The Nation February 14, 2012

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VOL. 7, NO. 2035 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

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SUMMIT ON COLLABORATIVE DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

•From left: Aremo Osoba, Ajimobi, Gen. Adebayo and Chief Akande standing up for the National Anthem ... yesterday •Fayemi ... yesterday

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OUTHWEST progressive leaders yesterday reiterated their commitment to the pursuit of regional economic integration within the Nigerian federation. The agenda would return the zone to its envisaged progress and prosperity, they said.

They resolved to work together for its realisation in the interest of the present and future generation.

Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi, who spoke on the imperative of good educational foundation, called for the establishment

•Aregbesola ... yesterday

Southwest governors, Akande, Osoba, Adebayo, others seek regional unity

By Emmanuel Oladesu and Eric Ikhilae, Ibadan

of a Southwest University, with satellite campuses across the six states. He also called for qualitative leadership in the region and collaboration on economic development.

It was all at the maiden Legislative Summit on Regional

Integration and Southwest leaders organised in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, by Vintage Press, the publisher of The Nation in collaboration with CEEDEE Resources, a private company. The theme of the three-day summit, which is holding at the Premier Hotel, Ibadan, is: “Achieving Regional Integra-

tion agenda for Rapid Growth”. It is being attended by state and federal legislators from Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti, Lagos, Edo, Delta, and Kogi states.

Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande called for a review of the 1999 Constitution, which he described as

“a code of impediment”. He urged the legislators to remain faithful to the constitutional amendment plan.

Former Ogun State Governor Aremo Olusegin Osoba, who delivered the keynote address, asked governors in the country to initiate a bill on deregulation of electricity generation and distribution

•Mr Edun ... yesterday

to enable the states revatalise their moribund economic activities.

The President of the Yoruba Council of Elders and former Military Governor of Western State, Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo, said it was better for the Southwest to confront frontally its economic challenges as one region, instead of making separate responses as individual states.

Ajimobi, who is the chief host, paid tribute to the first premier of the defunct Continued on page 2

Kabiru Sokoto names Boko Haram’s leaders Army kills 12 sect members in gun battle ‘ M ’

•Sokoto

ORE facts have emerged on the workings of Boko Haram, the dangerous sect that has bombed, robbed and killed in many cities of the North.

The sect’s leader, Imam Abubakar, operates from Borno State, the hotbed of the insurgency – and a “key strategist”, Abu Mohammed, is in charge of the North Central, according to the detained suspect, Kabiru Abubakar Umar Dikko, who is also known as Kabiru Sokoto.

The leader also gives out wives of those killed the way he wants and marries some in the name of giving them protection. For instance, he’s ‘married’ to one of Mohammed Yusuf’s wives.

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

Sokoto, the rearrested Christmas Day bomb suspect, reportedly told detectives that Boko Haram’s operations were being hurt by the arrest of

its key leaders. Besides, he is said to have spoken on the sect’s sources of cash, including bank raids, and how it spends its money.

The suspect allegedly admitted that security agencies are closing in on the

sect’s leaders and co-ordinators.

He also said he thought he was invincible until his re-arrest by the State Security Service (SSS) last Friday.

A source, who spoke in confidence on Sokoto’s interrogation, said: “The suspect gave more stunning disclosures which have boosted the confidence of security agencies that the operation against Boko Haram can be Continued on page 2

•SPORTS P15 •POLITICS P17 •PROPERTY P25 •MARITIME P39 •ENERGY P41

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THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 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

‘Only true federalism can save Nigeria’

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•Director-General Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) Otunba Segun Runsewe with Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Abubakar during a joint news conference on security in hotels and registration in Abuja ... yesterday.

PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE

ENOWNED scholar, Prof Adebayo Williams, has said the nation may not survive its socio-economic and political contradictions unless it reverts to the practice of true federalism.

He argued that national growth and economic prosperity could only be achieved through regional growth and collaborations.

Prof Willaims said although the colonialists bequeathed to the indigenous leaders a nation with faulty foundation, it was left for the people to determine a more convenient method of cohabiting that will afford each constituent unit the freedom to grow at its pace.

The scholar, who praised the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, for the develop-

By Emmanuel Oladesu and Eric Ikhilae, Ibadan

ment witnessed in the Western region during his era, charged current political leaders in the states comprising the old Western Region to work diligently to achieve the much-needed development.

This was contained in a paper titled: “Regional growth as strategy for national integration,” which he delivered yesterday at the ongoing legislative summit in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital organised

by The Nation and CEEDEE communication.

He regretted that over 50 years after independence, the nation was yet to create an effective form of government to effectively utilise its existing abundant resources.

Prof Williams condemned the current practice where all the country’s governors converge under the umbrella Governor’s Forum. He described the group as “an antidemocratic cartel for the pursuit of gubernatorial power and privileges without responsibility; a throwback of military prefectureship.”

He said: “Unfortunately, 52 years after independence, Nigeria is neither a nation in the real sense of the word nor a federalism in the classical sense of the concept. Nigeria remains a nation-space run like a turbulent military garrison.

“Today, under the stifling and suffocating unitarism, the Nigerian nation is gradually bleeding its nationals to death.

Continued on page 59

Boko Haram threatens GSM providers as IBB denies sponsoring sect

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EMBERS of the Jamatul Ahlis Sunnah lid Daawa wal Jihad (otherwise known as Boko Haram) yesterday threatened to attack GSM service providers and Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) offices for their alleged role in the arrest of their men.

They accused the service providers and the NCC of collaborating with security agencies to arrest their members.

Speaking in a telephone interview with reporters in Maiduguri, the beleaguered Borno State capital where the sect has done much havoc, the purported spokesman of the dreaded group, Abul Qaqa, said the arrest of some top leaders of the sect will not stop the “holy war”.

He said security operatives thought that the arrest of Abul Dardaa and re-arrest of Kabiru Sokoto will deter them in what he described as the holy war.

The purported spokesman added that the killing of their leader, Mohammed Yusuf, and some of the sect’s members did not stop them from what they are doing.

“The arrest of Abu Dardaa and re-arrest of Kabiru Sokoto is just a will of God,” he said, adding that instead of being demoralised, the sect

Kabiru Sokoto names Boko Haram’s leaders Continued from page 1

successful.

“From the suspect, we have been able to discover that while the leader of Boko Haram, Imam Abubakar, is calling the shots from Borno State, another key strategist of the sect, Abu Mohammed, is in charge of the North Central.

“The suspect is a respected member of the sect and he is an insider whose arrest might create an upset for Boko Haram.”

Sokoto is said to have provided details on the internal operations of the sect and why its leaders “disagree occasionally”.

Responding to a question, the source said the suspect admitted that if he could be arrested and re-arrested, it is a matter of time before more leaders are picked up.

The source quoted Sokoto saying in an emotional tone: “For instance, I never for once believed I could be arrested.

“I thought I was invincible. But now From Jide Orintunsin, Minna and Abiodun Joseph, Maiduguri

will wax stronger in doing the “work of God”.

He also denied some media reports that the sect forces its members to carry out suicide missions.

“How can you force somebody who will gladly wave at his people with a smile be-

I’ve realised that if I could be arrested; if Abdullahi Damasak, the spiritual adviser, could disappear (arrested), then it’s a matter of time before everyone is caught.”

The source also claimed that the suspect allegedly told his interrogators how funds from raids on banks were always shared to five groups.

It was learnt that Sokoto recalled how N41m, proceed of a bank raid, almost caused disquiet within the sect.

“A major source of distrust and acrimony in the group was a N41million got from a bank that was not accounted for,” the source quoted Sokoto as saying, adding: “Normally, the money is supposed to be shared to five groups: the less privileged, widows of those who died in the jihad, Zakat, those that brought in the money, and the last to the leadership to be used in prosecuting the jihad.

“We don’t know how this money was spent and nobody dared ask questions for fear of death. Even those who took

fore embarking on a suicide mission?” Qaqa asked.

“People are claiming that there is (sic) faction and ethnicity among our members; we are all united and working for the cause of Allah. We are even waxing stronger by the day. We are ready to face the whole world and not only the Nigerian military,” Qaqa said.

Abdul Qaqa is the pseud-

part in the robberies are also always compelled to pay Zakat on their share to the leadership. The leader (Shekau) appropriates what goes to the widows, less privileged, zakat and leadership.

“The leader also gives out wives of those killed the way he wants and marries some in the name of giving them protection. For instance, he’s ‘married’ to one of Mohammed Yusuf’s wives.

“Everyone lived in fear more of leadership of the group than security agencies.”

The late Yusuf led the sect before he was killed in police custody.

The Army at the weekend killed 12 suspected Boko Haram fighters during a raid in Maiduguri, a military spokesman told AFP yesterday.

Joint Task Force spokesman Lt.-Col. Hassan Mohammed said there was a shootout in the city late Sunday between soldiers and “gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram … In the encounter 12 members of Boko Haram were killed”.

onym used by Boko Haram spokesmen.

Former Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida yesterday described as spurious and unfounded the allegation by Sheik Sani Haliru within the social media that he is one of the sponsors of the deadly Boko Haram sect.

An interview posted on the social media network, pur-

portedly granted by Haliru, alleged that the former military leader is one of the sponsors of the sect. The interview is entitled: “Shocking confessions of ex-Boko Haram who converted to Christianity”.

In a reply posted on the same website, the exGeneral’s spokesman, Mr Kassim Afegbua, said: “We have read and assimilated the

Southwest governors, others seek regional unity Continued from page 1

Western Region, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who, he said was described by an African anthropologist as “a recent Yoruba ancestor”, adding that he achieved sparkling feats, which catapulted the zone to the horizon of progress in the fifties.

He lamented that in postAwolowo era, the region regressed, in spite of the advances in technology, making the earlier republics to remain the benchmark of excellence and examples of purity of mental sophistication.

Urging the Southwest to return to basics, he stressed the need to copy the creative ideas of the Awolowo days which made the region a pacesetter in infrastructure

and qualitative human development.

He also emphasised that the key to integration and development in the region is quality leadership and collaboration among the states.

He referred to Awolowo’s dictum: “only the deep can call to the deep”.

Ajimobi noted that the integration agenda had been criticised by politicians in the zone, pointing out that these critics can never pursue the initiatives, if they find themselves in power, despite its benefits.

The governor urged the six states to collapse all the social, political and legal constraints militating against integration and development, reiterating the determination

of the ACN to pursue the initiative because it is germane to the wellbeing of the people.

He added: “However, the dream will remain a pipe dream, unless the legislature in the states buy into the idea and promulgate legislations that will translate the dream into reality. Legislation on integration and development is key to the collaborative development that we desire”.

He ruled out the possibility of harvesting any gain from integration, if agriculture is ignored and electricity supply is epileptic. Ajimobi said: “I envision a Western Nigeria where the 20 million people in Lagos State can be daily served with vegetables from the riverine area of

Ogun State, cassava from the vast land of Oyo State and Dodo Ikire from Osun State, fish from the mangrove of Ondo State and the popular pounded yam from Ekiti State. We can replicate this collaboration in all spheres of human endeavours like education, health, sports and other areas where the states can partner for the boosting of their economies”.

Ajimobi said: “Our quest for regional integration should include educational and cultural integration of our people. Although we speak the same language and share the same culture, the balkanisation of the states has introduced many policies that have sought to push us afar from one another. For

instance, all the states in the Southwest, except Oyo State, have a state university.

“Let me clarify that even Oyo State has initiated the process to commence a state university by September this year. But these are universities that can all come under the same roof of a Southwest University. The University of Cairo in Egypt has over 100,000 students on its roll.

Why can’t a Southwest Nigeria University have such a profile and enjoy the Continued on page 5

effusions of a deluded mind by name Sheikh Sani Haliru, who for want of very cheap relevance decided to mention the highly respected name of IBB as one of the “sponsors” of what he called Boko Haram. From our first reading, we felt it would amount to giving undue relevance to a confused mind if we volunteer a response, but for our teeming supporters, associates and friends of IBB, for the price we owe history, we decided to offer this disclaimer.”

Babangida denied knowing the man. He also faulted the interview, which he described as full of inconsistencies.

The former military leader picked holes in the interview, citing the Sheikh’s claim that Dele Giwa died in suicide bombing, when, according to IBB, the former Newswatch Editor-in-Chief was killed by a parcel bomb.

“We have every cause to believe that the interview was carefully scripted to convey the message intended and not one conducted under a question– and–answer basis.

The responses of the said Sani Haliru attest to this fact. From that premise therefore, it will be save to conclude that the interview was structured by certain agents of government to satisfy pre-determined position,” the statement added.

The statement added: “He talked about his fear of going to jail; why will a man of God be afraid of incarceration or jail, if the cause he is pursuing is truly altruistic? How could someone with facts about Boko Haram be saying that he is afraid the SSS will arrest him if he ventured those facts, when the whole world is patiently waiting to get a road map out of the Boko Haram pogrom?

“There are also instances where third person narrative tenor is given to Sheikh Sani Haliru, thus making the whole exercise curiously misleading and utterly unconscionable to warrant any serious recognition.”

CORRECTION In the story, Ojukwu’s body not to be taken outside Nigeria, says son; published in yesterday’s edition, we gave the impression that Ojukwu’s son, Sylvester, spoke.

We have since discovered that it was Chukwuemeka Jnr., Ojukwu’s second son, that spoke. The error is regretted.

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

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

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THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14 2012

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

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NEWS

Senate seeks review of pension laws to eliminate fraud

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HE Senate yesterday called for a comprehensive review of laws governing pension administration.

Chairman, Senate Joint Committee on Establishment, Public Service Matters and States and Local Governments Administration of Pension Funds, Senator Aloysius Etok told reporters at a public hearing in Makurdi, Benue State that the move would eliminate fraud and inefficiency.

He said the review would provide for the centralisation of all pension administration

From Sanni Onogu, Makurdi

schemes among the three tiers of governments as well as the creation of a central bio-metric data base for all pensioners across the country.

The lawmaker said the Senate is also considering merging the old and new pension systems to have a common system under strict unified regulatory framework.

Etok said the Senate is deeply worried because of the untold hardship pensioners were subjected to due to non-pay-

ment of benefits arising from corruption and inefficiency in the current scheme.

He added that such high level corruption can only be eradicated through a centralised, automated system.

Etok said: “We have seen first-hand that there is a high level of suffering among pensioners and we can also see that there are lot of problems which bedevil the pension administration in Nigeria.

“In Lagos and Enugu, we saw pensioners crying because they are not being paid, despite

the repeated screening, confirmation and re- confirmation.

“I think what the government must do as a matter of urgency is to do a kind of once and for all comprehensive biometric verification and then have a complete list of all the pensioners whether they are related to federal share of the pension, the states and the local governments.

“Government should have insisted on knowing the true figure of pensioners in the country and the exact sum of monthly expenditure on

them.”

Etok said this is the only way to exclude ghost pensioners from the payroll.

The lawmaker described as unacceptable, the failure of some states to join the new contributory pension scheme, saying there must be legislation to make them join the scheme under one regulatory system.

“We have realised that since the commencement of the new pension scheme, the contributory pension scheme, some of the states have not

even started.

“They have not put anything in place to commence that programme. Some states have not even paid gratuities to those who have retired for the past three years their gratuities.

“So, there is this thinking that every state and local government must as matter of compulsion be made to hook onto a new pension scheme which has a better focus, better managed and has a better regulatory framework, he said.”

Court orders hotel to replace visitor’s stolen car

Two killed in pirate attack

By Joseph Jibueze

A

PIRACY monitoring official says pirates off Nigeria’s coast have attacked a cargo ship and shot dead its captain and chief engineer, The Guardian reported.

Cyrus Mody of the International Maritime Bureau said the attack happened yesterday morning about 125 miles south of Lagos.

Mody said the ship tried to escape but both the captain and chief engineer were shot dead during a gun battle. He offered no other details. Nigerian officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has escalated from lowlevel armed robberies to hijackings and cargo thefts.

West African pirates also have been more willing to use violence – beating crew members and shooting and stabbing those who get in the way.

•Workers of Research Institutes in Nigeria, Ibadan, Oyo State branch at the beginning of a nationwide strike…yesterday PHOTO: NAN

Southwest governors, others seek regional unity Continued from page 2

economies of scale that will put us among the foremost universities in the world, rather than bicker over the management of a jointly owned LAUTECH between Oyo and Osun states?

Ajimobi said that regional rail, communication system, and agricultural programmes would launch the zone on the path of greatness.

He said: “Is it not possible that we take advantage of proximity, size and teeming population to establish a cheap and seamless communication service in this era of expensive calls that keep dropping? Can’t we integrate our air travel system in a way that many of our airports that are condemned as unprofitable can be profitably used for the benefit of our people and drive our economy better and efficiently?

“Is it not possible to organise a rail transport system in such a way that our teaming population in Ibadan, Lagos, Abeokuta, Osogbo, Akure and Ado-Ekiti can receive fresh farm products from all the six states in the Southwest on a daily basis? Is it not possible that we collaborate to establish an integrated transport system that will ensure that our people live in the hinterland located in other states, but can travel to the industrial centres in other states daily to earn their living?”.

Hailing the organisers, Akande observed that they were contributing to efforts to

return the region to its glorious days. He advised the legislators to ensure that the Constitution, which is a major obstacle to the achievement of integration, is reviewed.

Akande said: “In our days, we saw the good things, but I don’t know what is left for the present and future generation.

We need integration to move forward. We need a circular rail system.

Nigerian constitution is a code of impediments that does not allow those who want to move forward to move forward. You should look at this in your deliberations”.

Osoba lamented that Nigeria is at a cross road, adding that the solution is a productive federal system.

He eulogised Chief Obafemi Awolowo for laying a proper foundation for the zone, advising the stakeholders to work for its economic growth to lift its standard of living.

The former governor frowned at the unitary structure, which makes the centre to block access to resources by the states to their detriment.

Reiterating his support for regionalism, Osoba recalled that Awo had proposed a federation based on cultural units.

He hailed moves by ACN governors in the Southwest to take over the construction of federal roads in their respective states, adding that the collective blueprint also developed by them would augur well for the region.

Osoba said: “In the First Republic, there was true

federalism and extant laws did not prevent the development of the regions. Legislators should come up with laws in aid of the agenda. At the federal level, our legislators must lobby their colleagues for the review of extant laws that prevent regional initiative. Our legislators must know that without integration, there will be no development in the long run”.

The former governor was delighted that Lagos and Ogun State governors have been collaborating to eradicate polio on their domains.

Osoba called for true fiscal federalism, saying: “The Federal government has failed in the provision of electricity. If the states have been empowered to generate electricity, industries would not collapse and jobs would be available. Lagos State did it, but the federal government frustrated it”.

Osoba advised governors to initiate bills that would make generation and distribution of electricity to be on the Concurrent List, adding that, if this is done, the states would not experience the type of frustration experienced by Lagos State.

Welcoming the guests, Vintage Press chairman Mr. Olawale Edun, expressed delight at the turnout of participants, saying the attendance would be a prelude to robust deliberation.

Hailing the push for integration, the former Lagos State Finance Commissioner said the challenge before the

legislators is getting rid of the extant laws militating against the achievement of the goal.

Edun observed that a strong region is critical to the evolution of a strong country, stressing that the historic edifice, Premier Hotel. is a strong evidence of what regions could do.

He added: “While you are thinking about regional integration and economic cooperation, you should pay attention to the need for federalism and its imperatives. There is the need for the review of the revenue allocation formula. The key mantra is fiscal federalism. It defines the financial arrangement.

“There is vertical sharing of revenue. This means adequate resources should be located to the tiers to carry out their responsibilities, instead of the lopsided arrangement. The other is horizontal allocation.

Yoruba stands for justice, equity and fairness. The allocation should be based on derivation to ensure fairness, equity and justice”.

Roll call Governors Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti State) and Chief Rauf Aregbesola (Osun). Lagos State Deputy Governor Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Osun State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori, Secretary to Osun State Government Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, Osun State Special Duties Commissioner Ajibola Bashiru, the Olubadan of Ibadanland Oba Odulana Odugade, represented by the Osi-

Olubadan, Senator Lekan Balogun. There were also Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, Edo State Commissioner for Information Mr. Louis Odion, who represented Governor Adams Oshiomhole, former Ekiti State Governor Niyi Adebayo, Oyo State Deputy Governor Moses Adeyemo, Lagos Mainland ACN leader Olawale Osun, Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) chieftains Dipo Fakolade and Toke Benson, Prof. Moses Makinde, Prof. Adebayo Williams, Speakers of Oyo and Ekiti State Houses of Assembly; Mrs. Monsurat Sunmonu and Dr Wale Omirin; Senators Ganiyu Solomon, Oluremi Tinubu, Gbenga Ashafa, Ayo Adeseun, Jide Omoworare; House of Representatives members Yakubu Balogun and Jimoh Adewale, Ekiti State Information Commissioner Funminiyi Afuye, Ekiti State legislators Ajayi Adebowale, Ojo Olaseinde, Olawumi Ogunleye, Israel Olowo, Dele Olugbemi, Ayoka Fatunbi, Segun Erinle, Abeni Olayinka Modupe, and ACN Southwest Publicity Secretary Ayo Afolabi, Osun State Justice Commissioner Wale Afolabi, Tiwalade Sijuwade, Managing Director of Vintage Press Victor Ifijeh, Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Ade Odunewu, General Editor Kunle Fagbemi, Training and Development Manager Soji Omotunde and Kunle Abimbola.

A LAGOS State High Court, Ikeja, yesterday ordered Eko Hotel and Suite to replace a visitor’s stolen car worth N650,000. It held that the hotel acted negligently by not ensuring the safety of the vehicle parked in its premises.

Justice Opeyemi Oke awarded N100,000 as general damages against the hotel, and asked it to pay N250,000 as cost of the court action.

Ms. Ebere Osuji, who went to visit a friend who lodged in the hotel, reported to the security that her gate-pass got lost, but the car was driven out of the hotel by an unknown person days after the pass had expired.

Justice Oke held that were the hotel’s security officers not negligent, they would have discovered that the gate pass given to them by the driver of the stolen car was the same one reported missing by the car owner and which had expired.

According to the judge, the claimant proved her case, adding that the hotel owed the claimant a duty of care even though she did not pay for an accommodation.

Besides, the judge said the fact that there were CarsParked-at Owners’-Risk signs did not matter since the claimant was given a security pass.

The court, however, refused to award substantial damages to the claimant, saying she did not produce receipt evidence to substantiate her claim that she had been hiring taxi to work and to church since the car was stolen in August 2007.

3,680 law graduates okayed for bar From Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja THE Body of Benchers yesterday approved 3,680 candidates that sat in the August, last year Nigerian Law School final examination for call to the Bar. The ceremony holds today in Abuja.

Findings revealed that 14 made first class grade, while 243 and 1041 made second class upper and lower divisions respectively.

Also approved were 2377 candidates with pass grade.

Five students that missed the last year event will also take part in the ceremony.

THE NATION FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

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NEWS SUMMIT ON COLLABORATIVE DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

• Aremo Olusegun Osoba and Senator Oluremi Tinubu

• Mr. Funminiyi Afuye and Mr. Ayo Afolabi

How Southwest F

•Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi, Speaker Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Mosurat Sumonu and Former Military Governor of old Western State, Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo...yesterday

•Alhaji Akin Olajide, Alhaji Ibikunle Fatai, Mr Festus Adedayo, Ayinde Folorunsho and Hon. Ojo Adebayo

Why Southwest needs integration, by Oshun FENIFERE Renewal Groupn (ARG) leader Olawale Oshun yesterday listed the benefits of the regional integration in the Southwest, saying they would herald faster economic growth and collective prosperity.

He urged the governors, legislators and people of the zone to take the destiny of the states in their hands.

The Third Republic House of Representatives Chief Whip delivered a lecture at the legislative summit entitled: “Regional integration: Panacea for Southwest’s development”.

He said the Yoruba Academy has been commissioned by the ARG to develop a blue print, “Development agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN” to serve as the pillar and compass to integrated development in the region.

Highlighting reasons for the initiative, Oshun said the economic

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By Emmanuel Oladesu

and political approach harbours the potentials of facilitating similar and equitable levels of development across the participating states, to the benefit of their indigenes.

He said integration could also create opportunities and platforms for sharing resources and expertise, thereby fostering development.

The ARG leader also said that regional integration would allow the maximization of resources at regional level, following joint exploration of new and innovative solutions to structural, human and infrastructural development across states.

Oshun said integration would encourage good governance, stressing that the leadership of the respective states would compete in an atmosphere of efficiency.

He added:”Regional integration allows the system to establish com-

mon sets of indicators that lead to good models of practice in development, enabling the attraction of international funds, grants and aids to support thematic programmes and projects”.

Oshun said any integration plan should add value to the region and have capacity to outlive any political dispensation.

He said the Southwest integration plan should encompass a comprehensive blueprint for development and greater interdependence, a strategic plan for the coordination of infrastructural and human capital development and alignment of statutory agencies and institutions to combat common problems, including education, health, housing, agriculture, sanitation, power and environmental management.

Oshun added: “Our vision is to make the southwest region a place to live, a place to work and a place to visit.”

OR regional economic integration to become a reality in the Southwest, there is the need to review the 1999 Constitution to remove the impediments on the way of the agenda, Senator Ganiyu Solomon said yesterday.

The legislator, who represents Lagos West District in the Senate, said the lopsided federal structure and over-concentration of power in the centre, are constraints to regional autonomy and growth.

Solomon delivered a lecture at the maiden Legislative Summit on Southwest integration held in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

It was organised by Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation.

In the lecture entitled: “The law as a tool for development”, the senator said the key to regional integration is devolution of power, stressing that the Federal Government should share some critical items on the Exclusive List with the states.

The legislator said Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) legislators at the federal and state levels must be guided by the philosophy of the party in responding to the challenge of the regional economic integration.

He said: “We as the legislature, both federal and state, are guided by the position of our party and will use the opportunity of the oncoming review of the constitution to push for the entrenchment of true federalism, devolution of powers, state police, as well as the re-adjustment of the revenue sharing formula among others.

“When the Federal Government devolves some of its powers in the zone, the states in the zone will have more leeway in properly articulating and implementing its developmental agenda. It will also as a natural consequence lead to access to more funds, which will be used to fund its projects and programmes.

“I urge that this summit should be used to harmonise all the positions of the various meetings held by the respective governors in the zone, as well as the proposals that have been made by different groups with regard to the integration and development of the region to ensure that we come up with one single document which will act as the basis upon which the various legislatures in the zone will act upon.”

Solomon called for a unity of purpose among the states in the zone, stressing that it is critical to the achievement of the dream.

He said: “This requires unity of purpose. It needs action. It requires us all to work together to bring an end to division, an end to suspicion and build a region united in our diversity.”

The legislator assured that ACN lawmakers would create a legal framework that would assist the development of the region.

By Emmanuel Oladesu

He added: “We remain fully committed to the spirit of our regional collaboration and determined to initiate and bring about the change that our mandate from the people demands. While I am confident that those of us in the National Assembly would cooperate and push forward necessary legislations that would enhance this development agenda of our region, we are confident that the respective state Houses of Assembly would follow suit and create some synergy in key areas with a view, not only to facilitating the intended development agenda, but also ensuring that the terms are respected and treated with the understanding of one political family with corresponding ideology.”

Lagos State Deputy Governor Joke Orelope-Adefulire and House of Assembly member from Ekiti State, Segun Erinle said unless all the Southwest states are ruled by one progressive party, the initiative would be threatened in the future.

Erinle lamented the loss of a legislative seat to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by the ACN in Oyo State, pointing out that it could lead to further disaster.

Erinle urged the governors to allow lawmakers perform their functions without hindrance.

Another legislator, Segun Olaleye, who expressed fear that the initiative may hit the rock, unless the states are controlled by the ACN. He said: “Integrating Kogi, Delta, Kwara may be difficult because the parties in those states are not the same.”

Orelope-Adefulire said: “We must not relent at all. After victory, we should not celebrate. We should always forge ahead. What happened in Oyo State was not good for us as a party. We should gird our loins. Regional integration can only be possible, if we are on the same platform.”

Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) teacher Prof. Moses Makinde wondered why some states, including Delta, Kwara and Kogi were excluded from the summit, despite the fact that some parts of those states were integral part of the old Western Region ruled by the late Premier Obafemi Awolowo.

He queried: “Why was Delta State excluded? Edo and Delta were parts of the Southwest and they were developed by Action Group and UPN. Are parts of Kwara not part of this region?”

In replying to this, Aregbesola said: “No state was excluded. There are representatives from Kogi here.

A representative from Delta is here.

Nobody is excluded. Yoruba is known for accommodation. Those who think they are part of us will

THE NATION FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

7

NEWS SUMMIT ON COLLABORATIVE DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

• Senators Jide Omoworare and Gbenga Kaka

School’s hostel

• From left: Chief Bisi Akande, Governor Kayode Fayemi and Governor Rauf Aregbesola

can integrate, by legislators Aregbesola: Yoruba are integrated

O

•’Tinubu is hale and hearty’

SUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola yesterday said Southwest’s integration only requires formalisation, saying the people of the region are naturally united.

He spoke at the maiden Legislative Summit on Regional Integration at Ibadan, Oyo State capital, organised by the Vintage Press Limited, publisher of The Nation.

The governor, who represented the national leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, said the former Lagos State governor is hale and hearty.

Aregbesola, who briefly reviewed the different papers, agreed with the views canvassed by speakers, adding that integration is the ultimate.

He said: “Yoruba is naturally integrated. What is required is the formalisation of the integration.

This is the only race in the world that fought wars for 16 years. Yoruba has been dedicated to justice, free-

dom, autonomy and federalism.”

Speakers at the session were the Third Republic House of Representatives Chief Whip Mr. Olawale Oshun, Professor Adebayo Williams and Senator Ganiyu Solomon.

Oshun spoke on “Regional Integration: Panacea for Southwest’s Development”. Solomon’s paper was titled: “The law as a tool for development”. Williams spoke on “Regional Growth as a strategy for national integration.”

Aregbesola described as wicked and unfounded reports that Tinubu had suffered stroke.

He said: “I travelled with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday, last week at 2 am from Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos and landed at Luton Airport on that day.

join us.”

A participant from Kogi, Hon, J.A.Yusuf, expressed the willingness of the Yoruba in the state to join the Southwest, if restructuring of the polity is possible. He said the gains of integration would elude Yoruba in the state.

Yusuf said: “When the lawmakers in the National Assembly are amending the laws, they should make provisions for any ethnic group to move from one state to another.”

Former deputy governor of Ogun State, Senator Gbenga Kaka, urged the states to make their budgets work, saying lip service to development would not take the zone to its greatness. The lawmaker lamented that Southwest had suffered from the neglect of its priorities, which gave it an edge in the days of Awolowo.

He said: “Budgets are mere rituals and faith accompli. Priorities differ from states to states. We pay lip service to agriculture and plight of farmers. Our rural areas are totally neglected. How can we develop?

How can we ensure that people stay in the rural areas? The average age of farmers in the Southwest is 67. The farms are desolate.

The senator also canvassed unity, harmony and understanding, saying that if Osun State is ready for integration and Oyo State is not ready, there would be no progress. He also called for the sustenance of common interest and focus, insisting that they are critical to the integration agenda.

Osun State Commissioner for Spe-

cial Duties Ajibola Bashiru itemised certain conditions that are germane to integration and development, urging the zone to guide its loins.

These include minimum standard and benchmark for development, strong structures and institutions and psychological orientation of the people.

He added: “We must have certain minimum, irreducible programmes on which premise to erect integration. These include plans for education, agriculture, tourism, culture and commerce. There must be a framework on how to contribute to the funding for integration, through regional budgeting.

“How do we create structure that will survive political parties? Structures and institutions must transcend political parties. Whatever programme must be backed by legislation inn the different states.

There will be need for constitution amendment, especially the Railway Act to ensure regional rail.

“We do no have the luxury of Awololowo’s days when we were a region because we have been balkanised. Psychological orientation of our people is necessary so that they can accept the agenda, so that it will not appear that the idea is being forced down the throat of other states”.

Another lawmaker, Hon. Ojo, said that getting the National Assembly to support integration may be difficult because ACN is in the minority.

He queried: “How can we get the right legislation from the National Assembly when we are not in the

By Eric Ikhilae

I went on the invitation of an NGO. He intimated me of his desire to do his final check up. I said, since he was doing his own, I had to do mine.

I did mine first because of my tight schedule.

“We were together, except for the period I had to do my assignment and he had to do his own. I parted with him on Friday at 12 noon. While I was with him, a call came from the Oba of Lagos about this wicked rumour. To confirm that he was hale and hearty, I had to talk with the Kabiyesi for five minutes. Later, I left for Nigeria. Since then, I have been in contact with him.”

Aregbesola said :”After the checkup, I asked, ‘what is the result?’. He (Tinubu) said, ‘Nothing is wrong with me’. So, there is no iota of truth in the wicked lie about his health.

He is fit. I assure you that he will be in Nigeria this week.”

• Senators Ganiyu Solomon and Gbenga Ashafa

•Hon. Wale Oshun and Dr. Olaokun Soyinka

majority?”

House of Representatives member from Lagos State, Alhaji Yakubu Balogun, who lauded the organisers of the summit, said if the bill on private power before the House generation succeeds, it would be in the interest of the Southwest.

He said: “State governments and private bodies will be able to generate electricity, if the bill before the House succeeds. Then, it will be to the advantage of Southwest states.”

Lagos State Special Adviser on Regional Integration Rev. Tunji Adebiyi explained that integration is mostly possible under a truly federal structure, adding that self-reliance is key to its attainment.

He said: “Awolowo did not depend on federal allocation. If allocation is stopped today, it is doubtful if Osun State can pay salaries of workers. As we continue to rely on federal revenue, we may not be able to move forward. We should look for the creative way of generating revenue. 0For example, other Southwest states can go into agriculture.

Lagos is waiting for the crops from these states and from them, they will generate revenue”.

A legislator for Ekiti State, Adetunji Orisalade, canvassed uniformity of developmental plans. He said: “If it is “OYES” in Osun, it should be “OYES” in Ekiti. We may need one university in the Southwest and other states universities would be satellite campuses. A state is slashing school fees, another state is increasing school fees. It should not be so.”

•Hon. Babatunde Adewale and Hon Yakub Abiodun Balogun

• Mrs. Orelope-Adefulire

• Former Ekiti State Governor Niyi Adebayo

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

8

NEWS

‘Whitney Houston died of prescription drug, alcohol combination’ Fresh facts from family of the late Whitney Houston, who were briefed by L.A. County Coroner, suggest she probably died from a combination of the drug Xanax and other prescription medication mixed with alcohol

W

HITNEY Houston probably died from a combination of the drug Xanax and other prescription medication mixed with alcohol, TMZ reported, citing family sources who were briefed by L.A. County Coroner officials.

Coroners informed Houston’s family that there was not enough water in the singer’s lungs for her to have drowned, and that she may have died before her head became submerged in the bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel where her body was found Saturday, TMZ.com reported.

Whitney’s aunt, Mary Jones, found her lifeless body in the bathtub, having laid out her dress for a party Houston was set to attend Saturday night, sources told TMZ. A half hour later, at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, someone from Houston’s entourage called hotel security when they found the singer’s lifeless body.

Houston’s mother has arranged for her body to be flown back to Atlanta as early as Tuesday, TMZ reported. Her family was reportedly told that since there is no suspicion of foul play police have not put a hold on the body, and it may be transported.

Investigators looking into the death of Houston have said that they will be examining the pop icon’s behavior in the hours and days before she was found dead in the bathtub, while the singer’s family, friends and staff have already been questioned.

The Los Angeles Coroner said Sunday that toxicology reports on Houston will not be available for six to eight weeks, but a family member confirmed that Houston’s family, along with those working for her, have been questioned about any health issues she may have had and her behavior before her death.

Houston was staying at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she was to attend music industry executive Clive Davis’ annual preGrammy party. It is the same event where she was introduced to the record industry and the world nearly three decades ago.

Bobbi Kristina Brown, Houston’s daughter, was staying in the hotel with her mother and according to TMZ had also fallen asleep in the bathtub the night before her mother’s death in another room. Friends of the 18-year-old tried knocking on her door repeatedly and eventually had to contact security to open the door to her room so she could be removed from the tub.

Houston, who has struggled with drugs and alcohol for many years and entered rehab last year, reportedly spent Friday night at the bar of the Beverly Hilton hotel with a group of friends. She was at the bar for a long time, drinking and being very loud, according to TMZ.

Last days of a Diva

W

HITNEY clashed with former X-factor contestant Stacy Francis over her boyfriend Ray J just days before her death.

The two divas almost came to blows after Whitney failed to remember the aspiring singer who she once pulled on stage during a concert. Ray J who had known Stacy for years, then stepped in to defend her, annoying the music legend.

The run-in preceded more clashes with security staff and fans on a raucous night out at a Hollywood Grammy party earlier this week. But despite her messy hair and dishevelled appearance no one would have guessed that less than two days later she would be found dead in her hotel room.

The singer was a guest at the Kelly Price & Friends Unplugged: For The Love Of R&B Grammy Party at Tru Hollywood and had even performed during the night.

The two were reintroduced in the VIP section.

A source told the website that Whitney was ‘cordial at first’ but the scene soon changed after Whitney’s friend, R&B star Ray J, stepped in.

An eyewitness said: ‘Whitney just got belligerent. Ray was trying to defend Stacy, telling Whitney, ‘Stacy’s family!’, but Whitney was feeling crowded out and hands were raised.’

The source added: ‘You didn’t know which way it could go there for a minute.’

When contacted by The Hollywood Reporter following the alleged incident, Stacy said: ‘I have the utmost respect for Whitney Houston and her talent.’

Luckily no actual blows were landed, but, the source said, ‘You didn’t know which way it could go there for a minute.’ The singer ‘partied heavily’ that night.

A witness told Us Weekly at the time that she had appeared ‘wasted’ and ‘moody’ as she exited the night club late on Thursday night.

The source said: ‘She reacted angrily to the security guards trying to get her into her car...and started cussing them out.’

The observer went on to say that even though Whitney was stopping and signing autographs for fans, ‘she would get moody again in a split second.’

The source added: ‘It was sad because her fans noticed that she was really shaky as she left the venue. She definitely was not in control of herself.’

Dressed all in black, the I Will Always Love You singer appeared angry and agitated as she left the venue and looked like she had partied a little hard.

Wearing a short black dress, the star emerged with her hair messed up and gestured aggressively to the waiting photographers.

The release of the photos showing the star’s erratic behaviour and dishevelled look sparked concern over the singer’s health. Whitney died at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she was staying in order to attend at perform at a pre-Grammy’s party, hosted by Clive Davis. According to TMZ, the star was seen with a large group of friends at the hotel bar on the eve of her death.

Sources told the website that the group as drinking and being loud.

And the website went on to allege that the singer and her friends stood out because of all the noise they were making, despite the fact that the hotel was abuzz with guests getting ready for the pre-Grammy festivities.

A spokesman for the local police department said that emergency services had been called to the hotel at 3.43.

Officials rushed to the room on the fourth floor where she was staying as a guest, where they found security staff attempting to revive her.

Life-saving attempts were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at 3.55pm.

According to TMZ, police have sealed off the hotel room where Whitney died and will not be searching it until they have obtained a search warrant.

The website reports that their primary interest is to establish whether or not drugs were present in the room.

Despite her big night out Us Weekly reports that Whitney ‘was fine’ the following day as she conducted a sound-check to gear up for her performance at the pre-Grammys party. A source told the magazine: ‘She was present and ready...She had water to keep her vocals clear, and was trying not to smoke.’

Recently she had seemed determined to get her career back on track and had star turn in the upcoming movie ‘Sparkle’, the remake of a 1976 film due to be released in August this year.

•Culled from www.dailymail.co.uk

On Thursday, Houston was a guest at Grammy nominee Kelly Price’s party, “Kelly Price and Friends Unplugged: For the Love of R&B Grammy Party” at the

nightclub, Tru Hollywood. Price recalls an enjoyable evening with Houston.

“We laughed and we joked and we cracked up, and we danced and

•The late Houston

sang. She was never more than two feet from me the entire night. I gave her a hug, and while I was talking to her she said give me the mic,” Price recalled.

Houston was there with her 18year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown and performed a duet with Price in the early hours of Friday morning, in what would become her last performance.

“In retrospect, it’s a much bigger moment than I could have imagined. It was a big moment just because it was Whitney. The world got a gift in that they got an opportunity to see her perform one last time,” Price said.

At the party, Houston reportedly clashed with singer and former “X Factor” finalist Stacy Francis, who had credited Houston as her inspiration and had been pulled onstage to sing with her in 1999 during a concert, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Houston and Francis were re-introduced at the party and all seemed fine until R&B star Ray J, who had dated Houston on-and-off for several years, entered the conversation.

“Whitney just got belligerent,” a witness told The Hollywood Reporter.

“Ray was trying to defend Stacy, telling Whitney, ‘Stacy’s family!’, but Whitney was feeling crowded out and hands were raised.”

Photos taken later that night showed Houston dishevelled, agitated and bloated as she left. She reportedly had to be escorted from the club with blood dripping down her leg and scratches on her wrist.

“It was a great event and she left sweaty, and I have heard the word ‘dishevelled,’” Price told ABC

News. “That’s about right. When you stand for three hours and in that time period you are dancing.

You would leave a club looking that way.

“She didn’t look like she was under the influence of anything. She drank some champagne and toasted Kelly Price’s three Grammy nominations Thursday night. That’s what Whitney Houston did,” Price added.

Over the days preceding her death, Houston’s behaviour was erratic. She was seen skipping around a ballroom and doing handstands near the hotel pool, the Los Angeles Times reported, adding that she was seen in mismatched clothes and with dripping wet hair.

At some point on Saturday morning or early afternoon, Houston’s cousin, the singer, Dionne Warwick, spoke to her over the phone to make sure they were seated at the same table at Davis’ party. At this point there were no signs of trouble, according to TMZ. About 3:15 p.m., Houston spoke to her mother, Cissy Houston, and everything still seemed to be fine.

Police, who were already on the scene in preparation for the event later in the evening, arrived at Houston’s room two minutes after her body was discovered.

Officials tried to resuscitate the 48-year-old singer with CPR but were unable to revive her. Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m.

Beverly Hills police Lt. Mark Rosen said she was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. He said there were “no obvious signs of foul play and no obvious signs of a cause of death.”

•Culled from yahoonews

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

9

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

10

NEWS

111 suspects arrested over NURTW’s unrest

N

O fewer than 111 suspected miscreants were yesterday arrested by a combined team of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and the Lagos State Task Force on Environment and Special (Enforcement) Unit.

The suspects were allegedly involved in the clash between factions of the state wing of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, (NURTW).

RRS Commander Mr. Hakeem Odumosun, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), led the raid on the trouble-making suspects.

Taskforce cahirman Mr. Bayo Sulaiman, a Superintendent of Police (SUPOL), who confirmed the arrest, said the NURTW unrest has created pandemonium in some parts of the state in the past two weeks.

He said the clash caused the death of innocent residents and the destruction of property, worth millions of naira.

Sulaiman said yesterday’s raid was to protect lives and property and ensure that Lagosians, especially residents of Lagos Island, live in peace and harmony.

Lagos threatens tax defaulters with prosecution

H

ENCEFORTH, there would be no hiding place high profile tax defaulters in the Centre of Excellence, Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has said.

According to him, his government is compiling the names of such defaulters for prosecution.

Fashola spoke at the Lagos Business School (LBS), Pan African University, Ajah, while making a presentation entitled: “A Tale of Twelve Lessons” at the Third Edition of Project What Next, organized by the 2011/2012 MBA students of the institution.

At an interactive session with the students after the presentation, the governor responded to several questions including the one on the measures being adopted to capture all taxable residents into the net.

He explained that his administration launched an aggressive advocacy programme on why the people should pay taxes on assumption of office in 2007.

Fashola described as totally unacceptable a situation in which many people live on the taxes paid by the few, adding that the more people contribute to the commonwealth, the better for everyone.

According to him, only 2.5 million of the eight million Lagosians on paid employment pay their taxes into the government coffers, The governor said he has mandated his Special Adviser on Taxation to do a final letter to the defaulters on why they should pay their taxes.

On the Lekki-Ajah Epe Expressway, Fashola said his administration will continue to dialogue with the stakeholders on how to make the tolling arrangement better, saying he will be delighted with the reduction of the toll being paid by motorists.

•Some of those arrested over the NURTW’s unrest in Lagos...yesterday

By Miriam Ndikanwu

The task force chief lamented that miscreants had held Lagos Island hostage and disturbed the peace of the area, adding that there was no way the government could allow such brazen lawlessness

to continue.

He said it was in apparent move to arrest the situation that made the combined team to raid the miscreant on Sunday night.

His words: “We have to move to the area to quell the

problem. Those arrested are miscreants fomenting trouble on the Island. We are going to charge them to court today (yesterday).

Sulaiman expressed the readiness of the team to storm other trouble spots and fish

out miscreants disturbing the peace of innocent residents, saying that the raid would be sustained.

Those arrested have been taken to the task force headquarters at Alausa, Ikeja and remanded in detention.

One killed as rainstorm hits parts of Lagos

A

SUDDEN rainstorm in the early hours of yesterday torn through some parts of Lagos, killing at least one person and blowing off the roofs of many houses.

The downpour, which began at about 7am, wreaked havoc in Yaba, Apapa, Mile 2, Ejigbo, Obalende and Oyadiran Estate, Sabo, where it destroyed 20 houses.

Some residents at the Jakande Estate, Iba, off the Isheri-LASU Expressway, also had the roofs of their houses blown off.

Electric poles along the Third Mainland Bridge and communication masts on Lagos Mainland, were also destroyed.

Some areas like the ApapaOshodi Expressway were flooded, resulting in gridlock traffic that took several hours to clear.

O

By Miriam Ndikanwu and Leke Salaudeen

Some residents, who had left for work before the rain began, were stranded at the various bus stops.

The sole victim, who was said to be on his way to work, died when a giant mast, uprooted by the storm, fell on his car around Dordan Barracks, Obalende.

Spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Yushau Shuaib, confirmed the death of the yet-to-be identified person.

He advised Lagosians to take precautionary measures against future rainstorms as predicted by the Nigerian Meteorological (NIMET) agency.

Commissioner for the Environment Tunji Bello described attributed the sudden storm to the effects

of climate change, which the government has alsways talked about.

Bello said: “We have continued on our part to embark on adaptive and mitigative efforts to fight the global scourge. We have embarked on pre-raining season massive cleaning and dredging of canals and drainage channels to prevent flooding as well as embarked on massive enlightenment campaign to sensitise Lagosians on the need to live in a clean and sustainable environment.”

Other public infrastructure destroyed include: the fence of the National Insurance Commission (NIC), a section of Moremi Hall at the University of Lagos, Akoka and the newly built Office of the Public Defender, on Funsho Williams Avenue, Surulere.

Houses were also destroyed

at Onipanu, Palmgroove, Fadeyi and other communities along Ikorodu road.

Some Mega BRT bus stops on the ever-busy road were destroyed by the rain.

A victim of the rainstorm at Okota, Mr. Emmanuel James, told reporters that he was shocked to return home mid afternoon to discover that the roof of his building has been blown off.

James said: “I just returned home in the afternoon from work to meet pools of water on my sofa; the rug in the sitting room soaked. The ceiling is practically squatting, weighed down by water; I had to go out of my way to get roofs and a carpenter for repairs.”

Another victim, Micheal Adigun, in Isheri-Ijegun, said his family watched with fear as the rainstorm wrecked havoc in their area.

Ogun: why Abraham’s Tabernacle Certificate of Occupancy was revoked

GUN State Government yesterday explained why it pulled down some gates of the Regeneration Church of God (also known as Abraham’s Tabernacle).

It also announced the revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy (CofO), earlier granted the property.

The church was built by former Governor Gbenga Daniel within Oba Erinwole Avenue, Government Reserve Area (GRA), Sagamu.

The government said the action was taken to “restore the right of way on public roads”, which the church had encroached upon and blocked with the illegal structures.

It disclosed that the CofO granted to the church by the former governor on May 14, two weeks to the expiration of his administration, has been cancelled.

According to the Director–General, Bureau of Lands and Survey (BLS), Mrs. Ronke Sokefun, a Judicial Lands Commission, found the said CofO to be “tainted with serious irregularities” and recommended its cancellation.

At a press briefing, the director-general said the government was inundated with series of complaints from residents of the area, that the church has encroached on three major roads.

Mrs. Sokefun, who also doubles as Special Adviser to the Governor on Lands, expressed shock that a step taken to restore the right of way on public roads, was deliberately distorted and presented to mean “demolition of the church and desecration of the grave” of the late Pa Abraham Daniel.

She said: “In the last one week, the public has been served with tissues of lies, distorted facts, and fiction by the Regeneration Church of God (Abraham’s Tabernacle), whose trustees are members of the immediate family of the former governor of

From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel.

“The issue under focus is the restoration of the right of way on public roads that the church closed up as part of the larger parcel of the land illegally appropriated in Oba Erinwole Avenue, Sagamu GRA. The initial position of the government was not to join issues with the church.

“We certainly did not touch the tomb of Daniel’s father. We will never desecrate the memory of the dead.”

The director-general said the panel discovered that the incorporation data of Abraham’s Tabernacle showed that the trustees to whom the CofO was issued were his kinsmen.

She gave the names of the three trustees as; Olabunmi Opawole (wife, using her middle and maiden names), Adebola Irede Daniel (son) and Most Rev. Abraham Adebola Daniel (father.)

According to her, the commission also discovered that the CofO No 0033337, which was issued to the church few days to the end of Daniel’s tenure, was characterised by sundry “irregularities”.

Her words: “The letter of allocation of the land issued by the then Director–General, Bureau of Lands and Survey, Surv.

Gbenga Ogunnoiki was issued on 9th July, 2009, almost two years before the land was applied for.

“The allocation on 9th July, 2009, was done even before the name in which it was allocated was registered on 8th June 2010.

“As at the time the allocation was made on 9th July, 2009 and the Certificate of Occupancy issued on 14th May, 2011, other private citizens had subsisting valid titles on portions of the land.”

Lagos seals 14 illegal drug stores FOURTEEN illegal drug stores were yesterday sealed by the Lagos State Task Force on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods.

Health Commissioner Dr. Jide Idris, who confirmed the development, said four operators of the stores at EbuteMetta and Oyingbo, both in the Mainland Local Government Area, were arrested.

All the affected drug stores, according to the commissioner, are located in Oyingbo and Ebute-Metta, on Lagos Mainland.

Idris said: “The affected shops were sealed off for offences ranging from sales of drugs without franchise from the regulatory authority; failure to relocate from a market area and adherence to the mandated distance between a patent medicine shop and market place as stipulated by the law; and sales of counterfeit and fake drugs amongst others.”

He noted that the government’s resolve to streamline the activities of operators in the drug sector was borne out of its zeal to prevent the inherent dangers associated with drug counterfeiting, substandard and expired drugs by unauthorised and unregistered drug and pharmaceutical outlets.

The commissioner restated that by the provision of the pharmaceutical laws, pharmaceutical premises cannot be located in motor parks and other environment where commercial activities take place.

He listed such prohibited places as markets, kiosks, road-side stores and containers.

Ondo begins third anniversary of Mimiko’s administration From Damisi Ojo, Akure

A CHAIN of activities was yesterday announced by the Governor Olusegun Mimikoled administration to celebrate its third year anniversary.

The chairman of the anniversary planning committee, Mr. Akin Adaramola, who announced the programmes, told reporters that the state has witnessed transformation and genuine development since inception.

His words: “There has been perfect harmony between the government and the people in a seamless relationship that broke the barrier and resulted in a paradigm shift, which has in turn given the people joy as against the pain, agony and disconnect they had experienced for years”.

Adaramola, who is the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, attributed the monumental transformation of the state to the genuine commitment of the governor to move the state forward.

The activities as announced by the committee chair include: a Jumat services at the Central Mosque, a stakeholders’ meeting with the governor, a public lecture, an anniversary dinner and inauguration of projects, especially that of the “Mother and Child Hospital (Phase II) in Akure.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

11

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

‘Cocoa output could fall by 20%’

O

UTPUT of cocoa from Nigeria, the fourthbiggest producer, may fall by 20 per cent this season due to rain-induced losses at the start of the growing period, according to Olam International Ltd. Cocoa bean purchases from the beginning of the main-crop season on October 1 to February 7, according to Reuters news declined 29 per cent to 110,000 metric tons, compared with 155,000 tons a year earlier, Anant Patil, a business development manager at agricultural commodity trading company Olam Nigeria Ltd., said by phone from Lagos.

“Cocoa is coming out slowly, so I think that the crop is not as much as last year’s,” Patil said. Rain damaged flowers on the trees, preventing them from maturing and washing away fertiliser, he said.

Nigeria ranks behind Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia in cocoa production, according to the International Cocoa Organisation.

The PHCN in complaince with the power reform programme has ceased to exist but it has not been liquidated as that can only be done by a court order, which currently has not been executed.

- Prof Barth Nnaji, Minister of Power

Naira eases on importer demand for dollars

Why we discharge products at Lome, Cotonou, by importers T M AJOR fuel importers yesterday attrib uted their preference to discharge products outside Nigerian waters largely to security challenges at the Apapa, Lagos wharf.

The importers also said the inability of the fuel jetties at Apapa Wharf to accommodate large volumes of fuel imports hinder their effort to discharge at the port.

The oil marketers, who spoke at the resumed investigation of the management of fuel subsidy scheme specifically listed ports in Cotonou, Niger Republic and Lome, Togo as some of the destinations products meant for the country are discharged.

Chairman, Senate Joint Committee on the probe of

From Onyedi Ojiabor, Asst.

Editor

management of fuel subsidy, Senator Magnus Abe, had explained that it would be unfair for the committee to conclude the investigation without hearing from fuel marketers. He said the committee would not condone any recalcitrant behaviour from the 88 oil importers invited to appear before it.

Managing Director, Conoil Plc, Mr Abiodun Wahab, in his presentation told the committee that his company discharges part of its products in Cotonou or Lome for security reasons.

Chief Executive Officer of African Petroleum (AP), Akin Akinfenwa, in his testimony added that apart from security challenges, discharging products outside Nigeria affords the com-

panies the opportunity to meet part of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conditions to access foreign exchange.

The Conoil chief said his firm has 402 retail outlets and noted that in 2008, they imported 121,530 metric tons of products and received N7.8 billion. In 2009, he said the company imported 16,088 metric tons and received N5.3 billion while they imported 9,966 metric tons in 2010 and received N5.9 billion.

In 2011, he said they imported 418,954 metric tons and was reimbursed N27.2 billion.

On the quantum leap from N5.9 billion in 2010 to N27.2 billion in 2011, Wahab attributed it to fluctuations in the oil business, especially landing cost.

He said: “We do not engage in any form of malpractices.

We do not forge documents.

We do not engage in round tripping. We joined the fuel subsidy scheme in 2008 when we were satisfied that things were working well. We have all the documents, we have the bills of laden, we are very clean, extremely clean.”

Asked the rationale in taking products meant for Nigerian consumers to Cotonou, he said when products arrive Apapa Wharf, the first thing we do is to divide the products into two for security reasons. He said the possibility of pirate attack while products discharge is going on cannot be ruled out. As a result, he said importers are forced to take part of the products to discharges in places like Cotonou and Lome ports.

IOC buys Nigerian crude

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NDIAN Oil Corp (IOC), the country’s largest re finer, has bought one very large carrier of Nigerian light sweet crude via a tender, traders said yesterday.

IOC, according to Reuters news, has bought two 950,000 barrel cargoes of Qua Iboe for April loading from a European oil major. This was not confirmed and price details did not emerge.

Subsequently, IOC issued another tender to buy West African light sweet crude and a rare tender to buy heavy crude.

Both tenders are intended to buy April loading cargoes. They will close today and bids will remain valid until Thursday.

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

• Members of the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) during their inauguration by President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja...yesterday.

Poverty rising despite economic growth, says NBS

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OVERTY in Nigeria is rising with almost 100 million people living on less than $1 a day, despite strong growth in the economy, data showed yesterday.

The percentage of Nigerians living in absolute poverty - those who can afford only the bare essentials of food, shelter and clothing rose to 60.9 per cent in 2010, compared with 54.7 per cent in 2004, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

Although Nigeria’s economy is projected to continue growing, poverty is likely to get worse as the gap between the rich and the poor in Africa’s largest oil producer continues to widen.

“It remains a paradox ... that despite the fact that the Nigerian economy is growing, the proportion of Nige-

• 100m live on less than $1 a day From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

rians living in poverty is increasing every year,” Statistician-General Yemi Kale told reporters in Abuja.

“NBS estimates that this trend may have increased further in 2011 if the potential positive impacts of several anti-poverty and employment generation intervention programmes are not taken into account,” Kale said.

Corruption, according to Reuters news, is rife in Nigeria and for decades politicians have focused on milking cash from crude oil exports, which average more than two million barrels per day, rather than developing infrastructure and creating jobs for locals.

Despite holding the

world’s seventh largest gas reserves, which could be used to generate power, Nigeria only produces enough electricity to power a medium-sized European city.

“More than half of the country’s 160 million inhabitants live without electricity, while the rest have to rely on expensive generators run on diesel supplies controlled by a small and powerful cartel of importers,”Reuters said.

Tens of thousands of Nigerians protested for over a week in January against the government’s decision to end subsidies on petrol imports, a decision welcomed by economists.

What started as a protest against fuel prices, quickly developed into anger over government corruption and poor governance and pres-

sure has been building on PresidentGoodluck Jonathan to tackle graft, particularly in the oil sector.

President Jonathan has set up several committees and an audit report is being carried out on the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Many such reports have been ignored in the past and industry experts say it is unlikely endemic corruption will be reined in.

The protests came at a bad time for Jonathan who has been criticised for not getting a grip on increasingly deadly attacks by radical Islamist sect Boko Haram in the north.

Boko Haram, which wants Islamic law more widely applied in Nigeria, killed more than 250 people in January in a series of bomb and gun attacks in northern cities. It mostly focuses its violence on the police and other authority figures.

HE naira eased slightly against the dollar on the interbank market yesterday after dollar demand from importers put pressure on foreign currency liquidity, dealers said.

The naira ended at N159.20 to the dollar, weakening from a close of N158.85 on Friday when it hit a 2-1/2 month high, helped by United States oil giant Chevron selling $54 million to banks in exchange for naira.

The currency was unchanged after a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) auction on Monday.

The bank sold $250 million at N156.50 to the dollar at the auction, the same rate and amount sold at its previous auction last Wednesday.

Nigeria according to Reuters news lacks a manufacturing base and imports 80 per cent of its goods, thereby draining available hard currency. In turn, it generates most of its dollars from crude oil sales.

Dealers say they expect dollar sales this week from energy firms including the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to help give the naira a boost.

“We expect the naira to strengthen this week because of expected dollar sales by NNPC, Mobil and Shell ,” one dealer said, adding that interbank rates could start to converge with central bank rates if dollar liquidity is sustained.

The naira lost 4.5 per cent against the dollar last year, but analysts say the naira is likely to appreciate this year given the country’s foreign reserves of $34.72 billion and because of oil companies’ expanding supply of dollars.

“The market has witnessed significant dollar inflows from energy firms since the beginning of the year which will help stabilise the value of the currency in the medium term,” he told Reuters.

‘Embrace local fabrics’ From Olugbenga Adanikin, Abuja

The Federal Government has called on Nigerians to embrace the use of local fabrics to revive the nation’s cotton and textile sub-sector.

It also said plans have reached its final stage to reduce the importation of illegal textiles into the country.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina stated this yesterday while signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the West African Cotton Company (WACOT) in Abuja.

He said the sub-sector has the potential to generate wealth and create jobs considering the nation’s vast population.

Adesina said: “As we plan for urgent remedial actions for bringing the ailing cotton and textile sub-sector back to economic reckoning,

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

12

BUSINESS NEWS BPE harmonises documents for PHCN privatisation From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

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HE Bureau of Public Enter prises (BPE) is harmonising industry documents for the privatisation of the Power Holding Company (PHCN) Plc, it was learnt yesterday.

Speaking with reporters after a meeting with the United States delegation to the Ministry of Power in Abuja, the Director-General of the BPE, Ms Bolanle Onagoruwa, assured that the privatisation will be concluded this year.

She noted that BPE would not spend much time negotiating in the bidding process after the harmonisation of the documents.

Her words: “We are at the point of sharing what we call the industry documents with the investors.

We have done that. We have sent the first set of the documents including all the legal agreements to the investors. They have come back with their comments. We are responding to the comments and trying to harmonise the document so that by the time we get to the bidding process, we wouldn’t spend too much time negotiating.”

Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, also assured electricity workers that there was no plan to sack any of them in the privatisation plans for the PHCN. He noted that the plan was to transform them from government workers to private sector participants for better efficiency in the power sector.

According to him, when that is done, the workers will then sign new job contract with new owners.

The minister was speaking yesterday when he hosted a trade delegation from the US led by the Deputy Secretary of State, Africa Bureau Bill William Fitzgerald.

ACAP, Swede Control acquire Law Union & Rock Insurance From Nduka Chiejina, Abuja

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LTERNATIVE Capital Part ners (ACAP) and Swede Con trol Intertek Limited have acquired Law Union and Rock Insurance Plc, one of Nigeria’s first generation insurance companies.

The acquisition of Law Union & Rock Insurance, which was owned substantially by Skye Bank Plc, was sequel to the new banking regulatory framework,which requires banks to concentrate on their core banking business by divesting from non-banking subsidiaries or form or holding company to hold such businesses.

A reliable source at the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) told The Nation that the ACAPSwede Control consortium has acquired 60 per cent controlling shares of Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc. The source revealed that ACAP and Swede Control have made a substantial payment to Skye Bank to take over the bank’s majority equity stake in the insurance company.

According to the source, ACAP and Swede Control Intertek Limited had emerged the preferred bidder for the Skye Bank’s interest in Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc. The consortium has made substantial payments to the divesting commercial bank. The new core investor will now control 60 per cent of Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc. Our correspondent also gathered from a notable insurance broker familiar with the transaction and who worked closely with the Law Union & Rock that a rich and strong management team with demonstrable track record had been put together by the new core investor to work with external consultants to unlock value in the company.

Non-oil tax hits N1.51tr

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HE Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) collected N1.51 trillion in non-oil taxes last

year.

This figure represents an increase of 15.3 per cent over the N1.31 trillion total non-oil taxes collected in 2010.

A statement from the FIRS said: “This performance is as a result of the ongoing reform in the Service drive to reposition the Nigerian tax system and make taxation the pivot of the nation’s sustainable development.”

The breakdown of the non-oil taxes performance trend shows a collection of N663.02 billion of Company Income Tax (CIT), N0.77 billion of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) while Stamp Duty (SD) recorded N6.42 billion.

Also, the Value Added Tax (VAT) collection, which is also part of the non-oil receipt recorded N659.15 billion. This amount represents

• As FIRS records N4.62tr revenue From Nduka Chiejina, Asst. Editor

Non-Import VAT of N492.06 billion and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Import VAT of N167.09 billion.

Education Tax (EDT) recorded N130.74 billion while National Information Technology Development Fund (NITDF) accounted for N8.67 billion collections.

The Personal Income Tax (PIT) accounted for N43.47 billion and Pre-Operational Levy (POL) yielded N0.40 billion.

However, the total tax yield with the inclusion of Oil and Gas Taxes (OGT) for last year stood at N4.62 trillion resulting in what the service called “a landmark achievement when compared with the annual government target of N3.63 trillion set for the Service.”

Of the total figure, the FIRS realised N3.11 trillion from the OGT as against the N1.31 trillion collected in 2010. The Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) accounted for N3.07 trillion, while Gas Income (GI) recorded N45.22 billion of the amount.

Also, the total collection of N4.62 trillion for last year represented an impressive performance in the tax revenue collection of the Service when compared with the N2.83 trillion in the preceding year.

The collection figure, according the statement, is a reconciled amount with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Meanwhile, the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Ifueko OmoiguiOkauru, has restated the Service determination to intensify its tax operations to expand the revenue base of the country for this year.

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

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.

• From left: President, Nigeria Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Mr Agele Alufohai (FNIQS); Secretary General, Mr. Adewunmi Akinpelu (FNIQS); Secretary, Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Mr Kola Adeyemo (FNIQS), and Hadiza El-Rufai, wife of the former FCT Minister, Mallam N. A. El-Rufai (FNIQS), on a condolence visit to the el-Rufais by the Institute over the death of their daughter, Yasmine, in Abuja.

Owners of abandoned aircraft get deadline

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HE Federal Airports Author ity of Nigeria (FAAN) yester day directed owners of abandoned and unserviceable aircraft in all the nation’s airports to remove them or face the wrath of the authority.

The latest directive of FAAN, which also gives the affected airline operators a grace of 30 days to remove the non-functional aircraft, is in line with the authority’s enabling statues and bye-laws.

Managing Director of FAAN, Mr George Uriesi, said in Lagos that “the abandoned aircraft pose poten-

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

tial safety hazard to airport operations and have over the years constituted an eyesore at our airports.

“If the affected airlines fail to remove the disused aircraft on or before the deadline, the authority will be compelled to remove them, and the affected airlines made to pay for the costs of such removals,” he added.

The authority said it took the action to guide against possible inhibition of the effective execution of the ongoing airport re-

modelling projects.

The transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan in the aviation industry is already taking root as shown in major ongoing projects across the country, including apron expansion, and remodelling of terminal buildings. These projects are designed to make the airports more customer-friendly.

It had placed several publication notices in the past, asking owners of abandoned aircraft to remove them from the airports to no avail.

Local content: Alison-Madueke lauds LADOL, tronized before foreign facilities.

INISTER of Petroleum Re Nigerdock Alison-Madueke expressed satisfacsources, Mrs. Diezani

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Alison-Madueke has commended the efforts and investments

by Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics (LADOL) base and free zone and Nigerdock, in Snake Island, toward the development of local content in the oil and gas industry.

The Minister urged indigenous and international oil service companies in the country to position themselves to tap into the emerging massive investment profile in the global offshore petroleum sector estimated to hit $361 billion by the end of this year.

She noted that shallow water productions would grow by 20 per cent, and deepwater would grow by 99 per cent, with an investment estimated at $152 billion in the next five years.

The Minister spoke yesterday in Lagos when she visited the two companies as part of her assessment of

• Global offshore investments to hit $361b

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

progress made in Nigerian Content development, which started last month.

The minister had visited the SCC pipes in Abuja and promised to visit all companies that promoted local content, through use of Nigerians and Nigerian materials as well as execution of projects in-country. She noted that she disapproves of taking jobs and projects abroad except if they are not doable here in Nigeria She assured foreign companies and investors that in partnership with indigenous fabrication companies of Federal Government’s support to see that their local facilities are pat pa-

tion at what she saw at LADOL, which is 100 per cent indigenously-owned.

She said:“For Nigeria to grow and progress in the oil and gas sector in the way and manner that government would intend it to grow and would like to support it to grow, we need the combined efforts of the stakeholders and visionaries such as those who are behind the creation of LADOL. “The fact that LADOL is a 100 per cent indigenously-owned facility for, which the promoters had a long term strategic thinking and visionway back and took the calculated risks to actually start the implementation of a facility such as this, 10 years as they say, before the Nigerian Content actually came, is extremely encouraging to us. I think that they could not have been more proactive and strategic than they have been.”

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.

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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

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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 2. Arik (M/T/TH/F) 17.30

08.00 18.00

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

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

How Dickson emerged Bayelsa governor The February 11 governorship election in Bayelsa State was monitored by BISI OLANIYI and ISAAC OMBE. Their report is revealing.

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NTIL the last minute, there were fears that the Bayelsa State governorship election would not hold. It held in all the eight local government areas of President Goodluck Jonathan’s home state. It was an anti-clamix, after all. The result declared by Prof Joseph Ajienka, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port-Harcourt, who was the returning officer showed that it was a nocontest as the People Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) candidate, Hon. Seriake Dickson, won handsomely.

He polled 417,500 votes to beat his closest rival, Dr Imoro Kubor of the Change Advocacy Party (CAP) with 22,534 votes.

The election was described by a cross-section of Bayelsans as the most peaceful in the history of the state, created out of the old Rivers State on October 1, 1996, by the regime of late General Sani Abacha.

Friday’s ruling of the Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja, which declined to stop Bayelsa governorship election, led to excitement and celebrations among the electorate, with March 15, 2011 fixed for hearing in the suit filed by the African Renaissance Party (ALP) and its governorship candidate, Dumbo Hink.

Still pending is the contention by the African Liberation Party (ALP) that it was wrongfully excluded. This remains a threat to the authenticity of the election, even after the result has been declared.

The President, who was accompanied by his wife, Dame Patience and his mother, Madam Eunice, and other stakeholders of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was accredited at 10:05 am at his Unit 39 Otuabule, Ward 13 and voted at 12:45 pm. The President described the election as not only peaceful, but orderly and fair, maintaining that what the people saw in Otuoke was the general picture across Bayelsa state.

He said: “You know that in Bayelsa state, there were some kind of challenges as to who the candidates are, and who is not the candidate up till yesterday (Friday). Bayelsans were confused as to whether election would go on or not. But I’m a senior PDP member and I’m hopeful that Dickson will win.”

Thirty six governorship candidates participated in the election, involving 630,000 registered voters across the 105 wards of the state’s eight LGAs, leading to the deployment of 15,000 security agents, with 10,000 of them being policemen.

On his expectation, President Jonathan said as a PDP member, he expected the party’s candidate, Henry Seriake Dickson, to emerge victorious and to execute development projects across the state.

A prominent Bayelsan, Brig.-Gen. Maxwell Appah (rtd.), at his Kaiama hometown, the headquarters of

•From left: INEC Returning Officer for Bayelsa Governorship election Prof. Joseph Ojanka, State Resident Electoral Commissioner Mr Edwin Nwatarali and INEC National Commissioner Dr Ishmael Igbani during collation of election results in Yenagoa ... Sunday

Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA of Bayelsa state, described the election as the most peaceful.

An indigene of Sabagrea in Kolokuma/Opokuma council, Rear Admiral Geoffrey Yanga (rtd.) and Major-General Olotu Appah (rtd.) also described the governorship election as peaceful and orderly, with electoral materials arriving very early, across the state.

Dickson, a member of the House of Representatives, representing Sagbama/Ekeremor constituency and also a former Bayelsa AttorneyGeneral and Commissioner for Justice, when President Jonathan was the state’s governor, eventually emerged as the winner.

The results from the eight LGAs were announced by the Chief Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joseph Ajienka, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), with Dickson winning with a wide margin.

The standard bearer of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Kemela Okara, earlier expressed optimism of emerging victorious at the poll, but could not be realised.

ACN’s governorship candidadte, who spoke after voting at his Bomoundi hometown in Yenagoa LGA, stated that he had confidence in INEC and the security apparatus, but with the loss, he might not be able to vouch for them and might be contemplating filing petition at the tribunal.

Okara added that cases against conduct of the election and electoral matters, would always add to the beauty of democracy.

Dickson voted at his coastal ToluOrua community in Sagbama LGA and later in an interview, expressed optimism of winning the election, considering the efforts put in place

BAYELSA GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION RESULTS LGA ACN Brass Ekeremor Kolukoma Opkuma Nenbe Ogbia Sagbama Southern Ijaw Yenegoa TOTAL

1,250 975 326 1,076 1,085 1,388 1,679 1,848 9,627

by members of his restoration team, promising to congratulate the winner.

The PDP’s standard bearer was also delighted about the orderliness and peaceful nature of the election, while assuring Bayelsans that if he emerged winner, he would restore the state’s lost glory.

Bayelsa’s Acting Governor, Chief Nestor Binabo, after voting at Okumbiri in Sagbama Local Government Area, enjoined Bayelsans to see themselves as an integral part of the democratic process, imbibe its core values and propagate them to the larger society.

The Chairman of Dickson’s Campaign Caucus, Timi Alaibe, after accreditation at his Opokuma hometown in Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA, expressed optimism that the election would be hitch-free.

“We hope that the results will come out fine. I am participating fully and I am optimistic that PDP’s candidate will win the election. The court cases are wasted efforts. Let us come together to move Bayelsa State forward. We need to end poverty in Bayelsa. There is also need for infrastructural development.”

PARTIES CAP CPC 5,089 1,867 490 2,000 1,277 1,738 7,972 2,101 22,534

83 2,044 94 103 151 414 278 381 3,548

PDP 36,353 55,044 18,107 57,589 50,848 51,078 86,661 61,820 417,500

The people of Bayelsa state, especially the electorate, who registered in their various communities, mostly riverine, were seen in Yenagoa, the state capital on Friday, travelling to exercise their franchise, since three quarters of the state is water.

For the first time in a long while, there was huge traffic on Yenagoa’s roads on Friday, as election observers were moving into the state capital, deployed security personnel and INEC officials travelling to their stations/locations, as well as the electorate relocating to vote, with hotels in the state capital fully booked.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of INEC, Edwin Nwatarali, maintained that the election was free, fair and credible, while describing the turnout as “highly impressive.”

At Unit 13 Foubiri, Ward 5 of Ebedebiri in Sagbama LGA, the Presiding Officer, Ozukwe Eze, who is a youth corps member, described the election as peaceful, just as it was throughout the state.

The Commissioner of Police, Chris Olakpe; state Director of SSS, Andrew Iorkyar and their personnel, as well as operatives of the Joint task Force

‘Dickson has won, awaiting the inauguration of his government at press time.

However, the crisis that has engulfed the state is all but over. Sylva remains implaceable, some of his supporters, including Dickson’s colleagues in the National Assembly refused to join their party’s campaign train’

(JTF), Operation Pulo (Oil) Shield, formerly Operation Restore Hope, had little jobs to do during the election, in view of the prevailing peace.

The former governor, Chief Timipre Sylva; his wife Alanyingi and most of their aides were not seen during the election, with reports suggesting that he had moved out of the country.

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre, along Azikoro Road, Yenagoa was initially designated as collation centre, with the Outside Broadcast (OB) vans of the Africa Independent Television (AIT) and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) on standby.

In view of security scare, on Sunday morning, the collation was shifted to the Commission’s headquarters along Road Safety Way, amid very tight security by personnel of the police, SSS and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, with Armoured Personnel Carriers also deployed and the busy road closed to traffic.

A speed boat hired by INEC and conveying youth corps members, policemen, soldiers, party agents and electoral materials to Apoi/Bassan/ Koluama in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state, capsized on Saturday, but there was no casualty, election could therefore not hold in the area.

The sensitive electoral materials, including ballot papers, that were lost when the boat capsized, were for Units 18 to 35 of Ward 15, Apoi, with the boat conveying seven corps members as ad hoc staff of INEC, one Supervisory Presiding Officer (SPO), two soldiers, three policemen, two agents of political parties and the boat driver.

One of the youth corps members, who declined to give his name, based on warning against it by the authorities of the NYSC in Bayelsa state, told The Nation in an interview in Yenagoa on Sunday that the passengers lost all their personal effects, including their phones, but expressed gratitude to God for being alive.

The corps member said he left Yenagoa for Oporoma, the headquarters of Southern Ijaw LGA around 2 pm on Friday, with INEC officials moving them Ikubiri in the same LGA, where they passed the night in a terrible place, with the journey to Apoi starting around 11 am on Saturday, over delay in sharing the electoral materials.

Public Relations Officer of INEC in Bayelsa state, Timidi Wariowei, in a telephone interview on Sunday, noted that not holding election in the area, over the loss of the electoral materials, would not affect the results of the poll, saying it was just part of a ward, out of the state’s 105 wards.

One of the governorship aspirants of the PDP, Ben Murray-Bruce, who is also a former Director-General of the NTA, described Dickson’s emergence as the party’s standard bearer as coronation, based on his preference by President Jonathan, in spite of the court cases by Sylva and others.

Dickson has won, awaiting the inauguration of his government at press time. However, the crisis that has engulfed the state is all but over.

Sylva remains implaceable, some of his supporters, including Dickson’s colleagues in the National Assembly refused to join their party’s campaign train. TheARP and ALP are still pursuing their cases.

Would this, like the 2007 pool be nullified? Does President Jonathan, Dickson’s godfather, have the muscle to suppress internal revolt. The picture remains cloudy.

18

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

POLITICS

1999 Constitution is outdated, says Abayomi

Chairman of the House Committee on Legislative Compliance Hon. Moruf Akinderu-Fatai explains why MDAs and other executive bodies should comply with resolutions of the House of Representatives. He spoke with Correspondent VICTOR OLUWASEGUN.

‘MDAs should implement House resolutions’

W

HAT would you say are the challenges confronting your committee?

The major challenge is compliance, especially by the MDAs. In most cases, we have people writing to their Honourable member from the constituency on challenges facing them, whether they have been cheated or sacked or wronged in one way or the other. The House provided a mechanism that members of the public who cannot afford to go to court can approach it to intervene. In most cases, what we do is to provide a clear playing ground between the complainant and those they complained about.

In most cases, the two parties are given opportunity to resolve the issue and the Committee on Public Petitions then presents the report of such matters before the House.

How effective has this been?

What we discovered along the line is that most organisations ignore the directives of the House. That is why we have this committee which came into being in2007. Again, the executive feels that they don’t owe any explanation to the Parliament and you see them telling you that it is the President that appointed them, that they report to him. We always say that They were appointed but we were elected. It is important that those in the executive don’t look down on those in the Parliament, especially when you look at the way we get to the point of decision making. We have to go through the committee, and the committee will have to come and defend itself at the plenary session. So, that is our primary major challenge.

I can recall the issue of Fiscal Responsibility Commission, after the bill was passed into law by former President Obasanjo, it took about three years because the Executive was not too eager to establish that commission. It was this committee that practically forced the Executive to set up the commission. They appointed the Board, but no office. And then we made sure that it became a story we are proud of today - that the committee existed.

If a ministry or agency refuses to comply with the resolution of the House, what can it do?

Well, we will try as much as possible to make them align with the

resolutions from the House. And that is one of the reasons why a motion before the House on compliance was recently passed. Aand that motion advised that each MDA should establish a legislative compliance desk.

We are partners in progress. We are not really dictatorial because this is democracy, but what we will always do is to stand by the people. If as an organisation because you do not like somebody, you sack that person without following due process and we look into it and discover what you did was wrong in law and we advised you accordingly and you refuse it, that means the leadership of the Assembly will come into the matter and make sure that it is enforced because everybody is important and nobody should be left behind.

How relevant has it been to the ordinary people?

In some cases where we have time gap, at times, we advise that they settle amicably, pay the petitioners off and let them go instead of sack. But if you as a director and you don’t like somebody and you just sack, we will come in. We also look into the issue of private organisations.

Another issue before us is the former Afri Bank which is now Mainstreet Bank that .sacked virtually all the union members. That was about 10 years ago and up till now, they did not reinstate all of them as directed by the House as far back as 2003 . And any time from now, we are opening up the matter again so that it can be resolved. It is not about force but persuasion. Yet resolutions are meant to be considered because they are well thought out. If you as an organisation refuse to abide with our resolution that affects you, then we will take you as being hostile to the Nigerian parliament.

Recently on January 8, at the Sunday emergency session, the House directed the Federal Government to revert the petrol pump price to N65, but the presidency said it was just an opinion, what do you think this portends?

First of all, if I look at it from their own argument, they will tell you it is a policy matter which is true. But any policy that will materially affect the people of this country concerns the National Assembly. And coming

H •Akinderu-Fatai

from the statement of the spokesman, it shows that we still have a long way to go. Because for instance ,we have a lot of powers in our hands, you have brought a budget and you intend to fund it with removal of subsidy, the House advised on a way to fund the budget without removing the subsidy. I would have preferred him to keep quiet instead of making such inflammatory statements. It does not help the presidency and it will even have a negative effect on the good image of the presidency.

What we are trying to do is just to resolve the matter and as we resolve the matter, we let the executive know that N140 will materially affect the life of our people negatively.

You have inherited a herculean task, heading a committee largely seen as not fully working and lacking in the power of enforcement.

What is your plan as the chairman to turn around the committee?

I will not agree that it has not been working, it is the position of the executive that will change. And don’t forget that most of the work done by the committee are done behind closed doors. If we resolve a matter amicably, do you have to go to the press? If we call upon you and you explain your situation and we resolve it between the two parties making sure that you comply, we don’t have to go to the press. It is only when we have bigger challenges that you can say what are they doing?

We also visit sites. For instance, when the Federal Ministry of Works refused to comply with the directives on the rehabilitation of overhead bridge in Ilasamaja in Lagos, we were there to see the level of compliance.

So, the committee has always been working, but our approach will be very different this period in the sense that we intend to make the house resolution to be respected by all - and that is our focus.

Why should the MDAs have legislative compliance desk?

It is our advice to the MDAs so that it will make our job easier. Now, if you have a legislative compliance desk in your agency, those are the people we contact that will interface between us and the management. And in most cases, the head of the organisations always claim that they are not aware of our resolutions.

UMAN rights activist Dr. Tunji Abayomi has said that the flawed 1999 Constitution is outdated, stressing that it came into force, following the promulgation of Decree 24 of 1999 by former Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar.

He spoke in Lagos at the meeting of the National Action Coalition (NACO) chaired by Dr. Tunji Braithwaite. Abayomi, who is contesting the governorship in Ondo State on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), said what is required is a peoples’ constitution to replace the flawed document.

He stressed: “1999 Constitution is a military constitution foisted on the country in a hurry by the military regime. From legal and legitimacy point of view, the constitution is problematic. We need a peoples’ constitution. People must come together to determine the terms of relationship.

The man who is removing subsidy is a product of the poisonous constitution”.

Abayomi said, since the foundation of this dispensation was laid on a false premise, it could only wobble on in decay. Urging the ethnic nationalities to unite for a Sovereign National Conference, he maintained that a national debate is germane to the future existence of the country.

He added: “It is not government that gives a constitution to the people.

It is the constitution made by the people that gives birth to a legitimate government. It is not the constitution that validates itself, but the process of making it”.

Abayomi reviewed the state of the nation, contending that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government

By Emmanuel Oladesu

has wrecked havoc on the country.

He stressed: “There is no good school, no good hospital, no good road. India is now the citadel of our healthcare. People are dying of hunger. There is poverty of ideas, mind, resources, governance, and environment.

“Soyinka said this is a wasted generation. I am now over 60. My generation has been consumed by that wastage”.

At the meeting were the founder of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, foremost legal scholar Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN), Prof. Akin Oyebode, Prof. Pat Utomi, Mrs. Amara Nwosu, Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu, Ife Oyedele, Dr. Lakin Akintola, Alhaji Shettima Yerima, and Collins Eselanwo,

•Abayomi

Attah, Ibru call for national conference

F

ORMER Governors Victor Attah (Cross River State) and Felix Ibru (Delta) have called for true federalism and convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to discuss the terms of future co-existence among the ethnic nationalities.

They spoke in Lagos at the twoday National Summit held at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja.

Attah listed the challenges confronting the country. They include lack of true federalism, corruption, and structural distortions in the constitution, which has made true federalism impossible.

He added: “Until we affirm the sanctity of the ballot box, there will be no accountability and democracy. if there is no justice, true federalism, then, Nigeria may break

up into pieces”.

Ibru said: “I stand for a national conference. The set up we have is a problem, but more problematic is the type of people operating it.

Only the right people can operate a right system. We are nostalgic about the old order. How would our forefathers react to corruption, kidnapping and murders which we witness now? We need to talk at the national conference”.

Also, at the summit, founder of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr Fredrick Fasehun, said: “The powers that be are opposed to the Sovereign National Conference. But Nigeria will not break down because of national conference. We are thinking about institutionalising social justice. Without it, there will be no stability”.

Governorship aspirant unfolds plans

P

•PDP candidate in Saturday’s governorship election Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko acknowledges cheers at a campaign rally in Sokoto.

EOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Ondo State Mr. Moyosola Niran-Oladunni has begun mobilisation for the actualisation of his ambition across the three senatorial districts.

Unfolding his plans for the state, he said his administration would fight the infrastructure battle, if elected governor in November.

Niran-Oladunni told reporters in Lagos that his party, PDP, is still strong in the state, in spite of its past electoral misfortune, assuring that it would bounce back during the next election.

He spoke on the existing unofficial zoning formula, which he pointed out, has underscore politics in Ondo State since the Second Republic. He said, as a party devoted

•Niran-Oladunni

to internal democracy and principle, PDP would not jettison the method.

Niran-Oladunni said: “There are three senatorial districts. Ajasin and Adefarati are from the north, Agagu is from the south, and Mimiko is from the central. It is important to sustain this formula for the purpose of justice, fairness and equity.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

19

EDITORIAL/OPINION COMMENT

EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

Follow the money

Military action could enmesh the U.S. in a civil war. Diplomacy is the best option.

Avoiding the Syria trap

• Reps subsidy panel shouldn’t give impression of helplessness; it has enough evidence

I

N what looks like an expression of frustration, the House of Representatives Ad-hoc committee probing the management of the fuel subsidy regime has appealed to Nigerians to avail it with more information that will lead to uncovering the mysteries surrounding the huge expenditure incurred in subsidy payments last year. Lawan Farouk, the committee’s chairman made the plea in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja.

Nigerians must be wondering the basis of this kind of plea or request. How, for instance, does the committee expect people who did not lift oil or are completely ignorant about operations in the sector to have records of such transactions? Many of the stakeholders, including marketers, and the regulatory agencies in the oil sector had appeared before the committee and stated their case, even if they gave conflicting figures of the amount of petrol we import per day on which subsidy was paid in the last few years. Even the supervising ministry of petroleum resources had stated its case.

So, what else does the committee want?

The average Nigerian now knows, courtesy of the House of Representatives probe, that the subsidy regime is one huge racket through which billions of naira had been stolen over the years. The only difference last year was that some

of those involved in the importation of fuel stole too much for the owners to notice.

The House of Representatives has oversight functions aside from its legislative duties. In that capacity, it has the power to summon relevant people and stakeholders of any institution it is looking into its affairs and they are duty bound to honour such summons. In like manner, it can call for records that it deems useful in the course of its investigations. If with all these powers the House is giving the impression of being helpless in its assignment on fuel subsidy, then it is sending, probably inadvertently, a signal to Nigerians not to expect much from the probe.

This would be tragic, not only for probity and transparency in governance, it would also fuel suspicion that the House took on the responsibility of probing the matter in order to buy time and take the heat off the zone of the subsidy protesters, before finally sweeping the matter under the carpet.

There is enough evidence to prosecute those involved in the subsidy racket. This is evident even from the inability of those concerned to give us a common answer on an elementary question as how many litres of fuel we import or consume daily.

Where available evidence is not enough, the committee should demand for more to facilitate the discharge of its assign-

ment. The House of Representatives members should understand that this is a probe unlike no other. Some Nigerians were killed over the subsidy riots last month, which prompted the subsidy probe that has thrown open a Pandora’s Box. They must not die in vain.

This subsidy probe should not end like the power probe. Those who should know have bandied figures ranging from 59 million litres to 35 million litres as the amount of petrol we consume daily in the country. This discrepancy is too much to be ignored. With some of the evidence tendered before the committee, what we expect it to do is not to wring its hands in frustration but to sift through the evidence and follow the money.

‘There is enough evidence to prosecute those involved in the subsidy racket. This is evident even from the inability of those concerned to give us a common answer on an elementary question as how many litres of fuel we import or consume daily.

Where available evidence is not enough, the committee should demand for more to facilitate the discharge of its assignment’

Private varsity, public problem • Students riot at Ajayi Crowther University

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HE untimely death of a student, the violent rioting it caused and the subsequent indefinite closure of Ajayi Crowther University (ACU) have caused many Nigerians to re-examine long-held assumptions about private universities in the country.

When they first began to emerge in the mid-nineties, private universities were presented as a viable alternative to the decaying public university system that prevailed at the time. They were seen as tertiary institutions which would have all the advantages of their public counterparts, with none of their disadvantages.

Private universities would run academic sessions without interruptions of any sort, thereby enabling students to complete their courses on time. They would provide conducive environments for teaching, learning and research

‘For its part, ACU must make concerted efforts to repair its damaged reputation. It must avoid the temptation to carry out a coverup, or focus solely on punitive measures. It should undertake a holistic review of its operations, particularly as they relate to student welfare. Where criminal offences are found to have been committed, the culprits should be subject to the due process of law. The university should show that it is indeed worthy to bear the name of the illustrious Samuel Ajayi Crowther’

because they would be devoid of the gross overcrowding that has blighted public universities. In addition to academic excellence, the private universities were also to offer the moral rigour which would ensure that their graduates turn out to be good people rather than just good students. The high fees they demanded were seen as a reasonable price to pay for the qualitative educational services they were to offer.

The ACU debacle appears to show that many of these laudable goals are yet to be achieved. According to reports, a student had died shortly after admission to the university’s medical centre. The university authorities claim that the student had been admitted in a critical condition and they had done all that was humanly possible to save him. His colleagues accused the university of negligence and went on a rampage, burning down the Accounting and Economics Department. Other facilities were also damaged.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of the student’s unfortunate death, it is very surprising that the students reacted in the manner that they did. The violence and destruction with which they expressed their anger harks back to the very worst characteristics of public universities.

Where were the forbearance, self-control and rationality that this mission school is supposed to have drummed into its carefully-selected students? The university’s subsequent closure has made it no different from its public counterparts for whom the prospect of sudden closure is all too common.

The significance of the ACU crisis

cannot be understated. If private universities turn out to be little better than the worst of their public counterparts, the outlook for the country’s tertiary education is indeed bleak. It could undermine any pretence the private universities are making to delivering superior teaching and character-building services. Worse, they could come to be widely perceived as commercial entities solely focused on turning a profit, rather than educational institutions genuinely devoted to promoting intellectual and moral growth.

As ACU and the Nigeria Police investigate the incident, efforts must be made to find out if there were any deepseated grievances for which the death of the student was merely a trigger. Over the past few years, there have been persistent complaints that the services offered in some private universities are not commensurate with the very high fees charged by them. If this is indeed the case, the National Universities Commission (NUC) will have to step up its regulatory processes and ensure that students in private universities are not being shortchanged.

For its part, ACU must make concerted efforts to repair its damaged reputation.

It must avoid the temptation to carry out a cover-up, or focus solely on punitive measures. It should undertake a holistic review of its operations, particularly as they relate to student welfare. Where criminal offences are found to have been committed, the culprits should be subject to the due process of law. The university should show that it is indeed worthy to bear the name of the illustrious Samuel Ajayi Crowther.

G

IVEN the continued carnage in Syria, and given Russian and Chinese obstruction of a plan to have Syrian President Bashar Assad step aside, the Arab League, Western nations and the United Nations secretarygeneral are scrambling to identify other measures to stop the killing. Those efforts are urgent and admirable. But, dire as the humanitarian situation is, the United States and NATO should resist the temptation to become militarily involved.

Last month, the Arab League, frustrated by Assad’s limited compliance with commitments he had made to end the violence and allow journalists and humanitarian agencies into the country, proposed a political solution: Assad would step down in favor of one of his vice presidents during a transition to democracy. Western nations pressed for a Security Council resolution endorsing the plan, but it was vetoed Saturday

by Russia and China in what Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called a “travesty.”

After casting its veto, Russia made a show of seeking a solution by dispatching its foreign minister to Damascus, but it shows little inclination to pressure Assad. That leaves several other paths forward.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who this week deplored the “appalling brutality” in the Syrian city of Homs, is expected to endorse a sizable joint U.N.-Arab League monitoring mission in Syria. Meanwhile, Clinton has called for a group of “friends” — countries that would join the United States — to ratchet up pressure on Assad.Sen. John McCain(R-Ariz.) is suggesting that the U.S. aid countries willing to arm the Syrian opposition.

Singly or together, such efforts could move Assad in the direction of compromise and a cease-fire, but they won’t produce immediate results and are no substitute for the Security Council resolution vetoed by Russia and China.

That raises the question of whether the United States and its allies should undertake military action in Syria, as they did in Libya. That would be a mistake. It isn’t just that Russia and China probably would block a Security Council resolution of the kind that established theno-fly zone in Libya. (Russia, which abstained on that resolution, later criticized the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for using an authorization to protect civilians as a justification for regime change.)

U.S. military action in Syria, a nation that is larger than Libya and that has close ties to Iran, could enmesh this country in a civil war that might continue along sectarian lines even if Assad were deposed. That is what occurred in Iraq during the U.S. occupation, prolonging American involvement.

Short of military intervention, the United States should do its utmost, alone or in collaboration with Clinton’s “friends,” to pressure the Syrian regime to end the war on its own people and move toward democracy. But the sobering reality is that there are limits to what this country can do to ameliorate suffering and end oppression, in Syria and elsewhere in the world.

Los Angeles 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 14, 2012

20

EDITORIAL/OPINION

S

IR: Those that answer Valentine dread the month of February like a plague. Besides close friends who always demand that you celebrate your name in grand style, most confront you with all manner of questions bordering on the concept that your name is supposed to embody. Thus, you are asked whether you were born on February 14 or whether you were a by-product of love affair that took place in the month of February.

Despite much research, we cannot tell unarguably the exact date the feast started, nor the route by which it entered into history. Perhaps it is connected to the life of a certain St. Valentine who was said to have suffered martyrdom in Rome as the Church hagiography would want us to believe; perhaps, as the legend of the saint’s heroic faith says, it grew out of the love shown to prisoners by the saintly Valentine.

Perhaps it has to do with the period in the year when birds of the earth look for mates; perhaps it is another case of substitution of a pagan feast by Christian feast as a subtle way of blighting paganism at the bud. We do not know.

Valentine’s Day is part of history whose beginning has been forgotten, and whose end we shall never reach.

The popularity of Valentine’s Day could be linked to the nature of the theme it celebrates – love. Writing about love, Archbishop Fulton Sheen called it “the most used and the most misunderstood word.”

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

Reflections on Valentine’s Day The misunderstanding inherent in the nature of love often provokes people to ask questions such as: How much of what we claim as love is love indeed? Does love have different levels and spheres?

Is it possible to love our neighbour as ourselves, as the Holy writ prescribes? What is love?

These are the questions with which the most comprehensive theories, treatises, and analyses of love find it necessary to begin.

Whatever form love takes, it implies a complex psychical experience of strong attraction to, intense desire for, vivid appreciation of, a profound interest in, ones object of love. The object of love could be a fellow being, institution, cause or even nature.

It involves tender affection, sympathetic understanding, admiration and loyalty, with reference to its object.

But apart from a few people who recognise the fact of plurality of love in their analyses, most of us, especially the youth, talk abundantly of love, commonly in the

sense of amorous appetite.

These are people who confess their loving the object of their love more than their own mothers. Our elders consider this form of love to be a form of “possession” or “madness”, and would frown at anyone who would propose it as a fit guide in the choice of marriage mate.

They do this, knowing that once the erotic side of love diminishes or fades away altogether, the disinterested element fades too. Interest in the other’s happiness evaporates, all tender feeling is eroded, and the one desire is to get away. It is a spark thrown off by the contact or nearness of two opposite bodies.

In pursuit of this type of love there is nothing that human beings have not done, or are not capable of doing. The love portion that some ladies brew for men they suspect of unrequited love has no platonic aim. It is not out of generosity, rather to get the object of their longing, that men spend lots of money in wooing women.

Women themselves do as much.

To attract men, they dress in manners to arouse precipitate passion.

Eyelashes are darkened with gum ammonia. Checks and lips are painted with sticks of minium or alkanet roots.

All sort of things are rubbed on the face, in the hope that it will make them look beautiful. Some in the villages still wrap their fingernails over night with henna leaves to make them purple.

Breast enhancement has since become part of beauty regimen.

There is no part of the woman’s body, in pursuit of men, that has not been perfected, decorated, refined, stretched and squeezed, bleached, reformed, compacted and shortened.

Higher than the afore-described love is what is often called genuine friendship. In this type of love, there is often the predominance of altruistic motives.

It springs from mutual admiration. Here, love is thought to precede desire and to determine its wishes. Marriages built upon this

Control development along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

S

IR: The development along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway especially at Berger, Isheri Oshun, Mowe, Ibafo and Redemption Camp areas (all in Ogun State) gives thought for concern. This development is not sustainable and it’s high time something was done.

Nigeria has about 910,771 square kilometres of land mass. The total land mass that has been developed is less than 1% (9,108). We have enough land mass to take care of our development except that we lack planning.

Ibafo is now being turned to another Oshodi Bus Stop of old, before Governor Babatunde Raji

Fashola of Lagos State brought sanity into this area by rehabilitating and overhauling it. Oshodi Bus Stop in the eighties and nineties was dreaded by ladies and gentlemen especially at night. Urban regeneration has done wonders and ensured its makeover.

The practice world-over about new development is that they are sustainable - organised through public/private collaboration. Human beings are useless without control. Government should see housing as a basic need and realise that property developers will concentrate in areas where there are infrastructures like roads, water,

light etc or where these infrastructures will be easy to access.

Ibafo/Mowe/Redemption Camp axis is prone to abuse because of its easy access to Lagos industrial hubs and hence requires greater control. Development along the expressway should be discouraged by the government; all forms of development within 1,500 metres to the road should be halted.

Vacant land and undeveloped properties within these areas should be confiscated by government and compensation paid to rightful owners of the properties.

Government should also provide infrastructure like motorable

roads and electricity in the interior land to the expressway to encourage development there. This will discourage development along the road, conserve nature along the roads, encourage community identity and sustainable development.

Government should also provide pedestrian over-head bridges along the busy points and cordon off the pedestrians so that they are confined to the use of the pedestrian bridges through wire-mesh barricades along the two sides of the roads at busy points. A stitch in time saves nine.

•Olufemi Oyedele, Osogbo, Osun State

type of love are often successful.

Mature lovers discover that marriage transcends the act of multiplication of the species or the fantasy of sexual acts. The key to peace in the world is for men to embrace the ethics of Christ – love.

Confucius taught a version of it in his rule of reciprocity (golden rule). Immanuel Kant espoused it in his book, The Metaphysics of Morals in what he called the “Maxims of Categorical Imperative”. All great religions teach it. Until we start to imbibe this golden rule (love), the battle to re-make the world can as well be labelled a utopia. The sooner we use the day of Valentine to promote this type of love, the better the world will become.

• Obienyem Valentine Awka, Anambra State

SOS to Kwara State government

S

IR: This is an SOS to the government of Kwara State and officials in charge of the state pension matters.

It is on record that workers in tertiary Institutions owned by Kwara State government viz: Polytechnic and Colleges, after serving the state meritoriously received their gratuity and pension with very old salary scale called HATISS which is a far cry from CONTISS that they retired with.

My believe and that of many retirees is that the matter is yet to come to the notice of the state government. Kindly allow our gratuity and pension be paid with CONTISS that we collected while in service so that we can live a near decent life after retirement. This will surely encourage those in active service to put in their best and will in a great way curb the menace of age and record falsifications rampant among workers in other to perpetuate themselves in service longer than the service rule permits since their life out of service life is not guaranteed.

‘Lanre Adisa Ilorin, Kwara State

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THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

EDITORIAL/OPINION

T

R

But that is if the integration idea is soundly implemented.

That takes the discourse to a related report in the same issue of The Punch, claiming Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, governor of Ondo State, might be on the verge of pulling out of the project.

Olakunle His reason? According to the lordbeek@yahoo.com, 08054504169 (Sms only, please) Abimbola report, ACN’s reported “desperate” bid to snatch Ondo State from the governor’s Labour Party (LP), in the gubernatorial election holding in 2013. representing anybody? Or of their near-zero contributions, aside In sedate political discourse, the pleasant cliché is while the with that of Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala, controversial their parasitic gospel of “mainstream” politics – or both? politician looks at the next election, the statesman looks at the former governor of Oyo State, both scions of the late Lamidi “Mainstream” is, of course, the current conservative “sharing” next generation. But the real politik is far less sedate. In any case, Adedibu School of Amala Politics. That turned Ibadan into a manifesto that dooms every part of the federation to collective before you become a statesman in a democracy, you must have cauldron of blood and gore, which climaxed with the poverty, from collecting dole from a so-called Federation a track record of won elections. So, every politician would gruesome murder of Lateef Salako aka Eleweomo, the famed Account. But regional economic integration is a contrasting rather win elections first, and think of statesmanship later. tough of the NURTW political storm-troopers. philosophy, aimed at turning states, integrated into regions, So, would a harassed Iroko of Ondo politics play Judas on the By the time the hurly burly was done and the battle had into wealth-creating zones to feed the centre. If that works – and integration question, just to stave off ACN attack on his been lost and won, Mr. Folarin’s senate diadem had been there is no reason to suggest it won’t – it would give the tottering gubernatorial crown? That is a possibility – and it is not lost (by him); and won (by another: Jumoke Akinjide, who Nigerian federation (if not polity) a kiss of life; and create mass illegitimate, given the primacy of winning elections in a eventually lost the Oyo central senatorial election to Ayo prosperity in place of the current mass penury. Now, how can democracy. Could he then do a deal with the PDP, waiting in Adeseun, the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN candidate). that be bad for the polity? the wings, to fend off the ACN armada which, to be sure, is Not only that. The distinguished senator of the Federal Ripples is not interested in doing a bio-political sketch of hurting the governor? That too, is a possibility!

Republic found himself cooling his heels in Agodi Prisons, Senator Folarin, except as a symbol of the political tendency he If he does that, and he prevails at the polls, the omens are for alleged complicity in Eleweomo’s murder. It was all power represents – a tendency that is legitimate; and that is his right grim for the integration agenda. It means the Yoruba play, of course. The Akala camp insisted it was out for under the law. But to have dismissed a rigorous alternative to reactionary bloc would, from the heart of Ondo, conspire with “justice” against a citizen (read “combatant!”) shot in cold the present ruin, and to do so recklessly and wilfully on the altar “federal might” to try shore up this unsustainable “federal” blood. The Folarin camp countered it was a masterstroke to of crass politics and politicking, is crossing to the zone of reaction. structure, which sooner than later would collapse in a tragic get the embattled senator out of the way.

That, of course, is nothing new. Back to 1955, when the Action heap of contradictions.

Whatever the truth was, Mr. Folarin was indeed hustled Group (AG) of Chief Obafemi Awolowo started the epochal free If Nigeria would abort, it would not be on the political plane. out! By the time he extricated himself from that mess, the primary education programme, the glib National Council for It would rather be on the economic front – for something, PDP nomination was lost and won. But the extinct senator Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) propaganda machine went sooner or later, would give with an over-bloated, corrupt centre must have been too glad to be free of a murder rap. Thank to town, claiming what later turned the most radical dispensing mass poverty instead of prosperity. A re-federalised God for small mercies! developmental programme in all of Africa was a cheap ruse to Nigeria, powered on economically creative and competitive Even then, it is barely nine months since that Senate, of raise taxes. But the later generations knew better and are eternally regions, holds the key to federal rebirth and prosperity. Yet, which Mr. Folarin was majority leader, was dissolved. Yet, grateful. But the vile propagandists have been interred in the the present power parasites run scared on the idea because it he and his tribe of Yoruba senators in that assembly, who dustbin of history. may just sound a death knell to their present party. That would emerged through the fiddled votes of 2007, the worst in As it was then, it is now. Senator Folarin and his conservative explain the South West mainstreamers’ angst, as expressed by Nigerian history, now seem completely forgotten! mainstreamers are perhaps about embarking on a tarring binge, Senator Folarin.

Was that a function of, by their stolen mandates, not claiming the “so-called” South West integration is a ruse, hoping So, both Ondo’s Iroko and his perceived ACN foes had better that campaign of discredit would save them from the political build a solid consensus on the integration question; and make Hades they so richly deserve.

“A re-federalised Nigeria, it an article of faith whichever party wins power in Ondo. This But if their political forebears failed on Awo’s free primary can be done by massive enlightenment that make the Yoruba, powered on economically creative education scheme, this present generation of reactionaries would across party lines, buy into the idea. also fail on this one. Regional economic integration is the best That is the only way this generation of leaders would win and competitive regions, holds the jab in the arm to regain the productive spark of the former plaudits for recreating a productive federal Nigeria, just as key to federal rebirth and Western Region – and other regions – and replicate all the old, Awo symbolised the competitive federalism that made Nigeria regional-powered developmental glory. It is also the best option show so much promise in the early independence years. prosperity.” for revamped federalism in Nigeria.

ESLIM who?

That was the reflex query, to the Daily Sun report of February 9, that one Teslim Folarin had dismissed as a ruse, on-going efforts to integrate the economies of the South West states, as prelude to an eventual re-federalisation of the country.

Of course, Teslim Folarin, a former senator of the Federal Republic!

Remember him now!

But where has the former Senate majority leader been all these days? It is barely one year since his intra-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) camp tangled

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epublican ipples

T is a measure of how conditioned Nigerians have become to the never-ending restructuring of the banking sector and its so-called inevitability of job erasures that the mass layoffs that has swept the industry has not attracted the kind of attention it ordinarily deserved.

For instance, with perhaps the exception of one or two newspapers that gave the recent layoff of 1,500 workers of Intercontinental, now acquired by Access Bank, prominence in its reportage, majority apparently didn’t consider it any newsworthy anymore than the serious issue of inequitable and unfair treatment of disengaged staff. The latter seems on the verge of being passed off as another inevitable dividend of what is clearly emerging as lopsided restructuring.

Unfortunately, it is not only the jobs that are being swept off at the speed of light, even the very concept of values, of trust, relationships and contracts, hitherto considered sacrosanct in the conservative profession of banking, are being swept into the bin by practitioners.

This unfortunately is right under the watch of the regulators. The immediate consequence is that the financial services landscape is not only contorted, the metaphor of the bankers as the economy’s endangered species have come to acquire a new meaning as the new men on the bloc dispense with niceties of equity and due process in their acquired power – all with dire implications, both for the industry itself and for the macro-economy as a whole.

‘I sometimes wonder whether the option of outright liquidation would not have been a less costly route to take. Again I ask: did the apex bank have to pour in trillions of naira only to get back to the same point of nationalising or dissolving the entities later? We may yet find the answer in the current restructuring paradox of the small swallowing the big. It seems only a part of Nigeria’s unending paradoxes’

Teslim who?

Policy Sanya Oni sanyaoni@yahoo.co.uk 08051101841

Orphans of restructuring Power – a sage reminds – is nothing without control.

That singular lesson keeps popping up again and again as the restructuring hits the home run – with the acquiring banks putting a final seal of dissolution of their acquired entities. Today, no one is in any doubt as to where true power resides in the financial sector.

Ask the sulking shareholders forced to watch their investment dissolve like smoke after the final rite of consummation of merger of Access with Intercontinental, and Ecobank with Oceanic - and the soon-to-be completed Sterling Bank/ETB merger expected in weeks. They have seen the awesome powers of the apex bank at work, supposedly for the public good.

End of the matter? Not so fast. The lesson on how to treat sleeping investors with consideration and dignity would come in due season.

Meanwhile, how about looking at the cost of the restructuring exercise as against its advertised benefits? We start with the baseline injection of N620 billion in 2008 to steady the then eight ailing banks. The sum that has since spiralled into trillions in the aftermath of another exercise to rid the books of their toxic portfolio.

Where are the expected gains in the much sought out return of normalcy? The so-called result is more than wearisome. Three of the banks, in spite of the record injection of the bailout funds still stand nationalised in the event of failure to find new investors to pour new money into them.

Another three said to be lucky have now been effectively dissolved in the classic model of acquire and strip! One is neither dead nor alive!

Meanwhile, the industry as a whole, still shell-shocked after the wave of tsunami is far from recovering its verve; it is yet to get around to its core duty of offering financial

intermediation to clients! Figures touted as representing lending activities are as laughable as the claim that the economy has finally received the vital breath of life!

Does anyone now remember the cries of the shareholders to be given the right of a first go at recapitalising their banks? The same fellows – innocent victims – entangled in the web of the crafty bunch that ran the so-called ailing banks aground? Did anyone bother to listen to their plea to be given the opportunity to recapitalise their banks with the CBN acting as midwife?

I recall the anger of shareholders being passed off as frustrations of bad investors. You couldn’t miss their frustrations as they shuttled from one court to another in vain search for accommodation in the Sanusi restructuring programme. Sure, they lost everything to the restructuring, but then to the extent that the gains of limited stabilisation have come at the pain of opening the unlimited till of the apex bank, the nation is no less, the ultimate loser.

It is to the ranks of the luckless shareholders that have now been added the hordes of disengaged staffers. Understandably, the anger of the disengaged staff may have been somehow unrestrained; however, the emerging facts would seem to suggest that their anger is not without some justification. Themselves victims of the serial bad judgment of their managers –they continue to bear the short end of the stick of disengagement with several as good as robbed in an exercise that is unfairly tilted against them.

What does the development portend for the future? The answer is – only what the current managers of the banks make of them. But then, the moral of the African proverb which says that the same short stick used to beat the outof-favour wife is no less reserved for her mate – holds true. The shabby treatment meted out to disengaged staff merely announces to the current class of workers that they may soon become the next class of expendables whenever the crunch comes. How the current situation helps build the workers morale and how it will inevitably shore up the confidence in the industry already at its lowest ebb, is anyone’s guess. A legion of frustrated exshareholders and a throng of disgruntled former staff are hardly the best of combinations for marketing any bank. The gloating banks had better be careful.

Finally, given the current situation of things, I sometimes wonder whether the option of outright liquidation would not have been a less costly route to take. Again I ask: did the apex bank have to pour in trillions of naira only to get back to the same point of nationalising or dissolving the entities later? We may yet find the answer in the current restructuring paradox of the small swallowing the big. It seems only a part of Nigeria’s unending paradoxes.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

EDITORIAL/OPINION ESTERDAY marked the thirty-sixth anniversary of the murder of former Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Mohammed. He was killed in a military coup led by a certain fun loving Lieutenant Colonel in the Nigerian Army, Buka Zuka Dimka.

Dimka, the director of the army physical training corps, was reportedly arrested much later at Abakaliki, capital of present day Ebonyi state, in a brothel by soldiers after the military high command had declared him and others wanted for their role in the coup d’état.

For the records, two of those also declared wanted along with him, Lt.Dauda Usman and Sergeant Clement Yilda have not been apprehended, at least not to public knowledge, by any of our security agencies, since that Friday afternoon on February 13, 1976.

About forty-one days after the deadly bomb attack at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State that killed no fewer than 44 people including 26 parishioners, the mastermind of the attack, Kabiru Abubakar Dikko, alias Kabiru Sokoto was re-arrested by security operatives at Mutum Biu village in Taraba State. Kabiru, a strategist of the Nigerian terrorist organization, Boko Haram was re-arrested exactly 25 days after he escaped from police custody after his initial arrest for the Christmas Day Church bombing last year. He was arrested in his brother’s residence while hiding behind clothes rack.

Both Dimka and Kabiru, arguably public enemy number one of their time fell cheaply into the hands of security agents without much fight, if any at all. Like the so called Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein and late Libyan leader Colonel Muamar Gaddafi, these men were/are afraid of death yet they enjoy inflicting pains, sorrow and even death on others. What a bunch of cowards.

The Department of State Service, DSS and the other security agencies that effected the re-arrest of Kabir deserve credit for a job well done, but like they all know too well, the hardest part of their assignment has just begun. The need to go after the other key operatives of Boko Haram is more urgent now than ever before and if truly Kabir has been ‘singing’ like his comrade, Boko Haram’s spokesman Abu Qaqa also in custody, had reportedly been doing, we may be closer to ending the threat posed by Boko Haram and similar organizations earlier than

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From Dimka to Kabir Sokoto imagined. But that is if every member of the security agencies would act in the best interest of Nigeria. I have my doubt, not if the likes of Police Commissioner Zakari Biu remain in service.

One major lesson to be drawn from the rearrest of Kabir is that where there is a will, there will always be a way. And this is particularly for President Jonathan. Put your money where your mouth is and act in the best interest of the nation and you will move mountains. Because the security agencies, I believe, were determined to prove a point with the Boko Haram kingpin, they went after him, even after his escape from police custody. And they got him, and with no shedding of blood. If similar determination had been put into the search for Dauda Usman, Clement Yilda and all those behind the murders of our prominent compatriots, who knows, this kind of terror and similar heinous crimes would have gone down drastically in the country. Also it is note worthy that the telecommunication companies must have cooperated fully with the security agencies, furnishing them with the call logs and discussions of these terrorists. However, the fear of such information being used for other less noble causes by the security agents is real, especially when it comes to infringing on the right to privacy of individuals. Hence the need for these agencies to draw a line between national interest and personal interest when seeking and using such information.

Time as the saying goes, is of the essence.

Going after the rest of Boko Haram operatives with speed should be the major concern of the security agencies before this terrorist organization goes the way of the Al Shabab group in Somalia. This Somali organisation with similar ideology as Boko Haram just

over the weekend announced it has formally joined the worldwide terror group Al-Qaeda.

Just as this development is very dangerous for the Horn of Africa region and indeed the maritime industry worldwide, it would be very dangerous for Nigeria and the entire West African sub region if Boko Haram joins Al-Qaeda. So before it gets to that level, let us act, and with the speed of light too.

In doing this, we must carry along our ECOWAS brothers. It is good to know that governments across the sub region have finally agreed that Boko Haram is a regional problem, hence the need for a regional solution. While we may not know why Kabiru Sokoto chose to remain in Nigeria after his escape from police custody, an enlightened guess could be that the international community, particularly ECOWAS, had spread it’s dragnet wide enough waiting for him to walk in if he had attempted to run out of the country. It is not also unlikely that those foreign embassies that had granted Kabir visas to their countries might have set a trap for him if he showed up, a possibility Kabiru must have thought of himself before choosing to hide at home, first in Nasarawa State and later Taraba where he was eventually caught.

Whatever the reason was it is good that the international community is ready to partner Nigeria and probably already partnering our country to fight terrorism. This is gladdening.

But one major area where we need international cooperation in this fight against terrorism is in the training and equipping of the Nigeria Police. The force is a disgrace.

Imagine Kabir Sokoto escaping from the custody of a Police Commissioner and his boys? Conspiracy theorists are already saying that it is no coincidence that the said Police

Commissioner Zakari Biu is from Borno State, the heartland of Boko Haram, alleging in the process that both could be collaborating. This is not a strange thing with our police. Was it not here in our presence that a Deputy Superintendent of Police Iyamu was found to be a member of a robbery gang?

Have you forgotten the Lawrence Anini/ Monday Osunbor gang in Edo state during the Babangida era? The Police Commissioner then who couldn’t do anything about that menace Kasmi Akabosu is being recycled now to come and do a job for the country.

What can a failed CP do for us now? This is Nigeria where anything goes.

I share the belief that the main problem with Nigeria is our police. If the Nigeria Police is up and doing, corruption and the other evils tormenting our society would be down to near zero. But can our police work?

Of course, if the will is there. So Jonathan, fix our police.

I should like to add also that it is the responsibility of all to ensure that our police work. We should also not wait till the problem gets to our door step before we act.

When Boko Haram started, some in the north, particularly some in the Hausa/Fulani community saw it as a Kanuri problem, peculiar and restricted to the North east alone, but now that terror has been exported to the heart of the Hausa/Fulani community, hell has been let loose, the talk now is Boko Haram must be defeated no matter what it would cost. Good. This is a lesson to other regions of the country, no where in Nigeria is immune to Boko Haram attack, hence the need for us all to join hands together and fight and defeat terror. It is in our collective interest. This is hoping that nobody would come and tell us Kabiru Sokoto or any criminal has escaped from custody again.

‘The Department of State Service, DSS and the other security agencies that effected the re-arrest of Kabir deserve credit for a job well done, but like they all know too well, the hardest part of their assignment has just begun’

VIEW FROM THE FOREIGN PRESS

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HE memory of the protest against the subsidy removal will remain fresh especially for its positive effect on the polity.

It would be helpful to reflect on some issues for lessons there from notably falsehoods, misconceptions and mistakes which, among others, took the country to the crossroads of a crisis and united the people against their government. Awo the sage once observed that whatever happens to a man is for his own good as there is always some lesson to learn. Same can be said of the protest which took place in Nigeria from January 9 –16. A new Nigeria based on saner values is emerging.

One of the lessons is the futility of falsehood in the life of nations.

A falsehood of the period was that Nigeria would crash if the subsidy on petrol was not removed. There were many reasons to dismiss this as untrue and self-defeating. Nigeria is blessed with many resources wealth including oil. Way back in 1982 in a lecture at the Centre for Development Studies Swansea, UK, I had argued that oil wealth in Nigeria was more a curse than blessing largely because it failed to remove mass poverty and rather made citizens lazy, uncreative and to abandon exploitation of other resources for growth and development.

As we are beginning to see more clearly from the House of Representative probe of the oil subsidy issue, it is the greed and dishonesty of the Nigerian elites that fouled the air and turned it into a monstrous nightmare of corruption and burden for the economy. The subsidy removal debate and protest revealed many leakages in the system, especially corruption. However with courage and patriotic commitment to the general good of society the situation can be corrected and checked. So let’s intensify the fight against corruption.

There has been so much misconception of deregulation even before the strike which may explain the wrong road travelled so far. For instance, the removal of subsidy was either taken to mean the same thing as deregulation or the two terms were used interchangeably. Of course confusion was one of the results. While subsidy is about money paid by government or organization in order to keep prices low, or reduce cost of services to the consumer, deregulation should be understood in terms of freedom of trade from rules or control. It is the removal of all strictures for those willing and able to carry out business activities in the country, without let or hindrance. Such distinction is necessary because the way a problem is defined and understood often leads to the kind of policy measures in place.

For instance while subsidy seeks to ameliorate pains of citizens, deregulation aspires to break monopoly or create a more cordial atmosphere for business to grow and flourish. For the avoidance of doubt, many Nigerians were not against deregulation of the oil sector as long as the security of their country is not compromised.

As an oil producing country with a history of broken dreams and unfulfilled promises and without visible palliative measures, citizens were faced with the grip prospect of more biting and

Subsidy protests and lessons for development

By John I. Abhuere devastating hardship –hence the rejection and resistance. Next issue was the inappropriate time of announcing the removal. Somehow many citizens had attuned their minds to April, but the dreaded and despised action happened on January 1, a traditional day of joy but when unfortunately due to various acts of terrorism and misfortune many families were in mourning and foul mood.

While subsidy can be accommodated even in open economies as the experience in the US and Europe has shown, Nigerians question the essence of oil importation. The continued importation of petroleum product is unhealthy and certainly not in the best interest of Nigeria and the post subsidy removal protest might offer opportunity for rethink. The best way out is refining petroleum products at home for both local consumption and exportation.

And there is nothing wrong with state intervention here because contrary to the falsehood peddled during the debate, the government can run business enterprises successfully and lead the development efforts of nations. This is even more so in an a capital intensive sector such as oil where licenses issued to individuals have not been utilised by those concerned due to many reasons especially difficulty in raising funds .The failure here shows that Nigeria among others, suffers from shortage of investible capital thereby warranting state intervention to save the situation.

Some of the arguments expressed during the debate were unconvincing and lacking in historical support. Given the experience with diesel, it is difficult for instance to accept argument that the removal of petrol subsidy would on its own attract investors It is difficult to tar off the influence of IMF on the decision to removal of oil subsidy as some tried to do during the subsidy removal debate and protest. Apart from visible faces of some ministers with strong IMF related values, the visits of the IMF boss-Christine Lagarde to Nigeria immediately before the removal and Prof Jeffrey Sachs - special adviser to the UN Secretary-General, soon after the removal to endorse fuel price increase as “bold and correct” even as majority citizens choked in misery, poverty, hardship and anger, the whole affair has the imprimatur of that organisation. The removal falls neatly to IMF pattern as typified by what Naomi Klein 2007 calls the “shock therapy” which weakens people in readiness to swallow bitter economic pills from such organisations.

As explained by Klein, bitter economic doses are often

administered to countries after undergoing such shocking experience. The shock doctrine is about how shocks, disasters and hardships are used to soften the ground and creates the enabling environment for the introduction of harsh economic measures by some international organisations and acquiescence by hapless citizens.

The argument by some of the government’s lead-speakers especially at the NPAN organised Town Hall meeting, Lagos that subsidy removal debate was not about ideology was wrong. For the avoidance of doubt everything about it was ideological and value laden. Those who urged that the matter be left to the economists only got it wrong because the policy itself is value laden and driven and thus too sensitive to be left in the unfeeling hands of the economists. It is needless to stress that the pill which pro-subsidy promoters were driving down the throat of Nigerians was not only bitter, it was of dubious medicinal value. Without first addressing fundamental issues such as refining of oil for domestic and external consumption and some palliative measures, it was bound to fail.

This leads us to the important lesson of citizenry participation which the UN had been emphasizing since the 1980s but which has not gained deep roots in many countries. It is a good tool for good governance, cooperation and support especially in terms of engendering shared sacrifice and warm embrace of even harsh policy such as the removal of fuel subsidy. The logic is simple: people hardly kick against decisions they were party to. Since the return of democracy government has been reluctant to pursue pro-people policies, promote active participation in decisionmaking and to wear the toga of populism for ideological reasons advanced by some false prophets of development. The consequence has been woeful for the nation.

The Lagos Town Hall meeting as one of the late moves to engender larger participation was profitable. It shows the importance of citizenry participation even if hurried and on large scale. At least it enabled a larger part of society outside policy circle to understand and appreciate government position and to consider buying into it – thanks to the Master of Ceremonies who allocated far more generous time to government speakers than others.

What should be done? The future is pregnant but the following can assist safe delivery: improve government public communication skills and encourage citizenry participation, promote a culture of shared sacrifice, reduce recurrent budget and introduce some populist programs, deal with corruption, stagger subsidy removal over three- year period, respond timely to situation by adopting eclectic approach to the question of leadership, stop importation of refined products, concentrate on refining petroleum products at home for both internal and external consumption and develop infrastructure.

• Dr. Abhuere is Director Corps Welfare and Inspection NYSC NDHQ Abuja

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

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THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

HEALTH THE NATION

E-mail:- health@thenationonlineng.net

14.5m kids suffer from pneumonia yearly, N say paediatrists

O FEWER than 14.5 million children under five years suffer from pneumonia yearly, the Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) has said.

It said the disease also cause the death of 735,000 children suffering from HIV/AIDS. Tackling the disease will help in fasttracking the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), PAN said.

The association made these known at a conference at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, Osun State. It was a gathering of experts in infant care and nutrition to discuss the way forward.

Pneumonia is a dangerous, often lifethreatening disease in young children. It is preventable.

According to a Professor of Virology and former Vice-Chancellor of Redeemers University, Ogun State, Oyewole Tomori, while experts make researches to curb pneumonia and polio. He said: “Nigeria still remains a high-burdened society health wise. The cause is mainly blamed

By Oyeyemi-Gbenga-Mustapha

on lack of political will from the government. If the health sector was in good shape, other sectors of the nation will be functioning effectively. The eradication of polio in Nigeria is slow and the government needs to respond to the situation as soon as possible because the scourge affects the future of Nigeria which are the children.”

He stressed that there is urgent need for the government to improve the health care sector and build on earlier successes in the country. “Basically, provision of security, shelter and health is the duty of the government but it is evident that much focus is not being put to the health sector which is a major force that drives a nation. The government should increase its level of advocacy, prevention and curative programmes starting from the grassroots,” he noted.

During one of the sessions sponsored by Pfizer Specialties Limited, it was explained

that science has identified that one of the leading causes of death among children, both globally and in Nigeria is the pneumococcal disease.

The recommended intervention by the World Health Organisation is GAPP (Global Action Plan for Prevention and control of Pneumonia) to fight Pneumonia is: Protect against Pneumonia, Prevent Pneumonia and Proper treatment ofidentified Pneumonia cases.

At the end of the event, participants at the conference agreed that stakeholders must be involved in restoring sanity to the health sector. They emphasisied that routine immunisation, proper breastfeeding and school feeding at the primary level must be constantly carried out. They also noted that of all the 36 states in Nigeria, only Osun State still practicses the public primary school feeding programme. “We must restore sanity to the health sector. We must help improve the life of the Nigerian children and ensure that we give them a better tomorrow,” said the association.

•PAN President Dr Dorothy Esangbedo

‘Pathology vital to MDGs aim’ don at the Lagos State College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Dr. Oluwole Adedeji, has stressed the importance of pathology to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) four and five.

According to him, pathologists look into the causes of diseases to prevent their recurrence.

Adedeji, who spoke to The Nation, said most childhood killer diseases can be prevented if their causes are known.

He said childhood diseases can be genetic or metabolic, adding that the genetic ones were inherited from their parents. The metabolic diseases are those they contact from infections among other conditions, he

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Ekiti is polio free, says Fayemi

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clared the state free of polio virus. He, however, lamented that some northern states still harbour the deadly paralytic virus.

Speaking at the Fajuyi Memorial Park, Ado Ekiti, venue of the stakeholders’ sensitisation forum on polio eradication, at the weekend, Dr Fayemi assured that his administration would leave no stone unturned towards maintaining the state’s current polio free status through immunisation.

Fayemi explained that his government aimed to use the forum with the theme “Community Leaders Against Polio (CLAP)” to sensitise the people through respected leaders in their respective communities. e efforts towards ensuring success.

He, therefore, charged all participants to impact the knowledge gained at the forum in their respective communities to bequeath a worthy living devoid of avoidable traumas to the coming generations.

Free heart screening for 1,200

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HE Kanu Heart Foundation (KHF) is to screen no fewer than 1,200 patients for cardio-vascular and related diseases at its international health summit.

The event, the seventh in the series, to be organised by the foundation is scheduled for February 16 to 18, at the ArchAngel Clinic, St Michael, Raphael, Gabriel Catholic Church, Satellite Town, Lagos.

The theme is: Towards opti-

He said the role of chemical pathologists don’t carry out investigations on the dead alone but also the living, unlike morbid anatomists who look at the dead more.

“We have microbiologists and what they do is that they look at different cells that are circulating in the blood and anything can go wrong as they can be over-produced.

And these cells, such as the red blood cell contain elements that are necessary for normal body function and to also defend the body against foreign organism or infection,” he added.

He said the country has few chemical pathologists because doctors preferred other field of medicine where they could make more money.

How to curb migraine

•Adedeji

KITI State Governor Kayode Fayemi has de-

By Wale Adepoju

added.

He said: “It is from their roots and these conditions normally present as metabolic problems. These problems can be investigated by chemical pathologists. It will actually improve the health of the children but we need to have sufficient facilities to be able to diagnose metabolic problems among children.”

Chemical pathologists, he said, are experts who look at diseases from biochemical angle but most of them are involved in research. “As professional we are also involved in the investigation. We are doctors’ doctor. We explain to them, results of our investigations.

mal health care services.

According to the KHF Coordinator, Mr Onyebuchi Abia, the summit will draw experts from ColumbiaAsia, a multi-disciplinary tertiary care chain of hospitals in India and their Nigerian counterparts.

He said the event could not hold in Nigeria last year due to security reasons, as such one of their partners withdrew from sponsoring the screening.

• Get a good night’s sleep. Changes in sleep patterns, changing shifts, and jet lag can trigger migraines. Try to maintain a regular schedule and get up and go to bed at the same time every single day.

• Lie down, put an ice pack wrapped in a towel or a cold compress on your throbbing head to soothe swollen, pulsing blood vessels until the pain subsides.

• If you don’t want to put a cold compress on your head to relieve the pain, soak one or both of your hands in ice water for as long as you can tolerate it. While your hands are in the water, ball them into fists and open and close them repeatedly. It can have the same effect as a compress on your head.

• Believe it or not, caffeine works!

It’s a paradox of headaches: Ingest too much caffeine and you may get a headache, but take a little bit and it can help make the pain disappear.

Studies have shown that aspirin and ibuprofen are more effective when combined with caffeine. So if you take aspirin or ibuprofen at the onset of a migraine, wash it down with a cup of coffee.

• Keep the room dark. Light sometimes aggravates migraine symptoms, lie down in a dark room.

• Do not skip meals. Skipping meals can trigger a migraine attack.

If you can, eat smaller meals throughout the day or be sure to eat

three meals.

• Take note of what you eat. Certain foods triggers a migraine attack in about ten percent of migraine sufferers. It can take from 30 minutes to 12 hours for a food to cause a reaction. If you get a migraine, think back to what you ate in that time frame and try eliminating some of those foods from your diet.

• Take riboflavin. Studies have shown that taking 400 milligrams a day of riboflavin can help eliminate migraines.

• Spice it up. The hot ingredient in red pepper, capsaicin, is a terrific painkiller and may help those who have migraines feel better during an attack. You do not need to include red pepper in all your meals. You can buy cayenne pepper capsules in health food stores. · • Try not to sleep late on weekends. Though it might seem like a reward to relax and sleep in, giving yourself that letdown after stress is a common trigger. Waking up late can also trigger a migraine by changing your normal sleep pattern and may cause you to miss breakfast which also triggers a migraine. If you really must sleep late on the weekends, try sleeping with a tiny bit of your window open to let air in.

• If you’re prone to vomiting during migraines, keep a can of Campbell’s Chicken Broth upside down in your refrigerator. Really.

After you’re finished in the bathroom, take out the can, turn it right-side up, open, pour out the broth (leave the fat stuck to the top), and drink it once you’re able. Replaces needed electrolytes, etc., helps relieve the weakness and general malaise. Don’t know why Campbell’s works better than any other brand, but it does.

• Sometimes a bath helps. Take a bath in your bathroom with the lights off. Soak yourself face down (don’t forget to come up for air) and just try and relax your body.

• In some cases, low levels of the hormone progesterone appear to increase the frequency and severity of migraines. If you are a woman, and your migraines occur more often in the two weeks before menses, be suspicious and ask your doctor to check your progesterone levels (note: many doctors are unaware of this link, but if your levels are found to be low, they may be willing to prescribe supplementation). Progesterone is safe enough to be sold without prescription (Progest cream is a good brand), and it’s worth a try, but some migraine sufferers require a higher dose than the non-prescription cream can provide. There are even occasional reports that a much smaller dose of progesterone can help relieve migraines in men (no studies done, though).

Culled from www.wikihow.com

25

PROPERTY

Tuesday, February 14, 2012 Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.com

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

email:- property@thenationonlineng.net

Cheap cement as Dangote opens $1b plant •Analysts:price crash possible if govt provides infrastructure

•Dangote Cement Plant, Ibeshe

With plants’ combined capacity of 20 million metric tonnes yearly, the country is on the road to being self-sufficient in cement production. With local consumption hovering around 17 to 18 metric tonnes, there is a surplus of two million metric tonnes. Will this translate to availability and cheap cement? It will, say analysts, in view of the inauguration of Dangote’s Ibeshe Cement Plant. But they add that the government must provide infrastructure to enable the plants meet their targets. OKWY IROEGBUCHIKEZIE reports •Kwara, private developers to deliver 6,000 houses

- PAGE 26

•Lagos, engineers partner to curb building collapse - PAGE 40

•Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote •CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

•Govt urged to declare state of emergency in infrastructural sector - PAGE 40

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

26

PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT

Cheap cement as Dangote opens $1b plant •Continued from Page 25

S

OON, there may be a crash in cement price and if that happens, Nigerians will be the happier for it because of its immense benefits.

The hope of a crash in cement price was buoyed with the inauguration of the six million metric tonnes Ibeshe Plant owned by business mogul Aliko Dangote.

The plant based in Ibeshe, Ogun State is expected to increase its annual capacity from six million to 12 million tonnes in a few weeks.

If the plant lives up to expectation, the nation will surpass its projected annual consumption of less than 18 million tonnes, with the combined capacity of all the plants.

Their current capacity is: Obajana Cement Plant in Kogi State will by April roll out a projected 15.25 metric tonnes; Gboko plant in Benue State produces four million metric tonnes annually and Larfage Wampco 2.5 metric million tonnes.

The milestones recorded in cement manufacturing followed the government’s policy in 2002 which granted importers waivers and tax haven and other incentives if they went into local manufacturing; while some took up the challenge, others continued with importation.

But with the turn of events in the sector, observers are skeptical if increased production can translate to cheaper cement and, by extension, growth of the construction and building sector.

At the inauguration of the plant, last Thursday, President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, reiterated the reason behind the aggressive expansion of local production capacity.

He said: “We want to ensure there is always adequate capacity to meet local demand and export so that this country never again has to import cement to meet her requirements.

“Last year, we acquired 5,000 new trucks to boost our growing logistics needs and as part of our commitment to crashing the market price of cement, this investment alone has created direct and indirect jobs for 15,000 people.”

He also said his investments were borne out of the belief that manufacturing should be the pillar of economic revolution besides his belief that industrialisation remains one of the vehicles to achieving vision 20: 20:20 target.

Furthermore, Dangote said: “In line with our long-term vision to be the number one cement producer in the world, we have embarked on a Pan-African expansion

drive.

“We are currently building new cement plants and setting up terminals in 14 African countries. We envisage that by the time we complete all these projects, we will be in a position to produce about 60 million metric tonnes of cement per annum by the end of 2014. This will place us among the top eight cement producing companies in the world.”

President Goodluck Jonathan praised the Dangote Group for lifting Nigeria from a meagre annual production of two million metric tonnes in 2002 to 20 million, thus, positioning the nation to become a cement exporting country.

Ogun State Governor Ibunkunle Amosun praised Dangote for promoting industrialisation and growth in the building and construction industry.

He said the large capacity Ibeshe plant will help the government to achieve affordable housing, urban renewal and various rural development programmes of the state.

But a cement dealer, Mr Idris Umaru, who resides in Lagos, said he is uncomfortable with the statistics being bandied as it did not tally with reality.

He confirmed that he sells cement at N2,000 per bag and wondered why the price of the commodity is still high when available statistics indicates that we produce more than required locally.

He said: “I understand that we produce about 20 million metric tonnes annually but only consume between 17 and 18 million metric tonnes annually. How come the supply is not enough to go round and the price is always going up?

Since my years in the cement business, we have never experienced a glut, and in business demand drives supply.”

He called on the government to fix the roads and provide constant electricity, stressing that only then will people experience reduction in the price of cement. He regretted that the fuel subsidy removal has not helped issues as the cost of transportation has gone up.

In his contribution, National Publicity Secretary, Nigeria Institute of Building (NIOB), Mr Kunle Awobodu, commended the Dangote Group for the massive investment in the cement sector.

According to him, cement is a vital ingredient in the construction sector but, unfortunately, the price has kept on skyrocketing, discouraging prospective clients from executing of projects.

He said: “With the injection of six million metric tonnes of cement, we anticipate a rapid reduc-

•Dangote Cement plant, Ibeshe

THEIR CAPACITY PLANTS

ANNUAL TONNAGE

Ibeshe

Six million metric tonnes (expected to rise to 12 million in a few weeks)

Gboko

Four million metric tonnes

Obajana

10.25 million metric tonnes expected to rise to 15.25 million metric tonnes in April 2012

Lafarge Wapco

2.5 million metric tonnes

tion in price as the total output from the manufacturing plants in Obajana, Gboko, Ewekore and Ibeshe is about 30 million metric tonnes exceeding annual local consumption of about 17 million metric tonnes.

“If there is no cabal factor in the sector, one will expect a drastic drop in the price of the product based on the laws of demand and supply. Time will tell, if our joy will be a lasting one or mere disillusionment and momentary relief.”

Awobodu cautioned that the public should not be overtly overjoyed on possible price crash as Dangote on his part will want to recoup his investment as he is known to have invested heavily on infrastructure to keep the plant running.

He said: “l advise people not to be optimistic because when the company inaugurated Obajana Plant, the expectation of a drastic drop in price was high and it never happened because of other logistics. But we can still hope for the better since

over 90 per cent of the raw materials is sourced locally. l must hasten to add that government needs to urgently invest in needed infrastructure to complete private investment in the cement sector.

For Afolabi Adedeji, a civil engineer and managing director of AA & Associates, a facility management company on Victoria Island, the new production line of six million metric tonnes by Dangote Cement Plant is a welcome development as cement is one of the several components in building and construction.

However, he observed that though it is a welcome development, many Nigerians may not be able to harness the opportunity as they have been deprived of their purchasing power.

He said: “As we speak, banks are laying-off their staff, companies have since discontinued with the usual perk of 13th month cheque but are rationing their staff.

“The new production line of Dangote cement industry and any

other in that sector also means the attraction of lower to middle level cadre of artisans and technical hands from foreign countries at the expense of our people which translates to capital flight of over $5 billion daily, according to statistics from the Construction Workers Union,” he said.

He criticised the over-emphasis on cement and asked government to explore other alternative means of building that has been devised by the Nigeria Institute of Building Research (NIBRII) over the years.

Adedeji decried the emphasis on certificates and white-collar jobs urging the government to focus on vocational training and middle cadre man power development.

The problem of the housing or construction sector is not only that of cement but also the obnoxious Land Use Act, difficulties associated in acquiring title documents, lack of a virile mortgage system.

He called on the government to work on improving the infrastructure base of the country noting that it is only then that the public can anticipate reduction in cement prices since the manufacturers provide their electricity and every other needed infrastructure.

Adedeji said: “Though limestone a major ingredient in the production of Klinker used in cement production is produced in abundance in the nation, it is left to see how Dangote cement will fair in terms of pricing in the face of competition with imported cement from countries where infrastructure provision is not an issue for the private sector investor with an added advantage of equally cheap.”

Kwara, private developers to deliver 6,000 houses

T

HE Kwara State Housing Corporation and some private developers plan to deliver about 6,000 housing units before the end of the Abdulfattah Ahmed administration in 2015.

The corporation’s General Manager, Mr Salihu Suleiman, said five private developers have been identified for the scheme. Others were still being screened.

Suleiman, an architect, who addressed reporters in company of Alhaji Abiodun Baraje, the Special Assistant to the governor on Housing and Urban Matters, said the first set of 2,000 units would be delivered by the end of the year.

Under the scheme, Suleiman said Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed had directed each local government chairman to make available to the corporation a minimum of 50 hect-

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

ares of land in their community of choice to ensure that the proposed mass housing covers rural and urban settings.

The corporation, which was established in 2010 by the immediate past administration, is tasked with the responsibility of accelerating the process of providing affordable houses, particularly for the lower income group across the state, with the active involvement of private developers. It is also tasked with the supervision of existing government estates.

His words: “Altogether since the creation of Kwara state we have not had more than 3000 houses constructed under both the federal and state government schemes. And

that was why it was necessary for the last administration to create this corporation.

“We are set to change things now.

We are looking at the Private-Public Partnership scheme whereby government will provide the land and infrastructure to support pri-

‘But apart from the PPP approach, we are also looking at using direct production with our own professionals.

We have all the professionals you need for building house in this corporation’

vate investors in housing.

“We want to address the lower income group with houses that are affordable, safe and sustainable.

“But apart from the PPP approach, we are also looking at using direct production with our own professionals. We have all the professionals you need for building house in this corporation.

“So, we compete with the private developers to drive down the cost of housing in the state. what we plan to do is to have fabrication centres of our own where we can handle most of the factors that usually eat into the cost of building and once we can control that aspect by our own mass production we shall beat the cost.”

Suleiman went on:“We also plan to have direct licence from bit manufacturers of housing products so

that we can buy some materials cheap and help reduce cost.

“Another aspect we are looking into is the need to subsidise the cost of land acquisition.

“Presently the issue of acquiring land is under the purview of the Bureau of Land but I can assure you that the governor has given the necessary approval for that and the Bureau will handle the issue for us.

“We are also looking into bringing in maybe cooperative societies and other credible platforms that can be used by people to access houses but you know when you are providing social housing you need a platform that can guarantee you will get your money back since government is not giving out the houses free.

“So if we can use credible cooperative societies and unions we will handle that.”

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

27

E-mail:- law@thenationonlineng.net

The police Nigeria deserves, by lawyers Acting Inspector-General of Police (IG) Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar is coming to office at a time the image of the police is so battered. Former police chief, Hafiz Ringim lost his job in controversial circumstances. Will Abubakar make a difference? Lawyers set agenda for the new helmsman. ERIC EKHILAE writes.

•See story on page 28

Inside: Kogi: Lawyers urge parties to seek judicial stand - P.29

‘How to tackle judicial corruption’ - P.34

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

28

LAW COVER CONT’D • Continued from page 27

U

NEASY, they say, lies the head that wears the crown. This saying aptly fits the position in which the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, finds himself. As police chief, he is coming to office at a time the people have lost all hope about their police.

The police, many believe, are beyond redemption. Their sentiments may not be misplaced. The police rather than being “friend” of the people as their slogan says are more of an enemy.

Why? Everything bad is associated with the police. Extra-judicial killing; extortion; rape. Name it, the police are involved. This is the police Abubakar now leads. All eyes are on him to see whether he will make a difference as IG. The Police occupy a preeminent position in every society because of their role in the criminal justice system, which draws its strength from criminal law.

A critical goal of criminal law is the prevention and control of crime, which, is considered a public wrong to which punishment is prescribed in the event of violation.

The criminal justice system is a legal entity, comprising three elements - the Police, the courts and the prisons. The system functions by processing the criminal suspect from one stage to another, starting with investigation and arrest or booking by the Police, to trial, conviction and sentencing.

By their roles and activities, the Police are the most visible and important element in the criminal justice system.

The police are unique among the other elements in the criminal justice system. Their uniqueness borders on the fact that the decision of the police on the street is as important as the existence of the criminal justice system Their activities and decisions have grave implications for the other components of the system. They lubricate the system through investigation and arrest of suspects and activities without which the other elements cannot function.

For instance, without an investigation report and the testimony of an investigating police officer (IPO), conviction and sentencing cannot be obtained in court, ingredients without which the prisons can’t keep custody of anyone. If the police conduct shoddy investigation, the prosecution will be unable to meet the requirement, under the criminal law, of proving its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Under the law, the police are responsible for preventing and detecting crime; apprehending offenders, preserving law and order; protecting life and property, enforcing laws and regulations they are directly charged with and performing such military duties as may be required of them.

Despite their importance to the continued existence of any society, and the huge responsibilities placed on them by the law, the Police have, in recent times, performed below expectation.

The removal of the former Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Hafiz Ringim, over the police’s inability to tackle the growing security challenge in the country, observers said, merely underscored a culture of failure and dereliction of duty associated with the Police over time.

The Police are also plagued with corruption, inadequate funding, misapplication of statutory allocations, dis-oriented and demotivated personnel.

Consequently, the police have transformed into a liability and threat to the society it ought to secure.

This is why many see the unceremonious exit of Ringim as a “big relief”. They now expect his successor, Abubakar, the 16th indigenous IG, to up the ante by reinvigorating the force, through creative evolution of policy initiatives that will impact positively on the police.

Although observers, including lawyers, doubt his ability to turn the police around, Abubakar having been part of the system for years, they argue that he has no option than to perform because he occupies the headship of the agency at a time the nation requires an urgent change of approach to policing.

To assist him, to succeed, lawyers, including Joseph Nwobike (SAN), Nojim Tairu, Joseph Otteh of the Lagos-based human rights group, Access to Justice (AJ) and Chukwuemeka Chidozie have suggested ways of enhancing the Polices operation.

They identified inadequate and poor equipment, corruption, poor quality personnel, poor funding, crude investigation method, extra-judicial killings, parading of suspects

• Nwobike (SAN)

• Otteh

• Omole

• Taiwo

The police Nigeria deserves, by lawyers in the media, abuse of power and weapons, among others, as major problems of the police. They said the immediate responsibility of the acting IG is to focus on ways of reversing these challenges.

Unlike the scientific approach to investigation, a critical tool in modern policing, the police still rely on the crude method of torture and investigation, a process that mostly ends in extra-judicial killing of suspects.

They cited the inability of the police to establish a functional forensic laboratory and data bank, despite their importance to modern policing.

During his days, former IG Tafa Balogun, spent huge public funds to establish a forensic laboratory at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, Lagos. Today, the laboratory only exists in name.

An example of the crude approach to investigation by the Police presented itself when Mr Funsho Williams, a politician in Lagos State, was killed in 2006.

Two homicide detectives from the London Metropolitan Police were invited by to help in investigation. The contrast emerged a few days later when the foreign detectives were surprised to find Nigerians using an analogue machine, an archaic version of what they brought.

They applied their equipment in sweeping the area of the crime. But, at the end, they were disappointed after collecting over 7,000 fingerprints, comprising those of sympathisers, officials of other security agencies and local policemen themselves.

The Nigerian officials had failed to cordon off the crime environment.

Intelligence gathering is another aspect of policing requiring a lot of attention. The

police need to invest in the training of personnel in this area of policing and procure and install necessary modern equipment like Close Circuit Television/Camera (CCTV), among others.

Nwobike said: “I think the challenges facing the new IG are enormous and diverse.

The first thing he must do is to drastically and fundamentally improve on the welfare of the officers and men of the force.

“It is now very evident that an average policeman does not enjoy his job due to the very deplorable condition of service that they are generally subjected to.

“Secondly, the IG should quickly rekindle the old Criminal Investigation Department.

The staff, who are to man and run the department across the states, must be trained to investigate modern types and species of crimes in Nigeria.

“One of the reasons the Police have been ineffective is the fact that their capacity is at its lowest ebb. Although the menace of Bako Haram is prevalent in Nigeria now, I do not think the IG should focus on them, as it will fade with time.”

Tairu said: “The new IG needs no syllabus on what to do at this time as it is so obvious.

The legendary inefficiency, monumental corruption, embarrassing incompetence, primitive and crude approach to the job, obvious lack of basic training, crass indiscipline, lack of, and outdated equipment, zero passion, nil morale, among other vices plaguing the police require no tutorial to the police boss.

“They are common knowledge existential realities that are starring at him. All eyes are on the new IG. It will be to his eternal credit if he can break the jinx of failure and the record of woeful performance by successive IGs since the 1970s till date.

“Can he be the Messiah? The answer would not take long to be known, though what we naturally desire is that he succeeds.”

Otteh said: “I think it is perhaps a waste of time to talk about agenda for the new Police chief. The change of baton is a very superficial thing. It is not likely at all, to represent a credible solution. The Police Force is so internally destabilised and imploded that nothing short of a recreation will solve the problem.”

Chidozie urged the police to change their style of investigation. He deplored the frequent cases of abuse of powers and weaponry among police personnel, particularly as it relates to the power of arrest, search and seizure.

He argued that in defiance of the law, search and arrest warrants are not obtained from the court before either arrest, search or seizure is effected.

“It is the law that where a magistrate is satisfied that there is reasonable ground to believe that there is, in any building, ship, carriage, receptacle or place, anything upon or in respect of which any offence has been or is suspected to have been committed; or will afford evidence as to the commission of any offence; or is intended to be used for the purpose of committing any offence, the magistrate may, at any time, issue a search warrant authorising an officer of the court, member of the police force, member of a native authority or other persons named therein to conduct search, retrieve the item and take it to the magistrate to be dealt with in accordance with the law, to arrest any person found in such place if the magistrate directs so.”

Chief Chuks Muoma (SAN) said: “Will this IG be different from others before him? He was trained in the same Police College like others and it looks to me that the only thing they teach them at Police College is how to stand at the road and collect bribes from motorists.

“They all have the same psyche. Did he not grow from the same rank and file? Was he never a police commissioner and all that, before becoming the IG? His becoming IG does not mean anything. We have no police force and, therefore, have no security. I am sorry to say that. Nigeria has no police force.

What we have is a refuse dump of corruption.

“The concept of Nigeria is very good; let us manage it, but where we find out that we cannot manage it, let us go our own respective ways.

“We have a situation where one per cent of population has cornered the resources of the whole country and have continued to suck her blood. They don’t want to hear anything about getting it right, they don’t want to hear anything about conference, whether sovereign or not.”

Chairman NBA Lagos branch, Mr Taiwo Taiwo, said: “The security situation of the country is at an alarming stage. It has taken such a dimension that it must be settled quickly before it gets out of hand.

“What I expect from the IG is to set up a task force of a crack team of intelligent and discipline officers saddled with the responsibility of eliminating corruption from the police force. Corruption is one thing that leads to in efficiency in the force.”

Chairman, NBA Ikeja branch, Adebamigbe Omole, said: “Tackling corruption is the biggest challenge before the IG. As far as you have a corrupt police force, you cannot achieve anything. A corrupt mind can never achieve anything. The IG must have the wherewithal to deal with corrupt officers and corrupt rank and file.

“If he deals with corruption, that will be a monumental achievement.”

A civil society activist, Mr Bamidele Aturu, said: “As far as I am concerned, I am not expecting much from the new IG. This is because he was trained by the same college that trained the previous ones before him. He remained in the Nigerian police and has been part of that system. So, I am not expecting any spectacular performance from him.

“This notwithstanding, if the IG can give an intelligence-based police in Nigeria, that will be great. Our police should not be chasing and running after criminals when and after they had accomplished their acts. Rather, our police should be proactive and far ahead of the criminal, so that they can nip such crimes in the bud.

“The morale of the police force is low; let him try his best to up lift them. The next thing is the high level of corruption in the police force. I do not know how much progress he can make in this direction.

“I will be pleasantly surprised if he can give the country an intelligence-based police force and not a police force that merely reacts and responds to crime.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

29

LAW & DEVELOPMENT All seems calm in the succession crisis in Kogi State, owing to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC’s) decision to take sides with the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) leadership’s choice of Idris Wada as the proper person to assume the governorship seat. But law experts are of the view that parties to the crisis would have done themselves good to subject the dispute to judicial pronouncement rather than resorting to in-house arrangement.

ERIC IKHILAE reports.

Kogi: Lawyers urge parties to seek judicial stand

T

HE seeming interregnum in the gov ernorship crisis in Kogi State notwith standing, the belief is that the problem, as to who should legitimately succeed the immediate past Governor Ibrihim Idris, is yet to be fully resolved.

This is because despite the enthronement of Idris Wada via an arrangement by the leadership of the ruling Peoples’Democratic Party, supported by his endorsement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the opposing party in the crisis are yet to sheath their swords.

The fear that the crisis has not been fully resolved is further fuelled by the belief that a solution lies in allowing the court to pronounce on whether a fresh election should be held based on the earlier primary won by Jubrin Isa Echocho or that Wada - who won an election conducted during an elongated tenure that the Supreme Court voided - should be allowed to succeed Idris.

Proponents of a judicial resolution of the crisis said since it was ignited by the judgment of the Supreme Court, voiding the elongation of the tenure of five governors who were exempted from the 2011 governorship election on account of the April 15, 2011 judgment by the Court of Appeal, the apex court should be allowed to interpret its judgment to lay bare, the perceived grey areas.

The apex court had on January 27 this year upturned the February 23, last year judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja granting tenure elongation to then Governors Ibrahim Idris (Kogi), Murtala Nyako ( Adamawa) , Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto) Liyel Imoke (Cross River) and Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa), a judgment the Court of Appeal had erroneously upheld.

In a bid to prevent possible chaos and vacuum, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke (SAN), relying on the provision of Section 191 (2) of the 1999 Constitution, directed the Chief Judges (CJ) of the affected states to swear-in the Speakers of the States’ Assemblies pending when INEC would conduct fresh elections.

While the other four states complied, Kogi, which incidentally, the AGF hails from, presented a theatre of the absurd, enthroning two “governors.”

The state’s CJ, in compliance with the AGF’s directive, administered the oath of office on the Speaker, Abdullahi Bello, was sworn-in by the State Chief Judge, Justice Nasiru Ajana. But, outgoing governor, Idris had a separate plan; he procured the President of Kogi State Customary Court, Justice Shuaibu Ibrahim to swear-in Wada.

Both sides strove to justify their positions until the intervention of the PDP leadership and INEC, following which the Speaker, who though had argued that he was legitimately enthroned based on the AGF’s interpretation of the judgment and reference to a constitutional provision, elected to step down.

The Wada camp had contended that having won a dully conducted governorship election, the Supreme Court’s voiding of the period in which it was conducted not-

J

USTICE M.O. Omeha of a Lagos High Court, Ikeja has fixed today for definite hearing in a suit filed by Mr Olusegun Thomas Ejoor against his former employer, John Holt Nigeria Plc, over nonpayment of N11,157,897.28 being the balance of his gratutity.

When the suit came up for hearing last week, the defence, John Holt Plc and its counsel, Mr Sunday Onu, were not in court.

Counsel to the defence, however, sent a letter to the court in which he stated that he had a case at the Appeal Court and pleaded for an adjournment.

But counsel to the claimant, Mr Adewunmi Fatunde, urged the court to disregard the letter and allow the trial to commence in the matter.

Fatunde told the court that the suit had

withstanding, Wada was entitled to succeed Idris.

Observers are however of the view that the seeming resolution of the crisis, with Bello decision to toe his party’s line did not amount to a full resolution of the crisis.

This is in view of the pending case instituted by Echocho, who believe that having won the primary predating Wada’s election, he remained the PDP’s candidate for any election meant to produce a successor for Idris.

They faulted the position of the PDP leadership on the matter, arguing that it was informed by selfish reason as against the urge to ensure justice. They said the party is not sure of its ability to secure victory in a fresh election, hence its decision to side with Wada, who already has a claim to victory.

Law experts, including former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), Niyi Akintola (SAN), and rights activists, Femi Falana, Chukwudi Nwankwo and Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa argued that the best option was for parties, particularly INEC to approach the apex court for an interpretation of the judgment in relation to the scenario being played out in the state.

To them, the option will prevent future crisis, waste of the state’s resources, among other inconveniences that may arise should the court, in the Echocho case, hold that someone else, but Wada ought to succeed Idris.

They particularly faulted INEC for its decision to back Wada, without first seeking the apex court’s clarification on the issue.

The lawyers said INEC ought to seek the court’s clarification on what should happen to the primaries and elections held during the nullified extension to Idris’s tenure.

Akeredolu said: “I think what INEC did was to assume that it has judicial power. It cannot and should not have exercised any power outside what the Supreme Court has decided.

“The Supreme Court was very clear on who should be sworn in. INEC should have gone back to court to seek clarification as to what should happen to the elections and primaries conducted before and after May 29, 2011.

“They should have left the issue for the Supreme Court to decide. It is not for INEC to have come up with a contrary decision.

That is very contemptuous of INEC.” Akintola said: “INEC was wrong in recognising the election of Wada. What was the platform on which the election was conducted? Which primary gave room for the election of Wada? Is it the primary that was knocked by virtue of the Supreme Court judgment?

“The Supreme Court held that Idris’ tenure ended on May 29, 2011. It means the primaries held after then were a nullity.

There was a primary held in March of 2011 before Idris went to court to argue that his tenure should be extended.

“The winner of that primary is in court. If the Supreme Court has held that Idris’ tenure ended on May 29, 2011, it means then that the primary that was held after the ex-

• Musdapher, Chief Justice of Nigeria

piration of Idris’ tenure ought not to have been held.

“To my mind, it is the candidate that won the March 2011 primary that ought to have been considered. The election that produced Wada is not right. In any case, it is a mute point that the court has to clear.

“One would have thought that INEC and others should have returned to court to seek clarification. INEC ought not to have acted alone on this. It ought to have sought clarifications from the court.”

Falana, said: “Having usurped the judicial powers of the state, INEC has declared that the inauguration of Wada as governor of Kogi State was in order. In the same vein, INEC has put the Electoral Act in abeyance in its desperate bid to hold governorship elections in afore-mentioned states within two weeks.”

Adegboruwa said: “INEC lacks the power, under the Constitution, to pick and choose who to support among the parties contesting to be made Acting Governor. Its responsibility is to conduct elections and it has done that.

“What the parties involved should do is to go back to the court and seek interpreta-

tion of the decision as regard the situation that have arisen.

“The court has asked that the governors should vacate office. Its decision did not affect elections and primaries duly held.

“Parties are required to first obey these unambiguous parts of the judgment and return to the court with these new issues that have arisen.

“These new issues as regard who is qualified to occupy the office of the governor in view of the primaries and election held while the case was in court, should be taken back to the court for it to pronounce on them.”

Nwankwo said “INEC should urgently seek clarifications or directions from the Supreme Court as a party on record, in other to have a clearer picture of the judgment as it affects Kogi State.

“This is the most appropriate time for INEC to clarify or validate its action because in the event of litigation, which may stretch into another four years, if the court invalidates its position, we may have to go back to zero level after expending huge public fund, time and others resources,” he said.

Suit against John Holt holds today

By Adebisi Onanuga

dragged for too long as it had gone through series of adjournments owing to what he termed delay tactics on the part of the defendants since the suit was filed February, last year.

Mr Ejoor had sued his former employer, John Holt Plc ,over its refusal to pay the balance of his N11,157,897.28 gratuity, since he left the service of the company in June 2008 after 35 years of meritorious service.

Ejoor is also asking to be paid interests on the balance of his gratutity at the rate of 30 per cent per annum from July 1, 2008 to the

date of judgment and, thereafter, interests at the prevailing bank rate until full and final payment of the judgment sum is liquidated.

In its statement of claim, Ejoor claimed that the company in its memo dated July2, 2007 referred to its policy and gave him notice of retirement with effect from December 31, 2007.

He said when he was eventually retired in June 2008, his gratuity put at N7.1million then should have been N18 million.

The claimant averred that his employer in response to two letters dated October 5 and 19, 2009 admitted his claim of N5,873,081.15 and after deductions of N1,965,790.23, being

assets and outstandings, the amount due was N3,907,110.92.

He said he rejected the figure because his employer calculated his entitlement using a stale and inapplicable agreement between it and Shop and Distributive Trade Senior Staff Association, of which he was a member, and which has been overtaken by events.

He stated further that in spite of the association‘s communiqué and an agreement reached with the defendant, under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Labour appointed mediator dated October 26, 2009, that what was due to him was N11,157,897.28, the defendant still refused to pay him.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

30

FROM THE COURT

Dispute over Okotie-Eboh’s property: Court orders maintenance of status quo

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Lagos High Court (LHC) has ordered parties in the dis pute over the purported sale one of the houses of the late former Finance Minister, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, to maintain status quo (not to take further steps) pending the determination of an application seeking to halt further erection of structures within the space occupied by the house.

This is as Justice Okechukwu Okeke of the Federal High Court, Lagos is set to rule tomorrow on an application seeking the vacation of an order ex-parte granted a party in the dispute. The judge fixed the date after entertaining arguments from on whether or not the court was justified in making the order.

Justice Ayotunde Philips, sitting in the Lagos division of the LHC, gave the order, upon an oral application by plaintiffs’lawyer, John Aga, who informed the court that despite the pendency of the suit filed in 2009, the defendants have allegedly forcefully taken possession and knocked the building down.

The defendants did not oppose the application. They only prayed for time to enable them respond to the pending written application seeking among others, to halt further erection of structures on the premises and the demolition of any new one built.

The judge also ordered that the plaintiffs should be allowed access to the property and take pictures to be exhibited before the court to enable it know the actual state of the property located at 15 Kingsway Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Plaintiffs in the suit numbered: LD/1995/2009 are Festus OkotieEboh and Sons Limited, Maidaville Properties Limited and six of the deceased’s children – Dr Clara Akele, Mrs. Grace Oduro, Bawo, Emmanuel, Adolo and Lawrence (who are directors in the first plaintiff company) .

The defendants are Dangote Nigeria Limited, the deceased’s daughter – Mrs. Alero Jadesimi (also a director in the first plaintiff company), the Governor of Lagos State, the state’s Attorney-General, its Registrar of Titles, the state Police Commissioner and the Inspector-General of Police.

The plaintiffs had instituted the suit upon information that Mrs. Jadesimi allegedly sold property, owned by Festus Okotie-Eboh and Sons ltd, to Dangote Nig Ltd without the consent of the other directors.They argued that Mrs. Jadesimi, being one of the

LAW AND PUBLIC POWER

• As Federal High Court rules tomorrow on motion against ex-parte injunctions

By Eric IKhilae

company’s seven directors, lacked the powers to unilaterally sell property without the approval of the other directors.

They also stated in their statement of claims that they only learnt after the sale was effected that the said property, being inhabited by some of the deceased’s children, their immediate families and tenants, was sold; a deed of assignment executed and the state governor’s consent obtained.

The plaintiffs alleged that the said deed of assignment was signed by a person other than the deceased’s company’s Secretary, Mr Jude Ngobili. They also denied agreeing to the sale of the property and authorising Mrs. Jadesimi to sell same. They prayed the court to reverse the purported sale.

The defendants have denied the plaintiff’s allegation, claiming to have acted legitimately. They queried the right of the plaintiffs to sue and the claim of the former minister’s six children to being directors in the company.

They argued that the sale was legitimately done and urged the court to dismiss the suit.

Last December, parties were to end the pre-trial conference period and commence trial when Dangote Nig Ltd sought for more time to enable it to file its defence, a request granted by the court, following which the case was adjourned to January 24 this year.

While the plaintiffs were looking forward to the next adjourned date the defendants went before Justice Okeke on December 15, last year to obtain ex-parte injunctions, empowering them to among others, take possession of the three-storey property, comprising eight apartments, boys quarters and garages, occupying approximately 4,700 square meters of land.

The ex-parte application had

Festus Okotie-Eboh and Sons Ltd, Mrs. Jadesimi and her two children - Sarah and Jide – as plaintiffs, with the Corporate Affiairs Commission (CAC) and Mrs. Jadesimi’s siblings, who are plaintiffs in the suit before Justice Philips, as defendants.

Armed with the said injunction from justice Okeke, the plaintiffs (in suit: FHC/L/CS/1479/2011), allegedly acting with agents of the purported buyer, invaded the property on December 24, last year, accompanied by armed policemen and thugs; forced their way into the premises, chased out its occupants and knocked the structure down, using bulldozers and other earth mowing equipment.

The defendants in the suit before Justice Okeke have since applied that the ex-parte orders be vacated on the ground that the court was misled into granting the said orders. While entertaining arguments from parties on February 1 on the application, the judge said his orders did not empower the plaintiffs to pull down the existing structure. He adjourned to February 15 for ruling.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government has started investigation into the transaction leading to the purported sale of the property to ascertain whether it contained element of fraud.

The state’s action was informed by a petition by the eldest son of the late Minister, Adolo, expressing the family’s discontent over the transaction and the alleged desperation on the part of the purported buyer to assume possession despite the pendency of the case challenging the purported sale.

The state Governor, Babatunde Fasola, in a letter by his Chief of Staff, Olanrewaju Babalola, dated January 25, 2012 directed the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Special Adviser to the governor on Tax and Revenue and the Chairman, Lagos Internal Revenue Service, to investigate the transaction.

‘The plaintiffs had instituted the suit upon information that Mrs. Jadesimi allegedly sold property, owned

by Festus Okotie-Eboh and Sons ltd, to Dangote Nig Ltd without the consent of the other directors.They argued that Mrs. Jadesimi, being one of the company’s seven directors, lacked the powers to unilaterally sell property without the approval of the other directors.’

• Mr Gbenga Ojo (right), Law lecturer, LASU, recieving an award from Remi Ojudun, Head of the graduating class of Law students, for his scholarly contribution to development of the study of Law.

with gabriel AMALU email:gabrielamalu1@yahoo.com

Who will probe the National Assembly?

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HE National Assembly is seeking to reinvent its image with the nests of probes. In the same vain, the elegant Petroleum Resources Minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke, is working not to be outdone by the legislators. By my own count, she has set up about four task forces in the last few weeks; all under her bosom. I guess the masses are getting paid in their own coin. How? For daring to enjoy some theatre during the protest over President Goodluck Jonathan’s New Year’s fuel hike, the National Assembly and Mrs. Allison-Madueke have disingenuously discovered that some theatre could make dying in Nigeria seem a Valentine wish.

The petit Ad hoc Committee Chairman of the House of Representatives on the petroleum subsidy scam, Hon. Farouk Lawan, is arguably the best known face of this recent theatre. My old pal Hon. Patrick Ikhariele and Hon. Tony Elumelu also headed recent probe panels but they did not bother to contest the cameras with Hon. Farouk for long. For Patrick, the labour and strike probe assignments have no juice and so nothing to spew a theatre around. Tony, on the other hand, as they say, has had his days in the sun during the power probe. So with his flowing Agbada, and false gait of a Magistrate, Farouk Lawan and his group were free to perform as they engaged the nation for weeks.

Now that that main theatre in the House of Representatives is drawing to a close, the Senate has promised to give us a treat in the pension arena.

I was amused as our Senators feigned anger at the treatment of Nigerians who had spent all their lives working for the government. As the old men and women relayed the atrocities they are experiencing in the name of the so called reform, I wished I could get across to our despoiled parents to whisper to them to ask the Senators to mention their quarterly income. In case the pensioners don’t know, the legislators are not leaving their own pension to the whims of those that will be in power in future.

They are engaged in advanced fee scheme.

As I watched the calm disposition of Diezani Allison-Madueke while Farouk Lawan and company pretended to be protecting our interest, I saw in her the calm arrogance of a Land owner whose long absence has made the caretaker leave the illusion that he has become the owner of the cash crop left in his care. Madam Madueke did not leave me in doubt that what Farouk and company were agitating about belonged to her, the President and their kinsmen by inheritance. I guess it was share decorum that she did not work out on the pretenders; of course after reminding them and their leadership that as a daughter of the Niger Delta none of them has as much right of ownership as she has over the petroleum resources.

Now who will forget in hurry, the late Governor Barkin Zuwo, and his grand theory about government money in government house? Still in doubt about who calls the shot? Then remember that the whole hullabaloo started when Mr. President, a true son of Niger Delta, in his wisdom decided to sell the key petroleum product, fuel, at a worthy price. When Nigerians kicked, his kinsmen vociferously reminded the rest of us who the boss of the God given natural resources is. Again, I guess that informed President Jonathan’s courage to tread freely where his predecessors including Generals feared. Now with Boko Haram threatening to cave out for keeps that part of the country where Farouk and the Reps Speaker come from; Madam Madueke may just ask them to show their locus standi.

It is therefore in furtherance of acts of ownership that Madam has been sharing with impunity if you like, jobs for the Men in the name of special task forces. And in this season of Valentine, the names are as exotic as they come. The gold of course goes to the Task force on Governance and Controls in NNPC and other Parastatals within the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources. With the modest efforts of the protesters and the bile from Farouk Lawan’s committee, who will not agree of the urgent need as stated by Madam for corporate governance code, ensuring full transparency, good governance and global best practices in the NNPC and its parastatals.

The Mallam Nuhu Ribadu’s committee should accept grudgingly the second price. While I personally admire Mallam Ribadu for his great achievements at the EFCC, I doubt if he was thoroughly briefed before he took this new offer. Oga Ribadu, this committee is a different kettle of fish from the EFCC; because while EFCC is a creation of law, this Valentine gift is at best a fanciful ad hoc quasi administrative agency with a weak power to perform. I foresee a dressed chicken pretending to have life entrails. But since Ribadu has already elected to go ahead to have his fun, he has my best wishes.

Well there is no doubt that the Minister has been scared by the House of Representative’s swagger and the fuel price protests. In haste Madam had literally abdicated her responsibilities as a Minister and appropriated that of the Parastatals under her, in favour of Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Mr. Dotun Sulaiman and their committee members. In panic she may have forgotten or is not aware of the administrative doctrine of Delegatus non potest delegare.

Pray, now that the High Court in EFCC vs Bankole and Nafada with due respect appears to have abdicated its constitutional power to watch over Legislative excesses; I have been wandering, who will scare the national assembly?

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

31

LAW & SOCIETY

Lagos High Court’s new Civil Procedure Rules underway • Fashola opens new home for judges

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OON, civil proceedings at the Lagos High Court will be guided by a new set of rules, a modification of the 2004 Rules.

This is because the committee set up by the state government to review its existing rule has completed its assignment.

The Governor, Babatunde Fasola disclosed this while unveiling a residential facility built to accommodate five of the state’s High Court judges. The facility named: Judges Quarters, consisting of five detached five bedroom houses, is located at 3 Glover Road, Ikoyi.

Fasola said the committee headed

by Justice Opeyemi Oke, recently completed works on the new Civil Procedure Rules, which is intended to build on the achievement recorded with the 2004 Rules, which served as a template for modification for other states of the federation.

“I have no doubt in my mind that the new rules will complement our other efforts to ensure that Lagos State Judiciary continues to occupy the first position among its peers in Nigeria and beyond.

“Similarly, in the third quarter of 2011 Lagos State Government reenacted the Administration of Criminal Justice Law with some amendments, and introduced a nw Criminal Law after almost a century of using the outmoded Criminal Code.

“These recent statutes brought in novel concepts like non-custodial sentences, restated some offences and created new ones or increased penalties attached to reflect current practices and the society’s new demands,” he said.

Fashola observed that these innovations in court rules and laws would amount to naught if judicial officers, particularly the judges were not well accommodated and catered for, a realisation, he said informed the state’s decision to invest in the provision of suitable residential facilities for its judges.

“In the case of Lagos State, owner-occupied houses are the policy choice, such that our judges will not have to worry about where they will live after retirement or whether they will be compelled to vacate their quarters.

He said the Glover Road project was part of an ongoing effort to enhance the working conditions of all judges and magistrates with the provision of more conducive court buildings and modern equipment.

Fasola assured of his government’s commitment to providing “affordable and qualitative housing schemes for Lagosians. We have carefully put together a viable, functional and

• The new quarters

• Governor Fashola (middle), Chief Judge of Lagos, Justice Inumidun Akande (right) and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye.

By Eric Ikhilae and Joseph Jibueze

sustainable mortgage system, which will soon be rolled out to-

wards ensuring that housing loans and mortgage capabilities become accessible to a larger number of Lagosians in gainful employment.”

The five fully detached owner-

Eastern Bar conference begins tomorrow

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HIS year’s International Legal Conference of the Eastern Bar Forum (EBF), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), will begin tomorrow.

It will hold at the Studio Auditorium, Tinapa, Calabar, Cross River State and will end on Thursday.

A statement by EBF’s Chairman of Governing Council Mr Kemasuode Wodu and Secretary Ogbonna Igwenyi said the conference will proffer solutions to the country’s security challenges.

It has the theme: Challenges to national security.

The opening ceremony will be chaired by the Speaker of the

By John Austin Unachukwu

House of Representatives, Hon Waziri Aminu Tambuwal while the keynote address will be presented by the National Security Adviser, General Andrew Owoye Azazi.

Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha of Imo State is expected to chair the First Session that examines law enforcement and state police, while Senator Victor Ndoma Egba will chair the session on National Security.

Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State will chair the session on insecurity and the economic implications.

Speakers at the conference in-

clude former Inspector-General of Police, Sir Mike Okiro; President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MASSOP) Ledum Mitee and former chairman, NBA Section on Business Law (SBL) George Etomi.

Discussants include the former NBA President, Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN); Chairman, Lagos State Security Trust Fund, Fola Arthur Worrey; acting Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon Neston Binabo; Dr Dawari George; Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State; Chief Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State, and Executive Vice-Chairman Monipulo Limited, Mrs Siinye Lulu Briggs.

occupier houses of five bedrooms each, is in a gated ‘community’ in Ikoyi. Each unit enjoys its privacy and is independent of others.

The houses have their own borehole, water treatment plant, secu-

rity and generator house, ample garden space, a two-bedroom ensuite chalet with its kitchenette and parking for about five cars.

Inside are also an ante room, a main living room, dinning and a kitchen.

Fashola said the improvement of the state’s judicial service personnel constitutes a very important part of his administration’s justice sector reform policy.

Judges’ efficiency, he said, rests significantly on the adequacy of their conditions of service and working tools.

Quoting renowned jurist Justice Mohammed Akanbi, Fashola said: “The mind that administers justice must be free from financial embarrassment. He must be able to think straight to be able to deliver good judgment.

“Poor conditions of service disturb the mind. It is an obstacle to clear and positive thinking, hence an obstacle to justice according to law.”

The governor said governments must work towards provision of suitable residential accommodation for judges.

“Given the nature of a judge’s assignment and the need to ensure their privacy and efficiency, we have adopted the view that a befitting accommodation should be part and parcel of the remuneration attached to the High Court Bench, and we have already implemented this policy for a large majority of our judges.”

Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Ade Ipaye, said many of such owner-occupied houses have already been delivered, with more to follow, all part of the administration’s bid “to make things better.”

“It is also a clear manifestation of the creative spirit, sense of beauty and quest for law and order, all of which lay at the base of our service delivery objectives,” he said.

Chief Judge of Lagos, Justice Inumidun Akande, said the “magnificent edifice” shows that Governor Fashola has “excellent taste” and a desire to improve the lot of judges.

“The judiciary has witnessed tremendous boost under the present administration,” she said.

Justice Akande said all the judges “have already been captured” in the Owner-Occupier Housing Scheme, warning the beneficiaries against selling or sub-letting the buildings.

Justice Oke, a beneficiary, thanked t h e g o v e r n m e n t “ f o r demonstrating love and care for the judges,”saying: “We are very grateful.”

She joked that those appearing before her should henceforth address her as “My Lord, My Lord” – the f i r s t a s b eing the lord of her court, and the second as being a “landlord”.

Man charged with alleged fraud

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HE police have charged a poli tician, Chief Chyna Iwuanyanwu, at the Wuse Zone 7 Chief Magistrate’s Court, Abuja, with alleged land fraud.

Trial in the case will resume on May 7. At the last hearing, the defendant was absent. He was said to be ill.

The charge is fallout of a business transaction that went sour between him and a German property development firm, following his alleged illegal sale of lands and encroachment on the property of the German firm’s Abuja estate at the Cadastral Zone, Galadimawa.

Iwuanyanwu is accused of criminal trespass, impersonation and criminal intimidation. They are contrary to sections 342, 324 and 397 of the Penal Code Law. Police investigation revealed that

he allegedly trespassed into Plot 321 Galadimawa Estate/District Abuja in peaceable possession when he allegedly impersonated a director of the InvestGroup GGE/Exiter St. Davis.

The police said he had no valid title to the said land and when confronted, he threatened to kill the complainant. “You are, therefore, suspected to have committed the above offences,” the police said.

The firm was said to have terminated Iwuanyanwu’s appointment as its representative. The letter from InvestGroup GGE/ Exeter St. Davis appointing him as representative was written on November 1, 2004; the one that terminated the appointment and duly served him was dated January 19, 2005.

Iwuanyawu had pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment.

32

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

33

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

LAW & SOCIETY ROUNDTABLE FOR MAGISTRATES, PROSECUTORS, LEGISLATORS POLICE AND PRISON OFFICIALS ON ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION, ABRAND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AT THE NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED LEGAL STUDIES (NIALS) AT ITS UNILAG, AKOKA, LAGOS CAMPUS

• From left: Mr Sylvester Tuhaa, Mr Solomon Adun Asemota (SAN) and Ike Udunni

• From left: Mr Ndubuisi Okafor, Dr Chinyere Ani and Mr Larry Ofulue

• ASP Aderemi Ajibola of Ondo State Police Command (left) and E. F. Ijalana of Legal Prosecution, Oyo State Police Command

• From left: Amos Adewale, Seun Adetokunbo and Ochogwu Samuel

•Kehinde Ogundare (left) and Demola Adesanya (Magistrate)

• Kefas M Mogaji and Kelvin Nwosu

•From left: Mrs Leticia Ayoola-Daniels, Mr Danjuma Abdulai and Jamila Numi Maishanu

• Jadesola Akhanamoya (left) and Ope Osho-Adebiyi (Magistrate)

•Mrs Ejiro Kubienje (left) and Mrs Tosin Fowowe

•Mrs Maureen Mazi (DCP Lagos State Command) (left) and Mr Abudul Rasheed Alimi (DCP After Care Lagos State Command).

PHOTOS: ADEOLA SOLOMON

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

34

LAW & DEVELOPMENT

‘How to tackle judicial corruption’

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ORRUPTION in the judiciary came to the fore at a media roundtable on Pro moting ethics and integrity at the Magistrate Courts organised by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project(SERAP) and the Netherlands Embassy in Lagos.

Participants condemned the vice, noting how certain actions, including those of the some members of the executive engender corruption in the system.

Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, who delivered the keynote address spoke on judicial corruption.

Musdapher described corruption as a s threat to economic development and democracy in many developing, especially transitional countries. He said: “It is an understatement to say that our country agonises under the weight of this socio-economic vice”. This, according to him, was because corruption thrives and will remain a nagging problem wherever the rule of law is weak.

While there may be difficulties in determining those guilty of the offence in the judicial sector, Musdapher who would not exonerate magistrates and judges, admitted that the police, prosecutors, court bailiffs and other enforcers of court judgements, all in one way or the other, facilitate and frustrate the goal of achieving the rule of law.

Justice Musdapher, who spoke through the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Mr Sunday Olorundahunsi, said corruption in the judicial sector was a keystone to corruption in any society. He emphasised that without an honest criminal justice system, the wealthy, especially the corrupt, can escape the consequences of their crime.

Metaphorically, the Chief Judge of Nigeria compared a corrupt judge to a man who has brain issue. He described “a corrupt judge” as being more harmful to the society than a man who runs amok with a dagger in a crowded street, pointing out that while “the latter can be restrained, the former deliberately destroys the moral foundation of society and causes incalculable distress to individuals while still answering “honourable”.

Justice Musdapher said public perception of corruption was a very significant part of

By Adebisi Onanuga

the mechanism by which it undermines the rule of law and economic development, pointing out that “if the public perceives the courts to be corrupt, they will be less likely to take their complaints there for resolution”.

He stated that in the event that the courts are not corrupt, the rule of law would be frustrated if for any reason the public would not take cases of human rights abuse or election fraud to the courts.

The Chief Justice believed that if corruption is reduced in the judiciary, corrupt individuals in other sectors would be prosecuted and punished. “Thus, taking steps against corruption in the justice system should be a first step in dealing with corruption in the society as a whole”, he said.

To entrench rule of law and eradicate corruption in the judiciary, he emphasised the urgent need to develop a new Judicial Code of Ethics that would reflect current realities and challenges. According to him, “a cost/ benefit analysis of judicial corruption, from the point of view of a judge subject to temptation, would weigh the benefits in terms of illicit income received against the cost of being caught and punished”. He said effective prosecution of judicial corruption would serve as a powerful deterrence to susceptible judges and magistrates.

He reiterated that restoration of public confidence in the judicial system and that the entrenchment of the rule of law remain his number one priority, adding “the purpose of all these initiatives is to set out the judiciary on a path of renewal so as to restore the integrity and dignity of the judiciary to its pristine status”.

Second Secretary, Political Affairs, ECOWAS and Human Rights of Netherlands Embassy, Annemieke Van Soelen, said for the rule of law to be entrenched in the country, the judicial system must be impartial, transparent, and cease to be an appendage of the executive.

She praised SERAP, noting that its activities would contribute to the on-going reforms in the judicial sector.

• From left: Tokunbo Mumuni, Sunday Olorundahunsi and Mrs Abiola Akiode, at a media roundtable on promoting Magistrate courts ethics, integrity and improving citizens’ access to justice at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja.

• From left: Ademola Adegoke and Annemieke Van Soelen.

On corruption in the magistrate courts, Mr Tayo Oyetibo argued that there are no provisions for them in the constitution, but rather that of character of the personnel and the structure of their appointment. Oyetibo, while admitting the power of the executive on the creation of magistrate courts and, consequently, the appointments in the sector, said emphasis should be on the quality of people to be appointed as magistrates instead of political patronage. He said those vested with the power of appointing magistrates should see to it that persons of high pedi-

PHOTO: ADEJO DAVID

gree and impecable character are appointed.

Executive Director, SERAP, Mr Adetokunbo Mumuni, said the establishment of an impartial, transparent and efficient justice system is a prerequisite to addressing corruption and restoration of the rule of law in the country.

He argued that courts should have the capacity to effectively detect, prosecute and sanction corruption cases while corruption should be addressed within the judiciary to restore the legitimacy of the judicial system.

Man sues firm, others, for N1b over alleged contract breach

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BUSINESSMAN, Mr Kemi Adeloye, has sued a trans portation company, Cross Country Nigeria Limited and its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Bube Okorodudu, at the Lagos State High Court, Igbosere, for N1billion over alleged breach of a N140 million leasehold contract.

The applicant and his company, AG Moeller Limited, are urging the court to enforce his fundamental human rights.

Other respondents are the Inspector-General of Police, Commissioner of Police, Lagos, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Car Link.

Adeloye, through his counsel, Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, is seeking a declaration that his alleged arrest by the police and EFCC at the prompting Okorodudu and his company constitutes a flagrant violation of his fundamental rights.

He said the rights are guaranteed under sections 35, 38, 40 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution and articles 4, 5, 6, 9, 12 and 14 of the African Charter on Human Rights and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act 2004.

His arrest, he said, is therefore, illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.

The applicants prayed the court to declare that the first to the third respondents are not entitled to deal

• Respondents deny allegations

By Joseph Jibueze

in any manner with the moveable and immovable assets of the applicants in their possession, as that violates their right guaranteed under sections 37, 38, 40 and 41, 42 and 44 of the Constitution.

They sought a declaration that Adeloye is entitled to his liberty and freedom without let or hindrance.

The applicants prayed the court to hold that the transaction is commercial and civil, freely entered into between the parties. Therefore, Adeloye should not be intimidated and harassed.

The applicants sought an injunction restraining the respondents from “selling, disposing, using, transferring or in any other manner using” any of the moveable and immovable assets of the applicants in their possession and custody pending the resolution of the suit.

They prayed for an order directing them to release, return and handover to the applicants all moveable and immovable assets forcefully taken from them.

The applicants sought N1 billion as general damages against the respondents.

In a supporting affidavit, Adeloye swore that his company had a fi-

‘Adeloye, through his counsel, Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, is seeking a declaration that his alleged arrest by the police and EFCC at the prompting Okorodudu and his company constitutes a flagrant violation of his fundamental rights’

nance lease facility with Cross Country for 40units of VW Transporter Mini Bus worth N140 million at N3.5 million each.

He said he is still being owed a debt, which form the subject of a suit before a Federal High Court.

However, he said he is under perpetual fear of arrest and detention.

He claimed he had been severally arrested by the first to third respondents at Okorodudu’s prompting and kept at different detention facilities on frivolous allegations.

He said his Honda Accord vehicle

with registration number CB 546 KSF was confiscated.

According to him, his being hounded has put his life in danger and has unsettled his business, affecting his family responsibilities as the breadwinner.

But the fourth to sixth respondents, in their counter affidavit, said Adeloye’s claims were not all true.

They denied instigating his arrest and detention or violating his rights, debunking his claim that they collected a car or immovable or moveable property from the applicant.

The respondents said the applicants claimed that they were a registered financial institution in accordance with the mandatory statutory requirement of the Banks and other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), which was an alleged misrepresentation.

According to them, the applicants lured them into transactions for which the applicants charged interest.

They urged the court to reject the application, saying it will be in the interest of justice to do so.

The suit will be heard before Justice Christopher Balogun today.

• From left: Prof Peter Akper (SAN), Chairman Senate Committee on Judiciary Legal Matters, Human Rights; Senator Dahiru Umaru and Ephaim at the sensitisation programme organised by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) at Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 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 •Continued from last week

A

NOTHER piece of evidence which was rejected by the tribunal but later up held by the Court of Appeal was one confirming multiple thumb printing in many booths in Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states by demonstrating that the time it would have taken each voter to vote, could never have accommodated the votes recorded for the respondent (PDP) unless there was multiple thumb printing.

For example, in the Oduduwa Hall Polling station at the Obafemi Awolowo University, (Osun Election 2007), 2,000 votes were recorded for the PDP and 300 for the ACN (the respondent). The voting period was between 8 am to 3pm (420minutes), dividing 2,300 by 420 minutes, you get 11 seconds. In other words, the entire voting process for each voter beginning from searching the register for his/her name, to being given a ballot paper to actually thumb printing, voting and returning to get a mark on the thumb, took 11 seconds per voter! The tribunal held the man who made this simple calculation and gave evidence of it was not an expert having not undertaken any courses on electoral malpractices Clearly, new procedures and rules of evidence are required. The use of INEC’s biometric data, in proof of multiple thumb printing could cut trial time considerably. The use of arithmetical calculations (as was eventually accepted by the Court of Appeal in the Osun State case) which showed the impossibility of the votes recorded for the respondent, and which established a pattern of ballot stuffing are all important new ways of reducing trial time.

Criminal justice system

The major function of the state is undoubtedly social control, the protection of lives and livelihoods, and general security in the community. In many ways the success of other human engagements in the society largely depends on the extent of law and order, and or the assurance of personal and corporate safety. The failure of the criminal justice system is consequently a failure of the state itself. Indeed, one of the most reliable indicators of a failed state is a criminal justice system that cannot deliver law and order. The NDS/EFCC Survey 2007 showed that crime and corruption represents major concern of the business community. Over 75 per cent and 71 per cent of over 2,200 businessmen interviewed respectively said that crime and insecurity and corruption represent very serious obstacles to doing business.

Of greater moment is the fact that 50 per cent of interviewed businesses experienced at least one crime along the 12 months before the survey. In 40 per cent of the cases, the crimes were perpetrated with the use of a weapon.

30 per cent of the interviewed businesses indicated that they had been victims of burglary in the preceding 12 months while 20 per cent reported theft or fraud of employees.

Regarding the prevalence of corruption, the survey showed that over 34 per cent of interviewed businesses who had interacted with public officials paid bribes to those public officials. On the average one in three of the surveyed businesses paid bribes to public officials when carrying out administrative procedures.

The most worrisome aspect of the problem is the almost complete absence of detection and punishment of theses offences.

In order to assess the state of our criminal justice system – both hard facts and perceptions are important. It is probably true to say that perceptions are often more important than reality. Most people do not have access to the empirical data on rates and frequency of crimes, heavy reliance is placed on anecdotal information and the perceptions of others.

Personal and corporate security concerns, and the decisions that follow them, are often made on non-empirical information.

But what does the hard data on the Nigerian Criminal Justice System reveal? First, are the figures on the rates of conviction per capita in Nigeria as compared with other nations of the world; the purpose of this being to show how many people have been convicted and imprisoned as a percentage of our population compared with other countries.

Comparative population figures Country and population prisoners

No of convicted Nigeria (140 million) 39,011 USA (298.2 million) 2,198,798 Russia (143 million) 871,693 South Africa (47.4 million) 160,198 United Kingdom (59.7 million) 88,197 The figures show that relative to our population, the number of convicts per capita is extremely low. This may either mean that Nigerians are an incredibly law abiding people or that custodial sentences are not frequently used or that the criminal justice system has quite significant problems. Russia with a population of only 3 million higher than ours has almost 20 times as many convicted prisoners as Nigeria. South Africa with about a third of Nigeria’s population has almost 5 times as many convicts as Nigeria has.

Nigeria’s estimated prison statistics (August 2009) No of Prisoners 40,447 Pre-trial detainees 63% of total Share of prison capacity filled 105% Male prisoners 91.1% Source: NationMaster.com The number of pre-trial detainees and the inordinate length of pre- trial detention has been a long running embarrassment. It is indicative of some of the grave problems of delays in processing suspected criminal activity through the criminal justice system.

The implications are profound. First, there are issues of violations of the rights of detainees ranging from rights to fair and prompt trials to possibly torture and degrading treatment and other violations of the right to dignity of the human person created by the congestion in prisons and its associated problems. Second, is the non-effectiveness of the penal system’s stated objective of rehabilitation and reform of the prisoner.

Clearly, where the vast majority of inmates using prison facilities and subject to its regimen are not convicts and may never be, those for whom the system is meant can hardly benefit from its programs.

The data on police performance and public confidence in the police is also not particularly cheering. 79.7 per cent of victims of crime in the CLEEN FOUNDATION NATIONAL CRIME SURVEY (2006) did not report crimes to the police. Reasons given by the victims for not reporting (aside from where the victims thought the offenses were minor) include‚ self-help, the police would not do anything‚ did not want any police involvement‚ fear of reprisals, did not have any money to give police, and‚ police would inform the offender. Of those who reported, a total of 56% were either not at all satisfied, not satisfied or neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.

How about the time it takes to conclude criminal cases? Again the statistics are quite depressing.

National average of time taken to conclude criminal cases across the country (2001-2006) High Court Court of Appeal Supreme Court

1.5 years 3.5 years 2.0 years

•Osinbajo

Total Supreme Court assuming there are no interlocutory appeals) Interminable delays of course reduce the chances of ever concluding cases in a satisfactory manner. In many cases, witnesses have lost interest, investigating police officers have been posted outside of the states where the offences were committed, sometimes also judges or magistrates are transferred or elevated and the cases have to start de novo. Besides, it also invariably impacts the volume of pre-trial detainees. Some of the causes are procedural. Rules which encourage dilatory tactics of counsel (especially defence counsel whose ploy especially, where the accused persons can afford it is to frustrate trial and hope that the changing political circumstances may lead to release) such as stay of proceedings pending interlocutory appeals. Others have to do with infrastructural and logistic challenges sometimes as mundane as there being no fuel, tires or batteries for the black maria which conveys accused persons to and from court. Judges in many jurisdictions still take verbatim notes of proceedings in long- hand, and have to contend with power outages, uncomfortable court rooms, shortages of stationery and other office consumables.

Perceptions of foreign countries of the safety and security situation in the nation are also quite disturbing, even though any would consider them exaggerated. Travel advisories issued by the embassies of some countries to their citizens considering business or other visits to Nigeria poignantly show these concerns: The current US travel advisory reads inter alia: Violent crimes committed by individuals

and gangs as well as by some persons wearing police and military uniforms is an ongoing problem especially at night. Crime is particularly acute in Lagos. Travelling outside major cities during the hours of darkness is not recommended due to both crime and road safety concerns. Visitors to Nigeria, including American citizens have been victims of armed robbery on the airport roads from Lagos and Abuja during both daylight and night time hours. Some visitors and resident Americans have experienced armed muggings, assaults, burglary, kidnappings and extortion, often involving violence as well as carjacking, road blocks robberies and break-ins.

The Australian High Commission’s advisory on travel to Nigeria (March 2011) reads: We advice you reconsider your need to travel to Nigeria at this time due to the high threat of terrorist attack and kidnapping, the unpredictable security situation and the heightened risk of violent civil unrest. The security situation could deteriorate without warning.

The High Commission of New Zealand on its own part advises that: There is a high risk to your security everywhere in Nigeria due to the threat of terrorism, kidnapping, violent crime and the unpredictable security situation and we advice against all tourist and other non-essential travel. More than 250 foreign workers have been kidnapped, killed or injured in Nigeria since 2007.

The poor record of apprehension and conviction of 419 (Advance Fee Fraud) perpetrators is probably responsible for the increase in the incidence of this crime and the stereotyping of Nigerians as fraudsters across the world. It is unlikely that any other phenomenon has affected the image of Nigeria as profoundly as has 419.

But perhaps the most troubling development especially from a perception point of view is the several unresolved high profile crimes, especially homicides. The inability to satisfactorily resolve high profile cases has, relative to the actual numbers of those cases a disproportionate impact on both local and international perception of the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. The logic, of course, is: how can a system that cannot deal with offences against the high and mighty deliver justice to the ordinary person?

I intend to briefly examine the facts and circumstances of some of these cases, with a view to showing where the possible weaknesses in the criminal justice response to them lie.

The Bola Ige assassination

Chief Bola Ige (SAN) was Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice at the time of his assassination on December 23, 2001, in his home in Ibadan. The late Ige was shot in his home by armed men, who accessed his residence quite easily because a short while before the incident, all the official security detail attached to him had ostensibly gone to have a meal. Prior to his death, he had apparently forwarded a letter of resignation to the President, his reason being that he wished to spend time organising his party for the 2003 elections, when he perhaps hoped to vie for the Presidency.

•To be continued

• From left: General Secretary NBA, Olumuyiwa Akinboro; former 3rd Vice-President of NBA, Berth Aniche-Okoye and former General Secretary NBA, Ibrahim Eddy mark, during the first NBA presidents’ Human Rights Roundtable, at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

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LAW PERSONALITY A scion of the SofoLa family, Olusina Sofola (SAN), became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) at 43 when many of his peers were still struggling to make their mark. In this interview with Adebisi Onanuga, he speaks on his 24 years of practice.

Invest more in judges, courts Background was born on February 20, 1967. I attended Maryland Preparatory Primary School, and from there I proceeded to Eko Boys High School, which coincidentally was the alma mater of my father, Chief Idowu Sofola (SAN). I spent just three years there before I proceeded to Maryland Comprehensive Secondary School where I finally completed my secondary education. I later travelled to the United Kingdom(UK) and attended Taunton School, UK, for my A Levels and University of Buckingham, Buckingham, Bucks, UK for my law degree and came back to Nigeria in 1987. I proceeded to the Nigerian Law School and was called to bar in 1988. I have since been practising law and has been involved in active litigation.

It is said you are in the legal profession because your father, Chief Idowu Sofola, is also a lawyer ?

I went into the law profession not just because my father, who I always look up to and like to emulate, influenced me, but because I have always wanted to be a lawyer since my younger days. In those days, I was always fascinated and like the idea of wearing the collar and the bib. It may also be of interest to you that I come from a family of lawyers. My late uncle, Kehinde Sofola rose to become a Federal Attorney General and was a SAN; his cousin, Kayode Sofola is also a SAN while his first son is also in the legal profession. Another cousin of mine, Kunle Sofola is also a legal practitioner. There are other Sofolas, too numerous to mention, who are in the legal profession.

For how long have you been in the legal profession ?

I would say that I have been in the profession for about 24 years. As I said earlier, I was called to the bar in 1988 and I started practising the second day I left the Law School.

For some lawyers, the first day in court is always not easy. Can you share your experience of your first day in court.

As I said earlier, I started practice the second day after I was called to bar in 1988. My father was going to court and he ordered me to follow him. But then, the question arose as to where I should undergo pupilage.

Unfortunately, my father and I could not agree on where I should have my pupilage. My father had wanted me to undergo pupilage elsewhere before coming to work in his chamber.

Rather than stay at home owing to this disagreement, I started going to my father‘s chamber and has been there since then. Two months after being called to bar, I had my first trial in court when I was told to go for a matter in court and take an adjournment. It was a matter fixed for two days but the lawyer on the other side could not attend the first day. I recalled that the matter was before Hon Justice A.L. Balogun, the father of Hon. Justice Deji Balogun of the Lagos High Court. I told him that I have been asked to take a new date because the next day was not convenient for us.

Then Justice Balogun said, ‘you, what are you doing tomorrow?’ and I told him that I am a new wig, that I cannot handle the trial yet. But he said no, go back to the office and tell your father that I want you to come to court tomorrow to handle this matter. When I got back to the office, I discussed the matter with my father. My father said, okay, go and read the file that I should handle the matter and I did. So, while my colleagues who had just passed out of the Law School were appearing in court as junior lawyers and were taking mere adjournments, I had commenced proper trial and had never looked back since then. I recalled, however, that whenever I ap-

I

peared in court and announced my name, people would look at me and wondered that who is that Sofola. So far, I have enjoyed the practice more because it has afforded me the opportunity to know every part of Nigeria.

Can you recall what the matter in court was and what you made of it?

I remember very well. The matter in court then was an insurance claim.

Somebody was claiming that some of his goods were stolen and was relying on some receipts issued in London. Coincidentally, the managing director of the insurance company was in the UK and he went to the shop where the claimant claimed he bought his goods and it became clear that the man had altered the receipt.

Basically, that became our defence. But the most interesting part of it was that the managing director had to stand witness and he was not comfortable having a young lawyer leading him in evidence. But that was where the advantage of working in my father‘s firm is because the law firm belongs to him, he was ready to take the chance and take the risk. I am happy to say that I was able to successfully defend that matter. The case was dismissed.

What was his reaction when you won the case?

He was happy and, in fact, we became close thereafter. I have since done a lot of work for his company since then.

What have been the challenges since you started practising?

In actual fact, what I found most challenging was the award of SAN. How come ? I thought that came to you on merit.

Yes, that came to me on merit. But why I said it was the most challenging aspect of my carreer was this. A few years ago, I went for a matter at the Supreme Court, Abuja. When my plane landed at the airport, I saw Mrs. Kehinde Akinlawon (SAN), the opposing counsel in the case I went to handle in the court in Abuja. I offered her a lift to the court in a vehicle I already made arrangement to wait for me at the airport. The matter we went for finished early and as I was set to return to Lagos, she requested that I offer her a ride to the airport and pleaded with me to give her a little time to round up her task in the court.

So, I decided to wait in the chamber of a friendly justice of the Supreme Court while Mrs. Akinlawon set about finishing her task. When I was about to leave his office, the judge asked me if I had come to see him for something else and I said “no”. He then asked me if I had applied for the award of SAN and I said that I have not. What happened was that the judge thought I had come to ask for assistance for the award of SAN. He asked me if I had enough cases to merit the award and I replied that I had done enough cases and met the criteria for the award of SAN. That incidence was the beginning of how I became a SAN. The biggest challenge actually came for me when I forwarded my application several times and I was not elevated. The matter had got to a stage that I was about to give up. But some people kept persuading me not to. So, I applied again and I finally got the award of SAN in 2010. That year was a very protracted one. A day to the interview for the award, one of the justices who came to interview prospective awardees, the Chief Judge of Edo State, Justice Edokpaye died in his hotel room. There were one or two other incidents but we eventually had the interview. But instead of been sworn in in 2009, we were not sworn in until April 2010.

What are the criteria one must meet before being conferred with the award?

The law provides for certain crite-

• Sofola (SAN)

ria that must be fulfilled before one is conferred with the award. These include certain cases one must have done in the high courts, the appeal courts and the Supreme Court. But as time went on, the law was amended several times to provide for office inspection and physical interview at the Supreme Court among others. Yes, the criteria are there but I would like to believe, as it is written in the Holy Quran that it is only Allah that elevates and that only when he decides that it is time for you to be elevated that you would be elevated.

Prior to becoming a SAN, when you were faced with legal giants in court, how did you feel?

The truth is that it was intimidating for me initially. But as time went on and I got more experience in the profession, I became more confident and in my ability. This is because once I had prepared well, irrespective of who I am appearing against, I am okay. But if one is not well prepared, even if the opposing counsel is just out of the law school, he may make you look incompetent if one is not careful. So, the key is to always prepare well for all cases.

How about when you lose a case?

Whenever I lose a case, I just take it in my stride. If it happened in the high court, there is an opportunity to appeal if the client wishes. Even though I had lost cases in the Supreme Court, but with due respect to justices of this court, there were some decisions I don’t agree with. Since there is no where else to appeal, I just take them in my stride and move on to other things. The most important thing is

for one to know that he has done his best and that losing the case was not as a result of negligence on his part. I must admit that there are cases where the facts are against someone. I tried to discourage my client from bringing actions just for the sake of bringing them when the facts of the case are not in their favour.

What are your low moments?

There are occasions when I would feel strongly about an argument and the justices, for one reason or the other would not agree with me. Initially, I used to get quite down but after a while, I was advised that my job is to do my best and that once you have put in your best and done everything possible, even if your arguments are not accepted, you should not allow it to affect you. So, over the years, I have learnt not to get sentimentally attached to any particular case but always put in my best.

Of all the cases you have handled, which one would you say gladdened your heart the most?

There are many of such cases but one of the matters that gladdened my heart most was the case of a man convicted for armed robbery and had a death sentence passed on him by a high court judge. I was briefed by the state to handle the appeal and I proceeded to read the record of proceedings in the high court and didn’t see how the man could have been convicted for the offence of armed robbery. I found out that the basic criteria and ingredients needed to convict that person were not present. I walked to the office of the Attorney- General of Lagos State, Mr Supo Sasore (SAN)

‘The process of litigation is generally long and this is a common topic for discussion at international conferences. I believe that steps could still be taken to expedite litigation and dispensation of justice. I think we lawyers will need to look at ourselves the more and play our respective roles in expediting hearings’

and told him, “sorry, I cannot find myself defending this judgment”and he said to me, ”do whatever you feel is right”. So, I prepared a brief in which I stated that I cannot defend the judgment, especially a criminal matter which involves the liberty of a person and that as a result, I was going to urge the court to allow the appeal.

But I added that the “the court should not take my word for it, that the court should also take the trouble to look at it to see whether he was wrong.

The court of appeal in their judgment agreed with me that the man should not have been convicted. They commended me for my stand and courage for not trying to justify something that was unjustifiable. I was happy about the decision of the court because the convicted man had been in detention for years.

What was your most embarrassing moment like ?

I had one of my most embarrassing moment when one day in the Court of Appeal in a matter before the court, I introduced myself as “Sina Sofola” and sat down. The presiding judge, Justice Sulu Gambari, now the Emir of Ilorin, suddenly said “that is not your name”. I said, ‘with due respect my Lord that is my name”. But he said again,”that is not your name.

Your name must either be Adesina or Olusina. You have to learn to announce yourself properly. Tomorrow now, you would come to make an application for SAN before me, you would put Olusina and I won’t know that Olusina Sofola is the same person as Sina Sofola. You must announce yourself in your full names”.

So I said, “O. Sofola” and he said that was not good as well, especially from the type of family you come from, there are a lot of O. Sofolas. So, if you had to announce your name, it must be done properly, “Olusina Sofola”.

Since then, I have been announcing myself as Olusina Sofola.

There have been arguments that lawyers spend too much time on litigation. What is your take on this?

The process of litigation is generally long and this is a common topic for discussion at international conferences. I believe that steps could still be taken to expedite litigation and dispensation of justice. I think we lawyers will need to look at ourselves the more and play our respective roles in expediting hearings. When the facts of the case are against you, you should be a gentle man enough to admit it.

We lawyers need to agree among ourselves on the need to move the profession forward. I hope that as time goes on, that issue of advancing the profession would be actualised.

What kind of reform would you like to see in the judiucial system of the country?

I believe that this should start with improving the conditions under which judges work in Nigeria. It is absurd that judges still write proceedings of the court words for words. In certain courts, there is no light and airconditioners and judges don’t have legal assistants that could assist them to research among others. I think we really need to invest more in our judges and make them a little more comfortable for them to do their job properly. That is one of the particular areas that I think needs reform. I know that things are getting better in Lagos in particular. I know that judges are being treated better, they are much more comfortable. But I think that there is still room for improvement.

When you look at the budget, be it federal or state, the allocation for the judiciary is always the smallest. Everyone gets more than the justices and the judiciary is meant to be one of the three arms of the government. I think there is need to do more in that area, appoint more judges where necessary, so that justice can be dispensed a lot faster and judiciously. If anything, I hope for an accelerated improvement and that the Chief Justice of the federation would continue in this line of reform and take the judiciary to the enviable height that we all want it to be.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14 2012

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AVIATION

How to prevent air accidents on the runway, by Demuren T

HE Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) Dr. Harold Demuren, has attributed major air accidents worldwide to incursions on the runways. He said about one-third of the accidents were linked to runway operations.

He spoke during a safety and prevention seminar at the NCAA Training Centre at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. Demuren said the statistics upon which the attribution was carried out arose from a new data from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) .

He said ICAO had introduced safety initiatives to reduce runwayrelated accidents.

Demuren said over 30 experts across the globe converged on Lagos to examine ways of reducing the safety hazard, which he said has become a sore point for players in the sector.

According to him, safety initiatives were endorsed in May 2011 by the ICAO member-states, the International Air Transport Association, and the Flight Safety Foundation in Montreal, Canada.

He said there was an understanding on the roles and responsibilities

Stories by Kelvin Osa-Okunbor Aviation Correspondent

of each of the partners in reducing and working toward eliminating runway incursions and excursion.

Demuren said: “ICAO data shows that, over the past five years, one-third of all aviation accidents have been linked to runway operations. As air traffic increases, the potential for runway accidents also will increase, and we have to act now to develop and implement proved technological and operational solutions that will make sure we improve upon our remarkable safety record.

“Studies conducted more than a decade ago identify a connection between growth in air traffic and an increase in runway incursions, with one studying particular demonstrating that a traffic increase of 20 per cent could result in as much as a 140 per cent jump in the risk of a runway incursion.”

He said a multi-disciplinary approach became the only option for coming to grips with the complex set of operational and human issues involved in runway-related accidents.

According to him, the initiatives

include runway safety seminars to be held across the world to help develop regional action plans and encourage the formation of runway safety teams that will involve airlines, airports and air navigation service providers.

Other efforts, he said, called for “the compilation and further development of best practices and the greater sharing of information among ICAO member states and industry.”

“One of the first requirements includes the development of common definitions, metrics and methods of analysis to enable more complete information sharing, as well as the improved reporting of operational hazards,” he added.

“In addition, ICAO and its partners in the efforts will develop multi-disciplinary guidance material and training workshops,” he noted He said: “Airport and aircraft operators, associations representing pilots and air traffic controllers, aircraft and avionics manufacturers, air navigation service providers and regulators all have important contributions to make and parts to play in the development of any effective runway safety solution.”

NCAA to curb price fixing DIRECTOR-General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Dr Harold Demuren has said the authority is studying the report of the administrative panel set up to investigate discriminatory ticket pricing by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways.

In the next few days government will unfold new plans to ensure foreign carriers do not continue to maltreat Nigerian passengers with unfair air fares and ticket pricing.

Demuren, who spoke against the background of the Justice George Oguntade led-appeal panel, which dismissed an

appeal that BA and Virgin Atlantic should pay $235 million (N3.76 billion) as fines.

The government had set up the appeal panel last November to look into the legality and fairness of the $235 million price fixing saga.

The five-man panel comprising Oguntade , a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria , Dr Folarin GbadeboSmith, Mr K.G.B. Oguakwa, Alhaji Bala Ibn NaAllah and Callistus E. Uwakwe, a senior lawyer and its secretary was unanimous in its decision which was held last week at Radisson Blu Hotel, Victoria Island.

Runway lights for test run THE runway edge lights at the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport Owerri, Imo State has commenced test run years after it stoppedworking.

The community airport which has been operating 12 hour flights daily will now be extended to 16 hours daily when the test run iscompleted and based on approval by concern authorities.

The manager, Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport Owerri, Mr Henry Ogbonnanya said that the airport which has been without airfield lightings for years will now attract more flights to the area as the airportwill operate for more hours.

Noting that it was a dream come through, Ogbonanya explained that notice will be sent to airmen to be informed about the state of the runway.

On the remodeling of the airport, the airport manager assured passengers of a befitting terminal at

the end of the exercise, adding that both the cooling system and conveyor belts will function optimally.

Ogbonnanya lamented the inability of the government to complete the construction of the perimeter fence of the airport as a result of youth restiveness in the area.

According to him, youths and women in the airport communityalways carry out protest and demonstrations along the airport runway over thenon payment of compensation. He however but added that the matter was being looked into by the government in order to avoid closure of the airport.

While commending leaders of various communities for their foresight in building the airport, Mr Ogbonnanya revealed that talk was on going between the management of the airport and Imo State government on assistance.

Airways flies direct to Beijing

•From left: Demuren, Assistant Deputy Secretary of State, US Department of Transportation, Ms. Susan McDermott(middle) and Ms. Connie Hunter in his office during their visit to NCAA at Aviation House, Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

PHOTO: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE

Show more commitment to aviation development, women told

N

IGERIAN women have been asked to be more committed to the growth of the aviation industry just like their counterparts in Europe and the United States.

This was disclosed by the Head, Airport Certification Inspector, United States, Laurine Dragonas’ She made this suggestion during a safety seminar organised for Women in Aviation, Nigeria chapter.

It was held at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

According to her, women in the United States have over the years showed massive contributions to the safety of American airspace, saying a number of them are actively involved in Air Traffic Control, engineering, piloting, airline business and even in the Federal Airports Administration of the United States .

Dragonas, however, explained

that for the global aviation industry to propel forward, the sector requires more women in strategic places. She said said with more encouragement from the women professionals in the sector, more women would be interested in what is happenings in the industry.

She said, “No, I don’t think so because the teeming young girls don’t show interest in the industry and a lot still needs to be done.

Because of lack of interest from girls, they sector is still more of boys than girls, but I think it’s gradually changing in my country and it is the same in the global aviation industry.

“In my country we have a programme for children, which brings them up from the primary school level and they have the opportunity of going into the industry for a week and see what the ATC is all about and other aspects of the sector. Through this means, they are exposed to the

happenings in the sector.”

Also speaking, the President, Women in Aviation, Nigeria Chapter, Mrs. Rejoice Ndudinachi mentioned funds as a major challenge confronting the association from embarking on most of its projects.

She said with adequate funds, the association would be able to educate and inform more female folks about the benefits of the aviation industry to the economic growth of the country.

She said the essence of the programme was to further enlighten women in aviation the important needs of maintaining safety in the sector, stressing that a single mistake could lead to the death of hundreds of people in the airspace.

She said: “Safety in Nigeria aviation industry is not what I would say we are there right now.

We need to work more on safety, which I believe we will eventually achieve soon.

SOUTH African Airways (SAA) has launched its non-stop route to the capital of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing, from O.R. Tambo International Airport. The flight was the first of three new weekly frequencies between South Africa and the Chinese capital. The route’s introduction follows a comprehensive strategic partnership forged between the two countries in August last year.

“The introduction of aviation links between nations nurtures economic activity,” says SAA CEO Siza Mzimela, “with domestic and regional benefit within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) expected to pay dividends both in terms of trade and tourism.” Mzimela also believes that substantial demand for tourism and trade to China will contribute to the success of the new

route. China is one of South Africa’s largest trade partners.

The Johannesburg Beijing route will also contribute significantly in establishing South Africa as an aviation hub between South America and China, linking three of the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). “We believe that the route will play a strategic role in the growing economic relationships and dependencies between the continents.

Commercially, SAA is able to deliver seamless travel from Sao Paolo via Johannesburg to Beijing, servicing all three continents” says Mzimela. SAA is a Star Alliance member providing SAA passengers access to an unparalleled global route network, including 20 destinations across the African continent.

AFRAA worried over low patronage AFRICAN Airlines Association ( AFRAA), the umbrella body representing African airlines, has lamented that international passenger and cargo traffic this year are still below expectation.

According to a statement by AFRAA, intra-Africa capacity has not hit 1.5 million seats per week, although the figure represents over 98 per cent of total capacity by African airlines on their domestic routes.

AFRAA said Europe was the most important intercontinental destination for Africa carriers, but the share of African airlines remained small at only 36 per cent compared to the nonAfrican operators, which stood at 64 per cent.

The statement said, “The market to watch is the Middle East. Carriers from this market continue their aggressive market penetration as they target growing African destinations.

Compared to January 2011, Middle East carriers have this month increased capacity to/ from Africa by about four per cent. The number of flights increased from 374 last year to 416 per week. This is the only market segment that has seen capacity growth compared to the same month prior year.”

In 2012, capacity expansion is expected on the intra-African, Asian, Middle East and North American routes, according to the trade body.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

38

MARITIME Wheat importation soars Stories by Oluwakemi Dauda

DESPITE the efforts of the Federal Government to encourage local farmers and bread makers to replace wheat flour with cassava flour, the country imported 338,946 metric tonnes of wheat last month.

Investigation revealed that 171,657 metric tonnes of wheat was imported through the Apapa Bulk Terminal Limited.

The vessels that brought the commodity are: Desert Rhapsody, 30,000 metric tonnes; Desert Serenity, 30,000 metric tones; Desert Eagle, 55,401 metric tonnes and Atlantic Eagle, 25,000 metric tonnes.

The terminal cleared the wheat for her sister company while Flour Mill of Nigeria Plc, which produces varieties of consumables that make use of wheat, which includes: pasta, flour, and semovita and noodles was also involved.

Similarly, another terminal, Joseph Dam, handled several tonnes of wheat while Greenview Development Nigeria Limited (GDNL) recorded 26,750 metric tonnes of bulk wheat brought in by Atlantic Eagle.

The government stated in this year’s Budget that it was introducing some policies to encourage the substitution of high quality cassava flour for wheat flour in bread-baking as well as in the production of all flour-based products.

Fruits of Cabotage Act

•Lagos port

Containers, vehicles missing as wharf rats invade ports R

ATHER than be a safe haven, the ports have become unsafe for cargoes and goods, importers and clearing agents have alleged.

They are worried over the high number of containers and goods missing from some terminals in Lagos.

According to them, many imported goods have been missing in the last few months.

While applauding the Federal Government for concessioning the ports to private operators, they said they are disturbed over the cases of stolen goods.

A terminal at Tin-Can Island port is the most notorious, it was learnt.

Thieves, masquerading as officials of the terminal, have taken over the place.

The scoundrels popularly referred to as wharf rats are also on the prowl at the terminal. Importers and exporters have lost valuable items to the ‘rats’.

For instance, a container that was imported into the country with a posh car late last year has yet to be located at this terminal.

It was brought in by a leading shipping company operating, but the container and the vehicle disappeared

Stories by Oluwakemi Dauda, Maritime Correspondent

following the unscrupulous activities of some of the officials of the terminal.

The clearing agent had paid duty and other charges before he realised that officials of the terminal could not to position the container for Customs examination.

A senior official of the shipping company, who does not want his name in print, confirmed the story.

He said the container that brought the vehicle into the country last year, was one of the containers given to them by the officials of the terminal as export.

The container, the official said, was no longer in the country.

According to Kayode Mosaku, a freight forwarder, activities of officials of the terminal have become worrisome to importers and exporters.

The situation, he said, was worsened by the inability of the terminal management to curb unlawful activities of its officials. ”It is sad news that vandals and thieves notorious for pilfering did not disappear following the concessioning of the ports in 2006,” he said.

• Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar,

• Managing Director, NPA, Omar Suleiman

An importer, Mr Sesan Arowora, attributed the development to cargo diversion to the ports of neighbouring countries.

“It is for this reason that I don’t blame people who prefer importing their goods through the Cotonou port. There your goods hardly get missing because all the terminals have put the necessary security measures in place to combat the activities of thieves and wharf rats at the port.

“The issue of stolen containers and goods from our ports, if not well handled, may erode the expected

gains of concessioning the nation’s seaports. The expected gains include improved efficiency of marketing of services as it has to perform in a competitive market, which has led to a reduction of service prices to attract buyers in a competitive environment. There are the twinbenefits of accountability and transparency, which though widely clamoured for, can hardly be ensured in a situation where there is glaring insecurity of imported and exported goods from the ports,” Arowora said.

THE implementation of Cabotage law in the country has started yielding fruits as Saipem Nigeria Limited said it would employ 15 seafarers and marine engineers in the company’s offshore vessels.

This success was made known when five out of the first batch of seafarers, who had successfully attended a special training at Charkins Maritime Training School, paid an unscheduled visit to the Eastern Zone Co-ordinator, NIMASA, Mr Olayemi Abass.

He expressed happiness over the development.

He said the success story is a plus for NIMASA, and its Director-General, Mr Patrick Akpobolokemi, who was optimistic that the Cabotage Act would work.

Master Mariners fault concession THE Nigerian Association of Master Mariners has kicked against the concession of maritime security to Messrs Global West Vessel Specialist Limited, owned by a Niger Delta militant.

Speaking with The Nation on Friday, its Vice-President, Captain Emmanuel Omotayo, alleged that the concession was done in secrecy without consulting major stakeholders in the industry.

He said the concession had sent a wrong signal to the international shipping community that the security of the nation’s water ways is in the hand of non-professionals.

Omotayo, who spoke on behalf of other officials of the association, urged President Goodluck Jonathan to cancel the contract to save the country from an imminent sanction.

“We appreciate any efforts made to secure the nation’s maritime trade. We reason that such strategies must be in accordance with international conventions to which the nation is a signatory and it must be hinged on the national interest rather than because of pecuniary and inordinate ambition that are capable of ridiculing our nation before the international community’’.

Rather than use private hands to police nation’s waters, he suggested that the Federal Government should set up a Coast Guard as done in the United States, Britain and other developed countries.

Seme loading bay IMPORTERS and clearing agents have called on the Federal Government to provide a loading bay at the border post for trucks.

The importers said the call became necessary over what they called enslavement of Nigerians by the people of Cotonou over the high rate of charges levied on them to load and park their trucks.

They alleged that they have to part with as much as N12,000 per truck both for coming in and going out of the popular Cotonou Park known as the ATLAS Park, which according to them, has affected their business.

Amn importer, Mr Bisoye Okunuga, commended the effort of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) in the ongoing construction at the Seme Border post.

Okunuga, who is the Managing Director Bimade Enterprise, said it is expected to serve as a buffer zone where Nigerians and other nationals could do business equally.

Customs officials decry delays

W

ITH the delay in clearing goods, congestion appears imminent at the Lagos ports, the Customs has warned.

Some Customs officers told The Nation it takes over two weeks for some operators to position a container for examination at their terminals.

The officers bemoaned the attitude of the terminal operators towards positioning.

They said the unnecessary delay is contrary to the Fed-

eral Government’s directive that goods should be cleared from the nation’s seaports within two days.

Investigation revealed that some of the terminals are full because some of the equipment used in loading and off-loading containers at the ports are performing below expectation.

A clearing agent, Mr Yinka Agbaje, alleged that the terminal operators have deployed the startegy to thwart the 24-hour ports operation

embarked upon by the Federal Government.

A senior police official at Tin-Can port, who craved anonymity, confirmed that some of the terminals are delaying containers for examination so that they can collect demurrage from importers.

The number of days used in positioning containers for examination, he said, would add to the cost of clearing goods at the ports.

While warning of a loom-

ing congestion at the port, he added that some of the terminals are yet to create holding bays for empty containers to avert the trend where trucks loaded with empty containers are parked outside the port gates due to lack of space to offload same.

It takes about four days to clear goods at Senegal and neighbouring Cotonou ports as against several weeks that are used to clear goods in the country.

• Area Controller, Ogun State Customs Command, Bamidele Akande and Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo during a visit to the monarch in Abeokuta.

39

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

MARITIME

Presidential panel dares Reps on agencies’ return to port T

HE Presidential Implementation Committee on Port Reform (PICPR) has dared agencies sacked from the ports to return as directed by the House of Representatives.

The committee said the agencies risk arrest if they comply with the lawmakers’ order.

A member, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, urged officials of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standards Organisation of Nigeria

Stories by Taiwo Disu

(SON) and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to disregard the order.

Shittu said the committee would not allow the agencies, which were sacked from the ports last October, to return.

He urged port users to ignore the House resolution.

Shittu said the eviction of the agencies has helped in clearing goods within seven days, instead of the previous 39 days.

He added that it is in the

terms of reference of the committee to evict some agencies from the ports, to boost the activities of the customs. The development, Shittu said, would improve things at the ports and the revenue capacity of the government.

The agencies were affected by the directive of Finance Minster, Dr Ngozi OkonjoIweala that agencies whose presence could thwart government’s desire to achieve 48-hour cargo clearance should leave the ports.

However, last Tuesday, the

House of Representatives adopted the report of its committees on Health, Commerce, Industries, Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes, which recommended that the agencies should be allowed to resume operations at the ports.

Presenting the report for consideration at plenary, Committee Chairman, Ndudi Elumelu, argued that SON, NAFDAC and NDLEA were statutorily empowered to monitor the importation of certain categories of goods at the ports.

Truck owners on access roads TRUCK owners are still waiting for the Federal and Lagos State governments to find a lasting solution to the frequent traffic gridlock on access roads to the Lagos ports, months after stakeholders operating in the nation’s maritime industry sent an appeal to them.

The stakeholders want the intervention of the governments for the establishment of a modern truck terminal for container laden trucks, so that these trucks would not park by the road side as they do.

Their call has not yielded any fruit, while the situation is worsening, and leading to several other challenges, such as traffic management, security of lives and property and threat to investment.

National Chairman, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Chief Remi Ogungbemi, said his group has already written to the Lagos State Government for the allocation of a parcel of land in Ilu-Eri, Ijora, Lagos to site a holding bay and that the proposal is awaiting the final approval of the Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola.

Ogungbemi said the bank and developer, who want to partner with them on the project are only waiting for government’s nod. “Nobody will risk his money, without government’s approval. The environment is not conducive.

This has made it difficult for truck owners to break even.

The present set-up is a risk to investment,” he said.

Secretary of the association, Mr Jamiu Aremu, said with the increased population, vehicular increase and cargo handling at the ports, a truck terminal should be established, adding that a situation where trucks littered roads leading into the ports was not in the best interest of truck operators.

“It does not favour truck owners and drivers for their trucks to be on the queue for days before getting into the ports.

This has created avenues for the task force to extort money from the drivers by allowing them to jump queue,” Aremu said.

He further said the hostility of the environment has given room for extortion, arguing that if the roads are free, it would not be easy for any security personnel to create avenues for extortion. “We have been losing money through extortions, fines and vandalism,” he added.

Cargoes increase by 10%

• From left: National President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agent (ANLCA) Prince Olayiwola Shittu and Chairman, Port Monitoring Committee Prof Sylvester Monye, after a meeting in Lagos.

Nigeria may lose proposed Maritime Bank headquarters N IGERIA may lose the right to host the headquarters of the proposed bank for the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA) unless it provides the take-off grant.

Nigeria got the right to have the headquarters of the proposed Maritime Development Bank (MDB) at the 13 th General Assembly of MOWCA in Dakar, Senegal, in July 2008.

The late President Umaru Yar’Adua approved the decision in 2009; MOWCA at its 14 th General Assembly in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) affirmed its action last year.

But Nigeria has not been able to raise the take-off grant, prompting other member-nations of MOWCA to indicate interest in hosting the MDB headquarters.

The countries are: Cote d’Ivoire, Angola, Cameroun, Benin.

If the headquarters eludes Nigeria, the country stands to lose other benefits of having the bank on its soil, sources said.

A source said: “MOWCA is waiting for Nigeria to appoint financial and legal consultants and make sure the secretariat is opened.’’

Nigeria, he noted, had not provided the pre-incorporation funds, which will form part of its equity contributions to the bank’s project.

“The rents for the two properties leased in Abuja by the Federal Ministry of Transport for the secretariat and transit guest houses will soon expire after two years of non-utilisation,”the source said.

According to the source, since the inception of the administration, no action has been taken on the project.

He said approvals had been secured for the take-off of the bank, but funds have not been provided.

“The approvals for Nigeria to host the banks’ headquarters came through the 13th General Assembly of MOWCA in Dakar, Senegal in July 2008. It also had the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s approval in February 2009, and the latest resolution of the 14th General Assembly of MOWCA on August 2011 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

“All the resolutions and approvals had given credence for the take-off of the

bank,’’ he said.

The bank’s project “is a sub-regional initiative supported by multilateral agencies like World Bank, African Development Bank (ADB) and European banks’’.

MOWCA had made initial contacts with the agencies, he said, adding that the agencies were waiting for the take-off of the bank’s secretariat to work with it and take the project to the next level.

The bank would go a long way to generate funds services of Cabotage Act and the Local Content Act, he said.

When fully off the ground, the regional bank would increase purchase of vessels by indigenous ship owners who would be able to lift crude and refined petroleum products.

Said he: “It is a purely business bank for the development of the maritime industry. All these lack of money to buy vessels, no ship building yards, inland container depots (ICDs), no green-fields development, deep seaports, fishing trawlers and other projects would be facilitated by the

bank.’’

According to him, the bank has a multiplier, socio-economic benefits for wealth and job creation.

The idea to establish the regional bank was mooted at the Bureau of Transport Ministers’ meeting in Angola in 2005 and Nigeria agreed to host the headquarters.

The source added that the bank would be like other development banks like InterAmerican Development Bank; and Asian Development Bank.

MOWCA was established in May 1975 as the Ministerial Conference of West and Central African States on Maritime Transport (MINCONMAR) and the name was changed to MOWCA as part of reforms adopted by the General Assembly of Ministers of Transport, at an extraordinary session of the organisation held in Abidjan from August 4 to August 6, 1999.

MOWCA unifies 25 countries on the West and Central African shipping range, including five land-locked countries.

The objective of MOWCA is to serve as the regional community for handling all maritime matters that are regional in character.

THE volume of cargo handled at the ports increased from 74,910,284 metric tonnes in 2010 to 82,763,384 metric tonnes in 2011, indicating a 10.5 per cent increase, latest statistics of year-on-year cargo throughput that was released by the Nigerian Ports Authourity (NPA) has said.

In a statement, the NPA said Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) shipment in the year under review stood at 22,277,883 metric tonnes, representing a growth of 15 per cent over 19,369,047metric tonnes of the previous year.

The statement, signed by NPA General Manager, Public Affairs, Chief Michael Ajayi, indicated that general cargo shipment in 2010 increased from 9,047,030 metric tonnes to 13,284,965 metric tonnes last year, reflecting about 46.8 per cent increase. Similarly, dry bulk cargo increased from 11858,121 metric tonnes in 2010 to 12,877,468 metric tonnes in 2011 reflecting an 8.5 per cent increase.

In the year under review, refined petroleum products stood at 21,527,299 metric tonnes reflecting an increase of 19.3 per cent over the 2010 figure of 18,047,842 metric tonnes.

Laden container throughput was 817,246 TEUs, amounting to 22.2 per cent increase over the 2010 figure of 668,697 TEUs, while the empty container in the year under review was 596,030 TEUs, reflecting a 29.7 per cent increase over the 2010 figure of 459,474 TEUs. Vehicle traffic last year was 231,423 units, showing a 23.3 per cent increase over the 2010 figure of 187,635 units.

“These remarkable improvements witnessed in the ports can be attributed to the improved port infrastructural developments and rehabilitations that were undertaken by the management of Nigerian Ports Authority,” the statement added.

‘Why NIMASA concessioned its waterways’ WORRIED by condemnation of its concession of the security of Nigerian waterways, the Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi, has explained why the agency took the step.

This was at a talk shop organised by the Maritime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria (MARAN).

The Director-General, represented by the Head of Public / Private Partnership Unit of the agency, Mr Rex Elem, stated that it did not just enter into concession with Messrs Global West Vessel Specialist Nigeria Limited (GWVSNL), but that Section 3(g) of the NIMASA Act allows the agency to go into partnership with any company it deemed fit.

Elem said the deal is not for NIMASA to transfer its statutory role to any private company, but to for the agency to manage the security of the maritime subsector.

He further said NIMASA does not have the resources to purchase the necessary tools and equipment needed to police the Nigeria’s maritime domain, adding: “The agency decided to concession the security of waters to the firm to provide NIMASA with the platform, supply tools and equipment needed and also maintain them.”

The NIMASA chief said the command and control of Nigeria’s maritime domain still resides with the agency.

“It is not possible to transfer this to any company, ”he said.

40

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT

Lagos, engineers neers urb partner to curb ollapse building collapse T O curb incessant building collapse, the Lagos State government and Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers (NIStructE) have agreed on a strategic partnership to tackle the challenge.

The parties agreed that only registered structural engineers would be recognised to design buildings and structures which must also be supervised by such designers during construction.

The state has recorded many cases of building collapse in which lives and property worth millions of naira were destroyed.

In 2010, the state promulgated a law for the administration of Physical Planning, Urban Development, Urban Regeneration and Building Control to stem the menace of building collapse.

Besides, several other steps are been taking by the state government and professionals in the built environment to curb the menace.

At a meeting held on the request of the President of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers, Busola Awojobi, with the officials of the state Ministry of Physical Planning

‘The president noted that quite often, when building or structures collapsed the first professional that people point accusing fingers to is the engineers’

•Collapsed building at Mile 12, Lagos

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie Asst Editor

and Urban Development, recently on how to evolve a system whereby the services of Nigerian Registered Structural Engineers can be best utilised by the state government to curb incidents of collapsed buildings and structures.

The duo agreed to utilise the

structural engineers in building design and monitoring.

The meeting, which had in attendance the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Toyin Ayinde, a town planner, who led the management team of the ministry.

President of the NIStructE, Busola Awojobi, accompanied by past president of the Institu-

tion, Bosun Oke, Council members including Olumide Ogunbekun and Wale Adekoya all engineers, believed the new arrangement will further help to curb incidents of collapsed buildings and structures in Lagos State.

The president noted that quite often, when building or structures collapsed the first professional that people point accus-

ing fingers to is the engineers.

He, however, stated categorically that so far, in all the buildings that had collapsed or suffered structural failure in the state, none of their registered members have been found guilty.

He regretted the proliferation of the profession by quacks, which he said that given the profession a bad image in the society.

The NIStructE boss added that the Institution will make available to the government updated register of financial members as requested.

Govt urged to declare state of emergency in infrastructural sector

T

HE Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) has charged the Federal Government to declare state of emergency in the country, with regards to infrastructural development and mobilise engineers to work on various projects across the geopolitical zones.

President of NSE, Mr Mustapha Balarabe Shehu gave this charge during his inauguration as the 28th President of the society in Abuja. He said the NSE stands ready to work with the government to put together details of this proposed engineering infrastructure emergency plan.

He said: “The NSE identifies with the present government and Nigerians on the imperatives to give special focus to infrastructural development, energy sector, special power, transport sector, agriculture and education.

“In Nigeria, given the present state of infrastructure development there is no good reason why the youth are left to wander the streets for years in search of employment.

From Franca Ochigbo, Abuja

“In the ensuing declaration of the engineering infrastructure emergency plan, no engineer should be left unengaged. The solution to lack of development in Nigeria can only be evolved

by Nigerians, a task engineers are by their training and practice equipped to be in the lead.

“Engineers are ready to take up development projects from initiation, scope, concept, design, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance. I will lead the society to partner with other stakeholders in the infrastructure deliverance plan and enhance the

recognition of engineers and engineering practice in Nigeria,” he stressed.

Shehu maintained that the on going power sector reform, privatisation exercise is expected to open a new line of business that will see the injection of not less than $10billion per annum for the next decade, if the exercise succeeds.

This injection of capital, mostly from foreign firms in India, China and Europe also implies massive injection of technologies, which if Nigeria does not position itself well, will not be domicile in the country.

The consequence of such scenario which we have already seen in other sectors of the

economy will be catastrophic for Nigeria with the influx of foreign engineers, technologist, technicians and artisans, which will result in unemployment of Nigerian engineers, technicians and youths, capital flight, social insecurity, etc. so will the exercise succeed.

In a related development, Chairman, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Kwara State branch Mr. Maliki Kamila have declared disclosed that engineers in Illorin are in full partnership with the state government on infrastructural development.

Kamila said a lot has been going for engineers in Kwara State.

‘As a branch Chairman it is mandatory for me to be here today, the national body has done well for all states by providing leadership training, capacity building and in one way or the other create avenue to empower engineers’

He said: “As a branch Chairman it is mandatory for me to be here today, the national body has done well for all states by providing leadership training, capacity building and in one way or the other create avenue to empower engineers.

“In continuity of the former government of Kwara State, both administrations have made it a point to beautify the state, there by involving all the state engineers in all the infrastructural development activities.

“Engineers are involved in state project, such as the Agama power project, water projects, infrastructure in Ilorin town, the new flyover, dualisation of roads, etc. The last administration ensured full involvement of engineers in the state activities, and this administration has not left us out as well.

Kamila expressed satisfaction with the way the state government is carrying engineers along stating that they are satisfied with the involvement of engineers in all infrastructural development in the state.

Agency goes tough on environmental offenders

D

IRECTOR-General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Dr Ngeri Benebo, has said it would no longer be business as usual for environmental offenders.

At a sensitisation workshop in Abuja on the implementation of the national environmental regulations recently gazetted by the Federal Government, she said the agency will soon start sanctioning anyone who failed

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

to comply with the environmental laws.

She said the workshop was coming at a time when the spate of environment degradation in the country is on the rise.

While stating that the over five years of the existence of the Agency is enough for the learning process, she said that the agency is fully positioned to enforce all the environmental laws.

She said: “As an agency charged with regulations, we have dialogued and carried out advocacy to a lot of people. But in 2012, sanction has to be in place and people have to pay fine and we have to ensure that we monitor environment through permissive system in accordance to the law."

"The sanctions and penalties are clearly stated in the regulation. Our environment is under increasing threat as a result of the uncontrolled exploration and other sus-

tainable activities that pollute our air, water and soil. Industrial pollution, biodiversity loss, erosion, desertification among others is one of the key environment issues of concern to government,” she stated.

She also pointed out that the dumping of near-end- of- life and end-of-life electrical/electronic products, otherwise known as ewaste is part environmental problems in the country.

Stressing that the main objec-

tive of the workshop is to popularise the implementation of the regulation in the Federal Capital Territory, she maintained that similar workshops were taking place simultaneously in 19 States where the Agency has field offices.

She insisted that NESREA is resolved to ensure that people comply with the National Environmental Regulations in line with the transformation agenda of the present administration.

41

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

ENERGY THE NATION

E-mail:- energy@thenationonlineng.net

•From left: Kingsley Ojoh, Total; Charles Ngoka, Deputy Managing Director, Deepwater, Total; a delegate, Osten Olorunsola, DPR Director, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Morrison Nwokedi, DPR and Livi Ajuonuma, GGM, Group Public Affairs, NNPC, and other Nigerian delegates during the World Petroleum Congress in Doha, Qatar.

Fed Govt to buy 135MW of power from Dangote

By Emeka Ugwuanyi Assistant Editor

T

•Dangote

HE Federal Government would buy 135 megawatts (MW) of electricity from Dangote Group, it was learnt.

The 135MW is excess power generation from the two power plants Dangote built for his Obajana and Ibeshe cement factories in Kogi and Ogun states.

The two power plants have combined total generation of 257MW but the two cement factories can only consume 122MW leaving an unused 135MW, which the government will buy and pump into the national grid. The Obajana Cement

Total earmarks $24b for investment in oil

F

RENCH oil giant, Total, said it has set a budget for 'organic investments' of $24 billion this year, noting that 80 per cent of the budget would be dedicated to the upstream activities of its business.

In the upstream, Total expects to implement its strategic plans to accelerate production growth and increase the profitability of its asset portfolio. The firm said the ramping up of its Pazflor field, offshore Angola, and the start-up of several major projects including Usan field in Nigeria, Angola liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Bongkot South in Thailand, will contribute both to production growth in 2012 and to achieving its objective of growing production by an average of 2.5 percent each year between 2010 and 2015, the Rigzone.com reported.

After the launch the Ichthys LNG project in Australia last month, Total said it intends to continue work on the drivers for post-2015 growth

by preparing to launch projects in West Africa, Russia and Canada. At the same time, it said, it would continue its "dynamic exploration effort" and has budgeted $2.5 billion – a 20-per cent increase from the previous year – to fund this programme.

"The successful start-up of the Pazflor field in Angola was the crowning achievement of an important year for Total. This start-up and the ones to follow will ensure a return to production growth in 2012 and the years to come," said Total Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie.

"Total is confident in its model for delivering sustainable growth, and, with a strong balance sheet, the group announces a 2012 net investment budget of $20 billion while remaining committed to a competitive return for shareholders."

Total also announced Friday that its net income for 2011 was $15.9 billion – a 17-per cent improvement on 2010.

factory’s power plant generates 134MW and uses 84MW while the Ibeshe factory’s power plant generates 123MW and uses 38MW, making a total of 122MW. In other words, the Obajana plant will sell 50MW, while the Ibeshe plant will sell 85MW. The Nation’s checks revealed that the government has started making arrangements to construct transmission facilities that will wheel the 135MW into the grid. On the Obajana plant, the government said it will build a transmission line from the factory to Lokoja; from Lokoja the power will be wheeled into the grid for onward transmission to Ajaokuta and Abuja.

On the 85MW from Ibeshe plant,

the government plans to work a transmission line where the power would be wheeled into the grid for onward transmission to Lagos.

The Dangote Ibese cement factory, which was opened last week cost $1 billion ( about N160 billion) and was described as a modern plant with an installed capacity of six million metric tonnes of cement per annum and ranks as the largest cement factory in the SubSahara Africa. There is also plan to expand the plant in future by building a second phase that will see additional six million metric tonnes bringing the total production from the factory to 12 million metric tonnes (MT) per annum on completion. The construction of the second phase, according to the com-

•Production line at Dangote cement factory

pany, would start in the next few weeks.

The Ibeshe project is projected to create 7,000 jobs in addition to substantially boosting the supply of cement.

The Obajana cement plant has a capacity of 5.2 million metric tonnes per year while additional capacity of over five million metric tonnes per annum is also planned. The Obajana power plant uses gas or diesel. The natural gas is supplied through a gas pipeline of approximately 90 km length.

Besides Obajana and Ibeshe, Dangote has cement plants in Benue State and the three plants produce about 20 million metric tonnes per year. The company also has plants in Senegal (1.5 million mtpa); Zambia (1.5 million mtpa); Tanzania (1.5 million mtpa); South Africa 2.2 millon mtpa; Congo (Brazzaville) 1.5 million mtpa; Ethiopia (1.5 million mtpa) and Cameroun (1.5 million mtpa).

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

42

ENERGY

Geometric sets 140mw Aba IPP rolling in Q3

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

•Prof. Nnaji

T

HE Aba 140 megawatts (MW) independent power project (IPP) being built by the Geometric Power Systems Limited, will begin operation in third quarter of this year.

Minister of Power, Prof.Barth Nnaji, said work is aggressively ongoing at the site to ensure the 140mw is wheeled into the grid by third quarter of the year.

Nnaji said like any other IPP, Geometric is planning expansion of the project by additional 48mw by 2013 and will extend it to 688mw by between of 2014 or beginning of 2015.

He assured that power generation would continue increase to meet Federal Government’s aspirations in the power sector, adding that the Ministry of Power is not relenting in its efforts to give Nigerians stable power supply.

He said last year he assured Nigerians of 5,000mw generation, which was accomplished.

He said: “We have quite a number of independent power projects, which licences have been issued. There are a few now that are able to begin to work on their

projects simply because they have the environment clearer and better. So, they are able to get fund to support their projects. There are some that are actually making progress. We have the Ibom Power which actually is a government project and Geometric Power that will be inaugurated later this year. By the third quarter of this year it will be opened.”

He also said: “I promised 5000mw last year, and we have possibility of generating today 5600mw, but because of gas we are not able to transmit it but we are transmitting 4400mw. Our target this year is to add 1000mw in addition to what we have.

The late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua had in November 2007, led other top government dignitaries to Osisioma in Aba, Abia State to perform foundation-laying ceremony of the Aba Independent Power Project.

The late Yar’Adua had declared a state of emergency on the power sector and did everything to ensure that Nigerians had relatively stable power supply but unfortunately the 6,000mw generation targeted by the end of 2009 was not realisable.

The Aba Independent Power Project (IPP) is being constructed

by Geometric Power Sysytems Limited, owned by the Minister of Power and Professor of Robotic Engineering, Barth Nnaji.

But since he assumed office as the Presidential Special Adviser on Power and subsequently appointed substantive Minister of Power, Nnaji, it was learnt, had hands off management and involvement in activities of the firm.

At the inception of the project, it was estimated that about $250 million would be adequate to achieve the generation of 140 megawatts of electricity, which

NDPHC’s 60MVA transformer boosts supply in Lagos, Ogun

A

S part of its mandate to strengthen the power transmission and distribution networks in the country, Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC), owners of the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), has declared the 60MVA 132/33 KV transmission transformer in Agbara industrial area of Ogun State completed, energised and supplying power to numerous customers in the area since January 26.

NDPHC also said it has completed the associated 33kv equipment, three numbers of operational 33kv feeders and one bus coupler transformer, two outdoor secondary and outgoing feeders.

Managing Director /Chief Executive NDPHC, Mr James Olotu, who made this confirmation during his working visit to the transmission station stated that the project was delivered on schedule. He said the development signals improved power supply to Lagos and Ogun states.

According to him, NIPP transmission and distribution projects within Lagos will continue to be delivered monthly, a practice which started in December last year with the completion of one no.60MVA transformer and its accessories in Oworoshoki as well as the 2x15MVA transformer each at Fowler and Alagbon substations in Ikoyi, Lagos .

“We have said we will light up Lagos and this we started last year

with the commissioning of a 60MVA transformer at Oworonshoki, today we are here in Agbara doing the same thing, and from now on we shall be completing projects on a continuous basis in Lagos and, indeed, other parts of the country,” Olotu said.

The NDPHC chief said in line with the transformation and power sector reform agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan administration, NIPP would deliver more projects this year and boost quality of power supply to Nigerians.

Agbara 132/33kv substation located in Ogun originally had installed capacity of 2X45MVA bringing the total to 90MVA. But with the execution of the substation extension works under the NIPP grid expansion projects, the station capacity has now been increased to 150MVA by the addition of a new 60MVA transformer.

This addition represents an increase over the initial substation transformer capacity by 67 per cent.

In a similar development, one no.60 MVA transformer under NIPP grid expansion project was opened on the December 8, last year at Oworonshoki Transmission substation in Lagos State.

Also, plans have reached an advanced stage by the contractor to deliver another 60MVA transformer and associated equipment at the same location (Oworonshoki) with another 2x60MVA at Ojo substation both in Lagos before the end of February 2012.

•To generate 688MW by 2015 would be wheeled into the grid by last year. However, the aspirations were yet to actualise as planned.

The financial institutions includ-

ing the International Finance Corporation (IFC), European Investment Bank[EIB] and African Finance Corporation (AFC) that had

agreed to finance the project might have reneged on their promises as it was reportedly said Geometric Power Systems Limited took a loan of N25 billion from Diamond Bank.

Geometric Power Systems Limited achieved its first milestone when it successfully built the 22 megawatts Abuja Emergency Power Project in 2001, which supplies power to the seat of power and its environs.

•Power generation plant

Reps threaten to ban firm from doing business with NNPC

T

HE Hon. Farouk Lawan led House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Subsidy Management Regime, has threatened to blacklist Transfigura from transacting business with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) if it fails to appear before the committee to defend or clear itself on petroleum products supply dealings with the corporation.

The lawmakers handed the threat when the management of NNPC appeared before the committee last week following the continued failure of Transfigura to appear before the committee despite several invitations Trafigura is an Amsterdam-based multinational company founded in 1993. It is the world's third largest private oil and metals trader after Vitol and Glencore and boasts of having access to approximately $33 billion in credit facilities.

Lawan was irked by the

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

company’s repeated absence and asked the Group Managing Director, Austen Oniwon, to tell the company to appear before the committee. He said the House Representatives can legislate against Transfigura and stop it from doing business with the NNPC. Lawan also asked Oniwon the reason these foreign trading companies go to berth offshore Lome and Cotonou and not offshore Lagos.

Oniwon said the drafts at the ports are shallow and cannot accommodate mother vessels but Lawan said that mother vessels come into Nigeria to take crude and asked why the mother vessels cannot come into Nigeria to discharge products.

Oniwon said the crude terminals have adequate drafts, however, after trying to convince the committee with explanations, which seemed unfruitful, he said that the

cause of the entire problem is the inability of the refineries and pipelines to optimally function. Oniwon said if the refineries are working and the pipelines are working properly, we don’t have to be importing.

The committee, however, warned that the companies that failed to present their letters of credit, certificate of discharge and bills of laden, would be assumed not to have made the imports the claimed to have made and the House Representatives would compel them to pay back the money they claimed as subsidy to Federal Government.

The committee also directed the NNPC to pay the Nigeria Customs Service the N46 billion debts it owes the agency. Oniwon, agreed to sit down with the Customs and discuss on how to work out the modality of payment. He said the NNPC doesn’t have N40 billion to pay the debt but is wiling to discuss with the Customs.

Iran sanctions give China bargaining power for LOBAL sanctions against Iran oil, says IEA nation’s nuclear programme, Forhave strengthened China’s

G

bargaining position with the Persian Gulf state for oil purchases even as the Asian nation opposes trade restrictions, according to the International Energy Agency.

According to Bloomberg, China’s first-quarter purchases of Iranian oil may slow to half of last year’s average rate of 550,000 barrels a day, because of a dispute over prices, the Paris-based adviser to oil-consuming nations said in a report.

The United States and its allies are using economic and financial sanctions to curb Iran’s nuclear program, which they say has military objectives. Iran denies the claim.

Escalating sanctions over Iran’s nuclear programme have posed difficulties for customers such as

India to continue purchasing crude. The European Union, collectively the number two importer of Iranian oil in the first half of 2011, last month approved a ban on imports set to take effect on July 1.

China said sanctions on Iran’s oil exports aren’t “constructive” and urged relevant parties to settle international disputes through dialogue, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing comments from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The country is the biggest buyer of Iranian crude, according to the IEA. Assistant Chinese Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu was meant to visit Iran from February 12 to 13 to discuss the dispute over the Gulf

eign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said at a briefing in Beijing. Ma was invited by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Liu said.

China International United Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, the nation’s biggest oil trader, was negotiating a 2012 crude supply contract that was scheduled to be agreed on last year with National Iranian Oil Co., two people with knowledge of the talks said.

As much as one million barrels a day of Iran’s 2.6 million barrels a day of exports may be replaced by alternative supplies once the EU sanctions take effect, forcing Iran to place unsold supplies into floating storage or to shut in production in the second half of the year, according to the IEA.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

43

ENERGY

Shell rakes in $0.5b from blocks 26, 42 sale T HE Anglo-Dutch Shell has said proceeds from the sale of its interests in two Nigerian oil blocks located in oil mining leases (OMLs) 26 and 42 and related facilities in the Niger Delta where its share of production was about 6,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), was about $0.5 billion.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Peter Voser, disclosed this during the announcement of Shell’s 2011 fourth report. He had also noted that the company 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.

Besides, OMLs 26 and 42, the company had also divested its 30 percent interest in OMLS 4, 38, 41, 30, 34 and 40, all located onshore. The sale of its onshore assets was attributed to the continued attacks on the facilities by the militants in the Niger Delta but Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC) Managing Director/ Country Chairman of Shell companies in Nigeria, Mr Mutiu Sunmonu, had explained that the divestment programme by Shell was focused on onshore fields, and was aimed at encouraging local participation, more local companies to play in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry, especially exploration and production.

Shell during the announcement of the 2011 fourth quarter and full year result, said the company’s proved Reserves Replacement Ratio (RRR) for the year on an SEC basis is expected to be around 100 percent while its organic Reserves Replacement Ratio, which excludes the impact of oil price movements in the year, acquisitions and divestments, is expected to be around 120 percent.

Commenting on the result, Shell’s chief 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.

“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.

“I am pleased with our delivery in 2011, focusing on improving our operating performance and ramping up our growth projects. We have made good progress with portfolio development during 2011, with new opportunities in global gas,

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

liquids-rich shales and exploration, alongside some $7.5 billion of divestments as part of Shell's drive for on-going capital efficiency and portfolio improvement.”

While Shell was divesting assets in some countries, it was also investing in assets in others. For instance, in Australia, a final investment decision was taken on the Greater Western Flank Phase 1 project (Shell share 20.6 per cent).

The project is expected to produce some 110,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) at peak production and represents the next major development for the North West Shelf.

In Cameroon, Shell sold its 80 percent interest in Pecten Cameroon Company LLC (Shell share of production of 10 thousand boe/d) for a consideration of some $0.5 billion. Shell said it completed the sale of the majority of its shareholding of its downstream businesses in Cape Verde, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia. “This represents the first stage of the divestment of the majority of Shell’s shareholding in most of its downstream businesses in Africa as announced in February 2011, with the remainder expected to be completed in 2012,” the company added.

In Indonesia, Shell entered into the Masela production-sharing contract (PSC) with a 30 per cent stake for a consideration of some $0.9 billion. The Masela PSC contains the Abadi gas discovery, which is planned to commence front-end engineering and design for a Floating LNG project in 2012, initially for 2.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) capacity, with the potential for significant project expansions at a later stage.

In Iraq, final government approvals were received to form the Basrah Gas Company, a joint venture between Iraq’s South Gas Company (51 percent), Shell (44 percent) and Mitsubishi Corporation (five percent). The Basrah Gas Company will ultimately gather and process some two billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of raw gas from the Rumaila, Zubair and West Qurna 1 fields, initially supplying domestic markets with a longer term option to develop LNG export capacity.

In Korea, Shell signed a binding Heads of Agreement for the longterm supply of 3.64 mtpa of LNG to Kogas for twenty years from 2016 and 1 mtpa of LNG from 2013 to 2016. This supply agreement brings the total LNG sales contracts in Shell’s global LNG portfolio signed last year to some six mtpa. These long-term contracts are linked to oil prices and at today’s oil prices these would be valued at about $100 billion.

SacOil revises farm-in terms for OPL 281

I

NDEPENDENt Africa-focused oil firm SacOil has agreed revised terms with its partner Transnational Corporation of Nigeria for its entry into licence OPL 281, the company reported Wednesday.

SacOil, which is headquartered in South Africa, said it and technical partner Energy Equity Re-

sources had been given a reduction in farm-in fees from $32.5 million to $24.5 million.

Transcorp will remain the operator of OPL 281 and will pay 60 percent of the Capex costs to first production, as opposed to SacOil and EER carrying 100 per cent of the Capex costs as previously agreed.

•From left:Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources,Taofiq Tijani, Lagos state Deputy Governor,Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire and Commissioner for Special Duties, Wale Ahmed as the deputy governor cuts the tape to declare the exhibition opened during the renewable energy summit organised by the ministry of energy and mineral resources in Lagos.

Why we are developing renewable energy policy,

by Fashola THE Lagos State Governor create an enabling environment for

T

Babatunde Fashola has explained that the desire to make the state a global and financial hub in the next couple of years is the major reason for developing the renewable energy policy.

He said as a major driver of economic growth, energy particularly from the renewable sources would always be a defining factor especially in Lagos where at least 60 per cent of all commercial activities in the country takes place.

Fashola, who was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Adejoke OrelopeAdefulire, stated this at the maiden edition of a renewable energy summit organised by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources for stakeholders in Lagos.

The summit has as theme: Achieving a sustainable renewable energy programme for Lagos State.

The governor said the state is blessed with enough resources to revolutionise the economic and social lives of inhabitants of the state through a programme of renewable energy that is a viable alternative to fossil fuels.

He explained that if technological advancements are properly applied within the context of the rich deposits of natural energy resources, it would be possible to re-

By BidemiBakare

duce the dependence on conventional fuels thereby appreciating the vast difference in the cost of renewable sources.

This, according to him, will have a ripple effect of deepening commitment to a cleaner environment and more qualitative public health through the control of environmental pollution such as air, water and noise.

Fashola, however, noted that the development of renewable energy sources would not translate to the elimination of fossil fuels from the energy mix but that they will co-exist as greener technologies developed with the end goal of developing a sustainable alternative source when the country runs out of fossil fuels.

For the realisation of this ambition, he said, there is a need for the cooperation of the public and private sectors in the overall interest of the state and its inhabitants.

He said: “Both the private and public sectors would surely have distinct roles to play in the development of renewable energy. For us as government and a public sector player our role would be to provide the policy framework that will

investors to participate. The private sector would be expected to bring creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and funding options and procedures.”

The commissioner of Energy and Mineral Resources, TaofiqTijani said the state is learning from past experiences of renewable energy projects while also having a detailed feasibility report showing preliminary work carried out by stakeholders on renewable energy solutions.

This, according to him, will enable project evaluators marry the best renewable energy solutions to appropriate energy load demands in the state.

To make renewable energy more attractive to government as a dominant alternative energy source around the world, he urged stakeholders to make them as affordable as conventional sources of energy He added that by combining innovations in renewable power generation with modern technologies in transmission and distribution grids, renewable energy solutions can be made less costly and more energy efficient adding that with the robust and detailed renewable energy policy, new jobs and industries are expected to be created by the state.

Group wants oil communities involved in PIB

T

HE Federal Government has been advised to include representatives of the oil and gas producing communities as well as civil society groups in the special task force constituted by the government to fast-track the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to make the committees all-involving.

The civil society group known as Publish What You Pay (PWYP) said the composition of the committees as they are, did not involve major stakeholders in the industry including oil and gas producing communities and civil society groups.

The group also accused the government of not being sincere with the passage of the bill into law, saying that the committee members were drawn from among the same people who had served at one time or the other and never passed the same bill into law adding that the committee may in the same manner at the end of the day not be able to pass the bill into law.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs.Diezani AlisonMadueke, had constituted a special task force on the passage of the PIB,

By Ambrose Nnaji

chaired by former a Senator and Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Udoma Udo Udoma, alongside a technical subcommittee headed by the Director, Department of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Osten Olorunsola The committee was charged with reviewing all former versions of the bill and to come out with a draft to be presented to the National Assembly in a short time. While working with the technical committee, the offices of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to produce a new copy of the bill, the task force was expected to interact with the National Assembly in facilitating the passage of the bill into law The Chairperson of PWYP, Mrs. Faith Nwadishi, who stated this in Lagos, regretted that past committees set up to draft the bill that would move the sector forward, had failed to deliver on their promises.

He expressed doubt that the committee would do a thorough job that

would represent the interest of the of the people.

She wondered how the same people who served in various capacities in the Senate and National Assembly and could not pass the petroleum industry bill could be drafted into a committee to draft the same bill and ensure its quick passage into law She said for us have a bill, it has to be before the National Assembly but right now. There is none before the National Assembly.

She said: “We may be setting a dangerous trend in the sense that now we had a bill before the National Assembly for four years and people served actively in that assembly and didn’t pass a particular bill. Nigerians cried out in January during the fuel protest. The president himself came out to say we wanted to fast track this process of PIB and the minister of petroleum went round and set up a committee made up of individuals that sat in the National Assembly who didn’t •Continued on page 44

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

44

ENERGY

LADOL, Samsung partner on offshore activities T

HE Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL) has entered into partnership with Samsung Heavy Industries to establish a training centre where Nigerians will be trained in offshore activities such as underwater and industrial welding, fabrication and integration including floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels.

The centre called ‘Samsung Nigeria Technology Academy (SaNTA)’ is to cost $10 million and will be built in LADOL Free Zone yard in Lagos.

The management of the two companies addressed reporters in Lagos to unveil the project.

The Managing Director of LADOL, Dr. Amy Jadesimi, said the project is meant to bridge the skills and not for immediate financial benefits.

On completion, the centre will graduate 250 students yearly with plans for expansion and increased areas of training. The partnership plans to also export expertise to other West African Sub-region and African countries in future.

Jadesimi said: “SaNTA will be a new state-of-the-art training facility built from scratch in LADOL Free Zone. The development of the training facility comes after one and half years of planning and pre-investment

by Samsung and LADOL. Samsung's world class expertise will be matched with LADOl's extensive experience in Greenfield Nigerian developments to establish a long-lasting partnership. A partnership that will represent real local content as both Samsung and LADOL will be investing millions of dollars, equipment and manhours in building the facility, setting up the management team and training programmes to produce world class graduates.

“The training facility's target is to reduce the knowledge and experience gap, such that Nigerians will acquire world class standard in welding and testing.

This facility demonstrates Samsung's full and long-term commitment to assisting the development of mega-fabrication capabilities in Nigeria. Samsung is unique amongst its peers due to its true commitment to local content and its belief in the importance of Nigerian partnership, technology transfer and investment.

“The facility will initially train 250 to 300 graduates each year and will be in full operation by first quarter of 2013. SaNTA will be advertising for applicants from all over the country and successful applicants will be admitted to a

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

three to six month training programme, which will include theoretical and practical (on the job) training. Upon graduation, the successful students will receive globally recognised accreditation and it will empower them to get work in Nigeria's growing fabrication industry.”

SaNTA, she noted, is being established in recognition of the fact that Nigerians would only benefit from the wide spread job creation which would result from onshore FPSO integration, as well as other important local content milestones with extensive and diverse training, provided by world class partners.

She said the training centre has become imperative following the local content law, which clearly stipulated integration of all topsides to be done in Nigeria; 50 per cent of all topsides fabricated in Nigeria; 100 per cent pressure vessels, fenders and flare towers all done in-country.

However, the capabilities and capacities available in Nigeria are not sufficient to meet all the local content requirement, for instance, Nigeria has capacity for l,000MT of complex topsides and 10,000MT of more basic topside hardware but the LADOL chief noted that new facilities being developed in Nigeria will enable oil and gas sector companies to comply with local content.

She said SaNTA would also play an important role by providing qualified human resources and contributing to sound local content through sustainable development of manpower nationwide.

“LADOL has chosen to partner with Samsung because the two companies have a shared belief that Nigeria has a bright future and unlimited potential. This has driven both companies to invest in this new facility in advance and independently from any contracts.

Facilities such as SaNTA are critical to releasing the potential of Nigeria and creating jobs for its young people. SaNTA is just the first step which Samsung and LADOL plan for onshore Integration and mega fabrication in Nigeria.

“The two companies will be working and consulting with leading indigenous Nigerian fabricators to determine additional training programmes needed in Nigeria, since graduates from SaNTA will work in such facilities throughout Nigeria. By increasing fabrication capacity in existing and new facilities throughout the country, Samsung and LADOL are aiming to create tens of thousands of jobs (directly and indirectly) outside of LADOL Free Zone,” she added.

•From left: Mr. Joong Hyam Chung, Vice President, Samsung Heavy Industries Limited, Mr. Ladi Jadesimi, Executive Chairman, LADOL and Mr. Frank Ejizu, General Manager, Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria Limited, at the official announcement of LADOL/Samsung partnership in building fabrication and integration training institute in LADOL Free Zone, in Lagos

IEA cuts global oil demand forecast

T

HE International Energy Agency (IEA) has slashed its oil demand growth forecast for the second time in just a few weeks as the economic outlook weakened, just as oil production from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reached its highest level since October 2008.

The IEA has cut half a million barrels a day from its oil demand growth forecast since the start of this year, a change that it said leaves the oil market with enough flexibility to adjust to any loss of Iranian crude exports due to sanctions that will take effect in July.

This shows that basic oil supply and demand figures do not support prices at their current level of around $118 a barrel for Brent crude, said analysts at Bernstein Research in a note to clients.

Despite this, the IEA, which represents the interests of major energy consuming rich countries, said the perception of the risk of a supply disruption in Iran or other trouble spots like Sudan is preventing stubbornly high oil prices from falling.

"The big hit to demand numbers for 2012 is Europe's significantly

weaker economic picture," said David Fyfe, the head of the IEA's oil markets division in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires.

Demand in North America isn't quite as weak as expected, but still pretty muted, he added.

The IEA said in its monthly market report that it expects oil demand to grow by 0.8 million barrels a day to 89.9 million barrels a day in 2012. This is 0.3 million barrels a day lower than its January forecast, a cut that was widely expected after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reduced its global economic growth forecasts to 3.3 percent from 4.0 percent last month.

Asia is the source of almost all oil demand growth in 2012, although the picture there is mixed.

The IEA trimmed its forecast for China as economic growth slowed and oil demand came to "near stagnation" in December. However, there is the possibility that China could decide to add to its strategic petroleum reserve this year, which could boost its demand by 200,000 barrels a day of oil, Fyfe said.

Japan's oil demand is growing rapidly, up 9.5% year-on-year in December, as it uses fossil fuels to

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

Group wants oil communities involved in PIB •Continued from page 43

Energy prices

Domestic prices of petroleum products

fill the gap left by post-tsunami shutdowns in its nuclear industry.

As demand weakens oil supply looks more comfortable. The IEA estimated that OPEC produced 30.9 million barrels a day of crude oil in January, its highest level since October 2008 and one million barrels a day above the amount of crude the world needs from the group in 2012.

"The market looks reasonably well supplied for 2012," and should be able to handle without too much trouble the European Union embargo on 600,000 barrels a day of Iranian oil imports that will come into force in July, said Fyfe.

Members of OPEC agreed in December to reduce their collective to output to 30 million barrels a day for 2012, but the group's main swing suppliers, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, did not reduce output in January to make way for growing Libyan production, the IEA said.

-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

pass that bill. This present one can go the same way.

“We are setting a precedence, which if not properly handled, would continue to happen in this country. A very important bill sent to the National Assembly, they sat on it and refused to pass it into law, in order to be appointed into committees and be paid. Certainly, the government will pay them for the services they are going to render, in other words, they are being compensated for a job they failed to do earlier. ‘’I hope the committee will do a thorough job, look at all the comments that people had made from civil societies, from the industry, community representatives, and inter ministerial committees that also worked on that, look at the notes of the former committees that sat on it, harmonise them and work with the Federal Ministry of Justice and get a new bill,” she said.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

NATION SPORT

45

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE TRANSFER WINDOW

HENRY:

II felt felt like like aa kid kid again again Fergie: We want to win the Europa League

• Fergie

M

ANCHESTER UNITED boss Sir Alex Ferguson has promised the club’s fans, and UEFA chief Michel Platini, that he wants to win the Europa League.

Ferguson earned a prickly -rebuke from Platini when he described United’s demotion from the Champions League to the lesser tournament as their punishment for -underperforming.

But Ferguson takes his side to Amsterdam for Thursday’s 6pm firstleg meeting with Ajax insisting he will put out his best team and launch a genuine bid for the trophy.

Ferguson said: “We definitely want to win this tournament.

“I am treating this -seriously. We’re going to have a go.

“The thing is to look forward to it. It’s still -European football, it’s still a good standard of -football.”

United’s elimination from the FA Cup leaves them free next weekend and gives -Ferguson the opportunity to concentrate on their first tie with the legendary Dutch club. He said: “The great thing is that we don’t have a game on the Saturday, so I can play my strongest team – and I will play my strongest team.

“It’s a bit of a bonus for us. It’s amazing that in 55 years’ involvement in Europe, we’ve never played each other.

“The name of Ajax still has that aura about it. They are not having a great time at the moment and their directors have resigned, but I think playing against United they’ll be well motivated.”

T

HIERRY Henry says scoring the winner it what is almost certainly his final league appearance for Arsenal made him feel like he was a child again.

The 34-year-old Frenchman marked the last Barclays Premier League appearance of his loan spell from the New York Red Bulls with an injury-time winner at the Stadium of Light to rekindle memories of his glory days with the Gunners.

Henry is eligible to play in Wednesday night's Champions League clash with AC Milan in Italy before heading back to the United States the following day.

He will do so having written a new chapter in his love affair with the club.

Henry told BBC Sport: "Just like a kid who came on and scored his first goal for the team he loves, that's exactly how I felt, really like a kid.

"When it comes to Arsenal, I always feel something special. At the end of the day, I was there at the end of the move, but I just want to help.

"That's all I wanted to do. I said it right from the start - I didn't want to be a hero or whatever, just like one of the guys in the dressing room."

Henry struck in the first minute

of injury time, turning fellow substitute Andrey Arshavin's cross past keeper Simon Mignolet from close range to complete a dramatic fightback.

However, the striker played down his role.

He said: "When you come on as a sub, you want to help your team and change the game anyway, anyhow, and it did happen.

"A lot of the time, the guy who puts the ball in the back of the net will always get the credit, but the cross from Andrey Arshavin was perfect.

"You can always miss, but it was going to be very difficult to miss that one, so you have to give him a lot of credit for that one.

"I was just there at the right time and I finished it, so that's the most important thing.

"Obviously, I stayed a bit longer with the Arsenal fans at the end because I knew it was the last game for me in the Premier League, so I just wanted to say, 'Thanks, that's it'."

The Gunners dominated much of a game which might have turned on two incidents involving defender Per Mertesacker, whose fortunes swung markedly either side of half-time.

Mertesacker survived concerted penalty appeals when he controlled Jack Colback's 39th-minute cross on

his chest and then saw the ball bounce up on to his arm with referee Neil Swarbrick unmoved.

However, with keeper Wojciech Szczesny having had to pull off two fine saves in quick succession to deny Craig Gardner, the German's luck deserted him when he caught his studs in the turf as he prepared to deal with a harmless 70thminute through-ball and collapsed in agony.

Sunderland winger James McClean took full advantage, picking up possession and closing in on goal before drilling a leftfoot shot across Szczesny and into the bottom corner.

Aaron Ramsey replaced Mertesacker as he left the field on a stretcher, and the deficit lasted just five minutes as the Wales international thumped home an equaliser off both posts.

But there was more to come and with the clock ticking into the 91st minute, Henry intervened to ensure his domestic involvement ended in style - for now at least.

Asked if there might be a possibility of another return next season, he replied: "You can never say never, right?

"You need to ask the boss. I don't know. I have always said it, it's kind of difficult for me to say no.

"If they need some help one day, I will be around."

Neville hails Pienaar's impact at Everton

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• Neville

OUTH AFRICA midfielder Steven Pienaar has rediscovered his best form since returning to Everton, according to Toffees captain Phil Neville.

Pienaar rejoined Everton on loan until the end of the season during the January transfer window after a frustrating year mostly spent on the substitutes' bench at Tottenham.

The 29-year-old has made up for lost time by showing the kind of influential, energetic dislays that made him such a favourite at Goodison Park and he delivered a match-winning performance, including the opening goal, as Everton clinched a shock 2-0 victory over Chelsea on Saturday.

Neville was delighted to see Pienaar turn on the style and he is convinced his return to Merseyside is the key to his form.

"It was a great performance from Pienaar. He is obviously back doing what he does best at a club he enjoys playing at," Neville said.

"I don't think he realises how well thought of he is here. When he was at Tottenham I don't think there was

a day that went past when we didn't speak about him.

"The combination between him and Leighton Baines on the left-hand side - there is no better combination in English football at the moment.

"He has had a good return. He was man of the match at Wigan last week and probably our best player, along with Denis (Stracqualursi) against Chelsea."

The victory maintained Everton's recent revival after another sluggish start to the season.

David Moyes' side, who beat titlechasing Manchester City in their previous home game, are now unbeaten in five league matches as well as through to the FA Cup fifth round.

Neville believes the spark for that good run was provided by Moyes' success in the transfer window.

Darron Gibson and Landon Donovan arrived early in the month before the late captures of Pienaar and striker Nikica Jelavic.

"At the training ground there is a bounce in everyone's step, the manager is bouncing and the players are all confident," Neville said.

Saha: I was living the dream on Spurs debut

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ETERAN striker Louis Saha says he felt like a young boy again after bagging a brace on his Tottenham debut yesterday.

Many expected the 33-year-old to be a bit-part player at most when he signed from Everton in a shock deadline day deal last month, but manager Harry Redknapp handed him his first start against Newcastle yesterday evening ahead of fans' favourite Jermain Defoe.

The former Manchester United striker did not disappoint in a hugely one-sided game that saw Spurs run out 5-0 winners.

Saha took just five minutes to open his account as he poked home Emmanuel Adebayor's cross to put the home side 2-0 up after Benoit Assou-Ekotto's early opener.

The Frenchman added his second 15 minutes later when he picked up Adebayor's knock-down before beating Magpies stopper Tim Krul from 12 yards and Tottenham then went on to cruise to victory.

"It was a great, great feeling," Saha said.

"I am not that young, but it's just like I was living the dream of a young boy - to make your debut and score on your home ground, it's just amazing."

Much of the pre-match focus had centred on Redknapp's tax evasion trial and the clamour for him to be appointed as England manager following Fabio Capello's resignation just hours after the Spurs manager's acquittal.

• Saha

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NATION SPORT

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL...EUROPEAN FOOTBALL...EUROPEAN FOOTBALL...

Podolski hints at Cologne exit UKAS Podolski has hinted that he will leave Cologne at the end of the season, admitting he felt let down by the club's broken promises.

The Germany international has claimed that he decided to rejoin his hometown club from Bayern Munich in 2009, after being sold on an ambitious sporting project which aimed to establish Cologne as one of the top six sides in the Bundesliga.

However, with the club currently hovering in midtable, Podolski - who is out of contract at the end of next

L

season - is feeling increasingly disillusioned and pessimistic about their future prospects.

"I was told that the club wanted to build a team around me that would be among the top eight in the league before then establishing itself in the top six and I committed myself to the move (to Koln) because I wanted to be a part of that project," he told Bild am Sonntag.

"Christoph Daum once said that much has been promised and little delivered - I find myself that that has been confirmed. "

"If you look at the proposals that were shown to me and what has ultimately come out of them - it is very disappointing."

"You try every year to move forward but we never get anything other than a relegation battle, which is bitter."

"I hoped for something else, because the conditions allow for much more - the stadium and fans are unique."

Podolski, who has been linked with moves to both Arsenal and Lazio, reiterated that he has not yet made a decision on his future.

Olic set for Bayern exit I

VICA Olic will almost certainly depart Bayern Munich in the close season after enduring a troubled 2011-12 campaign.

The 32-year-old has been no more than a squad player this season, with just two goals to his name to date.

His current predicament has forced the forward into

• Podolski

Milito not on our radar — P Ancelotti

ARIS Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti has denied the club tried to sign Inter striker Diego Milito in January.

The forward was reportedly a winter transfer target for the Parisians, who made no secret of their desire to land a highprofile attacker.

But the Nerazzurri star was never under consideration,

appearances to date, but has been linked with a move away from San Siro in recent months.

according to Ancelotti, who hinted he did not fit in with their recruitment policy.

"I do not know if the club wanted to sign Milito this summer, but in January, we did not try to sign him," Ancelotti was quoted as

saying by Tuttomercatoweb.

"I also do not believe that we will try to (sign Milito) in the future, because we want young strikers."

The 32-year-old joined Inter in 2009 from Genoa and has scored 39 goals in 75 Serie A

A

behind to beat Udinese 2-1 in Serie A on Saturday.

An Antonio Di Natale strike put the Italian giants a goal

down inside 19 minutes, but a pair of second-half strikes from Maxi Lopez and Stephan El Shaarawy ensured they ended a winless run of three matches - a feat the 42-yearold has put down to their teamwork.

"I think we played a good game. We started well but were punished during the first half. In the second half we improved, and showed more courage and took more risks," said Allegri.

"We were concerned by our recent results, but we had to beat Udinese. Our spirit has made the difference. We were cohesive, especially in second half."

Even without the suspended Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Allegri said his team functioned well

• Allegri • Di Natale

supporters, and failing to prove his worth to coach Jupp Heynckes.

"The coach has seen what I can do. I feel that he can count on me more now," he continued.

"The farewell to the fans is the biggest disappointment.

They have seen that I can fulfill my duties here. I've delivered good performances recently."

"I have never asked for a regular place, but we play many matches and (if I play) we can save energy."

Olic has scored 21 goals in 65 appearances since joining from Hamburg in 2009.

Montepellier raises Giroud’s cash

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ONTPELLIER have reportedly increased Olivier Giroud's buy-out clause to 16 million

Massimiliano Allegri proud of Milan character C MILAN coach Massimiliano Allegri praised his team's spirit after coming from

making the likely decision of quitting the German giants when the transfer window reopens in a few months.

"It is most likely that I will leave Bayern in the summer, as the club have not yet spoken to me," Olic told Goal.com in an exclusive interview.

"I would have preferred that they already addressed the issue. I have a family, my children go to school. I cannot wait until May to plan my future. Right now, it looks more likely that I'll go."

Olic then explained that his two biggest regrets will be saying goodbye to the club's

as a unit and allowed other players to step up in his absence "When there's no Ibrahimovic, the players display different characteristics, as shown today. Maxi Lopez gave us depth and did a great job," he said.

Udinese counterpart Francesco Guidolin was left disappointed by the result, claiming his team deserved more from the match.

The 56-year-old admitted his players should have shown more maturity while in control of the match early.

"We conceded two goals on the counterattack," Guidolin told Sky Sport Italia. "If we had been more cautious in couple of circumstances, Milan would have struggled."

"We had to show maturity say the result finished 1-1, it would have been a good result, although we deserved more."

"We went forward in an attempt to put things right but they punished us, and AC Milan can punish you at any time. We must try to recover quickly."

Udinese remain fourth in the Serie A standings, but have fallen six points behind AC Milan at the league summit.

euros in a bid to avoid losing the in-form forward.

The France international was heavily linked with a move to Newcastle during the January transfer window, but no official approach was made to the Ligue 1 leaders.

Montpellier are bracing themselves for offers in the offseason and, according to France Football, have now decided to raise Giroud's buy-

• Giroud

out clause, which had stood at 10m euros.

Club president Louis Nicollin had previously stated that he would not allow the player, who is under contract until 2014, to leave for anything less than 50m euros.

Giroud, who has been capped twice by his country, has hit 16 goals in 22 games for Montpellier in Ligue 1 so far this season.

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NATION SPORT

Federer blames teammate over Davis Cup defeat C

OUNT me surprised. I gave the United States little chance of defeating Switzerland in the first round of the 2012 Davis Cup. It wasn't necessarily because we had a terrible team. It was because of one (Swiss) man: Roger Federer.

With third-ranked Federer playing three matches for Switzerland, I figured his country could count on three victories from him and progress into the second round. However, strange things were afoot in Switzerland where this tie was held. The Americans showed a great deal of fighting spirit and, via one major upset, was able to upend the Swiss 3-0 to progress to the second round of this year's Davis Cup. It started off in a tight contest between top American Mardy Fish and 27th-ranked Stanlisas Wawrinka, with Fish pulling out a victory in five sets, winning the last set

9-7. It was a tough, but somewhat expected, win. Fish is, after all, ranked ninth in the ATP and was relatively fresh after exiting the Australian Open in the second round.

The real drama of the tie was when 17th-ranked John Isner faced off against Federer. I thoroughly expected Federer to dominate on the clay surface, but it was Isner who ultimately had the upper hand.

In just four sets (with the deciding set going 6-2 to Isner), the United States had its massive upset of this tie and a real chance to pull out a first round victory.

The doubles match that ended up deciding the tie was also a bit of an upset in my opinion. Half of the Bryan brothers duo was not present, and Mardy Fish was given the surprise start over 19-year-old Ryan Harrison that had supposedly been brought along just for that match. They were playing against a Federer and Wawrinka duo

who had previously won a gold medal together at the Beijing Olympic Summer Games. However, it was the upstart Americans who dominated the day again, winning in four sets.

After the doubles match, Federer displayed some of the petulant sore loser personality that always seems to pop out when he is particularly disappointed. He placed the blame directly on his teammate Wawrinka's shoulders, saying that he didn't play so well in the doubles match and that the 27th-ranked player' "didn't have his best match" against 9th-ranked Fish the day before. In my opinion, classic Federer. His loss was the biggest of the whole tie. Had he won, the Swiss would still have been in very good position to win it all. Perhaps that's why you don't see Federer in the Davis Cup too often. He isn't a terribly good team player.

• Federer

Klitschkos pile on ridicule for Haye

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ITALI and Wladimir Klitschko broke off from preparing for their impending world heavyweight title fights in the next few weeks to turn their fire yet again on to the man they love to hate - David Haye.

Wladimir humiliated Haye last July in Hamburg after all the Briton's controversial prefight talk.

But it is his older brother Vitali, 40, who is desperate to fight Haye too, even if their manager, German Bernd Boente, believes it cannot happen unless the Haye camp agree to their terms.

'David Haye can be strong again,' said Vitali, taking time off at his Austrian Tyrol training camp he shares with his brother from preparing to defend his WBC title against Briton Dereck Chisora next Saturday in Munich.

'He can be the world champion again. He can fight me, the oldest and weakest of the Klitschko brothers. Haye has a chance to get back into the game. I don't understand why money is his only

motivation.

'I wanted to fight him last time but I flipped a coin with Wladimir and he won. I was happy when Wladimir beat Haye because it brought all the heavyweight title belts into our family.

'But I was also a bit upset because, after all the bad words he used against us, I wanted to beat him up. He has no excuses not to fight me now.'

Chisora, who does seem to have earned some respect from Vitali, said: 'I will make Vitali look his age. I've got nothing to lose.'

Wladimir, 35, who is defending his WBA, IBF and WBO titles against France's Jean-Marc Mormeck next month in Dusseldorf, said: 'David Haye must be the most depressed rich man in the UK. He will be aware that people are laughing at him as he passes by on the streets. In 12 rounds against me he didn't show any courage and didn't fight like a man.

'If I was him, knowing the situation he's in right now, I'd

fight Vitali whatever the Klitschkos were offering. I'd just grab the chance to gain respect back.

'We're not asking him to fight for free. We're giving him a chance to earn some good money but, more importantly, to become world champion again.

'I had hoped he would become a better person after what happened to him in Hamburg. It doesn't look that way, does it?'

Webber not bothered by rumours

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ARK Webber is refusing to let rumours of others replacing him at Red Bull put a damper on his start to the new season.

At 35 years of age and having fallen well behind team-mate Sebastian Vettel last season, questions are being asked about Webber's F1 career and whether it will continue beyond this year's Championship.

And although he has never publicly put down a timeframe for when he will retire, Australia's The Sunday Age is reporting that Webber is 'not contemplating retirement' at the end of this season.

However, that decision may be out of his hands after Red Bull's junior team Toro Rosso signed youngsters Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo.

The duo have both been

Pacquiao says he may retire next year

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OXING superstar and Sarangi Rep. Manny Pacquiao is considering retiring from boxing next year.

Pacquiao said his upcoming bout with undefeated American boxer Timothy Bradley Jr. on June 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas may be his last fight.

This also means that his much-awaited dream fight with American Floyd Mayweather Jr. may never happen.

Pacquiao explained it may not look good to be seen fighting in the boxing ring now that he has accepted the Church's offer to become a Bible ambassador.

He said he may just focus on his political plans and reading the Bible.

Last month, Pacquiao disclosed during a one-on-one interview with Dyan Castillejo that he has renewed his faith and has turned his back on vices, including womanizing, gambling and drinking.

tipped within the Red Bull camp to possible replacements for Webber when the time comes.

The Aussie, though, is not letting the various rumours get to him.

"Not at all, you know, I've been through enough on and off the track to know that nothing is forever," he told the newspaper. "(According to the media) I was supposed to be replaced

by Kimi (Raikkonen) four years ago."

As for whether Ricciardo's

Chambers not giving up on Olympic dream

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• Pacquiao

signing, meaning there are two Australians on this year's grid, will pave the way for others, Webber reckons it will create more interest in the sport but that doesn't mean doors will easily open.

"I think what could and will happen is that when you have Australians winning and if Daniel goes on to have a good career, which I have no doubt that he will, it stimulates more people to have a crack at it but it won't be made any easier in many ways. I still think you'll have to be trying very hard."

RITISH sprinter Dwain Chambers admits he still dreams of competing in the London Olympics later this year as he waits for the court case that will decide his fate.

Former European 100m champion Chambers, who was banned for two years after testing positive for the anabolic steroid THG in 2004, is currently unable to appear in the Games due to a British Olympic Association (BOA) ruling.

The BOA will argue before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on March 12 that their bylaw, which bans convicted drugs cheats from

competing in the Olympic Games, does not violate the World Anti-Doping Association code.

But if CAS find the BOA's bylaw to be non-compliant with the world anti-doping code, Chambers will be cleared to be selected for Team GB. Chambers on Sunday ensured he will be able to defend his World Indoor title in Istanbul next month with a hard-fought victory at the UK Trials and Championships in Sheffield.

But the 33-year-old conceded he has one eye on the London Olympics ahead of the court case.

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Sabella: A coach must be a good person In the second and final part of an extended exclusive interview with FIFA.com, Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella spoke frankly about a range of burning issues. Discussing the external pressures impacting on the game, the demands of coaching a star-studded squad and the task of taking the national side back to the top again, the former Estudiantes coach reveals his obsessions, fears and dreams.

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OU were assistant national team coach to Daniel Passarella between 1994 and 1998. How much is that experience helping you in your current job?

We’ve got a similar system so it’s been useful to some extent, but many years have gone by and I’ve had to adapt in every respect. Some things have changed, like society, young people, the pressure and the media, and football’s different today as well, but what’s changed most of all is the environment the game’s played in.

What do you mean by that?

It’s something that can take you over, get a hold of you, but you’ve got to control that. There’s more and more pressure now and that’s not good for football in general, and there’s violence out there too, though not when the national team plays. It’s up to all of us who sit in front of microphones, and I’m talking about coaches and journalists here, to calm things down a little. If we took our foot off the accelerator and pressed down on the brake a little, then we’d all feel better for it and we’d have a better standard of football too.

Talking of football and the South American qualifiers in particular, there seems to be less of a gap between teams now. Does that concern you?

That’s definitely the case. Take Uruguay. They’ve maintained their high standards, while Chile are having one of their best spells ever and Venezuela are on the up and up, without question. Peru have come on a lot too and Colombia have raised their game again as well.

Maybe Ecuador and Paraguay have levelled out a bit, but that can happen when you go through a transitional phase. They’re all very competitive sides, though, and there’s not much to choose between them.

There were a lot of empty spaces in the stands for the Bolivia game at the Monumental in Buenos Aires.

Why was that and what can you do to win the fans back?

There’s a series of factors that come into it, plus the fact we haven’t been getting results for a while. It’s like any sport, though. As soon as the

team starts playing well and winning games, the fans will start getting enthusiastic again. If we’d had a game right after the Colombia match, then the expectations would be different for sure, just because of the way we won there. To bring the fans back we need to get results and play better football.

How hard do you find it to handle a team with so many star players in it?

To earn the respect of his players, a coach has to show he knows what he’s talking about, have an appetite for hard work and be a good person.

That’s true with every player, from the part-timers down at the bottom to the megastars. Obviously, the difference with the megastars is that you have to show you know more and work harder.

So the key is for the players to value their coach?

Yes, absolutely. They start sizing you up from the moment you walk into that dressing room. That happens in any league and it happened when I was playing. The better the footballer, the greater the demands, and that’s when you have to push yourself harder and raise your game. You also have to remember that there are a lot of players who are in Europe and who like their coaches to be hard taskmasters. That’s not exactly my style. I try to win my players over by showing them what I know, by working hard, by being organised and a good person with it. Every coach has their own style, but I don’t need to shout or pull faces.

How do you explain the fact that Argentina have gone 19 years without winning a trophy?

You have to break it down and look at each competition individually. The World Cup is very hard to win and sometimes the tiniest detail can be the difference between going through and going out. But when you look at Argentina’s history and potential, the Copa America is hard to understand. You shouldn’t forget that we always get knocked out by the big teams, never the minnows. With Diego [Maradona], it was Germany who did for us. In 1998, when I was there, we got the Netherlands, and with

“To earn the respect of his players, a coach has to show he knows what he’s talking about, have an appetite for hard work and be a good person. That’s true with every player, from the part-timers down at the bottom to the megastars. Obviously, the difference with the megastars is that you have to show you know more and work harder.”

J o s e Germany beat penalties. With we went out i n

[Pekerman], us on Bielsa

the first round, but we didn’t have any luck.

Sweden had one attack and scored, and we had England defending deep in the second half.

There’s no explanation for it. There’s just always been a combination of little things that have come together, and always against the big teams.

Changing the subject slightly, what’s Alejandro Sabella like at home?

I’m very calm and relaxed, though I do find it hard to switch off from my job. My wife often reminds me I’m at home, but it’s like I’m not there (winks). At weekends, when I’m not out in the country, I sit down and watch football from Saturday morning through to Sunday night. I hardly get out of the house. If it wasn’t for mealtimes, I wouldn’t even move (laughs).

You say you’re calm. Do you ever get upset about anything?

I worry about getting things wrong, about forgetting or overlooking something, like missing something out.

So what’s harder for you: coaching the national team or bringing up three girls?

(Laughs) Being a football coach is tough, very tough. It’s a different kind of pressure. Family is very important, but we football folk are pretty strange. Supporters are fanatical about the game, and when you make a living out of football it’s no different. You have to immerse yourself in your job and things that happen outside the game can sort of pass you by. That’s a mistake.

Sometimes we don’t give our families the time and attention they deserve.

Moving back to football, what do you make of the standard of the Argentinian league?

It’s dropped a bit and you don’t get great games now. They tend to be more hard-fought and intense, but the situation’s tough. A lot of players have left, and the four most dangerous attacking players from last year have all left: Ricky Alvarez, Erik Lamela, Maxi Moralez and Enzo Perez. [Note: Perez recently returned to Estudiantes]. It's all related and it all impacts on the game, the entertainment level, the gamechangers, the goals and all that. In that respect, I think pretty much the same about Italian football. It’s not very pretty to watch but it’s very difficult to play in. You need be there, don’t you? That’s the only way to see how difficult it is.

In an earlier interview you

described

Lionel Messi as: “The best player in the world, a player who can change a g a m e quicker than anyone”. You saw that for yourself when you were at Estudiantes, in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2009.

That’s right. After that final against Barcelona I remember sitting on the beach with my assistants doing some pre-season preparations. A young lad ran by and shouted: “Are you still looking for Messi?” I was really angry at first, but then I just laughed because it was such a good line.

Messi made us suffer that day, no question, and he settled the game in style.

Did you tell him that story?

Yes. I told him about it and we had a good laugh.

He’s a very laid-back kid and that’s great.

Some people say he has to mould his game to the Argentina team, while others say it’s the other way round. What’s your view?

In the first half against Colombia, for example, our approach to the game left him a bit isolated. After they scored, though, we loosened up a bit and played the way we’d planned. We need to make him feel comfortable and think about what’s best for the team. And what’s best for the team is, first and foremost, to make him feel comfortable. And if at any given time we have to go and take a different approach, it’s our job to get him to see why.

• Culled fifa.com

from

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EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 13-2-12

NSE okays 235 active brokers

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HE Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday indicated that there were 235 active dealing members at the Nigerian stock market as the Exchange commenced the implementing its new classification status report for stockbrokers.

In a circular to dealing members obtained by The Nation, NSE stated that there were 235 dealing member firms whose licenses were active as at opening of the market yesterday.

NSE had in July 2011 intimated market operators that it would start classifying dealing members into three categories of active, dormant and inactive.

Head, broker and dealer regulation, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mohammed Momoh explained that active dealing members were actively trading firms whose activities have neither been suspended nor hindered in any way.

He described dormant operators as firms, which have been suspended by any of the capital market regulators for a period not exceeding six months. Dormant firms must be seen to be making efforts to resolve issues that led to their suspension and to regain their active trading status.

Inactive dealing firms

•Market remains negative Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

were securities firms that have been suspended for more than six month as well as those that have not recorded any activity for a period of three months or month.

Momoh noted that the purpose of the classification was to put the status of dealing member firms in proper perspective and to guide the Exchange in determining the regulatory actions to be taken against dealing firms.

The active dealing firms, according to NSE, included Union Capital Markets Limited, Afrinvest West Africa Limited, ARM Securities Limited, BGL Securities Limited, CSL Stockbrokers Limited, GTI Securities Limited, Capital Assets Limited and Centre Point Investment Limited.

Others are Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited, FBN Securities Limited, Rencap Securities (Nigeria) Limited, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited, Trust Yield Securities Limited and UBA Stockbrokers.

Meanwhile, the stock market continued on the downtrend as aggregate market worth of all equities

dropped from N6.500 trillion to N6.487 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI) slipped from 20,623.63 points to 20,583.61 points, a decline of 0.19 per cent. Average yearto-date return thus worsened to -0.71 per cent.

Julius Berger Nigeria topped the losers’ list with a loss of N1.28 to close at N24.37 per share. PZ Cussons Nigeria dropped by 51 kobo to N28. Dangote Flour Mills lost 21 kobo to close at N4.18.

Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (Nahco) dropped by 17 kobo to N7.70 while First Bank of Nigeria and UAC of Nigeria lost 16 kobo each to close at N10 and N29.10 respectively.

NewGold, an exchange traded fund, led the gainers with a gain of N32 to close at N2,689. Nigerian Breweries followed with a gain of 63 kobo to close at N96.03. Flour Mills of Nigeria added 55 kobo to close at N60.55 while Cadbury Nigeria rose by 35 kobo to close at N9.50 per share.

Total turnover stood at 252.19 million shares worth N1.39 billion in 3,123 deals.

United Bank for Africa was the most active stock with a turnover of 100.51 million shares worth N172.9 million in 170 deals. First City Monument Bank placed second with a turnover of 34.35 million shares valued at N137.40 million in 36 deals while Zenith Bank ranked third with a turnover of 23.27 million shares valued at N284.99 million in 297 deals.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 13-2-12

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14 2012

55

MONEY LINK

B

ROAD Money Supply hit a three-month high at N13.3 tril lion last December, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said yesterday. Money Supply also known as M2 is the total amount of money available in an economy at a particular point in time.

Money supply was N12.1 trillion in October and N12.2 trillion in November before the current status based on data obtained from the CBN’s website. Economists use M2 to quantify the amount of money in circulation as well as explain different economic monetary conditions.

Money supply measures the different degrees of money in the financial services sector which can serve as legal tender.

The CBN said M2 growth was sluggish up to May, but accelerated thereafter to 5.66, 9.50 and 15.40 per cent in June, September, and December 2011, respectively. When annualised, it grew by 11.32, 12.67, and 15.40 per cent in June, September and December, respectively, which hovered around the indicative growth benchmark of 13.75 per cent for 2011. The M2 growth of 15.4 per cent in 2011 was higher than the 6.9 per cent growth in 2010.

Meanwhile, the headline inflation rate stood at 10.3 per cent in December 2011, by far the lowest since December 2008 and lower than the average of 12.75 per cent during the period 2001 to 2011. Food inflation, at 11.0 per cent in December 2011, was lower than its level in the preceding three years. Similarly, the year-onyear core inflation declined in 2011.

At 10.8 per cent in December 2011, core inflation was marginally lower than the 10.9 per cent in December 2010 and 11.2 per cent in December 2009. The CBN noted that both food and core inflation have remained high exerting immense pressure on the headline inflation rate.

Foreign exchange inflow and outflow through the CBN were $4.52 billion and $4.18 billion, respectively,

Money supply hits N13.3 tr, says CBN Stories by Collins Nweze

and resulted in a net inflow of $0.34 billion.

The CBN said inflation rates in most of the advanced economies trended upward in 2011 with the exception of Japan. The Euro-zone debt crisis worsened; leading to credit rat-

trading partners, and the absence of adequate commitment of most advanced economies to effectively address the fiscal imbalances and to reform their financial systems, there would be continued pressure on Nigeria’s external sector in 2012. The anticipated slack in external demand

ings downgrades, change of governments, and implementation of austerity measures, even as a few nations appeared to have entered into a recession.

The apex bank insist that in the light of the expected deceleration in the economies of the country’s major

Union Bank retains ‘Best Agric Finance’ award

U

NION Bank of Nigeria has re tained its position as the Best Performing Bank in Nigeria under the Central Bank of Nigeria managed Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF). This is the fifth time in a series; the bank is winning the award since the inception of the entrepreneurship awards in2006.

The bank according to a statement, was adjudged the best farmer friendly bank, by the CBN jury that assessed all the deposit money banks in the country on three criteria, namely; outreach or the number of loans granted in 2011; lending experience especially the value of loans granted in 2011, and compli-

outreach to rural areas nationwide, Union bank ,had over the years, been supporting all categories of farmers thereby aiding the apex bank in fast tracking the development of the agricultural sector of Nigerian economy.

It would be recalled that prior to the inception of micro- finance conference and entrepreneurship award, in 2006, the Central bank of Nigeria used to

ance with the regulator’s directive on establishment of agricultural finance department.

The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, presented the trophy the Executive Director, Commercial Banking, South, of Union Bank, Mr. Adekunle Adeosun at the sixth Annual Micro Finance Conference and Entrepreneurship Awards held in Abuja.

The award is an eloquent testament of Union Bank’s efforts at developing the agricultural sector and bolstering National Food Security. Armed with the best agric finance desk, manned by well trained agric officers and the best

M

ONEYGRAM International will in the next few months, commence Cash to Account transfer in Nigeria and other African countries where it operates.

MoneyGram Executive in Africa, Kemi Ogunsanya disclosed this at the weekend during the unveiling of the UBA/ MoneyGram Win Win promo in Lagos .

The promo saw the bank giving out three return tickets to Europe and America, 10 Blackberry phones, five laptops, three deep freezers and three generator sets to winners after a draw.

Ogunsanya said Cash to Account plan will authorise banks to make direct deposit of the sent funds into the beneficiary’s account. She said the company keeps coming up with new products to ensure that its customers get convenience, and that the body is also working on mechanisms that will give its

LIRS boss challenges states on IGR

T

HE Managing Director, Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, Tunde Fowler has called on state governments to place priority on internally generated revenue (IGR).

He said that to rely on foreign grants, loans and federal allocation to run their business would be counterproductive.

Speaking when the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) Ikeja and District Society paid him a courtesy visit, Fowler said: “Without appropriate tax payment and the input of tax professionals like you, no federal or state government would be able to achieve much in this country. Payment of taxes is not an emotional matter; it is

our duty as citizens and an act of law of both the state and the federal government.”

He promised to continue to support and cooperate with the Institute, to enable it achieve its objectives. The new Chairman of CITN the Ikeja and District Society, Samuel Agbeluyi said the Institute now has a functioning secretariat to enable it carry out its functions effectively. “We are therefore set to lend our professional knowledge to the laudable work of Lagos Internal Revenue Service’s (LIRS), Federal Internal Revenue Service (FIRS) and other tax bodies within Lagos State Agbeluyi added.

Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year 5-Year

35m 35m 35m

11.039 12.23 13.19

19-05-2014 18-05-2016 19-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

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

O/PRICE

GOLDINSURE AGLEVENT TRANSCORP CADBURY BAGCO SKYEBANK FLOURMILL NB OANDO

0.60 1.39 0.50 9.15 1.52 3.17 60.00 95.40 17.49

Current Before

C/PRICE

CHANGE

0.63 1.45 0.52 9.50 1.57 3.20 60.55 96.03 17.50

0.03 0.06 0.02 0.35 0.05 0.03 0.55 0.63 0.01

SYMBOL

O/PRICE

25.65 1.81 2.85 4.39 0.85 0.85 1.41 3.09 2.47 4.42

C/PRICE

CHANGE

24.37 1.72 2.71 4.18 0.81 0.81 1.36 3.00 2.40 4.30

1.28 0.09 0.14 0.21 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.09 0.07 0.12

Date

450m

452.7m

450m

150.8

08-8-11

250m 400m

313.5m 443m

250m 400m

150.8 150.7

03-8-11 01-8-11

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

(S/N) Bureau de Change 152.0000

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

154.0000

156.0000

-1.96

NSE CAP Index

27-10-11 N6.5236tr 20,607.37

28-10-11 N6.617tr 20,903.16

% Change -1.44% -1.44%

NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N)

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

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 1.00 121.80 98.43 0.76 1.04 0.88 1,642.73 8.24 1.39 1.87 7,313.43 193.00

9.08 1.00 121.66 97.65 0.73 1.04 0.87 1,635.25 7.84 1.33 1.80 7,125.73 191.08

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 • STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE

LOSER AS AT 13-2-12

JBERGER BAGCO DIAMONDBNK UAC-PROP CHEVRON OKOMUOIL GLAXOSMITH UBN CHAMPION BERGER

Rate (N)

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

NGN USD

Parallel Market SYMBOL

Exchange

Sold ($)

CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Year Start Offer

(S/N)

GAINERS AS AT 13-2-12

Amount

EXHANGE RATE 26-08-11 Currency

INTERBANK RATES

Amount

Offered ($) Demanded ($)

MANAGED FUNDS

OBB Rate Call Rate

customers opportunity to withdraw from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) funds sent to them through the platform.

Divisional Head, Electronic Banking at UBA, Luqman Balogun said the promo was a way of attracting customers to the bank adding that the partnership with MoneyGram has lasted for 15 years.

He said the promo took place across the UBA branches in Africa.

He said that in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cash-less banking initiative, the bank has developed domiciliary savings account for its funds transfer customers.

He said the bank does not charge its money transfer customers fees for receiving money in the accounts among other benefits.

DATA BANK

Tenor

Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

organise the ACGSF award at the state levels. Farmers who received facilities from the bank under the ACGSF won the state farmer of the year in 21 out of 31 states including Abuja in 1997; 25 out of 31 states and Abuja in 1998; 27 out of 31 states and Abuja in 2000 out of which one of them won the National Farmer of the year. Union bank remains the best agric financing bank in Nigeria

MoneyGram, UBA plan Cash to Account Transfer

FGN BONDS

NIDF NESF

would, in the view of the apex bank, have to be offset by generating the needed domestic demand.

The CBN said such would require a shift in the economic development strategy that allows greater diversification of the economy without losing sight of the need to pursue sound demand management policies.

• 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 14 2012

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

57

NEWS Anglican primate for Anambra

Fuel scarcity hits Bayelsa From Isaac Ombe, Yenagoa

From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

FUEL SCARCITY has hit Bayelsa State. Students, civil servants are stranded in Yenagoa and other riverine communities.

It was learnt that a-10 litre keg of fuel now costs N4,000.

All filling stations, including the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNNPC) Mega Stations in and around Yenagoa, were shut yesterday.

Black markets now thrive on the major roads in the state capital.

The Head, Downstream, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in the state, Dr. Duncan Eradiri, said the scarcity was as a result of the strike by the Tanker Drivers Association.

T

HE Primate, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, his wife, Nkasiobi and over 200 bishops are expected for a five-day meeting in Awka, Anambra State today.

Information officer of the Awka Diocese Uzor Felix said the Commissioner of Police and all security operatives have reassured the delegates of their security.

Over 5,000 delegates and guests are expected in Awka during the deliberations.

It is expected that the church would make its stand known on the security threats in the North.

Surveyors hail Akwa Ibom

Senator advises MEND

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

T

HE Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers has described Akwa Ibom State as the fastest growing state in terms of infrastructure development in Africa.

Its National President, Bode Adediji, said the state was growing rapidly in terms of land development, aviation, industry and rural infrastructure.

Adediji made the remark at the weekend in Uyo, the state capital, during the 18th J. W. Ekpenyong Memorial Lecture, investiture of a Patron and induction of 21 fellows into the body.

He hailed Governor Godswill Akpabio for his vision in taking the state to the next level.

The president explained that the executive body of the institution took the development of the state into consideration before it decided to confer the patron award on the governor.

Community loses in court From Osagie Otabor, Benin

T

HE Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City yesterday dismissed the appeal by the Ubeji community in Warri South Local Government of Delta State.

The community appealed a High Court judgment, which ruled that Richmond Leigh should take possession of seven acres of land.

Justice George Shoremi, who delivered the judgment on behalf of Justice Rapheal Agbo, said the applicants waited till 2008 to react to the High Court judgment delivered in 2006.

He said the applicants were dilatory in the judgment given against them and that evidence showed that they were aware of the judgment when it was delivered.

Justice Shoremi awarded N20,000 to the applicant.

The community‘s counsel, Bernard Aragba, said they would take the matter to the Supreme Court after studying the appeal.

Richmond’s counsel Eyitemi Fregene said the lower court has asked his client to take possession of the land in May 2006 but the applicant delayed the appealing against the judgment.

From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

•Dickson displaying his certificate at the INEC office...yesterday

Dickson, Jonah get certificates of return T HE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has presented certificates of return to Bayelsa State Governor-elect Seriake Dickson and Deputy Governor-elect John Jonah.

The presentation took place at the INEC Conference room in Yenagoa yesterday.

It was presided over by Dr. Ismael Igbani, the Commissioner in charge of Bayelsa, Edo and Delta states.

Dickson assured Bayelsans that his team would not let them down.

He said the victory was a new partnership for the state and expressed his desire to work with any party that would support the programmes and policies of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration.

•PDP greets governor-elect From Isaac Ombe, Yenagoa Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

“The victory of the PDP is a new partnership for the state, our doors are open.

We will work with any party that is in support of our policies and programmes.

“I call on all aggrieved parties to sheathe their swords and work together for the progress of the state,” he said.

PDP state Chairman James Dugo called on party members and the opposition to forget the past and come together to build a better Bayelsa.

The event was attended by some PDP chieftains including George Turner, Feynman Wilson, Inuro Wills.

PDP National Chairman Abubakar Kawu Baraje yesterday congratulated Dickson and Jonah.

In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, the Chairman said: “This overwhelming mandate to our party by the people of Bayelsa did not come as a surprise.

“It is a reaffirmation of our position that Bayelsa State is home of the PDP. “We are particularly

gratified that the people of Bayelsa came out and voted for the man of their choice in a free, fair and credible election.

“We are also confident that with this victory, the irreversible march towards the ‘Restoration of Glory’ to Bayelsa State has commenced in full.

“We congratulate the people of Bayelsa for once more making the PDP their choice.

“We promise not to let them down. We similarly enjoin all those who contested the election to join hands with Dickson and ensure the success of his restoration programmes.”

The party also congratulated INEC, security agencies, election monitors and all those who contributed to the peaceful conduct of the election.

Akwa Ibom NDLEA arrests 261 •Seizes 1,108.3kg drugs T HE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Akwa Ibom State yesterday gave the statistics of the arrest it made last year.

The agency’s commander, Mrs. Josephine Obi, said the command arrested 261 suspected drug peddlers, seized 1,108.3kilogrammes of various drugs, such as cannabis sativa, cocaine, heroin and 136 litres of combination of alcohol and cannabis sativa during the year under review.

She debunked reports that

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

an Uyo business woman died in NDLEA cell.

The commander said although the woman was arrested by the officers, she slumped during a search in her house.

Mrs. Obi said the suspect didn’t get to the NDLEA office before she died.

Her words: “It is true our officers arrested her. She was arrested at a popular cannabis joint where she and her

children sell cannabis. They have been selling it there for a long time.

“When a search was conducted, the first exhibit was found in her shop.

“So my officers took her to the house with handcuffs for further search.

“The officers recovered exhibit in the fridge, ceiling and other places.

“The woman just slumped, even the officers thought she was pretending.

“ She was taken to a hospital on Nwaniba road.

“By the time they got there she was pronounced dead on arrival.

“Even her husband came to our office and give a statement that the wife had been hypertensive.

“It was the shock of the discovery of the exhibits that overwhelmed her.

“She was arrested but didn’t even get to our office before she died.”

The commander added that autopsy is to be conducted on the suspect.

Ojukwu’s widow flays Ohanaeze

T

HE widow of the late Biafran leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, Bianca, yesterday flayed the apex Igbo sociocultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

She said the group has not visited the family of the late Igbo leader since his demise.

Mrs. Ojukwu spoke when the Conference of Democratic Scholars (CODES) and

From Chris Oji, Enugu

members of Ohanaeze Ndigbo visited her in Enugu to inform her that an International Colloquim on the Ahiara Declaration in memory of Dim Chukwemeka Ojukwu would take place at Ahiara Mbaise, Imo State on February 17.

She said it was also unfor-

tunate that Ohanaeze also failed to visit her husband while he was in a London hospital despite the fact that he was a member.

On the Ahiara Declaration Document, she said it does not need to be upgraded or refreshed, insisting that it had continued to remain as fresh as it was in 1967.

According to her, the document was for determi-

nation of hope not just for the Biafra but also for the black man anywhere in the world.

The document, she added, would be useful for any government that wanted to succeed and impact positively on the lives of the people.

Mrs. Ojukwu described the proposed colloquium as a laudable development.

THE Vice Chairman of Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, yesterday urged the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) to embrace dialogue.

Dialogue, according to the senator representing Kogi Central, remains the best option for conflict resolution.

Proposing a “multi stakeholder involvement/ engagement” in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Michael Jegede, in Abuja, Abatemi-Usman noted that the issue must be addressed in the interest of the country.

“All stakeholders from the government, militants, oil&gas companies/multinationals and ultimately the people must collectively come together to resolve this issue.

“All parties must be carried along and engaged objectively so that a lasting solution can be reached,” Abatemi-Usman stated.

NDDC rice for markets June NIGER Delta Development Commission (NDDC) branded rice will hit the markets by June.

The Commission’s Managing Director, Christian Oboh, announced this when the Director-General and officials of BRACED Commission visited him.

The BRACED Commission is made up of the six Southsouth states: Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta states.

According to the NDDC Managing Director, “we have a target to ensure that NDDC branded rice is in the market by June, we have a consultant who is working on the rice plant, to ensure that it is running.”

Oboh said the commission was committed to addressing the problem of food insecurity in the Niger Delta and has made provisions in the 2011 budget for the establishment of processing plants across the region.

“By the time we do this, we will be providing both cheap food and employment for our people,” the MD said.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

58

NEWS Anambra spends N8b on roads

ECOWAS worried over Boko Haram From Chris Oji, Enugu

From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

THE Anambra State Government has spent over N8billion on roads in Nnewi South Local Government.

Governor Peter Obi said this at the flag-off of the 25 kilometres Akwaihedi –OsumenyiAmichi-Azigbo-Ichida road to Unnubi road.

“This road has cost N2.5 billion if you add the Unnubi road, which is about three kilometres.

“I am not from Azigbo, neither is my wife but I want Azigbo to be opened up.

“The Unnubi road will be included, bringing to N2.5 billion the funds we are spending on this 25 kilometres of road.

“My administration has spent over N8billion on Nnewi South roads.

This is one of the longest roads a government is building in Nigeria.

“We do not owe the contractor and therefore he has no reason to delay the job.

We are not popular because we are not sharing money but we must continue to do the proper thing.’’

Ex-The Nation man Oladepo dies at 55 From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

A FORMER employee of The Nation, Mr. Olawale Oladepo is dead. He was 55.

Oladepo, who hailed from Kwara State, died on February 11, in Abuja. He is survived by a wife and five children.

He was a former senior manager, special project at the The Nation Abuja office before he resigned last year.

His funeral will hold at the Erin-Ile Baptist Church, Erin-Ile, Kwara State from February 23 to 24.

T

•From left: Representative of the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Teje Njannu; representative of the Enugu State Government, John Egbo, and Vice-Chairman, ECOWAS Parliament, Amadon Djibo, at the ECOWAS Parliament Workshop …yesterday

Observers fault Bayelsa A governorship polls GROUP of observers, under the umbrella of the Project Swift Count (PSC), which monitored the Bayelsa State governorship election at the weekend, have identified several anomalies during the election.

Addressing reporters in Abuja yesterday, a member of the group’s National Steering Committee, Benjamin James, on behalf of the first co-chair, Dafe Akpedeye (SAN), said the 573 observers deployed in the state discovered that the election was not perfect.

According to him, 63 reports were received from the observers, which could undermine the integrity of the poll.

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

James listed these hindrances as suspension of voting, in some places, no voting in some areas, ballot box snatching and stuffing, vote-buying and bribery, simultaneous accreditation and voting.

But he declared that the imperfections were not enough to undermine the process.

The spokesman said the result announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could stand.

He said: “Based on observers’ reports from a final representative random sample of 275 polling units in the eight local govern-

ments, PSC finds that although it does not substantially undermine confidence that the announced winning candidate in fact received the most votes, the suspiciously high rates of voter turnout reported across the local governments do create concern about the credibility of the electoral process.

“Anecdotal reports from observers from Swift Count and other CSOs suggest that the actual rate of voter turnout was substantially lower than these reported figures.”

On accreditation and access to polling units, he said: “There were some serious concerns related to the opening and accredita-

tion process.

“PSC observers reported that eight per cent of the polling units never opened on the election day.

“These polling units were located primarily in Ekeremor and Sagbama local governments.

“Observers reported that in 9.5 per cent of polling units, voters/polling officials were harassed or intimidated during accreditation.

“Although voting went on smoothly in some polling units, there were some problems of harassment and intimidation of voters or polling officials in some local governments, namely Southern Ijaw, Yenagoa, Sagbama and Ekeremor.”

HE Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Parliament has decried the incessant killings of innocent citizens and bombing of public institutions in the North by members of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

It said the ugly development has given nations within the sub region serious concern.

Speaking yesterday in Enugu during the opening of a five-day workshop on ECOWAS budgetary procedures for its members in the committee on administration , finance and budget control, the parliament noted that what ever affects Nigeria as a country affects other countries in the sub region.

The parliament, which spoke through its fourth Deputy Speaker and member representing Ghana, Michael Teye Ngammu, called on the Federal Government to tackle the menace which, he said, remains a serious problem and threat to the nation.

Ogunwale returns to PDP From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

T

HE former senator representing Osun Central, Chief Felix Ogunwale, has defected from the Accord Party (AP) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Ogunwale, who defected to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) ahead of the Appeal Court judgement that declared Rauf Aregbesola winner of the 2007 governorship poll, was received by the PDP at a rally organised at its secretariat in Osogbo, the state capital.

He contested against former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola for central senatorial seat in the 2011 election on the platform of the AP. The duo lost the seat. Prof Sola Adeyeye of the ACN won the election.

Alleged bribery: ICPC probing APGA, says Akunyili

T

HE Anambra Central Senatorial candidate for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Prof Dora Akunyili, yesterday said the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is investigating allegations of bribery levelled against the party during the rerun last year.

The Returning Officer, Emeka Anene, had alleged that APGA officials offered

From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

him bribe to announce their candidate as winner in the rerun last year.

Mrs. Akunyili said the commission would publish its findings soon.

“The matter had been reported to the ICPC and I’m calling on the commission to make public its findings so that the guilty parties would face the full wrath of the law.

“Thank God, ICPC is in-

vestigating the Anene saga and the public will soon know the true facts and those behind the lies will be punished.

“We pray it doesn’t go the way of many investigations in the past. We’re in an era of transformation and we expect it to be made public,” she said.

The APGA candidate insisted there was over-voting in 1,500 polling booths and that only one booth was found to have an error

in favour of APGA. ‘Why didn’t they highlight the numerous other polling booths where there was change of figures in favour of ACN?’ she queried.

Prof Akunyili was reacting to a publication that portrayed her as confused at the Election Petitions Tribunal in Awka where she is challenging the declaration of her opponent, Chris Ngige, of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) as winner of the election.

ACN reaffirms Cross River governorship candidate

T

HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has reaffirmed Usani Usani as its duly nominated governorship candidate for Cross River.

In a statement in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party said

Usani was nominated at its primary held in Calabar, which was witnessed by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, the police and other security agencies.

It said the misinformation on the emergence of two governorship candi-

dates was engineered by the former chairman of the party in the state, Cletus Obun.

“We are aware that Obun went to INEC to submit the nomination form for Mike Ogar who, even though obtained the ACN forms, did not show up at the venue of

the primary in Calabar.

“Unfortunately for Obum, the form he took to INEC proved to be a worthless paper as none of the two authorised signatories, the National Chairman and the National Secretary, signed the form,’’ ACN said.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

59

NEWS

Fed Govt to generate 370,000 jobs, says Jonathan

P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday reiterated his administration’s determination to tackle youth unemployment.

He also said projects initiated to address the situation will generate 370, 000 jobs before the end of the year.

He spoke at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa during the launch of the Public Works and Women Youth Employment (PW/WYE)) project, which is a component of the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE).

The Chairman of the SUREP Board, Ambassador Chirstopher Kolade hinged the success of the programme on the cooperation of governors and local government chairmen.

Inaugurating SURE Board,

•President launches Public Works and Women Youth Empowerment projects From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

Jonathan promised that in this season of doubts over government’s inability to deliver, those selected are tested hands that will take on the challenges to ensure that all projects identified are properly done as well as ensure monies assigned will be quickly deployed.

At this time that youths are easily engaged for negative deeds, this SURE Programme, he said, will engage them positively.

The massive number of youths who leave higher institutions yearly are taken care of.

Jonathan said his adminis-

tration recognized the youths as a strategic partner in national development and was prepared to address the problem of youth unemployment.

Specifically, the President said the PW/WYE is designed to create immediate employment for women and youths in labour intensive public works.

The project, which is expected to generate 50,000 skilled jobs and 320,000 unskilled job opportunities is to be implemented in partnership with the states, the local governments and the private sector.

The President underscored the importance of the project to his government, particularly in addressing unemploy-

ment, youth restiveness and violent crimes which he attributed to idleness.

Jonathan said: “This administration view the prevailing high rate of unemployment among our youths with great concern especially with the rising youth militancy, violent crimes and other social vices inimical to the political and economic stability of the nation.

Vice President Namadi Sambo called for the support of every Nigerian towards the successful implementation of the project.

He said that inclusive growth and job creation were among the four pillars of the transformation agenda of the Federal Government and they

would work towards achieving them.

Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Ameachi said: “If we are able to employ youths, engage women we will reduce crime and governors are on board to deliver on this programme.

According to Kolade : “We need to know the critical nature of this programme to deliver to Nigerians the dividends of democracy.

He said: “This can only succeed with full cooperation of governors and local government chairmen.

Governors, ministers, members of the National Assembly, unemployed youths and some members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) attended the ceremony.

Abdulmuttallab seeks lesser sentence A LAWYER for the Nigerian man who pleaded guilty to trying to blow up a U.S. jumbo passenger jet on Christmas Day in 2009 urged a federal judge yesterday not to sentence him to spend the rest of his life in prison because it was cruel and unusual punishment.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 25, pleaded guilty in a federal court in October last year of trying to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear as part of a plot orchestrated by al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

He is due to be sentenced on Thursday in Detroit and faces up to life in prison for the bombing attempt aboard a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit that had 289 people on board.

His lawyer Anthony Chambers argued that the mandatory life sentence required under U.S. law for some of the crimes he admitted to committing was unconstitutional, particularly because no one was seriously hurt during the bombing attempt.

“Given the circumstances and what did NOT occur in the instant matter it is fair to say that the mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment is excessive and grossly disproportionate to the conduct,” Chambers said in a court filing, emphasising the word “not.”

Boko Haram men disposess policeman of his gun •Dr. Jonathan (middle), Sambo (third right), Minister of Labour, Chukwemeka Wogu (left), his Works counterpart , Mr. Mike Onolememen, Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Hajara Musa Wodu one of the beneficiaries at the launch of the scheme...yesterday PHOTO AKIN OLADOKUN

‘Only true federalism can save Nigeria’

Don, Mamora pay tributes to Murtala Muhammed

Continued from page 2

By Leke Salaudeen

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HIRTY six years after he was assassinated, the late General Murtala Muhammed’s regime is still regarded as the best Nigeria ever had.

Gen. Muhammed was Head of State between July 1975 and February 1976. He was killed on February 13, 1976 in a failed coup led by Lt Col Buka Sukar Dimka.

Paying tributes to the late Head of State, the Dean of School of Communication, Lagos State University (LASU), Prof. Lai Osho, said since the death of Muhammed, Nigeria has never had a dynamic and purposeful leader.

Osho said the late Muhammed was honest, transparent and led by example.

“His transparency and commitment towards making Nigeria a great country earned him the support of the people.

“Muhammed was not a flambouyant leader. He led by example. He was a great leader who within a very short time in office was able to win the confidence of the people. He had a dream for Nigeria which he pursued meticulously before he was gruesomely murdered.”

According to him successive leaders lacked charis-

•The late Gen. Muhammed

ma, vision and programme that could elevate the country. This, he said, was responsible for the unpopularity of the leaders this country has produced over the years.

Senator Olorunimbe Mamora said: “I have not seen any leader that emulate the style of Muhammed’s leadership which is transparent, decisive, courageous and honest. Muhammed was in a class of his own. He was a leader who detested ostentatious living”.

What Muhammed achieved in six months, no Nigerian leader be it military or civilian matched it, he added Mamora called on the current leadership to come up with dynamic programme that endeared Murtala’s regime to the people of this country.

The nation is no longer at ease. There is commotion, conflict and crisis everywhere.

It is an enactment of national suicide and self-immolation on a scale hitherto unknown in African history.

“But it does appear as if our colonial masters knew what they were doing from the word go. There is no doubt that as it is currently constituted, Nigeria is a great nuisance and historic embarrassment to the classical notion of the nationstate.

“It is a human abattoir on an industrial scale; a killing filed of Hobbesian proportions.

The state is not for the nation and the nation lives in fear and trepidation of an alien and alienating state. “ Here is a country so generously favoured in terms of nation space, so prodigiously endowed in terms of human and natural resources that it ought to have become one of the wonders of the modern world. Instead, Nigeria has become a living hell for its dazed and disoriented denizens,” he said.

Prof Williams said to reverse the nation’s current misfortune, there is urgent need to adopt regional growth as a strategy for national integration.

He argued that the unitary approach to governance in the country is a veritable recipe for national disintegration because it encourages politics

without principles, wealth without work and turn by turn predation.

“It promotes bastard capitalism which would have been an affront to the old burghers of Europe. This is because its ethics of ‘come and eat’ rather than come and work is deeply offensive and revolting to the Calvinist principles which drove early capitalism.

“If regional growth which is indeed shorthand for genuine federalism is not available, it is bound to be a more perilous and fraught route to national redemption for Nigeria.

“Regional growth serves as a powerful integrative base for national cohesion and a strategic antidote to overcentralisation of power and authority,” he said.

He said the fact that there only a single vibrant opposition party in the country today is a reflection of the setback of genuine democracy in the country.

Profession Williams said this development has now placed heavy responsibility on governors and legislators who are members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to work with likeminded partners across the country for the progressive demilitarisation of governance in the country.

He said although the regional integration being canvassed can no longer be re enacted as it was when there was regional autonomy, because of the current structure

of the country and the overbearing influence of the federal government, the current approach must be strategic.

“This is what places a great burden on all our legislatives particularly at the national level. They must become more dynamic and proactive in seeking like-minded groups, caucuses and organisations in the Senate and the Federal House of Representatives to buy into the vision of a restructured Nigeria.

“As salesmen of a reinvented and re-engineered Nigeria, they must be implacable in legislative offensive until the federal authorities see the need for a wholesale and democratic review of the moribund Constitution or a gathering of the Nigerian sovereign multitude.

He urged the leadership of the ACN to brace for the challenges ahead. He called for an internal restructuring of the party to enable it withstand whatever challenges that lie ahead.

“As Nigeria faces an involuntary endgame, there will be severe pressure on the party (ACN) and a push and pull in contradictory directions. The leadership must remain focused and steadfast in the face of adversity.

“The stakes are very high.

Never in the history of Nigeria has the public destiny of a people converge so perfectly on the private destiny of a party. If the ACN were to stumble and falter, the consequences will be very dire,” he said.

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

A GROUP of youths suspected to be Boko Haram members yesterday stormed the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission (ICPC) office in Kano and disarmed the police guard on duty of his AK 47 rifle.

The policeman was injured in the process.

Police spokesman Magaji; confirmed the incident.

Oba Akran celebrates THE paramount ruler of Badagry in Lagos, His Majesty, De Wheno Aholu Menu-Toyi 1 will celebrate his 35 years on the throne in April.

According to a statement by the Chairman of Publicity for the coronation, Comrade Kola Folorunsho, the ceremonies will take place between April 19 and 22.

The Chairman of the coronation anniversary is Mr. Togonu Bickersteth.

The activities lined up for the celebration include convocation ceremony for the installation and conferment of chieftaincy titles on eminent sons and daughters of Badagry Kingdom; coronation anniversary lecture to be delivered by Prof. Babatunde Babawale, the Director-General of the Centre for Black African Art and Culture; Jumat Service; Carnival procession to certain historical places in Badagry and award presentation, among others.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

FOREIGN NEWS

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Tunisia cracks Islamist ‘terrorist’ unit

UNISIA has broken up a “terrorist organisation” with links to al Qaeda and arrested 12 members, some of whom had received military training in Libya and were seeking to set up an Islamic state, Interior Minister Ali Larayed said on Monday.

Larayed, a senior member of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party that now leads Tunisia’s government, said that a further nine members of the group were on the run inside Libya.

“Those accused in this case had previously mostly been in prison (in Tunisia) on terrorism charges and a number of them received training in Libya during the Libyan revolution,” he told reporters.

“We have confiscated several weapons including 25 Kalashnikov rifles and 2,500 bullets ... They were intending to establish an Islamist state.”

“The investigation showed that they have relationships with groups close to al Qaeda in Libya and perhaps with members of al Qaeda in Algeria,” he said.

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US, North Korea to hold nuclear talks in Beijing

NITED States and North Korean officials will meet on 23 February to discuss Pyongyang’s controversial nuclear programme, the US state department says.

It says the US envoy for North Korea, Glyn Davies, will hold talks with North Korean First Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan in China’s capital, Beijing.

The talks are aimed at restarting aid-fordisarmament negotiations.

They will be the first such talks since the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in December.

The talks in Beijing were announced by state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland at a news conference in Washington.

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THE TRUSTEES ARE:1. Apostle Daniel S. Otong 2.

Eme Uwemedimo Etukakpan 3.

Evangelist Ifiok Akaninyene Ekanem 4.

Mrs Comfort Utip Ekaiko 5.

Mr. Idongesit David Eshiet 6.

Evangelist Grace Jude Etta

-President -Vice president -Secretary -Member -Member -Treasurer

Aims and Objectives:- To preach the gospel to all mankind and promote Christian fellowship throughout the world - To provide sound moral, economic and financial empowerment to members and Society - To bring the gospel to the rural and urban dwellers - To promote printing and publication of scriptural and education materials Any objections to the registration should be forwarded to the Register, General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: Evang. Ifiok Akaninyene Ekanem Secretary

PUBLIC NOTICE NIGERIAN FOR HELPING HANDS FOUNDATION (NIHHAF) This is to inform the general public that the above named association has applied to the corporate affairs commission for registration under part ‘C’ of the companies and Allied matters Act 1990.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES ARE i.

Ignatius Obioma Anoruo Chairman ii.

Ugwueje Ebere Austin Vice Chairman iii.

Dr. Mike Okoro 2nd Vice Chairman iv.

Barr. Emeka Okoro Secretary v.

Freedom Emerenwa Assistant Secretary vi.

Ukandu Abel Treasurer vii.

Nnoromle Chidi Public Relations Officer viii.

Emmanuel Samuel Financial Secretary ix.

Grace Daniel Welfare AIMS/OBJECTIVES i.

To reach the world with the good news (Gospel) of our Lord Jesus Christ. ii.

To promote the living standard of the down trodden. iii.

To engage in social work, community development and child welfare.

SIGNED: IGNATIUS OBIOMA ANORUO CHAIRMAN)

United States Ambassador to Nigeria Mr Terence McCulley (right), with members of the American Chamber of Commerce after their meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja...yesterday.

Top Maldives diplomats quit in protest

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HE Maldives' High Commissioner to London and the country's ambassador to the United Nations have resigned in protest at the coup which last week ousted the country's first democratically-elected president Mohamed Nasheed.

Ousted Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed detained by riot police in a shop amid protests in the capital Farah Faisal, a former academic who was appointed High Commissioner in 2009, said she could not serve a regime which had "overthrown a democratic government."

Miss Faisal was a political appointment by President

GREAT DOMINION FOUNDATION

THE TRUSTEE ARE : 1.

Pastor George Essien Oku 2.

Evang. (Mrs) Ama George 3.

Mrs. Paulina Umo Tete 4.

Miss Eme Okon THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.

To provide shelter for the less priviledge 2.

To provide scholarship to orphans 3.

Feeding the poor both in urban and rural areas.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar – General,Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) Plot 420 Tigirs Crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi street, Maitiama, Abuja within 28 days of this Publication.

SIGN EVANG. MRS. AMA GEORGE Secretary – General

their own president. Their statement revealed a rift between Britain and its Commonwealth allies on one hand and the United States and India on the other. Last night the UN backed the new president's call for a national unity government, while earlier the United States rejected Mr Nasheed's call for elections within two months.

Miss Faisal said she will continue to work in Europe to lobby governments to challenge the new government. "I can't serve the regime which overthrew a democratic regime. The robbed the people of the vote and when I saw the brutality of the police last week, that was the final straw," she said.

She said she had been

disappointed at the weak reaction to the coup of some countries but said she was "heartened" by the statement in parliament of Foreign Secretary William Hague last week in which he voiced concern over attacks on members of the Maldivian Democratic Party and suggested the new government had yet "to establish its legitimacy with its own people." She also said the statement by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, in which they voiced their "solidarity with the people of the Maldives to select their own government" had lifted morale.

"People are realising this is a coup and not just a simple transition of power," she said.

French Socialist candidate Hollande reassures UK

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RANÇOIS Hollande, the French Socialist candidate in presidential election held out an olive branch to Britain yesterday, saying it should feel "part of Europe".

Mr Hollande, pictured with his partner Valerie Trierweiller, wanted to convey a 'universal message' But the man most likely to be France's next President warned David Cameron that any attempt to create a "sanctuary" from regulation for the City of London was "not acceptable".

Mr Hollande will visit London on 29 February to speak to the Labour leader, Ed Milliband, and perhaps the

Prime Minister.

In a meeting with British and American journalists, he said: "We need a Great Britain that will take its place in Europe."

The polls place Mr Hollande way ahead of Nicolas Sarkozy, the incumbent conservative, who is expected to officially launch his re-election bid this week.

Mr Hollande sent ripples of alarm in the City last month by laying into "big finance", calling London's financial centre his "greatest adversary" in his first major campaign rally.

Yesterday, he warned that Britain could not expect to escape more financial regulation, despite Mr

Cameron's decision not to sign the recent European fiscal pact.

"David Cameron's attempt to create a sanctuary from regulation for the City of London is not acceptable," he said.

This issue sparked an angry spat between Mr Cameron and President Sarkozy, along with other EU governments at the Brussels summit in December.

But Mr Hollande's overriding message was that Britain and the City of London need not overly fear a Socialist French presidency. His ideas for financial market regulation were not "overboard," he insisted. These and his ideas on fostering growth were similar

to those outlined by President Barack Obama in his state of the union address in January.

If elected President on 6 May, Mr Hollande pledged to try to improve cross-Channel ties strained in recent weeks over differences in handling the euro debt crisis and more recently Mr Cameron's dismissal of French attempts to create a "Robin Hood" tax on financial transactions.

He said he was "free" to meet Mr Cameron, adding: "I can understand that a head of government might not want to meet a presidential candidate when he has a relationship with the President (of France)."

Obama’s budget plan to tax the rich

PUBLIC NOTICE The General public is hereby informed that the above named organization (N.G.O) has applied for registration under the companies and allied matter act 1990, part C.

Nasheed shortly after he defeated Abdul Gayoom, the autocratic leader who had ruled the country for 30 years and she will continue to serve as his Maldivian Democratic Party's European representative.

She said the resignation of Abdul Gafoor, the Maldives' ambassador to the UN, would be more of a blow to the new regime because he is one of the country's top career diplomats.

Their resignations emerged following the release of a statement from the Commonwealth Ministers' Action Group calling for an inquiry into the circumstances of Mohamed Nasheed's resignation as president last week and for the democratic rights of Maldivians to elect

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NITED States President Barack Obama has proposed to raise taxes on the wealthy in his 2013 budget, prompting an election year spending showdown with Republicans.

The proposal includes $1.5 trillion (£950bn) in new taxes, much from allowing Bush-era tax cuts to expire.

He will also call for a Buffett Plan tax hike on millionaires, as well as infrastructure projects.

Republicans said the budget, which must be agreed between the White House and Congress, would not curb the deficit.

Mr Obama unveiled details of the $3.8 trillion plan in an

address to students at a college in Virginia on Monday morning.

The BBC's Steve Kingstone said the budget seeks to offer a clear contrast between Mr Obama's vision and that of Republicans.

At its core is the idea that the wealthiest Americans should pay more in tax and that, in the short-term, a chunk of that extra revenue should be spent on job creation, manufacturing and upgrading the nation's schools.

I think there is pretty broad agreement that the time for austerity is not today" Republican leaders, who portray Mr Obama as a tax-andspend liberal stoking class warfare, have pronounced the

budget dead on arrival.

But in his budget message, Mr Obama said: "This is not about class warfare. This is about the nation's welfare."

"This is about making fair choices that benefit not just the people who have done fantastically well over the last few decades but that also benefit the middle class, those fighting to get into the middle class, and the economy as a whole," he added.

He also said: "In the United States of America, a teacher, a nurse, or a construction worker who earns $50,000 a year should not pay taxes at a higher rate than somebody making $50 million. That is wrong."

His plan to allow George W

Bush-era tax cuts to expire would affect families making $250,000 or more per year.

The president would also put in place a rule named after billionaire Warren Buffett to tax households making more than $1m annually at a rate of at least 30%.

In a populist touch, over the next decade, the plan would levy a new $61bn tax on financial institutions, in an effort to recover the costs of the financial bailout. And it would raise a further $41bn by cutting tax breaks for oil, gas and coal companies. But Republicans are unhappy that the blueprint would entail a fourth year in a row of trillion-dollar-plus deficits.

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

61

NEWS

Director shot attempting to forcefully enter Kaduna Govt House

A

DIRECTOR with the Kaduna State Ministry of Information was yesterday shot by security operatives attached to the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House seat of the government, thereby causing confusion in and around Kaduna metropolis and sending speculations that the Boko Haram sect had attacked the place.

The victim, identified as Isuwa Kiforo, who is said to be the Director of Finance in the ministry, was said to have been shot by the security operatives when he attempted to force his way into the Government House, which serves as the residence and office of the governor.

Sources told The Nation that the director had come to the place, requesting to see the governor and was told by the security men that he had travelled to Abuja.

He was said to have reversed his car, giving the impression that he wanted to

Why govt official was hit, by police From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

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ADUNA State Commissioner of Police, Ballah Magaji Nasarawa, has confirmed the shooting of a senior government official, Isuwa Kiforo, by security men attached to the Government House, Kaduna while trying to force his way into the place.

In a statement to reporters at 6pm yesterday, the police chief said nothing incriminating was found in the vehicle he drove to the Government House, adding that investigations have started.

The statement reads: “Today (February 13) at about 1328 hours, a combined team of security personnel attached to the Government House main gate, Kaduna, intercepted a Toyota Corolla saloon car with Kaduna State official registration numberKaduna KD-06-A 04.

“The driver drove dangerously in a suspicious manner towards the Government From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

House gate. The security personnel stopped the occupant, but instead of stopping, he forced himself through the exit gate and found his way into the Government House.

“The security agencies thereafter opened fire and shot the suspect in the leg and the lower abdominal part of his body.

“The suspect was later identified as Pastor Isuwa Kiforo (M) of 7, Abba Rimi Road, Narayi, Kaduna, who is the Director, Finance and Administration, Ministry of Information, Kaduna State.

“He was rushed to the 44 Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna, for treatment, after he was given first aid by a team of medical personnel attached to the Government House.

“The vehicle was thoroughly searched in my presence by our anti-bomb disposal experts and nothing incriminating was recovered. In essence, neither weapons nor explosives were found in it. Investigation into the case has commenced.”

open fire.

The source said he was forced to stop after the car’s rear tyres were deflated by the bullets. When he came

out of the car he was hit in the stomach and leg.

The shooting of Kiforo, believed to be a pastor at the Living Faith Church in

Six feared dead as robbers attack cattle dealers

SUN State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has explained why election cannot be held into the 33 local government areas.

The party said the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC), the body statutorily empowered to organise such polls, cannot be constituted because a suit, challenging of the former commission is pending in the Court of Appeal.

In a statement by its spokesman, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, the party advised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to study the Constitution for a better understanding of its provisions on the conduct of

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IX cattle dealers were yesterday killed following gunshot wounds sustained in an ambush by suspected robbers between Ogun and the Oyo stretch of the Igboora-Sokoto road, Igboora in Ogun State.

The victims, form Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, were going to Ilorin, Kwara State, in three vehicles to buy cattle when they ran into the bandits, who ambushed them at a failed portion of the road.

It was learnt the bandits who struck at 8am, was stole N10 million from the victims’ bags.

A victim, Mr Wasiu Elewure, 39, was said to have been shot

leave, only to attempt to force his way into the Government House, making the security operatives to

Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

in the head and died on the spot.

He has since been buried according to Islamic rite. Five others, who were rushed to an undisclosed hospital, died shortly after.

The late Elewure was said to have left his home in Sabo area of Abeokuta for the business trip with N2 million.

Spokesman for the Association of Nigeria Butchers, Ogun State branch, Ambali Adetona, who confirmed the robbery, decried the incessant attacks on members.

He said the association has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the government to provide security on the Igboora-Sokoto

•IGP Mohammed Abubakar

road.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Olumuyiwa Adejobi, could not be reached to confirm the incident.

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Robbery scare: Banks shut, businesses closed in Ado-Ekiti

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HE Ekiti State Police Command yesterday took steps to forestall the influx of robbers from neighbouring states.

They deployed armed personnel to patrol the streets in three Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and eight

vans.

The siren-blowing convoy moved around Ado-Ekiti, the state capital at regulated speed.

Many residents said yesterday’s patrol was different from the usual routine by the police in the

state.

Banks, corporate offices and other businesses around Fajuyi, Okeyinmi and FajuyiAdebayo road hurriedly closed their gates to “await directives from the police on when to reopen.”

Local markets including

the popular Erekesan market opposite the Post Office, were affected by the ‘unusual’ police patrol.

Some banks on Ado-Ikere road, which opened to customers, asked their customers to leave, closing the gates against them.

Kaduna, caused pandemonium in the metropolis as news immediately spread that unknown gunmen believed to be members of the Boko Haram had attacked the Government House.

All roads leading to the Government House were immediately cordoned off by heavily armed security men.

Our source, who is a senior government official, said the security men shot Kiforo when he refused to obey their order to stop, saying he is a director in the Ministry of Information.

“When the security men stopped him, he refused and they opened fire on him.

They don’t know who he is and what his mission was.

You should realise that even members of staff of the Government House go through this same security checks everyday.

“Even commissioners are

not left out. You reporters, you know that anytime you come to the Government House, you pass through this same security check. No one can say why he refused to stop and so, they shot him in the leg and he was taken to the 44 Army Reference Hospital for treatment when he was identified as a worker of the state government.”

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Reuben Buhari, confirmed the incident, saying, “my brother, we are in Abuja right now. But we heard what happened and I’m on my way to Kaduna. So I will get the details of what happened.

“What we heard was that the man tried to force his way into the Government House, refusing to stop when he was asked to stop. When we get the full briefing from the security people, I will get back to you.”

Osun ACN explains why council poll can’t hold now Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

council elections.

Reacting to a call by the caretaker chairman of the PDP in the state, Adejare Bello, to conduct election into the councils, the ACN said the Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration is law-abiding and would not undermine law.

The statement reads: “Our party is committed to upholding the laws of the land and respect for the Judiciary.

“So, the issue of local government election in the state is subject to the law and any infraction on any aspect of the law governing that election will render the exercise null and void.

“The law stipulates clearly that only the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) has the authority to conduct local government election but at the moment there is no SIEC in place in Osun State to conduct the election.

“To the extent that the case is still pending in court, it will be subjudice and in contempt of the Court of Appeal for the Aregbesola-led government to constitute a new State Independent Electoral Commission.

“The submission of the caretaker chairman of the PDP in the state that the ACN should disregard the court and proceed with the preparation for local government election in March is an irresponsible call to lawlessness in Osun State. If that is the tradition in the PDP, we are sorry to say that lawlessness is not in the character of the ACN. “We will not be pressured into doing anything unlawful, or that smacks off arrogant misuse of political power even if there was a questionable precedent at the seat of power in Abuja.

“We will be guided by the law always, not by examples of lawlessness in high places, as Bello suggested,” the statement.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

62

NEWS

14 dead in Kogi crash

Why Jonathan wants basic education revived, by Wike

From Mohammed Bashir, Lokoja

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M

INISTER of State for Education Ezenwo Wike has said President Goodluck Jonathan is committed to reviving basic education because it can help address social ills.

He spoke at the weekend in Abuja after receiving the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Abuja Council’s 2011 Special Recognition Award for Excellence in the Revival of Basic Education.

“Our efforts at the development of the education sector are borne out of the President’s commitment to resolving social challenges like insecurity and unemployment, using education as a critical tool. Education will continue to receive priority attention from the Federal Government,” he said.

Wike said the media should ensure that government offi-

•From left: Edi, Nwakaudu and Onayiga at the event...at the weekend

cials and contractors deliver on their target.

He said: “I consider this award from very enlightened journalists practising in the Federal Capital Territory as special because it serves as an encouragement to put in more efforts to deliver on the goal of President Jonathan, which is to deliver world standard education to less

privileged Nigerians.”

Wike, who was represented by his Special Assistant (Media), Simeon Nwakaudu, said Nigerians should expect more projects in the 104 Unity Colleges.

National President of NUJ, Mallam Mohammed Garba represented by Zone H Vice President, Gbenga Onayiga said the award recipient was

carefully selected after a thorough screening process. He urged the minister to continue to develop basic education .

Out-going Chairman of the Abuja council, Mr Jacob Edi, said the special recognition award was the council’s way of encouraging hardwork for national development.

Supreme Court judgment exposed Jega, says ACN HE Kogi State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has said the recent Supreme Court judgment on the tenure elongation of the five sacked governors has exposed the insincerity of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega.

The state chairman of the party, Alhaji Haddy Ametuo, said the action taken by Prof. Jega, on the judgment of the apex court, has proved that he is a biased umpire.

Ametuo noted that Jega has made a mistake by directing that Captain Idris Wada be sworn in.

He said the judgment of the Supreme Court on the tenure of the five governors

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was very clear, wondering why the INEC boss and some political leaders in the country were bent on causing confusion in Kogi State.

He said since leaders are elected by the people under democracy, the ruling party cannot continue to impose its wishes on the nation, in-

sisting that the interpretation of the judgment lies with the judiciary, especially the apex court that delivered it.

The ACN chairman called on the Senate President David Mark to concentrate on issues that would bring about good governance,

rather than interfering with a matter that doesn’t concern him.

Ametuo noted that Kogi is not part of Benue State, saying as a minority, Mark has a lot to do in ensuring that the constitution is reviewed to give everybody a sense of belonging.

145 workers sacked for providing false data

T

HE Kwara State Government has sacked 145 civil servants for allegedly providing false ages to avoid retirement, Head of Service (HOS), Alhaji Dabarako Mohammed, has said.

Mohammed, who spoke with reporters yesterday in Ilorin in company of the Commissioner for Information and Communication,

OURTEEN people have died in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, in a road accident.

The accident occurred at Crusher, Felele, along the Lokoja-Abuja Highway.

The Kogi State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Michael Olapade, who confirmed the accident, said it was caused by excessive speeding.

An eyewitness told our reporter that the accident involved a Toyota Hiace bus registered as XD 579 GHA and a Mercedes Benz truck registered as XP 338 BEN. The source said most of the victims were travelling for the funeral of their relation.

It was learnt that the Toyota Hiace bus was going to Abuja and the driver recklessly overtook another vehicle and collided with the truck carrying tomatoes.

The driver of the bus, who reportedly survived the accident, later bolted.

The FRSC commander said one female adult and 13 male adults died, adding that the corpses have been deposited at the Specialist Hospital and Federal Medical Centre.

Olapade advised motorists to obey traffic rules and urged passengers to always prevail on them to observe speed limit.

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

Prince Tunji Morohunfoye, said the state government has introduced performance contracting for civil servants in the state.

He said 23 others have been affected by the biometric investigation of workers carried out by his office.

According to him, the era of promotion based on

number of years in service and god-fatherism has gone with the introduction of performance contracting.

The HOS said 100 among the 145 who were alleged to have provided false data to avoid retirement were from the Ministry of Health, while the remaining 45 were from the Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development.

ACN National Vice-Chair denies defection

T

HE National ViceChairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria in the South south, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has denied speculations that he and his supporters are planning to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

There are speculations that Ize-Iyamu and his supporters are planning to move to the PDP if Governor Adams Oshiomhole picks the incumbent, Dr. Pius Odubu, as his running mate.

Ize-Iyamu, who broke his silence on the planned defection yesterday, said there was no basis for him to leave the ACN after helping to instal a dynamic administration under Governor Oshiomhole.

Ize-Iyamu, a former Secretary to the State Government under the ex-Governor Lucky Igbinedion administration, said the ACN was formed to create an alternative platform and not to allow what he termed the ‘PDP monster’ to remain in power.

According to him, “it will be ridiculous for me to think of leaving the ACN. There

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

is no truth in the speculation.

We never contemplated doing this. We remain strong members of the ACN. The disagreement within the party will not make people to leave it.”

“In politics, disagreement is allowed. We have the right to disagree within ACN, but it cannot lead to disintegration of the party.

The reason we formed the ACN has been achieved through the purposeful government we have put in place,” he said Ize-Iyamu debunked rumours that he was interested in becoming the next deputy governor, saying whoever Oshiomhole picked would be supported by the party members.

He said he was contented with his position, adding that he would ‘decline politely’ even if Oshiomhole asked him to be his running mate.

The party chieftain said his concern is for Oshiomhole to make known his running mate after the primaries so that they begin electioneering campaign.

63

THE NATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

SPORT EXTRA AHEAD OF 2013 AFRICAN U-17 CHAMPIONSHIP

50 players to kick-start Golden Eaglets screening D

ETERMINED to produce a virile national Under-17 team that would make Nigerians proud, Head coach, Garba Manu has said he would deploy scientific style in screening of players earmarked for the exercise.

Over one hundred budding youngsters have already been pencilled down by the coaching crew to form the new set of Golden Eaglets expected to win a ticket to the 2013 African U-17 Championship to be held in Morocco and 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

Speaking ahead of the screening exercise that would commence soon, Manu revealed that the drilling of the team would not be a one-off assignment in order to separate the wheat from the chaff.

“I have already submitted our programmes to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and this is being given the necessary attention,” Manu said even as he revealed that he would adopt the theory of elimination by substitution!

“I have already submitted a list of 50 players that would make the first batch because I have already seen most of them in action.

“Other players would start coming in as we are dropping (those that are not good enough).

There is a list of more than 100 other players from my assistants as well as from stakeholders,” added Manu who was part of the crew that led Nigeria to win the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2007.

Manu had repeatedly said that he would be guided by equity and fairplay in selecting the

NFF CRISIS

Keshi’s contract is illegal, says Akpoborie

E

X- SUPER Eagles forward, Jonathan Akpoborie has declared that the contractual agreement binding the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to current gaffer of the senior national team of Nigeria, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi is illegal.

Answering questions yesterday on Sports Splash, a sports programme on Lagos Television, Akpoborie lamented the present state of sports in the country, especially football, blaming it on incompetence on the part of the administrators.

Hinging his stance on the recent court injunction that declared the supposed football governing body in the country illegal, the member of the 1985 World Cup -winning Golden Eaglets said since the NFF is Keshi’s present employer, any agreement binding both parties is automatically invalid.

“I will say that in the present Nigeria it is going to be very very difficult to solve the problem of football. We have to use the government to get out of this predicament. You can see the mess with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). There is an order from the court that the body is illegal. That means that any business you do with such body is illegal.

“It invariably means that having Stephen Keshi working with the national team as coach is illegal according to the court order. No let’s face it. If the court is saying that a body is illegal, it simply means that any thing you do with the NFF is illegal, then Keshi’s contract also is illegal because he signed it with the NFF, so where are we really,” he asked.

On what should be done to salvage the situation, Akpoborie, who played last for VFB Stuggart of Germany said until the system is overhauled, failure will be inevitable.

“On my way here I was listening to the radio comments referring to the Zambians. Every body said they’ve done very well. But we have to look at the person in charge of proceedings, Kalusha Bwualya. He has proved to be a wonderful administrator and today, they are champions. This is what we have

By Innocent Amomoh been saying in this country.

“Even when I was playing till now we are not doing what is expected of us we will not go any where. I believe in my own opinion that the same way Siasia came and left as coach of the national team, the same way Keshi will leave, because that system that brought them in is flawed, and as long as it remains flawed, we cannot move forward,” he said.

•Garba Manu right players that would form the batch of the next Golden Eaglets in order to emulate the successes recorded by their illustrious predecessors.

Nduka Ugbade, who incidentally would be assisting Manu, led Nigeria to win the maiden FIFA Under-16 World Cup at China’85. The Golden Eaglets mounted the podium again when Wilson Oruma hoisted the trophy at Japan’93 and it was the turn of Lukman Haruna to lift the trophy for Nigeria at the 2007 edition held in South Korea. The Golden Eaglets nearly won the trophy for a record fourth time when Nigeria hosted the tournament in 2009 but were resisted by a stubborn Switzerland who ran away with a 1-0 win in the final match.

Manu is not oblivious of the fact that Nigeria failed to qualify for the last tournament held and won by Mexico in 2011, and has therefore promised to change the fortune of the team in a positive way.

INTERNATIONALFRIENDLY

Glocharges Eaglesovervictory

T

HE Super Eagles have been advised to tackle every friendly match with all seriousness as the rebuilding process of the national team continues under Coach Stephen Keshi.

Telecommunication giant, Globacom in a press statement in Lagos on Tuesday stated that Super Eagles require constant friendly matches to enable the technical crew of the team to assess the array of talented Nigerian players towards forming a formidable national team.

The company therefore urged the Super Eagles to give their best and ensure that they emerge victorious in the encounter against Liberia in

Monrovia on Wednesday.

“It is important to go for victory in this encounter to help the team gain confidence ahead of crucial Nations Cup and the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers,” Glo added.

Globacom also commended the rebuilding process so far undertaken by the technical crew with the aim of not only getting them in shape but also assembling the best eleven capable of making Nigeria proud.

The company then assured the team that Globacom as a major partner and official sponsor of the national teams will continue to sponsor and encourage the national teams in their quest to win laurels for Nigeria in world football.

Gombe Utd fans apprehensive after Enyimba defeat HE week six 3 – 1 away

T

defeat to Enyimba over the weekend has sent jitters to the spine of football fans in Gombe State that their darling team, Gombe United may finish the present soccer season poorly if the outstanding players’ signon fees are not paid.

“The back to back defeat to Enyimba and Dolphin are signs that we may be disappointed again this season and it is because of the unpaid sign-on fees issue,” says a football pundit who anonymity.

Gombe United players are owed 203% of their sign-on fees representing a backlog of 3% outstanding from 2008/2009

From: Vincent Ekhoragbon, Gombe and 100% from both 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 soccer seasons.

The glimpse of hope that players saw when Governor Dankwambo fulfilled the promise to split and pay the debt over an eight-month period has since dimmed as it seems to have stopped after the first months.

“The boys always do well at the start because they approach the season with zeal of being assured that all will be well only to start dwindling in form and then end up struggling due to failed promise,” the analyst continued.

www.thenationonlineng.net

WHO SAID WHAT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL. 7

NO.2,035

‘The victory of the PDP is a new partnership for the state, our doors are open. We will work with any party that is in support of our policies and programmes. I call on all aggrieved parties to sheathe their swords and work together for the progress of the state.’

SERIAKE DICKSON

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

F

OR much of his long and distinguished career as an economist and public intellectual, they called him a “maverick.” I suspect they did so not in approbation of his singular independence of mind and spirit, his refusal to compromise principles he held dear, but rather as a rebuke.

Among those who would rather paper over the cracks with a contrived “consensus,” there is little tolerance for the individual who is not a “team player.” That person is more likely to be regarded as an oddball.

And that was indeed how not a few Nigerians regarded Professor Samuel Adepoju Aluko. If that characterisation bothered him, he never showed it. Until he died last week, aged 82, he remained his iconoclastic self, unwedded to dogma, questioning conventional thinking, and asserting at every opportunity his autonomy.

While studying in England on a scholarship from Government of Western Nigeria, he wrote newspaper articles and essays criticising its economic programmes in ways officials back home considered unfriendly.

They lifted his scholarship and asked him to return home to join the civil service.

During the 1957 Constitutional Conference in London that cleared the path to Nigeria’s independence, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, premier of Western Nigeria and leader of the Action Group’s delegation, invited Aluko to tea. Awolowo had read Aluko’s articles and had been impressed, and wanted to know how far along Aluko was in his studies.

Aluko in his reminiscences said he told Awolowo how his scholarship had been lifted, and how he had been requested to return to Nigeria. Back in Nigeria, Awolowo moved the Scholarships Board to restore Aluko’a award to enable him complete his doctoral studies at the London School of Economics.

Thus was the seed sown of what became perhaps the longest and most fruitful collaboration in Nigerian politics between gown and town, between an academic and a political figure who was also an intellectual in his own right.

On his return to Nigeria, Aluko became a key member of Awolowo’s Brains Trust, the coterie of lecturers at the University of Ibadan and later the University of Ife, whose expertise meshed with Awolowo’s political genius to produce the blueprint that catapulted Western Nigeria to the take-off stage of economic development before the region was smothered on the altar of mainstreaming Chief Simeon Adebo, head of the civil service of Western Nigeria at the time, recalls in his absorbing memoir “Our Unforgettable Years” how, as part of its striving for rapid economic growth, the government wanted to appoint an Economic Adviser.

Aluko, then teaching at the University of Ibadan, had been interviewed for the posi-

OLATUNJI DARE

AT HOME ABROAD olatunji.dare@thenationonlineng.net

Aluko: A ‘maverick’ departs

•The late Aluko

tion, and had agreed to accept it — but only if the salary was reduced. In vain did Adebo and the panel seek to persuade Aluko that the salary was attached to the position and that, statutorily, it could not be reduced.

Aluko was adamant. Cut the pay, or find another person for the job.

Adebo had also sought to recruit two of Alukos contemporaries at the University of Ibadan for the position. One of them, Dr Hezekiah Oluwasanmi, who went on to become the great vice chancellor of the University of Ife, declined to be considered. The other, Dr Ojetunji Aboyade, turned up for an interview all right but made it clear that he had done so out of propriety. He was not interested in the job.

That was another era, when academics regarded the academy as their true home.

To return to Aluko: he was not grandstanding when he insisted that he would take the job only if the salary was cut. He was a modest man with modest tastes. He cared little for material wealth.

He would make this point most tellingly in 1971 when the Nigerian Association of University Teachers, the precursor of today’s ASUU, embarked on a strike for pay and conditions that would not leave them at a disad-

vantage compared with what the Udoji Commission had recommended for the civil service and what the armed forces had secretly awarded themselves.

Aluko dissociated himself from the strike, saying that university lecturers were well paid as things stood.

His colleagues denounced him and demanded his expulsion from NAUT. Aluko stood firm. This steadfastness, this autonomy, was what earned him the accolade of maverick. He did not wear it as a badge, but that was his defining attribute.

Aluko was a staunch political ally and confidant of Chief Awolowo to boot, but not a robotic follower, the kind whose credo is “my leader right or wrong.” It was, therefore, entirely in character that he would publicly criticise what he considered the lavish expenditure on the burial of Chief Awolowo’s mother, Madam Efunyela.

Most of the victuals had been donated by friends, as Chief Awolowo explained. But Aluko had made his point and made it in a way that Awolowo’s sternest critics could hardly have improved on.

Through newspaper articles, public lectures and other kinds of interventions, Aluko contributed regularly to the national policy dialogue in the finest tradition of the public intellectual, seeking not to appear clever for the moment, but to illuminate, advise, admonish, and point up alternatives.

The withering critique of the Report of the Coker Commission of Inquiry he co-authored with Dr Oluwole Odumosu, which led to a conviction on sedition that was later overturned, stands as a monument to his habit of speaking truth to power without counting the cost. So does the political persecution at the hands of the beleaguered Akintola administration in Western Nigeria that led him to migrate from Ibadan to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Aluko was an activist long before that term became fashionable. – an activist for social justice and human freedom. He was a cofounder of the Nigerian Council on Civil Lib-

HARDBALL

N

O one doubts the forthrightness and commitment of Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to his work and the economic development of Nigeria, but no one can fail to find his irrepressibility remarkable, if a little exaggerated. He performed yeoman service in the cause of the controversial fuel subsidy removal policy, even when he was not needed, and when it is obvious that the office he now occupies is traditionally better served by a CBN governor not visibly involving himself in general issues and controversies. If he was not conscripted into being an advocate of the hated subsidy issue, it must be curious that he thought it courageous to be one of its leading champions. According to reports, the CBN boss, perhaps the most visible Nigeria has ever had, has in addition to his other highly public activities donated N100 million to Kano State for victims of terror attacks.

This donation comes at a time when the din he raised on his categorisation of the violent sect as a victim of socio-economic crises was yet to die down. If his opinion on Boko Haram, which he acknowledged was made well before the Kano attacks, was

erties, which exposed and challenged the assaults on constitutional freedoms that Akintola launched in the West, with tacit support from Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa’s government in Lagos.

Even after retiring from the University of Ife, Aluko continued his tradition of activism.

He was at once incisive and unrelenting in his criticism of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), the foundation of military president Ibrahim Babangida’s agenda of economic reform, which the regime soon consecrated into dogma.

They said there was no alternative to it, which meant in effect that you could not criticise it.

Those who dared to criticise it were denounced as “extremists” and “spoilers” by the official state media and hounded by agents of “national security.”

Aluko was unmoved.

How can anyone claim, he quipped in that unpretentious but cutting manner that was his trademark — how can anyone claim that there is no alternative to an economic policy when economics itself is fundamentally about choice – choice among competing alternatives? Even death has an alternative, he reminded the authorities. And he showed up to lend support at any forum canvassing an alternative to SAP. His was the calm but firm voice of reason.

His pronouncements were weighty but always measured. He saw clearly through the elaborate chicanery of the government’s claim that it was subsidising gasoline and to the very end called it by its proper name: a tax.

And his judgment commanded respect – until he went to serve as chair of the National Economic Intelligence Committee in the regime of the loathsome Sani Abacha. His decision to accept that position was all the more puzzling, since he had declined to serve under the Interim National Government that the delusional Ernest Shonekan kept up a pretence of running until it was sent packing by Abacha.

In light of what was known at the time of Abacha’s unbridled thieving and plunder, and about the horrid human rights abuses of his regime, it has to be deemed a misjudgment that Aluko lent his expertise and moral authority to the enterprise until Abacha died.

Aluko would compound that misjudgment later when he declared that Abacha ran the Nigerian economy far more adroitly than those who came before him and after. The evidence available does not support that claim.

But overall, Aluko’s long and distinguished career as educator, public servant and public intellectual was untainted by scandal. He lived the precepts he preached: prudence, modesty, honesty, and courage.

His death depletes the thinning ranks of Nigerians in public life about whom the same can be said.

•For comments, send SMS to 08057634061

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above

Nigeria’s highly idiosyncratic CBN governor not a Freudian slip, then he perhaps thought it was outspokenness to wade into the uprising by suggesting that the terror merchants of the Northeast were driven by a sense of economic unfairness. And so, whether it was his role in the subsidy controversy, N100m donation, or his political economy sermons, it is difficult not to think he overstepped his bounds, and that he has a general disposition to stay permanently overexcited.

It will be recalled that in a late January article by the Financial Times of London (FT), which Sanusi said a Nigerian newspaper mischievously presented, considering that he spoke with the paper before the Kano attacks, the CBN boss was quoted as saying that the federal effort to redress the problems of the Niger Delta inadvertently gave rise to the conditions encouraging Boko Haram to wage war against the society. The FT recalled that in 1999, Nigeria’s revenue sharing formula gave 13 per cent derivation to the oil producing states to shore up their state finances and promote accelerated development. This was after a long campaign, both peaceful and vio-

lent, to give resource control to the oil states.

Sanusi did not begrudge the improvement of the economic circumstances of the neglected Niger Delta states, which he said had suffered historic wrong.

But as he put it: “When you look at the figures and look at the size of the population in the North, we can see that there is a structural imbalance of enormous proportions. Those states simply do not have enough money to meet basic needs, while some states have too much money.” This statement has become a heresy to many Nigerians. As if this view was not incredible and revealing enough, Sanusi added: “The imbalance is so stark because the state (that is, Nigeria) still depends on oil for more than 80 per cent of its revenues.” In other words most states in Nigeria depend on oil instead of other economic activities to generate revenue for development.

It is controversial enough that anyone made that sort of argument, especially one that seemed to suggest that money should be thrown at terror to mitigate it and dis-

courage purveyors of violence. But if anyone should offer that kind of view, it ought never to be a CBN governor, let alone one who had been savagely accused of sectional bias before his appointment as the apex bank boss and even after he began his banking reform policies. Now, he has added the donation matter to his controversial image.

Sanusi is not the first person to tie the uprising in the North to economic deprivation, and he will probably not be the last. In the unlikely event that Boko Haram intensifies its attacks, more people will be converted to that narrow view in spite of the apparent contradictions in arguing that redressing historic wrong in Niger Delta had encouraged terrorism in the North, and not minding what redressing the ‘wrong’ in the North would instigate in other parts of the country. It must be hoped that the arguments over how best to respond to Boko Haram would soon lead to a sound national policy on economic fairness and opportunities. In the short run, however, Sanusi should expect to take plenty of flak over his views and actions, which many consider biased.

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