affairs,” he said.

The latter may be a tall order, given the configuration of the Nigerian State. Some Igbo leaders have refused to accord Uwazuruike recognition. This hurdle of acceptability is one he would have to device means of scaling. How, for example, would the likes of former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme and former and serving governors relate with the new Ezeigbo? The picture is still emerging.

•From left: Lagos State Police Commissioner Yakubu Alkali, former governor of Akwa Ibom State Victor Attah and former Delta State Governor Felix Ibru at the conference organised by the National Summit Group in Lagos ... yesterday.

PHOTO: ADEJO DAVID

HY do you think that the National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh is embattled and unsettled?

In every political party, you have hiccups. Look at the PDP, they have their own dose of problems. The Alliance for Democracy (AD) almost went into extinction because of the same kind of problems. The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), for a long time, had theirs which resulted in General Muhammadu Buhari leaving the party to pitch his tent elsewhere.

So, APGA is not isolated or insulated from such problems, but the point is there are channels to resolve crisis.

We have a constitution in the party and things should be done constitutionally through the proper channel.

I don’t believe in paper tigers. It’s like fanning the embers of inordinate ambition of some people. Every action in a party should follow due process.

I really pity Chief Umeh but what he is passing through is price of leadership. He should be encouraged. Politics is all about conspiracies. The late Chuba Okadigbo once described politics as concerted race of conspiracies.

If you handle one, another will crop up. But I think maturity and sense of reasoning should be allowed to prevail in the party.

Would you then support Chief Umeh’s replacement now?

I know very well that I have paid my dues in politics; posterity will never forgive me if I see the truth and refuse to say it. I am saying this because it’s the truth. To me, it’s not a matter of party but a matter of what should be done and done right even if it’s PDP or ACN government in the state, I will say the same thing.

Local Government election is not a party matter and the constitution is supreme. Lack of LG election is inaction. We should not be afraid of failure. No one should be persecuted or vilified for saying or standing on the side of the truth. Umeh as a human being has his failings, but he should not be destroyed for standing on the side of the people.

How will you assess the performance of APGA so far in the country?

By the February 6, 2010 governorship election nobody gave the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) any chance in the state. And earlier when I had my Anambra South Senatorial re-run after a successful legal struggle with the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate in the 2007 elections, the party (APGA) was in shambles.

That was when the governor was impeached and struggling to return, while Dame Virgy Etiaba occupied the office. So you can see that the party was having some serious problem.

We were then like orphans, as a lot of factors were not in our favour. In fact, we were doing some damage control, trying to reconcile various factions because without unity you cannot make meaningful impact or progress in an election. So, coupled with the fact that the dividends of democracy were not there, we were battling against so many odds.

People vented their pent up anger on us and of course it affected our fortune in the election because we worked from a disadvantaged position though it was a price we had to pay because of the spirit of the party as epitomized by the late Ojukwu.

The election was rigged and even when we were at the tribunal, the party never gave us any support there were promises of legal aid to assist candidates because you need lawyers

with solid background and political clout in an election matter. You can’t talk of embarking on legal battle for a Senatorial seat and go for just any lawyer when your opponents have already engaged the services of powerful Senior Advocates (SANs).

So, that accounted for the party’s losses?

We also faced the problem of our opponents trying to buy over our witnesses. They succeeded in buying the witnesses of Chief Chris Atuegwu, the ACN candidate. To keep these witnesses is money and especially in the face of very heavy financial inducement from your opponents. So without any single help from the party or any other quarter we bore the cost hundred percent and at the end of the day, I was the only candidate that won my case at the appeal.

All others lost at the tribunal because they all had no such powerful financial muscle to prosecute it or to match our opponents’ naira for naira.

When it was time for the election, after empty promises of party support, the party did not put in a dime. It was between me and my campaign organisation.

And from the look of things, the re-run in 2009 was lost not because I didn’t work, but because of internal and external conspiracy in APGA. Do you think APGA is now well positioned to win major elections?

Like I said, when you talk about APGA winning election, you have to look at different indices. You mentioned the problem in PDP; the strength of your opponent is a factor and your own too is important and even if your strength is so great, you have to utilise it wisely. I agree with you that PDP is engulfed by so many crises in the state. I see it as an act of implosion when you have so many power blocs that cannot agree. The issue is to what extent APGA has utilised the weakness of her opponents. I don’t think we have used this to maximum benefit. Look at what is happening in the South-West; the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) under Bola Tinubu, in less than five years, is running rings everywhere.

Today, they are not just controlling the entire geo-political zone; they are making powerful and purposeful incursions into other zones. By now, APGA should not be talking about two states.

The issue should be akin to the time when the defunct Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) under Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe had so much goodwill of the people that everyone began to say that if you tag a goat in NPP it would win election in the zone. That is the kind of cult followership APGA ought to be enjoying now.

•Chief Okwuosa

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 31, 2012

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EDITORIAL/OPINION COMMENT

EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

Means as an end?

HE posturing and saber rattling from both Iran and Israel are getting frightening.

Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz after the European Union and the United States tightened sanctions. On Friday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said his country will assist any nation or group that “confronts” Israel, describing it as a “cancer.” He vowed to retaliate — especially against the United States — for tough new oil sanctions and Western military threats.

On Thursday, Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, told a security forum that time is running out for halting Iran’s nuclear advance. “Whoever says ‘later’ may find that later is too late,” he said. Moshe Yaalon, a deputy prime minister, warned that Iran was developing a missile with a range of about 6,000 miles that could hit the United States.

There should be no illusions. Iran’s nuclear ambitions are real and dangerous. But there is no proof that it has made the decision to move from producing fuel to building a bomb. American officials say that reports of a missile with a 6,000-mile range are premature and wildly exaggerated.

The costs of an Israeli military strike — with or without American support — would be huge. It would likely only set Iran’s nuclear program back for a few years. It would unite Iranians around their government at a time when it is fast losing popular support. It would also shatter the international coalition for sanctions and direct more anger against Israel and the United States.

President Obama has spent three years rallying the toughest sanctions ever on Iran — including a European Union oil embargo.

Tehran is increasingly isolated; its economy is reeling. The administration was right to warn Iran against any attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz. We hope it is also looking to privately persuade Iran of the need for a negotiated solution.

American officials say they have counseled Israel on the need for patience and warned that a military attack could backfire. They need to keep pressing on both fronts.

Washington still believes there is “time and space” for sanctions to work. But there is a frightening scenario going around Washington and several European capitals that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel may attack Iran before the summer — believing that President Obama will not try to stop him in the middle of a re-election campaign.

Israel must defend itself. This country’s alliance with Israel is crucial. We hope for everyone’s sake that Israel’s leaders weigh all of the consequences before they act. A military attack would almost certainly make things worse. Tough sanctions and a united diplomatic front are the best chance for crippling Iran’s nuclear program.

Trading threats with Iran

• We deplore inhuman treatment meted out to sacked bank workers OR workers in the beleaguered banking sector, the recurring nightmare of layoffs has become the beginning of wisdom. But worse still is that respite from job erasures in the aftermath of the Sanusi-led cleanup of the banking sector is far from being on the horizon.

So it was penultimate week that Access Bank, new owners of Intercontinental Bank, literally drew blood when, in one fell swoop, the bank reportedly threw out 1,500 of the workers of the acquired bank into the labour market. There were also reports of UBA shedding 2,000 jobs in December 2011.

The figures are merely the latest additions to the legions that have been thrown out of jobs since the wave of restructuring of the banking sector began in 2008. Much as we understand that the restructuring would come inevitably with massive loss of jobs, overall, the management of the restructuring process has become deeply troubling.

As painful as the fact of the mass layoff is, this however comes nowhere close to the accompanying trauma that the workers have had to put up with in the process of their disengagement. Cases of banks summarily changing the terms of employment in order to circumvent their obligations to disengaged staff are not now infrequent. So, are cases of banks management – in the case of acquired banks –setting impossible targets for staff at the pain of forced exit – oftentimes with

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minimal compensation to affected staff.

There have been reports of staff being forced to sign documents waiving their rights to appropriate compensation whenever their new bosses deem fit to send them away; just as cases also abound of disengaged staff bound to debtrecovery duties after being officially disengaged!

Much as we accept the reality – and perhaps the inevitability of staff rationalisation, what we find deplorable is the current situation in which rights of the hapless workers – are wantonly abridged if not entirely abrogated by the powerful bank management. We do not think that majority of the banks have acted responsibly in their treatment of their disengaged staff. In almost all cases, the management of the banks have failed to demonstrate compassion as would be expected in the circumstances; indeed, they have tended to act in complete defiance of existing statutes of employeremployee relations.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) must see itself as no less culpable in the unfortunate situation in which the victims of its restructuring exercise have been served the short end of the stick in the process. After shirking its responsibility to provide a general framework for treating those affected by the restructuring exercise, it opted to look the other way as banks acted to suit their fancies. There is therefore great merit in the call for an industry-wide review of the restructuring

exercise, particularly as it affects the disengaged staff. It accords with demand for equity, fairness and above all, justice.

Of greater concern is whether the objectives of the industry restructuring under the direction of the apex bank has largely been met nearly four years after.

It seems obvious enough: there are yet no indications that the financial sector is out of the woods – let alone being up to speed in its financial intermediation roles as lending activities remain restricted.

The so-called financial system stability is at best, an illusion. The danger now is that the process runs the grave risk of turning the means (the restructuring) into an end in itself.

‘As painful as the fact of the mass layoff is, this however comes nowhere close to the accompanying trauma that the workers have had to put up with in the process of their disengagement. Cases of banks summarily changing the terms of employment in order to circumvent their obligations to disengaged staff are not now infrequent. So, are cases of banks management – in the case of acquired banks –setting impossible targets for staff at the pain of forced exit – oftentimes with minimal compensation to affected staff’

Not so sure • The Federal Government again demonstrates the flaws of SURE

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HE Federal Government’s recent request to states and local governments to identify viable projects that would benefit from its so-called Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE) is yet another demonstration of the fact that it never thought this controversial policy through.

At the height of the fuel subsidy-removal protests last month, one of the main grievances against the policy was the widespread suspicion that government was simply fishing for plausible excuses to justify its deeply-unpopular measure.

Indeed, the Jonathan administration’s repeated insistence that it had developed comprehensive plans to invest the funds did not have the ring of truth to them. None of the government spokesmen was able to explain why no mention of SURE had ever been made before the subsidy-withdrawal furore. The budgeting for the programme had not

‘If the current testimonies are to be believed, the fuel subsidy programme has been a veritable cesspit of corruption and impunity in which government officials, industry regulators and businessmen have been deeply involved. The exact quantity of fuel being subsidised is not certain; several oil marketers have admitted to receiving payments far in excess of services rendered; nobody appears to know exactly which agency is responsible for approving bloated payments’

come from funds constitutionally appropriated by the National Assembly. The very nature of SURE questioned the relevance and competence of relevant ministries, particularly those of Works, Labour, Housing and Health, which were supposed to be working on such projects.

The request that the states and local governments identify projects to be considered eligible for SURE smacks of the same shoddy thinking. In the first place, what business has the Federal Government to direct states and local governments on what to do with their money?

Are we not operating a federal structure?

This is a military mindset which the Jonathan administration has to wean itself off. Significantly, government’s request assumes that all the fundamental problems besetting its characterisation of fuel subsidy have been resolved. Yet they clearly have not, given the shocking revelations that have come out of the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the fuel subsidy programme.

If the current testimonies are to be believed, the fuel subsidy programme has been a veritable cesspit of corruption and impunity in which government officials, industry regulators and businessmen have been deeply involved. The exact quantity of fuel being subsidised is not certain; several oil marketers have admitted to receiving payments far in excess of services rendered; nobody appears to know exactly which agency is responsible for approving bloated payments.

As further revelations come to light, it will become increasingly difficult for government to justify SURE as a viable economic programme. It will be even

harder to sell it to states and local governments who will justifiably wonder where the funds will be coming from, given the misinformation, incompetence and outright fraud that are now coming to light.

In any case, a truly well-thought out programme would have already sought the input of the other tiers of government long before any attempt to withdraw the alleged fuel subsidy. Such poor timing once again raises the question of exactly what the government’s motivation for subsidy withdrawal is. Instead of pursuing a carefully-organised plan of education and information characterised by town hall meetings with different stakeholders and citizens’ groups, the Jonathan administration put up a hurried media campaign and purported to have withdrawn fuel subsidies even while dialogue was still going on.

It is obvious that SURE is a badly thought-out plan. Its antecedents lie in the widely-reviled “palliative measures” hatched by previous administrations which achieved very little. The programme places far too much faith in the competence of administrators whose abilities are yet to be truly tested, while ironically depreciating the abilities of the very ministries, agencies and parastatals that are supposed to be doing such work.

Worst of all, it is based upon fraudulent financial calculations and dubious economic assumptions that are being exposed by the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on a daily basis.

Perhaps the most important lesson in all of this is the fact that successful governance is based on vision, foresight, sincerity of purpose and conscious planning.

They are what distinguish mere politicians from true statesmen.

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- 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 TUESDAY,FEBRUARY 7, 2012

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EDITORIAL/OPINION

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IR: SOMETIME last year I watched the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Ayo Adesina on the Africa Independent Television talk about Nigeria’s potential in cassava production. While taking the pain to explain Nigeria’s potential as a leading cassava producer, he said Nigeria has not been able to add any value to its agricultural produce.

For a long time, this has been the song of our leaders, including players in the non-oil export industry. Since the discovery of oil in Oloibiri, Bayelsa State in 1956, Nigeria has continued to slide into economic abyss. We have since become the proverbial husband who, because he just married a new wife, forgets the first.

The agricultural sector was the main stay of Nigeria’s economy from inception. What oil wealth has not been able to do, agricultural wealth has done for us in this nation.

The western, eastern and northern regions of the country lived solely on their agricultural wealth.

Unfortunately, we have continued to turn the other eye to this sector because of the easy money that accrues from oil. Rather than develop our non-oil exports, we have continued to subsidize the oil sector to the advantage of other nations of the world.

My concern however is that we have left undone what we should have done. How do you explain a situation where we spend trillions of naira on other economies through the so-called subsidy while we fail

EDITOR’S MAIL BAG SEND TYPEWRITTEN, DOUBLE SPACED AND SIGNED CONTRIBUTIONS, LETTERS AND REJOINDERS OF NOT MORE THAN 800 WORDS TO THE EDITOR, THE NATION, 27B, FATAI ATERE ROAD, MATORI, LAGOS. E-mail: views@thenationonlineng.net

Time to develop non-oil exports to look inward on how to help our own economy. That is why it worries me that the issue of export expansion grant is treated with kid gloves. Who benefits from the grant? It is easy to say the exporters.

But the truth is that the real beneficiaries are Nigerians who are in the labour market who will get employed if exporters are

encouraged.

The Nigerian business environment is fraught with so many difficulties that have pushed the cost of doing business to very high levels. Ours is one of the most expensive business environments in the world. Indeed, in global (export) competitiveness ranking Nigeria is at an alarming 137th out of 183 countries rated by the World

Economic Development Forum in 2011. The Export Expansion Grant helps to reduce some of the extra costs borne by the Nigerian exporter in providing inadequate or sometimes absent infrastructure like power, water and roads.

Even the most advanced countries in the world have made it a point of duty to evolve various levels of incentives to support their exporters

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• Olufemi Boyede, Lagos

Anger at Emir of Suleija misdirected

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IR: THE Christian mourners who gathered in St. Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State, to bestow befitting funeral rites and internment on the members killed by the Boko Haram (BH), were reported to have booed the Emir of Suleija, Mallam Awal Ibrahim, as a persona non grata. Their grouse was said to be that the Emir did not pay solidarity visit when the catastrophe occurred.

That allegation is seriously grave.

One would like to know more. For instance, did the Emir condemn the bombing as a dastardly act?

Since God alone knows what

human beings don’t know, could it be also that some key persons in the congregation linked the Emir to sponsorship of the Boko Haram, or probably that he has always been hostile to Christians? And I think it is also reasonable to ask why he did not pay solidarity visit. Was he sick, or in what mood that time?

I believe all the foregoing are legitimate questions that must be asked in order to be fair before God and humanity. Unfortunately, I have no clue to any of them. My sorrow, however, is that the same treatment was not visited on those

the books at the expense of the wellbeing of the people.

So far, only the profligate Presidency and its cohorts and the National Assembly have come under public scrutiny.

Nigeria’s other prodigal sons, the governors and local government chairmen and councilors, responsible for the mismanagement of a large portion of public funds, are inexplicably ignored at the moment.

Transformational Agenda has a good sound bite. Executing the agenda is another thing altogether.

Across the political spectrum Mr. Jonathan is viewed today as a president on the stump. This contrasts sharply with the image

of a man, who few months back, rode to power on a crest of popular fervor. His massive goodwill deficit is unprecedented for a newly elected president.

The core issue here is that President Jonathan’s policies are incremental, not transformational.

The fuel subsidy removal bares it all because it is the entry point of his reform agenda. It is not enough to run a Nollywood presidential campaign with singers at rallies who chorus Goodluck for me, Goodluck for you and everybody. The 2011 presidential election was about averting the collapse of a nation which is high on the failed state index.

who created the Boko Haram, i.e. the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, comprising the likes of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo and Senate President, David Mark.

Jonathan and Mark cleverly sent representatives to the occasion.

Christians’ agony about the sect’s onslaught must not prevent us from going beyond the surface to the root of the political Boko Haram. I stand to be corrected that the Emir was a victim of transferred aggression. Peaceloving Christians and Muslims can never imagine that our rulers are happy about the bombing of

Okotie’s spat on transformation agenda ir: WHAT policy options do the opposition leaders have to offer to President Goodluck Jonathan’s agenda which now seems beset by a credibility crisis due to his shoddy handling of the fuel subsidy issue?

Consider the one from Rev. Chris Okotie of the Fresh Democratic Party, FRESH – one of the most vocal critics of the ruling PDP government. Rev. Okotie, whose party is selling a reform agenda based on Human Capital Development, has accused the PDP of prioritizing economics over politics which in turn further impoverishes the masses. The Pastor-politician is piqued by the PDP’s predilections for balancing

in the international market. Now that government is working towards total deregulation of the oil sector, I will suggest that efforts be geared towards helping the agricultural sector and by extension the export industry in Nigeria.

There should be a way of paying subsidy to farmers and paying grants to exporters so they could concentrate on exports that will enhance Nigeria ’s economy. The only viable option left for government if it is not going to further pay subsidy in the petroleum sector is to pay attention to the export expansion grant introduced by the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Beginning with the presidency, Mr. Jonathan should put the knife on allocations to needless expenditures like allowances and estacodes, foreign trips by large delegations, state house food budget, and kitchen expenses and apply pressure on the National Assembly chaps to reduce their hefty pay cheque to reflect the current lean government purse.

Okotie calls this “The Moment of Truth”. The national purse is getting leaner; our population is growing. At the moment our nation of 167 million, ranks very low in the human development index and that is a source of worry.

•Emmanuel Oladapo Ibadan, Oyo State

churches, because that helps to generate confusion and distraction from the politico-economic injustice that they are perpetrating.

The presidency and the PDP-led legislature, under the absolute control of the retired military leaders, hold Nigeria in bondage.

They are running the country as an oligarchy, and preventing it from evolving democratic institutions, such as a truly independent electoral system that will minimize electoral rigging.

They are also afraid of legalising rotational presidency, because that will import order, and they benefit more from confusion and arbitrariness.

How do we distinguish between the Islamic-related and the political Boko Harams? That is no longer feasible until PDP resolves the political injustice of the truncation of the rotational presidency and unjust electoral system, through dialogue. For now, bone and meat are intermingled and can’t be disentangled. Only a peaceful resolution of pending cases of injustice, regarding the rotational presidency, electoral reform, and embezzlement of public funds by the presidency and the legislature can restore order, justice, peace, unity, and progress in Nigeria.

•Pius Oyeniran Abioje, Ph. D, University of Ilorin.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

EDITORIAL/OPINION

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as Saracens: they have wreaked more than enough havoc already. But thank God that they have not spawned a southern and Christian Middle Belt equivalent of Crusaders, both misguided groups fighting in the name of God that does not need their army.

Olakunle That would have been horrilordbeek@yahoo.com, 08054504169 (Sms only, please) Abimbola ble for this country: for the simplistic Eurocentric division of Nigeria into a Christian South and Muslim North would have collapsed in a free reign of anarchy, with Northformidable original! There certainly is something criminal and South Saracens clashing with South-North Crusaders in a hidnews President Jonathan, at least for now, appears to have cowardly in shielding self, releasing periodical threats from a eous Armageddon, sheer irreligious slaughter passing as rethe initiative against this deadly foe. He cannot afford to closet but sending dummies on suicide missions and mass slaugh- ligious war! lose that initiative. ter!

Still, President Jonathan, not the most introspective presiThe beginning of the end for Boko Haram may well be the Still, whether the treachery claim was correct or not, only dent in Nigerian history, must beware the latest gains on Boko arrest, by the SSS, of Abu Qaqa, the group’s loquacious spokesBoko Haram and the federal authorities can say. But in the jungle Haram are not frittered away on empty patriotic nonsense. person. That arrest clearly jolted the group – and not without of a rattled agent after a serial, deadly and senseless killer, faith Already, he is deluding himself, in his Facebook post, that reason. Should Abu Qaqa sing, he could well put the group’s surely would be the first casualty?

Nigerians agreed after the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) to operational arm, if not real king pings, in jeopardy. That And, of course, the inevitable threat: “Everybody knows our live together. With due respect to the president, that is utter seems to have stampeded the group to offer a riposte, sourcapability and tactics of operation. It is evidently clear that none balderdash! Besides, it is the periodic push of such blatant grape wise, that the nabbed person was Abu Dardaa, not Abu of our members could be caught on a platter of gold and without lies that has pushed Nigeria to this precipice.

Qaqa. confrontation.” Then what? Another repeat of January 20 Kano, Inasmuch as Nigeria is better off as one country, the Civil The “real” Abu Qaqa then claimed it was he who was where no less than 185 perished in mad bombings and shooting, War could not have been a palaver to determine that. That teleconferencing with the media, and that he was still as free not counting those who lost limbs or those still hospitalised? war was triggered by injustice, fought on injustice and won as the proverbial air. Some tale!

Like the loquacious Abu Qaqa, Boko Haram was sooner or later on injustice, with the side flexing stronger muscles, not necesThen further spin: Abu Qaqa or Abu Dardaa’s arrest was a going to over-reach itself. It did that with the Kano bombing. sarily the party with the right cause, prevailing. breach of faith. He was on a mission to dialogue but was With Kano, the commercial pearl of Northern Nigeria in ruins, Besides, as Ripples always notes, it was the first pan-Nigeria betrayed and captured by the federal authorities. But wait a the we-versus-them sadistic scale must have fallen off the north- gang-up; the second was June 12 crisis and the third was minute! Was it not this same Boko Haram that, on the face of ern eye. If Boko Haram was indeed fighting the northern cause – Jonathan’s controversial presidential nomination and his Souththe presidential offer to dialogue, upped its demand from supposing the theory of political Boko Haram (tormenting the ern-powered mandate. It is a tribute to the notion that might is the Islamization of the North to the Islamization of all NiJonathan presidency) as distinct from sectarian Boko Haram (en- not right that, 42 years after that war, hardly anything is settled geria? gaged in intra-faith civil war with rival Islamic groups) is true, on the Nigerian question.

And was this not same Boko Haram, whose new leader, Imam then it makes little sense for Boko, a supposed northern rod, to So, a smart Jonathan would seize his seeming advantage over Abubakar Shekau, in a farcical repeat of history, let play the smash so spectacularly Kano, a supposed northern city! It was a Boko Haram and its backers to set in motion processes that would Osama Bin Laden video histrionics of nestling with a strategic blunder, just as President Jonathan did during the re-negotiate and re-federalise Nigeria. But that is the grand Kalashnikov rifle, personalising the Boko campaign, and in a January fuel strikes, of uniting both friend and foe against it- theory. mixture of Hausa and Arabic, warned the Nigerian presiself.

On a smaller scale, it requires no especial acuity to know the dent, if not the Nigerian state, that hefty prices wait if he, as Yet after that attack like others before, Abu Qaqa would seize level of privation in the North East, the nursery of Boko Haram, Boko leader, was not taken seriously? But the latest Taliban in the next phone and, in manic joy, announce they were respon- is simply scary. Earlier in 1980, the Maitatsine sectarian viotown should have asked what happened to the much more sible for the massacre. In his satanic joy, he perhaps never lence claimed 4,177 lives in this same Kano. Muhammadu realised his call could be tracked by technology! That hum- Marwa, the leader of that sect, who also died in the violence, ‘A smart Jonathan would seize his bling reality did not also seem to strike the “new” Abu Qaqa, was also from the North East, though he had lived for decades as he also bluffed his way on the phone. That same nemesis in Kano. seeming advantage over Boko that nailed the old Qaqa may well nail the new!

So, apart from appeasing those who feel Jonathan “stole” With a suspect ability to reach its mass audience and spread their presidential quota, he could do better by launching a Haram and its backers to set in its message of death and panic, Boko Haram could seriously be Nigerian version of Marshall Plan to drastically reduce povmotion processes that could re-neoperationally hobbled. That could be good news for would-be erty and privation in the North East. That would raze the victims of its murderous campaign. nursery of sectarian and allied chaos and avert another Boko gotiate and re-federalise Nigeria’ Still, give it to this audacious group of anarchists passing off Haram 30 years hence.

EE who is bluffing and who is sitting pretty?

For the first time since Boko Haram flared from death merchants on motorbikes picking off luckless policemen in Maiduguri and environs, to mass murder of innocents by bombings, the terrorist group appears out of its wits. It is therefore attempting a bluff out of a blind alley.

On the other hand, the much ridiculed Goodluck Jonathan presidency has the rare good luck of seizing the initiative from a “virtual” foe that nevertheless runs fatal rings round the “federal might. It is good

epublican ipples

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NE of the rare good news in the past week was the reported capture of Abdul Qaga, spokesman of the murderous Boko Haram sect by the State Security Service. Taken within the context of the heightened offensive by the security agencies against the dreaded group, it seems the latest signs of the changing tide in the battle against the forces of the dreaded group.

Although, it seems early at this stage to speculate on how long it would take the offensive to smash the sect’s command and control apparatus would take, it seems plausible to see the days of the dreaded sect as being numbered.

The arrest of the group’s spokesman, just like the arrest of scores of the sect’s leaders in the on-going military clampdown have evidently done more than shatter the myth of the group’s invincibility. Not that anyone ever doubted that the group was beatable anyway; if anything, their staying power would seem as much a reflection of how embedded they have become in the communities, as well as the mortal failure by the intelligence community to track their methods early enough.

This is what the deployment of the military task force seems to have changed. The sect seems to have taken some beatings of late; worse, the group, it seems, no longer have a hiding place. Their threat to take the battle to the North-west seems at best, an extension of the psychological war; it says nothing of their capacity to inflict further significant damage.

The group which had rejected any form of dialogue with the federal government seems finally cornered – hence its latest offer of amenability to dialogue.

Has anything changed? Only the reality on the

‘Here is a group that has gone as far as levying a war against the federal government; a group which under international law would ordinarily stand accused of crimes against humanity. The same group is now being promoted as a pressure group – to take cover under some nebulous UN resolutions!’

Boko bluff

Policy Sanya Oni sanyaoni@yahoo.co.uk 08051101841

A template for all seasons ground could have led to the new tune. For both the group and their sponsors, things are apparently no longer at ease.

This is after all, no Afghanistan where a band of terrorists can be holed in the mountains beyond the reach of security forces. This is where I guess the pressure on the group needs to be increased; not eased. It is amazing that the federal government has not yet succeeded in cutting off the sources of funding for the group. This is hardly the time for half-measures.

It ought to be a hard lesson to those who have all along insisted that the nation could only be on their terms. It would be a grave mistake on the part of the Federal Government to be swayed by those arguing for accommodation.

Of course, only those uninformed about political undercurrents would fail to appreciate the connection between the calls for dialogue with the Boko Haram that has lately assumed stridency and the blistering offensive mounted by the military which came in the wake of the mass murders of innocent citizens in Kano.

While this is going apace, it is to be expected that the old, dubious game of rationalising evil or rather legitimising criminality – the good old template of appeasement would be re-played at some point. Indeed, the game has since kicked off in earnest. Remember the template forced the deaf and dumb federal government by the Niger Delta militants in proclaiming blanket amnesty to all manners of felons. There are signs that the old book is being dusted all over in the bid to cover the grievous crimes of treason and mass murder in the north. It seems an inescapable part of our character to federalise national felonies.

For instance, it seems to me that the Arewa Consultative

Forum, ACF by its communiqué of last week, barely stopped short of asking the Federal Government to pronounce general amnesty for the mass murderers called Boko Haram.

Two relevant portions of their recommendations would buttress this position. The first part says: “the Federal Government should commit itself openly and unambiguously in guaranteeing the security of leaders of Boko Haram when eventually they come out for dialogue promised by Mr. President”.

Does it sound like the earlier template which bought off the leaders of resource control agitations but which have left the objective conditions of the Niger Delta which enabled the criminality to thrive, unchanged?

Today, the co-opted warlords have become the familiar faces dining with the high and mighty at the Villa; they have since become centres of influence. While it pleases the new men of power and means, the next generation of warlords are being nurtured in the same nursery of criminal neglect.

But then, the question remains: what does the Boko Haram want? It seems that the ACF knows more than they are willing to divulge. They should tell us.

I go to the other part of their communiqué which is even more instructive: “while it is true that the actions of Boko Haram are condemnable, it is also necessary to call upon the federal government as well as all those in positions of authority to recall the UN resolution 1963 of 2010 which urges governments around the world to address underlying causes of civil unrest and social conflicts rather than resort to hard military power which rarely solve them”.

Here lies the ultimate paradox of the template; here is a group that has gone as far as levying a war against the federal government; a group which under international law would ordinarily stand accused of crimes against humanity. The same group is now being promoted as a pressure group – to take cover under some nebulous UN resolutions!

Do I smell politics or mischief here? It’s probably both; that is how far we have gone in federalising anarchy!

Clearly, the idea of criminal groups masquerading as freedom fighters pushing group interests is nothing new.

While I am aware of the large tribe out there who argue that the Nigerian state, as present constituted is a fraud – a criminal state, but then, I cannot recall any resolution from our splintered federating entities conferring on criminal gangs, the rights to upend our federalism. The question therefore bears repeating: what does the ACF know that the rest of us do not know? Just how far would the template of appeasement go before anarchy is loosed on the land?

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

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EDITORIAL/OPINION O my colleagues, airport correspondents, at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja during the days of General Ibrahim Babangida as President and Commander-in-Chief, you’ll recall a certain gentleman officer called U.K Bello, he was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Nigerian Army and served as Aide De Camp (ADC) to the gap toothed general from Minna. He was later to be killed in the Major Gideon Orkar’s coup while trying to defend his boss.

At about the same time, a certain brute that goes by the name Hamza alMustapha was also a familiar face at the presidential wing of the airport. He was (and I think is still) a Major in the Nigerian Army and was the Chief Security Officer to the then Chief of Army Staff, General Sani Abacha. General Abacha was to later become the Head of State and Commander-In-Chief and he retained alMustapha as CSO. The middle level army officer was to later become a terror to all and sundry in Nigeria and many souls, real and imagined enemies of his boss were dispatched to the great beyond allegedly on his orders. One of them was Mrs Kudirat Abiola, wife of Chief MKO Abiola Abiola, the man believed to have won a presidential election in 1993 but who was not allowed to exercise his mandate. Abiola was to die later in detention while Kudirat was gunned down on the street of Lagos by agents ordered to do so by al-Mustapha, for attempting to help her husband reclaim his mandate.

This in a nutshell is the story of two Chief Security Officers (if you consider UK Bello as one) to two different military Heads of State. One carried out the difficult assignment with human face, though he eventually lost his life, unfortunately, in the process, while the other had no regard for human lives as long as his principal was safe. He succeeded to a large extent but at great human cost to the nation. Nemesis has however caught up with him and he has been ordered to be hanged by a competent court of law for one of the numerous state sponsored murders under his watch. What a sad end it would be for him if at the end of his

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So Mustapha is to die by hanging? appeal the superior courts affirm the decision of the Lagos High Court. Mind you, this is just one of numerous murder cases linked with the dreaded former CSO, only God know what would happen if prosecution decides to bring further similar charges against him.

According to a Yoruba adage, if you are sent on an errand as a slave you deliver it as a free born. I am sure UK Bello or whoever was Babangida’s CSO must have been faced with similar situations as alMustapha faced but did no pander to the beast in them, at least not with impunity as al-Mustapha did. You may be right to recall the brutal killing of Dele Giwa under Babangida, but then nobody accused his ADC or CSO. The lesson here is that those who find themselves in positions of authority must be careful the way they exercise the powers they hold in trust for the people, for one day they would give account to the people. Today UK Bello is dead but people, even those who killed him, speak of him in good terms while nobody, save his family members and a few others is shedding tears for al-Mustapha, pleading for him, one of those sympathisers is the founder of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr.Frederick Faseun.

I am not a fan of the death penalty but it is difficult to plead that al-Mustapha and co be spared the hangman’s noose if eventually their appeal was rejected but we must show that unlike al-Mustapha and

his co convict, we value and respect the sanctity of human lives. Let their sentences be commuted to imprisonment and if we cannot forgive them after some time in jail, then let them rot in prison for life, but don’t kill them.

To those reading ethnic or religious meaning into the verdict of the Lagos High Court, it is unfortunate as they give the impression that one life is more important than another. This is one of the major causes of the problem facing our country today: Nigerians not being treated as equals. Lack of justice and fairness in the way we or rather our leaders treat the rest of us. If the murder had taken place in Kebbi State or any other state in the north for that matter with the same weight of evidence and operating the same criminal code, would the court have freed the accused persons? If the High Court has erred, the sensible thing to do is to await the verdict of the appellate courts, including the Supreme Court, not to input motives, other than justice, into the judgment of the Lagos High Court. If we want to build a nation, then everyone must be treated justly and fairly.

To the new IGP HONESTLY I am not a fan of the new Inspector General of Police, Alhaji MD Abubakar over his perceived role in the bombing of the then Chief Security Officer at the Murtala Muhammed International

Airport, i think during the Abacha regime, Dr Omatsola. Abubakar was serving then at the Lagos Police Command and when a bomb exploded killing Omatsola I think on his way home near the airport, most people suspected the government of the day, but Abubakar was sent to the airport then to attempt to pull a wool over our eyes. Many of us, especially the airport correspondents then were not deceived.

Abubakar was to later come back to command the Airport Police Command and I think he did a good job even when he became Commissioner of Police in Lagos.

A lot of people, some of whom are well respected in society have applauded the president for his choice of Abubakar, saying the Zamfara state-born police officer is a good cop. They pointed at his achievements as CP Lagos, Kwara and a couple of other states and his tenure as Assistant Inspector General of Police, especially at Zone 2, Lagos as standing him out as the best cop for the job at hand now.I am not convinced but I wish him best of luck. His work seems to have been cut out for him: bring down the high level of insecurity in the country, especially the threat posed

by Boko Haram and armed robbers. These are no small tasks and he will surely need the support and prayers of all of us.

First he will need to reorganize the entire police force placing more emphasis on intelligence gathering. As things stand today, the Nigeria Police is only fighting crime and not preventing it. Even the fighting is being done half-heartedly owing to low morale among officers and men, poor remuneration and obsolete equipment.

The police today is under staffed and as things stand, cannot even attract high quality Nigerians. If the condition of service is good enough as we have in the military, many of our numerous unemployed graduates would be willing to join the police. Have you been to a police barrack near you? Even if you have a son or daughter that graduated years ago and still has nothing doing, you wouldn’t want him or her in the Police after a visit to where those in service live, it is that bad. I don’t envy IGP Abubakar, he has a tough job at hand and I wish him best of luck.

VIEW FROM THE FOREIGN PRESS IGERIANS have been regaled with mindboggling revelations about the management of the petrol subsidy scheme in recent weeks. Some of this puzzling revelations range from the fact that about N1.5 trillion was spent outside of budget last year to how marketers and their collaborators have consistently gamed the system in excess of 20 million liters per day! Public searchlight is now intensely beamed on a sub-sector that has always been defined by opacity. All things being equal, this new sunshine regime should change things for the better both in the sector and the country at large.

While we wait and hope, it is important to remember how it all started. Many Nigerians all along had this sneaky feeling that the fuel subsidy scheme was redolent with untoward practices. But it was all hearsay and very few people could put their fingers on what was amiss. However, the country started gaining better clarity when in October 2011 Senator Bukola Saraki successfully moved a motion on the floor of the Senate calling for an investigation into how the N240 billion budgeted for fuel subsidy for the whole of 2011 had ballooned to over N1.2 trillion under 10 months. That motion rescued the issue from the domain of whispers and gossip and made it a credible item on the public agenda. It was a game-changer!

Apart from helping many to connect the dots and focusing public attention on a decidedly opaque arena, the motion by Senator Saraki has triggered a series of actions not just in the Senate, but also in the House of Representatives and in the country at large. The probes that followed, even when they are still on-going, have put previously untouchable public officials and marketers on the hot-seat and uncovered serial abuse of office and process. Beyond that, the resultant revelations have also emboldened citizens and civic groups to demand for greater transparency, accountability and good governance in the oil sector and beyond.

One can reasonably guess that the Senator representing Kwara Central was not the first legislator to be aware that the country was spending far in excess of what was budgeted for fuel subsidy in 2011 or that it was wrong to spend money not appropriated by the parliament or that the fuel subsidy programme had been cornered for private gain by a powerful cartel within and outside of government. But while others looked the

N

Subsidy probe: how it all started

By Oladele Akanni other way or lived in blissful ignorance, the Senator chose to ask questions.

Ordinarily, this should not be an exceptional act, as asking questions fall within the routine job-descriptions of the legislators. But given that others might have considered this subject too hot or too politically sensitive to handle and how well-resourced and well-connected the obvious targets of such inquiry are, Senator Saraki’s motion is an exceptional act of vision, courage and leadership that should be celebrated, even when it is not unexpected that the target and their collaborators could fight back another day.

While moving the motion, Senator Saraki cited the need to “strengthen institutional integrity, transparency and accountability” and prayed that the Senate should “set up a special committee to investigate the operation of the fuel subsidy scheme with a view to determine that it is still run within the parameters of the law and if not find ways and means to make it much more transparent, accountable, efficient, sustainable and within the Appropriation Act.” The Senate obliged him, and the House of Representatives also followed suit.

Beyond ingenious legislative crafting, it seems that the motion was hinged on the need to interrogate the multiple issues implicated in the opaque management of the fuel subsidy scheme. One is the constitutionality of treating fuel subsidy expenditure as a first-line charge before revenues are pooled into the Federation Account. Two is the impact of extra-budgetary expenditure on budget implementation. Three is the impact of spending an amount higher than the entire capital budget of the Federal Government on just one item. And four is the legality of spending money without due appropriation by the National Assembly.

At issue here then is not mere procedure or territory.

Screaming beneath Senator Saraki’s carefully-worded motion is a larger narrative: the need to promote probity,

due process, rule of law, and sustainability in the management of public resources.

This historic motion has been described as a watershed moment for the 7th Senate, and a possible indicator that the red chamber might be on the cusp of change. The Senate leadership should be applauded too, for it could have killed the motion before it got on the order paper.

It is quite remarkable that Senator Saraki moved this well-researched and well-argued motion within three months of being a Senator. Some senators who have spent eight years or more in the red chamber do not have any remarkable intervention to their name. Yet anyone familiar with Saraki’s antecedents as a highperforming governor and influential chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum would know that he is not cut out to be a bench-warmer.

Saraki’s trajectory in the upper house has demonstrated that previous experience as a legislator is not the sole determinant of impact in the National Assembly. Much more important factors are: the determination to make a difference, the courage of conviction, the ability to learn quickly, the quality of support staff, and the capacity to build a winning coalition. These are values that have served Saraki well so far in the Senate. Other first-timers and old timers who are interested in making impact will do well to imbibe them too.

•Akanni, a public affairs analyst, lives in Abuja.

‘This historic motion has been described as a watershed moment for the 7th Senate, and a possible indicator that the red chamber might be on the cusp of change.

The Senate leadership should be applauded too, for it could have killed the motion before it got on the order paper’

25

PROPERTY

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.com

* The Environment * Mortgage * Apartments * Security * Homes *Real Estate

email:- property@thenationonlineng.net

The property market is lucrative. Everybody wants a piece of the action. Surveyors especially feel that being their terrain they should benefit the most. They gathered at a workshop on “Real estate practice and the Nigerian market” in Lagos to explore the winning ways. OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE reports.

Capturing the property market

•An office complex in Abuja •CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

• Abandoned buildings to be demolished

- PAGE 26

•How we repositioned NEMA, by Sidi

- PAGE 39

•Ondo asks for fair share of ecological fund - PAGE 40

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

26

PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT

Capturing the property market •Continued from Page 25

T

HE Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) Learning Centre has unveiled key success factors in property development and marketing.

At a workshop in Lagos, speakers listed what distinguishes a successive practitioner from one who can hardly make a living from surveying.

They blamed the government for its lacklustre performance, especially in planning the physical environment that will stimulate the business of property development and marketing.

In advanced countries, they noted that geographical regions are surveyed in advance and master plans based on empirical data are contrived for the growth of each region.

Usually, growth directions of existing settlements with all their complex land use types are established 10, 20, 30 to 50 years in advance.

Master plans guide land developers in anticipating demand and investment in residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, holiday and tourism.

Principal Partner, C .A Chizea & Company, Ms Claire Chizea, in her paper: Understanding property development environment: an overview of evolution, problems, and some prescriptions for positive change, said no inroad can be made by a practitioner except he understands the trend, socio, economic and political environment.

Part of the knowledge, she said, includes understanding the times.

“For instance in 2005, there was a huge movement in the property market because the Federal Government started selling off its houses and freeing land for development. A player in the property market must understand the times and know when and how to invest,” she said.

Ms Chizea illustrated with the property trend in Ikoyi, Lekki and Victoria Island where town houses and luxury flats are hot cakes and dollarised, noting that if a sector player does not understand the market, he may replicate same in Ikeja where the market for such luxury supply is not available, thereby endangering

his business.

She insisted that a player must understand his market in terms of trend, taste and delivery. To be successful in property business, she said a player needed to know the approving and regulatory agencies of government to help himself or clients when the need arises, including relevant professional groups in the building sector and their functions.

Furthermore, she noted that availability of funds is key to making a headway which means that substantial capital is required to provide a reasonable quality and quantity of property or interest on land, especially land with a long gestation period.

She called on the government to make available real estate fund from which industry players can draw to grow the sector.

President, Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV), Mr Bode Adediji, lamented that the professional practice, the construction industry, the property market and facility management are engulfed in an unprecedented crisis caused by lack of any tangible and all-embracing response from the government, the relevant professional bodies and the organised private sector.

He said: “Sadly enough, the stock market, the banking and the financial sectors are yet to recover from their stupor when the current oil subsidy removal crisis triggered off another show of shame in the entire petrol (PMS) supply and distribution chain.

“Unknown to many, when these crucial sectors sneeze the entire real estate industry would naturally catch cold.

And recovery from such ‘viral infection’ has never been known to be immediate or even shortterm.”

Bemoaning the performance of his colleagues, he said: “Over

•From left:Chizea, Idudu, Adediji, Odudu and Eleh at the event.

time, estate surveyors and valuers have sacrificed other areas of core competence at the altar of crude estate agency practice.

For instance, nation-building operations, such as property development, construction, project management, real estate investment advisory services and asset valuation, have been abandoned or relegated to the background. Every surveyor’s key operation (and cashcow) is agency.

Adediji said the major reason for under-performance was poor understanding of the skills needed for success as majority of practitioners conducted estate agency from the primordial framework of mere rent-seeking without adding value.

Consequently, our failure as individuals and the professionals to retool, to specialise, to synergise, to build capacity and to embrace international best practices have become too noticeable and cast a bad shadow on our image as well as diminished our competitive advantage, he regretted.

He noted that with the emergence of other estate agency associations across the country (both registered and unregistered), it will only be a matter of time before the battle against quack estate agents will be lost.

According to him, the contemporary property market in Nige-

ria has become as challenged as the practitioners operating in it.

The amorphous, unregulated, chaotic, unpredictable environment, not supported by centralised information system and computerisatio has made the market to function in an epileptic manner, without form or direction.

A former Chairman of NIESV, Lagos chapter, Dr Bolarinde J. Patunola, in his contribution, said attractive income and profit are some of the factors that influence an investor’s decision whether to invest or not.

According to him, property investment usually attracts special attention because of its definable pattern of risks. The yield may be low, but the rental and capital growth over time instill confidence in investors.

He said if operated by professionals, it remained the most acceptable collateral for mortgage facilitates all over the world, a sure means of wealth creation, and not easily traded off, or disposed like stocks and shares.

On the steps to a successful operation in the sector, he underscored the need to understand the intricacies of property valuation, among others.

He said: “Investors always wants to know the monetary worth of a property to assist in their decision making.”

On the guidelines and parameters for success, Patunola said:

‘To be successful in property business, a player needed to know the approving and regulatory agencies of government to help himself or clients when the need arises, including relevant professional groups in the building sector and their functions’

PHOTO: OKWY IROEGBU- CHIKEZIE

“There are guidelines and parameters in carrying out a valuation exercise. The type of interest affected and the use for which the report is required are essential. Valuation must generally be specific as regards the followings: date, purpose, property description, opinion and assumption.”

However, he cautioned that the head of the valuation team must be a seasoned registered estate surveyor who would painstakingly go through all the parameters applied, and check the grammar to cross the ‘t’s and dot the ‘i’s. As a faulty report will send a bad signal about our noble profession to the outside world.

The former NIESV chief stated that valuation is so important in property transaction as investors are guided in their decisions and actions, such as purchases, sales, lettings, leases, mortgage and others. Valuation is a technical process, which requires professional competence and its vital role in property investment decision requires accuracy and precision, Patunola noted.

He said regular and periodical valuation of property portfolio encourages investors because of the appreciation usually recorded in capital value.

According to him, asset valuation enables the government and organisations to control and monitor their assets.

However, Patunola warned that property valuation is an exclusive job of the estate surveyors and valuers and that quacks must be prevented from doing it because they don’t understand.

He added that for success in property investment, a good knowledge for valuation must be available if the company to make profit.

Abandoned buildings to be demolished

T

HE Lagos State government is set to demolish all un completed and abandoned buildings.

It urged residents to be security conscious and report any abandoned and uncompleted buildings in their neighbourhood, because they could become havens to miscreants, armed robbers, destitate and a danger to traders.

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Toyin Ayinde, made this known during an inspection of distressed, contravening and abandoned buildings.

He said aside such structures being used by criminals, the government was always mindful of the dangers involved in build-

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie Asst Editor

ings collapse, especially those that lead to loss of lives, and would rather take pre-emptive measures to avoid such a situation.

He said it is the government’s responsibility to keep people safe if it sees a distressed structure. He identified non-compliance to specific details and alteration of building plans as one of the major causes of building collapse.

He urged owners of abandoned buildings to revert back to the ministry for clearance before they continue with their construction.

Ayinde said the purpose of the

inspection was to enforce and ensure strict compliance to the provisions of the Physical Planning regulations because recent devel-

‘It is the government’s responsibility to keep people safe if it sees a distressed structure.

He identified noncompliance to specific details and alteration of building plans as one of the major causes of building collapse’

opment in the state has revealed the growing trend of people erecting structures at night and sometimes on weekends.

He lamented the dearth of illegal structures and activities on right of way of roads in areas visited and ordered for their immediate removal.

He advised the public to seek planning information free from the Ministry before building. He warned that it would no longer tolerate any construction without relevant approvals.

Officers of the Ministry, he said, will be more vigilant to ensure that contravening structures are halted at their infancy while the Ministry’s working hours have been extended.

According to him, no stone will be left unturned to achieve the desirable environment. Consequently, some abandoned buildings on the Anthony and ApapaOshodi Expressway, illegal structures and a filling station without permit around Okota area that were already served with notices were sealed during the tour.

Ayinde advised builders to be mindful that as the raining season approaches, they should be aware of how they build while ensuring that due process is followed.

Members of the public were also encouraged to visit the ministry’s website for more information.

27

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

E-mail:- law@thenationonlineng.net

The directive by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) that motorists must acquire new licences and number plates by August has stirred criticisms. Many are querying the legitimacy of the policy. To them, it is mere revenue drive by the government. The policy, lawyers argue, is misplaced.

JOHN AUSTIN UNANCHUKWU and ERIC IKHILAE report.

• Chidoka

New number plate, I driver’s licence stir controversy • Lawyers fault FRSC’s stand

F many motorists had their way, they will have nothing to do with the new number plate and driver’s licence introduced last year by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

Under the new regime, motorists have up to August, to acquire the new number plate and driver’s licence or they will be penalised.

By FRSC’s directive, a driver is required to pay N6,000 for the licence and N15,000 for the number plate.

For the proponents of the policy, it is intended to restore the integrity of the Unified Licensing

Inside: ‘Why Abia is without Chief Judge - P.29

Scheme (ULS) and National Vehicles Identification Scheme (NVIS) initiated by the government in the 1990s; maintain a credible database of drivers in the country and develop a robust Information and Communication Technology (ICT) network.

The ULS is intended to unify vehicle and driver licensing to create a national databank so that authorised personnel could easily access vital information on vehicle/motorists’ records, such as vehicle registration particulars, national driver’s licence including

endorsements, basic medical records (age, sex, height, blood group and disabilities) and others.

This, the government said,will eliminate the current fraudulent regime in which some people obtain multiple driver’s licences; register a vehicle in more than one state or local government at will, or operate a motor vehicle with a fake registration plate without detection.

They argued that the issuance of drivers’ licence remains a huge racket for revenue officials, FRSC •See page 28

Queries as judge opts out of Lagos Speaker’s trial - P.30

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

28

LAW COVER CONT’D

New number plate, driver’s licence stir contorversy • Continued from page 27 officers, and touts that loiter at vehicle licensing offices.

President Goodluck Jonathan was quoted as saying, during its launch in Abuja, that the initiative is to alter the culture of recklessness displayed by some drivers, their impunity and lack of consideration for other road users.

In justifying the programme, FRSC’s Corps Marshall Osita Chidoka said the new driving licence and number plate were part of a credible database that would make it easy to retrieve information about every vehicle owner.

He explained that the upgraded driving licence and number plate are interlinked and will be connected to each individual to help the FRSC track road offences and monitor the driving behaviour of vehicle owners as well as to curb crimes generally.

In a presentation dated May 5, 2011, titled: Management of driver’s licence database as means of reducing road traffic, Chidoka argued that his agency’s actions in relation to the new project were within its statutory powers.

He cited Section 14(2b) of the Constitution which provides, among others, that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of Government, and Schedule 2 Part 1 Item 63 which empowers the National Assembly to enact laws on traffic on federal trunk roads.

Chidoka also refered to the FRSC Establishment Act, 2007, enacted by the National Assembly in pursuance to its mandate of making laws for good governance and actualising government’s primary purpose of security and welfare.

He argued that under the 2007 amended Act, the FRSC is empowered to make regulations relating to: • Determining, from time to time, the requirements to be satisfied by an applicant for a driver’s licence • Designing and producing vehicle number plates • Designing and producing driver licence and vehicle number plates to be used by various categories of vehicles; and • Registration, licensing, road worthiness of vehicles, driver licence, use of expressways, use and construction of vehicle highway codes and in general on human, vehicular and environmental factors to make the highways safe.

Despite the belief that there is a need for the policy because of the chaotic process of vehicle numbering and driver’s licence acquisition, it has been criticised for its inappropriateness.

This is in view of the conclusion that it is another revenue drive by the government in view of the huge cost attached to it, a position supported by the FRSC’s indication that it was eyeing a whooping N192 billion from the exercise.

The argument is, not being a revenue generating agency and whose activities are budgeted for, the FRSC has no moral and legitimate rights to compel people to pay for its services.

Critics are also of the view that even when the law empowers it to design and produce vehicle licence and number plate, the law did not mandate the FRSC to sell such produced items.

They questioned the moral behind the continued execution of the project, despite a resolution by the House of Representatives halting further execution, pending the outcome of its investigation into an allegation that the project was influenced by extraneous motives.

Some even queried the legitimacy of the policy on the ground that, despite the inclusion of the Joint Tax Board in the sharing of the proceeds among governments at the centre and states, motor vehicle administration, under which the new project falls, is contained in the Residual Legislative List.

A lawyer and Chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Rules and Business, Albert Sam Tsokwa, while contributing to the debate on the issue on the House’s floor, queried the authority with which the FRSC was compelling people to pay for its services.

“The idea behind the project may be fine, but the Act establishing the FRSC states that the agency is to be funded in all its activities through the budget and other sources of funding, which includes grants in aids and donations. It does not include the internal generation of revenue, and so the corps has no business whatsoever with revenue generation.

“If you look at the legislative powers of the Federal Government, you would find that of the 68 items on the exclusive legislative list, motor vehicle administration is not part of it, so the National Assembly has no power to make laws on motor vehicle administration as far as the Exclusive list is concerned.

“Now, on the Concurrent legislative list, which empowers both the state and the National Assembly to make laws, no item on the 30 items on the list contains motor vehicle administration.

“So motor vehicle administration is on the Residual list, which is exclusively for the state.

• OCJ Okocha (SAN)

• Lawal Rabana (SAN)

• Muyiwa Akinboro

• Tairu

So the FRSC has no business whatsoever handling that aspect. I am surprised that more states have not even gone to court to challenge this. I understand that Lagos State did this, but I don’t know if it pursued it to its logical conclusion.

“What I am saying is that it is unconstitutional for the FRSC to go into the production of motor vehicle number plates, drivers’ licences and other aspects of motor vehicle administration.

“The only thing that is provided for in the Exclusive legislative list is traffic on federal trunk roads, and traffic is different from licensing of vehicles and drivers,” Tsokwa argued.

On Chidoka’s argument that the project was in fulfilment of the provision of Section 14 (2) (b) of the Constitution, critics wondered why people should be made to pay if the primary purpose of the government is to secure people’s lives and their welfare. They argued that it was appropriate to deploy government’s resources for that purpose.

They argued that since the FRSC had already utilized public fund on the production of plate numbers people who own old plate numbers should bring them and take the new ones for free after which the remaining ones should be given at very minimal cost.

This, they said, is because the cost has already been borne by public funds, unless and except the commission claims it acquired loan to produce the new plates and if it did, show the authority on which it borrowed money for the scheme.

Former President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) OCJ Okocah (SAN), former General Secretary, NBA, Rafiu Lawal Rabana (SAN), General Secretary, NBA Olumuyiwa Akinboro, Lagos-based lawyers, Nojim Tairu and Mustapher Ibrahim said the policy revealed that government reasoning was at variance with the people’s expectations.

Okocha said: “The problem with Nigeria is that we are never able to fashion out an enduring policy. I have been to many countries of the world where they are still using plate numbers developed and registered in the 1930s.

“All that the government needs to do is to get a new register and say okay, you have the old number, register your name here and pay the difference at affordable cost to the people. I have taken time to look at the new plate number and compared it with the old ones, actually, there is no remarkable difference between them. There is no difference at all.

“Such policies take time to implement. You don’t do such things in a hurry. From what they are doing now, it is to create avenues for FRSC and other traffic officials to extort money from the masses.

“To say the least, this policy is not being effi-

ciently executed. We should always know what we are doing. We should not be putting people into unnecessary expenses. It is not good at all.’’

Rabana said it as a misplaced priority for the FRSC to think that the policy is paramount in the scheme of things in the country now.

“Apart from the cost, this policy does not add value to our road conditions. Our roads are still replete with broken down vehicles all over the place, you have rickety vehicles and overloaded vehicles which constitute more danger on our roads than the plate number and new licence policy.

“I wonder why the Federal Government should sit down and watch a government parastatal like the FRSC develop and implement such a harsh and anti- people policy. This amounts to coercion and intimidation of Nigerians to go, pay and collect a plate number that does not mean anything to them; a plate number that does not add value to their lives.

“There should be human face to government policies. Government should always consider the interest of the people whenever such policies that task peoples’ pockets are conceived.

“Things are hard for Nigerians; you do not ask people to pay between 40 and N50,000 for a licence while they still have a valid driving licence and new plate number when some of them cannot afford N8,000 to get new tyres for their cars.

“This is very, very unfortunate and I do hope that the government will intervene on this.’’

Akinboro said though it can be pursued legally, the essence of government is to protect the interest of the people, safeguard their rights and privileges and make life easy for them.

“Why should the government ask people to pay for the new ones when it is the same government that issued the old ones? It is not fair for the government to take advantage of the people. The government should be sensitive to the yearnings and aspirations of the people.

“The government should care for the people, listen to them and do its best to improve their living standards. Why should government even ask people to buy the new plate numbers after they had acquired the old ones - legally or not, the issue is that the government issued the old ones.

“It is like me telling my tenant to pay more for his apartment while his rent is still running, simply because I need to do interlocking stones in the compound.

“What is the use of new plate numbers in a country where the cost of living is very high, fuel subsidy was just removed, insecurity all over the place, with bombings here and there?

The government should care and show some feelings for the people.”

Tairu agreed that part of the functions of FRSC is designing of driver’s licence and vehicle plate identity mark.

“We already have before now licence and plate number that we are told are about the best by world standard and, in fact, it was reported at one time or so that some countries are adopting the Nigerian designs.

“The new number plate that I have seen is not in any way better, even aesthetically, than one sought to be phased out. I am yet to understand the justification and rationale for the redesigning/introduction of the new accessories which has nil impact on the primary responsibility of the FRSC - safety on roads.

“Also, it adds no value to the vehicle owners.

So, who are the beneficiaries of the dubious scheme? The cabals /crooks in government?

The losers are the hapless and silent masses whom the government can’t think of alleviating their poverty level, but keep adding to it through visionless and selfish policies. It is most unfortunate.

“The Civil Society must not continue to watch helplessly. Legal action can be instituted to check the abuse/excess by the Commission even if only to register a protest and make the point that the people can’t be taken for granted all the times.

“We must be seen to be very conscious of our right and ready to challenge any dubious policy of the government and its agencies. That is how our society can develop and be better; not through the extant culture of docility and fear of government.

“If FRSC gets away with this, it will not only add to the cost of living and further impoverish the people, but the bandwagon effect is bound to follow as other agencies of government will come up with their own versions of the same corruption, evil-tainted, fraudulent ideas just to feed their greed and those of their cronies.

“But beyond all this is the fact that a great day of reckoning is coming for all. He that has an ear let him hear.”

Ibrahim observed that the exorbitant cost of obtaining the two materials prompted suspicion on the minds of people who believe that the initiative is more about money than it is about safety.

“A conservative arithmetic of the revenue that would accrue to FRSC from this project is huge enough to rationalise the apprehensions of Nigerian tax payers whose patience seems to be taken, especially in this case, for granted.

“The FRSC is, by the Act establishing it, a Federal Government agency which statutory responsibility does not include revenue generation except of what builds up through fines collected from traffic offenders.

“If government had intended to primarily use the FRSC as a revenue generation outfit, it would have placed it, like the Nigerian Customs Service, under the Federal Ministry of Finance.

“Moreover, licensing is basically the job of Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) because licensing authority constitutionally rests with state governors and the Minster of Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“This seemingly overlapping role of FRSC, perhaps, accounts for the allegation by many Nigerians that the Commission is usurping the powers of the VIOs and by extension state governors as it concerns licensing of drivers and vehicles.

“If the basis for changing the existing driving licence and number plate, as advanced by the FRSC boss, is fundamentally to have a ‘credible database’ about vehicle owners to ease the tracking down of drivers who violate traffic rules and regulations, then the project in its present form is uncalled for.

“Most Nigerians believe that such an exercise could still be accomplished without necessarily changing or introducing new driving licence and number plate; believing that the exercise is largely about authenticating information.

“For now, upgrading the driving licence and number plate in use is not enough reason to justify the initiative. Moreover, even the upgraded licence and number plate still leaves several security questions unanswered. What if, for instance, a criminal uses a stolen car to commit a crime?

“The new initiative will invalidate hundreds of thousands of existing driving licensces which expiry dates extend beyond the August 2012 deadline given by the FRSC for acquiring the new documents. It is thus unfair to ask drivers and vehicle owners to pay for items which period of validity is cut short by the issuing party.

“The FRSC’s new initiative amounts to increasing the already heavy financial burden on the neck of most Nigerians. Operators of commercial vehicles are already threatening to increase transport fares. However, if government, in spite of public criticisms, is convinced about the initiative, it is only just that such is done at her expense,” he said.

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LAW PERSONALITY Mr Umeh Kalu is the Abia State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice. A graduate of the Abia State University, Uturu, he holds an LL.M from the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS). He is a member, Body of Benchers and the Council of Legal Education.

Kalu spoke with JOSEPH JIBUEZE and UGOCHUKWU EKE in Umuahia on why the call for state police is justified, the state government’s efforts at improving justice administration and how to improve the falling standard of legal practice.

‘Why Abia is without Chief Judge’

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HAT are your ministry’s challenges in the prosecution of criminal cases?

The police have the duty of investigation, after which case files are sent to the Ministry of Justice who prosecutes. In minor offences, they can equally file charges and do their prosecution. We have been having problems bordering on untidy investigations. Most times, they leave loose ends, which may not really help us in the course of prosecution. Maybe an accused person raises the issue of alibi; it is the duty of the police to investigate by going to areas he said he was. If we have such loose ends, it’s not good for us. You lose cases that you would ordinarily secure convictions. There’s equally the issue of delay. Most times the police won’t come up as quickly as one would desire, and that is why sometimes you see people spending weeks in custody.

What is the relationship with the police like?

In terms of relationship, we have tried to close up the gap. We have a very good relationship with the police. The man in charge of the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID), fortunately, is a lawyer, so he has been synergising with us. If there are things we want, we call him.

He’s always ready to assist. The Police Commissioner here is equally a lawyer. So, they appreciate the duties of the Ministry of Justice in terms of prosecution and we are working harmoniously. That does not take away the fact that most times we cannot get the police to even provide Investigating Police Officers (IPOs) when they are transferred. There are cases they may be handling, and by the time it gets to trial, the IPO may have been transferred.

Do you think creation of state police will be the solution to such problems?

The Attorneys-General of different states met and proffered a solution. For now, there is an ongoing effort at making some amendments to our Constitution. I recall that sometime last year, the forum of governors invited us to address them and look at some of those issues. The issue of state police was one of those areas we have a consensus, that there is a need for the states to have their police. It will make the force more effective. If it has been able to work in other countries such as the United States, it will work here. We will define their areas of operation.

Some argue state police may be subject to abuse by governors. What do you think?

I, for one, would subscribe to state police, irrespective of the idea of abuse. Some believe governors will put state police to political advantage and to their own benefit. But I don’t think that will happen. The benefits outweigh the possible disadvantages. That is my own thinking. So, I subscribe to the view that states should be allowed to have their police force. It will help the issue of communal policing, and it will make the governors to really be the chief security officers of their states, because that is the problem that we have.

What other advantages do you foresee?

Nominally, on the face of it, we refer to the governor as the chief security officer, but in practical terms he is not, because a governor is not in control of the state Commissioners of Police. If the governor gives a directive to the CP of a state, the channel of command demands that the CP will seek clearance from the Inspector-General of Police before carrying out that instruction, and it’s not proper.

And matters having to do with security are things that you handle with dispatch, promptly. At times you will find delays. That is why we are saying that a governor should be able to control the police. The federal police will still be there with basic functions assigned to them.

What challenges do you face in justice administration in Abia as Attorney-General?

I have been in the saddle for about two years.

When I assumed office, I must say that the things we met on ground were not up to standard, especially as it relates to court infrastructure, and the way the court should be managed, when compared to Lagos where I had practiced law for more than 20 years. You will agree with me that in terms of working tools, court environment, condition of service of judiciary workers and all that, Lagos was ahead of not only Abia, but some other states.

It was the pace-setter in these areas, and it is understandable. When I got in, what I met on ground could not in any way be compared to

the standard of Lagos. Lagos had a new uniform civil procedure rule which had been in place for sometime, and the idea was to shorten the time of the judicial process in its entirety, from the time a litigant files a suit till when judgment is delivered. When I got here in 2009, the system was just taking off here. In terms of infrastructure, they were using manual typewriters in some courts, as opposed to computers. The courtrooms were not what they should be. That is at it relates to the judiciary.

What have you done about long-hand writing by judges?

That is still on. We have not got recording system in our courts yet. You know you equally need to train the staff. You have to have the manpower, not just the equipment.

The judges need to be in tune with it too. Basically all of them must be computer literate.

And the bar must be involved too. Last time, I suggested that we should begin a pilot scheme. We could start with maybe the courts in Aba and Umuahia and see how it goes.

What have you done about infrastructure?

At present, there is a silent revolution happening. So much has happened in the past one year. The governor has keyed into the master plan to turn the courts around. Just about two months ago, there was a supplementary budget basically for the courts and Ministry of Justice. The idea for that supplementary budget was to change the face of all the courts in Abia State. The courts are places that should exude some confidence, even for litigants.

How did they get to the state you met them?

Past regimes had always not paid much attention to the judiciary, so much so that courtrooms were derelict here. But if you go to the High Court in Aba, the courts are being refurbished as I speak to you. And we’re constructing a storey building that will take about four courts there. If you go to the court in Umuahia, work is ongoing now for a duplex that will contain six courtrooms. The main court hall too will soon undergo some renovation. We’re equally looking into the chambers of the judges. They must have basic comfort, even good libraries. A new building has just been completed in the Ministry of Justice.

Another is ongoing. The lawyers will have more basic tools to work with. The salaries of law officers have been harmonised. Every lawyer now wants to work in the Ministry of Justice. We have to provide the necessary tools for them.

Is anything being done to improve the Customary Courts?

Last year, there was the Abia State Customary Court Amendment Law that was passed.

The essence of the law was to get lawyers to head Customary Courts in Abia State. Prior to this time, laymen were the heads of these courts, and that affected the quality of judgment they gave. We said no, we can’t allow that to happen.

Have the lawyers been sworn in?

Just last week, the head of the Customary Court swore in about 50 lawyers. That equally provided jobs for lawyers here. They will head those Customary Courts. The Customary Court of Appeal has a new building. So, the governor has really been doing so much. I’m sure if you ask the Chief Judge, he will tell you that things are actually looking up.

What about judges’ welfare?

Even the condition of service of the judges, we give strong attention to their demands now in terms of the basic things that they should have. I understand for several years judges here didn’t attend conferences abroad to sharpen their skills. Last year some of them went. Others will go this year, so that our judges will equally flow like others. What I’m saying in a nutshell is that so much is happening in Abia State judiciary, and that is thanks to the Governor, who I’m sure you know is a creation of the judiciary. If not for what the courts did, I’m sure he won’t be sitting on that seat.

Why is there no substantive Chief Judge of Abia State?

We did not create that scenario. But the issue is being resolved, and I can tell you that the relationship between the executive and the judiciary in this state is that of mutual respect and independence, just as the law says it should be. But I can tell you that as long as I remain here, my constituency is the judiciary and the Ministry of Justice where I belong. And the governor, since he has been acceding to our requests, I can assure you that better days are

• Kalu

here for us. The basic things we need to do our jobs here, we will get them. I’m sure by the time you come back next year, we would have completed those buildings. We want our courts to look like those you have in Lagos and Abuja.

If you’re convicted in those courts, you will be happy that you were convicted in such a courtroom. And you will have some respect for even the bench and the practitioners there.

How will the newly established Multi-Door Courthouse enhance justice delievery in the state?

The court took off effectively just before Christmas. I think they just had one Settlement Week session. So, to that extent, the impact hasn’t really been felt much. But I know it is one of the best things that will happen to our judiciary. It has been tried in other places, and it worked successfully. The whole idea is to provide an alternative to litigation and settlement of disputes. You avoid the rigours of real legal proceedings in court where more time and funds are spent. This one is a quicker way to fast-track justice delivery.

What has been the reaction from people so far?

We need to do a lot of orientation so that people will get to know the benefits of that window that has been opened. The bar has a role to play, and even the media, especially in Abia. People need to know that you don’t need to go through the whole process of giving evidence in court, cross-examination and all that.

When I interacted with the judge involved, he told me that there are cases even in his court that had lingered for seven years and they were able to resolve them within hours at the MultiDoor Courthouse. So, to that extent, I think it is a good thing that has happened to us. The House of Assembly has passed a law giving legal teeth to it. So, judgments from that court can be enforced just like every other court judgment.

How would you assess the quality of legal practice in Nigeria?

You can’t separate the standard of practice with the economy. It is a service-driven profession, in the sense that we offer service. When the economy is bad, it affects practice, and I can tell you that it has not been rosy, especially for lawyers who are in private practice, apart from those who are at the top. You see that most cases go to the Senior Advocates. And that is a problem some young lawyers have been complaining about. For example, after elections, people will say ‘lawyers will have a field day; this is their time; they are going to make so much money.’ But you discover that their brief is just about one per cent or even less than one per cent. The thing circulates within just few lawyers.

What do you think is that way out?

That is where the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) should come in. There isn’t much really anybody can do. Everybody who needs a lawyer will go for the best. But to the extent that the younger ones are increasingly, on a daily

basis, being maginalised in the sense that a lot of them don’t have things to do, apart from the informal sector, or the formal sector where some of them are engaged, it means the NBA has something to do.

Is this down to the quality of lawyers produced?

I had a practice in Lagos before I took up this job, and I have had cause to engage juniors.

You discover that the quality of training is going down by the day. That much I can tell you, and it has to do with the attitude of our young lawyers. Some are so much in a haste to make money. Some don’t even want to go through some tutelage. In the past, a lawyer would want to understudy a senior for five to 10 years. There was that patience, up to point where you then set up a practice. But young lawyers just twoyear old at the bar want to be on their own.

Could it be down to the poor remuneration?

It could be because some seniors don’t pay, or when they do they don’t pay well. So, what I would advocate is that we must create a system where one doesn’t just leave the Law School and the next day they set up a practice because you have a father who is able to afford funds to hire an office for you and provide the furniture and books that you need. I think there is need for more training for lawyers in terms of tutelage. And the older ones should equally be broad-minded. That is where the NBA should come in to set standards.

How do you mean?

There should be a basic emolument for junior lawyers in law firms. I got complaints from lawyers who earn N20,000 per month. It’s that bad.

Some earn N10,000! And they are working in very big firms where the principal is making so much money. That equally informs why most of them are always in a haste to leave. Most times, the man will bring the brief; the young lawyer will do all the research. And at times they get wind of how much is being paid the firm and they are given peanuts! So, most of them will always be in a haste to jump ship.

Most times when they get out there without tutelage, it is the society that suffers. The other day I was at the Court of Appeal and something embarrassing happened. An issue came up – a simple application for extension of time to appeal. And there were errors in the process. The lawyer was told he had nothing before the court.

These are things that are avoidable.

What else needs to be done?

Apparently, if you have sufficient tutelage in a law firm, there are precedents, and maybe a senior will go through those papers, and then guide you. So, to some extent, the standard of practice has dropped. And that is why Continuing Legal Education must be made compulsory.

Once you’re a lawyer, you must attend one or two courses in a year. And the idea will be to sharpen your basic knowledge of the law, rules of procedure, evidence and other aspects that will help a lawyer who is in litigation. If you’re not a litigating lawyer, there should equally be areas where you can sharpen your skills.

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FROM THE COURT LAW AND PUBLIC POWER

with gabriel AMALU email:gabrielamalu1@yahoo.com

Consequences of the Supreme Court’s judgment

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• Ikuforiji and one of his lawyers, Tunde Akinrimisi at the court ... last week.

Queries as judge opts out of Lagos Speaker’s trial

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HAT informed the decision by Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Lagos to suddenly turn down the challenge of trying the Speaker, Lagos House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji?

Why did the judge withdraw from the case, without giving reasons for his action, but only cited “personal ground”? What did personal ground imply?

These puzzles may never be resolved as no one will return to the judge on the case, which file is now on its way to the Chief Judge for reassignment.

Everyone had anticipated the starting of the trial of Ikuforiji and one of his aides, Oyebode Atoyebi, on January 30, the court having not sat on the preceding adjourned date.

More so, when the case was listed for arraignment.

The court was full with spectators minutes after court officials opened the door to the court room. They were mostly members of state House of Assembly, the accused’s supporters and other interested parties. But Ikuforiji was absent.

When the case was called, Godwin Obla announced his appearance for the prosecution -the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) while Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) led the defence team. Oyetibo later gave reasons why his client was not in court.

He sought for a stand-down, a request Obla did not object to. Everyone had expected the judge’s pronouncement on Oyetibo’s request when he dropped the bombshell. He said the case would not go on as he was no longer interested in handling it.

He declined to give reasons for his decision, but said it was on “personal ground.” The judge said he will transfer the case file to the court’s Chief Judge for reassignment.

Although the judge’s decision did not imply the end of the case, it brought respite to the defence ‘s camp.The defendants’ sympathisers erupted in uncontrollable joy, with some hailing the Speaker on stepping out of the court room.

Ikuforiji was also caught in the air of jubilation that greeted the court’s announcement. He smiled broadly as he hugged his lawyers and friends who rushed to him.

Convinced that it has a case against the accused persons, the

By Eric Ikhilae

EFCC had last year brought the charge a 39-count against them.

The counts were later reduced to 20 in a later amendment to the charge.

Ikuforiji and Atoyebi, charged under the Money Laundering laws, were accused of conspiracy and moving cash estimated at N518.1million “from the Lagos State House of Assembly without going through a financial institution.”

In counts nine to 20, the EFCC gave details of how Ikuforiji and Atoyebi allegedly collected cash ranging from N5.289 million and N26.580 million from the Assembly without going through a financial institution.

The offences, the commission said, were contrary to and punishable under Sections 18 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 and punishable under Sections 16 (2) (b) of the same Act. The commission had planned to arraign them based on the amended charge on December 9, last year, but they failed to attend court. Their absence led the court into issuing a bench warrant for their arrest.

Before the warrant could be executed, the accused persons raced to the court and sought its vacation. Ikuforiji filed an application seeking, among others, a stay of

execution of the warrant. He pledged to attend court subsequently.

In an affidavit supporting the application, the Speaker faulted the court’s decision to order their arrest.

Ikuforiji said he was convinced the court was misled by the EFCC into issuing ordering their arrest. He denied being issued any summons in respect of the charge.

He also denied being served with neither the earlier 39-count charge nor the 20-count amended charge on which the EFCC had planned to arraign them.

Ikuforiji said he was ‘neither evading arrest nor trial’, but feared persecution from the EFCC, whose recent action suggests that it has deemed him guilty even before hearing.

Swayed by their plea, Justice Tsoho vacated the warrant on December 15 after the defence withdrew the Speaker’s application.

In his ruling after entertaining submission from Oyetibo (for the defence) and Obla (for the prosecution), the judge hinged his decision to set aside the bench warrant on the grounds that the prosecution lawyer did not object to the accused persons’ application for the vacation of the warrant and that the defence withdrew its application He consequently adjourned to January 17, for the arraignment of the accused persons, a day the court did not sit, following which the January 30 date was fixed.

• Governor, Lagos State Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) signing the Law Reform Amendment Law 2007. With him is his Deputy Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, at the Lagos State House Ikeja. PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

HE Supreme Court penultimate week restored partial sanity in the political space. The court held as unconstitutional, the extension of the tenure of five governors, who participated and won the byeelections conducted after the Election petition tribunals nullified their general elections. Prior to that intervention, Governors of Adamawa, Bayelsa, Cross River, Kogi and Sokoto states had remained in office beyond the four years envisaged by the constitution.

Nigerians will recall that Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, attempted to join that gravy train. His election was conveniently ‘annulled’ few months to the end of the four-year term, and a so called fresh election was conducted, which he won; and he took a new oath of office, for a ‘fresh mandate’. Fortunately, he was caught by section 180(2) of the 1999 constitution as amended; an amendment the recent Supreme Court’s judgment argues is unnecessary I also recall that on this column on March 22, last year on a topic entitled: Tenure extension for governors is wrong, l had with utmost respect disagreed with the judgment of the Federal High Court guaranteeing that extension. There, I said with respect: “there is no doubt that a combined reading of sections 180, 188, 189, 190 and 191 of the pre-amended constitution shows clearly that the makers of the constitution did not envisage a situation where a person purportedly elected to the office of governor would spend some years in office after which the election is declared a nullity”.

I also said: “In law there should be no reasonable doubt that what the five plus one (Uduaghan) governors went for after the nullification of their elections were a re-run, what ever words the courts may have used.

It is definitely not a fresh election as envisaged by section 178 of the pre amended constitution.” I concluded by saying: “with respect, there are no compelling reasons for the court to declare that the mandate of the governors of Adamawa, Cross River, Bayelsa, Kogi and Sokoto should extend beyond a constitutionally envisaged term of four years. Such an extension, I am of the opinion is without a foundation in law and logic, and should be set aside on appeal.”

Now the Supreme Court has graciously done that, and Nigerians are grateful to the learned Justices. The fallouts though are many, particularly in Kogi State, over who is the authentic governorship candidate of the PDP. Recall that Jibril Isah won the first primary in January 2011, conducted towards the now restored authentic terminal date of May 27, last year; while the present Governor Idris Wada won the reordered primary in September 2011, conducted following the now set aside concurrent judgments of the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal. The other dispute between Governor Wada and the Speaker of the state House of Assembly over the Governor’s seat seems dead in the arms of the PDP family.

No doubt, the Kogi State case is muddled up, and would task the best of legal jurisprudence to untangle. The issues between Jibril Isah and Captain Wada are very interesting. Both won party primaries that were conducted based on subsisting constitutionality, at the material time. The primary won by Jibril Isah is refuelled by the judgment of the Supreme Court that has rendered the tenure elongation, which necessitated the second primary unnecessary. That judgment also breathed life into Jibril’s primary election which would have been knocked off by the electoral act, based on age. Captain Wada, on his part, has since moved beyond the party’s primary election, and has participated in a general election, which he won. Isah advisedly refused to participate in that second primary election, preferring that the courts should authenticate his earlier victory.

In Peter Obi vs INEC, the Supreme Court was of the view that there was no vacancy in the Anambra State Government House, during the general elections in 2007; since Peter Obi’s tenure had not expired. It, therefore, held that the election won by Andy Uba was of no moment. In the Kogi crisis, the Courts may also hold that there was already a primary election in Kogi State, which was won by Isah, and that the second primary won

by Governor Wada, that enabled him to win the governorship race was also of no moment. Should that happen, the Court could also go further to rely on Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s case to hold that Isah was in the eyes of the law the authentic candidate of the PDP and as such won the election, purportedly won by Governor Wada.

In my humble view, should the above scenario arise, the judgment of the Supreme Court in Amaechi’s case should not be followed. That judgment with utmost respect foisted on our polity a constitutional aberration; that in a presidential system of government, a person who did not participate in an election can become a beneficiary.

Should the Court be swayed to hold that the primary election won

by Isah is alive and well, it may be an opportunity for the Supreme Court to depart from its findings in the Amaechi’s case; and order for a fresh election, with Isah as the PDP’s candidate; or better still order fresh primaries; as both candidates at the material time, acted lawfully.

Should the above scenario play out, such judgment may well reverberate across the five states; since all the elections would have been conducted based on the fresh primaries conducted during the unconstitutional extension of tenure. So, what will happen to all the concluded elections? Alternatively, should the court hold that primary elections are strictly party affairs; Bayelsa State’s former Governor Sylva’s battle with the President’s men over the PDP’S primaries may turn a walkover.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

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LAW REPORT

Candidate who wins case on court judgment steps into shoes of invalidly nominated opponent IN THE COURT OF APPEAL ( Judicial Division) On Wednesday, July 2, 2008 Suit No: CA/PH/EPT/8/08 BEFORE THEIR LORDSHIPS SAKA ADEYEMI IBIYEYE ....... Justice, Court of Appeal CLARA BATA OGUNBIYI ....... Justice, Court of Appeal PAUL ADAMU GALINJE ....... Justice, Court of Appeal OLUKAYODDE ARIWOOLA ....... Justice, Court of Appeal GEORGE OLADEHINDE SHOREMI ....... Justice, Court of Appeal BETWEEN CHIEF SERGEANT CHIDI AWUSE

...APPELLANTS

AND CELESTINE NGOZICHIM OMEHIA INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC) & 2 ORS. ...RESPONDENTS CLARA BATA OGUNBIYI, J.C.A. (Delivered the Leading Judgment):

A

PPEAL NO I - I agree with my learned brother that this appeal lacks merit.

The Appellant in his conclusion invited this court to allow his appeal set, aside the Ruling of the Election Petition Tribunal and in its stead declare the election null and

void.

As at May 14, 2007 when the appellant filed the petition there was no cause of action against Mr Celestine Omehia, the then first respondent since he was never elected and sworn in as Governor of Rivers State. All acts pertaining to him were a

nullity. The kernel of the Supreme Court decision is that Mr Celestine Omehia the then first respondent in the petition had never been the Governor of Rivers State of Nigeria because he was not the candidate whom PDP sponsored in the election held on 14/4/07. The Supreme Court in AMAECHI v. INEC (2008) 10 WRN 1 has this to say.

“The candidate that wins the case on the judgment of the court simply steps into the shoes of his invalidly nominated opponent whether as loser or winner. Amaechi must be deemed the candidate that won the election for the PDP. In the eyes of the law Omehia was never a candidate in the election much lees the winner (underlined mine) (Pp122-125) lines 45-40?

Section 140(1) of the Electoral Act 2006 clearly define what an Election petition is I quote“140(1) No election and return of an election under this act shall questioned in any manner other than petition complaining of an undue Election” or undue Return and in which the person elected or returned is joined as a party.”

The judgment of the Supreme Court in AMACHI v. INEC Supra need no interpretation as it is unambiguous. As at the 14th day of April 2007 Omehia was not the elected Governor of Rivers State and therefore does not come within the ambit of the Electoral Act as a person returned.

The law is that there must be joinder of person against whom complaints are made or reliefs are claimed before the powers of the court (in this case the Tribunal) can be invoked when this is done, the action may be held to be improperly constituted and liable to be struck out. See HENRY AWONYI v. REGISTERED TRUSTEES OF AMORE (2000) 5 WRN 1 (2000) 6 SC.103.

For the above little contribution and for fuller

reasons ably set out in the lead judgment I dismiss the appeal.

APPEAL NO.2 - I do not need to belabour the issues as distilled as they have been adequately dealt within the leading judgment. The substance of Appellant argument is that the proper order the Tribunal ought to have made in view of the judgment of the Supreme Court in Amachi’s case was nullification of the Election of Mr Omehia pursuant to Section 147(1) of the Electoral Act. This submission to say the least is misconceived when in the eyes of the law Omehia had never been the candidate nominated by PDP at the election complained of. If Omehia was not or never a candidate in the Gubernatorial election of Rivers State of 14th April 2007 what is the competence of the petition filed against a non-candidate. Without a candidate who is unduly returned a petition before any tribunal will be incompetent.

A petition must challenge “undue” “return” or “undue Election”. A person whom election or return is complained of must as of necessity be joined as a respondent. Failure to join such a person will make such a petition incompetent and the Election Tribunal will have no jurisdiction under our Electoral Act 2006.

For the fuller reasons given in the leading judgment I also dismiss this appeal as lacking in merit and I abide by all consequential, order including the order as to cost.

Appelants M.l. Ahamba (SAN) with Chief Mike Okoye Esq., Zurra Alex Teru, Ugo Nwabia (Miss) C. C. Okoroafor For the Appelants Dike Udenna, I.E. Imade (SAN), with N.F. Gaffar (Mrs.) A.P. Uwapuike, Egbon and Ikem Ezejelue (Miss).

Kogi not affected by Supreme Court judgment

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HE Supreme Court’s judgment, which checkmated the government of five governors of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), who elongated their tenure, has continued to receive commendation from legal practitioners.

Two lawyers, Akin Duyilemi and Mr Dan Adeboye, who spoke on the judgment, however argued that it should have no bearing in Kogi State where a duly conducted election and a governor-elect were said to be in pendency.

According to them, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should only conduct fresh elections in four states. They are Adamawa, Bayelsa, Sokoto and Cross Rivers states.

On the fifth state, Kogi, Duyilemi argued that INEC had already put right the wrong in the state as at the time the Supreme Court delivered its judgment “by reason of the

By Adebisi Onanuga

December 3, 2011 elections”.

Duyilemi said the unconstitutionality of tenure elongation had remained uncorrected until the Supreme Court judgment came to be.

He said the problem of interpretation that arose after the judgment was as a result of the failure of INEC lawyers to bring the conduct of the December 3, 2011 elections to the attention of the Supreme Court before its judgment was delivered.

He reasoned that Supreme Court would not have made any pronouncement on Kogi State since events would have overtaken that judgment.

Mr Dan Adeboye, same vein argued that the four states that were caught in the web of the judgment were so caught because they do not have any election in pendency.

Adeboye argued that the parties opposed to the installation of Idris

Wada as Kogi State governor did so because they did not win election.

He said there was an oversight on the part of Supreme Court justices on to the position of things in Kogi State.

“The oversight is a product of unforeseeable circumstances based on the submission of the eminent jurists that argued either for or against the tenure elongation of those affected states.

“What is the nexus in the validity of that election and the strength of Supreme Court’s judgment?”, he asked.

According to him, “the nexus between a validly conducted election in Kogi State and the sacrosanct judgment of the apex court is about the time frame within which those governors should be in the office and not whether election can be validly conducted into those offices while their tenure seem to be running

out”.

“Since the validity of the election was not a subject matter of the supreme court judgement and its interpretation, and since INEC is constitutionally empowered to conduct elections and since the same judgement did not invalidate that election, therefore the election stand valid until otherwise vitiated by a court of competent jurisdiction”, he said.

Adeboye posited that “the December 3, 2011 election in Kogi state was a validly conducted one. There is no provision in the Supreme Court judgement invalidating that election. It means we have a governor designate in waiting based on that validly conducted election”.

Court summons ex-Bank PHB staff

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• From left: Prof Clement J. Dakas, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye and Prof Paul Idornijie, during the fellows’ lecture and conferment of the fellowship of Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, at NICON Hotel, Abuja

• Mohammed Adoke (SAN), Attorney-General of the Federation

HREE former staff of Bank PHB ( now Keystone Bank) have been subpoenaed to appear befor Justice Lateefa Okunnu on March 22, 2012 in the on-going trial of its former Managing Director, Mr Francis Atuche and two other.

The order, which subpoenaed the former staff of the bank, was granted by the court following an application by the counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) Mr. Kemi Pinheiro(SAN).

Those to appear before the court on March 22 include Mr. Musediq Onasanya from Eco Bank (formerly Oceanic bank), Mr Sunday Esezobor from Zenith Bank Nigeria Plc and Mr. Yusuf Abiodun Nureni of First bank Plc. The court admitted some documents, which the former staff are expected to bring to the trial as exhibits for the trial.

The documents admitted as exhibits before the court include certificates of identification produced by the banks in line with the provisions of section 84 of the Evidence Act 2011, third party fund transfer docu-

By Adebisi Onanuga

ments and a letter titled statement of account reconciliation from Bank PHB to Oceanic bank.

Other documents admitted as exhibits include Oceanic bank slip, two Oceanic bank cheques drawn by Future view finance limited in favour of Bank PHB offer, a Zenith Bank statement of account, application for opening of a corporate current account for Resolution Trust limited, two copies of First bank draft and a statement of account with number 2002917252 belonging to Future view among others.

Pinheiro also told the court that the prosecution still has six witnesses to be brought before the court during the trial.

So far, the EFCC had lined up eight witnesses before Justice Okunnu since the trial commenced last year.

Counsels to the defendants, Mr Anthony Idigbe (SAN) and Mr Sylva Oguemoh did not oppose admitting the documents brought by the EFCC lead counsel, Mr. Kemi Pinheiro.

Justice Okunnu subsequently admitted the documents as Exhibits P142 to P165.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

LAW & SOCIETY ROUND TABLE ON LAWS RESPONSE TO GANSTERISM ORGANISED BY NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED LEGAL STUDIES AT THE SUPREME COURT, ABUJA

• Director-General, NIALS, Prof. Epiphany Azinge (SAN), Prof. Deji Adekunle and Justice Rhodes Vivour

• Prof. E. Alemika and Prof. Deji Adekunle

• Austine Odokuma and Danjuma Tang

• James Idoko and Bambo Adewopo

• Mmakwe Andy and Prof Obiora Okafor

• Iyahen Alenye and Izuoma Egeruoh

• Pamela Keseruani and Ogechi Ezekwere • Mrs Comfort Uma and Omonkhua Rose

• Mrs Elizabeth Alabi, Mrs Ijioma Anorie, Mrs Ugwuoke Nkechunyare, Hadiza Ladi Garba

•MrsHabila Jimoh Ruth, Ariyo Anthonia, Mrs Omotoso Rulkayat, Echor Naomi, Fofah Oghenetega.

PHOTOS: AKIN OLADOKUN

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

34

LAW & DEVELOPMENT

Supreme Court and tenure of five governors

O

UR apex court by her verdict of Janu ary 27, 2012, seemed to resolve and settle the unconstitutional overhang of the governors of Kogi, Bayelsa, Adamawa, Sokoto and Cross River states beyond May 29, 2011. But that decision has raised more issues than it was purposed to settle. The initial emotional uproar that heralded that verdict in some quarters is quietened by our incorrigible political culture to subvert and undermine the rule of law. This crippling regime of impurity has now hit almost irredeemable, irretrievable and irreversible dimension.

Constitutional democracy owes its survival, sustenance, growth, progress and development, to respect for the rule of law.

This enabling culture of democracy, must be anchored on the supportive presence of an impartial electoral umpire, independent and reliable judiciary, dynamic and robust political parties, informed and active electorate, progressive civil society as well as predictable and stable electoral process. But regrettably, these inevitable and invaluable ingredients of constitutional democracy, are alarmingly in very short supply in Nigeria, if not virtually absent.

It is pertinent to remark that this subject matter of the tenure of office of governors, has earned not less than four listing before the Supreme Court from 1999 – 2012. Hence, in PDP v. INEC (1999) 1 NWLR pt 626. 200SC. Here, Atiku Abubakar’s vacation of his position as governor-elect of Adamawa State before he could be sworn in, raised this pioneer controversy on the governorship constitutional provision. The case of Obi v.

INEC (2007) 9 MJSC p. 42, Pora D-E, there, while speaking through Aderemi (JSC), the highest court of the land declared that: It was after the judgment of the court of Appeal on March 16, 2006, and by force of law, that the Appellant (Peter Obi) took his oath of allegiance and oath of office on March 17, 2006. Applying the provisions of section 180 (2) (a) of the constitution to facts of this case, which are not in dispute, the four-year term of office of Peter Obi, as governor of Anambra State would start running from March 17, 2006 only to terminate on March 17, 2010. To interpret the provision of section (2) (a) otherwise will be to read into that subsection what the legislators never intended. The duty of a judex is to expound the law and not to expand it.

The same theme governed the apex court’s decision in Ladoja v. INEC (2007) 12 NWLR pt.1047 p. 119SC. Therefore, the Supreme Court was within a familiar subject area in her decision of January 27, 2012.

The legal framework for the conduct of elections in Nigeria remains indisputably, the 1999 constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). Both documents constitute the primary hub for our electoral process while other sources remain secondary. Thus, section 180 (2) (a) – (b) copiously stated that: (2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section the governor shall vacate his office at the expiration of four years commencing from the date when – (a) In the case of a person first elected as governor under this constitution, he took the Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office;

By Emma Egbuna

and (b) The person last elected to that office took the Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office or would, but for his death, have taken such oaths.

The above provisions seem clear for general consumption. Our unbridled desperation and restless selfish drive resulted in the amendment of this section. Hence, constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (First Alteration) Act, 2010, Section 18 vividly and categorically stated that: Section 180 of the principal Act is altered by inserting immediately after the existing subsection (2) a new section “(2a)” “(2a) In the determination of the four year term, where a re-run election has taken place and the person earlier sworn in wins the rerun election, the time spent in office before the date the election was annulled shall be taken into account.”

A trite principle of federalism and constitutionalism is the supremacy of the constitution. This age-long concept, which enjoys an undeniable footage in our 1999 constitution as amended, is hinged on the premise that the constitution is the grundnorm and the fundamental law of the land. It reigns on overriding superiority of the constitution over all laws and institutions within its jurisdiction: all laws, policies and initiatives are subordinate to its prescribed limits and procedures.

Therefore, on January 10, 2011, when the President of Nigeria (First Alteration) Act 2010, the aforestated provision came into force as the grundnorm in respect of this matter as ordained by the Interpretation Act. The uncensored and ungarnished truth is that these five governors and their cohorts deliberately earned one full year and 17 days unconstitutional rule in their state, after a new constitutional regime. The fact that their unconstitutional imagination was achieved through a judicial system until January 27, 2012, deepens our national catalogue of woes. More so, that their unconstitutional contraption scaled the 2011 general election, confirms our collective guilt as a nation with any iota of democratic constitutional tenet.

The Supreme Court is the highest court of the land which finality of determination is ordained by section 235 of the constitution. Therefore, the eventual outcome of her decision of January27, 2012, with specific reference to Kogi State, is pathetic. Although an objective and unbiased reading of sections 180 – 181 of the constitution as amended will suggest that the scenario in kogi state as at January 27, 2012, was not contemplated by the framers of the constitution. Thus, the state had a governor elect or governor in waiting before the apex court verdict of January 27, 2012.

The decision of the Supreme Court is that the five unconstitutional governors should vacate office immediately and the speaker of the House of Assembly of each state shall assume office as the acting governors of the state.

The constitutional foothold for the speaker’s role as the state’s acting governor status can be gleaned from the combined effect of sections 190 – 191 of the constitution as amended. In section 190, the speaker becomes the custodian and trustee of the state’s executive powers when the governor is on vacation or unable to discharge his official duties. This unassailable devices of presidentialism and thrust of checks

• Chief Justice of Nigeria, Dahiru Musdapher

and balances, is upheld by section 191 (2) that: Where any vacancy occurs in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (1) of this section during a period when the office of Deputy Governor of the state is also vacant, the Speaker of the House of Assembly of the state shall hold the office of Governor of the state for a period of not more than three months, during which there shall be an election of a new Governor of State who shall hold office for the unexpired term of office of the last holder of the office.

Therefore, the speaker of Kogi House of Assembly, based on the verdict of the supreme court, is constitutionally ripe to assume the position of the acting governor of the state until the original date slated for the governor elect to take his oath of allegiance and oath of office based on his social contract with the state electorate. That election is still valid and subsisting unless it is invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction. There is no provision known to the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), whereby a governorelect will assume office before the date of his presumed mandate and contract with the electorate. He cannot act in acting capacity for himself, that will tantamount to an indefensible anomaly.

The next pertinent issue highlighted by the Kogi State confusion on the administration of the Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office, has constitutional bearing on section 185 (2) of the constitution to the effect that: The Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of Office shall be administered by the Chief Judge

• From left: Minister of State for Education, Nyesome Wike; Chief Judge, Federal High Court, Idris Auta and Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights, Dr Ali Ahmed, at the NBA Abuja Annual Dinner and Lecture, at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.

of the state or Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the state, if any, or president of the Customary Court of Appeal of the State, if any, or the person for the time being respectively appointed to exercise the functions of any of those offices in any state.

This is presumed hierarchy in this provision, therefore, one can concede to the notion that the chief judge of the state as the head of the judicial arm owes the foremost prerogative to exercise this constitutional duty. The solemn decorum and underlying sanctity which the ethics and tenets of the legal profession especially at the bench, requires, was abandoned when the President of the Customary Court of Appeal administered these oaths on the governor-elect, while the Chief Judge swore in the speaker as the acting governor.

The unwholesome scene was heightened with the INEC chairman’s order that supported the position of the governor-elect assumption of office as substantitive governor of Kogi State.

On similar tone, INEC released new timeline that affected elections in the remaining four states.

The notable questions raised by aforestated scenario are: I. Can any person, agency or organ of government set aside or vary an order of the Supreme Court; II. Can INEC without any decision of a court of competent jurisdiction, order the swearing in of a governor-elect before the slated date for his inauguration; III. Can INEC announce new time table for state elections without recourse to the provisions of the constitution and Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

The decision of the Supreme Court is final and binding on all parties. Hence, if the verdict is to the effect that the speakers of the state House of Assembly shall serve as acting governors that order stands and it is not subject to any other person’s interpretation.

The constitutional power of the INEC is to organise, conduct and declare the results of periodic elections. INEC being an executive agency, in a presidential democracy, must appreciate the twin concept of separation of powers and checks and balances. Thus, an electoral umpire cannot descend into the judicial arena to pronounce immediate swearing in of a governor-elect. INEC lacks the constitutional, legal and even moral basis for this unfortunate declaration.

The prescribed constitutional and statutory timeline must be the guide for credible elections that will stand court trials. Therefore, any deliberate departure from the constitutional and statutory limits, will amount to another journey in waste of public funds and resources.

The entire episode is encapsulated in brazen disregard for the rule of law. These principles presume that no one shall be above the law and that everyone is equal before the law. The crux of the matter is that our public office holders and political class have no respect for the constitution which they swore to protect, preserve and defend. In the face of an indolent populace, these negative personal whims have been elevated by these issues.

The spirit of judicial review and attendant positivism which the Supreme Court has been associated with for ages through substantial justice must be adhered to with full vigour.

The fact that the instant case earned three adjournment dates at the apex court before the judgment date of January 27, 2012, raised strong feelings. The res were the governorship position of the affected governors who in the end earned a surplus age of over one year after the alteration of the constitution to check their deliberate mischief. The regime of confusion will continue until the Supreme Court convenes and gives detailed reason for her decision. This was a case that would have earned deserved justice before the conduct of the 2011 election.

Democracy is a journey with the constitution as an organic document yelling for occasional amendment or alteration to cope with increasing demands of this intellectual journey. Therefore, our unfortunate parlous political rating requires a constitutional amendment that will only endorse the swearing in of governors, chairmen of local governments and president after the conclusion of electoral petition. This second republic position is vital. More so, these chief executives immunity can only be upheld on civil matters, while they will face criminal action while in office in order to protect public treasury.

Finally, the country needs a special constitutional court of appellate status. It has taken our current judicial system almost five years to resolve the 2007 tenure of office of these governors, a frustrating sojourn that has benefited the governors at public expense.

•Egbuna is a Lagos lawyer and author

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

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LEGAL OPINION Text of a paper presented by former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State Prof Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) at a round table organised by the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Akoka, Lagos.

Retreat of legal process Law making

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AW making is a crucial component of legal process. Indeed, legislative power not executive, says Nwabueze, is the distinctive mark of a country’s sovereignty, the index of its status as a state and the source of much if not the preponderant portion of the power exercised by the executive in the administration of government. Legislative power then ought never to be exercised capriciously, but with the greatest sense of the public good, circumspection and responsibility.

Unfortunately, in the last three years or so the National Assembly has demonstrated an egregious propensity for pushing for and effecting legislation, even constitutional amendments for the evident purpose of giving electoral advantage to the ruling party.

For example, the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), its power to set dates for elections had been well provided for in the constitution. Indeed, given our sorry history of electoral malpractices it would seem most reasonable that the common weal would be further constitutional fortification rather than a weakening of that independence.

Para 15(1) of the third Schedule Part 1 sets out the functions of INEC: the Commission shall have power to organise, undertake and supervise all elections to the offices of President, Vice President, Governor and Deputy Governor of a state and to the membership of the Senate, the House of Representatives and the House of Assembly of each state of the Federation.

To put the matter beyond doubt, sections 16, 116, 132 and 178 of the Constitution provided that elections to each House of the National Assembly, a House of Assembly, to the office of President and Governor respectively‚ shall be held on a day to be appointed by INEC. One would have thought that it made perfect sense for an independent INEC to have the power to determine the order of elections. However, the National Assembly with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in overwhelming majority (in obvious complicity with the executive) apparently reasoning that setting the order of elections in such a way that the National Assembly and Presidential elections precede all state elections would give ‘a bandwagon effect’ (were the federal elections to go their way) effected constitutional amendments and amended the Electoral Act, merely to achieve this narrow purpose.

Even more recently, again the ruling party using its majority in the National Assembly, in apparent reaction to the reverses they suffered at the election petition tribunals, especially in Edo, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun states effected an amendment inter alia to section 140 (2) of the Electoral Act 2010. That amendment which came into force on December 29th, 2010 reads: Where an election tribunal or court nullifies an election or court nullifies an election on the ground that the person who obtained the highest votes at the election was not quali-

fied to contest the election or that the election was marred by substantial irregularities and non-compliance with the provisions of this Act, the election tribunal or the court shall not declare the person with the second highest votes or any other person as elected, but shall order a fresh election.

The provision if it is allowed to stand will have the effect of preventing the court from nullifying as it did in Edo, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun states the purported election of the respondents in areas where malpractices were proved and on the balance declaring the petitioner the rightful winner of the elections.

What the amendment would mean is that a person who had become the incumbent to an office on account of proven malpractices, corruption, ballot stuffing, multiple thumb printing etc (who really should be disqualified from contesting elections as penalty) now gets a second chance to contest the elections but this time with the power and resources of incumbency!

Clearly, there has been hijacking of legal process for narrow partisan and even private objectives in the past few years. But for the national outcry against the move, members of the National Assembly had proposed legislation which would have essentially put them in control of their party’s National executive committees and another giving them a right of first refusal within their parties to their seats in the National Assembly!

The electoral process

The credibility of the legal process is greatly enhanced where it is able to deliver judicial outcomes, which satisfy reasonable notions of justice, speedily and efficiently in the majority of disputes. When it fails in these fundamental tasks, its usefulness is in serious doubt, but more importantly, it demystifies potency of legal options to dispute resolution and encourages self-help and other extra-legal options.

The 2007 elections have been described as probably the worst in the electoral history of the nation.

The European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) in their report on the elections said: The 2007 State and Federal elections have fallen far short of basic international and regional standards for democratic elections.

They were marred by poor organisation, lack of essential transparency, widespread procedural irregularities, significant evidence of fraud, particularly during the result collation process, voter disenfranchisement at different stages of the process, lack of equal conditions for contestants and numerous incidents of violence. As a result, the elections have not lived up to the hopes and expectations of the Nigerian people and the process cannot be considered to have been credible.

Richard Gomer, then British High Commissioner to Nigeria said: It was not just a question of disorganisation but there was outright rigging and the results were frankly not credible.

The Transnational Monitoring Group (TMG) said: The reports of TMG Observers, other local

•Osinbajo

and international monitors and observers show monumental fraud during the elections into Federal executive and legislative position.

These damning findings, if they are to be believed, would suggest at least that a substantial number of elected officials are in office, by rigging and other electoral malpractices. That the legal process appears incapable of reversing the perfidies is tragic, especially in so far as this may suggest for the future that rigging actually pays.

The big question is why has the legal process failed to affirm these grave charges in the majority of cases against the reliability of the elections. One fairly clear reason is the weakness of the adjectival system pro-

vided to operate the electoral tribunals. The situation is one in which the procedures and rules of proof and their application are neither robust nor flexibly applied enough to address the scope and sophistication of electoral malfeasance in most cases.

For example, the effect of placing the burden of proving that elections were marred by irregularities and malpractices on the petitioner, has often led to a situation where INEC opposes all petitions and in many cases fails or refuses to tender electoral materials used in contested elections or even to give evidence. Obviously, if INEC had the burden (even in a limited sense) of proving that elections were properly held and was obliged to produce election materials, the burden on the petitioner would be greatly reduced.

The length of trial time in these cases has also been a source of embarrassment. Ekiti took 42 months, Osun took 45 months. If the Presidential elections were challenged on the basis of electoral malpractices in 2/ 3 of the states and in specific local governments and polling booths it is certainly unlikely that such a petition could be decided in four years.

Again the application of the criminal standard of proof, to sustain allegations of corrupt practices e.g. ballot stuffing, multiple thumb printing etc usually presents needless obstacles for the petitioner. Strangely, even where the standard is met, the party against whom crime has been established is never prosecuted!

Rejection of useful evidence sometimes out of the lack of tribunal’s familiarity with certain types of evidence is yet another problem, forensic evidence i.e. evidence of finger print experts showing extensive multiple thumb printing was rejected twice by separate elections petition tribunals in Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states before it was finally accepted at the Court of Appeal in the Osun gubernatorial appeal. Here was the evidence of 52 forensic experts from the British Police (in addition to 10 Israeli experts) who found in many cases in Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states evidence that one or two persons simply thumb printed thousands of votes.

•To be continued

Punuka Attorneys restructures

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LAGOS law firm, Punuka Attorneys & Solicitors has restructured to enhance its capacity to serve its clients better.

It has also admitted a new partner, Tochi Nwogu, who heads its Insolvency and Business Restructuring unit.

Tochi holds a Doctorate in Law from Central European University School of Law Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

He was also a visiting scholar at the United States in 2010. He joined Punuka Attorneys and Solicitors in 2001 and has been very active in the firm’s litigation and corporate transactional practice in ommercial litigation, restructuring and insolvency law, secured credit, privatisation and regulatory matters.

Another member of the firm, who left in

By Eric Ikhilae

2009 for further studies, Mrs Chinwe Chiwete, has returned to the firm after completing her Masters in Insolvency law.

She bagged the postgraduate degree from the University of Pretoria, South Africa and also acquired a certificate in Financial Management from University of south Africa. She has specialist skills in mergers & acquisition, capital market, business rescue/restructuring, project finance and dispute resolution.

A former senior member of the firm, Nnamdi Dimgba, exited the firm on December 31, last year.

Dimgba heads the Banking, Capital Market and Project Finance group.

Otu Oka-Iwu holds Dinner/Awards

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TU Oka-Iwu, an association of Igbo Lawyers in Lagos State will hold its 2012 Dinner and Award Ceremony on Friday, February 17, 2012 at Metropolitan Club, Victoria Island at 6 P.M. The dinner would serve as New Year’s social programme for members of the association and judges of Igbo extraction, who are serving in Lagos State, with members of the Association, who have been elevated to the Bench or appointed to other high offices in the country would be honoured at the event.

Nigerian Law School 1984 call set holds reunion meeting Date: February 25, 2012 Venue: Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja Time: 10. am.

Institute holds public lecture

• From left: Damian Dodo (SAN), Blessing Ukiru, NBA President J.B. Daudu (SAN) and Okey Wali (SAN), during the first NBA presidents’ round table, at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.

The Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) will hold Dr Akinola Aguda memorial lecture Date: February 15 and 16, 2012 Venue: Ayo Ajomo Auditorium, UNILAG campus, Lagos Time: 10 am daily.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

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THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

AVIATION

NCAA warns insolvent airlines A IRLINES unable to pay their bills may no longer be allowed to operate, Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Harold Demuren has said.

According to him, airlines, especially those owing their staff salaries, indebted to fuel marketers and are deficient in carrying out maintenance can-

Stories by Kelvin Osa-Okunbor Aviation Correspondent

not be trusted to undertake safe flight operations.

Demuren said this was why the authority always carries out economic audit of all Nigerian registered airlines. “We do that all the time and in fact, there are two going on right now, but we don’t discuss it on the pages of newspapers.”

The audit reports, he

noted, were meant to be in public domain, “but things change a lot. We’ve done an audit in which a particular airline owed fuel marketers and we stepped in. Now, the airline is in credit. So, what do you publish? You ought to be very careful because this is a dynamic system. Things change everyday.

“In this business, you have to be credit worthy.

Airlines owe, it is not cash

and carry, but there must be trust of enough funds for airlines. If an airline does not have enough funds, we will stop them and we’ve been doing it in the past.

“We got a report that a particular airline didn’t pay staff salaries and when we moved in, they paid. You must be on top of it all the time. We have a non-punitive system where people tell us what is going on.”

AIB partners FRSC THE Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), an agency in the Federal Ministry of Aviation, is partnering with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on how to handle accident investigation, the head of Public Affairs, AIB Mr Tunji Oketunbi has said.

He said: “We have been approached by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the FRSC, Osita Chidoka. He made the request that we should handle investigation of road accidents.

“This was when AIB paid a courtesy visit to the agency about three years ago.” Oketunbi said this was based on the performance of AIB in the last four years of its establishment.

The FRSC, he said, appreciated the role of accident investigation and the AIB should assume that responsibility.

AIB handles the investigation of aircraft crashes and proffers suggestions on how to guide such occurrence in the future.

Oketunbi added that AIB and FRSC officials have been collaborating by attending events, seminars, conferences and workshops organised by the two agencies.

Besides, he said they are also exchanging ideas on the way forward.

Also, AIB, which became autonomous four years ago is still building infrastructure and human capacity and is looking at taking up the challenge before long, the AIB spokesman said .

Oketunbi also said the bureau embarks on accident prevention programmes rather than embarking on salvage mission after any air crash happens.

“The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), empowers AIB to investigate accidents and serious incidents in the aviation industry that can obstruct smooth flight operations,” he said.

“It is not only when there are major crashes in the aviation sector that the bureau is functional, AIB is empowered by the law by the Civil Aviation Act 2002 to investigate accidents and serious incidents.

Lufthansa appoints new MD for West Africa

•From left: Assistant Comptroller, Nigerian Customs, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Mr Adi David; Director of Operations Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Taiwo Tobi and Regional Manager, South West, Mr Edward Olarerin at an event in Lagos.

PHOTO: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE.

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Cabotage Act can generate N500b for aviation sector

HE aviation sector has the potential of generating over N500 billion in the next five years under the Cabotage Act, activist lawyer Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) has said.

He said as contemplated under the law if public employees and consultants only fly Nigerian carriers, through the “Fly Nigeria Act”, the industry could generate that money.

Agbakoba, who spoke during an interactive session with reporters, said his firm is working on a bill that will use Arik Air, Air Nigeria and First Nation Airways as pilot carriers for the project that will see that a mandatory legislation and legal instrument is put in place to ensure that key government officials only fly Nigerian carriers. He said this is a development already in place in the United States.

He said his firm is seeking the cooperation of aviation stakeholders, airlines, the National Assembly as well

as the Federal Ministry of Aviation to see to the quick passage of the Cabotage Act, which is expected to be passed in the next two to four months, to enable Nigerian carriers tap into the huge market running into billions of dollars.

He said: “If the Cabotage Act is in place, which will be a fallout of the National Aviation Policy, the aviation industry will experience a new lease of life, in terms of policy, infrastructure and market potentials.”

Agbakoba said Nigerian carriers cannot grow if there is no enabling legislation, such as the Fly Nigeria Act, which will help to curb huge capital flight taken out of the country by foreign airlines, which repatriated over N200 billion in one year.

While describing the Cabotage Act, as a win win situation for Nigerian carriers, Agbakoba affirmed that when the Fly Nigeria Act is

implemented, it will give domestic airlines the leverage to negotiate codeshare agreements, which will make the aviation and airline business more competitive.

He said it will assist the government to consider ways and means of reducing additional flight frequency to international airlines, which he said could be forced to land only into one airport in the country.

He said: “The removal of the fuel subsidy has raised serious social implications that cannot be ignored. How government can look into vital sectors that will save the country about N5 billion and also create jobs for millions of Nigerians. The shipping and aviation sectors have been strongly recommended as areas where it can plug loopholes, develop and reform to achieve the desired results.

“Aviation cabotage is the framework that will trap and

keep resource flights without hampering Nigeria’s international aviation obligations. Aviation cabotage essentially seeks the protection and promotion of indigenous operators and actors in vital sectors of the economy to enhance national economic development. Aviation cabotage is imperative for employment generation and sustenance of economic and industrial development. It is, therefore, recommended that a national aviation reform project should be designed with focus on issues.”

He listed the benefits of the Fly Nigeria Act to include: Maximasing the advantages of the bilateral air services agreement between Nigeria and other aviation partner countries, legal and regulatory imperative for the aviation safety to raise international acceptance and usability of Nigeria’s airspace as well as framework for utilisation of open skies arrangement and other international protocols.

Port Harcourt Airport to accommodate 1,500 passengers

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HE arrival and departure halls of the Port Harcourt International airport will be upgraded to accommodate 1,500 passengers at the end of the re-modelling.

The halls presently take 400 passengers.

Work is already in progress to ensure that the re-modelling will be completed in the next four months.

According to the regional General Manager at the airport, Mr Henry Anyanwu, the contractor

has fully moved to site and work has commenced to ensure that the project is completed as scheduled.

“When completed, the terminal will attract more screening points from its one point of passenger’s screening and will also ac-

commodate more shops, lounges, offices, banking halls and increase commercial activities at the airport, he said.

He explained that additional passenger’s check in counters will be increased to from the seven operational now.

Claus Becker has been appointed as the new Managing Director West Africa Lufthansa German Airlines and Swiss International Airlines.

Becker, according to a statement, started his career at Lufthansa in 1982 with an airline trainee programme. After finishing his internship in 1985, he studied at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in München, Germany, where he graduated with a Master in Business Administration and Management in 1991. During his studies, he continued to work for Lufthansa in passenger clearance.

In 1991 he continued with Lufthansa, joined the marketing research department as network planner for Eastern Europe being in charge of route and product planning for greater Russia.

From 1993 to 1997, Becker joined Amadeus Global Distribution System in Madrid, Spain, as Manager Business Control in the Marketing S.A. division in charge of supervising revenue management, pricing and customer care for the provider business. After spending almost four years in Spain, he returned to Lufthansa as Portfolio Manager for Lufthansa shareholdings in distribution systems.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

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MARITIME Customs intercepts Indian hemp Stories by Oluwakemi Dauda

THE Nigeria Customs Service, Ogun State Command, has intercepted a large quantity of Indian hemp at Illikimu-Ilara area of the state.

The substances were being smuggled into the country by some people suspected to Beninoise.

Addressing reporters in his office, the Acting Area Comptroller, Bamidele Akande, said the street value of the seized items was about N600,000.

The seized cannabis were handed over to the state commander of the National Drug Law Envorcement Agency (NDLEA), who was represented by a senior officer of the drug agency.

Akande warned smugglers to desist from the illegal trade.

“We will visit every smuggler in my area command with the full weight of the law as it cannot be business as usual,” Akande warned.

•Cargo ship

PHOTO: OLUWAKEMI DAUDA

Protect the waterways, trawler owners tell govt T

RAWLER owners are worried over the activities of pirates on the nation’s territorial waters.

Speaking under the aegis of Trawler Owners Association of Nigeria (NITOA), they urged the Federal Government to adopt strategies for protecting marine resources and dealing with waste dumping and piracy.

They urged the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, to formulate policies that would protect the territorial waters against illegal fishing.

Speaking with The Nation in Apapa, Lagos, a member of the group, who does not want his name in print, said illegal fishing and technological innovations have depleted fish stocks.

He advised the government to devise means to stop the use of the water ways for illegitimate purposes.

NITOA pointed out that security experts around the Horn of Africa have developed theories over the increasing piracy cases and urged the government to wake up to its responsibility.

Both coastal and inland states, NITOA said, have seen their vital trade links threatened by pirates, a situation that led to the rising costs of fish in the market.

The fishers said insecurity

Stories by Oluwakemi Dauda, Maritime Correspondent

in Africa’s waterways has forced insurers to hike rates for ships passing through the region with the resultant effect of increased prices on consumers.

He urged the government to develop a naval capability to deal with the situation.

He said the dumping of toxic waste in the maritime domain and the increasing crimes in the coastline, require commitment on the side of the minister to provide capability and co-operation with foreign partners to build its maritime capability.

He said Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand have set the stage for co-operation between states, both in information exchange and mobilisation of resources.

“The Minister of Transport has a lot to do in piracy and illegal fishing on our territorial waters. As at now, there are no clear answers as to the best the ways to ensure maritime security, nor are there clear answers as to what percentage of resources nations should allocate to maritime security to best fa-

cilitate the goal of furthering development of the fishery sector,” he said.

He said maritime security forces can help to provide a safe environment where sustainable growth and development can occur.

The forces, he added, “fight piracy, enforce regulations protecting fish and other marine resources, combat drug trafficking and other illicit commerce, perform search and rescue operations, prevent illegal immigration, and uphold safe shipping practices, among other duties.

Without these activities, he said, national and regional economic development suffers due to denial of the benefits and opportunities presented by the sea, lakes and rivers,” he said.

Speaking in a separate interview, a ship master, Fred Olushola-Abati, said trawlers from distant countries often enter the nation’s waters without paying licensing fees or observing conservation laws, looting resources and denying legitimate revenue to the people of this region.

Olushola-Abati said the Africa had failed to protect its water territory not only on

the Somalia Coast but also in West Africa.

“Going by United Nation Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) report, Africa is losing billions of dollars a year from illegal fish grabbing. The report cited a growing trend of illegal fishing in eastern, western and south western Africa. It was revealed that Guinea in West Africa was the most affected from illegal fishing,” he said.

“Nigeria lacks efficient port state control. Our water ways are not safe. It is the duty of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to impose sanction on any ship or trawlers doing illegal business on our waters. But it lacks facilities to discharge its responsibilities. For instance, NIMASA supposed to have boats with functional laboratory to carry out some test regarding toxic waste but the agency needs serious support from government to perform its duty.

“There is no stability in the agency that is expected to discharge its responsibilities in line with the Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS) convention. It does not have Automatic Identification System (AIS), coastal radar. But it is only when all these equipment are available that we can combat illegal fishing and piracy on ou waters,” Olushola said.

Why Apapa-Oshodi road is bad, by NPA MD

T

HE Federal Government will soon fix the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has said.

The road leads to the Lagos ports.

NPA Managing Director, Omar Suleiman blamed the poor state of the road on heavy traffic. He said the

government has since awarded the contract for the rehabilitation of the road.

The fixing of the road will help to solve congestion challenges in the ports area, Umar said.

He urged concessionaires at the ports to abide by all the terms and conditions signed with the Federal Government and render

quality services at the various terminals.

Suleiman said the collaboration with the private sector operators would eradicate most of the challenges and enhance effective service delivery at the ports.

The NPA boss noted that the maritime sector has untapped potential and urged Nigerians to fully reap the

abundant maritime resources.

He called for concerted efforts to galvanise ideas and resources, locally and internationally, to make the country a strategic global player in the sindustry.

“Maritime remains a major contributor to the national revenue, second only to oil,” Suleiman said

‘NIMASA will boost capacity building’

T

HE Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) will boost capacity building in the maritime industry, its Director-General, Ziakede Akpobolokemi, has said.

The image maker of the agency, Haji Lami Tumaka, who spoke on behalf of her boss, said the country has the human capital required to boost the maritime indus-

try, promising that efforts would be made to ensure that professionals are engaged irrespective of their location.

Akpobolokemi said the agency is engaging Nigerian mariners in the diaspora to fast-track the transformation of the maritime sector.

While identifying lack of infrastructure as the bane of development of the sector,

Akpobolokemi described the level of awareness as high, saying President Goodluck Jonathan is committed to transforming the maritime sector better.

He appealed to Nigerians in the diaspora to return home and contribute their quota to nation building with an assurance that NIMASA is ready to provide the platfom for them to succeed.

“We have the willpower to turn around the fortunes of the Nigerian maritime sector, but we cannot do it all alone. We need the support of Nigerians who are not living in the country. The Federal Government is ready to give us the political mussle to succeed. Nigeria is our country and we must all work collectively to succeed,” he said.

‘Check influx of fake items’ THE Electronic Consumers Association (ECA) has challenged the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to check the influx of substandard products at the ports.

It urged the body to arrest and prosecute importers of fake products to serve as a deterrent to others.

A spokesman for the group, Agboola Agbabiaka, said it is worried over the importation of substandard electronic products, stating that dealing with offenders is necessary to save consumers from the uncharitable attitude of shylock importers who are bent on turning the country into a dumping ground.

He said: “Most average Nigerians are spending a lot of money to buy these fake products that are imported. The rich don’t have problems because they buy directly from the open market in Europe and America where little or no fake products exist.

“But here in Nigeria, the majority of our importers don’t care if you buy a television set, radio, refrigerator, air conditioner and any other product with your savings and the product goes bad within the first two or three months.

“Instances abound in every average home where people have been so cheated and that is why we are calling on SON to perform its duty to the nation and the people.”

Agbabiaka said he has no doubt that the leadership of SON would bring all law breakers to book.

Trucks replacement IMPORTERS have advised truck owners to form cooperative societies that would enable them to have access to credit facility from banks for their truck replacement.

Speaking with reporters in Lagos last week, the Managing Director, Sea Investment, Mr Sesan Adegboyega, said it was necessary to replace their truck fleet, as over 60 per cent of them in use at the ports were substandard.

According to him, most of the trucks at the port were substandard, adding that the need to increase fleets could only come when they team up and obtain credit facility from banks.

Adegboyega said importers were wary of the trucks that were used at the ports.

“The issue needs to be addressed. It is a big challenge for us as importers in the sense that we are made to pay a lot of money in transporting our goods to the market,” he said.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

39

PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT

How we repositioned NEMA, by Sidi T

HE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as the body responsible for the coordination and integration of all emergency response activities in the country was virtually unknown until its impact began to be felt within the last one year.

NEMA whose duties are central to building, sustaining and improving the capability for disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery in the country has, however, has become one of the most visible agencies of the Federal Government.

This to a large extent, is due to its activities in responding to disasters and emergencies in a manner unprecedented in the history of the country.

Mohammed Sani Sidi took over the helms of affairs at the agency as the Director-General in September 2010, but at a critical time of unprecedented rise in the rate of violence and natural disasters.

Aside, other challenges confronting the agency, Sidi realised that coordination of the agency’s response activities coupled with stakeholder’s apathy poised massive threat to the success of the agency in the discharge of its duties.

“Co-ordination is a big challenge when it comes to disaster management. Inter-agency rivalry was one of the challenges we were confronted with but I must say at this point that all the successes and achievements we recorded in the past one year is as a result of cooperation and collaboration that we have received from our stakeholders.

“As an institution, we believe that we have to work together to be able to respond effectively and efficiently to disasters.

I always say this that as a country, we have the capability and capacity to respond to any disaster situation as long as there is unity of purpose; team work and cooperation.

Lack of synergy and teamwork and cooperation among stakeholders is capable of diminishing our overall efforts. We make this clear to our stake holders and they also appreciate our leadership and

From: Dele Anofi, Abuja coordination role. I must tell you that we have been receiving such cooperation from them.”

The immediate task, according to him, was to put in place a strategic, dynamic and proactive mechanism aimed at addressing all the natural and man-made disasters whenever and wherever they occur.

This led to a clinical restructure of the agency to enable it to effectively mobilise stakeholders to disasters scenes promptly for proper mitigation and intervention. “All we have done is to bring them closer to us, to organise simulation training for the response agencies and by so doing we are able to really respond in a coordinated manner.

“Now with the new approach, you find that whenever there is a disaster, NEMA is always there with other stakeholders because there is that understanding. We have also improved on training and retraining of both our staff and those of other agencies on regular basis. The staff are highly motivated and willing to put in their best.”

This measure, he said led to the series of workshops and seminars in 2011 to warn and acquaint the nation against the forecast of heavy rainfall and attendant floods. Saying that the intention was ginger the people and governments to take precautionary measures, he added same would be done for 2012.

“In terms of early warning signal concerning floods that we received last year, you know that it is the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) that has the responsibility of informing the public on the weather predictions.

When they release the weather predictions we will then take over from there. We are like the town criers. What we normally do is to take the campaign of our early warning to the stakeholders and to the states.

You are aware that every disaster happens in a community and state. We normally take the campaigns to states and regions through seminars and workshops.

We started in the Northwest, tak-

‘

•Sidi

ing note of their experience with floods last year; we have gone to the Southsouth, and the rest. We have taken the campaign to them saying there is a need to create awareness among the citizens that indiscriminate waste disposal, building in water way areas and lack of town planning all contribute to flood disasters”.

Besides, the director-general posited that efforts of the agency and others may not have the expected impact if state governments fail to take necessary and deliberate steps to avert violence and manmade disasters and by extension reducing the effects of natural disasters.

He said: “There have to be a deliberate and conscious efforts by these governments to make sure that they implement the policy of urban planning. We have intensified our efforts in disaster risk reduction strategies by establishing clubs in schools and various vanguards like NYSC volunteers, Executive volunteers and Doctor Volunteers.

These are initiatives that we have brought in order to take disaster management to a certain level.”

Sidi also expressed concerns over the welfare of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), which he la-

S

•Offers 400m shares

The Chairman of the committee, Senator Ayogu Eze (PDP, Enugu North), said: “As lawmakers, we cannot fold ours arms and watch Nigerians losing their lives to building collapse. The situation is worrisome. Many of the engineers handling building projects in the country are not doing the right

From Nduka Chiejina (Assistant Editor)

Nigerians, retail as well as institutional investors such as pension fund administrators, insurance companies, asset/fund managers, banks, government parastatals, investment clubs, co-operative societies and foreign individuals eligible to invest in the REITS. Under the arrangement, a minimum of 75 per cent of the amount raised will be invested in real estate, a maximum of 15 per cent of the fund will be invested in real estate related assets and the balance of 10 per cent will be invested in money market instruments and cash.

According to Mr Kweneojor Ofili, the investment objective of the fund is to achieve long term appreciation of its assets and maximise returns on capital employed.

‘

mented have increased phenomenally as a result of the rise in violent clashes, terror and natural disasters. Saying that though the agency proactive about the IDPs but more needed to be done, he added, IDPs are always are as a result of conflicts and by our African culture, we are our brothers’ keeper.

We don’t lack. After every disaster IDPs fizzle out almost immediately. However, what we have done is to create a contingency plan in NEMA. We have six regional offices fully equipped with staff and store from where we can easily mobilise relief assistance to victims. We are actually about decentralising our operations further by creating operational offices to be able to cope with ever increasing challenges of disaster.

When there are IDPs we collaborate with other stakeholders like the state governments and other NGOs like the Red Cross. I seriously commend them. Over the years we have not done badly at all nor are we overwhelmed”.

The NEMA helmsman who expressed his happiness over the agency’s positive ratings among Nigerians as it has become more visible because of its activities,

Senate chides COREN over incessant building collapse

Firm to raise N20b for real estate UNTRUST Savings and loans limited has launched its Real Estate a N20billion Investment Trust Scheme (REITS).

Also, it is offering 400million units for subscription at N50 each to raise initial funds to invest in real estate and real estate-related assets.

According to the Chairman of the firm, Mr Kenneth Kweneojor Ofili at the launch and completion board meeting in Abuja, “the SunTrust REITS will be dedicated to the development and/or acquisition of high quality stock of properties (residential estates, commercial properties and other investment properties) in select locations across the federation.”

The properties to be identified for development, he said, “will have to meet some criteria of delivering regular returns as well as offering the opportunity for moderate to high capital growth.”

The targeted investors include

The issue of NEMA as a coordinating agency cannot take place in a vacuum, relevant stakeholders should as a matter of urgency key into the mandate of NEMA and also see disaster management as a big challenge

stressed that Nigerians now appreciate its roles and intervention activities, “In fact, we have become a household name. This is better than what it was a two or three years ago when people did not know what the role of NEMA is. It is on record that in the last one year, at least 32 states of the federation have benefitted from various relief interventions provided

by NEMA which represents 89 percent of the total number of states in the country.

Within the same period, the agency evacuated Nigerian nationals trapped in civil conflicts both in Libya where 3,939 Nigerians were evacuated and Egypt where 1,069 where brought home, and on their return they were camped, fed and provided transportation to convey them to their various states.

The director-general, however, regretted the indifference of most state governments to the need of having functional emergency agency which by extension puts more pressure on NEMA and its intervention responsibilities.

“Our biggest challenge is the lack of properly equipped and functional State Emergency Management Agency, (SEMA). If we have such SEMAs in place, it will be easy to collaborate with them.

As it is now, even if it is a bedroom catches fire, the people will start calling for NEMA’s assistance.

We need even the Local Governments to set up Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMC) which should be the first point of call before proceeding to the SEMAs and finally if they are overwhelmed before getting to NEMA. That is how the structure is supposed to be, but right now NEMA has no option but to intervene in every small issue.

“This apathy of stakeholders and lack of political will by some governors to set up functional SEMAs to independently and effectively manage disasters in their states have become a challenge to disaster management in Nigeria. Out of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, only 21 states have SEMAs,” he lamented.

In his contribution, the agency’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Yushau Shuaib, explained that what exist at the state level are offices without platforms and funding to carry out basic disaster management programmes.

“The issue of NEMA as a coordinating agency cannot take place in a vacuum, relevant stakeholders should as a matter of urgency key into the mandate of NEMA and also see disaster management as a big challenge.”

•Senate President, David Mark

T

HE Senate has berated the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) for the rising incidence of building collapse in the country.

The Senate Committee on Works,described as worrisome, the spate of building collapse across the country, saying it was high time the National Assembly intervened.

They stated this when they came to defend the budget.

thing.”

A member of the committee, Senator Barnabas Gemade (PDP, Benue Northeast), in his remarks said the Federal Government could address the situation by placing premium on professionalism in the execution of building projects.

Niger Delta universities yearly environment NIVERSITIES in the Niger debate coming Delta are planning to hold

U

debates tagged: President Jonathan annual Niger Delta inter-universities environment debate.

All the universities in the Niger Delta Development Areas of Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross Rivers, Akwa/Ibom, Edo,Delta, Imo, Abia and Ondo states are expected to participate in the event.

It is being organised by a private firm, Mahogany and Associates. Its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Eyinimi Omorozi, told reporters in Yenagoa, that the event is being

named after President Goodluck Jonathan because he is an accomplished environmentalist and it will be an innovative academic exercise that would enable participating students to brain storm on the oil activities seriously impacted Niger Delta environment.

“It is an innovative academic exercise in which teams representing the various universities in the region square off against each other in a challenging but exciting environment debate,” Omorozi he said.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

40

PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT

Fashola inaugurates roads •

Denies slowing down on infrastructure provision

L

AGOS State Governor, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola has restated his administration commitment to sustain the tempo of infrastructure regeneration across the state.

The Governor, who spoke at the inauguration of Akerele, Adelabu Streets and Ogunlana Drive in Surulere Local Government, noted that though the state is challenged by limited resources available to prosecute its development agenda, the government will continue to confront the challenges with all it has.

He said the handing over of the projects to the community was in fulfillment of the promise made during the election campaign to extend the dividend of democracy to all local government in the state.

The roads have a total length of 3.516km built to a width of 14.4m and have provisions for service ducts, streetlights, pedestrian walkways constructed to be friendly to the physically challenged, and culverts/ drains.

He revealed that the state’s resources is a meagre $3billion in the face of the $50billion infrastructure deficit. He, however, promised to remain focused while working to the state’s infrastructure.

The governor said since 1999, the regeneration of the infrastructure had

Stories by Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie Asst Editor

moved from Ikeja to Victoria Island Central Business District (CBD) to Old Yaba, Apapa, Mushin, Ketu, Ijesa and Surulere.

Fashola described as a welcome development, the presence of local construction companies in the industry, adding that the reconstruction by Messrs HFP Engineering and Plycon Ltd has gone a long way in providing jobs for Nigerians and, thereby, growing the economy.

He added that with public support and prompt payment of taxes, the government will do its best to justify the people’s mandate.

Earlier in his remarks, the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, noted that the projects attest to the

‘The roads have a total length of 3.516km built to a width of 14.4m and have provisions for service ducts, streetlights, pedestrian walkways constructed to be friendly to the physically challenged, and culverts/ drains’

•Fashola (middle), Mrs Orelope Adefulire (left) and Hamzat, at the event

commitment of the administration to ensure better life for the citizens since it will have a significant impact on the people of the area.

Hamzat explained that the essence of the upgrade of the road was to deflood the area and address the perennial traffic problems caused by the

increased presence of commercial outfits in the area.

The Commissioner appealed to the public to use the roads well to extend their lifespan, adding that they should refrain from indiscriminate dumping of waste into the drains, disposal of oil waste on the roads,

cutting of roads and washing of cars on the road.

Hamzat further appealed to the public to imbibe the maintenance culture by being the government’s watchdog to apprehend those who engage in the wilful damage of public property.

Ondo asks for fair share of ecological fund •To use waste to produce carpets, manure

T

HE Ondo State government has asked for a fair share of the Ecological Fund from the Federal Government to tackle the challenges in that sector.

As an oil producing state, the government said it has not received the needed attention, especially with the increased rate of degradation in the state because of exploration by some oil companies.

The Commissioner for Environment, Mr Sola Ebiseni, said over three-quarter of the state’s coastline is muddy from the effect of the oil companies.

He said: “Small villages has moved three to five times because of the erosion of their villages and shoreline, but we can’t go it alone. This is why we are asking the Federal Government to give us our fair share of the Ecological Fund to take care of our people. ‘’We don’t have the financial muscle to go it alone. Before now we have been collaborating with OSAPADEC, NDDC but all that has proved not to be enough in the face of the flooding and erosion challenges facing us, though we have embarked on shoreline protection in Ayetoro and other areas that the need has risen, especially to protect the interest of the coastal area dwellers and fishermen who live by the sea coast and fisher men.”

On flood control, the Commissioner stated that the state is one of few that engages the services of National Metrological Institute and receives early warning signals, which give them time to clear the drains and build drainage channels to avoid the risk of flooding in the event of rains.

According to him, the state uses amphibious, excavator’s mechanical equipment or manual means on channelisation to tackle flooding.

On why the state employs manual means for channelisation, he said it does so to avoid the destruction of structures. In addition it uses local labour or volunteer groups of those who live in the neigbourhood.

Ebiseni said examples of its channelisation are at Lipakala in Ondo town and Ijala in Owo as well as watershed stream from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) neigbourhood market and Court road,

Akure, the state capital.

He said the state has done a lot in desilting drainage channels and clearing of waterways, and that the Waste Management Authority (WMA) had been re-invigorated to collect refuse and convert refuse into compose manure.

On the state Policy on Tree Planting, he said it came into effect in 2010 and enjoined households and local governments to plant trees and nurture them.

The government also encouraged schools to form environment clubs, advocacy groups, road and street shows.

At one of the channelisation sites at Otenioro layout in Akure, the Community Development Association (CDA), Chairman, Mr Olusola Owoeye, stated the problem they faced in the vicinity before the government constructed the channel.

He said: “At the peak of the rainy season, those of us who live along the river bed do not sleep because of the havoc the flood wrecks on us and our household. ‘’Residents relocate temporarily because of the fear that they may be washed away with their families. We commend the state government for the channelisation of the Ala River, which passes through here. ‘’Ala River, like we all know, is in a circle and goes around Akure. We will like to use the opportunity to assure the state government that we will ensure that no resident dumps refuse into the channel and that it will be free of refuse at all times.”

The Commissioner, who also spoke on challenges, said it is mainly that of the infestation of water hyacinth which has invaded us from Lagos and the Republic of Benin.

He said: “Water hyacinth is a major issue in our waters. We are currently cleaning it manually by using locals who reside in the environ, but good a thing we are also working on converting it to compost manure and carpet.”

Chairman, Ondo State Waste Managemen, Mrs Yetunde Adeyanju, reiterated the plans of the government to turn water hyacinth into useful products , such as fertiliser and carpets in partnership with PSP investors.

•Ebiseni and Mrs Adeyanju at the Waste Management Authority Complex, Akure

•Otenioro channellisation project, Akure.

PHOTOS: OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

43

HEALTH THE NATION

E-mail:- health@thenationonlineng.net

Shortage of doctors hits State Hospital W

HAT differenttiates a secondary medical facility like a general hospital from other hospitals?

It is, many believe, qualified doctors and state-of-the-art equipment, among others.

But the state Hospital, Oyo, which falls under the category of a secondary medical facility, cannot boast of the required personnel and equipment.

The hospital is in pathetic situation as it is understaffed and lacked the needed equipment.

It has eight departments— Nursing, Medical, Pharmacy, Laboratory, Records, Physiotherapy, Heart to Heart Clinic for HIV patients, Accidents and Emergency.

None of the departments can boast of adequate personnel.

At present, the hospital has five doctors, including two Youth Corps members, whereas it should have about 30 and four consultants in paediatrics, gynaecology and sur-

From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo

gery.

The Nation learnt that the blood bank is no longer functioning, prompting the hospital to bleed patients, since there is no means of storage and preservation.

The situation, investigation revealed, was caused by its neglect by the immediate past administration.

Despite the challenges, the workers attend to patients with courtesy, diligence and total devotion.

The reason, according to the workers, is the sincere commitment to workers’ welfare by the Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration.

According to them, “we thought it was political gimmick when the governor directed that workers’ salaries be paid on or before the 25th of every month. Unbelievably, we got our salary before the Sallah and Xmas fes-

tivals, and were able to celebrate with our families without any lamentation. This is, indeed, a pleasant shock to us, because the gesture of Governor Ajimobi had never be in existence in the history of the state. This is the secret behind our commitment to duty regardless of whatever challenges.”

Findings further showed that besides the fact that drugs and other consumables being used for accident and emergency victims were free, the hospital is not empty for a second, as a doctor and other health personnel must be on duty, even at the weekends.

Some of the patients, who spoke to The Nation described the services being rendered at the hospital as “prompt and satisfactory”.

Outpatients, who spoke urged, the state government to, as a matter of utmost concern come to the aid of the hospital, by providing the needed personnel and facilities.

The hospital has received a HERO award from an international health body, Family Health

International, for its contributions to HIV/ AIDS treatment services in the country.

Similarly, a team of seasoned medical experts from the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has adjudged the health institution’s Maternity, Paediatric Outpatient, Infant Welfare and Clinic, as well as Medical/Surgical Outpatient Unit as among the best in the state.

The hospital also received award for the Best Pharmacy Practice in the country. The national competition involved federal and state health institutions, including the Teaching Hospitals.

The hospital, which caters for residents from six local governments (Afijio, Atiba, OyoEast, Oyo West, Iseyin and Itesiwaju) is best described as a very big referral centre, as primary and secondary health centres both far and near lookup to it for effective and better service delivery.

Lagos restates commitment to mother, child health

T

HE reduction of infant and maternal deaths to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Four and Five is still a priority, the Lagos State Government has said.

The Commissioner of Health, Dr Jide Idris, said improving maternal and child health indices is a major concern to the state.

Idris, who spoke to The Nation at the inauguration of the Maternal and Child Centre (MCC), Gbaja, Surulere, Lagos, said maternal and infant deaths are unacceptable, prompting the use of Integrated Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (IMNCH) approach. (The approach is to ensure that mother and child receive health care services in the same building.)

According to Idris, Ikorodu, Isolo, Ifako Ijaiye and Ajeromi Ifelodun have been equipped with facilities for the faithful implementation of the approach. He added that this will take off at Alimosho, IbejuLekki, Ajeromi Ifelodun, Epe and Badagry as soon as their buildings are completed.

He noted that the government considered enhanced geographical access to integrated maternal and paediatric services a step in the right direction. Thus, the maternal and child centres would complement primary health clinics.

“The concept of integrating services rendition at the 110-bed centre into the existing general hospital structure was borne out of the desire to ensure that support services were made available to complement the overall provision of qualitative health care to mother and child,” he added.

Idris said the MCC would help in the prevention of maternal and infant deaths, saying: “The structure is a 110-bed three-storey building equipped with two operating theatres and seven consulting rooms, among other facilities.

“It would also help in the prevention and cure of diseases, such as haemorrhage, infection, obstructed labour, sepsis, malaria and others. Mothers and children are still dying. Some children still die from communicable diseases.”

The centres, he said, would educate mothers on routine immunisation, use of insecticide treated nets.

“The centres would impact positively on the lives of people resident in the area,” he said.

The IMNCH Project Director, Deux Project Limited, Dr Walter Olatunde, said the design, construction and equipping of the centre was carried out by his organisa-

•Idris

•Master Oluwatobi Bakare and Miss Mariam Ayepe depicting ‘ever ready staff’ at the event.

‘The centre has been adequately equipped to provide optimal patient care commensurate with global best practices. The equipment available at the centre are ventilators, defibrillators, resuscitaires, baby incubators, phototherapy units, among others’ •Olatunde

By Wale Adepoju

tion.

The centres, he said, are an integrated facility to ensure complete care for mother and child.

“The project was designed to meet the Millennium Develoment Goals (MDGs)

Four and Five, which are to reduce infant and maternal deaths. The centres offer a full spectrum of care such as preventive, treatment and child education and support to the women. Things such as family planning, ante-natal care emergency services for the mother and child during and after pregnancy are there. It has two operating theatres to cater for expectant mothers during delivery,” Olatunde said.

He said the Gbaja facility began operation last August, adding that it took a year to complete the building.

“The centre has been adequately equipped to provide optimal patient care commensurate with global best practices.

The equipment available at the centre are ventilators, defibrillators, resuscitaires, baby incubators, phototherapy units, among others,” Olatunde said.

44

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

HEALTH

•A cross section of the beneficiaries

•The six people trained by Acamun displaying their certificates

Ogun provides free artificial limbs to amputees A MPUTEES, especially those residing in Ogun State and its environs, have been assured of free artificial limbs as the government has embarked on the production and fitting of prosthetics.

The factory, Prosthetics Units, is at the State Hospital, Ijaiye, Abeokuta. It is a partnership betwen the Rotary International District 9110 and the State Ministry of Health.

The sponsors are Rotary Foundation; Rotary Club of

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

GreenFord District 1130, Uk; Rotary Club of Balham District 1130 UK; Rotary Club of Kingsbury and Kenton District 1130, UK; Rotaru Club of Granthan Kesteven District 1070, UK; Rotary Club of Abeokuta Metropolitan District 9110, Nigeria and Rotary Jaipur Limp Trust, UK. At the flag-off of the service, the Trainer/Senior Orthopaedic Technologist from Uganda, Max Acamun, said the factory,

equipment and training of six members of the staff of the hospital to provide the service was made possible with funds provided by Nigerians who are members of Rotary International District 9110, led by Rotarian Gasper Da-Silva.

The Nigerians, who are all in the UK, raised $70,000 for 500 potential beneficiaries.

Some beneficiaries were given the prosthetics by the Commissioner of Health Dr Olaokun Soyinka at the event.

The Director-General of Rotary

International District 9110, comprising Lagos and Ogun, said the donors were ready to replenish the stock once it is exhausted.

At the event were the Project Co-ordinator, Dr Oladehinde Shoga, the Medical Director/Chief Executive Officer, State Hospital, Ijaiye, Abeokuta, Dr N. O. Aigoro and Senior Special Assistant on Health, Mrs Bello and the Permanent Secretary, Health management Board, Mrs O. Sodipe.

•Acamun PHOTOS:OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA

UK, Clinton initiative support fight against malaria

T

HE Partnership for Transforming Health Systems, (PATHS2) is to boost the treatment of malaria at reduced costs through the Affordable Medicines Facility for malaria (AMFm) initiative.

The initiative is funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID).

The National Programme Manager PATHS2, Mr Mike Egboh, disclosed this at an interactive session with reporters in Lagos.

“PATHS2 in collaboration with Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) will provide life-saving anti-malaria treatment to health facilities, particularly in the rural communities in PATHS2 focal States of Lagos, Kaduna, Jigawa, Enugu and Kano for as little as N60 a dose, in comparison to previous costs of nearly 20 times that much,” he said.

On the initiative, Sarah Pasternak, Director, New Programmes, Clinton Health Access,

By Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

she said: “The Affordable Medicines Facility for malaria (AMFm) is an innovative financing mechanism to expand access to affordable ACTs— Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies. ACTs are the medicines recommended by the Ministry of Health for effective malaria treatment—thereby saving lives and reducing the use of inappropriate treatments.”

The AMFm, she further said, is hosted and managed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund), with key financial support provided by UNITAID, the United Kingdom and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and with technical support provided by the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). Manufacturers get support directly through the AMFm initiative almost to the tune of 95 per cent.

Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies were introduced

in Nigeria in 2005 for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria due to the increased resistance to chloroquine and sulphadoxinepyrimethamine, which were the older malaria medicines. This has revolutionised the treatment of malaria in the country.

The First Line buyer supported under AMFm will sell Artemisinin/ Lumefantrin (Pack of 24) for just N50 to PATHS2 States health facilities and patients will get it for about N60 naira which is a significant reduction in the price i.e it can cost as high as about N2,000 for the treatment of malaria using a pack of 24 of Artemisinin/ Lumefantrin.

People in the rural areas are not able to afford it but with PATHS2 support through the AMFm initiative, patients will be able to access the anti-malaria drugs at affordable price and also the products are of best quality as this is coming from WHO prequalified manufacturers.

‘Online training a must for licence renewal for O ensure adherence to glomedical lab scientists’ bal best practices, the As-

T

sociation of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) has made online training mandatory for the yearly renewal of licences of its members.

Briefing reporters in Abuja, the National President of the Association, Dr Godswill Okara, said the association was working with the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) to make the new order effective.

According to him, every medical laboratory scientist must show evidence of getting minimum number of credits before his or her licence is renewed.

He said: "The culture of continuous and continuing structured study imparts an attitude

•USAID boosts online training with $400,000 From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

of meticulous disposition and careful attention to detail on medical laboratory professionals."

"Through this programme, our association in conjunction with Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria is launching a vanguard for Mandatory professional medical laboratory education for every medical laboratory scientist in Nigeria."

"Every medical laboratory scientist will henceforth show evidence of having acquired a specified minimum number of credits before renewal of

practicing license in a given year.

"Without fulfilling the minimum number of credits, practising licence will not be issued by the Council," he added For the first two years, he said the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is supporting the association with $400,000 to facilitate the online programme for medical laboratory scientists in Nigeria.

According to him, the John Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA will be the technical implementation partner for the project.

•A cup of tea

Three cups of black tea daily reduces blood pressure

D

RINKING a cup of black tea three times a day may significantly reduce one’s blood pressure, according to a new research.

A six-month study by scientists at the University of Western Australia (UWA), Unilever and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, suggests that regular consumption of black tea may help to lower people’s systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

The research, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, is the first of its kind to show that long-term black tea consumption may have this effect.

“High blood pressure can significantly impact on people’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease. So this is a very significant discovery.

There is already mounting evidence that tea is good for your heart health, but this is an important discovery because it is evidence of a link between the two,” said Prof.

Jonathan Hodgson of UWA. In the study, 95 Australian participants aged between 35 and 75 were recruited to drink either three cups of black tea, or a placebo with the same flavour and caffeine content, but not derived from tea.

After the period, the research

found that compared to the placebo, participants who drank black tea had a lower 24-hour systolic and diastolic blood pressure of between two and three mmHg. More research is required to better understand how tea may reduce blood pressure, although earlier studies reported a potential link between tea consumption and the improved health of people’s blood vessels.

“This is a hugely exciting development for us,” said Jane Rycroft, senior Nutrition and Health Manager at Unilever’s Research and Development Laboratories.

“This is further evidence to suggest that tea and its natural ingredients can help people become healthier. While a two-three mmHg decrease is a small change to an individual’s blood pressure, it’s tantalising to think what positive impact this could have on reducing the risk of heart disease among the general public.”

Tea is the second most consumed drink in the world, after water.

Unilever is the world’s largest tea company, making brands including Lipton, PG Tips and Brooke Bond. Every year, consumers in more than 130 countries drink 117 billion cups of Unilever tea.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

45

HEALTH

Mimiko flags off Abiye safe motherhood programme in 17 LGAs

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NDO State Governor Dr Olusegun Mimiko has flagged-off the Abiye Safe Motherhood Programme in 17 local government areas, following the success recorded with the pilot scheme in Ifedore Local Government.

There are 18 local government areas in Ondo State.

Mimiko, who flagged-off the scaling up of the programme in Akure, the state capital, expressed happiness that the scheme has been able to reduce infant and maternal deaths tremendously, since its introduction in October 2009.

Dr Mimiko noted that the objective of the scheme was to bring qualitative and accessible health care to women and children to reduce maternal and infant mortality and increasing the utilisation of health care facilities in the state.

The Governor disclosed that 31,000 patients have received treatment, including 11,879 deliveries and 1,400 caesarean sections at no cost under the Abiye programme in two years.

He noted that the state is implementing

a health insurance scheme in 12 council areas in collaboration with Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) office to further remove financial constraint confronting assessment of healthcare in the state.

He added that the establishment of Health Rangers, who are specially trained community health extension workers, was to effectively monitor the pregnant women and provide them with mobile phones linked to a toll free closed user group.

His words: “As at the beginning of December 2011, slightly after two years into its operation, more than 31,000 patients had been treated and 11,879 babies had been safely delivered, 1,400 by caesarean section. A comparison of maternal mortality rates with major medical facilities in four deferent states, indicate that Abiye programme had the lowest maternal mortality rate in its first year of operation”.

He added: “Ondo State is one of the three states in the country, benefiting from the Result Based Financing in Health, which has just started in the country. In fact, the World Bank officially has listed the Ondo

•From left: Student Nurse, Miss Adekoya Omolara; Assistant Director, Nursing Education/ Principal, Mrs Adetunji Aderonke; Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof Akin Osibogun during the hospital’s school of Nursing’s ‘capping and strapping’ ceremony of students Nurses of 2010 set, at the school Assembly Hall, Idi-Araba PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

State Abiye programme on its website as one of the success stories coming out of Africa”.

Earlier the State commissioner for Health, Dr Dayo Adeyanju, said the reception and success of the programme in its

pilot local government necessitated its replication in the remaining council areas of the state.

He said more medical personnel have been trained to ensure the success of the programme.

Association seeks comprehensive national immunisation programme

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•From left: Radiation Oncologist, LUTH, Dr Anthonia Sowunmi, Co-ordinator, Be Without Spot (BWS), Fumilola James and Dr Gbenga Adetola, at a briefing on ‘Youth Jamboree to raise awareness’ on World Cancer Day in Lagos.

Basic medication-free strategies to help prevent heart disease Y OU can prevent heart disease by following a heart-healthy life style. Here are five strategies to help you protect your heart.

Heart disease may be a leading cause of death, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept it as your fate. Although you lack the power to change some risk factors — such as family history, sex or age — there are some key heart disease prevention steps you can take.

You can avoid heart problems in the future by adopting a healthy lifestyle today. Here are five heart disease prevention tips to get you started.

Don’t smoke or use tobacco Smoking or using tobacco is one of the most significant risk factors for developing heart disease. Chemicals in tobacco can damage your heart and blood vessels, leading to narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis).

Atherosclerosis can ultimately lead to a heart attack. When it comes to heart disease prevention, no amount of smoking is safe. Smokeless tobacco and low-tar and low-nicotine cigarettes also are risky, as is exposure to secondhand smoke.

In addition, the nicotine in cigarette smoke makes your heart work harder by narrowing your blood vessels and increasing your heart rate and blood pressure. Carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke replaces some of the oxygen in your blood. This increases your blood pressure by forcing your heart to work harder to supply enough oxy-

gen. Even so-called “social smoking” — smoking only while at a bar or restaurant with friends — is dangerous and increases the risk of heart disease.

Women who smoke and take birth control pills are at greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke than are those who don’t do either. This risk increases with age, especially in women older than 35.

The good news, though, is that when you quit smoking, your risk of heart disease drops dramatically within just one year. And no matter how long or how much you smoked, you’ll start reaping rewards as soon as you quit.

even shorter amounts of exercise offer heart benefits, so if you can’t meet those guidelines, don’t give up. You can even break up your workout time into 10-minute sessions.

And remember that activities such as gardening, housekeeping, taking the stairs and walking the dog all count toward your total. You don’t have to exercise strenuously to achieve benefits, but you can see bigger benefits by increasing the intensity, duration and frequency of your workouts.

Exercise for 30 minutes on most days of the week

Eating a special diet called the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan can help protect your heart. Following the DASH diet means eating foods that are low in fat, cholesterol and salt. The diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products, which can help protect your heart. Beans, other low-fat sources of protein and certain types of fish also can reduce your risk of heart disease.

Limiting certain fats you eat also is important. Of the types of fat — saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and trans fat — saturated fat and trans fat increase the risk of coronary artery disease by raising blood cholesterol levels.

Getting some regular, daily exercise can reduce your risk of fatal heart disease. And when you combine physical activity with other lifestyle measures, such as maintaining a healthy weight, the payoff is even greater.

Physical activity helps you control your weight and can reduce your chances of developing other conditions that may put a strain on your heart, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. It also reduces stress, which may be a factor in heart disease.

Try getting at least 30 to 60 minutes of moderately intense physical activity most days of the week. However,

Eat a heart-healthy diet

Culled from: www.mayoclinic.com

HE Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (MWAN) has recommended the inclusion of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine and the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) in the National Programme on Immunisation of the Federal Government.

In a communiqué, the body said this would ensure the prevention of childhood diseases and the attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The body spoke at the 17th Biennial Conference and General Assembly tagged Eko 2011. The theme was Revisiting the myth behind maternal and infant mortality: Can e-health/m-health make a difference?

The sub-themes include domesticating pneumococcal vaccine: strategy to improved child health care, breast and cervical cancer: must our women die? and Child nutrition.

The body said infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six

By Wale Adepoju

months and, thereafter, complementary feeding with locally available food should be introduced.

It said females from Junior Secondary School (JSS) 3 or at menarche should be proficient in the technique of Breast-Self Examination (BSE), adding that the training should be included in the school curriculum.

The association charged the government to upgrade existing outdated cancer diagnostic facilities and focus on cost-effective early detection and cancer education.

It also said the government should intensify efforts towards safe electricity generation to reduce environmental pollution from the carcinogenic effects of diesel exhaust fumes. This will also ensure the maintenance of the cold chain required for the vaccine delivery system as well as facilitate the use of modern technology in health maintenance, diagnosis and management of diseases.

Foundation, PACAF mark cancer day

P

EOPLE with cancer, especially leukaemia, have been encouraged not to give up the fight for survival.

A non-governmental organisation, Pauline’s Cancer Awareness Foundation (PACAF) made this plea in a statement to mark the World Cancer Day. It also enjoined Nigerians to check their status without delay because early detection and treatment is the key to a healthier life.

Leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterised by an abnormal increase of white blood cells. Crowding due to such cells makes the bone marrow unable to produce healthy blood cells. Symptoms of the disease include weight loss, fever, frequent infections, fatigue, loss of appetite, pain in the joints and swelling of lymph nodes.

Others are spleen and/or liver enlargement, easy bleeding and bruising, night sweats and patches or spots.

According to the Founder/Coordinator of the organisation, Godwin Emeka Agu, this year’s activities were in line with the vision of the foundation to create awareness about leukaemia and also transform the lives of people

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

already diagnosed with cancer from hopelessness hope and fulfilment.

“Our organisation also engaged in regular screening exercises towards the detection of leukaemia, counselling on prevention and management; distribution of aid materials; rehabilitation and funding of treatment of cancer patients, and bringing joy to the life of children who lost parents and breadwinners to the scourge,” Agu said.

Agu said PACAF also seeks to honour Mrs Pauline Ngozi Agu, “an educationist, a Christian and woman leader who was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia at 60, but who survived and is today a living proof that people with this very traumatic condition can be successfully treated and the victim live a healthy and normal life.”

Formed in January, last year, PACAF is a non-profit organisation of men and women from all walks of life with a mandate to positively impact the lives of people in communities with special reference to leukaemia, commonly known as cancer of the blood.

46

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

With ekpoita :funtreatsvilla@yahoo.com / 08022664898

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ACROSS

DOWN

1. Hunk (4) 3. Border on (4) 5. Fiend (3) 6. Standard (4) 9. Recedes (4) 12. Age (3) 14. Cereal (4) 15. Informal Course (7) 18. Hermaphrodite (2) 19. Consumed (3) 20. About (2) 22. Employs (4) 24. Part of Feather (4) 26. Wandered (5) 27. Examine (4) 28. Path (4)

1.Remit (4) 2.Lusterless (3) 3.Imitate (3) 4.Trial (4) 7. Green Area (5) 8. Edible Grass (3) 10. Snake (3) 11. Nobleman (5) 13. Illuminated (3) 16. Bricklayer (5) 17. At No Time (5) 18. Youths (4) 21. Ward off (4) 23. Period (3) 25. Fuss (3)

MINI-SUDOKU

Fill in the blank spaces in the grid such that every column, row and 2 by 3 box contains the numbers 1-6.

SHowBiTzz

Eddie Murphy May Host 2012 Oscars

POETRY Always there for you You are friendly, kind and caring Sensitive, loyal and understanding Humorous, fun, secure and true Always there... yes that’s you.

Special, accepting, exciting and wise Truthful and helpful, with honest eyes Confiding, forgiving, cheerful and bright Yes that’s you... not one bit of spite.

The decision will be announced soon after a meeting of producers Brett Ratner and Don Mischer and Academy of Motion Pictures President Tom Sherak, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Rumors of Murphy’s nomination surfaced on a Web site that covers black comedians and entertainment.

The reasoning behind Murphy as host is to return to the more popular single-comedian host format. The recent two-actor or two-comedian duos haven’t been as successful with viewers.

However, Murphy has not been featured live on stage in about 25 years and his film career hasn’t been on fire as of late, aside from voice work in the “Shrek” series.

Other names being considered for the role include Billy Crystal and Jerry Seinfeld.

Pep Talk

Jack decided to go skiing with his buddy, Bob. They loaded up Jack’s station-wagonand headed north. After driving for a few hours, they got caught in a terrible blizzard. They pulled into a nearby farmhouse and asked the attractive lady of the house if they could spend the night.

“I’m recently widowed,” she explained, “and I’m afraidthe neighbors will talk if I let you stay in my house.”

“Not to worry,” Jack said, “we’ll be happy to sleep in the barn.”

You’re one of a kind, different from others Generous, charming, but not one that smothers Optimistic, thoughtful, happy and game But not just another... in the long chain.

Nine months later, Jack got a letter from the widow’s attorney. He called up his friend Bob and said, “Bob, do you remember thatgood-looking widow at the farm we stayed at?”

Appreciative, warm and precious like gold Our friendship won’t tarnish or ever grow old You’ll always be there, I know that is true I’ll always be here... always for you.

- Angela Lee Hillsley

“Yes, I do.”

Do you know....

1.Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize winner. What’s her famous name?

2.In the wake of the collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1990, a classic U.S. motion picture made its debut in the Soviet Union under the title, “Unesennye Vetrom.” What is the English title of the film?

3.In April 1989, student demonstrations in Beijing were brutally suppressed and lead to hundreds of deaths. What were students protesting at the rallies that resulted in the Tiananmen Square massacre of June 3 to 4?

4.In 1984, two bodyguards assassinated this prime minister who they were assigned to protect.

Answers

1.Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Born in 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia 2.The English title is “Gone With the Wind.”

3.They were mourning the death of Hu Yaobang. Yaobang had been ousted as the Communist’s secretary two years earlier.

4.India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (1917-84) was assassinated by her bodyguards. In 1991, Mrs. Gandhi’s son, Rajiv Gandhi, suffered a similar fate, albeit not at the hands of his bodyguards

Eddie Murphy has emerged as a top candidate to be the master of ceremonies for the 2012 Academy Awards in Hollywood, event officials say.

HUMOUR FARMHOUSE WIDOW

“Did you happen to get up in the middle of the night, go up to the house and visit with her?”

“Yes, I have to admit that I did.”

“Did you happen to use my name instead of telling her your name?”

Bob’s face turns red and he said, “Yeah, I’m afraid I did.”

“Well, thanks! She just died and left me everything

Man on Deathbed As he lay on his deathbed, the man confided to his wife, “I cannot die without telling you the truth. I cheated on you throughout our whole marriage. All those nights when I told you I was working late, I was with other women. And not just one woman either, but I’ve slept with dozens of them.”

His wife looked at him calmly and said, “Why do you think I gave you the poison?”

Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than before. - Polybius

47

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

ENERGY THE NATION

E-mail:- energy@thenationonlineng.net

O

Oando commits $33m to third rig

ANDO Energy Services Limited (OESL), a subsidiary of Oando PLC, has increased its

rig count to five with the inauguration of OES Passion built at $33 million.

OES Passion was inaugurated at the weekend in Port Harcourt.

Chief Executive Officer, OESL , Mr Bandele Badejo, said Nigerians did most of the construction on the rig in compliance with the local content policy of the Federal Government.

He said the rig was completed on record time, which is a reflection of the company’s desire to be a pacesetter in swamp drilling business and also to establish its integrity in the oil and gas service sector.

Commenting, the Group Chief Executive of Oando Group Plc, Mr Wale Tinubu, said the company’s entry into the rig business was not just to acquire rigs for drilling but to be the leading swamp contractor in the country’s oil and gas indus-

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

try.

Tinubu said the completion of the rig reinforces the business of doing business right and assured that Oando would ensure adequate maintenance of the rig in order to achieve maximum result. He said his company would deliver the fourth rig by September 2012.

He said: “We will take maintenance of the project very seriously.

We will ensure that nothing goes wrong with the rig because it is very important to our business. We are not just here to make money but to make business.”

The OES Passion project began on December 17, 2010 and was completed within 416 days onsite with zero injuries. Over 25 contractors were said to have participated in

the project and 80 per cent local content went into it and recorded 408 days without Loss Time Injury.

The rig, Tinubu said, has a 10kilometre, 3000hp cantilevered swamp barge, with drilling depth of 25,000ft and 152/600k lbs derrick height and can accommodate 82 persons.

Oando Energy Services Limited recently said one of its swamp drilling rigs services, OES Teamwork, in January this year, achieved a milestone of two years drilling op-

erations without Loss Time Injury (LTI) Commenting on the development, Badejo said OESL Teamwork in the past year has successfully drilled, completed and worked over wells in the course of the campaign, without any major incident.

The rig is a 3000 HP swamp drilling barge equipped with 10,000 psi blow out preventers (BOP) systems.

It has an IDECO built mast and substructure with rated static hookload capacity of 1.5 million lbs and capable of drilling up to 25,000 ft.

The rig is equipped with three model 645E8 EMD diesel engines, two model T-1600 IDECO mud pump, three Derrick linear motion shakers, two Hi-G- dryers and Varco TDS-3 top drive.

•MD Oando Plc, Wale Tinubu

Eko to get 500 transformers

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HE Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), the operator of the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), has said the company has concluded plans to install over 500 new transformers kept at the National Theatre, Ignamu.

The transformers will be installed within the network of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company.

The Managing Director of NDPHC, Mr James Olotu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the transformers were meant to boost power supply within the Eko network.

Explaining reason the transformer has not been installed, the NDPHC chief said the company been waiting for the installation of the poles on which the transformers would be mounted contrary to reports that the power equipment was abandoned.

He said the insinuations that the transformers, which he described as

High Voltage Distribution System (HVDS), were abandoned, were incorrect.

Olotu said: “The poles will soon be delivered. It is wrong to say the transformers were abandoned. They are transformers meant for the Nigerian Independent Power Projects (NIPP) and are to be installed within the Eko distribution network.

“The capacity of each of the transformers is 50 KVA and each is to be mounted on a pole that will serve about four or five houses when installed and no amount of rain or sun will adversely affect them.”

The Chief Executive Officer, Eko Electricity Distribution Company, Mr Oladele Amoda, also confirmed that the transformers were meant for NIPP projects within the Eko distribution network. He said the transformers would be powered by the newly built NIPP's sub-stations within the zone.

•From left: Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah, former Special Adviser to the President on Petroleum Matters; Mrs. Ono Daniel, Senior Geoscientist, Baker Hughes and Guest Lecturer; Mr Mayowa Afe, President, Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), during the association’s January technical meeting in Lagos.

Shell to spend $24b on upstream

• Peter Voser

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OYAL Dutch Shell has said over 80 per cent of its $30 billion capital budget in 2012 will be utilised in the upstream activities. Sixty per cent of this would be spent in North America and Australia and would cut across producing and new assets, Shell disclosed at an investors’ forum.

The company said it realised $17 billion from asset sales between

2009 and 2011 and expects to rake another $2 billion to $3 billion from assets divestment this year bringing the total of anticipated revenues from asset sales between 2009 and 2012 to $20 billion. Fiften billion dollars of acquisitions is for repositioning the company for growth.

On areas to put in the $30 billion capital budget, Shell said it would continue to balance exploration drilling in established basins, with selective expansion into frontier acreage, and new plays such as liquids-rich shales. The company said its exploration spending increased by some 30 per cent to $3.6 billion last year, excluding acreage purchases, and should increase a further 35 per cent in 2012 to some $5 billion.

Shell also said traditional developments in its heartlands would see $6 billion of 2012 investment.

This includes extending the life of Shell’s mature heartland positions such as the UK North Sea and South East Asia. Around $3 billion of investment in this category will be in countries with large undeveloped resources positions, such as

Expects about $20b from assets sales

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Iraq.

On integrated gas projects, Shell said it has eight million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity under construction in Australia, which will be increased by 40 per cent and at least $5 billion of capital investment is planned for it this year. In addition, Shell has some 15 mtpa of new LNG capacity under study.

Deep water oil and gas spending in 2012 will take some $4 billion, with 250,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) under construction, in seven projects spanning the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and Malaysia.

The company will invest in tight gas and liquids-rich shales noting that some $4 billion of world-wide development investment is planned for 2012, focusing on production from the lowest cost gas positions, and growing liquids production. Production from liquidsrich shales has the potential to

reach some 250,000 boe/d in 2017, it added.

“In heavy oil world-wide, we are planning for $2 billion of 2012 spending, covering EOR, mining and upgrading activities. In Canada, Shell is investing in a series of debottlenecking projects in oil sands mining, which will add 50,000 b/d by 2020. We expect to take final investment decision on a 1.1 mtpa carbon capture and storage project – Quest – in 2012.

“We continue to focus on operational excellence and selective growth in Downstream, with $6 billion investment planned for 2012. Commissioning is underway at the 325,000 b/d Port Arthur refinery expansion project, creating one of the largest refineries in the United States, at some 600,000 b/d.

Shell is also looking at new manufacturing capacity options in North America, in Qatar and in China, as well as selective growth in marketing activities, and continued momentum in Brazil biofuels.”

Commenting Shell’s CEO Peter

Voser, said: “Shell’s strategy is innovative and competitive. Our improving financial position creates an opportunity to increase both our dividends and investment levels. With ramp up now well in hand for near-term growth, I want to move our agenda forward today, with new targets for the company.”

“We are delivering our growth plans. Today’s update sets a new and sustainable growth agenda for the company. We declared over $10 billion of dividends in 2011 and we are expecting to return to dividend growth for 2012. This reflects our confidence that there is more to come from Shell.

“We have worked hard to generate a strong pipeline of investment opportunities for Shell, and we put the emphasis firmly on a competitive financial performance.

Shell’s investment programmes create cashflow growth, which in turn funds our dividends. All of this is supported by efficiency gains from our continuous improvement programmes, where the opportunity set runs to billions of dollars for Shell.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

48

ENERGY

Explore gas for power, Ogun tells industries

T

•From left: Mr. Ciro Antonio Pagano, Managing Director, Nigerian Agip Oil Company; Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Mr. Ernest Nwapa and Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, Minister of Petroleum Resources during a facility visit to SCC Pipe Mill in Abuja.

Minister to oil majors: evaluate local content input HE Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani AlisonMadueke, has directed the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board to partner with operator companies to evaluate contributions to Nigerian Content development.

She urged the board to appraise machine shops, dockyards, fabrication yards and other facilities, which can be upgraded to meet industry specifications.

The Minister gave the directive when she led chief executives of international oil companies on a facility visit to SCC Pipe Mill in Abuja, the first in the series of her planned physical assessments of key local content facilities across the country.

She noted that many existing facilities were underutilised and could be harnessed at reduced costs

T

By EmekaUgwuanyi

to support industry operations locally. She also directed that recommendations from the evaluation exercise reach her office before July 2012.

The minister commended the model used at SCC pipe mill whereby the facilities set up originally to manufacture water supply pipes were upgraded to service the oil and gas industry.

SCC first manufactured pipes for ExxonMobil, which were installed on Mobil’s Edop facility offshore last year, and subsequent orders from Shell, Chevron and Agip followed.

Alison-Madueke noted that the cumulative orders from the operators not only ensured that the company retained about 350 Nigerian workers, but now has the poten-

Schneider Electric is 26th on global sustainable devt list CHNEIDER Electric has been recognised for its commitment to sustainable development.

The company has been ranked 26th of the “Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World” list drawn by Corporate Knights and announced in Davos, Switzerland.

Schneider Electric said it is positioning itself as the leading company in its sector and in the top three of the eight French companies in the Global 100.

In its eighth edition of the classification published by Corporate Knights, the Canadian magazine for clean capitalism, the Global 100 includes companies from 22 countries and from all sectors of the economy.

Together they represent over $3 trillion in turnover and employ more than five million people.

On the recognition, the Country President at Schneider Electric Nigeria, Marcel Hochet, said: “Schneider Electric’s classification in the ‘Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World’ encourages us to continue our sustainability approach based on an insight of the world’s stakes and an innovative way to tackle them that is good for our customers, the planet, and that can benefit t all our stakeholders.”

S

Schneider Electric’s inclusion on the Global 100 list marks recognition of how the Group has integrated sustainable development into its core strategy through solutions in energy efficiency, promoting the production of clean energy and generating consumption practices, which preserve the environment.

The company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility, which is published every quarter by its Planet & Society Barometer, shows key progresses made by the company in all dimensions of sustainability.

The company intends to actively pursue this policy with the development of solutions for smart cities and smart grids, a new Planet & Society Barometer for the next three years and the renewed commitment from all its employees throughout the world, to ensure that sustainable development becomes an increasingly important aspect of the group’s goal.

In January, Schneider Electric also received the Zayed Future Energy Prize (ZFEP 2012) in the “Large Corporations” category. Presented at Abu Dhabi during the World Future Energy Summit (WFES 2012), the prize was awarded for commitment to the promotion of renewable energies and to the sustainable development of the Group.

tial to grow the workforce to 500 with projected work flow from the industry.

She said ongoing establishment of Longitudinal Submerge-arc Welded pipe mill in Yenagoa by Yulong Steel and planed longitudinally welded steel Mill in Abeokuta by Vigeo Steel will create over 10,000 direct and ancillary jobs and retain $700million in the Nigerian economy.

The projects will also create 3000 training opportunities as well as other benefits to the Nigerian economy when completed by 2014.

She explained that many other investors have also expressed interests to establish pipe mills in Nigeria and their efforts must be supported by the government.

She said: “Our role as government is to create the conditions that will stimulate and incentivise these investors. Investments in a few more pipe mills will increase capacity and create local competition, •Continued on page 15

HE Ogun State Government has advised industry and corporate organisations operating in the state to take advantage of natural gas to generate power to drive their operations instead of using automotive gas oil (diesel) or low pour fuel oil (black oil), which are more expensive and environmentally unfriendly.

The Ogun State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr. Bimbola Ashiru made the call during a facility tour of Midland Galvanising factory in Abeokuta, the state capital.

He said the government is committed to providing the environment, which will enhance completion on record time the new gas pipeline network, which would be located on the Ota-Abeokuta axis. He said the project on completion would reduce power challenge in the state and ensure reduction in production and service costs of goods and services by industries and corporate organisations operating in the state.

He said: “Other benefits derivable from the gas pipeline would lead to cheaper finished products in the markets and I urge industries operating along that corridor to key into the project when

By Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

completed.”

Ashiru noted that the Ibikunle Amosun-led administration is committed to early completion of the project and made case for a centralised independent power project in the area to easily access gas from the project on completion.

The commissioner also lauded the Midland for its“waste to wealth initiative” of turning scrap into kitchen utensils as it conserves the environment. He said the state would encourage industries to address their challenges.

According to him, this would ensure rapid industrialisation of the state.

Ashiru reckoned that the residency tax lax must be strictly adhered to while assuring of the government’s readiness to continuously improve on the security of lives and property in the state In his response, the Managing Director, Midland galvanising industry, Mr Musad Singh said the company recently inaugurated the most modern factory of its kind in the country and is technologically driven to produce world class products that could compete anywhere in the world.

Chevron donates food to communities

HEVRON Nigeria Limited (CNL) said it has completed delivering supplies of food items to several communities along the coast of Bayelsa State. The communities include the Koluama 1, Koluama 2, Ezetu 1, Ezetu 2, Ekeni, Sangana, Foropa Communities, Amatu 1, Amatu 2, Bilabiri 1, Bilabiri 2 and Bisangbene communities and others.

A statement by the company’s General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Femi Odumabo, said the donation was in recognition and appreciation for the assistance the residents of these shoreline communities provided, including locating and rescuing some workers from the KS Endeavor drilling rig about 10 kilometers off-

C

shore.

“CNL has distributed loads of rice, cassava, cooking oil, milk, chicken, cows, beverages and other supplies of food to these communities.

“This is a way of expressing our sincere gratitude to the people and the communities for their support,” said Andrew Fawthrop, managing director of CNL. Although we have the equipment and processes in place to respond to emergencies, the assistance of boat owners and others in the area who responded to this situation is gratifying.”

A fire outbreak occurred on the CNL’s KS Endeavor , a drilling rig working on one of its offshore assets in Nigeria on January 16, 2012 and forced the evacuation of the rig.

•From left: Mr Musad Singh, Managing Director, Midland Galvanizing factory; Otunba Bimbola Ashiru, Ogun State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry; and Mrs. T. Kosi Efunape, Permanent Secretary of the ministry during the tour of the factory.

49

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

ENERGY

Crisis between IPMAN, Western Zone deepens •As region ceases to recognise national body T

HE rift between the Western Zone of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and its national body seems to have deepened as the former has stopped the latter from collecting levies and money from its members, formations and depots in the southwest zone.

The zone said such funds can only be collected until the national executives give account of product allocations and subsidy accruals to the association.

The zone issued a directive on this during its first stakeholders’ forum in Ibadan at the weekend.

The meeting was attended by Petroleum Tanker Drivers chapter of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG) as well as independent marketers chapter of NUPENG. Delivering the resolution reached at the meeting, the Chairman Western Zone of IPMAN, Mr Olumide Ogunmade, said the joint communiqué was passed after the five zones, which made up of West-

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

ern zone resolved to no longer recognise the national coordinators until the N10.9 billion collected from subsidy on IPMAN investment limited is accounted for.

Ogunmade said all members of the western zone would henceforth cease to remit their dues and levies to the national purse if managers of IPMAN investment fails to account for the products and subsidies collected from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

He said: “We have agreed that members of IPMAN Western Zone, which comprises five zones will henceforth cease to recognise the national co-ordinators collecting levies in all depots of the southwest.

“We will no longer remit any money to the national account if the N10.9 billion collected from the subsidy is not accounted for by the national executives.”

Ogunmade said all draft payment for products in the western zone will be submitted and managed by the southwest zone, adding that the zone has resolved to send agents of the national body in all NNPC and Apapa depots packing.

He said all IPMAN western zone members including those of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers of NUPENG and the Independent Marketers Branch of NUPENG, have agreed to work together without involving the national coordinators in the depots.

“The problem of IPMAN over the years has been that of leadership, which has been to the detriment of the members. W,e at the western zone, are not fighting anybody because we are strictly businessmen.

We are not politicians and the national body should stop playing politics with members’integrity,” he added.

Ogunmade said the zone has resolved to be getting product allocations for its members directly

from the NNPC to be accountable to its members, adding that members of the zones have not benefitted significantly from allocations, which were being managed by the national body.

He said the members of Western zone have observed that the Nigerian Independent Petroleum Company (NIPCO) Plc has negative influence on IPMAN activities, which needs to be reviewed.

But when our correspondent spoke on phone with the spokesman of NIPCO, Mr Taofik Lawal on the issue, he said NIPCO had no hands in allocation of products.

Lawal said NNPC supplies products to IPMAN based on two grounds: as a group of oil marketers and as depot owners and that NIPCO doesn’t determine who gets allocation as that is solely the responsibility of the national body.

Ogunmade said: “We have agreed that surveillance activities of NNPC facilities within the zone will be strengthened by all stake-

holders, we, therefore, call on NNPC and the Federal Government to extend their support to Western zone in this regards.”

He disowned reports in some national newspapers, saying the signatories to the reports were fictitious and sponsored by unknown people and not members of IPMAN Western Zone. “We are not engaging in any press war with anybody in the oil and gas industry as there avenues in place to address grievances if any,” he added.

The Deputy National Chairman of Petroleum Tanker’s Drivers of NUPENG Mr Salimon Oladiti, said its members both at the national and western zone have agreed to support the western zone in ensuring that effective petroleum products is duly assigned to the zones without the involvement of the national body.

The zone has dissociated itself from the submissions of the National President, Alhaji Abdulkadir Aminu, at the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on subsidy management.

Minister to oil majors: evaluate local content inputs •Continued from page 14

•From left: Chief Olatunji Aderoju, immediate past chairman, IPMAN Western Zone; Mr Olumide Ogunmade, Chairman; Mr Salimon Akanni Oladiti, Deputy National Chairman, Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) of NUPENG and Mr Wahaab Musibau, Zonal Chairman, Independent Marketers Branch of NUPENG during a stakeholders’ meeting, at IPMAN House in Apata, Ibadan.

Communities to sue Shell over Bonga spill

I

NDIGENES of the 75 communities located where Shell operates its Bonga deep offshore oil field offshore Bayelsa State that were affected by the December 20, last year oil spillage from the asset, have given Shell an ultimatum of two weeks to pay compensation to them and hire professionals who will clean up their environment or face their wrath.

According to them, failure by the oil giant to do this will leave them with no option but to go to court.

The indigenes of the communities told The Nation that more than three people have died as a result of the spillage since it occurred and many others are at present bedridden due to one sickness or another.

They said their means of livelihood has been destroyed as they can no longer fish in their waters, adding that despite the fact that this is happening in the President’s home state, the Federal Government has not shown any form of concern.

The affected communities are calling on the international community to step in and save the situation and compel Shell to do the right thing it was supposed to do to avoid a breakdown of law and order in the area.

Speaking on behalf of the affected

By Jude Isiguzo

communities, the Chairman of Kwor community, Mr Victor Agge, the Secretary, Mr Egberibirre Michael and the Amananame of Orobiri, His Royal Highness Jacob Ajuju, said it was unfortunate that instead of Shell to solve the problem, their officials were trying to bribe some of the indigenes to stop the larger community from demanding for their rights.

Agge said: “They (Shell) called us and told us about the oil spillage. It was the biggest they have recorded ever. The spillage was over 40,000 barrels. He explained that on December 29, 2010, officials of Shell came to take samples of the spilled oil and up till today, they have not come back to do anything about it.

“We want the international community to come to our rescue.

People are dying every day, people are being affected by different kinds of illnesses. We can no longer fish as our waters have been contaminated. Shell is not even ready to hire professionals to clean up the spillage. They are going about seeking cheap contractors that they can pay N2 million or N6 million and we know this people cannot do a good job. We will not accept that.

We have identified professionals that can do the job but Shell must be ready to bear the cost,” he said.

Egberibine said: “Shell called me to come and overfly with them for a joint inspection to ascertain the extent of the spillage. It was during this meeting that officials of Shell confirmed to us that the spillage occurred on December 20, 2011 around 4am and that they got to know about it around 7am that same day. We undertook this journey on December 29, 2010 and it was on this day that the officials of Shell were spraying dispersant on the affected areas. They even denied being responsible for the spillage.”

Ajuju, however, called on the affected communities to be united in this fight against injustice by Shell urging them not to sell out.

However, a statement issued last month by Shell’s Corporate Media Relations Manager, Tony Okonedo, said: “Clean up of December 20 has now been completed successfully.

Production resumed at Bonga on January 1, 2012, following reinforcement of asset integrity and safety programmes.

“Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) had shut down production from the field after a leak occurred on one of

•Sunmonu

the three export loading lines as oil was being transferred from the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel to a loading tanker.”

Commenting also, Shell Nigeria Country Chair, Mutiu Sunmonu, said: “While investigation into the cause of the leak continues, we have isolated the faulty line, which was the only one of its type in the Bonga field, and reinforced our asset integrity and safety programme. This, together with additional inspection testing and monitoring, is what gives us the confidence that it is safe to restart.”

which will surely improve quality, operational efficiency and drive costs down in the medium to long term.”

The Minister assured that the establishment of steel pipe mills in Nigeria is a viable venture given that the oil and gas industry demand is envisaged to grow to over a million metric tonnes per annum to serve the upcoming field developments, Gas Master Plan and Gas Revolution projects.

There will also be replacement of aging pipelines, brown field modifications, construction of new refineries and petrochemical plants, which would require steel pipes.

She restated the commitment of President Goodluck Jonathan to the full implementation of the Nigerian Content Act and support for companies that invest in the establishment of targeted facilities where the Nigerian Content scope can be performed satisfactorily.

She added that provisions of the Nigerian Content Act protect investments in facilities and disallow the industry from exporting work that can be done in-country, stressing that local facilities must be accorded first consideration in line with the principles of the Act. The Minister also noted that the industry had recorded positive results from the intervention of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.

According to her, there is a growing interest of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and investors to set up facilities in Nigeria while the market share of indigenous vessel owners had risen from less than $200million in 2009 to $1billion and local fabrication tonnage has also risen by 40 per cent to 54,000 metric tonnes per annum over the same period.

Madueke also commended the chief executives of the operating companies and stakeholders of the industry for collaborating with the Board and adhering with its guidelines - especially those relating to the domiciliation of equipment component manufacturing, expatriate quota management, utilisation of indigenous marine vessels and indigenous rig ownership scheme.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

50

ENERGY

OPEC, Shell chief see continued volatility in oil price

•Abdallah El-Badri OPEC Sec. Gen

T

HE Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has expressed concern over the volatility in price of crude, which it expects would continue this year.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Anglo-Dutch Shell, Peter Voser, shared the same view with OPEC when he spoke at the company’s recent investors’ forum. Voser said:

“Our fourth quarter results were impacted by a sharp downturn in industry refining margins and North American natural gas prices.

The global economy and energy markets are likely to see continued high volatility. Despite the nearterm uncertainties, Shell’s focus remains on through-cycle investment for sustainable growth.”

OPEC in its Bulletin and January Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) identified crude price volatility as a threat to the international oil market stability.

OPEC is concerned with poor recovery of the Eurozone economic crisis. Besides, the US, Iran face-off and Iran’s threat to close Hormuz Strait through, which over a fifth of the world’s oil exports pass, will further heighten the volatility.

OPEC Bulletin said: “Volatility in crude prices continues to plague the international oil market, despite higher production from OPEC with Libya bringing more and more barrels back on stream.

OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

for January pointed out that the increased output in the fourth quarter of last year should have reduced the level of volatility associated with the fear of a supply shortage. However, the reverse happened with the price of the OPEC Reference Basket fluctuating in a range between $98/barrel and $114/barrel, with the level of volatility acute.

“This volatility was mainly due to the impact of Europe’s debt crisis on market sentiment and worries that possible contagion effects could seriously undermine economic growth in Europe and the rest of the world.”

The MOMR more recently noted that the bearish economic concerns had been offset by increased geopolitical uncertainties, as well as civil unrest in some producing

countries, boosting the risk premium in the market. However, it added that undoubtedly the Eurozone debt crisis had constituted a key challenge for the global economy in recent months and was expected to continue to do so for at least some time in 2012.

The OPEC Secretary-General, Abdalla Salem El-Badri, at the organisation’s conference in Vienna, in December, corroborated the fact when he said the European debt crisis constituted the big challenge to overcome in the coming year. “If the EU is able to solve its problems, then maybe we will be able to see a good year (in the international oil market) in 2012,” he said.

The MOMR stated that while Euro-zone leaders had made a continuing effort to tackle the

sovereign debt OPEC Reference Basket crisis at the beginning of the year, capital markets had not yet been convinced by the provided solutions to deal with the crisis.

Value of euro falls The euro had fallen to its lowest level versus the US dollar in 16 months and, compared with the Japanese yen, it even reached an 11-year low.

“The Euro-zone debt crisis and its consequence have had a considerable effect on the global economy in the second half of last year through reduced international trade, implementation of austerity measures, and a growing credit crunch in the region with pass through effects on the global banking system,” the report observed.

“Even Germany, the strongest economy in the Eurozone, is showing a sign of weakness, with its GDP estimated to have declined by 0.25 per cent in the last quarter of 2011,according to the government’s statistics office.

Siemens secures first wind turbine orders in Africa IEMENS Energy has secured its first wind turbine orders with a total capacity of 100MW in Africa. Nareva Holding and Siemens signed a contract for the delivery of a total of 44 wind turbines for the Haouma and Foum El Oued Wind Power Plants in Morocco.

The scope of supply includes the delivery, installation and commissioning of the wind turbines, as well as a five-year service contract for each project.

Both wind power plants are expected to commence commercial operation by summer 2013.

Africa is an emerging wind market with Morocco being number two in installations.

“These two orders mark Siemens Wind Power´s entry on the African wind market and clearly show that our internationalisation strategy is successful,” said Felix Ferlemann, CEO of the Siemens Wind Power Division.

According to the Global Wind Energy Council, wind power is one of the most promising sectors for renewable energy generation in Morocco.

The Moroccan government has set the target of raising the contribution of renewable energy to 20 per cent of national electricity consumption by 2020.

Internationalisation is a key pillar of Siemens’ strategy in the global wind market.

Just recently, Siemens announced that it would establish three regional Wind Power Business Units for EMEA (Europe, Middle

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East and Africa), Americas and Asia as part of a new Wind Power Division. Moreover, the company has sales hubs in several countries around the globe. Within the Business Unit EMEA, Siemens has strengthened its sales hubs in Africa, where a growing number of employees are involved in the wind power business.

The Haouma Wind Farm project will be built in Northern Morocco, approximately 30 km east of Tangier, and six km south of the Mediterranean coast. At 50 MW, Haouma will feature 22 Siemens SWT-2.3-93 wind turbines. Foum El Oued will be built in one of the windiest areas of Morocco in the municipality of Laâyoune, 9 km south east of the port of Laâyoune in Southern Morocco.

•Wind turbines

Lagos partners mining society on minerals exploitation

T

HE Lagos State government has restated its readiness to engage the Nigerian Mining and Geoscience Society (NMGS) on the exploration and exploitation of the abundant mineral resources in the state.

Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) disclosed this when he hosted a delegation comprising executive members of the society, who were on a visit to rally support for their forthcoming international conference tagged EKO 2012.

The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Taofiq Tijani, said the state realises

By Bidemi Bakare

the importance of mineral resources to its economic development and so will do everything necessary to unearth these minerals for its benefits.

Tijani said it was this realisation that prompted the governor to upgrade the department of energy and mineral resources into a fullfledged ministry and also appoint a technocrat with over 30 years experience in the industry to oversee the ministry.

He said the state has all it takes to exploit the enormous opportunities that abound in the solid minerals industry with the support of

professionals within the NMGS. “The state government understands that there are potential opportunities in the mining industry which it can tap into for the socio-economic development of the state. With abundant mineral resources buried and scattered around the state we can only but seek the support of your society to lend professional support so that these minerals can be discovered and uncovered. We will need you so that our dream of creating an energy driven economy can become a reality.”

On the forthcoming conference, Tijani said it was a great honour bringing the event to Lagos while

Energy prices

Domestic prices of petroleum products

Energy & Oil Prices OIL ($/bbl)

Companies

PMS

AGO

DPK

Conoil

97.00

160.00

140.00

AP

97.00

160.00

140.00

Total

97.00

160.00

140.00

Oando

97.00

160.00

140.00

Mobil

97.00

160.00

140.00

Texaco

97.00

160.00

140.00

Energy

97.00

160.00

140.00

Fagbems

97.00

160.00

140.00

Nipco

97.00

160.00

140.00

INDIGENOUS

PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME Nymex Crude Future Dated Brent Spot WTI Cushing Spot OIL (¢/gal)

97. 84 -1.48 114. 28 -2.31 97 .84 -1.48

-1..54% 2. 07% -1. 54%

02/03 02/03 02/03

PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME Nymex Heating Oil Future 311.44 Nymex RBOB Gasoline Future 291.44 NATURAL GAS ($/MMBtu)

6.15 4.55

2. 01% 1. 59%

02/03 02/03

PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME Nymex Henry Hub Future 2.50 Henry Hub Spot 2.41 New York City Gate Spot 2.65 ELECTRICITY ($/megawatt hour) PRICE*

0.06 -0.11 -0.10

-2.15% -4.787% -3.92%

02/03 02/03 02/03

CHANGE % CHANGE TIME

Mid-Columbia, firm on-peak, spot 24.97 0.80 -3.31% Palo Verde, firm on-peak, spot 26.38 0.81% -3.17% BLOOMBERG, FIRM ON-PEAK, DAY AHEAD SPOT/ERCOT HOUSTON 22.33 -1.30 -5.74% • Bloomberg Oil Buyers Guide

02/03 02/03 02/02

promising that the state will provide the necessary support for a successful hosting.

He said: “We quite appreciate the honor done to us by the society for bringing the conference to Lagos. We want to assure you of the governor’s total support for the conference.

“In fact, we will make sure we persuade him to grace the opening ceremony and show his solidarity for the conference. Besides, whatever would be required to make the event worthwhile, we promise we will provide. So, be rest assure of a successful hosting of your conference by the state.”

Responding, the President of the society, Akinola George said the return of the international conference to Lagos was strategic as the state remains the commercial and economic capital of Nigeria.

George hinted that for this reason he expects the state government and other participants to exhibit products and other deliverables at the exhibition ground and also sponsor programmes at the conference.

He added that the society is also organising a technical excursion for participants to see the geology of Lagos and neighbouring states so as to get an idea of the potential minerals in the state adding that a communiqué from the conference will be presented the government The 48th NMGS Annual international Conference and Exhibitions tagged EKO 2012 with the theme Unlocking geosciences and mining technology for investment opportunities and development in Nigeria takes place in Lagos at the Eko Hotel and Suites from March 18-23.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

51

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

52

IN THE HIGH COURT OF LAGOS STATE OF NIGERIA PROBATE REGISTRY, LAGOS DIVISION WHEREAS the person whose names are set-out in the first Column under died intestate on the date and place stated in the said Column. AND WHEREAS the person or persons whose names and addresses and relationship (if any) to the deceased are set out in the second Column here have applied to the High Court of Lagos State for a Grant of Letter of Administration of the Real and Personal Properties of the deceased. NOTICE IS HEREBY given that Letters of Administration will be granted to such persons unless a NOTICE TO PROHIBIT THE GRANT is filed in the registry within (14) days from the date hereof.

S/N

NAMES OF THE DECEASED PERSON:

S/N

1. MR ADEWALE ADESANYA LATE OF 9A, LILY DRIVE M.K.O. ABIOLA GARDENS, ALAUSA, IKEJA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 23RD DAY OF NOV., 2010 AT LAGOS. 2. ALHAJA LATIFATU AMOKE WILLIAMS LATE OF 10, MOSHALASHI ST., LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 6TH DAY OF APRIL, 2010 AT LAGOS. 3. OLADIPO TANIMOWO SAMUEL OTHERWISE KNOWN AS SAMUEL OLADIPO TANIMOWO LATE OF 21 ROAD, M CLOSE BLK. 4, FLAT 13, FESTAC TOWN, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 17TH DAY OF APRIL, 2010 AT MAIDUGURI, BORNO STATE. 4. DANIEL OMOTAYO AYEDOGBA LATE 27, ADEBIMPE ST., KOSOFE MILE 12, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 20TH DAY OF MAY, 2009 AT LAGOS. 5. ELIAS OKECHUKWU OKPARAUZOMA OTHERWISE KNOWN AS ELIAS OKEY OKPARA, ELIAS OKEY OKPARAUZOMA AND OKPALAZOMA ELIAS LATE OF 29, LASISI AKINWALE ST., COKER, ORILE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 20TH DAY OF NOV., 2010 AT LAGOS. 6. OGUNNOWO OWOSENI OTHERWISE KNOWN AS OGUNNOWO O. LATE OF 30, TAPA ST., ORILE IGANMU, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 9TH DAY OF MAY, 2010 AT LAGOS. 7. NWOWU CYPRIAN CHUKWUEMEKA LATE OF 55, MARWA RD., SATELLITE TOWN, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 17TH DAY OF APRIL, 2010 AT LAGOS. 8. MR OLANIYI KAYODE LATE OF 14, OKESEGUN ST., IPAJA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 29TH DAY OF FEB., 2008 AT LAGOS. 9. MRS ELIPHIDA IKUOMOLA LATE OF 31, CHURCH ST., IJORA BARIGA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 23RD DAY OF MAY, 2011 AT LAGOS. 10. MR RAPHAEL OMANG OTHERWISE KNOWN AS OMANG RAPHAEL AND RAPHAEL AKIRI OMANG LATE OF 12, COOPER RAD, RAILWAY COMPOUND, EBUTE METTA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 12TH DAY OF FEB., 2010 AT LAGOS. 11. BELLA SAMUEL UMOH OTHERWISE KNOWN AS BELLA ASUQUO LATE OF 5, AYOOLA ST., NEW PARISH, BARIGA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 5TH DAY OF SEPT., 2011 AT LAGOS. 12. GABRIEL OLUSEGUN OKE OTHERWISE KNOWN AS GABRIEL AYODELE OKE LATE OF 3RD AV. L CLOSE, HOUSE 21, FESTAC TOWN, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 6TH DAY OF DEC., 2010 AT LAGOS. 13. MR ADEWALE IDOWU OTHERWISE KNOWN AS IDOWU ADEWALE (INSP.) LATE OF MAXIMUM BARRACKS LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 23RD DAY OF OCT., 2011 AT LAGOS. 14. CHIEF ORTISEGBUBEMI SAMUEL AGHOMATSE OTHERWISE KNOWN AS A. SAMUEL & SON LATE OF 6, ALEBIOSU ST., ALAPERE KETU, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 1ST DAY OF NOV., 2010 AT LAGOS. 15. WASIU OLAONIPEKUN FOLARIN OTHERWISE KNOWN AS W/O FOLARIN W. LATE OF BLK. T.6, FLAT 25, NAF BASE, IKEJA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 24TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2010 AT LAGOS. 16. MR JOHNSON OWOSENI OTHERWISE KNOWN AS OWOSENI JOHNSON LATE OF 30, TENOLA ST., IJESHA, SURULERE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 16TH DAY OF OCTOBER, 2007 AT LAGOS. 17. MRS ODUKOYA CECILIA OLUREMI LATE OF NO.40, ADEBAYO MOKUOLU ST., ANTHONY, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 18TH DAY OF MAY, 2003 AT SAGAMU. 18. MR SUNDAY OTSE OTHERWISE KNOWN AS MR OTSE SUNDAY LATE OF 5TH AV. 511 RD., BLK. 5, FLAT 16, FESTAC TOWN, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 4TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2008 AT LAGOS. 19. TUGBOBO ABIODUN LATE OF 42, LEWU AV., OBALENDE IJEBU-ODE, OGUN STATE WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 29TH DAY OF SEPT., 2010 AT IJEBU-ODE, OGUN STATE. 20. MRS CECILIA CHINWE ARACHIE OTHERWISE KNOWN AS ARACHIE CELINA LATE OF 5TH AV., I CLOSE, HOUSE 4, FESTAC TOWN, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 24TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2011 AT LAGOS. 21 ALHAJI OGUNTAYO ISIAKA AYINDE OTHERWISE KNOWN AS MR. OGUNTAYO ISIAKA LATE OF 8, OYEGUNWA ST., BARIGA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 26TH DAY OF NOV., 2009 AT LAGOS. 22. MRS IBRAHIM MARIO OTHERWISE KNOWN AS BINTA LATE OF BLK. 5, RM. 9, BONNY CAMP, V/ISLAND, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 30TH DAY OF SEPT., 2010 AT LAGOS. 23. MOMOH BELLO LATE OF 4, OMOTOLA ST., IWAYA, YABA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 5TH DAY OF DEC., 2010 AT LAGOS. 24. MOSHOOD OLAIDE OLOYEDE LATE OF 22, IFESOWAPO CLOSE, SUBERU OJE, ALAGBADO, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 11TH DAY OF OCT., 2009 AT LAGOS. 25. OTAKOYA STEPHEN ADENOLA LATE OF BLK. 53, FLAT 5, AMUWO ODOFIN ESTATE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE 22ND DAY OPF JUNE, 2006 AT LAGOS. 26. IKENYEI PATRICK LATE OF 14, BODE SHODIYA ST., EJIGBO. LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 22ND DAY OF FEB., 2009 AT LAGOS. 27. MR VICTOR ABIODUN MAKANJUOLA LATE OF 8, SIKIRU ALIMI ST., IJESHATEDO, SURULERE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 4TH DAY OF APRIL, 2002 AT ILESA. 28. MOSES OJO AJAMU OTHERWISE KNOWN AS MR OJO MOSES AJAMU LATE OF 19, IGBEHIN ADUN ST., OSHODI, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 25TH DAY OF JULY, 2011 AT LAGOS. 29. MR JOSEPH AYANWOYE OTHERWISE KNOWN AS JOSEPH ADEYEMI AYANWOYE, AYANWOYE JOSEPH AYANWOYE LATE OF 2A, MOSHALASHI LANE, OKOYA, AJEGUNLE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 23RD DAY OF DEC., 19094 AT LAGOS. 30. BUSURAT OLAIDE QUADRI LATE OF 10, AJIDAGAN ST., GBAGADA ESTATE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 7TH DAY OF MAY, 2011 AT COLUMBIA. 31. OMOJOFODUN ADEOLA RAPHAL LATE OF NO.18, BALE ST., AJEGUNLE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 16TH DAY OF JUNE, 2005 AT LAGOS. 32. AKINTOLA RISIKATU ADUKE LATE OF 26, IYALODE ST., AJEGUNLE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 6TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2009 AT LAGOS. 33. CLIFFORD OSSAI CHUKWUMA OTHERWISE KNOWN AS CLIFFORD O. CHUKWUMA & O.C. CHUKWUMA LATE OF 4, BODE ROAD AJAH, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 12TH DAY OF DEC., 2010.AT LAGOS. 34. ALHAJI YISA AREMU LIASU OTHERWISE KNOWN AS LIASU ISSA JIMOH AND ALH. ISSA LIASU AREMU LATE OF 16, WILLIOUGHBY ST., OFF PALM CHURCH ST., LAGOS. ISLAND WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 8TH DAY OF JULY, 2011 AT LAGOS. 35. OLAYINKA DOCAS ADELANI LATE OF 27, ISAAC SALOME ST., AGRIC, IKORODU, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 20TH DAY OF MARCH, 2007 AT LAGOS. 36. IREOBHUDE FELIX OTHERWISE KNOWN AS MR . FELIX IREOBHUDE LATE OF 9, MAZI ST., IBA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 11TH DAY OF MARCH, 2011 AT UROMI, EDO STATE. 37. ENEBECHI KENNETH OTHERWISE KNOWN AS ENEBECHI KEN AND CHIBUIKE LATE OF 45/47, LAWANI ST., IKORODU RD., LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 4TH DAY OF DEC., 2010 AT LAGOS. 38. MR. PHILIP CHUKA ODOGWU OTHERWISE KNOWN AS ODOGWU CHUKA PHILIP LATE OF D56, LANDBRIDGE AVENUE, ONIRU ESTATE, V/ISLAND, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 3RD DAY OF SEPT., 2011 AT LAGOS. 39. JIMOH AUDU LATE OF NO.1C, SMALL LONDON, SNAKE ISLAND APAPA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 15TH DAY OF MAY, 2011 AT LAGOS. 40. LATIFAT POPOOLA LATE OF 3, IDUNGHAGBE ST., IDUMOTA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 27TH DAY OF NOV., 2010 AT LAGOS. 41. MRS ELIZABETH FUNMILAYO FAMAKINWA OTHERWISE KNOWN AS FAMAKINWA FUNMILAYO LATE OF BLK. 5, FLAT 13, GAMES VILLAGE, SURULERE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 14TH DAY OF JUNE, 2010 AT LAGOS. 42. ABDUL RASAKI ADEYEMI ADELAJA OTHERWISE KNOWN AS MR YEMI ADELAJA LATE OF 23, OGINNI AV., SABO SHAGAMU, OGUN STATE WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 15TH DAY OF APRIL, 2011 AT LAGOS. 43. OCHIAGHA CHUKS SAMUEL LATE OF 26, AYODELE ST., IKATE, SURULERE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 22ND DAY OF SEPT.,, 2011 AT LAGOS. 44. AKIMI ALABI BELLO OTHERWISE KNOWN AS BELLO ALIMI ALABI LATE OF 8, ABIKOYI ST., MOSAFEJO, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 2ND SEPT., 2011 AT LAGOS. 45. MRS IJEOMA OBIGWE LATE OF 7, CHUCH ST., ILEJA, EBUTE METTA, L;AGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 23RD DAY OF MAY, 2011 AT LAGOS. 46. ABDUL KEHINDE HASSAN OTHERWISE KNOWN AS HASSAN KEHINDE ABDUL AND KEHINDE A. HASSAN LATE OF 18, OLUFESO ST., AGEGE, WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 7TH DAY OF APRIL, 2010 AT IFE. 47. MRS EMILY OYEDOKUN OTHERWISE KNOWN AS OYEDOKUN EMILY LATE OF 36/38, ROTIMI SIKIRU ST., EJIGBO, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 1ST DAY OF JUNE, 2011 AT LAGOS. 48. OLUBUNMI ANTHONY DESUOLA OTHERWISE KNOWN AS ANTHONY OLUBUNMI DESUOLA LATE OF 8, SEFIU DOSUNMU CLOSE, IPAJA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 8TH DAY OF MAYU, 2009 AT LAGOS. 49. MR EZIASHI JOHN AZUIKA OTHERWISE KNOWN AS EZIECHI JOHN LATE OF 21, OGO-OLUWA ST., BARIGA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 3RD DAY OF JUNE, 2011 AT LAGOS. 50. AKINWANDE LANRE ADEMOLA LATE OF 20, FEMI FAGBEMI ST., SHASHA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 25TH DAY OF JUNE, 2010 AT LAGOS 51. MR MICHAEL OLUMIDE MAGBAGBEOLA LATE OF BLK.4, FLAT 5, PROGRESSIVE ESTATE, APAPA ROAD, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 15TH DAY OF APRIL, 1994 AT LAGOS. 52. MR PIUS UNOGWU OTHERWISE KNOWN AS UNOGWU PIUS LATE OF 6, ADETORO JOHN ST., FADEYI, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 14TH DAY OF NOV., 2009 AT LAGOS. 53. ADAMSON ASHIATA OTHERWISE KNOWN AS ADAMSON ASHIATU LATE OF 23, OLALEYE ST., OKO-OBA RD.,AGEGE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 28TH DAY OF APRIL, 2011M AT LAGOS. 54. MRS BRIDGET IFEOMA EJEAGWU OTHERWISE KNOWN AS EJEAGUN BRIDGET IFEOMA LATE OF 13, MOSADOLUWA ST., OGBA IKEJA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 18TH DAY OF OCTOBER, 1998 AT LAGOS. 55. FALAKO AFOLABI POPOOLA LATE OF 29, LEKAN FAYODE ST., IJOKO, OGUN STATE WHO DIED INSTATE ON THE 7TH DAY OF JULY 2009 AT LAGOS. 56. AJANI RALIAT LATE OF 24, ODUDUWA ST., OWORONSHOKI, LAGOS WHO DIED INSTATE ON 16TH DAY OF NOV., 2007 AT LAGOS. 57. CHRISTOPHER NWANERI ANUGBU LATE OF 78, MUYIBI ST., OLODI APAPA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 13TH DAY OF APRIL, 2007 AT LAGOS. 58. PRINCE BABATUNDE ADEWUNMI DEPEGBA LATE OF 48, ADEDOSU ST., OFF AKILO RD., OGBA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 11TH DAY OF JULY, 2011 AT LAGOS. 59. DADA DAYO OTHERWISE KNOWN AS DAYO DADA LATE OF 20, SERIKI ST., BARIGA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 13TH DAY OF FEB., 2011 AT LAGOS. 60. DAVID ADIE LATE OF D.S.S. QUARTER BLK. 6, FLAT 1, IKOYI, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 6TH DAY OF FEB., 2008 AT LAGOS. 61. COL. WILLIAM AWODEIN LATE OF 37, WILLIAM AWODEIN DRIVE OKO-OBA, AGEGE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 8TH DAY OF JAN., 2009 AT LAGOS. 62. MR OLUFEMI ADEBISI MAJEKODUNMI LATE OF 8, AKANJI ST., IKATE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 10TH DAY OF JULY, 2010 AT LAGOS. 63. MR JOSHUA SUNDAY ADEBOSIN LATE OF 10, ADENIYI ST., AGBE, KOGI STATE WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 10TH DAY OF NOV., 2010 AT KOGI STATE. 64. NNEKA CORDELIA OKORIE OTHERWISE KNOWN AS NNEKA C. OKORIE AND MISS NNEKA OKORIE LATRE OF 13, BANBALA ST., AGO-OKOTA WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 2ND DAY OF OCT., 2010 AT LAGOS. 65. SHORUN SUNDAY LATE OF 2B, SUNDAY ADESINA ST., IJOKO, WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 15TH DAY OF DEC., 2010 AT LAGOS. 66. ELIAS OLABABA OLUWABIYE OTHERWISE KNOWN AS MR OLUWABIYE ELIAS LATE OF 5, OLAYINKA ST., OREMEJI, BARIGA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 9TH DAY OF SETPEMBER, 2008 AT LAGOS. 67. JOHN PRESTON WILTSHIRE OTHERWISE KNOWN AS WILTSHIRE JOHN LATE OF 8, BABS ANIMASHAUN ST., OFF BODE THOMAS, SURULERE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 22ND DAY OF JAN., 2011 AT LAGOS. 68. ADEWOLE GBENGA ADENIYI DINA LATE OF 27, FAJOBI ST., AGRIC, IKORODU, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 13TH DAY OF JULY, 2010 AT LAGOS. 69. MR. RAPH EMEKA AFAM-MORDI OTHERWISE KNOWN AS AFAM-MORDI RAPH EMEKA LATE OF 72, OBAYAN STREET, OFF COMMUNITY RD., AKOKA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 31ST DAY OF DEC., 2010 AT BENIN, EDO STATE. 70. OMOIKHUNU ADUKE OLUWAFUNMILAYO OTHERWISE KNOWN AS MRS ADUKE OLUFUNMILAYO OMOIKHUNU LATE OF 28, BAILEY ST., BARIGA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 6TH DAY OF SEPT., 2007 AT EKITI. 71. ALH. OLAWALE DANMOLA OTHERWISE KNOWN AS MONSURU OLAWALE DANMOLA LATE OF 61, AKOGUN ST., OLODI-APAPA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE 30TH DAY OF OCT., 2000 AT LAGOS. 72. AYODELE ODUSOGA M. OTHERWISE KNOWN AS AYODELE OSUSOGA MOJEED AND ODUSOGA AYODELE LATE OF 321 ROAD, D. CLOSE, HOUSE 11, FESTAC, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 22ND DAY OF AUGUST, 2008 AT LAGOS. 73. AJETUNMOBI BAMIDELE LATE OF 17, SAGAMU RD., IKORODU, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 28TH DAY OF MAY, 2011 AT IKORODU, LAGOS. 74. MISS VIVIAN ONUOHA AND ONUOHA VIVIAN LATE OF 21, OBALENDE RD., IKOYI, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 16TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2008 AT LAGOS. 75. ONYEBUCHI EDEH LATE OF 12, EMMA AKUAKA ESTATE, GOSPEL VILLAGE ISHASHI, LAGOS WHO DIEDM INTESTATE 10TH DAY OF JAN., 2011 AT BADAGRY, LAGOS. 76. MEGBU VICTOR UCHECHUKWU LATE OF NO.13, OLATUNJI ABIODUN ST., ODOGUNYAN, IKORODU WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 28TH DAY OF MAY, 2011 AT ASABA. 77. OSUNKIYESI OLAPADE AJILEYE OTHERWISE KNOWN AS CHIEF O.A. OSUN KIYESI, OLAPADE A. OSUNKIYESI AND CHIEF OSUNKIYESI OLAPADE AJILEYE LATE 22, LIASU RD., ILE-IWE B/STOP EGBE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 5TH DAY OF APRIL, 2011 AT IJEBU ODE, OGUN STATE. 78. ALHAJA OLOKODANA SIDIKAT O. OTHERWISE KNOWN AS OLOKODANA OLAYINKA LATE OF 14, APESIN ST., MUSHIN, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 5TH DAY OF OCT., 2010 AT LAGOS.

NAMES OF APPLICANT APPLYING FOR THE GRANT

1. MRS ADEJOKE ADESANYA, MR ADEDAPO ADESANYA AND MISS ADEDOLAPO ADESANYA ALL OF 9A, LILY DRIVE, M.K.O. ABIOLA GARDEN, ALAUSA IKEJA, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 2. MRS TITILAYO OLUBANDO AND KASSIM WILLIAMS OF 27, AMOSU ST., OGUDU G.R.A., LAGOS AND 24, HOSPITAL RD., THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 3. MRS CHRISTIANA ADETUTU SAMUEL AND MR OLATOKUNBO SAMUELOF 21 ROAD, M CLOSE, BLK. 4, FLAT 13, FESTAC TOWN AND 6, CHURCH ST., ALAPERE, IKEJA, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 4. MRS RUTH FUNMILAYO AYEDOGBA AND MISS OLUWAKEMI AYEDOGBA BOTH OF 21, ADEBIMPE ST., KOSOFE MILE 12, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 5. MRS CHINASA P. OKPARAUZOMA, MR BASIL O. OKPARAUZOMA AND MR. ANTHONY OKPARAUZOMA ALL OF 29, LASISI AKINWALE ST., COKER ORILE, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND BROTHERS RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 6. MRS JEMILAT OYEYINKA OGUNNOWO AND ENIOLA BABATUNDE OGUNNOWO BOTH OF 30, TAPA ST., ORILE IGANMU, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 7. HENRY AMAECHI AND MRS. EUNICE NWOWU OF 3, IROKU ST., AGO PALACE WAY, OKOTA AND 9, SEUN MAYEGUN ST., IJESHA, SURULERE, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND BROTHER-IN-LAW RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 8. MRS SUSSY O. KAYODE AND TOPE KAYODE BOTH OF 3A, YISA BRAIMOH ST., AGUDA, SURULERE, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND SISTER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 9. JOHN IGBEKELE IKUOMOLA AND EPHENUS SEMUDARA BOTH OF 31, CHURCH ST., IJORA, BARIGA, LAGOS THE ONLY SON AND BROTHER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 10. MRS GRACE OMANG AND MARY AGBO OMANG BOTH OF 12, COOPER ROAD, RAILAWAY COMPOUND, EBUTE METTA, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECASED. 11. ELIJAH BONIFACE AKPAN AND CHRISTIANA BONIFACE AKPAN BOTH OF 5, AYOOLA ST., NEW PARISH, BARIGA, LAGOS THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 12. MR. CHARLES OLUFEMI OKE AND MRS. CHRISTIANA OLUFUNKE SULE BOTH OF 3RD AVENUE, L. CLOSE, HOUSE 21, FESTAC TOWN, LAGOS THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 13. MRS ADEJOKE IDOWU AND MISS ANUOLUWAPO IDOWU BOTH OF MAXIMUM BARRACKS, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 14. MRS OMASAN AKINSANYA AND MR AGHOMATSE OFEORITSE EYESAN BOTH OF 6, ALEBIOSU ST., ALAPERE, KETU, LAGOS THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 15. MRS ATINUKE FOLARIN AND MR OLAWALE HAKEEM FOLARIN BOTH OF BLK. T6, FLAT 25, NAF BASE, IKEJA, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 16. MRS JACQLINE OWOSENI AND MR DELE OWOSENI BOTH OF 30, TENOLA ST., IJESHA, SURULERE, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 17. MRS. AYOOLA A. ERIBAKE AND MISS REBECCA ERIBAKE BOTH OF 40, ADEBAYO MAKUOLA ST., ANTHONY, LAGOS THE ONLY CHILD AND GRAND CHILD RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 18. MRS. MARIA OTSE, MR FRANCIS OTSE AND MRS MARY OTSE ALL OF 5TH AVENUE, 511 ROAD, BLK. 5, FLAT 16, FESTAC TOWN, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 19. TITILOPE TUGBOBO MRS. AND OLALEKAN TUGBOBO BOTH OF 42, LEWU AVENUE, OBALENDE, IJEBU ODE THE WIDOW AND BROTHER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 20. SOLOMON CHUKWUEMEKA ARACHIE AND SOLOMON IKENNA ARACHIE BOTH OF 5TH AV. I CLOSE, HOUSE 4, FESTAC TOWN, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 21. MUSILI ADEBAYO AND BISIKAT LAWAL BOTH OF 3, BOLOWOSERE ST., BARIGA, LAGOS THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 22. HAUWA GAMBO IBRAHIM AND HUSSENI ZAKARI OF 17, MAKURO ST., WUKARI TARABA STATE AND BLK.5, ROOM 9, BONNY CAMP V/ISLAND, LAGOS THE SISTER AND BROTHERRESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 23. NUHU MUHAMMED SUFYAN AND BELLO LUKMAN NUHU BOTH OF 4, OMOTOLA ST., IWAYA, YABA, LAGOS THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 24. MRS OLOYEDE FOLASHADE AND MISS OLOYEDE OKIKIOLA BOTH OF 22, IFESOWAPO CLOSE, SUBERU OJE, ALAGBADO, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND DAUGHTER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 25. OTAKOYA ADEGBENGA OLUMUYIWA AND OTAKOYA SAMUEL ADEWALE BOTH OF 39, IGBOBURO ST., IBEFUN, OGUN STATE THE ONE OF THE CHILDREN AND BROTHER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SIAD DECEASED. 26. IKENYEI THERESA AND UCHE IKENYEI BOTH OF 14, BODE SHODIYA ST., EJIGBO, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 27. MS FOLUKE MAKANJUOLA AND MS ONAOLOPA MAKANJUOLA BOTH OF 8, SIKIRU ALIMI ST., IJESHATEDO S/LERE, LAGOS THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 28. MRS AINA OMOWUNMI AND MR. SEGUN OJO OF 19, AGBEHIN ADUN ST., OSHODI AND 4, ALUKO ST., OGUNDELE OSHODIO, LAGOS THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED 29. MR MATHEW OLAYINKA AYANWOYE AND MR PETER OLATEJU AYANWOYE OF 9, PRINCE KAZEEM AJALA ST., IYESI ILOGBO, LAGOS AND 15, AFINJU OMO ST., MILE 12, LAGOS THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 30. TEMITOPE OLUWAYEMISI QUADRI AND TEMITAYO BANKOLE AJIDE BOTH OF 38, OLANREWAJU ST., OREGUN, IKEJA, LAGOS THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 31. MRS MERCY ADEOLA AND JOHN ADEOLA BOTH OF 18, BALE ST., AJEGUNLE, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 32. LAWAL WASIU BIOLA AKINTOLA A ND AKINTOLA RASAKI OF 26, IYALODE ST., AJEGUNLE, LAGOS AND 4, ADEYEMI LANE, AJEGUNLE, LAGOS THE BROTHERS OF THE SAID DECEASED. 33. MR NATHANIEL CHUKWUMA AND MRS. REBECCA CHUKWUMA BOTH OF 4, BODE ROAD AJAH, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 34. ALHAJA SIDIKAT LIASU, MR TAOFEEK LIASU AND MR SULAIMON LIASU ALL OF 16, WILLOUGHBY STREET, LAGOS ISLAND, THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 35. COMFORT FUNMILOLA IDOWU AND DAVID ADEKUNLE IDOWU BOTH OF 7, OGUNDARE AWISE LANE, GBAGDA, LAGOS THE SISTER AND BROTHER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 36. MRS HELENA IREOBHUDE, MR JONATHAN IREOBHUDE AND MR JUSTICE IREOBHUDE ALL OF 9, MAZI ST., IBA, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND BROTHERS RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 37. HYACINT ENEBECHI AND GABRIEL ENEBECHI OF 28, ADEWALE ST., ORILE, LAGOS AND 4, EZENIS LANE, OKPOKO ONITSHA THE BROTHERS OF THE SAID DECEASED. 38. MRS. JONE CHINYERE ODOGWU AND MR VICTOR OBINNA ODOGWU BOTH OF D56, LANDBRIDGE AV., ONIRU ESTATE, V/ ISLAND, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 39. USMAN AUDU AND ABDULAZEEZ AUDU BOTH OF NO.1C, SMALL LONDON, SNAKE ISLAND, APAPA, LAGOS THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 40. POPOOLA F. ADEDOYIN AND POPOOLA KUDIRAT BOTH OF 3, IDUSHEGBE ST., IDUMOTA, LAGOS THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 41. MR ISAAC M. FAMAKINWA AND M OLAYIWOLA A. FAMAKINWA BOTH OF BLK.5, FLAT 13, GAMES VILLAGE, SURULERE, LAGOS THE WIDOWER AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 42. MRS. FALILAT A. ADELAJA AND MR ISMAIL JIDE ADELAJA BOTH OF 23, OGINNI AVENUE, SABO SHAGAMU, OGUN STATE. THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 43. MRS NGOZI OCHIAGHA AND CHUKWUEMEKA O CHIAGHA BOTH OF 26, AYODELE ST., IKATE, SURULERE, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 44. FAUSAT I. BELLO, KAMAL BELLO AND KEHINDE BELLO ALL OF 8, ABIKOYI ST., MOSAFEJO, LAGOS THE THREE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 45. OBI IGWE AND OKEREKE OGUDU BOTH OPF 7, CHURCH ST., EBUTE METTA, LAGOS THE WIDOWER AND BROTHER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 46. BISIRIYU ADEMONI HASSAN AND TAIWO HASSAN BOTH OF 18, OLUFESO ST., AGEGE, LAGOS THE TWIN BROTHER AND YOUNGER BROTHER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 47. OLUWATOYIN R. OYEDOKUN AND OLALEKAN S. OYEDOKUN BOTH OF 36/38, ROTIMI ST., EJIGBO, LAGOS. THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 48. ARISTIDE MOBOLAJI AND MRS. ELIZABETH DESUOLA BOTH OF 8, SEFIU DOSUNMU CLOSE, IPAJA, LAGOS THE PARENTS OF THE SAID DECEASED. 49. MARTINS EZIESHI AND DANIEL EZIESHI OF 31, SADIKU ST., OSHODI AND 21, OGO-OLUWA ST., BARIGA, LAGOS THE ONE OF THE CHILDREN AND BROTHER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 50. MRS ADEKUNBI AKINWANDE AND BIMBO AKINWANDE BOTHJ OF 20, FEMI FAGBEMI ST., SHASHA, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND SISTER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 51. MR. BABATUNDE JENROLA MAGBAGBEOLA AND MR JOSEPH IDOWU MAGBAGBEOLA BOTH 3, MCNEIL RD.,YABA, LAGOS THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 52. MRS RUTH UNOGWU AND MRS BLESSING GIWA BOTH OF HOLY SPIRIT CATHOLIC CHURCH, ONIREKE, OJO, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND SISTER-IN-LAW RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 53. MRS. IYABODE ADAMSON AND MISS AYISAT BABSON ADAMSON BOTH OF 23, OLALEYE ST,. OKO-OBA RD., AGEGE, LAGOS THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 54. EMMANUEL CHIEMEKA EJEAGWU AND COLLINS OBINNA EJEAGWU BOTH OF 13, MOSADOLUWA ST., OGBA, IKEJA, LAGOS THE WIDOWER AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 55. MR. FALAKO JOSEPH SESAN AND MISS FALAKO BUSAYO BEMILEKUN OF 30, ADEBO ROAD, ADEOLA TOWN, LAGOS AND 29, LEKAN FAYIDE ST., IJOKO, OGUN STATE THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 56. MR WAIDI AJANI AND MR SHAKIRU AJANI BOTH OF 24, ODUDUWA ST., OWOROSHOKI, LAGOS THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 57. CALISTUS OTUOSOROCHI ANUGBU AND ROSANA ANUGBU BOTH OF 29, VICTORY ST., IBATEDO, LAGOS THE BROTHER AND SISTER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 58. MS EFUNTUNDE ADEPEGBA, MS ADEJUMOKE EKEOBA, MR ADEGBOYEGA ADEPEGBA AND ADEYANJU ADEPEGBA ALL OF 48, ADEDOSU ST., AKILO RD., LAGOS THE WIDOW AND THREE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 59. DADA OLALEKAN AND MRS DADA AGNESS BAMIGBE BOTH OF 20, SERIKI ST., BARIGA, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND SON RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 60. JOSEPH ADIE ANMD REGINA ADIE BOTH OF D.S.S. QUARTERS BLK. 6, FLAT 1, IKOYI, LAGOS THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 61. AWODEIN MICHAEL AYOOLA, AWODEIN NOBLE AKINOLA AND AWODEIN ALEX ABIOLA BOTH OF 37, WILLIAM AWODEIN DRIVE, AGEGE, LAGOS THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 62. MRS WINIFRED A. MAJEKODUNMI AND NMR CURTIS A. MAJEKODUNMI BOTH OF 8, AKANJI ST.,IKEJA, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 63. ADEBOSIN DAVID TOKUNBO, ADEBOSUN VICTORIA ADETUITU AND ADEBOSIN MARIA ALL OF 10, ADENIYI ST., EGBE, KOGI STATE THE WIDOWS AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 64. VICTOR I. OKORIE AND MISS GINIKACHUKWU OKORIE BOTH OF PLOT 1062, 6TH AV., FESTAC TOWN, LAGOS THE BROTHER AND SISTER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 65. MRS RUTH SHORUN AND SHORUN PETER BOTH OF 2B, SUNDAY ADESINA ST., IJOKO THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 66. OLAJIDE OLUWABIYE, OLUBUNMI OLUWABIYE AND IWAYEMI OLUWABIYE ALL OF 5, OLAYINKA ST., BARIGA, LAGOS THE THREE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. 67. MRS. LUCY E. WILTSHIRE, TOJU WILTSHIRE AND ALERO WILTSHIRE ALL OF 8, BABS ANIMASHAUN ST., OFF BODE THOMAS, SURULERE, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 68. ADEBOWALE DINA AND OLADELE DINA BOTH OF 27, FIJABI ST., AGRIC. IKORODU, LAGOS THE BROTHERS OF THE SAID DECEASED. 69. MRS MFOM I. MORDI AND MR ENOBONG N. ESSIEN OF 4TH AV. 401 ROAD, G CLOSE, BLK.5, FLAT 16, FESTAC TOWN, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND BROTHER-IN-LAW RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 70. ABIOLA HARUNA, OLUWAFUNKE OYINLADE AND OLUWAFEMI OLUKOTUN ALL OF 28, BAILEY ST., BARIGA, LAGOS THE MOTHER, BROTHER AND SISTER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 71. ALHAJA KAFILAT ABIMBOLA DANMOLA AND ALHAJA KAOSARAT FEYINTOLA AKABA BOTH OF 6, AKOGUN ST., OLODIAPAPA, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 72. AZEESAT O. ODUSOLA AND RAHEEM A. ODUSOLA BOTH OF 321 ROAD, D. CLOSE, HJOUSE 11, FESTAC TOWN, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 73. MR. ADEREMI OWOEYE AND MR OLORUNJUWOLO AKINUOYE BOTH OF 17, SAGAMU ROAD, IKORODU, LAGOS THE ELDER BROTHER AND IN-LAW RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 74. JUDE ONUOHA AND EMEKA ONUOHA BOTH OF 21, OBALENDE ROAD, IKOYI, LAGOS THE BROTHERS TO THE SAID DECEASED. 75. MR OGECHUKWU EDEH AND MR DANIEL EDEH BOTH OF 12, EMMA AKUAKA ESTATE ISHASHI, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND FATHER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 76. MR MEGBU ANTHONY AND MEGBU HENRY IKECHUKWU BOTH OF 13, OLATUNJI ABIODUN ST., ODOGUNYAN, IKORODU, LAGOS THE FATHER AND YOUNGER BROTHER RESPEC TIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 77. PROF. (MRS.) FOLAKE OLAYINKA HENSHAW AND MR ROTIMI WILLIAMS OLAOYE BOTH OF NO.2, ABIODUN AB IKE ST., BUCKNOR ESTATE, IFAKO IJAIYE, LAGOS THE ONE OF THE CHILDREN AND NEPHEW RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. 78. DR. JUNAID IKMAT OLANREWAJU AND MR. MUSTAPHA OLOKODANA BOTH OF 14, APESIN ST., MUSHIN, LAGOS THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED.

G.A SAFARI (MR.) PROBATE REGISTRAR

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

53

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

54

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE

NSE index drops 15.02 points

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 3-2-12 2ND-TIER SECURITIES Company Name LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 18 1 5 24

Quotation(N) 0.78 24.25 8.50

Quantity Traded Value 1,896,468 5,000 8,000,000 9,901,468

of Shares (N) 1,452,815.68 115,200.00 67,989,920.00 69,557,935.68

Quotation(N) 2.07 7.87

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 7,500 16,125.00 1,709,378 13,366,478.00 1,716,878 13,382,603.00

Quotation(N) 0.50 1.15

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 3,435,500 1,717,750.00 457,976 534,314.75 3,893,476 2,252,064.75

Quotation(N) 5.52 2.67 4.19 1.56 10.51 14.65 7.20 3.50 0.84 2.00 8.65 0.50 0.55 12.40

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 16,266,621 91,014,219.65 2,458,770 6,670,160.30 1,511,089 6,137,314.90 15,009,868 23,469,714.13 26,186,971 272,944,002.16 7,871,170 113,958,652.98 391,471 2,813,629.69 10,878,231 37,937,872.15 918,698 809,129.78 224,909,713 449,784,832.85 11,771 96,757.62 1,688,200 844,100.00 1,925,953 1,030,522.44 6,879,174 84,124,053.57 316,907,700 1,091,634,962.22

Quotation(N) 4.03 220.00 5.58 94.01

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 100 383.00 804,500 177,027,277.80 7,488,086 43,819,506.48 3,984,940 374,849,536.64 12,277,626 595,696,703.92

AIR SERVICES Company Name AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 116 117

AUTOMOBILE & TYRE Company Name DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC R. T. BRISCOE (NIGERIA) PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 22 25 BANKING

Company Name ACCESS BANK PLC DIAMOND BANK PLC FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC FIDELITY BANK PLC FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC GTBANK PLC STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC SKYE BANK PLC. STERLING BANK PLC UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC. UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC UNITYBANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC ZENITH BANK PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 111 50 27 92 619 347 24 92 23 212 7 10 29 205 1,848 BREWERIES

Company Name CHAMPION BREWERIES PLC GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 62 30 129 222

BUILDING MATERIALS Company Name ASHAKA CEMENT PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTHERN NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 27 17 18 17 79

Quotation(N) 10.50 4.90 115.96 45.17

Quantity Traded Value 281,431 312,453 684,357 88,755 1,366,996

of Shares (N) 2,957,088.17 1,503,550.41 79,282,355.23 4,024,105.52 87,767,099.33

Quotation(N) 9.30 14.50 1.02 0.50 4.86

Quantity Traded Value 7,525,518 193,191 6,000 1,826,000 1,000 9,551,709

of Shares (N) 63,617,236.74 2,808,676.46 6,070.00 913,000.00 4,620.00 67,349,603.20

T

HE Nigerian Stock Ex change (NSE) AllShare-Index on Friday closed the week with accumulative drop of 15.02 points, representing a reduction of 0.07 per cent.

The market opened on Monday in the south as bargain hunters swooped on the marginal gains, accrued in the last three trading sessions of the previous week.

On Tuesday, as the news of Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee MPC filtered into the market, indicators rallied up with ASI boosting weight by 0.70 per cent on. Wednesday, a development that saw another round of profit taking.

“Thursday through Friday witnessed uptrend as bargain positioning intensified on banking stocks as well as some consumer goods stocks that are expected to report their audited results soon.

Specifically, the banking

By Tonia Osundolire

sector was on the upbeat last week, as re-entries by participants resulted in gains for many stocks in the sector.

Diamond Bank was a sector favourite with a cumulative gain of 15.6 per cent at the close of the week, while Access Bank, First Bank and GTBank finished the week with cumulative gains of 7.2 per cent, 6.6 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively.

Unity Bank, Sterling Bank and UBA were however divergent to the trend, shedding 3.9 per cent, 7.7 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively at the close of the week.

Sentiments in the building materials sector were skewed to the sell side last week as Dangote Cement recorded a 3.4 per cent loss, while Ashaka Cement and CCNN lost 4.5 per cent and 6.5 per cent respectively.

CHEMICAL & PAINTS Company Name BERGER PAINTS NIGERIA PLC CHEMICAL AND ALLIED PRODUCTS PLC DN MEYER PLC PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFACTURES PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 13 16 2 4 1 36

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 3-2-12

COMMERCIAL/SERVICES Company Name RED STAR EXPRESS PLC TRANS NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 6 1 7

Quotation(N) 2.37 3.45

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 213,039 505,402.43 875 2,870.00 213,914 508,272.43

COMPUTER & OFFICE EQUIPMENT Company Name TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1

Quotation(N) 2.94

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 366 1,024.80 366 1,024.80

Quotation(N) 1.39 5.60 28.51 0.54 29.50 29.85

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 923,390 1,216,013.74 284,746 1,594,577.60 1,063,031 30,312,917.69 9,548,666 5,155,992.54 3,947,307 116,895,871.35 2,760,407 82,376,635.53 18,527,547 237,552,008.45

CONGLOMERATES Company Name A. G. LEVENTIS (NIGERIA) PLC JOHN HOLT PLC PZ CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC UAC OF NIGERIA PLC UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 12 2 31 49 82 52 228 CONSTRUCTION

Company Name JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC MULTIVERSE PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 29 1 30

Quotation(N) 29.11 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 286,507 8,493,050.50 1,950 975.00 288,457 8,494,025.50

ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY Company Name CUTIX PLC NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. Sector Totals

No of Deals 5 1 6

Quotation(N) 1.40 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 159,500 223,240.00 700 336.00 160,200 223,576.00

FOOD/BEVERAGES & TOBACCO Company Name 7-UP BOTTLING CO. PLC CADBURY NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIGERIA PLC HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NATIONAL SALT COMPANY NIGERIA PLC NESTLE NIGERIA PLC TANTALIZERS PLC UTC NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 8 68 43 65 40 26 21 72 2 2 347

Quotation(N) 46.00 9.14 4.90 4.80 61.00 3.15 3.98 440.00 0.50 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 5,546 244,301.30 1,279,174 11,777,728.02 2,602,998 12,896,545.01 3,765,829 18,517,411.82 147,752 8,932,359.50 3,132,057 9,586,351.78 1,249,265 4,844,095.00 116,295 52,305,317.84 10,500 5,250.00 46,500 23,250.00 12,355,916 119,132,610.27

HEALTHCARE Company Name EKOCORP PLC EVANS MEDICALPLC. FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXOSMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 2 9 10 16 38

Quotation(N) 5.05 0.67 0.79 22.70 2.90

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,076 5,164.80 3,644 2,332.16 191,120 152,364.80 134,170 3,019,120.50 193,048 577,168.44 523,058 3,756,150.70

Quotation(N) 1.42

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 251,000 356,420.00 251,000 356,420.00

HOTEL & TOURISM Company Name IKEJA HOTEL PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 9 9

INDUSTRIAL/DOMESTIC PRODUCTS Company Name ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION INDUSTRIES PLC B. O. C. GASES NIGERIA PLC VITAFOAM NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 6 40 49

Quotation(N) 11.15 6.75 3.15

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 10,003 110,033.00 54,087 355,365.37 2,066,021 6,531,306.30 2,130,111 6,996,704.67

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY Company Name CHAMS PLC e-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC IHS NIGERIA PLC STARCOMMS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 1 1 7 11

Quotation(N) 0.50 4.94 2.59 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,020 510.00 1,000 4,700.00 40,000 103,600.00 601,000 300,500.00 643,020 409,310.00

Quotation(N) 0.51 0.69 1.73 0.50 0.64

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 747,913 381,348.35 1,150,000 793,500.00 3,341,700 5,932,353.40 6,282 3,141.00 7,000,000 4,450,000.00

INSURANCE Company Name AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INSURANCE PLC EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC

No of Deals 19 16 38 3 6

Lafarge Wapco however rallied marginally.

The food and beverages sector also recorded more losses than gains last week, though growing demand for Nestle, coupled with a relative illiquidity, led to a 2.3 per cent gain for the stock. Flour Mills also recorded a 1.5 per cent gain, while Dangote Sugar, Dangote Flour and Cadbury caved in to supply pressure, subsequently losing 3.2 per cent, 3.5 per cent and 13.1 per cent respectively.

However the market did not respond positively to the stability in the MPR as it was checkmated by the on-going underlining fundamental issues.

Other market indices reflected mixed activities.

NSE-30 Index gained 6.12 points, representing 0.7 per cent to close at 942.24. NSE Consumer Good Index and NSE Bank Index appreciated by 0.02 per cent and 4.5 per cent to close at 1,676.71 and 283.45 points respectively.

However, NSE Insurance Index and NSE Oil & Gas Index closed with a lost in value of 4.7 per cent and 5.5 per cent respectively.

GUARANTY TRUST ASSURANCE PLC 4 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 2 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 2 LAW UNION AND ROCK INSURANCE PLC. 1 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC 1 N.E.M. INSURANCE CO. (NIG.) PLC. 11 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 1 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC. 6 REGENCY ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 2 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 2 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 1 INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 9 Sector Totals 124

1.26 0.50 0.50 0.51 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.88 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

160,000 13,666 3,117,356 100,000 1,000,000 2,409,600 250 292,745 419,909 2,000 38,000 603,194 20,402,615

201,600.00 6,833.00 1,558,678.00 51,000.00 500,000.00 1,215,000.00 125.00 255,905.80 209,954.50 1,000.00 19,000.00 301,597.00 15,881,036.05

Quotation(N) 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 121,000 60,500.00 121,000 60,500.00

Quotation(N) 0.82

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,786,597 2,310,702.70 2,786,597 2,310,702.70

Quotation(N) 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 9,000 4,500.00 9,000 4,500.00

LEASING Company Name C&I LEASING PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 3 MARITIME

Company Name JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 52 52

Company Name DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 4 4

MEDIA

MORTGAGE COMPANIES Company Name ASO SAVINGS AND LOAND PLC RESORT SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1 2

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 60,000 30,000.00 5,000 2,500.00 65,000 32,500.00

OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Company Name CRUSADER NIGERIA PLC. NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1 1 3

Quotation(N) 0.50 1.12 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 50,000 25,000.00 800 856.00 12,501 6,250.50 63,301 32,106.50

Quotation(N) 1.74

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,799,564 4,770,981.70 2,799,564 4,770,981.70

PACKAGING Company Name NIGERIAN BAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 43 43

PETROLEUM(MARKETING) Company Name MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC CONOIL PLC ETERNA OIL & GAS PLC. FORTE OIL PLC MOBIL OIL NIGERIA PLC. OANDO PLC TOTAL NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 12 18 7 15 19 307 11 389

Quotation(N) 48.07 28.00 2.70 12.18 133.00 17.10 190.00

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 160,189 7,700,285.23 26,918 716,018.80 26,200 69,928.50 24,675 285,736.50 53,328 7,075,932.25 6,655,840 110,736,296.99 6,656 1,201,461.50 6,953,806 127,785,659.77

PRINTING & PUBLISHING Company Name ACADEMY PRESS PLC. LEARN AFRICA PLC UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 4 5 11

Quotation(N) 2.09 2.95 3.09

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,000 1,990.00 44,625 137,891.25 132,000 410,550.00 177,625 550,431.25

Quotation(N) 12.60

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 421,550.64 34,612 34,612 421,550.64

REAL ESTATE Company Name UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 7 7

ROAD TRANSPORTATION Company Name ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 4 4

Quotation(N) 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 30,404 15,780.08 30,404 15,780.08

THE FOREIGN LISTINGS Company Name ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED Sector Totals Overall Totals

No of Deals 35 35

Quotation(N) 10.47

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,235,585 12,892,694.28 1,235,585 12,892,694.28

3,754

425,388,551

2,469,829,517.89

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

55

MONEY LINK

Analysts predict less fiscal tightening in 2012

A

FRINVEST West Africa, an investment and research firm has predicted less aggressive fiscal tightening measures in 2012.

The research firm said in Economic Report for January that it expects the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) banking reforms to be concluded this year, to enhance lending to real sector of the economy.

It said the Nigerian political environment and broader macroeconomic outlook seem to have stabilised since the widely accepted elections of April 2011. But while government continued to make steady progress in reforms to the banking, power and oil and gas sectors, 2011 saw a fundamental shift in public criticisms of government’s fiscal spend.

“We believe this is a positive development and could go a long way in redirecting the allocation of economic resources with greater attention to probity, as well as a more responsive stance on Nigeria’s appalling social and economic infrastructure,” it said.

Afrinvest said it estimates a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of between seven per cent and 7.5 per cent for the economy in 2012 with increased contribution from the non-oil sector especially agriculture, telecoms and financial services. It also forecasts improvement

Stories by Collins Nweze

in power supply on account of ongoing reforms in the power sector even as expected increase in collaborations with international organizations should help in addressing growing security threats.

Based on unfolding realities in Nigeria’s macroeconomic backdrop, as well as anticipated global eco-

nomic conditions, the firm recommended a focus in 2012 on fundamentally strong companies, with strong cash generating capacity and strong management teams. It is also favourably disposed to sectors that are positively exposed to emerging opportunities in the Nigerian reforms agenda and infrastructural spend going forward.

Accordingly, it said banks have seen significant drops in their share prices since the commencement of the banking reforms over three years ago.

As investors continued to shy away from banking counters in 2011, with significant sell-offs in key names, the sector recorded the second worst annual price perfor-

mance in 2011, shedding 32.9 per cent with Diamond Bank leading the underperformers’ chat.

It said that from the perspective of the CBN’s sanitisation efforts and their impact on the health of the banking sector, perhaps the most value accretive move in 2011 was the completion of mergers and acquisitions which effectively signalled a lasting resolution of the crisis.

Sterling Bank supports cash-less policy with e-products

S

TERLING Bank Plc is offering its electronic products and pay ment solutions to help customers achieve full compliance with the cash-less policy.

In a statement, the bank said the convenience, security and efficiency of its e-channel products and services would ease any initial policy constraint and ensure that customers have seamless compliance with the new policy.

According to the bank, with electronic payment solutions and products such as Sterling Point of Sale (POS), Sterling Naira Visa Card, Sterling Mobile, Sterling Verve Card, Internet banking, Sterling Webpay and others, customers would be able to carry out basic banking transactions electronically in the comfort of their homes, offices and anywhere using the various e-channels.

According to the bank’s Group Head of e-business, Fatai Amoo, all Sterling Bank’s electronic products and services are structured to enable customers to continue their normal transactions and operations without contravening the new policy.

The Point of Sale (POS), according to him, allows local and international cardholders to pay for goods and services in a retail environment, pointing out that POS provides a convenient, modern and efficient means of processing real time transactions.

The bank said it would provide the POS free of charge to viable applicants, who will pay standard industry transaction processing fee. “Sterling naira Visa Card is a globally accepted payment card that is directly linked to the customer’s naira denominated current or savings account. It enables customers pay for

goods and services anywhere in the world at any Visa Acceptance location. Sterling Verve card is a debit card linked to current and/or savings account,” he said.

The bank said its internet banking platform-Sterling Net, allow, customers to access their accounts online real time and also carry out instant transfers to beneficiaries in a lot of banks in Nigeria as well as do some other basic functions including balance inquiry, statement of account, funds transfer between different accounts of the customer, funds transfer to third party beneficiaries within the bank and funds transfer beneficiaries in banks within Nigeria.

According to him, customers can also use Sterling Mobile to transfer funds to beneficiaries in a lot of

banks in Nigeria as well as do a lot of other transactions using their mobile phones.

The bank revealed that Sterling Webpay, a customised web solution designed to meet the business requirements of a given organisation, provides a secured payment platform that allows customers to effect payment for goods and services using their debit, credit and preloaded cards.

Also, SterlingPay, a web-based corporate multi-channel payment solution, allows corporate clients to make payments to staff, contractors, vendors, suppliers and third parties through secure electronic highways.

SterlingPay accepts schedules in various formats and credits the ultimate beneficiary in any bank in the country.

FirstBank, GTBank, Zenith, UBA rated top brands

F

IRSTBANK of Nigeria, Guar anty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA) have been rated the top four brands in the country. The ranking, done by Brand Finance, London, United Kingdom in its current Top 500 World Bank Brands Ranking is published in the February edition of The Banker Magazine.

According to a release by the Country Representative – Nigeria,

The Banker, Mr Kunle Ogedengbe, the publication that carried out the ranking in association with Brand Finance, First Bank came top amongst the Nigerian banks and was joined in the ranking by Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank and United Bank for Africa. Apart from the four, no other Nigerian bank made the ranking.

Brand Finance Plc is the world’s leading brand valuation

consultancy with support for business needs in different areas including technical valuations for accounting, tax and legal purposes, valuations in support of commercial transactions such as acquisitions, divestments, licensing and joint ventures involving different forms of intellectual property among others.

According to the Top 500 Bank Brands report, though there are nu-

merous ways of calculating brand value, Brand Finance uses methods recognised by courts and tax authorities. The valuations of the brand take into account data on the whole financial group and brandspecific financial data.

These are however, broken down into different streams such as product lines and geographical locations.

Brand Finance uses a royalty relief method that values the brand based on what would be paid to use the brand if it were owned by a third party. First Bank has the highest brand value in Nigeria at $170 million and is closely followed by Guaranty Trust Bank with $169 million. Zenith Bank has a brand value of $147 million with United Bank for Africa having a brand value of $121 million.

DATA BANK Tenor

Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year 5-Year

35m 35m 35m

11.039 12.23 13.19

19-05-2014 18-05-2016 19-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount

MANAGED FUNDS

NIDF NESF

Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

INTERBANK RATES OBB Rate Call Rate

7.9-10% 10-11%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day 1-Year

Amount 30m 46.7m 50m

Rate % 10.96 9.62 12.34

Date 28-04-2011 “ 14-04-2011

GAINERS AS AT 3-2-12 SYMBOL OANDO BERGER AGLEVENT CUTIX GUARANTY NAHCO CCNN BAGCO DIAMONDBNK AIICO

O/PRICE 16.30 8.87 1.33 1.34 14.10 7.60 4.75 1.70 2.61 0.50

C/PRI CE 17.10 9.30 1.39 1.40 14.65 7.87 4.90 1.74 2.67 0.51

CHANGE 0.80 0.43 0.06 0.06 0.55 0.27 0.15 0.04 0.06 0.01

LOSER AS AT 3-2-12 SYMBOL CADBURY CHEVRON CUSTODYINS JOHNHOLT UPL VITAFOAM REDSTAREX INTBREW CAP IKEJAHOTEL

O/PRICE 9.62 50.59 1.82 5.89 3.25 3.31 2.49 5.86 15.22 1.49

C/PRICE 9.14 48.07 1.73 5.60 3.09 3.15 2.37 5.58 14.50 1.42

Amount

Offered ($) Demanded ($)

Amount

Exchange

Sold ($)

Rate (N)

Date

450m

452.7m

450m

150.8

08-8-11

250m

313.5m

250m

150.8

03-8-11

400m

443m

400m

150.7

01-8-11

EXHANGE RATE 26-08-11 CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Currency

Year Start Offer

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

NGN USD

147.6000

149.7100

150.7100

-2.11

NGN GBP

239.4810

244.0123

245.6422

-2.57

NGN EUR

212.4997

207.9023

209.2910

-1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

Bureau de Change 152.0000 (S/N)

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

Parallel Market

154.0000

156.0000

-1.96

NSE CAP Index

NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N)

27-10-11 N6.5236tr 20,607.37

28-10-11 N6.617tr 20,903.16

% Change -1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

(S/N)

153.0000

DISCOUNT WINDOW Feb. ’11

July ’11

Aug ’11

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

8.75%

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% 9.4%

Offer Price

Bid Price

9.17 1.00 121.47 98.43 0.76 1.04 0.88 1,642.73 8.24 1.39 1.87 7,329.39 193.00

9.08 1.00 121.33 97.65 0.73 1.04 0.87 1,635.25 7.84 1.33 1.80 7,142.17 191.08

ARM AGGRESSIVE KAKAWA GUARANTEED STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND THE LOTUS CAPITAL HALAL BGL SAPPHIRE FUND BGL NUBIAN FUND NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL DEB. PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CENTRE-POINT UNIT TRUST STANBIC IBTC NIG EQUITY THE DISCOVERY FUND • ARM AGGRESSIVE • KAKAWA GUARANTEED

CHANGE 0.48 2.52 0.09 0.29 0.16 0.16 0.12 0.28 0.72 0.07

• STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE • AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days 150 Days

Rate (Previous) 24 Aug, 2011 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917 12.1250

Rate (Currency) 26, Aug, 2011 10.17% 11.46% 11.96% 12.54%

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK Previous

Current

04 July, 2011

07, Aug, 2011

Bank

8.5000

8.5000

P/Court

8.0833

8.0833

Movement

56

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

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SPORT EXTRA AHEAD OF NIGERIA/LIBERIA FRIENDLY

Ibenegbu, Anubi excited to be back

Keshi leads Eagles’ training today I • Agbim, Salami, 23 others hit camp S UPER Eagles’ camp at the Bolton White Apartments in Zone 7, Abuja came alive Monday afternoon with at least 21 players in camp as at 5pm and the nine others being expected, team coordinator, Emmanuel Atta revealed.

Head Coach, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, who spoke through one of his assistants Ike Shorunmu, revealed that training was not

held on Monday evening because most of the players who came on the morning of the day were fagged out through jet-leg and transport hassles,

No security fears, Akinsola assures

C

HIEF Security Officer of the national team Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Gideon Akinsola said on resumption of the team’s camping in Abuja on Monday, that there was no security threat to the team from any quar-

ter.

Akinsola insisted that football as a unifying factor in the country does not have room for sectional, religious or political bias, hence he does not foresee any security threat.

Despite that, he declared that security around the team is

AHEAD OF LONDON 2012

Akinyemi claims African men's K1 spot

T

HE 2012 African Slalom Championships concluded on Saturday with one of the biggest upsets yet in the race for paddlers to qualify for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Beijing 2008 bronze medallist Benjamin Boukpeti had to settle for second best in Bethlehem, South Africa after failing to secure the first place finish required to qualify for the London Games.

The Togolese, who was unsuccessful in his attempt to qualify for the Games through the World Championships in Bratislava last year, was outperformed by ICF Talent Identification Programme’s newest protégé Johnathan Akinyemi of Nigeria. Akinyemi took first

place, retained his African Slalom Men’s K1 Champion title, and secured the all-important Olympic quota place!

In the other decisive category, Jihane Samlal (MAR) dominated the Women’s K1 event and convincingly won the gold medal to also secure the Olympic quota place.

Debra Merembe (UGA) and Grace Maina (KEN) won the silver and bronze medals respectively.

The Championships were the final opportunity for paddlers from Africa to qualify for the Olympic Games. The next Olympic Games qualifier will be the 2012 Oceania Canoe Slalom Continental Championships in Penrith, Australia which takes place from 24-26 February.

London on schedule to welcome top African athletes

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HE Chairman of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, Lord Sebastian Coe, on Monday met students participating in a London 2012 Games global sports development programme in Tanzania, while on a visit to Africa in the countdown to the Games later this year.

Accompanied by Tanzania’s legendary running great, Filbert Bayi, Coe visited the Kibafila Secondary School, near Tanzania’s National Sports Stadium, in the capital, Dar es Salaam, and participated with school students and young leaders in a series of sports displays.

The sports displays and routines are part of the London 2012 International Inspiration global sports development programme.

There are nine countries in Africa involved with the International Inspiration programme – Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, South Africa, Ghana - more than any other continent.

Coe said the commitment shown by Africa’s National Olympic and Paralympic Committees, schools, governments and partners, including the British Council,

helped to demonstrate the important benefits of sport in local communities and in children’s lives.

“International Inspiration goes to the heart of the London 2012 Games, and our determination to use the Games as a catalyst for change in people’s lives as well in communities, as we promised in our Bid,” Seb Coe said.

“There are many examples from the International Inspiration programme of how sport, and physical activity, and getting together to practise it, can be the way for young people to build bridges with the communities where they live and beyond,” according to Coe. “ It can be anything from linking with others to have a common purpose and build friendships, or boosting selfesteem by achieving modest and quiet personal bests, or the opportunity to train and be coached and to achieve sporting success.”

London 2012’s International Inspiration programme has now reached more than 12 million children and young people around the world, and is based on London’s vision to use the reach of the Games and Olympic and Paralympic movements to connect more young people with sport.

water-tight as nothing is being taken for granted.

The ACP praised the matured disposition of the officials led by Head Coach Stephen Keshi, noting that it has made the job of the security team detailed to the squad a lot easier.

“Every Nigerian is interested in this team and its fortunes and we don’t envisage any threat to the players and officials, but we still take necessary steps to ensure that all is well with the team securitywise,” he said.

and needed to rest for proper training to commence this morning at the National Stadium in Abuja.

Keshi is expected to lead the usually rigorous training, as the team steadies for the friendly against Liberia in eight days’ time and the allimportant Nations Cup qualifier against Rwanda in Kigali on February 29.

Below is the list of players in camp as at press time: Chigozie Agbim, Azubuike Egwueke, Sunday Mba, Anubi Kolawole, Ejike Ozoenyi, Bathlomew Ibenegbu, Okemute Odah, Juwon Oshaniwa, Ossai Uche, Gbenga Arokoyo, Oboabona Godfrey, Uche Oguchi, Kabir Umar, Kalu Uche, Henry Uche, Barnabas Imenger, Daniel Akpeyi, Kingsley Salami, Chidi Osuchukwu, Daniel Essien, Jude Aneke.

T was back-slapping, smiles and shouts of pet names among players as the national team camp came to life on Monday in Abuja.

One noticeable trend in the manner the players arrived was that players from the same clubside came in together. That was why Warri Wolves’ Chigozie Agbim and Azubuike Egwueke, who incidentally share the same room, came in together with their other team mates. It was so with all the other stars in the team.

Bathlomew Ibenegbu alias Mosquito, who was one of the earliest arrivals in camp, said it was simply exciting to be back. “We are benefiting a lot from the national team handlers, though our coaches at club level are also very good, but we keep learning.”

Kola Anubi spoke in the same vein, as he beamed with smiles while review-

• Agbim

ing his absence from camp in the last two weeks. “Bros, I must say its good to be back, we are like a family here, one father, one mother, victory is the goal all the time.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

62

FOREIGN Obama pleads for second term UNITED States President Barack Obama has insisted he deserves another term in the White House and today revealed he’s learned a lot about how to be president since he took office four years ago.

Obama told NBC that he does ‘deserve a second term - but we’re not done’ and added that one of the toughest parts of the job is seeing his wife dragged into the political realm.

He will ‘keep on plodding away’ and said many Americans are only frustrated with his performance because he hasn’t been able to ‘force Congress to implement every aspect of what I said in 2008’.

President Obama was asked by NBC’s Today show host Matt Lauer about how he felt when Michelle Obama told CBS last month that she has been inaccurately portrayed as an ‘angry black woman’.

He said his wife is a great First Lady, Americans have a good impression of her and she is ready for another four years in the White House - despite initial reservations about coming to Washington.

names US closes embassy, pulls diplomats Egypt 19 Americans facing trial T from Syria E •UK recalls ambassador

HE United States closed its embassy in Damascus yesterday citing security concerns, while Britain summoned its ambassador to London to discuss Syria’s increasingly violent crackdown on antigovernment demonstrators.

“This is an utterly unacceptable situation which demands a united international response,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague told his country’s parliament.

In an emergency session, the United Nations Security Council failed to approve a resolution calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step aside, following the deadliest one-day crackdown in Syria’s 11-month uprising.

On Saturday, Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria that had been strongly supported by West-

to Syria for consultations

ern countries and the Arab League.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton denounced the vetoes as a “travesty.”

Yesterday, the United States closed the embassy here, and its Ambassador Robert S. Ford and all diplomats and American citizens associated with the embassy left the country. The State Department issued a travel warning recommending that all US citizens in Syria “depart immediately.” It said the Polish Embassy now “serves as protecting power for U.S. interests” in Syria.

Britain has recalled its am-

bassador from Syria for consultations on the escalating violence in the country, Foreign Secretary William Hague said yesterday. The decision was announced after the United States said it has closed its embassy in Damascus and pulled all American diplomats out of Syria.

Hague told lawmakers that Britain is using multiple channels to express its “abhorrence” at the violent crackdown on dissent by President Bashar Assad’s regime, and has summoned Syria’s ambassador to the Foreign Office to convey that message.

“This is a doomed regime

as well as a murdering regime,” Hague said. “There is no way it can recover its credibility internationally.”

The Assad regime’s crackdown on anti-government protesters has left thousands dead over the past year.

Hague slammed the decision by Russia and China to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at stemming the bloodshed, but said Britain will continue working to bring an end to the “utterly unacceptable” situation.

Outlining steps forward, Hague said the UK will continue its strong support of the Arab League and seek to widen the coalition of nations seeking a lasting and peaceful resolution in Syria.

Britain also will intensity its contact with members of the Syrian opposition, Hague said.

Obama’s grandma injured

P

Queen Elizabeth celebrates 60 on throne SIXTY years ago, a 25-yearold woman visiting a remote part of Kenya got a message that her father had died.

She cut her trip short and flew home to London.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill met her at the airport — because with her father dead, she had become Queen Elizabeth II. Celebrations of her Diamond Jubilee, marking six decades on the throne, officially begin Monday and continue through June, when London will mark the anniversary of her coronation with festivities including up to 1,000 boats sailing up the River Thames.

Romanian PM resigns AFTER weeks of protests, Romania’s Prime Minister resigned yesterday, the latest European leader to fall victim to a mood of public outrage over austerity measures and stagnant growth.

Thousands of Romanians took to the streets across the country last month to protest austerity measures. The Prime Minister, Emil Boc, said Monday that he was stepping down because “it is important to have stability.”

The President, Traian Basescu, has proposed that the justice minister, Catalin Predoiu, take the reins for now. Mr. Basescu was scheduled to meet with leaders from the main political parties Monday evening to discuss a longer-term successor.

Parliamentary elections were already scheduled for later this year, by law no later than November, and the government had fallen below 20 percent approval rating in recent opinion surveys.

GYPT has released the names of 19 Americans who face trial over activities of their nonprofit groups in Egypt, a case that has soured United StatesEgypt relations.

One of the 19 is the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Sam LaHood, director of the International Republican Institute, and five other Americans are in Egypt. The others have left, according to a statement from the Egyptian prosecutor’s office.

Among the Americans indicted by the Egyptian public prosecutor over alleged illegal activities by their pro-democracy groups are: Patrick Butler, vice president, and Natasha Tynes, Program Director of the International Center for Journalists; Charles Dunne, director of Middle East and North Africa programs at Freedom House; and Julie Hughes, director of the National Democratic Institute.

•Palestinian President Abbas (left) shakes hands with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal (right) as the Emir of Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani looks on after signing an agreement in Qatar...yesterday

Palestinian factions reach reconciliation deal

T

HE main Palestinian political rivals yesterday took a major step toward healing their bitter rift, agreeing that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would head an interim unity government to prepare for general elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Abbas and Khaled Mashaal, head of the Islamic militant Hamas, said they would move forward without delay, though it appears unlikely elections can be held in May, as initially envisioned.

•Abbas heads interim govt Yesterday’s agreement, brokered by Qatar, seemed to bring reconciliation within reach for the first time since the rivals established separate governments, following Hamas’ violent takeover of Gaza in 2007. Previous deals have collapsed amid deep suspicions and intervention by the sides’ rival foreign patrons. Abbas is backed by the West while Hamas has been supported by Iran.

Israel’s prime minister

said today it will be impossible to hold peace talks if the Palestinians go through with the reconciliation deal.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Abbas has chosen to “abandon the way of peace” by reaching a power-sharing deal with Hamas. Israel considers Hamas a terrorist group.

In a statement Monday, Netanyahu said: “It is either peace with Hamas or peace with Israel. You can’t have them both.”

Israel and the Palestinians last month held their first peace talks in more than a year. Without any breakthroughs, Abbas has not decided whether to continue those talks.

Abbas and Mashaal had reached a reconciliation deal last year, but disagreement over who was to head an interim government had delayed implementation.

Hamas strongly opposed Abbas’ choice of Salam Fayyad, the head of his Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

France impounds African autocrats’ ‘ill-gotten gains’

‘F

RENCH authorities are investigating the conspicuous Paris fortunes of three serving African leaders and their families Eleven supercars worth up to •5m have been seized from outside an African leader’s Paris mansion as part of money-laundering investigations.

At 42 Avenue Foch, the tree-lined boulevard that is one of Paris’s most expensive streets, looms a five-storey private mansion complete with disco, spa room,

hair salon, gold- and jewelencrusted taps, lift, pastel pink dining room and a breathtaking balcony-view of the Arc de Triomphe.

Local people always knew when there was about to be a visit from its 41-year-old “playboy” resident, Teodorin Obiang, eldest son of the autocratic president of Equatorial Guinea. Days before Obiang Jr’s private jet touched down, two massive lorries would pull up outside and disgorge a sea of fresh flowers to dress the interior of the mansion.

When Obiang was in resi-

dence, passersby would see a parade of couturiers from Paris’s top design houses, including Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, Louis Vuitton, waiting to be admitted for fittings before returning with vanloads of made-to-measure clothes.

Crates of the most expensive burgundy were another regular delivery.

On one occasion 15,000 DVDs were hauled in on wooden pallets – roughly 41 years worth of viewing.

But the most public statement of opulence was the fleet of luxury, turbocharged, yellow, red and

blue sports cars, parked in garages or in the cobbled courtyard.

“The noise-factor was extreme,” one local said. “He seemed obsessed with security so when he wanted to go out between midnight and 2am, he’d order the chauffeur to warm up four cars so no one knew which he’d take. Can you imagine the noise of Ferraris, Porsches and Maseratis all running at once? Then he’d come down and decide to take a fifth car and that would have to be started.”

RESIDENT Obama’s 91-year-old stepgrandmother suffered bruises and shock after a car she was traveling in rolled over, a relative and a hospital official said yesterday.

The relative said Sarah Obama was traveling to her home in the village of Kogelo, in western Kenya, when the accident happened Saturday night.

He said the vehicle lost control and rolled as the driver attempted to overtake a truck near the Kisumu airport. The relative asked not to be named because he is not authorised to speak for the family.

Najim Mawji, the chief operating officer of the Agha Khan hospital in Kisumu, said doctors discharged her Saturday night after she had gone through several tests.

Mawji said she coped well with the shock that came from the accident.

Volcanic explosion in Cameroon

C

AMEROON state radio says that Mount Cameroon, a volcano in the country’s southwest region, sent ashes and flames into the air in a brief explosion.

It was reported yesterday that a violent explosion Friday lasted a couple of seconds and lightly injured two among the porters and guides on the mountain.

Mountain guide Peter Buma Linonge told state radio there were explosions, then flames burst into the air followed by ash.

Joseph Mokake, a resident of Buea, the town situated at the foot of the mountain, told The Associated Press there were tremors on Tuesday and Wednesday. He said he moved to a nearby town for safety.

Residents say explosions and tremors serve as a precursor to a possible eruption.

Measuring just over 13,420 feet (4,090 meters) high, Mount Cameroon is an active volcano and the highest peak in West Africa.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012

63

NEWS

Senate raises 47-man panel on creation of more states •Lanlehin assures on Ibadan state

T

HE Senate has raised a 47-man committee to examine the viability of creating additional states and other issues related to the matter, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin said yesterday.

The senator, who is representing Oyo South, said the security challenges Nigeria is facing would not deter the National Assembly from creating additional states.

The lawmaker said contrary to the fear that the Senate might not be favourably disposed to create more states, the Upper Chamber has put machinery in motion for additional states.

Lanlehin told The Nation at his home in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, that the Senate raised the committee to show that it is serious.

According to him, each state

From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

is represented on the committee by a senator.

He said: “I’m representing Oyo State in that committee and some other zonal interests are taken care of.”

The committee, he said, would examine the Constitution and see how best Nigeria could amend it to reflect the yearnings, aspirations and wishes of the people.

Lanlehin said: “One of the yearnings and key aspirations of our people is the creation of more states, because most of the states were created by the military and many of them did not meet the reasonable and independent criteria for state creation. They were created through the whims and caprices of those

in power at that time.

“But this time, there is the intention to follow the laid down provisions of the Constitution in the creation of new states and, to that extent, there are some states that must be created.”

The Action Congress (ACN) lawmaker gave the example of Ibadan, saying it is viable enough to be carved out of the present Oyo State.

“Look at the Ibadan, for instance. Of all the regional capitals, Kaduna, Enugu, even Benin of Mid-West, they have been created into states. We have Enugu State, created out of the capital of Enugu of the Eastern Region; Kaduna State, created from Kaduna the capital of the Northern Region; Edo State, created from Benin of the Mid-Western Region.”

B

ARELY three weeks after multiple bomb explosions in Kano, a stock-taking by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has shown that many victims at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital require artificial limbs.

One of them is the head of Nigeria Police Anti-Bomb Squad for Kano and Jigawa states, Mr. William Ilobor.

Director-General of NEMA Mr. Muhammed Sani-Sidi yesterday said the agency would foot the medical bill of the victims.

Spokesman of NEMA, Alhaji Yushau Shuaib, released the details of the assessment in a statement last night.

The statement reads: “After last week’s assessment on the victims of the January 20 coordinated bomb blasts in Kano, who are currently receiving treatment in some hospitals, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has provided drugs, medical consumables and re-

Artificial limbs for Kano bombings’ victims From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

lief materials to the hospitals, just as it discovered that some patients require artificial limbs.

“Some of the victims inspected during the assessment included a leader of AntiBomb Squad for Kano and Jigawa State who lost his hand, young children, women and the aged with different degrees of burns and bulletwounds from the Kano attack.

“The Director General of NEMA, Muhammad SaniSidi, who led a team from Abuja for the assessment as well as distribution of items this weekend on behalf of the Federal Government, said the expenses of the victims would be borne by the government.

“Sani-Sidi said the items were approved based on an earlier assessment carried out and in line with the commitment of NEMA to facilitate

necessary assistance for those in distress according to its mandate to manage all ramifications of disasters in the country.

“He said the Federal Government was committed to addressing their plight. He commiserated with the government and people of Kano State over the incident and prayed for early return of normalcy in the state.

“The medical items were presented to the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Dala National Orthopaedic Hospital , Military Hospital and the Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital all in Kano where most of the victims are presenting receiving treatment.”

Responding on behalf of the hospitals, the Chief Medical Officer of the Dala orthopaedic Hospital, Kano, Dr Kabir Abubakar, thanked NEMA for the assistance.

JTF declares Bayelsa bombing suspects wanted •Continued from page 2 He said the attacks would not dissuade the Federal Government from pursuing the ideals of the Presidential Amnesty Proclamation as well as the post-Amnesty Programme in the region.

He said: “Following the widely reported threat by persons claiming to be elements of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) to resume hostilities in the Niger Delta, the

Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Kingsley Kuku wishes to reiterate the confidence of the Presidential Amnesty Office in the ability of the nation’s security agencies and Armed Forces to tackle security challenges in the Niger Delta as well as other parts of Nigeria.

“Similarly, Kuku condemns in the strongest terms possible the unconscionable attacks on the fa-

cilities of Agip by those who claim to be operatives of MEND and urges the nation’s security agencies and Armed Forces to devise proactive and creative ways of nipping insecurity in the bud in the Niger Delta, which is the nation’s oil and gas hub.

“Kingsley Kuku wishes to assure all stakeholders and the public that the posturing of a few persons will not dissuade the Federal Government from doggedly pursuing the ideals of the Presiden-

tial Amnesty Proclamation as well as the post-Amnesty Programme.

“On this score, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta urges stakeholders and the public to note that the Federal Government through Amnesty Office is currently pursuing with profound vigour, the reintegration of the already demobilised 26,358 Niger-Delta ex-agitators enrolled in the Amnesty Programme.

“Following the completion of their non-violence training and ca-

reer classification in camps in Obubra (Cross River) and Akodo (Lagos), the Amnesty Office has successfully placed a total of 7,395 former combatants in skills acquisition/training centres as well as in formal education within the country and offshore. Of this number, 3,078 are being trained offshore while the balance of 4,317 has been placed in either formal education or skill acquisition centres within the country.

www.thenationonlineng.net

TOMORROW IN THE NATION

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL. 7

NO.2,028

‘Until we look at issues as Nigerians and not northerners, southerners, Muslims or Christians, the talk of making any meaningful progress in this country will continue to be a mirage’ DELE AGEKAMEH

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

I

T has been quite a messy week in Kogi State, even by its own record of jarring discontinuities.

For the better part of 24 hours, the executive authority of the state issued from three conflicting sources. There was, first, the dour carpenter, Ibrahim (Ibro) Idris, the incumbent whom the Supreme Court sent packing in a judgment that signalled a return to the common sense that deserted some sections of the Judiciary long ago.

Ibro’s tenure, the court held, took effect from the day he entered office; it was not eviscerated, as a lower court had capriciously held, by the oath he took on entering office after the earlier election was voided.

But instead of vacating the office, Ibro sought to suborn the state’s Chief Judge, Nasuru Ajanah, to swear in Idris Wada, who had been elected governor in a race Ibro had no business organising in the first place, going by the recent ruling of the Supreme Court.

Ajanah refused.

Nothing daunted, Ibro turned to his townsman, Shaibu Atadoga, a little-known lawyer whom he had plucked from private practice, insinuated into the civil service and then appointed Chief Judge of the Customary Court of Appeal that critics say Ibro established for that purpose.

Atadoga promptly obliged.

It mattered not in the least that Ajanah, head of the state Judiciary, had denied Ibro’s request to have Wada sworn in. Nor did it matter that in Abuja, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Bello Adoke, had issued an advisory, apparently in lieu of consequential orders from the Supreme Court, that in the five states where the court had terminated the elongated tenure of the governors, the Speaker of the House of Assembly should take oath as Acting Governor.

From the moment the Supreme Court delivered its ruling, Ibro became a plain citizen. But until Wada was “sworn in” by the Customary Court of Appeal Chief Judge, Ibro carried on for all practical purposes as if he was governor de facto and de jure, compounding the usurpation he had exercised for nine months.

Before the influence merchants could troop to Lugard House to express solidarity with Wada, Chief Judge Nasuru Ajanah, who had refused to swear him in, administered the Oath of Office on the Speaker of the Kogi State Assembly, Abdullahi Bello, apparently in keeping with the advisory from the Federal Attorney-General. The oath symbolically conferred on Bello the mandate of Acting Governor.

Whereupon, the PDP machine swung into action.

If another governorship election were to be held in Kogi, there was no assurance that the PDP would win. Its candidate, Idris Wada, had won the last race primarily because the candidate fielded by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Abubakar Audu, was a hard sell. Audu had governed the state before and is remembered largely for his vain glory and his grasping propensity. A candidate less encumbered could wrest Kogi from the suffocating grip of the PDP.

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The mess in Kogi ‘The Speaker of the Kogi Assembly, who had been Acting Governor for all of 18 hours or so, demurred at first, insisting that he would take orders only from a competent court. But he quietly stepped down later, apparently after being assured of a “soft landing,” as they call it in family circles.’

•Idris

•Wada

The PDP was not going to take any chance on that.

So, its schemers flocked to Abuja to fix things, under the paternal guidance of Vice-President Namadi Sambo. Attorney-General Bello Adoke, whose earlier intervention had framed the matter as a constitutional issue, was there, this time not as the nation’s chief law officer, but as a key strategist for the family.

And so it was that the same Attorney-General who had enjoined the Kogi Chief Judge to swear in the Speaker of the Kogi Assembly, reversed himself and enjoined the Chief Judge to swear in Wada – the same Chief Judge who had refused to swear in the same Wada when Ibro requested him to do so.

The Speaker of the Kogi Assembly, who had been Acting Governor for all of 18 hours or so, demurred at first, insisting that he would take orders only from a competent court. But he quietly stepped down later, apparently after being assured of a “soft landing,” as they call it in family circles.

Thus was born what is already being counted in scholarly circles as yet another uniquely Nigerian contribution to political science: a family solution to a constitutional issue.

Some family! Some solution!

The whole thing harks back to an earlier age when life was simpler, a time when the family in the broadest sense of the term gathered around a molehill of pounded yam, flattened it and washed it down with frothing palm wine straight from the gourd, all as a preface to the business of the day. Invariably, that business was to exorcise, with help from the ancestral spirits, whatever demons were tormenting the family.

Atavism has its uses, to be sure. But in the governance of the modern state, it is a pathetic recourse. It is a vulgar substitute for the Rule of Law, which the PDP-led government of Nigeria claims as its guiding philosophy.

Who needs the courts, or a Constitution for that matter, when the most daunting issues of state can be resolved through the kind of “fam-

HARDBALL

N

IGERIANS may not know what analgesic President Goodluck Jonathan uses, but he will need a fresh supply in the coming months, as his security headache worsens. The Islamist sect, Boko Haram, one of the causes of his headache, is like a viper only partly scorched; it will want to prove that the capture of its spokesman, Abu Qaqa, has not degraded its ability to launch vicious and co-ordinated attacks against sensitive security and civilian targets. While the President has responded to the sect’s attacks with a cocktail of measures ranging from fiery denunciations to pathetic mollification, with the scale mostly tipping towards the latter, the sect itself has intensified its rhetoric and attacks against the people and government of Nigeria. We witnessed a culmination of this home-grown terrorism recently when the sect attacked Kano, and Jonathan was at sixes and sevens.

Things may be looking up for the government with Abu Qaqa in detention, but because the President repeatedly gave indication he did not mind entering into dialogue with the sect, that singularly short-sighted and unpresidential act has sent the wrong signals to many militant groups in the country that to secure the government’s attention and respect, all you need do is to overwhelm the state with violence. With Boko Haram, it got

Between Boko Haram and MEND so bad that the President plaintively asked the sect to come out into the open for negotiations to commence. Many top Nigerian leaders were also beginning to toy with the idea of amnesty; and even the Central Bank of Nigeria boss, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was insinuating a Marshall Plan for the affected parts of the North on the excuse that income was not equitably distributed between the regions.

Now, the chickens have come home to roost.

As this column and a few others in this newspaper warned many months back, sending signals of willingness to negotiate with terror was bound to give fillip to violent militia activities in other parts of the country. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has apparently recognised this message. While the government has kept some MEND men in jail in Nigeria and leaned on South Africa to take a severe approach to the trial of Mr Henry Okah, a former MEND leader’s trial in South Africa, at the same time it sent feelers to Boko Haram that it would host them in dialogue. By restarting their bombing campaigns with the destruction of an Agip oil trunk line in Bayelsa and promising to

ily solutions” devised by the PDP to consecrate the mess in Kogi State? Who needs checks and balances? Of what use is separation of powers?

Even the usually reticent Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, seems to have been conscripted into the family. For there he was in the thick of it all, demanding that Wada be sworn in as Kogi governor.

INEC had declared Wada winner of the last governorship election in the state. But the Supreme Court judgment threw a penumbra of uncertainty on that election. It belongs in the province of the courts to lift that penumbra. INEC and Jega ceased to have any say in the matter after they certified Wada winner.

Something tells me that we have not heard the last word on the mess in Kogi. Sooner or later, the courts will be called upon to resolve it according to law. When that time comes, one hopes the judges will keep in mind the wise words of Salifuou Fatimata Bazeye, President of Niger Republic’s Constitutional Court, who was recently named Trust newspaper’s “African of the Year” for 2011.

“Social peace and public tranquility may be dependent on the decision” a judge hands down, “but that should not be a reason for adulteration of his judgment,” she said in her acceptance speech, translated from French. “Quite the opposite. It should give him or her more strength to respond in accordance with the call of duty and general interest. His or her duty is to be a loyal servant of his society and country and champion of democracy and rule of law.”

Before some people get alarmed and start lamenting that everything is being turned upside down in Nigeria, it is well to recall a notorious “family solution” from the time of the former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida.

An aide to the Inspector- General of Police, Muhammadu Gambo, was suspected — with or without probable cause, we will never know – of having helped himself to a pile of cash that Hajiya Gambo had stashed in her boudoir, much of it in the best foreign currencies.

When confronted, the aide denied the charge. To extract a confession, police investigators applied the usual methods. Still the suspect denied the charge. They varied and varied their methods and the aide died.

When the police would not prosecute what seemed like a homicide, his widow filed a wrongful-death lawsuit. She withdrew the case later, following, she said, the solicitous intervention of an influential military official from her home state.

That official is one of the principal officers of the Nigerian state today. He took a leading part in confecting the “family solution” they deployed to contain the constitutional mess in Kogi State.

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•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above extend the havoc to South African businesses in Nigeria, such as MTN and SACOIL, MEND is saying there should be no basis for the government to discriminate in negotiating with terror.

Things were bound to come to this sorry pass when the Federal Government showed an unprincipled and irrational desire to dialogue with terrorists. No matter what the government does, the freedom Boko Haram enjoyed levying war against the people and government of Nigeria unchallenged for a long time has opened the eyes of other militant groups to the porousness of the country’s security situation and how vulnerable private businesses have become. Even if the government can protect oil installations to a high degree, with its poorly equipped and poorly motivated security agencies, it is unlikely it can extend the same protection to private businesses. It simply does not have the men and the resources to police the country against bitter militants and freelance terrorists.

Let the Federal Government come out clearly to denounce dialogue with terrorists, and let it fight them with all it has got. But it must also take care to promote social, economic and political justice, if its best efforts are not to be vitiated by its own reckless and incompetent management of the country.

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