July 03, 2015

Newspaper of the Year

•New police commissioners for Lagos, Ogun, Rivers •Bodies of siblings among six pulled from Lagos water •Buhari appoints Daura as DSS Director-General •Why list of ministers is being delayed, by APC chief •Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

P58 P56 P56 P6

Boko Haram kills 148 in Borno village Page 59

•www.thenationonlineng.net

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

VOL. 10, NO. 3264 FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

N150.00

First class air tickets cost more as FIRS raises new taxes FACTS AND FIGURES

From Onyedi Ojiabor, Abuja

L •Mr. Odugbesan...yesterday

UXURY class fliers are paying more for their comfort on flights, it was learnt yesterday.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), desperate to fatten Nigeria’s lean purse, has introduced new taxes.

Among them is a N15,000 levy on first class and busi-

N697.7b N50b

•Petroleum Profit Tax

•Lowest oil industry collection in 15 years

ness class travellers.

Besides, private jet owners are to pay taxes for enjoying the luxury.

N778b N1.4tr

•Non-oil Income Tax •Annual target

The battle to open other tax avenues is coming amid the bad fortune of oil and gas —the economy’s live

N376b N15b

•Value Added Tax •Expected Income from Customs

wire.

FIRS Acting Chairman Sunday Samuel Odugbesan, who led other officials of the

Service, spoke when they visited Senate President Bukola Saraki in Abuja.

Besides the downward slide of oil price, according to the FIRS boss, there are insecurity, the uncertainty caused by the general elections and the late passage of the 2015 budget.

Odugbesan told the SenContinued on page 4

•INSIDE: OVER N500B, ONE MILLION JOBS AT RISK, SAY DRUG MANUFACTURERS P11

Buhari to Saraki, Dogara: I’m for party supremacy APC’s NEC meets today From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

P

RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari will tell Senate President Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara today that they should respect party supremacy in the choice of principal officers of the National Assembly, it was learnt last night.

Buhari will attend today’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of his party – the All Progressives Congress (APC) - the first since it won the presidential election and the breakout of the crisis over the National Assembly’s principal officers’ elections.

Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu gave an insight into what the President will tell his party members today in a statement last night.

He said Buhari was “thoroughly disappointed” about what happened at the Senate where Senate President Saraki not only defied his party, but a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member, Ike Ekweremadu, was elected Deputy Senate President.

Shehu, who was clearing the air on Wednesday night’s meeting the President had with House of Representatives member Femi Gbajabiamila and 30 others, said: ”It was a mistake, possibly our own, to have assumed that Speaker (Yakubu) Dogara was expected at the meeting with the President yesterday (Wednesday).

“He was not invited because he had had his own meeting with the President earlier on.

“The President having heard from the Speaker needed to hear out Gbajabiamila and the 174 APC loyalist-members behind him.

“When he met the repreWILL THE sentatives of the APC CHIBOK GIRLS

?

EVER RETURN?

Continued on page 4

•A GONY OF A MO THER: Mrs Uche and her children...yesterday.

•AGONY MOTHER:

PHOTO: OMOSSEHIN MOSES

Man disappears over wife’s third set of twins

By Miriam Ekene-Okoro, Staff Reporter

W

‘

Since I gave birth, I have tried calling my husband but he would not pick once he knows that it is me

HERE is Citizen Emeka Benjamin Uche, a Lagos factory worker?

That was the big question yesterday as his wife, Ruth, 34, from learnt that his expectant wife was Abia State broke the news of his carrying a set of twins – the family’s third. disappearance since February.

Mrs Uche was at the Lagos Uche, 39, fled home when he

’

State Secretariat, Alausa yesterday with her six children, pleading for help.

Not many knew what she

wanted as she stood under a tree, close to the Press Centre, carrying the babies. Her first two sets of twins, much older, stood close to their mother, and did not in any way seem intimidated by the sea of cameras and faces focusing on them.

Mrs. Uche was receptive when Continued on page 4

•POLITICS P9 •BRAND P12 •AGRIC P16 •SOCIETY P43 •MONEYLINK P54 •FOREIGN P60

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

2

NEWS

What Obama’ll United States Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield and African Commission (AFRICOM) chief General David Rodriguez, during an appearance on Live at State, a Department of State webcast, spoke on President Muhammadu Buhari’s planned Washington trip, Ebola, Boko Haram and other foreign affairs-related matters. Excerpts:

T

•Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal (right); Mission Director, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Mr. Michael Harvey (left) and Kebbi State Governor’s wife, Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu at the T-SHIP End of Project Dissemination meeting in Sokoto...yesterday.

•Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode presenting a state plaque to the Corps Marshal/ Chief Executive, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi when Boboye visited the governor at the Lagos House, Ikeja...yesterday.

•From left: Senior Manager, Data Services, Airtel Nigeria,Uduak Ekpo-Ufot; Airtel Smart Icon,Chibuzo Azubuike (a.k.a.

Phyno); Vice President, Data &Digital Services, Airtel Nigeria, Nitin Anand and Public Relations Manager, Felix Ofulue at the the launch of Airtel Unliminet Data in Lagos.

•Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science & Technology, Mrs Winifred Oyo- Ita inaugurating the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) in Abuja...Wednesday. She is flanked by NOTAP’s acting DirectorGeneral, Dr Dan'azumi Ibrahim (left) and outgoing Director-General, Mr Umar Bindir.

HE U.S. President has extended an invitation to Nigeria’s President Buhari. What should Nigerians expect from this visit?

What Nigerians should expect is that this will reaffirm the strong relationship that we have with the government and the people of Nigeria.

We will be discussing with President Buhari moving forward how we can support his efforts to address his priorities for Nigeria. He’s indicated that his major priorities are dealing with the security situation, addressing the economy, and also addressing the issue of corruption and asset retrieval. So, we will have discussions with him on what we can do in those areas to support him. And I think for the Nigerian people, again, it highlights the importance of our relationship with Nigeria moving forward.

In the last administration, the U.S. refused to sell arms to Nigeria, citing human rights abuses allegedly committed by security forces as the reason. With a change of government, has that position changed?

That’s a policy decision led by our State Department in Nigeria, and right now we are continuing to engage with the new government to see how effective that is as it moves forward. And we are prepared to move at the pace and rate that the State Department leads this as we rebuild those relationships in Nigeria.

Let me just add to that. As you heard in my opening statement, President Buhari is going to be in Washington later this month for meetings with the administration, and we will have discussions with him moving forward on what we can do to continue to assist the Nigerians in their efforts to fight against Boko Haram. And part of that discussion will be how we can provide the equipment and support that the Nigerians require. Human rights are an important value for the U.S., and in any place where we are providing lethal weapons, we want to know that the military that we are providing those to do not use that in a way that violates the human rights of ordinary civilians. So, we will have that discussion moving forward, and it is our hope that as we discuss these issues with the Nigerian government, we will also have a discussion with them on how to better prepare their military to support communities and build confidence in communities and not be part of the – not be victimised in the efforts of the military to fight against Boko Haram.

In recent times, what has been the support of the U.S. to the Nigerian military in general?

We have supported the Nigerian military building capacity in some of their units. So, we have a great relationship, for example, with the special boat squadron and the navy. We are also participating in a combined fusion centre where we share intelligence with the senior leadership of the Nigerian military and their intelligence services and the police force.

And we continue to be prepared to grow that relationship in the future.

U.S. intelligence teams were recently in Nigeria to help track the Chibok girls. Over a year after their

arrival, the story has not yet changed.

What went wrong?

The U.S. has continued to share intelligence with the Nigerian leadership with those Shabaab girls as well as other people who have been taken

by Boko Haram, and we continue to do that. As far as the effort, I think it – while it didn’t yield getting back all the girls, there have been many of the people that were held by Boko Haram that have been freed over time, and we continue to pursue efforts to get the Chibok girls back.

Let me just add that this has been an extremely high priority for the U.S. government to assist in bringing these girls home, but also in bringing the hundreds of other girls and young boys who were forcefully taken by Boko Haram. We have seen that about 700-plus have recently returned, and we are supporting efforts of the government and NGOs (NonGovernmental Organisations) to provide support to those young girls who have – who have fortunately been freed. We will not let up on our efforts. We will continue to work with the government. We commend President Buhari and his wife for visiting the families of the Chibok girls and letting them know that we have not forgotten about them.

The Multinational Joint Task Force was recently formed. What support will the U.S. provide to support the effort?

We have been working with the countries in the region to support the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF), and during my recent trip to the African Union (AU) summit in Johannesburg, South Africa we announced the contribution of $5 million towards the setup of the MJTF and we will continue to work with the governments in the region to support that. I think the general’s back, so I’ll turn it over to the general to talk more about some of the more specific support we’re providing.

We have a coordination cell in N’Djamena, Chad that is part of a French and British as well as the partner African nations – all four of them that are participating in the MJTF. In that coordination cell, we share intelligence with each of the respective countries. We also have people in their tactical headquarters at both Maroua, in Cameroon, in N’Djamena, in Chad, and then over in Diffa in Niger who are advising and assisting the countries involved the MJTF in their struggle against Boko Haram.

What does the U.S. do to help put an end to the jihadist problem in the Sahel and to Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin?

Peace and security on the continent of Africa is our highest priority. And we are working closely – and I’d like General Rodriguez also respond to this question. We have been working very closely with our partners in the Sahel, in Nigeria, the Lake Chad Basin countries, and that I would as well mention in the Horn of Africa dealing with al-Shabaab, to help build their capacity but also support their efforts and to contribute to their efforts to fight against extremism on the continent of Africa.

This has had a tremendous impact on the continent. Every single day I read in the paper that dozens of peo-

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

3

NEWS

l discuss with Buhari, by U.S. officials

‘

What Nigerians should expect is that this will reaffirm the strong relationship that we have with the government and the people of Nigeria.

We will be discussing with President Buhari moving forward how we can support his efforts to address his priorities for Nigeria.

•President Obama

•President Buhari

ple across the continent of Africa are being killed by extremists. So, we know that this is something that requires all of our efforts to address, and we’re working closely with our African partners to do that.

Well, as you know, we’ve got a long-term effort to both build the partner capacity of those nations involved in the fight against violent extremists.

We also, of course, continue to support our French partners who are working hard in Mali, Niger and Chad to help defeat the scourge of terrorism in that region. And we continue over – around the Boko Haram region, we have great long-term capacity-building successes in both Cameroon and Chad that have helped to take that fight to the enemy, as well as over in Niger.

With Nigerians, we continue to share intelligence, and that has continued to help them push back and open up some of the areas that had recently been held in the Boko Haram’s hands, and we continue to look forward to building those capacities even better so that they can take care of that situation by themselves.

What is the U.S. position with regard to African countries whose constitution does not limit presidential terms, allowing the outgoing president to effectively run endlessly?

Our position on transition and the importance of transition is very clear.

We do believe in a democracy, that it’s important that countries go through transitions, that they actually have votes that allow for a change in government. We are certainly very strong on governments not changing their constitutions to encourage the restrictions on term limits. But for those countries that have constitutions that do not require term limits, we are engaged with those countries with their heads of state to encourage that they allow there to be change.

People want change. We have seen polls that have been taken across Africa that indicate that broadly African citizens want there to be term limits.

•Mrs. Thomas-Greenfield •Gen. Rodriguez

They don’t want to have presidents for life. And we support those efforts.

How do you assess the military strength of al-Shabaab in light of its continued attacks inside and outside of Somalia? U.S., UN, and Somali officials say it has been weakened, but just last week al-Shabaab overran an AMISOM base and killed several Burundian soldiers.

Yes. Since al-Shabaab’s height of its strength several years ago, it has decreased in strength overall, but that does not mean it is anything less of a threat. As they lost more territory in Somalia that they controlled because of the great efforts of the AMISOM troops, they have taken to the asymmetric attacks back in the homeland, those nations – and the worst you can see recently being Kenya. But they have – they can also at any time focus their energy on an isolated place like they did against the Burundian contingent here recently. The AMISOM efforts continue apace and they continue to do a good job decreasing the overall effect or the overall strength of al-Shabaab, but that does not mean that al-Shabaab is not still dangerous, as you can see by the recent days’ attacks.

What is your reaction to the elections taking place in Burundi on Monday? Can the U.S. stop President Nkurunziza from running for a third term? How about DRC and Rwanda that have elections coming up too?

We have expressed our extreme disappointment with the decision of President Nkurunziza to go forward with the elections that took place on Monday and as well his plans to go forward with presidential elections in mid-July. We have also expressed our view that we do not believe, under the Arusha accord, or the constitution, that the president should be seeking a third term. President Nkurunziza has had 10 - what I would call relatively stable - years as president of Burundi. He has a legacy of having established this country in

a time of peace and that legacy should also include turning the government over and not running for a third term.

We think that has contributed to the violence that we see taking place and it is contributing to instability in the region. We all think that his decision, against tremendous pressure, to go forward and running for a third term sends a bad signal, a bad message across the continent and other countries where we have encouraged their heads of state and leaders not to seek third terms but to allow for transition, to allow the people’s voices to be heard.

So, we will continue to apply pressure. We are encouraging that there be dialogue moving forward. We would like to see the election that is scheduled to take place in mid-July be delayed so that there can be dialogue. And our ultimate goal is that Burundi achieves peace for its people.

We do not want to see the violence that is taking place there continue.

We do not want to see the instability that is taking root continue to spread across Burundi and possibly across the continent as – at least Central Africa – as we are seeing refugees move from Burundi to Tanzania, to Rwanda, and to DRC. Why has the U.S. reduced its human rights and democracy-related programmes in Africa? This is because governments in Africa are used to rule well only under foreign pressure? And we saw that both U.S. and EU intervention on these domains have helped Africa’s development.

I fully agree with your statement that we need to continue to focus on democracy and governance across Africa. It is one of the highest priorities and it is part of our mission for the Africa Bureau to continue to support those efforts. So, we do support democracy and governance, as you saw in the recent intense and robust involvement that we had in supporting civil society, in supporting the electoral commission to do its job in

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Nigeria, and we will continue to support those efforts. The African continent is extraordinarily large and we’re not always in every place that we would like to be, but we have our embassies and our ambassadors engaging with governments to ensure that they understand the high priority that we give to their supporting the movement of democracy and civil society in their countries.

What has been done in terms of progress in sub-Saharan Africa in the field of fight against corruption?

As you know, one of the initiatives that came out of the historic Africa Leaders Summit last year was an initiative on illicit finance and fighting corruption. And Senegal, volunteered to lead that effort, and just this past week, Senegal hosted a meeting on how we can fight illicit financing and they invited countries from across the continent.

This is something that is extremely important. The AU just completed a study last year where they looked at illicit finance and determined that billions of dollars of hard-earned capital across Africa is being siphoned off and being taken away from efforts of governments to build capacity, to build infrastructure, and to provide services to their people. So, this is something that we are working regularly with our African counterparts on. We have commitments from governments that they want to be involved in this fight, that they want to stop corruption. And as you know, a number of the programs that we have to support Africa’s progress such as AGOA, do have benchmarks on corruption. The Millennium Challenge Account has benchmarks on corruption as well. So, this is something, again, that we look forward to making progress on in the next few months.

The issue of refugees and migration appears to be on the increase despite efforts by governments to address the challenge. What best do you think this issue – how best do

you think this issue can be addressed?

As you know, my background before coming back to the Africa Bureau was in the bureau of refugee and migration programmes – PRM – Population, Refugees and Migration. And I was just distressed to hear that in Africa, a million new refugees were added to the numbers this year alone.

Many of those refugees have come out of Nigeria into neighboring countries. But, also the recent refugee flow from Burundi to Tanzania and to Rwanda and DRC. We think there’s close to a hundred thousand refugees just from that flow.

And the solution is to end fighting.

The solution is to bring peace to these countries. And I didn’t mention even the situation in South Sudan where more than a million people have been displaced as refugees and displaced in their countries because of a manmade crisis.

So, we do have to deal with the issue of conflict. We have to deal with the issue of providing the institutional capacity in governments to support their people and to do the right things for their people. We are deeply engaged in trying to find the solution to the situation in South Sudan with our special envoy out in the region relentlessly meeting with both parties and with the countries in the region to bring the two leaders to the negotiating table and encourage them and urge them to do the right thing by their people.

So it’s still a work in progress. In the meantime, the people of Africa continue to suffer.

As you’re well aware, another Ebola case was found in Liberia this week. Are you concerned that Ebola is coming back, or has the tide turned against the disease?

I do think the tide has turned against the disease. But these – this new case in Liberia is just a warning to us that the job is not done, that we have to continue to remain vigilant, and to continue to message and communicate with populations about doing the right thing when they find that their relatives or neighbors are ill. And our hope is that this battle will eventually end for the moment, but again, we will continue to remain engaged with the governments in the regions and their communities to ensure that Ebola does not take hold again in the way that we were dealing with it last summer. The numbers are down again, but the fight is not over, and there’s still a great deal of work that needs to be done.

In particular, we have to help these governments build their health infrastructure so that they have the resilience when there’s this kind of event, this kind of crisis, that they can respond in a way that does not cause their health infrastructure to totally collapse, as we saw happen in West Africa. So, thank you.

•Continued on page 55

Putting Osun’s salary challenge in a fairer context Osun State government has remained in the news for some time over its inability to pay workers’ salaries.

An economist, JOHN OGUNLELA, properly situates the challenges facing the government

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HE Osun financial challenge is an unfortunate one for which thousands of workers are in a difficult situation as to their sustenance. It is a challenge for which no excuse is justifiable and arguably poses leadership’s toughest test.

The Osun State government is taking its bull by the horn in this regard. While the administration is most saddened by this heart-rending situation, it is working hard to restore Osun to the rather comforting normalcy of people-centred development that the state has in recent times been symbolic of.

The administration is working with its part-

ners to streamline its obligations and expenditures, boost its revenue so as to deal decisively with this problem and in so doing, champion a model for other states and the nation.

The challenge predominantly affects around 35,000 state civil service workers, whose salary arrears of about six months are owed.

Teachers and local government workers are to a large extent least affected by this situation.

Concisely, the state civil service represents around one per cent of the population and takes up wages to the tune of N3.6 billion per

month. This adds up to a yearly bill of N43.2 billion that represents at least 70 per cent of the government’s statutory revenue. This wage bill largely bloats the recurrent expenditure at the expense of development programmes for the remaining 99 per cent of the population. This lopsided spending between recurrent and capital expenditure is unfortunately common across the country and is one needing of a bold solution. In the case of Osun, it is not unconnected to the legacy of a bloated government inherited since its creation in 1991.

While this delay in arrears has its attend-

ant effect on the state’s economy, the notion that this problem affects majority of the population is somewhat incorrect. According to RENCAP’s 2014 report, Osun’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is N1.9 trillion. The state civil service wages of N43.2 billion is therefore 2.3 per cent of Osun’s GDP. What this simply implies is that there are other sectors that contribute principally to the sustenance of the economy. This would probably explain why the situation, as sad as it is, has not degenerated to that of social •Continued on page 55

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

NEWS First class air tickets cost more as FIRS raises new taxes

Man flees over wife’s third set of twins

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

our reporter approached her to narrate her ordeal.

In 2009 when she first conceived, she was delivered of two girls - Goodness and Godnews. The second conception, two years later, produced another two - a boy and a girl, named John and Joyce.

But when her husband, Emeka, learnt that the third pregnancy was another set of two he fled their number 32, Awori Street, Agege home on the outskirt of Lagos to an undisclosed location in Ikorodu, Lagos.

The third set of twins arrived last month. They were named Daniel and Daniella.

Mrs. Uche said she could no longer cope with widening needs for food, clothes, drugs and school fees.

Her meagre earnings as a teacher in a private school in Lagos can no longer meet their needs.

Her story: “I met my husband in 2002 but we got married in 2008. We met in the village at Umuahia. I don’t want to leave the children and run away. This is why I want government to help us,” she said.

She recalled that she never wanted the third pregnancy, but her use of traditional means of family planning (counting fertile and infertile days) failed her.

“I was using traditional way of family planning where I calculate some days before having intercourse. It was working for me. You can see my first set of twins is four years old.

“You know as women, we cannot deny our husband that thing whenever they request for it. Whenever I mistakenly take in, he would say that I was pretending. Sometimes, I

President Muhammadu Buhari receiving the letter of credence from the ambassador-designate of Japan to Nigeria Mr. Sadanobu Kusaoke at the Presidential Villa Abuja. PHOTO: AKIN OLADOKUN

would go through long process to abort the pregnancy.

After that, another one would happen. I would still have to go through the process again to abort it. When this one happened he still insisted that I was pretending until the pregnancy became obvious.”

“My Church was responsible for the payment of the first delivery. The church paid N120, 000 for the delivery of the first set of twins. The two deliveries of the twins have been through Caesarean Section for which we paid N120, 000 each. The last twins are through normal delivery”.

Mrs. Uche explained that her husband, a factory worker in Iju Road, Agege, has

since refused to pick her calls.

She learnt that he stays in Ikorodu.

“Since I gave birth to the children, I have tried calling my husband but he would not pick once he knows that it is me. I contacted his mother and other relatives to tell them that he has run away. They promised that they will call back.

Since then, none of them has called me. It is not easy for me at all.

“I know only two of his relations. One of them lives in Ikorodu; the other one lives at Ajegunle. My elder brother, who could have also helped, is very angry with me for giving birth to another set of twins. He warned me before

not to have any other child after the two sets of twins, especially with the kind of husband I have.

“I cannot put my hands in blood shedding by committing abortion. I want Nigerians to help me because there is nobody to pay their school fees.

“I went for immunisation some days ago and I told them my condition and why they have not been seeing me. It was there that they advised that I should come to government. Government should please help my children; no one to help me with house rent, electricity bill, school fees, food and so on,” Mrs. Uche said.

ate President that the FIRS collected N697.07 billion from Petroleum Profit Tax in the first six months of the year.

The non-oil component income tax, yielded N778 billion between January and June and Value Added Tax N376billion.

He said the FIRS was expecting between N12 billion to N15 billion monthly from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

The FIRS boss put the annual target at N1.4trillion; N123.74bn is expected monthly.

He described the total tax collection as “the worst performance for the oil industry in the last 15 years”, saying the Service collected only N50bn from the sector.

Odugbesan explained that the reason for this was because three major oil companies had nothing to pay because of the huge increase in cost of production.

He said the FIRS was already working out new tax regimes to shore up its revenue collection.

Part of the new tax regime, Odugbesan said, is to tax private jet owners, mansion owners and traveller who fly business and first class.

Odugbesan said the FIRS was made to understand that there are more that 130 private jet owners in the country.

He said the FIRS raised N100 million from a particular company that operates private jets.

He added that it planned to convince the government to tax those who fly first class and business class.

Odugbesan said: “We received a letter inviting us to appear before you so that we can share some thoughts and

we have given you copies of our presentation. ”This is as a result of many factors many of which are completely outside our control.

“The price of oil in the international market that we all know has continued on the downward slide although in the last three months; it started gathering some momentum.

“As at today, I think it averages $ 62, but the average we have computed is $59. That is what is obtainable today.

“So what is within our purview is actually what intervention we can make to shore the collection from non-oil sector.

“As at the end of June, we have not actually got the total figures for June yet, which just ended yesterday. And for JP Morgan that is assisting the Federal Government to collect foreign component of our collection, they will still give us report a week after the close of the month.

“Why is it low this way? Everyone knows that for the first quarter and even the second quarter, there hadn’t been much activity in the land, the month of March and April, fears of uncertainty.

“If you add that to the insecurity situation in the Northeast, most of our offices, they have to be hiding to do their work. It is that bad.

“The other is that government is the biggest spender; when government sends money into the economy, it creates activity. Even the banks themselves would be in the position to loan out money to business entities.

“You engage everyone. We see the oil sector as the sector that is really driving because it is the mainstay of the econoContinued on page 63

Buhari to tell Saraki, Dogara: I’m for party supremacy Continued from page 1

caucus on Tuesday night, President Buhari rued the fact that ‘we won the battle and lost the war’. Without mentioning names, he said that ‘those who went with the PDP know that they are killing the APC’.

“He said he was thoroughly disappointed about what happened in the Senate and was still agonising over it, but equally blamed the APC majority for failing to assert their numerical superiority.

“He said he expected Senator Saraki and Dogara to bend in deference to the party leadership, because, as he said, ‘we have to make the choice of either having a party or none at all. I believe in the superiority of the party over all members so this issue and all others, I will continue to stand with the party,” the President told the meeting.

“President Buhari is also expected to emphasise at tomorrow’s (today’s) NEC

APC set for frank talks as Buhari, Saraki, Dogara, others meet today

T

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) vowed yesterday to emerge strong from its first National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting after its post-election crisis.

The crisis, which has split the party’s leaders, erupted after the June 9 election of principal officers at the National Assembly.

Senate President Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara emerged against the party’s wish.

The party endorsed Senator Ahmed La-

meeting that he is a product of the party’s due process himself, and would not allow due process to end with him.”

Gbajabiamila is confident that the party will insist on its supremacy.

He said: “We all know the President is a party man. He believes in party supremacy”.

The 174 APC members of the House loyal to Gbajabiamila urged the President to prevail on Dogara to

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

wan for Senate and Femi Gbajabiamila for Speaker.

“We are set for the meeting which will address some issues. We are expecting the President, our governors and leaders in the National Assembly. The NEC will properly constitute the Board of Trustees (BOT) of APC because we want all our organs to function effectively.

“We are in the process of reconciliation; we will definitely put our house in order and emerge stronger,” National Secretary

abide by the APC’s decision and announce the remaining four principal officers.

APC wanted Gbajabiamila to be Majority Leader, Alhassan Doguwa Deputy Leader, Mohammad Monguno Chief Whip and Pally Iriase Deputy Chief Whip.

But Dogara and his group in a replica of the Senate scenario - are not disposed to the party’s position.

Urging Buhari to call to order the 39 disloyal APC members, who have colluded with the PDP members in the House to undermine the APC, the group said the Federal Character principle being thrown up by Dogara and his loyalists cannot apply to National Assembly as it did not apply in the 6th and 7th National Assembly.

If it must apply now in the 8th National Assembly, the group said, either Senate President Saraki or Dogara must step down as they are both

Mai Buni said yesterday, adding: “Politics is sometimes like that. You know our party is the first story of a successful merger of major parties in the country; we were also the first opposition party to dislodge a sitting government; and this is the first time an opposition party is having majority in the National Assembly.

You should expect some teething problems but we will reconcile and reunite all.”

Buni said one of the key parts of the agenda is on “ensuring that everybody respects

from the North.

A copy of the group’s presentation to Buhari reads: “On the 9th of June, 2015, 174 APC members in the House faithfully and loyally followed the directives of the party to vote for Hon Femi Gbajabiamila and Hon. Mongunu as Speaker and Deputy Speaker while 39 other APC members colluded with the opposition party, the PDP, to elect the current Speaker and Deputy Speaker with only 8 votes superiority.

“Whereas the candidates of the majority (Gbajabiamila and Mongunu) openly congratulated the winners and continued to cooperate with the House, the opposition and the 39 APC members continued to hold the APC leadership in contempt.

“Whereas we the 174 party faithful and loyalists had been obedient to the party, what shall be the reward of our loyalty to the party?

“The Party has chosen not to

Continued on page 63

punish the 39 APC members, including the elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker, but chose to direct, as it is customary and conventional, on how the other four (4) Principal Officers should be distributed. Alas!

The opposition and the 39 members continue to hold the ruling party in contempt by disobeying the party “Whereas, the beneficiaries of the disobedience are citing Federal Character Principle as the main reason for their disobedience, His Excellency should note that “(a) During the 6th Assembly 2007 - 2011, the following officers were elected from the Northwest (I) the president and Commander-in-Chief (ii) Hon. Ismaila Kawu (iii) Hon. Mutawalle. The two (ii) and (iii) occupied 2 out of the 4 principal officers positions of the Minority Party (iv) Hon Aminu Tambuwal was elected Deputy Chief Whip. “(b) Also during the 7th As-

sembly, the following officers in Government were elected from the Northwest “(I) The Vice President (II) The Speaker, Rt. Hon Aminu Tambuwal (III) Hon. Ismaila Kawu, Deputy Minority Leader (IV) Hon. Garba Datti, Deputy Minority Whip. In these instances there was never an issue of Federal Character.

“It should be noted that the Federal Character principle as embedded in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is not justiciable and of no legal consequence. Its provision in S.14 of the Constitution is only applicable to appointments in federal ministries and agencies.

The House of Representatives is not an agency of the Federal Government and the principal officers positions are elective and not by appointment. If the Federal Character is applicable to the National Assembly, then both the Senate President and the Speaker cannot come from the North; one of them should be advised to step down.”

The two- page presentation added: “It is noteworthy that Mr. President and the governors had strongly put their weight behind the party and had severally admonished the House to abide by the party position. The 39 APC members in the House continued to colContinued on page 63

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

5

NEWS

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HE senator representing Akwa Ibom Southwest and former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and one other have lost their bid to stall proceedings at the state’s Legislative Election Tribunal.

The Justice Goddy Anunihun led tribunal, in a ruling yesterday, refused the prayer by Akpabio, his party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for an indefinite adjournment of all the tribunal’s activities pending its ruling on an earlier application challenging its sitting in Abuja.

The tribunal had adjourned to yesterday for ruling on the application by Akpabio, challenging the relocation of the tribunal to Abuja and the commencement of pre-trial proceedings in the petition by the All Progressives Congress

Akpabio, PDP, INEC lose bid to stall election tribunal’s proceedings From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

(APC) and its candidate Inibehe Okori who contested against Akpabio.

Yesterday, Justice Anunihun announced that the ruling was not ready, but sought to proceed with the other business scheduled for the day, a decision Akpabio’s lawyer, Offiong Offiong (SAN), PDP’s lawyer, Adekunle Oyesanya (SAN) and T. Nweke (for INEC) objected to.

The judge gave two reasons why the ruling could not be read. He said it was not yet written and that the tribunal would await the decision of the Court of Appeal in a simi-

lar case.

“The tribunal is yet to conclude work on the ruling. It is the tribunal’s position to await the Court of Appeal’s decision in a case referred to it from the Federal High Court for the determination of similar issue.

“The need to defer the ruling is to avoid conflicting rulings on the same issue by different courts of coordinate jurisdiction.”

All parties in the case agreed that the tribunal reserved the right to decide when to deliver its ruling, but with petitioners’ lawyer, Solomon Umoh urged the tribunal to begin the pre-trial proceedings, while the re-

spondents’ lawyers urged the court to stay further proceedings until its ruling was ready.

Offiong argued that the tribunal could not proceed to conduct any business while it was yet to rule on the application challenging it’s jurisdiction. He said since the court was yet to decide the issue of whether or not it was right for it to sit in Abuja, it could not take any further steps in relation to the petition.

“It is a fundamental principle of our jurisprudence that once an issue of jurisdiction is raised, it must be treated first and promptly.

The tribunal should adjourn

the matter until ruling is delivered on the objection on jurisdiction,” Offiong said.

He argued that since the case referred to the Court of Appeal was not an electoral matter, the appellate court’s decision might not be binding on the tribunal.

Nweke and Oyesanya agreed with Offiong and urged the court to defer further activities in the case till the tribunal was ready with its ruling.

Responding on point of law, Assam Assam (SAN), who took over from Umoh referred the tribunal to Paragraph 25(1) of the First Schedule of the Constitution, which requires a tribunal to hear

Love scam: EFCC returns 10,000 Euros to French victim •Maina’s aide arrested over biometric contract

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HE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday said it had recovered and returned 10,000 Euros (about N2.25million), to F. Mercade, a French citizen, who was a victim of an internet love scam.

According to a statement by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, the fund was wired to the victim through his account in France on the recommendation of the French Embassy in Nigeria.

The statement said Roger Balima, French Police Liaison Officer who confirmed the receipt of the funds by the victim, thanked the EFCC “for the good job.”

The EFCC said Mercade was duped by two Internet fraudsters, Omodara Adedapo Oluseye and Adesuyi Ayodeji Adedapo

From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

after he was deceived into a phantom relationship that was supposedly altar-bound.

The statement said: “The scam was reported to the commission via a petition from the French Consulate in Lagos, on behalf of Mercade.

“The petitioner alleged that he met a Nigerian beauty by name, ‘Kate Williams’ on the Internet sometime in 2009 and they developed a relationship which was to culminate in marriage. ‘Williams’ was to relocate to join Mercade in France, to consummate the relationship.

“While Mercade planned the logistics of the relocation, ‘Williams’, who purportedly did some jobs for an unnamed company in Nigeria, came up with a story that the company refused to pay ‘her’

for job done. ‘She’ sought the assistance of Mercade and the ‘couple’ contacted a lawyer named ‘James Robert’, to procure travelling documents and help her claim money from the company owing her.

“Mercade parted with 25,000.00 Euros, through Western Union, in processing his brides’ passage with no bride in sight. Eventually, it dawned on him that he had been scammed.

“Investigations into the matter by the commission that ‘Kate Williams’ is the pseudonym of Omodara Adedapo Oluseye, a male student of the College of Agriculture, Akure, who, however, resides in Ibadan Oyo State.

“Omodara’s accomplice, Adesuyi Ayodeji Adedapo, assisted in collecting the money transferred by the victim from the Akure, Ondo State branch of a new genera-

Church holds programme

By Olatunde Odebiyi

•Adedapo

•Ayodeji

tion bank, using forged drivers’ license The two scammers were prosecuted on a two count charge of conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretences before a Federal High Court Lagos, convicted and sentenced them on June 13, 2011, to one year imprisonment each without an option of fine.

Meanwhile, the EFCC has arrested Ann Igwe, who was

the secretary to a former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina.

Source close to the commission said the suspect was picked up last week and had given useful information.

The anti- graft agency is investigating how the biometric contract to streamline pension administration became conduit for stealing of pension fund.

I’ve no role in National Assembly crisis, says Oyegun

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HE National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, yesterday exonerated himself from the National Assembly crisis.

He noted that the crisis hasd assumed an unbecoming dimension with people accusing him of accepting gratification from senators.

The chairman spoke while playing host to the Southeast/Southsouth Professionals in his office in Abuja.

Oyegun described those peddling the rumour as devoid of conscience, noting that God would eventually vindicate him and make his opponents regret their actions.

His words: “So, if they are

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

saying you have taken money from a Senator, I am not a Senator. I cannot do it. I cannot at this age be a Senate President, Senate Leader.

“So what is he giving me money for? And in politics when you throw this into public domain, how many people know me personally?

So, it is annoying, it is dirty.

It is crude, it is unbecoming.

“It shows the people are so devoid of conscience. It doesn’t make me lose sleep because I have God that is so preventive of me because the people who are doing this will eventually eat their own words. I have no doubt at all in my mind.”

“One of the reports said that we cannot leave the present executive leading us to election 2019. You haven’t even finished with 2015, you are already talking of 2019.

They are saying that it is a conspiracy for the north.

How does it even fit in? Am I from the North? Am I the one organising them?”

Oyegun, who thanked the group for paying him a solidarity visit while he is “under severe attack,” said the crisis had become a threat to the upright character he laboured to build for the last 75 years.

His words: “It is an attempt to rubbish 75 solid years of character that I have put together. They said taking gratification. Gratification

El-Rufai denies report on N90b assets

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ADUNA State Governor Nasir El-Rufai plans to sue Union over what he called false report of his assets.

The newspaper reported that the governor declared N90b and 40 mansions in his assets declaration to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

El-Rufai yesterday said he became a millionaire in Dol-

From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

lars in his 20s, but he certainly has neither N90 billion nor 40 mansions.

A statement issued by ElRufai’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan said the governor had directed his legal team to protect his reputation from the ‘vandalism of irresponsible hacks’.

The statement reads: “After a busy few weeks as governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai is dismayed by the blatant falsehood being practiced as journalism by The Union newspapers.

“The Union chose to write a spurious story alleging N90b as his assets declaration without seeing the declaration made by Malam ElRufai. “

election cases on a daily basis.

He urged the tribunal to note that similar applications were pending before other tribunals transferred to Abuja, but that although the tribunals have ruled on the application challenging their jurisdiction, they have proceeded to conduct pre-trial proceedings.

“Similar situation exist in other tribunals that were transferred to Abuja. While they are yet to rule on this issue of jurisdiction, they have all proceeded to conduct pretrial proceedings. One has even given a judgment in favour of the respondents,” Assam said.

Justice Anunihun said while the tribunal would awaits the decision of the Court of Appeal which will help it in deciding the pending application relating to its jurisdiction, it will proceed with pre-trial proceedings.

He said the pre-trial proceeding would be conducted here in Abuja as the application was earlier heard here since the proceedings will not affect the main petition. He also noted that time was of the essence in election cases.

Justice Anunihun adjourned to July 14 for the commencement of the pretrial proceedings.

from what? They don’t even know my background and history.”

He urged his accusers to cross-check his record whether there was any evidence of corrupt practice while he was the chairman of the Federal House Authority (FHA) board and other offices.

According to him, he neither allocated any plot to himself nor a member of his family.

Oyegun said: “I was chairman of the FHA, let them go and check records. I did not award a single plot to myself, not to any member of my family. Not a single piece of land. I was in the board of NPA, I was physically inspecting houses for building

low cost houses at the Badagry Road. I don’t have a piece of land. I would have acquired acres in the process for myself.”

The chairman said for his love for Nigeria and democracy, he was in exile for four years.

He added that for the eight years former President Olusegun Obasanjo ruled, he did not visit the State House, Aso Rock of Abuja for any reason.

“That is the kind of person I am,” he said.

The president of the group who led the delegation, Emeka Uwgu-Oju, congratulated him for leading APC to win national elections barely a year old in office.

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HE Breath of Life Ministry will hold a programme tagged ‘The Grace Cover’ at UNILAG Main Auditorium on Sunday between 11am and 1pm. The evening session would be between 4 to 8 pm.

According to the host, Pastor Samson Jedafe, the programme would be a time of worship and impartation with grace.

He said; “We are trusting God for transformation of lives. Our dream is to see the people open themselves up to God and God coming in his full power to change people’s life.”

He added that it is believed that the only way you can make it in life is by working and having a formal education. “All these are necessary but it does not bring down the blessing of God. Blessing comes when we speak the word of God, so when you get education, you still need the blessing.

Some people have missed it for certain reasons, but with ‘The Grace Cover’ people would have the privilege to come under the anointing, be imparted with grace and be transformed,” he said.

N25b shortfall halts project

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HE Director-General of National Institute of Legislative Studies (NILS) Ladi Hamalai yesterday said the project for the construction of its N42b permanent site has been abandoned due to lack of funds.

The contractor handling the project, Julius Berger, she said, abandoned the project because of a shortfall of N25 billion. About N17 of the amount due has been paid.

The DG spoke during a meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara.

According to her, all efforts to ensure continuity of the project were negative because of the huge outstanding debt.

She said the institute’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with John Hopkins University may be frustrated due to the delay in the completion of the project.

•Pastor Samson

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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NEWS

Why ministers’ list is being delayed, by APC

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HE delay in appointing ministers and other key Federal Government’s officials will soon be over, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed assured yesterday.

He claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari was being cautious in appointing ministers because he wanted to carry along all forces and groups that ensured victory for APC at the polls.

Mohammed spoke with reporters in Oro, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, at the sideline of his yearly Ramadan lecture.

The party’s spokesman said concerns being expressed by the citizens on the ministerial list were justified.

He added: “One should understand that when you win an election with the collaboration

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

of so many forces and groups, you have to be extremely thorough before making an appointment here or there. I am very sure that in a few days time hopefully, the issue of ministerial list and appointment will be a thing of the past.

“I think the concerns are genuine and it is unfortunate that we also met ourselves in a situation we did not prepare for. We cannot be tired of repeating the truth that this particular transition is like no transition that this country has ever experienced. Before now, it was either one president succeeding or in the case of another president handing over to new president from the same political party.

“This is the first time the opposition will take over from the ruling party and that in itself

throws up a lot of issues. Foremost of this, you don’t know what you were going to meet on ground.”

On the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s ultimatum to President Buhari, Mohammed said: “PDP is revelling in its new found glory of opposition and we must indulge them. Honestly, the party is just entertaining itself and Nigerians. The honest truth is that you don’t give anybody ultimatum to appoint ministers. It is more in our own interest to appoint ministers.”

He urged the citizenry to prevent reactionary forces, who never wanted or voted for change, from sabotaging the party’s change mantra.

“While Nigerians have made history by voting for the opposition to take over the reins of power from a ruling party that held sway for 16

years, they must now follow up by ensuring that the process of change, which they brought about comes to fruition. And the best way to do it is for Nigerians to remain politically aware and engaged as they were in the run-up to the elections.

“That simply means they must be willing to defend the change they voted for by continuing to support the Buhari government while preventing the reactionary forces, who never voted for change anyway, from sabotaging this party’s change mantra; whatever is worth fighting is worth defending.

“I say this with all sense of responsibility, and against the stark realities that we face daunting challenges in all sectors. Never before has our nation been put in a situation where it virtually had to start rebuilding from scratch, after

almost all sectors have become nearly comatose. This is why it is necessary for the new government at the centre to make haste slowly, and get it right once and for all.

“Whereas we face huge problems in the economic and security sectors, as well as in the area of infrastructural renewal, just to mention a few, let us restrict ourselves to the social issues alone for the purpose of these remarks. Our health sector is in serious distress, for want of stronger description. Nigeria’s health statistics are worse than the average for African countries, even though we are the giant of Africa,” Mohammed said.

He added: “This is not a problem of ‘this government is slow’ or ‘this government is fast,’ it is a challenge of understanding the enormity of the problems we face and finding

•Mohammed

a lasting solution once and for all, so we won’t be going around the circles.

“As the Buhari administration tackles these challenges, let all citizens continue to play their own party by making their voices heard loud and clear, insisting on nothing but good governance, resisting all the reactionary forces who favour the status quo because it favours them, and above all, giving an unflinching support to President Buhari.”

CPC, NEMSA sign deal on electricity consumers’ protection From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

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•From left: Head, Corporate and Enterprise Sales, Smile Communications Nigeria Limited Mr. Chiekezi Dozie; Relationship Manager, Retail Marketing, First Bank Limited, Shomolu Mr. Kayode Osolaja; Business Technology Analyst, Venture Garden Group Mr. Tomiwa Adebayo and Managing Director, Smile Communications Nigeria Limited Mr. Michiel Buitelaar at a lifestyle event hosted by the communications firm in Lagos.

Saraki condemns renewed Boko Haram attacks

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ENATE President Abubakar Bukola Saraki yesterday condemned what he described as renewed onslaught against innocent Nigerians by the Boko Haram during the holy month of Ramadan.

Saraki also expressed pain on the death of six school children in Lagos following a boat mishap that involved 14 school children, who were being conveyed across Ojo to Irewe jetty.

A statement by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Senate President, Yusuph Olaniyonu, quoted Saraki as saying that the military authorities would do everything necessary to prevent

•Mourns death of six children in boat mishap in Lagos From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor

the unwarranted attacks by Boko Haram from escalating.

The Senate President hailed efforts by President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that Nigerians are safe and secured, especially in the Northeast.

The statement said Saraki was particularly unhappy that the insurgents could let loose their suicide squad on a day Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was in Maiduguri on behalf of the Federal Government for an on-the-spotassessment of the situation of the internally displaced per-

sons.

Saraki said: “Boko Haram is not invincible and I have no doubt that the present administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari possesses the requisite political will and determination to decisively fight the insurgents and restore security to affected areas.”

The Senate President lauded “the military for their bravery so far, but noted that Nigerians are eager to see a quick end to these needless carnage and bloodletting.”

On the tragic loss of six young lads after a boat that was travelling from Ojo to

Irewe reportedly capsized in Lagos, Saraki said: “This incident, which is one too many, is another wake up call for officials charged with the regulation of water transportation across the country to rev up their prevention strategies and emergency preparedness level so as to avoid future occurrence and prompt rescue of victims”.

He commiserated with the families of victims and prayed God to grant repose to the soul of Nigerians whose lives were cut short by both the Maiduguri suicide bombing and the boat mishap in Lagos.

Buhari promises better operating environment for companies From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

•Buhari

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R E S I D E N T Muhammadu Buhari has promised that his administration will improve the operating environment for domestic and international companies in Nigeria to boost

employment.

He spoke during an audience with the new Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Sadanobu Kusaoke, while presenting his letter of credence at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Buhari, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said his administration would welcome greater investment inflows from Japan and other developed nations in support of its plans to revitalise the economy and create more jobs.

The president noted that his administration would welcome more trade and economic cooperation with Japan in the manufacturing, technology and agricultural sectors.

He said: “I was very impressed with the role your Prime Minister played at our talks with G-7 leaders in Germany. He had a deep understanding of the challenge in the Northeast and how it is affecting our economy.

“We look forward to a stronger partnership with your country in many areas, especially in technology, which is

now the major driver of job creation across the world today,’’ he said Buhari also received yesterday the letters of credence of the new Ambassador of Ukraine, Dr. Valerii Aleksandruk and the new High Commissioner of Pakistan, Lt.-Gen. Agha Muhammed Umer Farooq.

The new envoys assured the President that they would work hard to maintain and strengthen existing relations between Nigeria and their respective countries during their tenure.

ONSUMER Protection Council (CPC) and Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) have indicated their readiness to provide redress for electricity consumers following a deluge of complaints.

The two agencies yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja for NEMSA to provide technical data or advice with which the CPC can pursue redress for electricity consumer.

The deal was inked after the CPC extended “a hand of fellowship to NEMSA for a synergy to address complaints from electricity consumers”.

NEMSA, according to the MoU, will provide technical data on how companies have contravened electricity rules for CPC to pursue redress for consumers.

Its Chief Executive Officer, Peter Eweso, an engineer, assured the council that there would be continuous consultation on consumers’ affairs.

He noted that should NEMSA discover anything affecting electricity consumers, it would bring it to the notice of the CPC. Ewesor added that the agency would follow up such issues with reports on its observation.

He urged stakeholders, including CPC’s workers, to furnish NEMSA with information of suspicious inferior electrical installations and equipment for onward solution before they wreck havoc on the citizenry.

“I want to thank you for this opportunity for us to sign this MoU today. I want to say that we will continually have consultations on issues and if we see anything that has to do with consumer, which you are not even aware, we will actually make sure that this is brought to your table, followed up with a report on what we have observed so that you can actually follow it up and seek redress.”

CPC Director General Mrs. Dupe Atoki insisted that it was impossible for agency of government to operate without cooperating with relevant other agencies.

“That is why one agent of government cannot claim exclusive jurisdiction in its area of operation,” Mrs. Atoki said.

According to her, there is currently a deluge of complaints emanating from electricity consumers to the council.

She said working with any relevant agency to minimise the complaints would be heartwarming.

Her words: “We do know that there are huge complaints that emanated from the supply of electricity to Nigerians. Of course, we will be glad to have the situation where we will be working with any of the relevant agencies to minimise the complaints.”

But the NEMSA Chief Executive Officer has described any other technical inspector in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) as an interloper.

Its rival agency, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), had last week appointed 14 inspectors, maintaining that the act that established the commission empowers it to do so.

Daura is new D-G of DSS

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Lawal Musa Daura as the director-general, Department of State Services (DSS).

This was contained in a statement signed by Haruna Imrana, Director, Communications, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), in Abuja.

The statement said the appointment was conveyed in a letter by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Danladi Kifasi.

It said that Daura was born in Daura on August 5, 1953, and attended Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, from 1977 to 1980.

The statement added that he started his carrier in the State Security Service in 1982 and rose to the rank of Director.

The statement added that between 2003 and 2007, he was the Deputy Director, Presidential Communication, Command and Control Centre at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“Daura also served as the State Director of Security Service at various times in Kano, Sokoto, Edo, Lagos, Osun and Imo states.

“He attended professional courses both home and abroad, including the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, (NIPSS), Kuru,’’ it said. The appointment is with immediate effect.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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NEWS Yayi hails Ambode’s victory

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HE senator representing Lagos West, Solomon Adeola (Yayi), has said the victory of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode at the Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal is a further vindication of the people’s preference for progressive development.

Adeola praised the tribunal for not wasting time and resources in unnecessary litigation aimed at truncating the express mandate of the people.

He added that the April 11 election was not only free and fair but merited on the basis of the performance of APC government in Lagos State over the years.

The senator, who represents the largest senatorial district in Nigeria, said Ambode will take Lagos to new heights in developing the mega city.

APC condemns attacks on witnesses at Ekiti tribunal

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned Tuesday’s attacks on its members by suspected political thugs at the Election Petitions Tribunal.

It said the attack which occurred during the hearing of its Ekiti Central senatorial candidate, Gbenga Olofin’s petition, challenging the election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mrs. Fatimat Rasaki, was an “assault on the Judiciary”.

The APC in a statement yesterday by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, condemned the violence in the temple of justice in which many of its members were injured.

From Odunayo Ogunmola, Ado Ekiti

The party lampooned Governor Ayo Fayose for his tirade on a newspaper (not The Nation) on Wednesday while swearing in new commissioners.

Fayose was angry with the paper for making the story its banner headline, accusing it of working with the opposition to bring down his government.

The party said the governor’s verbal attacks on the newspaper amounted to an incitement.

Olatubosun said Tuesday’s incident “showed clearly that the governor, who keeps an army of thugs to strike against perceived enemies, has chosen violence as an art

of governance”.

He said: “We condemn this act of violence that the governor has chosen as an instrument of governance. More condemnable is choosing the judiciary as the theatre of war.

“Last time, Fayose allegedly led thugs to the court to disrupt proceedings in the suit challenging his qualification to contest the governorship election.

“To the chagrin of all, thugs, in their hundreds with Fayose leading, invaded the court, destroying court furniture and windows.

“Court records in the Chief Judge’s Office were torn and the chief judge’s Secretary beaten up.

“Not done, Justice John

Adeyeye was beaten up and his coat torn by thugs.”

Olatubosun regretted that the public outrage over the despicable act had not dissuaded the governor from using violence to settle political scores.

“Fayose has set a template in political conduct for his party to always unleash the thugs he keeps in the Government House on political opponents.

“Today, quartered thugs and criminals regularly stalk residents, with kidnappings on a scale never witnessed in Ekiti State since he assumed office, even as robbery cases soar.

“He instigated the judiciary workers into several months of closure to stall his

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HE Ondo State government yesterday launched the utilisation and operation of the state residential card, popularly called Kaadi Igbe Ayo. The residential card, among other things, is expected to be used as an instrument to access dividends of democracy in the state.

Governor Olusegun Mimiko said the state had distributed over 500,000 residential cards free of charge to residents.

Mimiko said residents would now have to pay to get their cards, promising that no citizen with the card would be denied anything.

Resident Electoral Commissioner Segun Agbaje lauded the initiative, saying the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was planning to synergise with the National Assembly to allow people register in any part of the state and vote wherever they are.

From Odunayo Ogunmola, Ado Ekiti

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GM for Lagos Electricity Board

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AGOS State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has appointed Peter Nkedishuka Okonji as the general manager of the State Electricity Board.

A statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Habib Aruna, Okonji’s appointment followed the resignation of Mrs Damilola Ogunbiyi.

Okonji holds a Bachelor of Science degree of the University of Ife; now Obafemi Awolowo University.

He is also a member of the Nigeria Society of Engineers and a registered member of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria.

Okonji joined the civil service in 1986 and has served in various capacities, among which was acting general manager of the State Electricity Board before his deployment to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources as the director and head of Power Department.

Ondo launches residential card From Damisi Ojo, Akure

‘Don’t demolish houses’ CLERIC in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, Pastor Joseph Adeyanju, has advised Governor Ayo Fayose against demolishing buildings in Olorunda.

This followed the government’s plan to demolish houses in the area, following allegations that landlords contravened the Land Use Act. The cleric, who is the general overseer of Hidden Treasure Revival and Miracles Ministry, said most of the houses in the area belong to poor people.

He advised the government to extend the scope of its developmental programmes to satellite towns within Ado Ekiti.

Adeyanju assured residents and landlords in Olorunda that Fayose, who he described as a man of the masses, won’t demolish buildings, which have been in existence for a decade.

qualification trial, thus also depriving other Ekiti people from accessing justice.

“Now when he wants to herd his political opponents into jail through trump-up charges, he had gone to beg judiciary workers to resume duties,” he explained.

Olatubosun said Fayose should not extend his harassment and clampdown on the media as he has done to the judiciary and the legislature.

The APC spokesman declared that the era of impunity is gone, warning that the change that had come through President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration should not be toyed with.

• Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi (right) discussing with the management team of Microsoft Nigeria, led by Managing Director Kabelo Makwane (second left), Hakeem Adeniji-Adele (second right) and Wale Olokodana when the Microsoft team visited his office...yesterday.

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Pedro writes Assembly to revisit his impeachment

ORMER Lagos State Deputy Governor Femi Pedro yesterday appealed to the House of Assembly to revisit his impeachment by the Fifth Assembly in 2007.

In a letter read by the Clerk, Ganiyu Abiru, the exgovernor urged the House to revisit his impeachment on compassionate ground.

The Clerk said Pedro attached his resignation letter from office in 2007 to his appeal letter.

Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu I) told his colleagues to reverse

By Oziegbe Okoeki

the impeachment, arguing that the letter’s tone showed that the former governor was remorseful.

Pedro, he said, is his close friend, and whose impeachment was not based on fraud or criminal tendencies.

“The purpose of the impeachment is not traceable to fraud or misconduct, probably because of highhandedness or lack of respect for constituted authority.

“Mr. Speaker, I suggest we

set up an ad-hoc committee to either sustain or revisit the resolution,” Olowo said.

Abiodun Tobun (Epe 1) said the Fifth Assembly did a good job.

He advised his colleagues to tread cautiously, saying: “Many of us were not here when the House took the decision.

“We have to look critically at the circumstances surrounding the impeachment so that we do not err.”

Moshood Oshun (Lagos Mainland II) reiterated the

need to follow due process before taking a decision on the plea.

Speaker Mudashiru Obasa constituted an eight-man ad-hoc committee headed by the Majority Leader, Sanai Agunbiade.

Other members are: Desmond Elliot, (Surulere I), Folajimi Mohammed (Ikeja I), Muyiwa Jimoh (Apapa II), Kazeem Alimi, (Eti-Osa I), Shokunle Hakeem (Oshodi-Isolo I), Gbolahan Yishawu (Eti-Osa II) and Moshood Oshun (Lagos Mainland II).

Ebola: Lagos calls for precautionary measures HE Lagos State government has reiterated the need for the public to maintain adequate personal and environmental hygiene.

This followed reports of the resurgence of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health Dr. Modele Osunkiyesi said the state was working with stakeholders to maintain relevant surveillance through the Port Health Services and related bodies in local governments.

Dr Osunkiyesi said the prevention of Ebola is a shared responsibility, noting that although there has not been any reported case of EVD in the state, residents should take responsibility for their health.

She urged the people to observe the

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highest possible standards of personal and environmental hygiene through regular washing of hands with soap and running water; avoid close contact with sick people; ensuring that objects used by the sick are decontaminated and properly disposed off and avoid touching or washing dead bodies, if not trained to do so.

Mrs. Osunkiyesi explained that EVD could be spread through close contact with blood, body fluids, organs and tissues of infected animals; direct contact with the blood, body fluids, and tissues of infected persons; and handling sick or dead infected animals, such as monkeys and bats.

“Early symptoms of EVD include fever, headache, chills, diarrhoea, nau-

sea, vomiting, sore throat, backache, and arthritis.

“Later symptoms include bleeding from the eyes, ears and nose, mouth and rectum, eye swelling, swelling of the genitals and rashes all over the body often containing blood. It could progress to coma, shock and death.

“Lagosians are advised to remain calm as the government remains committed to protecting their health.

“Health workers are also enjoined to keep observing the universal safety precautions when dealing with patients.

“For more information or clarification about the disease; please call 08023169485 or 08052817243,” the permanent secretary said.

10 aides approved for Ajimobi From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

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HE Oyo State House of Assembly yesterday approved the appointment of 10 special advisers for Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

The Speaker, Michael Adeyemo, did not reveal the identity of the aides but while reading the governor’s letter said the approval was to enable the governor carry out his duties.

The House received the report of the retreat for the 32 members.

Also, the bills seeking the merging of ministries from 23 to 13 passed first reading yesterday.

Monarch appointed From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

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SUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has approved the appointment of a new Asaoni of Ora-Igbomina in Ifedayo Local Government, Prince Joshua Tinuoye Atolagbe.

Atolagbe, who is a former surveyor-general of Lagos State, is from the Odumirinkale ruling house of the Asaoni Royal Dynasty.

A letter approving the appointment, which was addressed to the Ifedayo Local Government Executive Secretary, Kunle Ayantoye was signed on behalf of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Adewale Fayoyiwa.

The appointment took effect from Friday, June 26.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

8

NEWS Olanusi: Court strikes out case

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FEDERAL High Court in Akure yesterday dismissed a suit seeking the nullification of the impeachment of former Ondo State Deputy Governor Alli Olanusi.

The suit filed by a lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, urged the court to declare Olanusi’s impeachment as illegal and unconstitutional.

Justice Sani Ishaq held that Section 251 of the 1999 Constitution empowers the federal high court to only hear matters that affect the Federal Government or any of its agencies and thereafter transferred the case to the state high court.

Ogungbeje urged the court to declare as unconstitutional the setting up of a panel, which indicted the former deputy governor.

The lawyer asked the court to reinstate all Olanusi’s benefits and entitlement.

Respondents include the House of Assembly, Speaker, Chief Judge and Tunji Adeniyan.

The respondents through their lawyer, Stephen Akinrinsola, however, filed a preliminary objection, asking the court to strike out the case for lack of jurisdiction.

•From left: Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Isaac Adewole; Prof. Deborah Egunyomi and Nigeria Ambassador in the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Emeritus Prof. Michael Omolewa, at the University of Ibadan inaugural lecture titled: “Balancing Life Equation with Continuing Education” delivered by Prof. Egunyomi in Ibadan...yesterday.

Suit on Ojora kingship tussle adjourned

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USTICE Abdulfattah Lawal of the Lagos High Court has adjourned till October 23, a suit seeking to depose Oba Fatai Aremu Aromire Ojora as the Ojora of Lagos.

The Adeshiba Ayeloja royal family is praying the court to order the Lagos State government to confirm the nomination and appointment of Shehu Shekoni Adedewe as the Oba-elect of Iganmuland.

The claimant said by virtue of the supplement to the Western Regional Gazette No 5, Volume 8 dated Janu-

By Joseph Jibueze

ary 22, 1959 and Chieftaincy Order of 1958, the defendants are not entitled to impose a king on the community.

The family wants the court to declare Ojora’s nomination, appointment and installation as unconstitutional.

Fatai Abiodun Olumegbon, Lagos State Governor, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, are the other respondents.

There had also been a conflict between the Adeshiba Ayeloja Adedewe family and the Ojoras over the alleged demolition of houses on a vast area of land, measuring approximately 1, 324 hectares in Awori, Badagry.

The Adedewe family had claimed that Ojora family was not entitled to the land in dispute, saying the defendants’ transaction and dealings on the disputed land are unconstitutional, null and void.

But the Ojora family insisted it is entitled to the

land.

The case was adjourned after Justice Lawal invited counsel to the claimant, Segun Raji and that of the respondent, Bolaji Ayorinde, into his chambers for discussion.

Some 45 minutes later, the judge announced that the suit would be adjourned, following a letter he received from the Chief Judge, Justice Funmilayo Atilade.

However, Justice Lawal did not disclose the contents of the said letter but adjourned till October 23.

Suit against Oyo Speaker adjourned From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

•Adeyemo

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EARING in a case against the candidacy of the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Michael Adeyemo, was yesterday adjourned till October 6.

A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who was an aspirant in Ibarapa East State Constituency, Mark Akinloye, sued Adeyemo and the party.

He claimed that he won the primary election but that

his name was substituted with Adeyemo’s.

Akinyode is praying the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise him as the APC candidate in Ibarapa East for the House of Assembly election, instead of Adeyemo, whose name was submitted by the party despite losing the primary election.

According to him, he polled 137 votes to beat Adeyemo, who polled 134.

Akinyode’s counsel Akeem Fadun said his client was cheated after winning the primary, adding that he would file the necessary documents as the court demanded after the defendant decided to file a preliminary objection.

But he frowned at the timing of the objection, saying it

was a time-wasting tactic.

His words: “We have filed our written address on the issue of jurisdiction but the first defendant has decided to file a preliminary objection.

I wonder why he did not do that before yesterday, but it’s within the rule of the court.

“We could have gone ahead to hear the case today but whatever the delay tactic being used is still within the legal limit.

“For the record, our prayer is that our client, who actually won the primary election, should be returned to his rightful position. The exhibits are clear and they are public documents. He had 137 votes while the defendant, who is now the speaker, had 134 votes.

“Unfortunately and shocking too, the person who came second was declared by the party as the winner and

its representative in the election.

“We want the court to compel INEC to recognise our client as the candidate.

By the provision of the Electoral Act, the name of our client should have been forwarded to INEC, not otherwise.”

But Adeyemo’s counsel Akinyemi Akintayo said the suit lacked merit. He urged the court to dismiss it.

He said: “The court adjourned the case in view of the fact that we filed a preliminary objection to the competence of the suit. We are asking the court to terminate the suit on the strength that the action lacks merit. The constitution of the action is improper before the court.”

Justice E.F Esan of the Oyo State High Court adjourned the case .

Assembly to Ambode: dissolve JSC

By Oziegbe Okoeki

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HE Lagos State House of Assembly has called on Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to dissolve the membership of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), following the expiration of their five-year tenure.

The motion was moved yesterday by Majority Leader, Sanai Agunbiade (Ikorodu 1) and seconded by Abiodun Tobun (Epe 1).

In the motion titled: “The call for the dissolution of the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission”, Agunbiade said he premised the call on the expiration of the stipulated fiveyear tenure for members.

After Speaker Mudasiru Obasa put the matter to voice vote, the motion was adopted as a House resolution .

In a related development, the House constituted an ad hoc committee to review the Assembly Code of Ethics and make necessary recommendations “to meet with the current realities”.

This followed a motion by the Chief Whip, Rotimi Abiru (Shomolu 2) and Oluyinka Ogundimu (Agege 2).

The committee members are Abiru, Deputy Chief Whip Mrs Omotayo Oduntan (Alimosho 2), and Mr Oluyinka Ogundimu.

Others are: Mr Segun Olulade (Epe 2), Mrs. Mosunmola Sangodara-Rotimi (Surulere 2) and Mr Hakeem Bello (Amuwo-Odofin).

Bello was also appointed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the Minority Leader while Sangodara-Rotimi was elected as Minority Whip.

Lagos APC: Tribunal’s verdict expected

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has said it was not surprised that the tribunal dismissed the petition of the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jimi Agbaje.

The party said the verdict confirmed that Lagosians voted for good governance and continuity.

In a statement by its spokesman, Joe Igbokwe, the APC said: “The PDP in Lagos did everything to win, including setting one ethnic group against the other; dishing out millions of foreign currencies, unleashing ethnic militias, deploying security agencies, SURE-P outlaws and others to harass and intimidate Lagosians.

“Lagos PDP failed because there is no meeting point between light and darkness, no meeting point between the serious and the unserious, no meeting point between conservatives and progressives, and no meeting point between performers and non-performers.

“The truth is that Lagos has always been in the hands of the progressives since it was created in 1967 and it will continue to remain in the hands of progressives.

“Lagos APC rejoices with Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for this victory.We urge the governor to hit the ground running.”

Court orders EFCC, NDLEA to pay man N2m

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HE Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday awarded N2million damages against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for detaining a businessman, Lawrence Ejiofor, for more than 30 days without trial.

Justice Mohammed Yunusa said the agencies violated the applicant’s rights by arresting and detaining him for no valid reason.

He ordered that $96,500 (about N19million) seized from Ejiofor should be returned to him.

The respondents must also publish an apology to him in two national newspa-

By Joseph Jibueze

pers.

The applicant, a businessman, was returning from Tanzania aboard an Ethiopian Airline plane last April 16, when NDLEA officials found the money on him at the arrival hall.

Ejiofor’s lawyer Chima Nnaji said his client was not allowed to declare the foreign exchange at the Nigerian Customs Service Declaration Point as required by law.

Instead, NDLEA officials arrested him for money laundering, saying they suspected the money to be proceeds of drug business.

After detaining him for over 30 days, they handed him over to the EFCC for fur-

ther investigation.

When the commission found that Ejiofor was not involved in money laundering, it discharged him but still held onto the money.

His lawyer sought a declaration that searching the applicant at the arrival hall before being able to declare the foreign currency was illegal as it violated his right to freedom of compulsory acquisition of moveable property as guaranteed under Section 43 of the 1999 Constitution.

He prayed the court to hold that the continued seizure of the $96,500 is unconstitutional.

Ejiofor sought

N20million as compensation for his unlawful detention from April 16 to May 16, last year.

NDLEA had argued that the applicant’s arrest was lawful “given the suspicious manner he conducted himself on arrival at the airport”.

The agency said he “lacked an understanding of the requirement for the declaration at Customs point at the point of entry into Nigeria”.

EFCC said it was only investigating Ejiofor for money laundering, adding that it “acted within its statutory powers to commence investigation against the applicant under the circumstances of this case.”

Group praises Aregbesola

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SUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has been urged not to be distracted by the antics of the opposition, which were bent on derailing his vision.

The Coalition of Oodua Self Determination praised the governor for paying part of workers’ salaries.

In a statement by the Chairman and Secretary of its coordinating council, Dayo Ogunlana and Rasaq Olokoba, the group said the governor, as a worthy Yoruba son whose achievement was unprecedented, must be encouraged to deliver more.

“We must praise Aregbesola for the recent payment of part of the salaries of workers. We have known him to be a promise keeper, sincere politician and a devout Muslim.

“His achievements speak volume. It is important to note that the state is not the only one owing workers, but detractors have singled him out for condemnation.”

The group also berated a judge, Justice Folahanmi Oloyede, for calling for the governor’s impeachment, describing such as a statement from a “confused mind”.

“The judge has shown that she is speaking for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as her call for the governor’s impeachment has shown her partisanship in this matter; we advise justice Oloyede to resign.”

9

FRIDAY JULY 3, 2015

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is grappling with the challenge of reconciliation imposed by the rebellion of legislators during the recent election of National Assembly principal officers. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the hurdles to cross before a truce can be achieved between the party leadership and the recalcitrant legislators.

APC: Thorny road to reconciliation F

OR the next three weeks, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will be battling with reconciliation. Its polarised leaders will be searching for solution to the self-inflicted crisis.

Since the crisis broke out over the election of National Assembly principal officers, reconciliation has been a herculean task.

Although the party, led by Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, accepted its fate, following the emergence of Dr. Bukola Saraki as the Senate President and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, contrary to its directive, the lawmakers compounded the crisis by also rejecting the party’s directive on the choice of other principal officers.

According to party sources, neither the party leadership nor the National Assembly leadership is in a vantage position to initiate reconciliation because they are parties in the dispute. The meeting of the APC National Caucus was put on hold to avoid the escalation of the conflicts. Although the National Executive Committee(NEC) of the party will meet today, sources said the crisis would not be discussed. “Any reconciliation or peace meeting, without the President presiding over it, is a waste of time. Only President Muhammadu Buhari can unite the party now. APC is terribly polarised,” he said.

However, the President appears not to be in a hurry to do so.

President Buhari, according to a top party stalwart, has expressed concern about the implications of the crisis for the party and his administration, after a sober reflection. He has not officially received Saraki, Dogara and other principal officers, who were elected in controversial circumstances. The President, it is believed, was particularly irked by the emergence of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, as the Deputy Senate President. In a bid to keep the National Assembly at arm’s length, President Buhari has postponed ministerial nominations, it was learnt.

The genesis of the conflict was the crisis of confidence between party leaders, who subscribed to the doctrine of party supremacy, and chieftains who loathed what they have described as dictation from party leadership. The division is visible in the National Working Committee (NWC) and the NEC. Party leaders, including Odigie-Oyegun, his deputy, Mr. Segun Oni, former Interim Chairman Chief Bisi Akande, National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, National Secretary Mai Buni, Senators George Akume, Barnabas Gemade, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and some “men of the old order” believe that members should be subjected to party supremacy to instill discipline and order. They also believe that certain political traditions, which had nurtured democracy in some countries, including the United States, should be emulated. In their view, the minority leader in the National Assembly should automatically become the majority leader, following the change of government. Thus, they supported former Benue State Governor George Akume for Senate President.

Akume has served the party meritoriously as the Minority Leader for four years. He is from Benue State. The leaders argued that the Christian minority in the Middle Belt should be rewarded for their bloc support for the APC. Therefore, they endorsed Akume, the former governor, who worked tirelessly for power shift in the Northcentral state.

In the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (Surulere, Lagos), has also served as the Minority Leader. Thus, the leaders believed that he was fit for Speaker, in accordance with traditions in mature democracies.

However, according to Presidency sources, Buhari’s body language suggested that he did not want to endorse the former governor. Besides, the sources added, the President was sensitive to the complaints that Benue State has produced three Senate presidents-Dr. Iyorcha Ayu, Chief Ahmed Ebute and Gen. David Mark. “Having objected to the zoning of the Senate Presidency to the Northcentral, the President asked the party to consider the Northeast for the position. He was impressed by the bloc vote from the region for the APC, despite the insurgency.

That was how Senator Ahmad Lawan from Yobe State entered the race as the candidate of the President and, ultimately, the party,” the sources said.

Some chieftains also disclosed that Buhari confided in some APC leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Gombe State Governor Danjuma Goje and Governor Abdulazeez Yari, that it would not be a bad idea, if Lawan was elected Senate President.

A party chieftain, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Buhari was not indifferent to the pedigree, tendency and sentiments of candidates for Senate President. He said the President even confided in the NWC that he wanted people without blemish as leaders of the National Assembly because of his anticorruption programme. “Buhari made it known that he did not want anybody that has been tainted with corruption in his government,” he stressed.

But, the move by the party to endorse candidates did not go down well with other aspirants. They, therefore, resolved to thwart the agenda. The NWC suggested primaries for the aspir-

•President Buhari ants for Senate President, Speaker and their deputies. Saraki and Dogara kicked against it, saying that the National Assembly should not be under the influence of the party when choosing principal officers. Before the mock election, Saraki was said to have insisted on secret ballot. The party agreed. The mock election conducted by the APC National Secretary was boycotted by the supporters of Saraki and Dogara. But, the party went on with the exercise. Lawan and Gbajabiamila won. Saraki and Dogara rejected the result.

Ahead of the inauguration of the National Assembly, former Senate President Mark had said that the PDP would not run for elections of principal officers. But, when the crisis broke out, the National Assembly PDP caucus retraced its steps. Up came Ekweremadu as an aspirant for Deputy Senate President. As the crisis was brewing, the dead caucuses in the APC were exhumed. Some party chieftains started to agitate for the “equitable” distribution of offices. They pointed out that the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) produced President Buhari, the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) nominated Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) and the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) produced the National Party Chairman, Odigie-Oyegun. Therefore, they contented that the defunct New PDP should produce the Senate President and the Speaker. However, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi cautioned them, saying that APC should remain a united fold, said the source.

According to party sources, the propaganda orchestrated to stop Tinubu also blossomed. Some party leaders misinterpreted the party’s position as an agenda by the National Leader to foist principal officers on the parliament. “The former governors from the North disagreed. They formed a resistance, despite the explanation that Lawan was Buhari’s candidate. But, they continue to say that since Tinubu nominated the Vice President and the National Chairman, Lawan’s ambition should be shut down,” added the source.

Besides, some APC leaders from the Northeast believed that Lawan’s emergence as the Senate President may jeopardise their ambitions. For example, former Vice President Abubakar from Adamawa State is eyeing the Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman. There are speculations that he will also run for the President in 2019. Goje, who has resented Tinubu’s influence, wanted to contest for the Senate Leader. Also, Ambassador Baba Gana

•Prof. Osinbajo

•Dr. Saraki

•Hon. Dogara

•Chief Odigie-Oyegun

Kingibe, Baba Jiga and Kashim Iman-all from Borno State-are struggling for the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF). “They are all from the Northeast. So, if Lawan was picked, they were all out,” said the source.

When the President returned from Germany, concerned leaders urged him to intervene in the crisis. It was suggested that the APC should not go for the inauguration of the National Assembly as a divided house. But, the situation was getting out of control. Ahead of the inauguration, President Buhari had sent the proclamation letter to the Clerk of the National Assembly, who is perceived to be close to Mark and PDP senators. Suddenly, the PDP caucus bounced into reckoning because the rank of APC leaders was divided. A party chieftain, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “PDP senators said they will work with Saraki, if he picked Ekweremadu as his deputy. Those supporting Saraki were in this dilemma when the Vice President sought audience with the senators. But, he was ignored by the lawmakers.” Another source said that Saraki was also able to convince former President Olusegun Obasanjo to support his bid.

The dust raised by the emergence of a bi-partisan leadership in the Senate had not settled when, in flagrant disobedience to the party’s directive, the Senate elected Senator Ali Ndume as the Senate Leader and Senator Ibn Na’Alla as Deputy Senate Leader. The move to take a similar step led to confusion in the House of Representatives. Also, the senators and House of Representatives members rejected the directive of the party on the selection of Chief Whips and Deputy Chief Whips. In fact, the Senate President and Speaker refused to read the letter of the APC National Chairman on the matter on the floor of the House. APC had endorsed Akume and Gbajabiamila for the positions of Majority Leaders.

The President, according to sources, felt betrayed by some party leaders who allegedly fuelled the festering crisis by supporting the senators who rejected the party’s directive. “This has led to some forms of mutual suspicion, mistrust, distrust and confidence.

In fact, I suspect that the crisis is an eye opener for the President.

These events may shape the next critical steps he will take, especially on appointments and the anti-corruption war.”

The National Assembly has adjourned sittings till the last week of this month. During the three week-break, the Senate President and Speaker are expected to reach out to aggrieved leaders and • Continued on page 10

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THE NATION FRIDAY JULY 3, 2015

The elections are over, yet the fire in Rivers State continues. It all ‘shows that, when people are not duly elected into office, they become very reactionary to divert public attention from their own inadequacies

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POLITICS Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) Women Leader Evangelist Caroline Nagbo speaks with JOHN OFIKHENUA about what she calls the persecution of the party’s members under the guise of recovering government property. She urges the Federal Government to halt their victimisation in the Southsouth state.

‘FG should protect us from Wike’s onslaught’ W HY has peace eluded Rivers State after the general elections?

The elections are over, yet the fire in Rivers State continues. It all shows that, when people are not duly elected into office, they become very reactionary to divert public attention from their own inadequacies. So, the animosity in Rivers State is because there was no election. And so, there was no plan or there is no plan by the PDP for governance. And that is why, right from the inauguration till now, Rivers people have not been given any roadmap of development by the PDP government. Rather, what we see is acute persecution of APC members in Rivers State by the PDP government of Nyesom Wike.

Is it not an aberration for anyone to go after his/her opponents when they have a case in court ?

The case is at the tribunal and the processes are on, but there will be lawlessness when people are unlawfully brought into power. The lawlessness continues. And that is what you are seeing in Rivers State. It is a state of anomie.

There is a constant search for government vehicles and other items and thugs and security operatives burgle APC members’ houses. Is the search still on?

One thing that Nyesom Wike-led government in Rivers State is yet to tell us is whether the recovery of government vehicles or used vehicles was one of his campaign promises. It was not part of his campaign promises. So, why is he making it a mandate or a campaign promise he made to Rivers people? That is not the problem of Rivers State right now. So, if he does not have a roadmap of development, he does not have a blueprint, he should come out openly because we are tired of the airwaves. We are tired of the noise in our eardrums concerning used vehicles, and the persecution of APC stakeholders in Rivers State. This is not the best way to play opposition. He is reacting to the fact that he never knew that APC was going to be the national party of Nigeria.

What is your appeal to the Federal Government, the security forces, and the APC leadership?

I am appealing to the Federal Government to look into the issues of Rivers State to protect the citizens of Rivers State, especially the APC members.

During the election, we lost many youths; vibrant men and women were gunned down for the sake of the PDP and their quest for power in Rivers State. We buried a lot and many of them are still in the mortuary. Now, he has gotten the power.Why is he still coming after APC members? Is it that he wants to eliminate all of us ? Is that his own idea of playing opposition?

We were in opposition before and we never went after him. And that was why he could do his electioneering campaign unmolested. So, why is he molesting APC men and women in Rivers State and using the diversionary issue of recovery of government properties? All what belongs to him and his PDP stalwarts, are they not also from government ? He was a minister.

Did he return all the cars he used to the Federal Ministry of Education ? So, we are asking that Nyesome Wike should leave APC members alone, and I as the state woman leader, the deputy governor designate, that woman there should advise him to leave APC people in Rivers State alone.

Have you written a letter to the police on the matter ?

The party has written to the police.

The party has followed the due process. Right now, our lives are being threatened and he is using the cover and falsehood of recovery government property. He talks about probing. We are not afraid of probing.

But, the probe must be all-inclusive.

It must not be a selective probing.

But, he should allow the APC in Rivers State to function because we allowed the PDP to function when we were in government house.

With this alleged abuse of power, do you see anything good coming from Wike’s government?

Your guess is as good as mine.

That is my response.

How do you hope to bring your members together and forge ahead, despite the defeat and the persecution by the state government?

I want to bring your attention to the fact that the APC controls 22 of the LGAs in Rivers State as we speak, from counsellor to local government chairmen. So, nobody will

•Caroline tell us that we are not on ground.

We control the grassroots in Rivers State as we speak. Even, as we are speaking, the local government councils are yet to be funded . In spite of the fact that the governor has come to Abuja for the meeting, he is yet to append his signature to call the FAAC meeting. He has refused to call the FAAC meeting in Rivers State as we speak . Meanwhile, the PDP refused to part take in the local government elections. All other political parties did. He thought these

councils will never stay. He thought when he comes in, he would have the power to nullify the election and send them packing. Now that he has discovered that it is not possible, he has refused to call the FAAC meeting. The APC is on ground in Rivers State. We may not be in the secretariat, or in Government House, but in all the LGAs, we are there.

So, how is he allocating funds to the LGAs ?

He has not allocated any fund. He has refused to call them (the local government chairmen) for a meeting.

His he disbanding the councils?

He tried to disband the councils, but there is a court injunction on him as I speak not to disband the councils. And that is why he is also reacting by ensuring that he does not call the FAAC meeting.

So, how are they coping?

That is the situation in Rivers State.

There is no money in the council because he thinks by starving them of funds, he will be able to frustrate them.

Are the chairmen and councillors yielding to the oppression?

They are duly elected councilors and local government chairmen statutorily elected for the next three years. So, they cannot yield.

Do you see the APC collapsing into the PDP because of the fear of intimidation?

You should have put the question the other way. The PDP is a party that is going to collapse into the APC completely in Rivers State.

How do you mean?

thing that Nyesom Wike-led government ‘One in Rivers State is yet to tell us is whether the recovery of government vehicles or used vehicles was one of his campaign promises ’

Because they know that they are swimming against the tide. Also, we have a very good case at the tribunal. And we are hopeful that the tribunal will give us justice in Rivers State. So, PDP is a party that is actually going to collapse into the APC a few months from now.

Do you think that the governor has the acumen to take the state to prosperity?

I don’t discuss persons. I discuss ideas and that is why I am asking him to give us the roadmap of development. And he should play the politics of development, not the politics of persecution of APC members in Rivers State.

A few days ago, Wike recognised Celestine Omehia as a former governor of Rivers State, despite the court judgment that sacked him from office...

He is recognising a fellow party member. Omehia is a PDP man. And if he comes out to recognise a PDP man, I have no comment on that. I think it is more of party affairs. But the question I still ask is, is that was a campaign promise when he was campaigning? To recognise the unrecognisable? So, you can see he is entirely diversionary. He should face the main problems of Rivers State. If the problems are so daunting that he cannot face it, then, he should come out to say that he does not have the wherewithal for governance in that state and step aside for the APC led-government. We have our roadmap of development for Rivers State. We are highly organised as a party. And we have the fear of God. We have God fearing leaders. So he should not divert public attention by going after individuals. He should not play the politics of personality. He should play the politics of ideas and development.

APC: Thorny road to reconciliation • Continued from page 9 stakeholders, who are bitter about the affront on the party leadership. A member of the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) said that Saraki and Dogara are buying more time to consolidate. “During this break, the plan is to send powerful emissaries to the President and other aggrieved leaders so that they can put the past behind them. The fear is that, having ignored the party’s directive on the selection of the National Assembly principal officers, they may be excluded from making contributions to ministerial nominations. The Senate President and the Speaker will promise to give concessions to the Lawan/Akume and Gbajabiamila/Mongono camps during the composition of National Assembly Committees. But, the problem is that trust has been eroded.”

He added: “The bi-partisanship leadership of the National Assembly has implications for the APC. The Deputy Senate President is from the

minority party. In the absence of the Speaker, someone from the minority party will preside. Automatically, the Senate President is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Amendment. He is the representative of the National Assembly in the ECOWAS Parliament. He receives the budget on behalf of the Senate from the President. This is the greatest problem for the ruling party now.”

To end the crisis, party chieftains have suggested some solutions. These include the resignation of Ekweremadu, fresh election for principal officers and the sustenance of the status quo in the spirit of unity and understanding. All these options have implications.

A party chieftain, who reflected on the crisis, said the solution lies with the President. They said, although reconciliation is difficult, it is not impossible “The President must call a meeting of stakeholders where there will be concessions and chieftains will elevate the interest of the party above narrow, personal interest,” he added.

•President Muhammadu Buhari exchanging greetings with his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) Media, Mallam Garba Shehu during a parley between the President and lawmakers at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. PHOTO AKIN OLADOKUN.

Don calls for separation of powers in Oyo

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POLITICAL scientist, Dr. Gbade Ojo, has advised the Oyo State House of Assembly to imbibe the principle of separation of powers in the 1999 Constitution in the interest of the polity. The university teacher said political liberty could only be endured, if the three arms of government are separated, both in personnel and functions.

Ojo gave the advise while presenting a paper titled, “Separation of Powers and Good Governance: A Rear View Mirror”, at a workshop held for the members of the House of Assembly. The even took place at the MicCom Golf Hotel, Ada, Osun State.

From Jeremiah Oke, Ibadan

The former Special Adviser to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Political Matters said the theory of separation of powers is a theory of “divisionism,” adding that it forbids overlapping membership, which is incompatible with the tenets of democracy.

He said: “This theory states that those who are in the legislature should not be in the executive, neither should they participate in judicial processes. What it means really is that those who make the laws should not be the people who will

implement the same laws.”

Ojo added that, if judges are members of parliament, they would be subjected to party passions and the interpretation of the law would be coloured by the recollection of the debates in which they had taken part.

He noted that separation of powers is justified by preventing concentration of power on one person or group of persons which naturally might led to tyranny and oppression, which according to him, might lead to incidences of personalised power, where sovereigns rule for their own interest.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

‘A lot of malpractices have been cut down because of full disclosures. If you are disclosing fully, there will be no room for too many maneuvers.

And IFRS closed that gap. If you are building your financial statement using high quality financial stands, there will be a lot of disclosures’ •CEO, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), Jim Obazee.

‘Airlines lose $180m to bird strike’

Agency, CPC to protect consumers • NERC inspectors ‘are interlopers’

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

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OMESTIC airlines have lost over $180 million to birds’ strike this year, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has said.

The association’s Chairman, Noggie Meggison, who stated this yesterday at a forum in Lagos, tagged, ‘Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI) Safer Skies,’ also said that negligence on the part of government’s parastatals and oversight deficiencies of regulatory Agencies, were responsible for about 70 per cent of crashes that occurred in the nation’s airspace.

He put the number of lost engines to bird strike at 30, adding that an aircraft engine now costs between $40 million to $70 million depending on the aircraft.

Speaking on what contributes unsafe skies, he said apart from mechanical errors, inefficiency and negligence of aviation Agencies, have also contributed greatly to the air mishapss, adding that even after the reports of those crashes were published, government didn’t learn from them.

He said: “‘We need to start looking at landing aids and landing areas at airports, because over 70 per cent of air crashes in Nigeria are linked to negligence on the part of aviation parastatals and oversight deficiencies of regulatory agencies.

“For instance, the ADC crash was due to air traffic control issue; Wings aviation crashed due to wrong charting by NAMA, while Associated plane was on ground for 24 months before it was taken to the skies.

Meggison said there’s need to look at the issues and not sweep them under the carpet, adding,” we have issues ranging from bad drainage runway surface to failure of air traffic controller to properly monitor runways, among others.”

Also speaking, the Director of Consumer Protection Directorate, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), who represented the Director-General, listed aging workforce, paucity of funds and others as challenges facing the sector.

He said however that, Nigeria was investing heavily on training adding that government was also revamping the Nigerian College of Aviation in Zaria for personnel training in critical areas.

Also speaking, the Managing Director, IRS Airlines, Yemi Dada, lamented that airlines are not making profit in Nigeria due to problems such as inadequate infrastructure, insurgency, and the difficulty of sourcing foreign exchange.

“The risk in insuring is high, credit is not well structured in Nigeria, aircraft lessor will ask you to pay three months rentals, the risk of losing the aircraft is at the heart of it all, until the fundamentals of Nigerian economy is solved, we can’t break even easily”, he said.

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

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•From left: Managing Director/CEO Chi Pharma Ltd Mr Steve Onya; Managing Director/CEO Fidson Healthcare Plc, Dr Fidelis Ayebae; Managing Director/CEO Sam Pharma Ltd, Mr Ashwin Dayalani; Fomer Managing Director Neimeth Pharma Plc, Mr Sam Ohuabunwa and Akpa...yesterday PHOTOS ABIODUN WILLIAMS

Over N500b, one million jobs at risk, say drug manufacturers

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NVESTMENTS worth over N500 billion and about one million jobs may be erased in the pharmaceutical industry, chief executive officers in the sector have said.

The group, which addressed the media yesterday in Lagos, said if notjing is done within the next two months, the country would be the worst for it.

The Pharmaceutical manufacturers, were unanimous in urging the government to reconsider the current provisions of the pharmaceutical clause in the Common External Tariff (CET) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the newly introduced National Drug Distribution Guidelines (NDDG).

Th manufacturers who spoke under its umbrella body, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG MAN), said the more than 150 pharmaceutical

Taofik Salako and Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

manufacturing companies in Nigeria, including seven publicly quoted ones, said both the CET and the NDDG could lead to catastrophic losses for Nigeria.

The CET provides for zero tariff on finished imported medicine but imposes between five and 20 per cent tariff on essential raw and packaging materials required by the local manufacturing industry.

The NDDG seeks to introduce a new layer and concentrate the distribution of drugs in recognised Mega Drug Distribution Centres, which will have exclusive authority to buy from manufacturers and sell to wholesalers.

Chairman, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG MAN), Mr. Okey Akpa, said the adoption of CET as currently provided would lead to total collapse of

the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry.

He noted that with more than 150 fully certified and regulated pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in Nigeria, including four that have complied with World Health Organisation (WHO) Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP), and over N500 billion investments and one million jobs, the Nigerian government should protect the local manufacturing sector.

According to him, the CET if implemented, will reverse the gains made towards Nigeria’s self sufficiency in essential medicine and open all doors for total importation of finished medicines.

“It is regrettable that the damaging consequences of the policy on the local pharmaceutical manufacturing sector were not considered despite our desperate attempts to draw attention to this. This policy undoubtedly spells doom for the local industry as imported

medicines will become far cheaper than locally produced ones. This situation is inimical to the survival of the local pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, and there is a need for an urgent review,” Akpa, who is also the managing director of SKG Pharma, said.

While noting the obligation of the Nigerian government as a signatory to Ecowas and the CET, Akpa said Nigeria should trigger a provision under the CET by imposing a import adjustment tax of 20 per cent on imported finished pharmaceutical products of HS Codes 3003 and 3004 as applied to other sectors where Nigeria has capacity as allowed by the CET. He added that the Nigerian government should also include inputs into pharmaceutical manufacturing such as raw materials, excipients and packaging materials under the National List within the CET and allow such inputs to be imported at zero per cent by bonafide manufacturers.

CBN bars BDCs from carrying out wire transfers

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HE Central of Nigeria (CBN) has directed that Bureau De Change (BDCs) are not authorized to fund import transactions in any form whatsoever, either by cash or wire transfer.

According to a statement issued yesterday, the CBN insisted that “authorised dealers are hereby barred from effecting wire transfers from the account of their BDCs’ to customers henceforth.”

The CBN said it was forced to issue this directive because of “the misconception that has to do with the fact that some importers believe that they can access Bureaux de Change (BDCs) segment for funding of

From Nduka Chiejina, Assistant Editor

those classified items arising from of its circular in respect of import items recently classified as “Not Valid for Foreign Exchange” in any of the segments of the Nigerian foreign exchange market.”

The CBN, however, stated that “BDCs are only authorized to deal in foreign currency cash and to sell not more than $5,000 to an individual customer and strictly for the following transactions: i) Business Travel/Personal Travel Allowance ii) Monthly mortgage payment iii) School fees abroad iv) Credit card payment v) Utility bills vi) Life insurance pre-

mium payment.”

BDCs were warned that “any Authorized Dealer that is found to have used funds from the interbank, exports proceeds and bureau de change to consummate these items classified as “Not Valid for Forex” or undertake money wire transfer for a BDC shall be sanctioned appropriately.”

The statement from the apex bank also said the CBN “has noted the unwholesome practice of movements of huge foreign currency cash across Nigerian borders by individuals and corporate bodies without compliance to extant law of declaration to the appropriate authorities.”

•CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele

To check this trend, the CBN the statement said is already collaborating with other relevant agencies of government to ensure compliance to the provisions of the law.

OLLOWING complaints from electricity consum ers, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has taken steps to provide redress for them through a synergy with the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA).

The two agencies yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja for NEMSA to provide technical data, or advice with which the Council can pursue redress for the consumer.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer, NEMSA, Peter Eweso, described any other technical inspector in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) as an interloper.

Its rival agency Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), last week appointed 14 inspectors, maintaining that the act that established the Commission empowers it to do so.

Last year, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), in furtherance of its role, sort collaboration in the power sector, with a view to addressing complaints from electricity consumers.

But Ewesor, who was commenting on the appointment of NERC’s inspectors said : “ I want to state categorically that any inspector appointed by anybody at this time, is an interloper and an intruder in the industry, because the NEMSA Act, 2015, makes it very clear, who is the inspector in the industry.

“Anybody can assign commercial inspectors if they want to, but I can tell you that those persons that have been appointed, we will ensure that they don’t intrude in our functions, and we have the mandate and we will not allow anybody to tamper with our mandate.”

He said following the MoU, NEMSA will provide the technical data on how companies have contravened the rules for CPC to pursue the redress .

He assured the Council that there will be continuous consultation on consumers affairs, noting that should NEMSA discover anything affecting electricity consumers, it will bring it to the notice of the CPC. Ewesor said the agency would also follow up such issues in accordance with reports and observation made, to enable the CPC seek redress for consumers.

He urged stakeholders, including all staff of CPC to furnish NEMSA with information of suspicious inferior electrical installations and equipment for solution to be proferred before they wreck havoc on the citizenry .

“I want to thank you for this opportunity for us to sign this MoU today. I want to say that we will continually have consultations on issues and if we see anything that has to do with consumers, which you are not even aware, we will actually make sure that this is brought to your table.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

THE NATION

BUSINESS BRANDS & MARKETING

e-mail: adedejiademigbuji@yahoo.com /mobile line: 08131075667

Winning a business pitch in the public relations, media and advertising industry is not always a game of luck. So many things go into getting a business aside being a leading agency. In the last few months, some agencies have lost business while some have added to their portfolio. Controversy has also trailed the emergence of one of the firms. In all, it is different strokes for different folks, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

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ETTING an agency to manage public relations, advertising, media or experiential marketing account is not always an easy task for brand owners. This is because it is a process that is cumbersome for both clients and agencies especially when an incumbent who understands the brand suspects that another agency might be hired. The agency will do whatever it could to retain the account.

Going out to the market place is full of several risks and costs are also involved as brand owners try to impress the prospective brand.

At the end, when pitches are concluded and winners announced, losers go home disappointed considering the prospect of the account, investment in external costs such as consumer research, animatics (for creative agencies), external artwork and the likes put into presentations. In the Nigerian marketing communication system, every agency is afraid to tell the media that the clients refused to pay pitch fee for fear of being blacklisted.

These, perhaps, are the cases of losers and gainers in recent pitches in the last few months where some PR and advertising agencies have won and lost businesses as the winners commence work for the second half of the year.

For MTN accounts adjudged one of the most juicy accounts in the telecoms sector, sometimes in March decided to review its marketing communication businesses.

The incumbent, MarketingMix Ideas Limited, had for 11 years managed the business, supporting the brand with various communication solutions against some of the telco’s PR challenges in the country. Propelled by the need to reconfigure its PR strategy, the telco called for pitch early in the year and appointed new agenciesBrooks & Blakes and DKK Associates.

The two agencies emerged out of nine that presented their pitch for the account. The other agencies that competed for the account include JSP Communications, Mediacraft & Associates, Black House Media (BHM) and Lead Communications.

Others are Soulcom Communications, a subsidiary of SO & U, and the incumbents –Marketing Mix and XLR8.

It was gathered that a week later, precisely on March 26 and 27, few hours before the presidential election, presentations were made by the various agencies. Participating agencies were told to expect result one month after in line with global practice.

Eventually, Brooks & Blakes and DKK Associates emerged winner.

The emergence of these firms is still being debated by leading PR practitioners.

DKK is being queried for winning a PR business while it is not a registered PR agency. While the controversy over the agency’s locus standi to manage a PR business, the winners have commenced work.

Meanwhile, after losing the juicy MTN PR business, XLR8 is not stranded. The agency recently won Guinness Nigeria corporate brand account. Its emergence followed an extensive selection process that included an open pitch for credentials presentations followed by panel discussions. Taking over the

Marketing pitch: Controversy trails emergence of winners

account from The Quadrant Company (TQC), its Corporate Relations Director, Mr. Sesan Sobowale, said: “Throughout the selection process, we were impressed by XLR8’s industry and market knowledge and we feel confident that the organisation possesses the wherewithal to add value and provide support as we partner to achieve our business objectives.”

The Chief Executive Officer of XLR8, Calixthus Okoruwa said: “Any organisation that has been able to build a brand and sustain its iconic status for more than 250 years deserves all the respect and adulation it gets.

“We are indeed, humbled by this opportunity to be of service to this formidable organisation and will continue to seek to justify the confidence which it has reposed in XLR8.”

The Guinness PR business is split into two-Corporate and Brands.

While XLR8 manages the corporate Brooks & Blake will continue to handle the brands portfolio.

Etisalat Nigeria PR pitch result is yet to be announced. About six agencies are currently on the hot seat waiting for Etisalat to decide.

The agencies are The Quadrant Company, the incumbent agency on the account, Chain Reactions,

Brooks and Blake, XLR8, MediaCraft and C&F Potter Novelli. C&F. C&F is the pioneer agency on the brand before the business moved to TQC three years ago.

“The struggle for Etisalat’s PR account could be a straight fight between TQC and C & F. The two agencies parade robust profile and seem to understand the brand more than their counterparts,” one sector analyst said.

However, having won the MTN PR business, Brooks & Blakes appear to be making tactical withdrawal from the race.

Meanwhile, so much business has also moved in the advertising industry from one agency to the other. Releasing its pitch result recently, Airtel arrived at the agency of choice from a list of five agencies invited for the main pitch. After credential presentation, it was gathered that Insight Communications, Centrespread Advertising and Noah’s Ark Advertising were selected winners ahead of the pack of agencies that contested for the creative business. According to reports, the telco, however, arrived at the final two winners and would be custodians of the business, after the review entered into the financial stage. This warranted prospective handlers to submit and

MTN pitch Brooks & Blakes, DKK Associates, JSP Communications, Mediacraft & Associates, Black House Media (BHM), Lead Communications, Soulcom Communications, a subsidiary of SO & U Marketing Mix and XLR8.

Winners Brooks & Blakes, DKK Associates

Guiness picth XLR8 The Quadrant Company (TQC) Winners XLR8, Brooks & Blake

Etisalat pitch TQC, Chain Reactions, Brooks and Blake, XLR8, MediaCraft and C&F Potter Novelli.

Winners Yet to be announced defend their financial requirements with a view to availing the client opportunity to align demands with its realistic budgets and financial projections. Airtel certified Centrespread and Noah’s Ark to manage the brand’s creative in Nigeria at least for the next two years.

In the same way, Centrespread is

expected to use the business to improve its rating and pedigree in the industry especially after a lull occasioned by the loss of some senior hands. It was gathered that the agency has since commenced a reorganisation and repositioning aimed at creating a youthful brand out of the over three decades old agency.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

Brandnews

Buhari urged to address monopolistic practice in pay TV

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HE Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of African Cable Television (ACTV), Mr. Godfrey Orkeh has condemned existing structure in the nation’s legal system. He lamented that it allows a dominant player to take advantage of the pay TV marketing environment.

Orkeh who spoke with reporters in Lagos, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to create enabling environment for other operators to thrive in the industry as the monopolistic tendency in the market is hampering healthy competition among players.

“We knew there is a monopolistic tendency in the market, the existing structure in the legislature of Nigeria allows a dominant player to take advantage of the environment,” he said.

Citing Europe, Orkeh noted that no pay TV owns 100 per cent of an industry saying this amounts to anticompetition where such exist.

He said: “The number one challenge in the industry is that there is no regulation, NBC (Nigerian Broadcasting Commission) is doing its best but there is no law that backs it up to penalise. Before the last government handed over, there was a bill that was being pushed, the anticompetition bill. It is like what we find in Europe that nobody can own 100 per cent of an industry, if you grow beyond a particular size, for instance when Microsoft, Google among others grew beyond a certain size, they were stopped to allow room for other players. There is no such law right now in Nigeria so it is a big barrier; it is only the legislature that can change that.”

He also complained that the foreign exchange is also affecting the industry player’s budget for foreign content. “Eighty per cent of what we buy is international content: CNN, BBC, Aljazeera; we buy in dollars. Apart from these, other challenges can be dealt with. However, as more players become part of the ecosystem of buying and distributing, the market will grow and there will be several players that will get access and customers will have more options to choose from and it is a good thing that such facility is not limited because it will enable Nigerians to benefit by have more options. This is good for the

• Orkeh Stories by Adedeji Ademigbuji

economy and the customers,” he lamented.

To stay ahead in the market, he said ACTV is has embarked on value-added approach as unique selling point to cater for the needs of the market of 170 million population. He said the pay TV is offering PVR decoder which they had to expend N70, 000 under the current market structure.

“Before we came to the market, there was no pay TV offering PVR for the middle class. For you to get decoder with PVR you have to cough out about N70, 000 but we are saying with N15, 000 you can have a PVR. In content wise there was a lot of exclusivity which is going to be difficult for one person to break. Beyond this, we will develop the market for our self, develop a niche for our self because right now the tendency is also thriving in the industry, Nigeria with a population of about 170 million, 26 million households with television, but the market is so huge. There is still a huge market that is not being addressed, we are here to capture that niche market and grow it,” he said.

“There are two types of content we buy in the industry, you either develop the raw content or you buy the linear content. The linear content is already a channel that someone has put together. The linear channel is a ready-made content; they determine

the schedule like the BBC, the content there is controlled by the BBC. The other aspect, which is the raw content, is for us to buy the materials and put them together,” he said.

Despite all the challenges, Orkeh said ACTV offer is an all-inclusive service that answers to the questions of all the demographics. “We are pushing innovation and making it available at a very convenient price.

We are actually addressing all our customers. This is different from the tradition which is a trend in the industry; we are targeting every member of the demographic groups in Nigeria, the high income earners to the middle income earners and to the lower earners. Looking at our subscription packages they are structured in that way, we will deliver across all of demographics. Our objective at the initial stage was targeted to the middle class but our experience has shown that the upper class and lower classes are also interested in our service,” he explained.

On the attitude of Nigerians toward foreign content, he said: “Looking at the entertainment industry now, without Nigeria music, the party will not rock unlike what we had in the seventies and nineties. There is a shift and 40 to 50 per cent of Nigeria adults now watch Nigerian content.

Can you believe that Channel TV after CNN in Nigeria has one of the highest rating and it is a Nigerian channel just because people are connected to the station, we belief the mindset is changing,” he noted.

While piracy remains the biggest problem to content marketing in Nigeria, Orkeh said hackers are becoming a more dangerous threat.

He said ACTV decided to use cardless and anti-virus software to protect its intellectual property.

“The issue we have regarding hackers, the solution we chose is that we are the first paid TV platform in Nigeria that is card-less. We have put away that element that can encourage hacking. Also the software we use is an active anti-virus, it is actively monitors any form of tempering and we deal with accordingly. We are not saying our platform is 100 per cent tamper proof, but what we have done is to reduce it to the barest minimum and make hacking as difficult and challenging as it could be to deter them,” he said.

Tech startups morph into flourishing entrepreneurs OUNG men and women who dare to dream in order to change the world in a positive way have found expression at the launch pad for emerging technology and trends, which is called Demo Africa.

These young people – all technology-savvy – have been given the opportunity to learn, earn and return to those who have invested in their dreams.

Demo Africa, the event has lived up to its name as over 16 of the 40 start-ups who demonstrated their nascent companies in 2014 have received an investment of some kind. Six startups shared $4 million. Many of these startups have managed to “acquire customers whom they are servicing and creating value for,” Executive Producer of DEMO Africa and CEO of African eDevelopment Resource Centre, Harry Hare told me.

These funds are used for different purposes depending on the maturity of the start-ups and its products. For instance some startups would use the funds to expand their businesses while others would apply the funds to execute their marketing strategies. Others may even employ the funds to refine their products and services further before making a dash to the market.

The most important thing is that these funds move the startups from where they are to where they want to be: the real world where their lofty ideas would put to the test. Demo Africa looks at seeing start-ups signing up deals shortly after having participated at the event.

For this to happen, Hare told me in a chat, “we need to bring the right audience”.

Nigeria hosted Demo Africa in 2014 with 40 tech startups. Ni-

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geria had the highest number.

The Local Organising Committee [LOC] inaugurated by former Communication Technology minister, Mobolaji Johnson, hosted a successful programme.

LOC chairman, Yele Okeremi, CEO of Precise Financial Systems, told me that “organising Demo Africa is a complex programme which required effective handshaking with various faculties. But, we had a very good programme in Lagos.”

However, the essence of Demo Africa is to get startup companies to meet with investors who will help take their businesses to the next level and turn them into another Facebook or Apple. Past participants at Demo Africa are getting significant funding for their businesses. The event has given several startups the benefit to taste the real world. They were brought face to face with, not shylock investors, but angel investors from Lagos, US, Europe and other African countries.

These angels, after having agreed ‘terms’, would mentor and monitor their growth in order to ensure that the business succeeds.

To get to this stage, nevertheless, Demo Africa usually takes the nascent tech companies through a rigorous pre-pitching programme [more like a beauty competition across Africa] where an aspiring CEO will have to demonstrate to select body of judges who are technology experts and business savvy individuals what he has to offer and why the watchful but dispassionate judges should consider his “offering” for selection.

According to Okeremi, Demo Africa seeks to develop technology from the startup company level and grow such companies to becoming global players over time.

Okhma wins marketing rights for Calabar Carnival

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FTER a series of presentations by several marketing companies seeking to handle The Calabar Carnival account, the Cross River State Carnival Commission, the agency responsible for overseeing the annual event have announced Okhma Global Limited – a marketing consulting firm based in Lagos as the Lead Marketing company for the carnival.

Their responsibilities include increasing the fund drive by more than eighty percent of revenue

accruable from marketing and also provide Marketing and PR Consultancy/advisory, strategy implementation, Media Content creation, production, Advertising and Sponsorship/partnership acquisitions.

Calabar Carnival festival in Nigeria, also tagged: “Africa’s Biggest Street Party”, was created as part of the vision of making Cross River State in Nigeria, the number one tourist destination for Nigerians and tourist all over the world.

The carnival, which begins on every

December 1 and last till December 31, has boosted the cultural mosaic of Nigeria people while entertaining the millions of spectators within and outside the State, and boosting industry for all stakeholders.

This year marks the eleventh edition of the multi event carnival that has garnered the reputation and multiple awards of Nigeria’s biggest and best-organised tourism event. The 2015’s coincides with the commencement of the new administration of Governor Ben Ayade, who said: “The

Carnival is a big brand not only in Nigeria. My biggest wish now is to make it even much bigger. I would like to see the Calabar carnival evoke same depth and passion as the Rio carnival in the international tourism market. We promised our people of our state economic transformation.

It will gladden our hearts to have tourists visit our state and witness the good things happening here while they also take time to bask in the abundance of our offerings at the carnival. And that we will surely do.”

The Managing Director of Okhma, Mary Ephraim, however, promised the commission that her marketing team would exceed their expectations.

“For me, leading the marketing effort isn’t business. It represents an opportunity for me to contribute my professional bit to improving an event and culture I had been part of as a young girl growing up in Calabar. This is something I had always wanted to do. We are grateful to the commission for the opportunity”.

Chivita 100% lists nutritional benefits to consumers

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HI Limited, makers of Chivita 100 per cent, has said it has made it easier for everyone to keep fit, by creating beverages that are simply healthy and affordable.

In spite of stiff competition and uncertainties in the marketplace, it said it has endured to build a brand that is a huge delight to fruit juice consumers.

Its Managing Director, Deepanjan Roy, said: “For us at Chi Limited,

we place premium on our consumers by ensuring that they get optimum nutritional value from Chivita 100 per cent. We employ the most advanced technology in the production of fruit juice and ensure that it is packaged in the most hygienic and convenient form available anywhere.

“Our technological process ensures that the juice retains its natural fruity composition and is of the highest

quality. We are confident that Chivita 100 per cent would continue to delight and nourish our numerous consumers across Nigeria.”

A nutritionist, Dr Adeleke Adelakun, said nutrition is a key enabler to meet almost every development goal for human beings, and we cannot over-emphasise the role that natural foods without artificial preservatives and refined sugars can play in achieving this.

He said:“Chivita 100 per cent fruit juices are naturally nutritious and are usually fortified with nutrients like vitamin C, calcium and vitamin D. They are considered a “nutrient dense” beverage because they contain far more nutritional value than other beverage choices per calorie.”

A health and lifestyle expert Angela Maduka, also said regular consumption of the orange flavour has helps to maintain a healthy

mucus membrane, skin and good vision.

This is because oranges contain very good levels of vitamin A and other flavonoid antioxidants which are known to have antioxidant properties. It has also been established that oranges are a good source of B-complex vitamins which are essential because the body requires them from external sources to replenish itsel.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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Local farmers are exploring the option of agro-processing of their produce to lessen waste, add value and increase earnings, reports DANIEL ESSIET.

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HIEF Executive, Natural Nutrient Limited, Sola Adeniyi, a moringa farmer, has established himself as a successful agro entrepreneur. He focuses on moringa and plantain. His company produces moringa fruits from improved cultivars.

Over the past five years, he has worked with other farmers to make moringa a tropical, multi-purpose tree grow from being practically unknown, even unheard of, to being a new and promising nutritional and economic resource. The seeds and leaves are rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals. They are widely used in fighting malnutrition.

But harvesting could be a challenge because a high level of hygiene is required. The leaves have to be harvested at the coolest time of the day: early morning or late in the evening.

The other thing is that there should be no dew on it before harvesting, especially in the morning, to avoid rot during transport. The farmers strip the leaves off the branches before transporting them to the processing centre or tied together in bunches by their stem or better, thinly spread out on trays or mesh to reduce temperature build up. Once this is not achieved, they face the challenge of post harvest loss. It is estimated that 40 per cent of crops, fruits and vegetables produced goes to waste, with loss mainly occurring during postharvest handling. One major effort to reduce food wastage is processing.

Adeniyi has taken it as another part of his business. He said he processes his produce to power and other forms to reduce postharvest losses and increase shelf life.

Where there are no adequate application of recommended postharvest treatments, the solution is processing to minimise losses and maximise profits. After harvest, the produce is transported to processing points where it is treated, sorted and packed, and then transferred to facilities or sent to markets. Processing moringa leaves and the seeds into power and other products helps Adeniyi to make more money. In all, the potential of agro processing is huge.

Aside from reducing wastage and enhancing food security, many Nigerians have found employment in small scale food processing, majority of them women.

This is because many farmers are establishing cottage food processing businesses to turn primary agricultural produce into other commodities for market.

Indeed, the agro-processing sector is going to play a significant role in terms of job creation and sustainability in the economy.

Consequently, members of groups such as Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN) and Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON) and other farmers organisation have taken to processing cashew, oilseeds, grains, fruits and vegetables, peanuts, cassava rice, maize, fruit canning and juice extraction and animal feed production.

AMEN President, Prince Saviour Iche said there are promising options for Nigerians to invest in small scale agro processing enterprises.

He identified agro-processing as a sector with high growth potential, despite the challenges of imports competition, loss of mar-

•A cassava processing machine

Farmers explore local agro processing ket, and the unstable currency and exchange rate.

According to him, the agroprocessing sector has the potential to become an industrial impetus that can create jobs and answer some of the country’s macro-economic questions.

Thus, AMEN is encouraging young Nigerians and retirees to undertake ventures in agro food processing.

Improvement in high-added value means that processors can earn a reasonable income as processed produce can fetch high retail prices than unprocessed produce.

However, there are major constraints to the development and growth of such enterprises due to inadequate raw material supplies, limited access to appropriate technology, failure by locally processed products to compete against imports, and limited access to credit.

The President, ASBON, Dr Femi Egbesola agrees with him.

According to him, the agroprocessing sector is relatively underdeveloped, comprising mainly of small and medium sized enterprises involved in the processing of traditional agricultural products for domestic use and export. There are a number of competitive constraints that currently hinder the expansion of the agro- processing sector, one of which is food safety requirements.

He added also that local processing industry is being truanted by multinational companies as they enjoy advantage over local players.

He stressed that agro-processing is important because adding value to the crops produced brings real income and that is where the real job opportunities lie.

The promotion of agro-processing, he noted, would add value to the nation’s agricultural products, which is an extremely important stream of industrialisation.

President, Anjorin & Atanda Investment Limited, Sunday Anjorin said it is of paramount importance that food producers compete on the global space. This, he added, can only be achieved through meeting stringent regulatory or certification needs for international food safety through processing.

Though, it is expensive to add value to agricultural materials, he added that there are significant benefits to all parties within food processing, for example in jobs created or supply chain efficiencies.

He said there is potential to enter the international markets for processed agro-produce, including cashew butter and cashew oil.

To do this, he said small-scale processors must be able to demonstrate that they can produce kernels that can be accepted by international buyers.

He wants the government to provide local producers with incentives to explore new technologies to increase food production.

At the moment, experts believe that the cassava boom is largely depended on local processing into wet and dry starch, and higher value food and industrial products.

As a result, so many local processing activities are taking place across the cassava sub sector.

This is expected to fuel economic growth and economic development.

One of them is the Project Director, Cassava Adding Value for Africa (CAVA) phase II, Prof Kola Adebayo.

He said CAVA supports farmers

with machines that allow for quicker processing of raw cassava, which is chipped and dried ready for sale within days.

The main opportunity for technology to make a difference is in the drying process. A flash dryer dries cassava mash very quickly, preventing fermentation.

A critical part of the technology transfer process was that CAVA mentored a Nigerian fabricator to produce a flash dryer that meets international standards. As a result, new engineering knowledge and skills are being developed and embedded locally.

So far, experts from the University of Greenwich and the Natural Resource Institute, United Kingdom have rated made-in-Nigeria flash dryers as a good tool for cassava processing that can be exported. The assessment was made

by Dr Andrew Graffham, a food safety and quality expert and Dr Andrew Marchant, a consulting engineer also from the institute, when they visited Nobex Technical Industries in Lagos.

The experts were in the country to promote the utilisation of cassava in other non-traditional products under the CAVA, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. CAVA involves Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi.

The programme works in collaboration with the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.

Graffham said: “In connection with what is going on here today, we’ve been working with a range of fabricators here in Nigeria, particularly with Nobex Industries to try and improve the processing equipment that the company produces, to make it more cost effi-

cient and to get a better output, lower cost per tonne and generally improve the quality.

“Nobex has exported one of its products to a commercial factory in Malawi and I believe that there will be a lot more export and I think this is very significant, because this is not Nigeria importing products now, but this is Nigerian made equipment being sold in another country and the people there are very happy with the product,” he said.

He also praised the Bank of Industry (BoI) for partnering with the company under the Cassava Bread Fund Initiative which has procured about 20 flash dryers for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the country for the production of high quality cassava flour (HQCF).

“Under the programme, we are interested in working with the SMEs, of which there are many across the country, processing equipment and improving the efficiency of them is quite an important area for us. And that has been going on now for more than six years, what you see today and what has been done with the Bank of Industry has been a good collaborative effort,” he said.

According to Marchant, the impact of cassava development in Nigeria was encouraging and has also been felt by the fabricators of the equipment as there are now factories with more machineries and 10 times the number of people that used to work in them.

“Another good thing we see is that the scale and quality of machinery is increasing, it is bigger and better, it would be a nice thing to display imported machineries with what can be produced here and import only what cannot be made here in Nigeria,” he said.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

FIIRO’s land research raises farmers’ income

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HE Director -General, Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO, Dr. Gloria Elemo, said the institute is focusing on increasing farmers and processors’ income by asking scientists to take scientific technology and results to the field to raise productivity.

Speaking while receiving members of the management team of West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPPNigeria) in the institute in Lagos, Elemo said there is need to take scientific technologies to agriculture and industries to boost farm production and meet growing food demand.

She said FIIRO in its 58 years of existence has developed over 250 technologies and completely packaged 50 of them ready for immediate commercialisation.

Besides,she said the institute has trained over 75,000 techno-entrepreneurs directly on its various developed technologies and over 500,000 in collaboration with other organisations such as the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)), National Directorate of Employment (NDE) among others.

She said about 25 technologies are transferred on weekly basis to prospective investors and numerous entrepreneurs have established manufacturing businesses based on the technologies they acquired.

According to her, the institute has recorded major breakthroughs in the development of process technologies/products that led to national policy formulations by the Federal Government, especially in the banning of importation of some raw materials and products.

Some of these technologies,she

Stories by Daniel Essiet

mentioned include; sorghum malting and brewing of 100 per cent sorghum beer, baking of bread and confectioneries from composite flours, cassava flour production, production of fruit juices from Nigerian fruits among others.

Mrs Elemo said the institute focused on industrial and agricultural research in areas of national interest, and to help farmers and entrepreneurs make better decisions and improve productivity.

According to her, raising agriculture and industrial productivity to meet the increasing demand for quality and quantity of food, is one of the most important challenges facing the country.

She reiterated that FIIRO aims to actively look into problems and develop sustainable solutions to help farmers and industrialists to solve their challenges and improve food output to feed the growing population .

The National Project Coordinator, WAAPP-Nigeria, Prof. Damian Chikwendu said the programme was set up to address pressing challenges affecting food production through research.

According to him, WAAPP Nigeria partnership with universities, research organisation and Federal Colleges of Agriculture to find solutions that will enhance crop yields and productivity,and improve delivery of quality food to Nigerians.

Addressing these challenges,he noted requires innovation along the whole food chain that is why the programme is establishing collaborative partnerships to drive

•Mrs Elemo and Chikwendu during the visit

forward projects resulting from the workshop and make a tangible difference to the future of food.

He praised FIIRO’s DG , Dr. Gloria Elemo, and the management for their feats and excellence entrenched in FIIRO ,especially with their rich human resource base and the area of human capital development. He said WAAPP will be working with FIIRO to disseminate available technologies in her crop priority commodities such as cassava, rice, yam and sorghum; by supporting increased production of extension publications and entrepreneurial trainings of the Project’s beneficiary’s with trainees drawn from her supported value chain innovation platform, adopted villages and schools, amongst others.

The NPC was conducted round the institute’s engineering workshops, cassava processing plant, and the food &analytical laboratories among others.

He further requested FIIRO to explore research on converting egg yolk to powder form, and drying of onions. The visit concluded with an agreement from both sides to collaborate and ensure that available technologies within FIIRO are commercialised. WAAPP-Nigeria ,before the close of last year, had opened discussions with FIIRO on modalities for collaboration and consequently signed a memorandum of understanding. A couple of proposals were submitted to WAAPP by FIIRO for possible areas of collaboration. To further

verify and make well informed decisions on the proposals and strengthen ties with FIIRO, the need for WAAPP visit to FIIRO in Lagos to hold further discussions with the Director-General became paramount. This is in line with WAAPP component three of funding agricultural research and accelerating and promoting technology adoptions.

While in Lagos, the NPC also visited the Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority and the WAAPP-sponsored Fish Cage Culture site at Bayeku/Igbogbo in Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State; and the fabricator hosting one of WAAPP’s Mango (Fruit) Dryer machine, NOBEX Tech Company Limited.

Experts seek inclusion of renewable energy development in agric

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HE Provost, Federal College of Agriculture (FCA), Akure Dr. Samson Adeola Odedina, has said a robust national plan to encourage renewable energy projects in the agricultural sector will open up the rural economies and reduce the cost of doing business.

Odedina said sustainable energy is needed for agricultural transformation. According to him, energy is needed in all aspects of agricultural and food production, processing, service provision and livelihoods improvement.

Sustainable energy solutions, he said, provides the key to improving energy poverty among the rural poor. These include sustainable interventions such as biomass for cooking, drying and heating and food processing.

To this end, he said the college is ready to implement projects through collaboration with partners to provide sustainable energy solutions for the agricultural industry.

He said the college has a blue print to help accelerate the rollout of renewable energy projects, add-

ing that the school can help farmers identify areas that may be suitable for energy development.

For instance, Odedina said the school has developed a successful biogas project that can help farmers to run biomass power generation system.

He explained that the biomass energy project, championed by the college is produced from cow and poultry wastes and that the system requires less maintenance and fewer inputs and is cheaper and more sustainable.

The college promotes biogas

Kano set to review agric policy to boost earnings

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ANO State Commissioner for Information, Internal Affairs Youth Culture and Sports, Malam Mohammed Garba, has restated the commitment of the state government to review agric policy with a view to getting money to fund developmental projects in the state.

Speaking to reporters in Kano, Garba said Kano was at liberty to exploit its abundant agricultural potentials, so as to ensure food security, adding that the administration is determined to exploit all viable avenues for economic survival.

According to him, the revenue base of the government can be enhanced through the exploitation

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

of the vast solid mineral resources, stressing that Kano has a comparative advantage in that direction.

He however, disclosed that the state government is poised to use the 27 major dams, strategically located in some parts of the state for the purpose of irrigation farming, including production of hydroelectric power, affirming that the government is left with no option than to exploit all the available resources at the disposal of Kano State.

Furthermore, he revealed that for the enhancement and consolidation of the revenue base of the

state, the commissioner revealed that a special committee has been established under the chairmanship of Professor Isah Dandago, the state Commissioner of Finance to work out a blueprint on how to generate additional revenue for Kano.

Also, Garba, who briefed reporters on the outcome of the first meeting of the Kano State Executive Council meeting, said that the state government has approved the sum of N2 billion for the procurement of 50,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser and would be distributed to farmers for the 2015 rainy season through gross enhancement support scheme (GES).

digesters for cooking and lighting.

He said the college envisages a transformed agricultural industry that meets the needs of the rural and urban poor, small holder farmers and provides transition to modernising agriculture.

The potential of land-based renewable energy to support profitable farming, while contributing to energy security, he noted, cannot be emphasised.

Odedina stressed the need to support renewable energy projects to help farmers not connected to the national grid reduce the cost of electricity production and diversify sources of power generation. He also encouraged the youth to take farming seriously and added that it is important for the youth to take training courses as ones offered at the college in order to get the required technical skill to excell in the farming business.

He said FCA is good because of its provision of quality human resource for the agricultural sector, integrated community development programmes.

He said the college efforts is contibuting immensely to improving food security, poverty reduction and environmental conservation.

Vice-President(Agriculture), Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria(ASBON),Mr Stephen Oladipupo said the government

needs to boost the private sector and support to tap new energy sources to ease power shortages.

He said tackling power supply issue help companies unlock their potential and create the economic opportunities that Nigerians are eager for.

He said Nigeria has an opportunity to improve the quality and quantity of agriculture growth by developing renewable energy.

He said the government can harness the enormous potential of the nation by investing in agricultural innovation.

According to him, improving renewable energy, will support profitable farming and underpins traditional agricultural production.

Renewable energy, he added, makes farm businesses more resilient and better able to manage volatility in both the weather and in farm prices.

According to him, the nation’s economic prospects hinge on its ability to meet fast rising demand for energy and securing access to millions of people who currently lack it.

He highlighted the importance of reforms to land use and agriculture, adding that the sector faces significant risks but it also has enormous potential to become part of the solution. Innovation in the sector, Oladipupo said has the potential to change the lives of millions of people.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

THE NATION

BUSINESS LABOUR

Manufacturers spend N3.5tr yearly on generators, says NLC

Fuel subsidy: NLC denies making presentation to Buhari M

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HE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has denied making any presentation to President Muhammadu Buhari on fuel subsidy removal.

Its factional President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, who spoke to reporters on the controversial statement made by the Comrade Joe Ajaero faction of the NLC said: “We would want to state unequivocally that at no time has any one consulted us on the issue of the removal of fuel subsidy.

“We are certainly not party to this and no one should put words in our mouth. Our position on the issue of the removal of fuel subsidy is unwavering. We recognise the corruption in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry orchestrated by government agencies in collusion with bigtime business persons together with whom they have formed a cartel.”

He said labour strongly beleives that in order to deal with

Stories by Toba Agboola

this situation effectively, government needs to break up the cabal by opening up the downstream sector to fair competition governed by ethics.

He recalled that the mass protest in January 2012 against an increase in prices of petroleum products opened up a can of worms in the sector, prompting legal proceedings against some of the culprits. “Till this moment, in spite of overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence against the culprits, nothing has been heard about the case(s); yet it was a prime opportunity for government to demonstrate its fight against corruption through diligent prosecution,” he said.

Comrade Wabba urged Buhari to muster the political will by not only opening up the sector to fair competition, but also ensuring diligent prosecution of all the accused. He said labour remained

convinced that the real solution to the crisis in the sector lies in ensuring that domestic refining is promoted.

He noted that this could only be achieved if new refineries are built and the four existing ones made to produce at installed capacity, thus doing away with the need for importation of refined petroleum products. He also said new pipelines should be laid and the old ones refurbished to efficiently channel the products to all parts of the country instead of relying on carriage by tankers on the already over-burdened roads.

The jobs of workers in the oil and gas industry, he said, must not be adversely affected by the removal of subsidy. “And, of course, there must be clear and well-thought-out palliatives relating to transportation and other social services as would be necessary for ameliorating the effects of subsidy removal on the masses,” Wabba added.

ANUFACTURERS spent an estimated N3.5 trillion annually to run power generators for production due to the collapse of public electricity, the President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Waba, has said.

Speaking at a business luncheon for managing directors/chief executive officers organised by the Ikeja branch of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Lagos, he said the energy sector is critical to the manufacturing sector of the economy.

“Any government that is serious about reviving the economy must make the revival of the power sector a priority. The challenges faced in terms of decayed infrastructure, bad road and epileptic power supply are necessary factors in production and their deficits have made manufacturing difficult, leading to the closure of not a few industries while a lot more had to relocate to other countries.

“It is auspicious that both manufacturers and labour build a strong alliance to step up campaigns for the revival of our economy, which can only be done through the reactivation of all infrastructures needed for real production,” he said, adding that apart from infrastructure decay, manufacturers are confronted with other challenges, particularly indebtedness.

Ayuba said: “While you have to borrow to produce, majority of your corporate consumers, particularly government are hugely indebted to some of you. Another challenge we know you face is the importation of products, which you also produce locally. These imported products take advantage of your deprivations in the area of infrastructures to bring in goods, most of which are substandard and sell them cheaper than yours.”

He said there can’t be fair competition when cost of production, standards and other environmental factors are not the same. “We therefore, urge government to impose total ban on the importation of all goods produced by our local manufacturers. We believe our country, with over 160 million population can be a major manufacturing hub in Africa if our government encourage our local manufacturers,” he said.

The NLC President added that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is not helping matters on the issue of importation of banned and fake products, adding that NCS should be patriotic in their duties by protecting the people, economy and the national interests at all times.

“Our borders are too porous, and they need to urgently defend their profession by ensuring banned and adulterated goods don’t cross into our country,” he said.

ASSBIFI to govt: protect workers’ right

T • From left: Ex-offico, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) Network of Women Entrepreneural Women (NNEW), Mrs. Aderoju Odunsi, Principal Manager, Bank of Agriculture (BoA), Mrs. Oluwafemi Afolabi, and Deputy Director, DFD, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Ade Adedeji at NNEW Conference on Agriculture in Lagos.

Labour kicks against lift of ban on textile materials

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EXTILE workers have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse the recent lifting of ban on textile materials.

Acting under the aegis of National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), they said the decision to lift the ban on textile materials would lead to massive job loss.

The General Secretary of the union and Deputy President of the Joe Ajaero-led faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Issa Aremu, who spoke with reporters in Lagos, said the decision to remove the ban on textile materials remained illegal because it did not follow due process.

Aremu regretted that the decision to lift the ban remained counterproductive to government’s efforts in promoting the growth of local industry, saying the latest decision would sound a death knell for the textile sector.

Aremu stated that the decision to relax the ban on the importation of textiles into the country was not in the interest of the masses, adding that the first test of Buhari’s ‘Change Initiative’, would be to reverse the decision.

“Lifting the ban is illegal as it

• Warns of impending job losses did not follow due process. Before the ban came into force, there were lots of discussions with all the stakeholders. Recall that the ban was put in place so that African prints can have comparative advantage because we have the capacity to produce locally as well as huge market,” he said.

He lamented that the textile sector, which had been the leading employer of labour is now operating in the shadow of its old self with over 20 companies shut down.

The Labour leader said former President Olusegun Obasanjo, after deliberations with the stakeholders, decided to put the ban in place, adding that the policy was equally retained by late President Musa Yar’adua and to some level, Goodluck Jonathan.

“The same process it took to put the ban in place is the same process we expect the government to take into consideration to lift the ban. It cannot be done casually. All the stakeholders must be called for deliberation”, he stated.

Aremu said the Federal Government should give the sector the kind of support given to local ce-

ment manufacturers, which has made them to thrive through the total ban on importation of cement.

“We are not afraid of competition, if it’s done in good faith. If importers of textile materials pay the right duties and come in with quality products, our local industry can compete favourably with them. But a situation where they come in with inferior products through the back doors and saturate the market, thereby making it impossible for the local industry to break even is not good for our economy,” he argued.

While calling for better funding of the Customs in order to combat smugglers, whom he said now have more sophisticated weapons, the textile union scribe said seized goods should be burnt as they often find their way back to the local markets.

He also charged the state governments to look inward to grow their economies through agriculture and industrialisation as it was the case in the 60s and 70s, rather than going cap in hands begging for bail-out from the Federal Government.

HE Association of Senior Staff of Bank and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) has called on the Federal Government to protect the rights of workers.

The association lamented that despite the existence of international labour standards relating to recruitment, national laws in the country, their enforcement often fall short of protecting workers’ rights.

Its Deputy President, Comrade Olasanoye Oyinkan, who spoke with reporters, lamented that public and private employment agencies in the country have been involved in one or more deception about the nature and conditions of work for workers She said: “We call on government at all levels, the federal, states and local governments to protect the rights of workers as they are the creation of wealth for the nation. Our call

is necessary because when the public and private employment agencies are appropriately regulated, they would play an important role in the efficient and equitable functioning of labour markets by matching available jobs with suitably qualified workers.”

According to Oyekan, in today’s globalised economy, workers are increasingly looking for job opportunities beyond their home country.

On the recent picketing of Alpha Beta Limited over the sack of 300 workers, the labour leader deplored the action of the company in the face of economic hardship in the country.

She, however, explained that before the company sacked the workers, they reported to the Ministry of Labour and Productivity, but before the meeting, Alpha-Beta had gone ahead to sack 300 workers.

Recall sacked workers, TUC urges Wike

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HE Trade Union Congress (TUC) has called on the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, to recall the sacked 344 lecturers, and others employed at the Rivers State Polytechnic, Bori, since September 2014 by the immediate past administration led by Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi.

TUC said the priority of his leadership now should be good governance that would transform the state.

The Congress in a statement by its President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, and Secretary General, Comrade Musa Lawal, expressed shock and disappointment at the news of the sack, especially because of the grave consequences it portends for the affected workers, their dependants and the society at large.

The labour centre noted that the governor’s actions could most likely be the fall-out of the political acrimony that traversed the period before and during the recent elections in the state, saying that all such considerations ought to have gone with that period. TUC advised the governor to make

good governance a priority.

According to the Congress, “Nigerians have become increasingly interested in public affairs and impatient for good governance because of years of unfulfilled promises by their leaders. They are much wiser now and can no longer be fooled and impoverished by a minute percentage of the populace.”

TUC argued that many of the people whose appointments the governor terminated probably voted for him. “How will they explain to their friends, family members and associates that the man they so much believed in and voted for has relieved them of their jobs in spite of the fact that job creation and provision of infrastructure were among his campaign promises,” they queried.

The congress called on government at all levels in the country to eschew politics of bitterness. It observed that government is a continuum, and any useful project embarked on by a preceding administration should not be done away with so as not to waste taxpayers’ money that has been expended on it.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL

LETTER

Kogi, where water is more than gold

Wilful waste •Nigeria should federalise the solid minerals sector to expand the economy

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NEWS report, in Vanguard newspaper, claims Nigeria loses about N50 trillion yearly because the bulk of mineral resources, buried nationwide, is not mined. Even if many could controvert the basis for this figure, there is no controversy that the mining sector of the Nigerian economy is near-comatose.

That is a clear bastion of wilful waste, even as the country faces a crunch, with dwindling cash from oil and gas.

The lull in the mining sector had not always been a way of life. Nigeria was the global largest exporter of columbite in the pre-and early independence years; aside from robust records in lead and zinc mining, aside from the famous coal mines of Enugu; and the tin mines of Jos. But the solid minerals sector got abandoned with the advent of oil and gas. With oil becoming the country’s revenue mainstay, the hitherto federalised operating laws that delivered the region-driven solid minerals mining activity and prosperity of the pre-independence era and the pre-mili-

‘No doubt, there is an urgent need to exploit solid minerals to diversify revenue and boost the economy. But before that, conscious and deliberate efforts should be made to develop a robust market-cum-financial infrastructure, a policy that should reassure foreign investors; and point their attention to the untapped gold in the Nigerian earth; and the shared treasure assured, should they come invest in the country’

tary rule years became centralised. With seeming easy money from oil and gas from a central purse feeding the states, there was little impetus to challenge the centrist laws that decreed the Federal Government should monopolise the ownership and mining of solid mineral resources.

With the present turn of events, that situation must change. The Mining and Mineral Act of 2007 gives the Federal Government the exclusive rights to explore and exploit mineral resources, wherever located in the country.

The negative effect was two-fold: the central government, flushed with petrocash, was in no hurry to dabble into robust mineral deposits exploration and exploitation, though it made a show of granting a slew of barren licences. Then, dog-in-amanger fashion, the Federal Government kept at bay the state governments, which local revenue could be boosted by renewed mining activity. The net result is wilful waste.

Besides, because of Nigeria’s “nannyeconomy”, which puts the states on a virtual federal dole, when they could themselves work their hearths, the states have not developed the capacity to take on fresh investments needed in solid minerals exploration and exploitation. Even where there are clearly established deposits in commercial quantity, the centralised mining and mineral laws give states little leeway to play in that sector, even in partnership with foreign investors.

With the petro-dollar crunch, and the urgent need to further diversify the economy and federalise resources, that legal regime must change. So, the Buhari Presidency should, in earnest, work with the National Assembly, to at least amend the 2007 law

to make mining concurrent. But the eventual destination, under the federal doctrine, is to give states exclusive mineral rights, with the trade-off of each paying commensurate taxation into the central purse.

No doubt, there is an urgent need to exploit solid minerals to diversify revenue and boost the economy. But before that, conscious and deliberate efforts should be made to develop a robust market-cumfinancial infrastructure, a policy that should reassure foreign investors; and point their attention to the untapped gold in the Nigerian earth; and the shared treasure assured, should they come invest in the country. Such a document, with a federalised legal regime, would strengthen the hands of the state governments or even a corps of states jointly investing in exploring and exploiting a certain mineral resource.

With all the pre-investment fundamentals fulfilled, a massive effort to create awareness and local and foreign markets for Nigeria’s metallic and non-metallic minerals like gold, zinc and gemstones like sapphire, aquamarine, topaz and emerald, just to mention a few, would be in order.

Sunny Ekosin, president of Miners’ Empowerment Association of Nigeria, told Vanguard Nigeria could gross N8 trillion yearly from gold alone. If true, and barring the notorious oil-era corruption, Nigeria might just be on the cusp of a new economy, with every part of the country driving its own wealth and paying appropriate taxes into the central purse.

That prospect is exciting and enchanting. But changing the present centrist legal regime is the key.

Ebola comeback •Nigeria cannot go to sleep with the resurgence of EVD in Liberia

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UST when the world thought the threat from the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) had become inconsequential, the potential consequences of a new death from the affliction in Liberia, which was declared Ebola-free on May 9, has justifiably set the alarm bells ringing again. The country was labelled safe after the standard 42 days without infections.

But all that has changed with the news of the death of an unnamed Liberian teenager, whose body tested positive for Ebola, prompting official efforts to trace people he may have had contact with. It is disturbing that Liberia has announced two more confirmed cases of Ebola infection resulting from physical contact with the 17-year-old victim before his death on June 28 in Margibi County, a rural area near the capital, Monrovia.

Even more unsettling, health officials appear clueless on how the victim caught the virus. To compound the development, there is speculation that he could have been infected by an entirely new variant of the virus from an animal such as a fruit bat, rather than from a human. There is also a worrying possibility that Ebola is alive and well under the surface, outside the focus of local or international health personnel. The virus is transmitted through body fluids, and symptoms of infection include diarrhoea, vomiting, internal haemorrhaging and external bleeding.

Tragically, a total of 11,207 people have died from Ebola in Liberia, neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone since the De-

cember 2013 outbreak, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO); and about 43 percent of those deaths were in Liberia where the epidemic claimed hundreds of cases a week between August and October last year. Although WHO figures suggest that the spread of the virus has been arrested with only 12 new confirmed cases reported in Guinea and eight in Sierra Leone as at June, the fresh Liberian case has introduced a complication.

The situation is grave enough for Nigeria, which shares the West African subregional space with the countries at the heart of the Ebola epidemic, making it geographically vulnerable. This reality was captured by the spokeswoman for the U.N. Ebola response mission, Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba, in a reaction to the latest Ebola death in Liberia. “This should have been expected because as long as there is Ebola in the region, no one country can be safe. Liberia is vulnerable because of Guinea and Sierra Leone,” she was quoted as saying. In truth, so also is Nigeria because of its subregional neighbours.

The Liberian experience should be regarded and treated as a serious alert by the Nigerian authorities. In the circumstances, it would amount to sheer ostrichism if Nigeria chooses to bask in complacency on account of the declaration by WHO in October last year that the country had become Ebola-free, following a difficult four-month period during which 20 Ebola cases and eight related deaths were recorded. It is worth recall-

ing that Nigeria’s Ebola problem was triggered by the entry of an infected Liberian into the country.

It is relevant to quote the statement by WHO country representative in Nigeria, Rui Gama Vaz, saying that the Ebola storm was over. He said: “WHO officially declares that Nigeria is now free of Ebola virus transmission. The virus is gone for now. The outbreak in Nigeria has been contained. But we must be clear that we only won a battle. The war will only end when West Africa is also declared free of Ebola.”

As things stand, Nigeria should be vigilant to prevent an unwanted Ebola reappearance and ensure that its response capacity is primed. The development calls for protective measures based on a proactive approach. The country must not be caught napping.

‘The Liberian experience should be regarded and treated as a serious alert by the Nigerian authorities. In the circumstances, it would amount to sheer ostrichism if Nigeria chooses to bask in complacency on account of the declaration by WHO in October last year that the country had become Ebolafree’

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IR: Regular provision of pipe-borne water has remained a chief challenge among the populace, more importantly, in most urban and semi-urban centres throughout Nigeria. Due to the present economic hardship, many residents and house owners are unable to pay the huge amounts that borehole outfits and water tanker operators usually charge. The borehole business and water tanker dispensary has become a huge venture in most semi-urban centers and cities across the country, because of the irresponsibility and inability of government to prioritize provision of regular water supply to the populace.

Kogi state is one of the states created on August 27, 1991, by the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida (Rtd). Lokoja, the state capital is an ancient town that is well blessed with vast water resources, being the host of the confluence, a national landmark which portrays the meeting point of the two great rivers Benue and Niger. Despite this natural advantage, the lack of potable water accurately rhymes with an anonymous sailors distress statement “water, water everywhere, but not a single drop to drink”!

Despite the availability of abundant water resource, obsolete and low capacity water infrastructure and neglect on the part of government to fully harness the water resource, contributed to worsen the water supply crisis in Lokoja metropolis and its environs. Successive government from the first military administrator, Colonel Danladi Zakari to the incumbent, Idris Wada, have failed to put any meaningful and deliberate measures in place at addressing the water needs of the people. It was only during the administration of the immediate past governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, that an attempt was made aimed at addressing the acute water shortage in the state capital and environs, which led to a re-visit of the report of the technical committee on the “Greater Lokoja Water Project, originally initiated in 1995 by the military administration of Colonel Paul Omeruoh.

Although, the central senatorial district of the state is blessed with big dams, like the Ekuku Dam and Osara Dam, which could effectively supply more than 50million gallons per day to the inhabitants of that part of the state and even the entire state, the atavistic politics in the state has been a major impediment against these water projects. The Irehu waterworks which use to supply potable drinking water to the people of Okene and environs have been reduced to a mere campaign tool for winning the votes of the people of that part of the state by political aspirants.

If urgent measures are not taken by both the federal and state government to do something deliberate at addressing the age-long water crisis in Lokoja and Kogi State in general, the probability of an outbreak of disease, affecting the entire nation, due to the strategic location of the state as a gateway to all the geopolitical zones in Nigeria cannot be ruled out.

• Hussain Obaro, Ilorin, Kwara State.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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CARTOON & LETTERS

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IR: The conduct of this year’s general elections was a watershed as many observers both from within and outside the country saw it as a deciding factor in bringing about the desired peace and continued corporate existence of the nation. Before now, notable international think-tanks had predicted that the country was going to disintegrate. The way and manner the two main political parties; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) went about their campaigns added to the already level of apprehension such that the parties accused each other of engaging in hate speeches.

This is where the Attahiru Jega-led INEC would be remembered for good.

The introduction of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and the Card Reader Machine (CRM) for the verification and accreditation of voters has no doubt stamped credibility into our electoral process.

From the onset, INEC under Jega, had carried along all the registered political parties on the need to appreciate the importance of the use of the high-tech devices in minimising the incidence of malpractices. In spite of the pressure mounted against INEC to drop the idea, it is on record that the adoption of PVCs eventually made it absolutely difficult for intending voters to use the cards that were not theirs. Not only was the introduction of the card rendered useless, it staved off the practice of buying voter cards by desperate politicians.

Despite the encouraging performance by INEC, there are some areas where the incoming helmsman would need to improve on. To begin with, INEC would need to carry out more sustained voter education and enlightenment of the electorate so as to know those things expected of them during general elections.

Lack of adequate awareness was largely blamed for the demonstration that initially trailed the use of the card readers in the 12 states of

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Now that Jega has taken a bow the federation, following the postponement of the presidential poll.

There were also reported cases of voters not knowing where to thumbprint, a factor that could have been largely responsible for why there was high prevalence of void votes.

This should be looked into by the incoming chairman.

Another area that needs improvement, based on the outcome of the general elections, is in the logistics as electoral materials were still reported to have arrived many polling units late and in some other places, voting materials reportedly got to the voting points too late when

the accreditation of voters should have ordinarily ended. INEC staff were found deficient in operating some of the machines, hence suggesting the urgent need to embark on the thorough training of staff ahead of the pending tasks.

The use of the “incident forms” during the elections allegedly led to large-scale rigging. It was a major factor too in the inconclusive outcome of the governorship and state assembly polls in some states like Taraba and Imo. Another anomaly INEC has to correct is the haphazard distribution of PVCs which was done in a manner that was said to

have disfranchised many voters.

The daunting challenge before INEC still has to do with the numerous electoral litigation involving the commission even though the umpire had shouted it loud and clear that it does not have such financial base and time to prosecute these offenders, hence the justification for the establishment of the electoral offences tribunal. So far, little has been done in that regard.

Also, the new helmsman needs to review the remuneration of its regular staff and the ad-hoc staff that would be used in future elections.

Even after the last polls, many offi-

cials of INEC were said to have embarked on demonstration and protests, urging the commission to pay them the approved stipends. The relative success recorded by Jega would forever be appreciated and this goes on to say that his successor should be able to do more to raise the bar of excellence.

Finally, we should always remember that Jega once expressed the fears that there was a great danger that the country might lose the improvements made by him in the conduct of elections. One re-assuring way to consolidate on this solid foundation would be to make a conscious attempt at getting the right person as his successor. Truly, the former INEC chairman has raised a perfect point that we should all appreciate.

That is how continuity can take roots in our electoral system.

• Adewale Kupoluyi Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

Udom’s human infrastructure plan IR: Recently, during a church service at Qua Iboe Church, Governor Udom Emmanuel had while addressing the congregation disclosed the intention of his government to sponsor about 1000 Akwa Ibom youths on Oracle Certification training in ICT. Such a cheering news was applauded by many as a step in the right direction.The benefits derivable from such training programme for both the beneficiaries and by extension the state, cannot be quantified in terms of the value it would add to the society, nay the planned industrial revolution which the administration is set out to achieve for the state.

The demand for oracle professionals is growing at an incredible pace.

Oracle certifications are tangible, industry recognized credentials that can help them succeed in their IT career and provide immeasurable benefits to both the employee and

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employer.

Today, there are over 350,000 Oracle certified professionals worldwide whose services are needed in oil companies, banks, manufacturing companies, big time construction companies, security organisations and they can set up their own IT firm and be their own boss, doing IT jobs for corporate bodies.

The benefits of certification is that it establishes some measurement of the knowledge of an IT professional, and it is also important to those seeking employment in a field that often has many candidates competing for a single position, because it gives one an edge over the rest.

An oracle certification shows the potential employer that the candidate seeking for employment in his company, has the background and education to quickly become a productive member of their staff. Em-

ployers look for ways to distinguish employees and prospective employees who have the solid foundation of skills needed for effective performance.

Companies which uses oracle software, find it easy to sell services when their customers know that they are being serviced by Oracle experts as they are better equipped to complete complex tasks. It is therefore, pertinent here to explain that Oracle certifications are valid credential recognized by industry that can help one to succeed in their IT career.

Oracle is the world’s largest enterprise software company and to get the Oracle certification from this company is really a great credit to one’s career.

Our governor, Udom Emmanuel means well for our youths. He intends to add value to about a thousand of them in the proposed Oracle certified IT professional course that

will soon take off. It should be noted that the cost of acquiring an oracle training is quite high in terms of the financial implication, hence, the state government deserves commendation in this regard.

One good thing Oracle certification will do to those Akwa Ibom youths who will benefit from the training program is that the certification help them entry into job market by making them confident in their abilities in their area of certification and in addition, it would help them present a more marketable re’sume to prospective employers.

Those that will benefit from the training program, should possess at least a minimum of OND certificate if the essence of the program is to be realized by the government.

• Solomon Eyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 16

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COMMENTS

The way music dies (2) Email: tunji_ololade@yahoo.co.uk 08038551123, 08111845040

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HERE is something pathetic about Mavin music: Dorobucci, Eminado, Surulere to that recent medley about rumour mongers, the artistes, song writers and their producer seem trapped in a musical dystopia of sort that makes them repeat identical drivel in every song. A lot is seriously wrong with the thinking of the artistes to make them believe that Nigerians are too dense musically to appreciate better music of any kind.

Music mixes with reality; every era boasts of artistes and a music culture that manifests as a rallying cry against oppression, apartheid, sexual violence, kidnap for ransom among several afflictions plaguing that era. But even as Nigeria grapples with myriad of evils from terrorism, advance fee fraud, unemployment, insensitive leadership to gang violence, artistes at Mavin records can only dwell on the superficial. They tell the same story in every song: “We are making money,” We are big spenders,” “We are the elite pack,” “We are the jocks amid Nigeria’s middling music crowd.”

Contemporary Nigerian music hardly ventures from such conurbation of raw energy into the much sought hamlet of genius and commercialism which pioneer local musicianship initiated; neither does it enrich the global party or exit it into the uninhabited isolation of experimentalism. The norm is for artiste, music journalist and enthusiast to simply jump on to any trending musical train without knowing what they are getting into or where they are going. Taste has become a big issue in contempo-

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rary music; talent too. Then there is the most crucial aspect, which is the dearth of tastemakers: that is, competent music journalists cum critics. Many music writers are casualties of a broken system; pitiful pawns perpetually engaged in disgraceful surrender to the forces that determine the sound of music. They do not put up a good fight anymore thus the lack of discernible Zeitgeist in Nigerian music.

This emphasises the role of the music journalist and critic. No apologies, but besides Benson Idonije, Victor Akande, Ayo Animashaun, Damola Awoyokun, Femi Akintunde Johnson (FAJ) and a few good intellects here and there, music journalism suffers a dearth of constructive criticism, competent writers and intellectuals. This makes the idea of a progressive, unfettered, cross-fertilization of ideas and opinions manifest like fading vignettes of a utopian wet dream.

Sadly, the reality of the internet, despite its palpable benefits, presents a malignant tumour of sort to music journalism. No thanks to the social media, we are afflicted with a parade of musically challenged bloggers impatiently hustling to broadcast their ignorance, bigoted ripostes and uninformed judgment to the pleasure and appreciation of equally dim folk.

Consequently, local music asphyxiates in the sickly babble of bloggers and self-acclaimed music critics tirelessly propagating their middling and formulaic opinions, riddled with errors and inadequate music knowledge. For a lot of these music bloggers, music didn’t start before Remedies, DBanj, P-Square,

HE carnage witnessed last week along Benin-Ore road was not an isolated incident. It has become the permanent feature of the federal highways. Over 90 per cent of the federal roads in Nigeria are in ruins. My neighbour escaped death by the skin of his teeth in one of the federal roads, but his wife was not so lucky. In trying to avoid a dangerous crater on the highway, you run the risk of skidding straight into the river or colliding with another vehicle.

I often shake my head in pity anytime I drive on these death traps that are called federal highways: How can anyone avoid fatal accidents on these roads? Even the most careful driver is prone to accident!

Being a new administration, nobody will hold President Muhammadu Buhari responsible for the derelict state of these motorways. But once his government marks one year or two in office, Nigerians will forget that he inherited the dilapidated highways and an empty treasury. It is just about a month that the new government was sworn in and some smart guys are already attempting to deflect attention away from the malfeasance of the last administration. But a word first on the purse of the central government.

It would seem an understatement for President Muhammadu Buhari to speak of inheriting an empty treasury. I think we should thank God that the President even met a treasury at all. With the monetary bonanza, bazaar and lottery that characterized the electioneering of the ruling party in the last general elections, we should be grateful to the almighty that both the purse and its contents had not disappeared altogether. With the sincerity of purpose, prudence in public finance management, transparency and accountability that will hallmark the Buhari administration (and we can see the signs already), I believe money will begin to flow back into the empty government purse and will ultimately be filled once more.

But I have some worries. A friend once told me a story that has stuck to my memory. His disciplined, prudent and industrious secondary school principal ensured those sterling qualities rubbed off on the academy, resulting in the students passing their exams with flying colours and a buoyant school till. However, within a few years of graduation, the principal was transferred and replaced by a footloose and spendthrift head. The treasury was emptied in no time, and indiscipline soon began to take its toll on the performance of the students.

The school eventually became a shadow of its former self.

As the saying goes, a man may leave behind a gargantuan fortune, there is no guarantee those coming after him will be wise. As it stands today, the politics of Nigeria is so fluid and there is no certainty about anything. No one needed a prophet to predict that the present ruling party would undergo one form of crisis or the other. That would be taken for granted in any concourse of people with different or disparate backgrounds. But no political seer could have predicted the recent

Inyanya, America’s Rihanna and Beyonce Knowles. So shallow is the trough from which they cull that their much hyped reviews often resonate like the dying shrill of a vanishing storm.

Many music bloggers are too busy chasing adverts and perpetuating music streaming that they no longer encourage their readers to buy albums. Eventually, the artistes are deprived of due income and in this culture of mediocrity and entitlement that the internet fosters, the listener and music enthusiast loses out on quality, a sense of ownership and loyalty to the artiste.

An opinion expressed on tweeter possesses less depth, it’s all about pushing sales; but a well written album review or music feature, isn’t just about generating hits, its more about creating that ideal amphitheatre where the impetus of an album chugs away like a locomotive as it constantly gravitates towards a new sound or improve upon a previous one.

Good old music journalism is all about projecting good music and giving it the care and attention it deserves, while maintaining a spirit of questioning curiosity that constantly explores why a particular album is good, and how artistes can continue to push boundaries. It’s this interchange between artiste, journalist and music lover that gives rise to fertile discourse and creative experimentation, rather than pathetic trend-chasing.

Nigerian music dies because the music journalist forgets how sacred his relationship with his readers should be; he is too star struck and covetous of the success of confused music stars he helps create; he believes that success subsists in crafting captions for pathetic artistes’ drivel and heavily photo-shopped portraits.

True; hatchet pieces could be fun to write, but you aren’t spending much time with songs and art as

you are conjuring stock phrases and currency-activated analogies. The few discerning readers and music enthusiasts that are still around know this; that is why they skim through contemporary music reviews like distressing poetry. They find that more writers are desperately justifying bad music and getting ‘paid’ rather than examine sonic chemistries or the lack thereof.

The internet may have expanded our breadth, but little has guided the Nigerian music journalist to piece it all together or put it into some kind of historical or social perspective other than what he has been paid to publicize and our ears can piece together, regretfully.

The commitment and depth of the music journalist goes a long way in enriching or diminishing the music; a competent music journalist will be well-versed in the minutiae of his most dreaded sound as the eternal harmonies of his preferred “hit.” Wrongly appreciated songs, ill-prescribed genres, and cliché evocations are hardly the stock of music journalism as we would love to read it. And is it not thoughtless that those who judge professionally desperately seek not to be judged in kind? The alternative to such naivety is that bland specialty wherein the music journalist remains wedded to a genre, becomes baffled by outside forces reigning in on such genre, or wrongly accuses all other music aficionados of “trespassing.”

More disturbing, is the premise that an authentic reaction to music shouldn’t involve our minds—only

our hearts and groins; that is ridiculous, isn’t it? Forget Beethoven, Johnny Coltrane, Frank Sinatra, Billy Paul, The Manhattans, Tupac Shakur, Marshall Bruce Mathers III (Eminem), the best of our melodies from Highlife to Apala, Juju, Fuji and Afro Hip hop touches us everywhere at once but hardly anyone gets to really feel it today.

The best music journalism should set the standards for the industry and regulate it. It should be more than an attempt to wrap writers around the fingers of every artiste, record label and corporate sponsor with a “flava” plan. It uses the language of everyday musicality but too much of Nigerian music journalism lacks such passion and artistry.

That is why we are inundated by crappy music. That is why Nigeria currently fields no artiste worthy of global acclaim save Bukola Elemide (Asa), Tuface Idibia, late Irikefe Obareki (Kefee), Babatunde Olusegun (Mode 9) and budding, misguided rap whiz, Olamide, to mention a few.

Every album contains a bit of truth, true lies or fantasy; it is the job of the music journalist to justify the album’s existence and the need to write about it in the first place. It’s not that I, who write this, will succeed in doing a better job but it’s about time we understood that much as we desperately depend on music art, among others, for pleasure, livelihood and escape; we depend on professionals, like the music journalist to guarantee us the transcendence of such pass.

‘The best music journalism should set the standards for the industry and regulate it. It should be more than an attempt to wrap writers around the fingers of every artiste, record label and corporate sponsor with a “flava” plan. It uses the language of everyday musicality but too much of Nigerian music journalism lacks such passion and artistry’

Buhari and federal roads

By Soyombo Opeyemi events in the National Assembly. They left every mouth agape in shock, bewilderment and horror. Dangerous politics, brinkmanship, defiance! Perhaps, I misread the whole thing.

My take-away remains - Nigerian politics is fluid; there’s no certitude about anything!

I have employed every public space in the last decade to discuss the menace of federal roads in Nigeria. I did so many times in relation to our unitary system, often disguised as federalism and the revenue allocation formula, which gives 52 per cent to the Federal Government, 26 per cent to all the 36 states and 20 per cent to the local councils. The Federal Government is also in charge of the balance of two per cent.

Clearly, the Federal Government is carrying a load that is heavier than that of the 36 states. No, it should be the other way round. Is it proper for the Federal Government, in a federation, to travel thousands of miles from Abuja in order to sink a borehole in a village or renovate a health centre, a primary school in a far-flung community when there is a state government that is in touch with such people on a daily basis, and will perform these responsibilities at a lower cost, since funds will move directly to where they are needed?

In one instance, it was observed: “It is cheaper for states to own these federal roads. For instance, the ongoing repair work on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos has continued to consume avoidable administrative costs. The Minister of Works and other federal officials who come all the way from Abuja to supervise and inspect the road will certainly collect allowances running into millions of naira, whereas it would have amounted to a routine duty for the Lagos Commissioner for Works and other officials. And when you consider that the Abuja officials will have to do the same thing again and again in all the 36 states of the federation, the preventable wastage of tax-payers’ money stares you in the face.

Contiguous states to these federal roads will naturally collaborate to reconstruct and maintain them at far cheaper costs than moving money and officials first from Abuja to the regional office, and from the regional office to the states. There is so much wastage of public funds in Nigeria.”

In a piece written in April 2014 titled - Between Abeokuta and Abuja, I submitted: “Despite the gargantuan 52 per cent being collected by the Federal Government, virtually all the federal roads in Ogun State are in tatters: Atan-Agbara road (Agbara is an industrial hub in Nigeria), Owode-Ilaro road, Ikorodu-Sagamu highway, etc. I’m sure the Minister of Works has never heard the names of some of these roads let alone know their locations... from the meagre 0.3 per cent Ogun

receives from the Federation Account, the police are also being funded!... Imagine the amount the state government spent to repair parts of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and several other federal roads that criss-cross the state! This is because the masses don’t like to differentiate between federal and state roads. Once any road is in Ogun territory, then Amosun is looked up to for its maintenance and reconstruction!”

I call on the President and the National Assembly to ensure these federal roads revert to the states without much delay.

The Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission and National Assembly should ensure that in the new Revenue Allocation template, each of the 36 states receives at least 1.5 per cent from the Federation Account. This is a winwin situation for the Federal Government and all the 36 states of the federation. And if a state governor decides to steal his state’s money rather than invest in social services, then his own people who see how some other governors have judiciously spent their own funds will one day rise up against the governor.

With 25 per cent, the Federal Government should now concentrate on core federal matters such as foreign affairs, currency, maritime shipping, defence, etc. while most of the responsibilities are devolved to the states. This will make the Federal Government stronger and efficient, a beacon of excellent service delivery and an exemplar of institutional development. The President will even have the rest of mind to make Nigeria a major player in international affairs.

• Soyombo, a media practitioner and public affairs commentator, sent this piece via densityshow@yahoo.com

‘The Federal Government is carrying a load that is heavier than that of the 36 states. No, it should be the other way round. Is it proper for the Federal Government, in a federation, to travel thousands of miles from Abuja in order to sink a borehole in a village or renovate a health centre, a primary school in a farflung community when there is a state government that is in touch with such people on a daily basis, and will perform these responsibilities at a lower cost, since funds will move directly to where they are needed?’

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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COMMENTS ‘The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything.’—— Albert Einstein

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UST barely over a month since the inauguration of the current federal government of President Mohammadu Buhari (PMB), some Nigerians are getting a bit too curious. And the questions on the lips of these Nigerians are legion.

Before going to the questions that most readers want PMB to answer, it is pertinent to ask upon introspection whether a 30-day period is sufficient to determine the efficiency or efficacy of a new government in power. In apposition, it could equally be asked what length of period is sufficient to determine the efficiency of a new leader in power.

In a polity like Nigeria’s where the people suffered intensely in 16 grueling years of misrule by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), any straightforward answer to the above questions could be contentious. To some, it could be argued that the time is too short to pass any meaningful judgment; while to others, such short period is enough to see a sparkle of hope to satisfy the curiosity and expectations of the apprehensive.

This is where the dilemma of a columnist lies. It is a legitimate thing for any columnist to have a position because any robust column should be able to take a definite stand on any issue, which is why yours truly has no apologies for whatever positions he may have taken on issues or personalities, nationally and globally. So for some days now, ardent readers of this column have been calling and sending text messages requesting it to take a position on whether the PMB

‘The APC under PMB must not fritter away its goodwill through uncoordinated and unruly conduct of party men and women. It is the trust reposed in PMB and his party that raises hope of positive direction under his leadership. But he must equally realise that time is of the essence and that in the long run, Nigerians will take nothing short of excellence and fairness in his delivery of promised commitments’

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Questions from Nigerians for PMB administration has met the expectations of the majority of Nigerians that voted for change on March 28 and April11, 2015.

One basic fact is that Nigerians have expressed mixed feelings about the approach of PMB to governance. To this column, it may not have been out of place to call for more time for PMB to stabilise in power after several years of rot unleashed by successive administrations. But at the same time, this column could not disagree with those that believe that the PMB government is working at a snail-like speed. From experience of management of the nation’s public affairs which is replete with disappointments over time, it might be difficult to just wish away the questions that Nigerians want PMB to answer, and very quickly too.

To wish was to hope, and to hope was to expect. Following from this true expression, it could be argued that the several wishes that propelled majority of Nigerians to vote for PMB have raised their hopes and expectations which they believe are being delayed by what many termed as ‘steady slow’ approach of the president. Through the many questions that Nigerians throw in the face of this column, they want PMB to know that the true measure of the value of a leader is his performance. It will be sharply misleading to misconstrue the disposition of virtue of PMB to mean the same thing as performance. To majority of Nigerians, they believe that a virtuous disposition should be complemented by positively impactful virtuous actions.

Nigerians in their interactions with this column in the last couple of days asked: Why has the president in one month not appointed a chief of staff? Why has he not appointed a

N less than six months from now, the governorship election will be due in Kogi State. The election comes after the PDP has served three terms consecutively. In this almost 12 years of the leadership, many Kogi voters have at one time or the other expressed disenchantment with their PDP governors. Indeed, when former governor Ibrahim Idris departed office four years ago after serving two terms, the people of Kogi State had thought that their worst quagmire had happened and that the next governor would rebuild the state. Too bad, these noble wishes of Kogi citizens are yet to manifest to reality under the Idris Wada-led government.

Rather, the economic and social burden thrust upon Kogi citizens by Governor Wada has made Ibrahim Idris’ maladministration appear like a child’s play. In simple terms, Wada Idris’ arrival at Kogi State Government House has been one sad story after another by the average Kogi adult.

Right now, there is a feeling of frustration amongst the voting public against Governor Wada and his PDP ruling party over poor leadership in the state. The allegations against Wada Idris, the present governor are many as he has been associated with a long string of failures of which the virtual collapse of governance stands out. This has not only affected his political viability, it has also not provided any foundation for the PDP to lay claim to any developmental efforts in Kogi State or strength in any future election.

Even though the outcome of the recent general elections in Kogi state may not be a sufficient yardstick to predict future elections, but it served well in portraying the PDP as an almost collapsed party. For emphasis, in the last general elections which produced President Muhammadu Buhari, the PDP’s performance in Kogi State was abysmal, the defeat of the PDP was not only embarrassing but it showed a clear signal that Kogi voters were also tired of the present state leadership. Aside losing the presidential elections, the results from the Federal House of Representatives and Senate contests were disastrous for the PDP as the party lost most of its occupied seats in the national assembly to the opposition APC. Indeed, the disastrous outing of the PDP in the referenced elections, has not only inflicted devastating blows on the solidarity of PDP members but has repositioned APC to a viable altitude in Kogi politics. The consequences and threat of APC to the PDP in its present complexion and under the leadership of Wada Idris are obvious. Simply, put, the PDP cannot expect to romp to victory under Wada in a contest against APC because public disapproval of Wada has largely contributed in opening new opportunities for the opposi-

secretary to government of the federation?

What is delaying his appointment of ministers? Could this delay be a consequence of his being confused? On the policy level, they asked: what is the true policy direction of PMB’s administration? They claimed to be aware of the recent diplomatic shuttle of PMB on Boko Haram but wondered why he still retains the current bunch of service chiefs that bungled the fight against Boko Haram insurgents; they wanted to know what these military henchmen are still doing in office if indeed change is expected to occur in that realm.

On the socio-economic sphere, Nigerians want PMB to say something about the free fall of naira to the United States dollar. They believe that a strong presidential statement will help restore confidence in the forex market, but there is none so far. They want the president to query the Central Bank Governor over the mismanagement of forex during the last presidential and governorship elections. They called on the president to sack the CBN governor, following the due process, without wasting time. Nigerians say that they are aware of the latest revelations regarding the squandermania in NNPC and the sack of its board but they want the president to do something about the issue of perennial fuel scarcity. They claimed that despite the current scarcity of dollar that may hamper fuel importation, the presidency has not said anything about another imminent scarcity staring everybody in the face. Rather than embarking on another probe, they demanded that the president should act urgently on the PriceWaterHouse audit report of NNPC that was commissioned by

the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. By delaying a complete overhaul of NNPC, the president according to Nigerians is giving those behind the rot in the corporation an opportunity to cover their track of corruption. Nigerians want to know the policy direction on power generation and distribution that would ensure stable power supply in the country.

On the political level, Nigerians think that the president has allowed the squabbles amongst members of his party in the national parliament to distract him. To them, this was avoidable but for the rigidity and indifference of PMB to political matters that should not have been left unattended to.

Nigerians demand a political solution to the salary backlog crisis ravaging most of states of the federation. Nigerians want the president to shun divide-and-rule tactics if he intends to achieve anything meaningful.

They call on the president to arrest political and other challenges at their embryonic stages rather than intervene after they have become intractable. Most Nigerians desire to see a more orderly and disciplined APC under PMB’s leadership. They want PMB to disabuse the minds of those doubting Nigerians that believe that he was only interested in becoming president and has subsequently displayed indifference to whatever comes afterwards. Contrary to this position, this column still wants to give PMB the benefit of the doubt by hoping that the president will drop his rigidity and indifference and complement his altruistic disposition by prompt virtuous actions in politics, economy and other realms of governance.

The APC under PMB must not fritter away its goodwill through uncoordinated and unruly conduct of party men and women. It is the trust reposed in PMB and his party that raises hope of positive direction under his leadership. But he must equally realise that time is of the essence and that in the long run, Nigerians will take nothing short of excellence and fairness in his delivery of promised commitments. He needs to raise his level of performance to meet the expectations of the people that voted for him.

This column enjoys the inquisitiveness of Nigerians and calls on them not to stop questioning. Curiosity, not only amongst Nigerians but also in other nationals, has its own tremendous advantage. Nigerians should not stop questioning until this administration gets it right by bringing to the doorsteps of Nigerians the badly desired positive change.

As Kogi ‘guber’ election beckons

By Abdulraman Idris tion. Indeed, the popular assumption is that if the PDP presents Wada at any future elections, there will be voter’s wrath against the party.

Ordinarily, many Kogi voters will relish any effort to remove Wada from office but the truth is that Wada like most unpopular incumbent governors, will not want go down without a fight. The signals from the camp of Wada indicates that he would love to exhaust his two term maximum tenure despite the fact that he possesses an identity that is already linked with failed politics. If the aspiration of Wada is left unchecked, it will be an easy guess that the party’s leaders’ dream of getting back into office next year is dead on arrival. This is so because a rethink about Wada’s candidacy is overdue given his lowly rated performance in his almost exhausted first four year tenure by majority of Kogi voters.

The point herein is that in this coming governorship election, if by act of impunity, the PDP decides to make Wada an aspirant, it will be akin to putting a square peg in a round hole. After all, if Wada could not run Kogi State efficiently and prudently whilst the Nigeria economy was good, why should anyone think that he would find the capacity to deliver political goods in this period of very limited resources and diminished earnings from the monthly federation account ?

Interestingly, the 2015 Kogi politics remains largely uncertain because even though Wada’s appalling performance has greatly affected the PDP in the negative, nothing seems assured for the opposition APC’s victory in the governorship race. This so because despite the undisputable APC’s astounding thriving political growth in Kogi State, the candidates that are already parading themselves as the APC’s party aspirants in the governorship are not such that will attract enthusiasm of voters. Indeed, this may affect the APC’s dream of winning the election and may even lead voters from its fold to support a candidate outside the party.

Thus it is best to assume that the Buhari ship which most contestants under the APC used in cruising to victory may still be in an anchor position during the forthcoming election in Kogi State.

On the part of the PDP, the political damage done to it, courtesy of Wada , can only be repaired with the exit of Wada. As such, there seem to be a silver lining in the very fact that the PDP still has a viable option of dropping Wada for an acceptable candidate that may use his popularity to triumph over the APC. Again on the divide of the APC, ordinarily, the outcome of the presidential election would have offered Kogi voters a good direction to the camp of the APC as was the case at the national level but with all sense of sincerity what happened at the presidential elections in Kogi State was an expression of national mood for change and may not necessarily have a direct impact on what to expect at the governorship elections as both parties are presently in political disarray. Either way, the forthcoming elections in Kogi is not a settled matter for both big parties. There is however a third way – the move to draft Jibrin Isah Echocho, a man perceived to have been robbed of the 2011 gubernatorial mandate of the people by the then infamous leadership of the national PDP, into the governorship contest may just be the factor that will make a huge difference in the forthcoming elections.

• Idris wrote from Lokoja,Kogi State.

‘The 2015 Kogi politics remains largely uncertain because even though Wada’s appalling performance has greatly affected the PDP in the negative, nothing seems assured for the opposition APC’s victory in the governorship race. This so because despite the undisputable APC’s astounding thriving political growth in Kogi State, the candidates that are already parading themselves as the APC’s party aspirants in the governorship are not such that will attract enthusiasm of voters’

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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DISCOURSE

Legitimacy of Political Science as a discipline in Nigeria Text of a lecture delivered by Dr. Tunji Olaopa as Guest Speaker at the Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan’s Public Lecture and Post-lecture luncheon in honour of Prof Emeriti ‘Bayo Adekanye and John Ayoade held at the university.

P

ERMIT me to express my sentiments at being on this podium at this time in these words: if I say that I am profoundly honoured and humbled to be invited to make an intellectual statement by my mentors and founding fathers of the Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan, who also constitute the core of this assembly, then I would have simply made an understatement.

Having expressed that sentiment, I want to begin by deeply appreciating the organisers of today’s programme. My gratitude comes on two significant fronts. The first is that we are paying fundamental tribute to the personalities and achievements of two worthy avatars of political science scholarship in Nigeria. I am not sure if there is a precedent for this commendable gesture. I recognise the deep import of such gesture because I have made it the underlying principle for the series of newspaper articles I wrote to critically celebrate Nigerians who have confronted the Nigerian state and her national project in national proportions. I took that critical celebratory challenge from one of our own, the late Prof. Claude Ake, who lamented, in the foreword to my biography of Prof. Ojetunji Aboyade that Nigeria is a country which ‘yearns for heroes, acknowledge none and it devalues and derails those who could be.’ Today, it is commendable that we are unlearning Nigeria, and celebrating those who have impacted our lives in one way or the other.

And this takes me to the second point of my gratitude to the organisers of this programme. It is as if I have been brought back home to pay homage to the indefatigable dedication of those who sharpened the teeth of any scientific and analytical skills I can lay claim to today, especially in my reform campaign for a better and world-class public service in Nigeria. I began from this place, and these two old gentlemen played some defining roles in my theoretical maturation. I consider it a distinct privilege to be asked to speak at such an august occasion that honours two personifications of what political science used to be in Nigeria, and what it ought to return to as a matter of urgency.

As a last point, I desire that we observe a minute silence in honour of the late Professor Adekunle Amuwo who eventually succumbed to the pandemic anomie we are all struggling to make sense of.

Introduction We lost Billy Dudley, then Claude Ake and Omo Omoruyi and lately Ali Mazrui and now Kunle Amuwo. The lesson is this: they all fought a good fight; but they were not done fighting, and scholarship need not bow to finitude. The battle is still raging, and the prospect of a worthy contribution by political science to the eventual victory is not looking too good. Nigeria has, since her independence in 1960, thrown political science scholarship in Nigeria some serious challenge—Boko Haram and insecurity, corruption, bad governance, abuse of power, poverty, dissonance, bad leadership, the list is endless.

I should know about all these because I have been engaged, for the past twenty five years or so, in the forefront of recalibrating a public service that is deeply challenged and requires massive reform to move forward as a valiant institution. The crisis of the civil service system in Nigeria is simply a reflection of the crisis of the Nigerian state in the dynamics of reinventing good governance.

The privilege of standing before

you all today, and before these veterans of political analysis and confrontation with the Nigerian state, is that we can get down to serious heart-toheart real talk about our collective responsibility as Nigerian political scholars. This is like a homecoming for me. But while I have been away, I have noticed all manners of intellectual morbidity with scholarship in Nigeria. In recent times, I have had to comment on philosophers, and on the humanities as well as the general state of the Nigerian educational system.

Where we are now is precarious and troubling.

I carry a personal vision which I first got when I read Plato’s Republic in my pre-university days. That lesson is this: scholarship must be responsible. And specifically, according to Plato, until philosophers become kings or kings become philosophers, the task of social order will become impossible. Let us grant Plato his disciplinary pride. At least he sees the connection between his discipline and the salvation of Athens.

Getting admission into the political science department in 1981 was a defining moments for me. And I came in at a period when the department was in what we can call its heydays— all the big fish were present then: Essien-Udom, Peter Ekeh, Bayo Adekanye, John Ayoade, Larry Ekpebu, Busari Adebisi, Tunde Adeniran, Alex Gboyega, Augustus Adebayo, Femi Otubanjo. Fred Onyeoziri, Bayo Okunade, Kunle Amuwo, Adigun Agbaje, Egosa Osaghae, O. B. C. Nwolise, Jimi Adisa, Rotimi Suberu. These were the stars in my intellectual firmament at that time.

Civil-military relations resonated with us in those days from the energetic Professor Adekanye. Though the Shagari administration was in the saddle at the time, but the option of diarchy was in contention, and so, civil-military discourse was topical. So also were federalism and the role of the legislature which Professor Ayoade taught us.

As these two emeriti are celebrated today, it would be significant to reflect deeply on a discipline they have spent most of their life and intellectual energies nurturing. It has become a troubling pastime to worry about the general state of education in Nigeria.

And this is because we all recognise the role that education plays in the harnessing and positioning of the human capital of any nation for worthwhile and composite development. The situation, it is sad to say, has further degenerated. It has now become imperative to commence another diagnosis from a disciplinary perspective. What do the disciplines need to do to assist in nation building? The concern for me has always been with my constituency, what I am calling the humanities and the social sciences (HSS). But today, we are forced to beam the searchlight of critical inquiry on our most immediate constituency—political science and its scholarship. Specifically, the question is: What is the state of political science in today’s Nigeria?

From then to now: Initial worries Political science scholarship has been around for a while now. The two avatars we celebrate today are in the best of position to outline for us a critical historical excursus on the trajectory of events and circumstances that gave birth to this scholarship in Nigeria, and how it has evolved over time. Like most things “Nigerian”, it is likely that their narrative will end with much solemn shaking of their heads at what we have now compared with the high hopes we began with. I also have reasons to share in this unflattering assessment. This is because

I was also part of the beginning, in a sense. As a student at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, I felt the pulse of the department’s energy when it was still at its highest. I was taught by the best, including our distinguished professor emeriti here today.

I remember the rigour and earnestness of spirit with which we were taught. Of course, it is only the perceptive hindsight that now reveals that the academic drill we had then wasn’t just the consequences of the whims of some academic sadists inflicting intellectual pains on a bunch of hapless students. There were two distinctive things about the period then. The first is what we can call a disciplinary framework of engaged political scholarship that had Professor Adekanye espousing civil-military relationship, Professor Ayoade taught federalism with a passion, Professor Osaghae was then beginning to work out the framework for his ethnicity and ethnic theory, Dr. Adebisi revealed the dynamics of international political economy structure within the centre-periphery configuration as imperialism, Professors Tunde Adeniran, Femi Otubanjo and Jimi Adisa took us through the labyrinth of international relations and strategic studies, the late Essien Essien-Udom was then one of the leading light in nationalist studies and pan-Africanism, Profs Alex Gboyega and Bayo Okunade and Augustus Adebayo introduced me to public administration. I also had other erudite scholars like, Profs. OBC Nwolise, Larry Ekpebu, Fred Onyeoziri, Kunle Amuwo and Adigun Agbaje who grounded us in research methodology, statistics and some dimensions of theory. I can definitely speak for the generation of those of us taught by these great teachers that we got the best they had to offer. They all knew what political science was capable of.

The second distinctive thing about my education in political science then was the robust cross fertilization of ideas in the entire faculty of the social sciences in which political science was not a mere onlooker. By its very nature, political scholarship is concerned with themes and subject matter—democracy, politics, political institutions, etc.—that are necessarily crossdisciplinary and embrace other social sciences and humanistic studies. This period was defined with collaborations across disciplines. Our experiences as students were refined by an active town and gown interaction that saw the likes of Ojetunji Aboyade returning regularly to the classroom with insights drawn from national development planning in the Central Planning Office in Lagos and the planning studies programme he ran with Akin Mabogunje. Those were the heady days of real scholarship!

But obviously, something has gone critically wrong.

It is our duty, as concerned stakeholders, to raise the stakes of our expectations about a discipline that has aided our intellectual development in more ways than we can appreciate. I am a true beneficiary of political science scholarship. I can boldly say that what I have been able to achieve in terms of the understanding and facilitation of the reform agenda for the Nigerian Civil Service were due largely to my early preparation in political analysis and methodological intervention. I left University of Ibadan at that time with an acute sense of the worth of institutions and institutional values, and how the Nigerian national project can be reinvented through institutional rehabilitation.

So, I suppose I have a moral right to

Dr. Olaopa

‘

Shouldn’t we judge the state of political science scholarship in Nigeria from the dearth of significant activities in NPSA?

‘

be concerned.

Why should we be worry about political science scholarship in Nigeria?

In the days leading to the just concluded general elections in Nigeria, one of the respected voices in political science scholarship in Nigeria, Prof. Ayo Olukotun wrote a piece in his celebrated column in the Punch newspaper. He titled it: “Elections: Where are our political scientists?” that article lamented not only the glaring invisibility of the political scientists in Nigeria on the national conversation about national development and progress, but also about the role of public intellectual in national discourse. His opening epigraph is instructive: Public intellectuals attempt to widen and deepen the public discourse by adding further analysis and coming at issues in surprising or unexpected ways. There is a craving for that thoughtfulness which public intellectuals are able to provide.

Substitute ‘political scientists’ for ‘public intellectuals’, and you still get the same result. However, we are all in full retreat from an arena that ought to motivate our scholarship. Allow me to outline a specific dimension of my larger worries.

For a while now, as my recent newspaper articles reveal, I have been deeply troubled by the state of the humanities and social sciences, especially within the context of Nigeria’s development. I had called out philosophers and humanistic scholars on their responsibilities to the Nigerian project. It was only logical that I would sound the alarm on my own discipline. So, I took an interest in the Nigerian Political Science Association (NPSA). What better way to follow its progress than to access its website.

I came away utterly disappointed. The NPSA website is totally out of date.

You cannot even get an updated list of political science departments in Nigeria or the names and affiliations of political scientists! My first query is simple: Shouldn’t we judge the state of political science scholarship in Nigeria from the dearth of significant activities in NPSA? One of the scanty information the website reveals is that the NPSA executives themselves recognise that political science in a certain state. What is that state? Well, first, the website of its professional body is bare! Second, when was the last conference, how regular has it been and

where are the concrete outputs and outcomes? What has happened to Studies in Politics and Society, the flagship journal of the association? Lastly, does NPSA have any hold on the generality of political science teachers and researchers in Nigeria (we do not even have the list of the various departments of political science or a database of political scientists in Nigeria)?

The larger point is that if the body that ought to oversee the affairs of the discipline of political science is comatose, what can we then say about the legitimacy of such a discipline?

The NPSA is needed to coordinate the national relevance and focus of the discipline. Its absence could only imply that individual political scientists are thereby left to forge ahead alone in their specific intellectual development. And those who have any fundamental insights into the Nigerian predicament may just be backing against a stone wall. There is no concerted effort at influencing policies either on education generally or on specific issues. Individual political scientists speak alone, and are mostly ignored by that fact. As the disciplinary gatekeeper of the study of politics, it seems to me that NPSA has bowed finally to those morbid symptoms of national dysfunction it is meant to actively and proactively diagnose!

STEMming the tide: Between knowledge and power The global educational awareness is focused right on the evolution of the STEM fields—science, technology, engineering and mathematics—as the engine of national development anywhere. The STEM revolution derived from the United States’ concern with the need not only for an integrated curriculum in education but also with its perceived lack of specialists for specialised tasks. These two concerns are understandable within the context of a nation striving to increase its development profile in a global world of economic and technological competitiveness. It has become so significant in the United States that it determines some aspect of its immigration policy and the issuance of visas.

The essence of STEM is to place a nation on the cutting edge of development through a sound educational programme that transforms learning into a serious human capital empowerment. However, the basis of STEM is fundamentally flawed. It considered that development is only possible through the coordinated expression and application of the four STEM disciplines.

But the significant lesson to draw from this STEM discourse is the consequences of the relationship between knowledge and power. In other words, knowledge is a singular sine qua non for prodigious progress anywhere. And the addition to this truism is that the type of knowledge one chooses also determine the type of development path one is likely to take, and the kind of consequences that will result. When Prometheus decided to steal fire from the heavens and bring it down to earth, humans were not aware of what that kind of gift would do to them; when Adam and Eve got the knowledge of good and evil, they didn’t know it will lead them out of the blissful Garden of Eden. The search for knowledge empowers. But we need to beware the kind of power we desire.

The underlying philosophy behind the STEM curriculum is the assumption that the study of nature is more worthwhile that the study of human nature. It is this distinction that explains the ever growing divide between the sciences and the humanities and social sciences. Yet, the knowledge that can be derived from studying nature cannot be empowering if it fails to enlighten us about the human condition. Knowledge for knowledge sake cannot translate to power unless it enables us to know ourselves as human beings and how we can positively translate such knowledge to our own well-being.

•To be continued

Newspaper of the Year

AN 8-PAGE PULLOUT ON SOUTHEAST STATES

UNN teacher raises alarm on kidney disease

Drivers, residents urge Buhari to rebuild federal roads

•PAGE 26

•PAGE 37

FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

PAGE 25

600 displaced in boundary clash •PAGE 40

Condemned and resisted, baby factories are proving difficult to stamp out, reports OKODILI NDIDI in Owerri, Imo State, where another one has just been discovered

•The expectant teenage mothers

B

REEDING children for cash and who knows what else, has been spreading. Residents of Lagos State have been horrified that the practitioners found space in their midst. So have residents of Ogun State, but there seems to be no doubt that the criminal trade has its headquarters in the east of the country.

In virtually every state in the region, young women, some in their teens, have been herded into some seedy enclosures in someone’s compound where a few male characters are commissioned to put them in the family way.

What the operators of such ‘factories’ do with the newborns is unclear, though many suspect that they are sold, their mothers given

Baby factory: A monster that won’t go away some ridiculously small sums of money. What happens to the sold kids is a subject of conjecture.

The state governments have condemned the traffic and vigorously fought it. For a good length of time, no one heard anything about baby factories. In Imo State, and even in the entire region, things were quiet on that front following a massive

clampdown on the perpetrators of the crime by security operatives and the state governments.

At least that was the thought of the security operatives and the people of the zone, until recently when the Imo State police command uncovered a booming baby sales network that had evaded police scrutiny.

Unlike previous ones, this new syn-

dicate is made up of highly placed individuals and civil servants, who could easily pass for respected and law-abiding citizens. Their modus operandi is equally more effective and difficult to detect.

With well connected links that spread across the Southeast, this group recruits hapless teenagers from Imo state and takes them to

Enugu or Ebonyi states, where they are impregnated and allowed to return to their parents from where they will be monitored until the pregnancy had gotten to an advanced stage before they will abscond to fake maternal home where they will be delivered of the baby and paid off.

This operation has been running for over one year undetected. According to a security source, over 3000 babies have been sold within the time by the syndicate, headed by a senior civil servant from Abia State, Chief Emmanuel Eke, who confessed to be running the business on behalf of his late wife.

The prices of the babies sold, ac•Continued on page 26

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

26

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

•Continued from page 25 cording to one of the teenagers who was a victim, ranged between N300, 000 to N500,000, depending on the sex of the baby.

The group according to the confessions of the suspects, when they were paraded at the Imo State Police Command, recruited the teenagers through their numerous scouts, who lure them with promises of huge sums of money.

The bubble however busted on the group when one of the teenagers, Miss Ibuchi Okafor, 20 year old from Ihioma in Orlu Local Government Area of the state absconded from her home with a nine-month old pregnancy only to be found in the premises of the suspect at Isiala Ngwa South, Abia state after she had delivered and sold the baby at N500 000 to a yet to be identified buyer.

According to the State Commissioner of Police, Austin Evbakavbokun, the Police swung into

A monster that won’t go away investigation after a report about the missing teenager and found other pregnant girls, including a deaf and dumb waiting for delivery at the home of the suspect.

The police boss advised parents to strictly monitor the movement of their female children, especially when they are pregnant to ensure that they do not fall into the dragnet of child traffickers.

Meanwhile, the suspect who told journalists that he made the confession under duress, said the business belonged to his late wife, who he said passed on seven weeks ago.

According to him, “I am not a child trafficker; I am a Civil servant in Abia State. It was my late wife that was running the home where the pregnant women were found by the Police. I confessed to the crime because of the torture I went through”.

However a source close to the suspect, who spoke in confidence, said

,

•The ones rescued in the past

Police have advised parents to strictly monitor the movement of their female children, especially when they are pregnant to ensure that they do not fall into the dragnet of child traffickers

,

that, “I have queried him severally over the number of pregnant teenagers in his home but he always told me that they were patients in his late wife’s maternal home but when I got a call that he was arrested by the Police, I knew that he lied to me.

This has been going on for some time but he kept it away from us his

UNN teacher raises alarm on kidney disease

,

A

CONSULTANT physician at the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof. Ifeoma Isabella Ulasi has called for regular nationwide screening to document the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases in the country.

Ulasi, a nephrologist, said an effective screening project to cover all communities in Nigeria, similar to what obtains in countries like the USA, UK and Japan, would help check the rising cases of chronic kidney disease or CKD. In a 145-page inaugural lecture titled “Kidney Solution: Nature or Nurture”, the medical practitioner submitted that a national policy framework carried out survey every five or ten years for the documentation of statistics on the epidemiology of non-communicable diseases, will go a long way in boosting government’s health reform plan.

She said Nigeria should have a national health bill, which must have renal care policy and transplantation act inculcated in it, stressing that awareness campaigns should be embarked upon by government or nongovernmental agencies to educate the masses on the importance of screening and periodic medical checkup.

“Stakeholders at all levels, family heads, community leaders, local government, state and federal gov-

Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, cigarette smoking, obesity, high cholesterol, family history as well as being up to the age of 65 and above, are some of the risk factors of chronic kidney disease

From Chris Oji, Enugu

ernment should help to spread information on the dangers of the disease, since the world celebrates Kidney Day,” she said. “This platform can be used to our advantage.”

The scholar, who has been managing kidney patients at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital UNTH, Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu State since 1994, stressed that the campaign should target lifestyle factors that are within the individual’s control, as well as emphasize the importance of clean environment.

“Use of herbal medications, selfmedication and consultation of nonqualified medical personnel should be discouraged, individuals should be encouraged to have routine medical check-up at times appropriate for their ages, the present practice where people come to hospital only when they are ill, obviously does not work for diseases like chronic kidney diseases, hypertension and cancer”, the 95th inaugural lecturer warned.

Ifeoma Ulasi, also suggested the establishment of well equipped primary health care units in every locality, adding that this was necessary to bring health care services nearer to the people.

She continued: “provision of basic amenities that foster primordial prevention of diseases, such as good sanitation, facilities that promote healthy

close friends”.

Meanwhile, in a report published by the Campaign for Democracy (CD), 2500 teenagers were rescued from ‘baby factories’ across the Southeast states in 2013.

According to the report signed by the group’s Chairman in the Southeast, Uzor A. Uzor, most of the

girls were enticed into the trade with monetary offers by the baby factory operators, while others were forced into the infamous trade by poverty and illiteracy.

The CD noted that within the time under review, Abia and Imo states had the highest number of teenagers involved in the infamous trade.

The group attributed the increase in ‘baby factory’ operations in the zone to high rate of youth unemployment and poverty, occasioned by the failure of successive governments in the zone to put adequate measures in place to empower the youths by creating meaningful employment.

The report read, “the rising cases of baby factory in the Southeast are a result of the failure of the state governments in the Southeast to create job for the teeming youths especially the helpless girls who are easily lured into the trade.

,

•Prof Ulasi living-gyms, etc, and thereby improve health determinants in the society should be given priority”.

While describing kidney diseases as a general term used for any disease condition involving the kidney that impairs in its function, the consultant physician explained that it could occur from a condition that affects the kidney primarily or from a condition that affects other parts of the body and secondarily affects the kidney, pointing out that it could also be acute, sub-acute or chronic, depending on its duration.

The renowned researcher also identified diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, cigarette smoking, obesity, high cholesterol, family his-

tory of kidney disease, being African-American, Native American or Asian-American as well as those up to the age of 65 and above, as some of the factors that might increase the risk of chronic kidney disease.

She also stated that prolonged antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) are also among the risk factors.

The vice chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof Chukwuma Ozumba, said that inaugural lecture was introduced in 1976 to encourage research and provide opportunity to the University professors to showcase their intellectual prowess.

The vice chancellor, who was represented on the occasion by the deputy vice chancellor, Enugu-Campus, Prof. Ifeoma Enemo, praised Prof.

Ifeoma Ulasi, for organising screening recently for the University Community, including the secondary school, and described the gesture as visionary and worthy of emulation.

The event attracted the cream of the academia from within and out-

side the country, prominent among them were the chief medical director of Memfys hospital for Neurosurgery, Enugu, Prof. Sam Ohaegbulam, two former deputy vice chancellors of UNEC, Prof. Peter Ebigbo and Prof. Bede Ibe, former provost college of medicine Prof.

Basden Onwubere and current provost, Prof. Ernest Onwasigwe and Prof. Uche Magafu, a former provost college of medicine, UNN. Others were the dean of the faculty of medical sciences, Prof. Uche Nwagha, former deans of the faculty of health sciences and technology, Prof. Ngozi Onyemelukwe, and Prof.

Obinna Onwujekwe, Dr. Uche Agu and Dr. Izuchukwu Okam both of the department of obstetrics and gynaecology, UNTH, Prof. Ifeoma Okoye, traditional rulers from Enugwu-Agidi and Nnewi in Anambra State and the clergy, as well as the former chairman of Nigeria medical association, NMA, Enugu State branch, Dr. Obinna Onodugo, who read the citation.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

NGO threatens to withdraw facility over rent

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FREE annual medical outreach in Amachara, a community in Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State may be withdrawn by the non-governmental organisation which administers it.

Why? The NGO, Chike and Chinyere Onyekwere Foundation said the community is insisting on collecting rent on the space used by the foundation.

The NGO was said to have spent up to N15m in medication and services given free to the residents in four years.

Speaking with The Nation on the telephone, the chairman of the organisation, Chikeziri Onyekwere said that it is absurd that the elders of the community who have been receiving free medical care from his foundation for over four years are asking him to pay rent for using the town hall for the facility.

Onyekwere said that since he started the programme for the people of his community, he has never asked any of the patients to pay for the health care treatment they have been receiving, “It is not as if we are making money from this venture and if they insist on collecting rent from me, then I will withdraw the facility from them”.

He said that the free medical facility was established way back in 2013 to give 100% free medical facility to persons under the age of 50 years and above, including children, adding that he decided to give the facility to the people because of the high death rate on the old people and children.

The NGO boss said that all the patients who come there for treatment are given free medicine as well without asking them for

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•A patient being treated From Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

money, “Our own free medical scheme includes free drugs and the drugs we do not have we ask them to come back for it and not to go out to source for them”.

Onyekwere said that the NGO decided to run the free medical care for the people of the area, “Because we believe that there is need to compliment the efforts of the state government to ensure that the citizenry and now the elders of the community want to charge rent from us for using the town hall which is discouraging and unac-

ceptable in all ramifications”.

He noted that the free medical service has treated about 7,000 patients with different ailments and that it has been personally financed with the resources from his family, adding that there has never been any foreign or local aid and called on the people to support them with prayers, as what he is doing is one of the ways he wants to give back to his community.

Onyekwere explained that the free medical scheme has succeeded in handling cases of patients who in normal circumstances are not aware of the potential life-threatening diseases they have and could

not afford the money to finance their medical treatment.

He said that he also has about 20 students from the area in his scholarship scheme, saying, “I want to give a voice to the less privileged, not a voice to oppose government or anyone but a voice to live a meaningful life in the society”.

In his reaction the traditional ruler of Umuokorodo, HRH Eze Akpunku Iheuwa said that the people of the community appreciated the gesture of the free medical services of the NGO, but that they have decided to charge rent on the space used in the civic centre hall because they believed that the NGO

was winning foreign financial assistance with the programme.

Eze Iheuwa said that the community has decided to relocate the free medical scheme centre to a two bedroom apartment behind the civic centre premises and insisted that the NGO must pay rent for the accommodation.

In his own speech the chairman Amachara Welfare Association [AWA], Sunday Andrew said that the community was working hard to complete the construction work on the two bedroom apartment behind the civic centre hall so that the free health care service will be relocated.

Andrew acknowledged that fact that the presence of the free medical scheme has helped in no small way to reduce the rate of death among the aged and children in the community.

“However we must relocate the scheme to allow other activities of the community at the civic centre”.

NDLEA arrests 85 suspects in Ebonyi

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ESIDENTS of Enugu State have expressed satisfaction with Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s efforts since assuming office one month ago. They described him as visionary, noting that he is poised to deliver on his campaign promises.

The residents were particularly impressed by the governor’s unscheduled visit to schools, markets, hospitals and satellite towns, among others, to identify areas requiring urgent attention.

The people also liked the fact that he wants all ongoing projects to be completed as quickly as possible.

A trader at Ogbete main market, Oguejiofor Udeh praised Ugwuanyi for ensuring the completion of the road leading to the market within one month of his administration.

He stressed that progress made on the popular market road was due to the personal intervention of the governor on his first day at work, when he visited the site and prevailed on the contractor to complete the work within one month.

“As you can see, I m happy that our governor has made us proud today. My goods can now enter from Onitsha, Aba or Lagos direct to the door-step of my shop, because this road has been completed. He was here on his first day in office and told us that the contractor has assured him that this then dilapidated road under reconstruction will be completed within one month.

“He has achieved this for us and my customers can now drive inside this market with ease to patronise me. What else do I want from him other than this selfless service? Governor Ugwuanyi has shown that he is a true leader who

It is not as if we are making money from this venture and if they insist on collecting rent from me, then I will withdraw the facility from them

From Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

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•Governor Ugwuanyi with residents of Emene while on inspection of a road there

Residents hail Ugwuanyi’s first 30 days From Chris Oji, Enugu

has the interest of the masses at heart. This one month experience of his government is a pleasant one and I pray that God will continue to guide and protect him for us, because he will do more to develop this state.”

Another resident of Enugu, who resides in Emene, Mr. Okey Nzeobi, also commended the governor for his steadfastness and uncommon zeal to develop the state through his intervention and development

initiatives, adding that he has put up an impressive outing in his one month in office.

“Surprisingly, our governor visited us here in Emene, the other day, to inspect our roads. He told us that he wants action here, that he was in a hurry to deliver and that he came with the contactor that will do our roads. As you can see, the contractor has mobilized his men and equipment to the site and construction work has started here immediately.ý “He also told us to stop dumping

refuse on the road side and gutter; he said that what concerns Emene was bordering his administration.

So I don’t know what you want me to say again about his new administration. I heard he also went to Nsukka, 9th mile corner, Abakpa-Nike, and other places to identify areas he will commence work immediately……. All I know is that our governor has started well and we only pray that our economy gets better so that he will fully actualize his vision for the state”.

HE Ebonyi State command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the arrest of 85 suspects over drug-related offences. It also said 25 people have been convicted while 55kg of drugs have been seized in the first half of the year.

The Commander, Mr. Ralph Igwenagu said this at an event marking this year’s United Nations International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in the state.

He added that the command had equally counselled and discharged 35 drug users while three drug-dependent persons were being rehabilitated.

He enjoined parents and guardians whose children and wards were victims of drug abuse not to lose hope, instead, “such abusers and addicts should be brought to our office for the care, treatment and rehabilitation that they need”.

Aside being a major influencing factor for all forms of crimes and criminalities, the commander believed that youth’s involvement in drug abuse had brought about unprecedented breakdown in societal and family values, increase in school dropouts, low productivity and the spread of HIV and AIDS. In his remarks, the Coordinator of Okposi Development Centre in Ohaozara Local Government Area, Chief Magnus Eze hinted that the global war against illicit drugs •Continued on page 38

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

Brewery stocks school

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HE Nigerian Breweries Plc has rehabilitated and stocked a school library in Aba, Abia State. The brewers, through the Felix Ohiwerei Trust Fund, rebuilt and equipped the facility at Boys Technical College (BTC), Osusu Aba. The gesture brought relief to the school and the community.

Through the Ohiwerei foundation many communities in Aba and such nearby settlements as Osokwa and Abayi, among others, have benefitted from the NBL project.

NBL Plc has donated classroom blocks and equipped libraries in their host communities with various textbooks and other facilities.

The result has been remarkable.

Learning has improved, with pupils having more materials to study and in a convenient environment.

It is a huge departure from what used to be. Schools often lacked basic infrastructure, a development that impacted negatively on the performance of pupils.

However, in what seems to be a continued effort to further extend its service to Aba and Abia resi-

•The library facilities

Hope for decaying historical town It has a robust history and influential people, but Afikpo, Ebonyi State’s second largest town, has since fallen into infrastructural decay. OGOCHUKWU ANIOKE reports that there is hope of a comeback

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FIKPO has enough to wow anyone: a rich history, being an ancient centre of Igbo tradition, and a large pool of influential leaders, one of whom the late Dr Akanu Ibiam, former Premier of Eastern Nigeria. Yet, its decay is as legendary as its illustrious products and past.

The ancient town is noted the world over for producing great leaders, academicians, businessmen and technocrats, among others.

Situated in the southern part of Ebonyi State, Afikpo, is the second largest city in the state. It is believed that Afikpo civilisation existed as far back as the Neolithic Age. It is also said that Afikpo was one of the first towns in eastern Nigeria to be reached by the colonialists. Little wonder Dr Ibiam was one of the first indigenous medical doctors in the country.

One would think that such a renowned town with illustrious personalities and rich history would have advanced greatly in the area of infrastructure.

Not so. Whatever Afikpo gained over the ages seems to have diminished, except, mercifully, the fact of its people’s personal achievements.

A visit to the ancient town attests to the fact that it has suffered neglect.

Dilapidated infrastructures, where they exist, are a write-off. There are huge gully erosion sites and potholes everywhere, becoming death traps.

Public convenience rooms have collapsed.

One woman is hopeful, however, that the city is not beyond redemption and that people can help it climb back to life. She is Maria Ude Nwachi popularly known as Nwanyi Afikpo, a top businesswoman and politician.

In the last elections, Nwachi was voted overwhelmingly by the people of Afikpo North East Constituency to represent them in the state House of Assembly. She was

One would think that such a renowned town with illustrious personalities and rich history would have advanced greatly in the area of infrastructure.

Not so. Whatever Afikpo gained over the ages seems to have diminished, except, mercifully, the fact of its people’s personal achievements

•Nwachi inspecting the Eke Market Road

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been sworn in and already the people have started to feel the impact of her people oriented representation.

Recently she embarked on a tour of some of these dilapidated sights in the area.

Appalled by the sorry state of infrastructure in her constituency, she has started to repair many of them on her own instead of waiting for government.

She said: “I went out with my team to see where we can start our journey of turning Afikpo into a first world town. We decided to deal with the gullies that are nothing but death traps. These disgusting gullies have been an albatross to my people for decades. It is over. We are rejecting •Continued on page 40

•Nwachi’s team at the Oziza Road erosion site

From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

dents, NB Plc has yet singlehandedly refurbished and handed over a fully equipped modern library facility to the authority of Boys Technical College (BTC), Osusu Aba, Abia State.

BTC is one of the technical schools in the southeast and Abia State where youths with various or no skill but have interest in fabrication and other craft are trained and equipped with the requisite knowledge to be self employed at the completion of their secondary school programme even if they don’t want to further their education.

Speaking at the handover of the refurbished library, furniture and textbooks which attracted the presence of students, teachers and other management staff of BTC and NB Plc, Aba Brewery manager, Mr. Udah Ukeje said that the event was also used to mark the 2015 “Brewing a better World” (BaBW) project.

Udah who was represented by •Continued on page 37

Newspaper of the Year

AN EIGHT-PAGE PULLOUT ON THE SOUTHSOUTH STATES

FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

PAGE 29

Children march against early marriage in Cross River, Bayelsa

SEE STORY ON PAGE 30

INSIDE

•The children and adults protesting against child marriage in Cross River.

Mbiama...Motorists’ nightmare on East-West Road PAGES 32- 33

Edo community where poor, helpless kids get food PAGES 34

IYC leader bags award, raises fresh concerns on Niger Delta PAGES 31

• YOU HAVE STORIES FOR US? PLEASE CONTACT US ON 07066954441 OR 08123521990

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

NIGER DELTA REPORT NEWS

NIGER DELTA REPORT FEATURE

Brass fertiliser-petrochemical firm to employ 30, 000 Bayelsans

Children protest against early marriage in Cross River, Bayelsa

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

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HE Bayelsa Development and Investment Corporation (BDIC) is hoping to create 30,000 jobs and generate a turnover of $1.5bn from the Brass Fertiliser and Petrochemical project worth $3.5bn. The project is to be sited at Odioma in Brass Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.

BDIC vows to restructure the state’s economy, diversify it away from oil and gas and create more opportunities for the people of the state. With the firm coming on stream, the corporation said a prosperous future awaits the people.

The Deputy Managing Director of BDIC, Tam Alazigha, said the new offices of the corporation that were opened in South Africa, United Kingdom and Atlanta, United States, would “take Bayelsa to the world and bring the world to Bayelsa”.

He said the offices were designed to open outposts in strategic locations in the various key markets in order to leverage on opportunities that the markets offer to drive the restoration of the Bayelsa economy.

He said: “The 3.5 billion dollar Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical projectat Odioma, which is expected to generate turnover of $1.5bn dollars and employ about 30,000 Bayelsans.

“This high-impact catalytic project is expected to produce 5,000 metric tonnes of methanol per day, 2,200 metric tonnes per day of Ammonia and 7,700 metric tonnes per day of Urea for domestic and export markets.

“This humongous project will ensure availability of high-grade fertilizer for farmers throughout the planting season and meet 25per cent of the country’s projected annual domestic demand of 10 million metric tonnes. The BDIC is take up a 10% equity stake in the project.

“The only property owned by the corporation are those in the U.K located at St. John’s Wood registered under BDIC UK Ltd and forms part of the assets in the balance sheet of the corporation.

“The property was bought at £2.3 million but now valued at over £3 million with a monthly rental income of £7000. For the office in the United States, the properly was purchased in BIDC’s name in 2013 for $ 850, 000 and was leased as a property with a monthly income of $5, 000.

“Other achievements include, the $300 million Liquefied Petrochemical Gas project at Agge, wIth a projected turnover of $100 million and which will produce butane or cooking gas.”

Alazigha further stated that the corporation was into serious negotiation with Microsoft and Goggle to facilitate deployment of white space technology in the state to make internet available in the rural areas for business to thrive.

Anger, confusion in Bayelsa local govts over arrears of unpaid salaries

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LL is not well between local government workers in Bayelsa State and their chairmen. The workers are angry that about four months of their salaries have not been paid by the council bosses.

Confronted with economic hardship, the local council employees are not buying their chairmen excuses that the dwindling revenue allocation from the Federal Government has affected their wages.

There are eight local government areas in Bayelsa, the least in all the states in the country. The workers are of the opinion that with the oil-producing status of the state and the reduced number of local councils, the chairmen should not have problem paying salaries despite the economic crunch.

Besides, they argued that the Chairman of Brass Local Government Area, paid his workers up to May salaries.

Why then are the chairmen of Sagabama, Yenagoa, Southern Ijaw, Nembe, Ekeremor and KolokumaOpokuma unable to pay their bills?

They queried.

The Secretary, Medical and Health Workers Union (MHWU), Mr. Lartan Bany and the Chairman of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) said the governor had no hand in their travails. Bany said the local government chairmen admitted that the governor never interfered in their revenue allocations from the Federal Government.

The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Esueme Kikile, said the govern-

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

ment had intervened to ensure that the outstanding salaries of the workers were paid.

He said: “The present administration in the state has demonstrated its commitment to local government autonomy and has the policy of zero deductions from local government allocations”.

But the Bayelsa Democratic Watch Forum (BDWF) blamed the salary crisis on the inefficient management of finances by the chairmen. The group in a statement signed by its Chairman, Mr. Binaebi Femo and Secretary, Mr. Tari Oki, thanked the MHWU and the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) for calling off their strike.

While NULGE and the MHWU are leaking their wounds and raining curses on their chairmen, the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) are heaping praises on the state governor for promptly paying their monthly salaries.

A statement by the State council chairmen of NLC, Ebipere Ndiomu and his TUC counterpart, Dounana Tari, said that their members were appreciative of the governor's gesture which would keep the workers committed to duty and raise productivity.

They said that they were aware of the personal sacrifices the governor had made to ensure that salaries were paid regularly despite the shortfall in revenue from the federation account.

Southsouth Community Association gets approval

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HE Southsouth Community Association of Nigeria (SOSCAN) has been registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

In a statement, its Executive Secretary, Dr Peter Ekong, said the group scaled the hurdle a year after its leaders submitted its papers for registration, adding that processing started in May, last year. He said comprises indigenes of Akwa Ibom,

Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta and Rivers and Edo states.

He said the group also known as Niger Delta Peoples Community is aimed at fighting for the rights of the peoples of the area, adding that there was need for integration among them.

Ekong added that the Lagos chapter of the association would be inaugurated soon and that a steering committee to do so had been put in place.

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T was a poignant sight as children of some primary schools in Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State trooped through the streets to protest deprivation of their rights, especially the issue of early marriage for girls.

The pupils who were drawn from St Pearse’s Primary School, Government Primary Ofelekan, Presbyterian Primary School, and St Joseph Primary School bore placards to drive home their grouse as they insisted their voices must be heard in matters that concern them.

The occasion was the Day of the African Child with a theme that focused on the problem of early marriages, but the pupils said it was a matter that affects them directly and the programme to mark it was organized by the European Union (EU) and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the state government.

Stakeholders also joined the voices in the call to intensify the fight against early marriage.

UNICEF consultant, Mr James Beesah, condemned the discrimination between the girl and boy child, female genital mutilation, child labour as well as other forms of child abuse.

He said all children irrespective of gender have a right to proper education, good water and sanitation, and a good environment to grow among others.

Programme Manager of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWATSSA), Mr Patrick Emori also called for a synergy among relevant stakeholders to fight against child marriage.

He said child marriage is a complex issue that has devastating and long term effects on the life of girls, who are always victims.

The issue, he said, was a human rights, gender, health, cultural and de-

From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar, and Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

velopmental one and hence should be tackled on all fronts.

He said children should take an active part in the fight by speaking against it wherever they find the problem. He encouraged them to talk to their parents, Government and leaders in the society about the issue.

The wife of the chairman of Yakurr Local Government Area, Mrs Ekaette Akpama, said the days when girls were left behind in terms of Education and other developmental issues, are gone.

She urged male and female children to take their education seriously to ensure a better future for themselves.

The Coordinator for the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme in Yakurr, Comrade Onun Omini Usani, said the issue of child marriage in the area was still quite high and urged that efforts be concerted to reduce it as in other communities in the country.

He said: “What we see for the young ones is either they are impregnated or because of poverty their parents force them to early marriage or to raise money to support the male child. At the end of the day you discover that the female child would not have a future.

They just bring them as young as they are into bearing children and taking them to hard labour in the farm. If this is checked, we will now be able to have more of the female children in schools.

“Apart from this day of the African Child, where I know we had a good rally and creating public awareness, I think the level of awareness in terms of this activity is very low. Even at school, curriculum does not even capture some of these social vices. Organisations, agencies and government need to work together to tackle this. We don’t need to depend on yearly events so everybody should be aware that it is an evil

to the girl child and it should not be.

The fight should be more consistent.

“My advice is that children should be given the opportunity to express themselves, especially the opportunity of the right of education and the enabling environment to develop themselves.

“Parents should known that is their responsibility to train the children, especially the girl child. So parents should stop encouraging child marriage and create other avenues to get resources to help their children.

I also want to advise government that parents who indulge in that kind of practice should be persecuted as a deterrent to those who don’t want to change from this activity. Parents should stop it and it should be discouraged.

“Parents should bear children they can take care of, because part of the problem we are talking is this issue of child spacing. You have so many children within a very limited time without adequate resources to take care of them. So they should have children they can take care of because when the burden is too much, they do these things and the effect is on the children who are always at the receiving end.”

A teacher at St Pearse’s Primary School, Mrs Nkoyo Mbang, who also doubles as the Coordinator of Environmental Health Club described child marriage as a bad culture which brings a lot of hazard to the woman.

“The problem before now was elaborate. Only that now parents are trying to train their girl children so it is a bit reduced. Before now a girl child was not sent to school. The parents would say “I don’t want to send you to school because if I do it is your husband and husband’s people that would enjoy you.” The awareness is growing now that if the girl child is educated, it is the whole nation that

•The children and adults protesting against child marriage in Cross River.

is being educated. My advise to parents is that the girl child is not a slave, but should be seen as the boy child.

She ought to be taken as important as the boy child.

“We should continue to talk about it so that people who indulge in this vice would desist. When we had the day of the African Child, it is just once a year. Efforts should be made all year round by relevant stakeholders to ensure that the problem is tackled. So those in charge and policy lawmakers should put more effort in tackling this issue of child marriage.”

A parent from the area, Mr Ikpi Eyong, said: “Early marriage poses severe health threats to the victims, some even leading to death. It can lead to vesicovaginal fistula which is a major health problem for the girl. Also it causes dropout from school which in

turn would lead to a low literacy among the women folk. I would advise other parents as myself to please don’t allow their young girls to get married off as children.”

And in Bayelsa UNICEF and the Rural Water and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), Bayelsa State were recently preoccupied with the protection of child’s rights in the state. Even the Glory FM 97.1 joined in the partnership to seek an end to various practices that violate the rights of a child.

The institutions were no doubt bothered by early marriages, sexual abuses especially rape, physical abuses, lack of access to education and other abuses militating against the development and maturity of children in the state.

As part of the activities to celebrate the day of the African Child, UNICEF

and its partners relocated to Kaiama, the headquarters of Kolokuma/ Opokuma Local Government Area of the state. They invited pupils of different schools in the area and involved them in the celebration.

This year’s celebration of the African child by UNICEF is attached to the Soweto killing,the 1979 South African experience where some students carrying out a peaceful protest were murdered by the police. June 16 was set aside by UNICEF to honour the departed students.

First, the pupils were given a task that exposed them to their rights as contained in the African Children’s Charter. They were asked to engage in a competitive creative drawing with a theme, “25 years after the adoption of the African Charter, accelerating our collective efforts to end child mar-

NDDC inaugurates 500-bed hostels for UUTH medical students

riage in Africa”.

Pupils from Okoro Primary School; Imgbela Primary School,Odi; Igbeta Primary School,Odi; King Bolou Primary School; Amasian Primary School,Odi; Group School 1,Okpokuma; Reverend Proctor Memorial School 1 and 2, Kaiama, participated in the competition.

The pupils busied themselves creating images in their heads and also putting lines together to make the images real. The event attracted many dignitaries who watched as the pupils engaged in the competition.

The Project Manager, RUWASSA, Mrs. Wini Asingbe; Head of Nutrition, Mrs. Felicia Afenfia and the KolokumaOpokuma Education Secretary, Mr. John Appah were all in attendance.

Afenfia said it was necessary to instill creativity in the minds of the

Hospital seizes six bodies over N13m mortuary bill

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Ughelli

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T was joyful moment for medical students of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) and the people of Use Ikot Ebio in Akwa Ibom as the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) inaugurate 500 bed-space hostels for UUTH medical students.

Speaking during the commissioning of the project, the NDDC’s Managing Director, Bassey Dan-Abia, said the NDDC had inaugurated nine hotels in different universities in the last one year.

According to Dan-Abia, when the present board came in, the contract for the project was awarded in 2004 with 19 others but the board placed emphasis on the completion of all on-going projects in line with the Federal Government’s directive.

The NDDC boss also said the University and the host community would enjoy 500 KVA transformers. Also donated by NDDC is a 275KVA generator.

His words: “This project started some 10 years ago with 19 others. When this present board came in, we placed emphasis on the completion of existing projects.

As I am talking to you, we have nine University hostels we have commissioned within the last one year.

“We had to amend the original plan because we noticed that the University had no access road and perimeter fencing. The host community and the University will also enjoy 500KVA transformers.”

Also the Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel commended NDDC for the gesture.

Emmanule explained that the provision of the hostels accommodation will go a long way in improving the capacity of the teaching hospital to train more doctors.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Moses Ekpo said the state government being an agent of growth and development would continue to partner agencies of government so that the needed development can come to the state.

He said: “With this project, the capacity of the teaching hospital to train more

young ones. “Creativity should be instilled in our children at a very young age. Some are born artists while others are trained.

“Engaging them in this kind of competition sharpens their skill.

Teaching them healthy competition is very important for a healthy future”, she said.

After the competition, the children sat to listen to instructors who spoke on various issues bordering on their rights. One of the resources persons, Dr. Bodies re Teibowei, appealed the female children not to allow anybody take advantage of them sexually She asked them to stop keeping secrets and to expose anybody attempting to abuse them sexually by touching their breast and waist. Addressing them she said: “Say no to bad people.”

She further encouraged the children to be serious with their studies and to use their talents to attain greatness.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of Glory FM, Mr. Lawson Harford who was represented by ?the Deputy Controller Programmes, Mrs. Biboera Adobeni said the theme for this year’s celebration was apt. He called on the children to be responsible useful to their families and the society at large.

Ashingbe demonstrated to the children the benefit of washing their hands before and after meals and after using the toilet. She urged them not to drink river water and also encouraged them to ensure they drink clean water always.

Apah appreciated UNICEF for choosing Kolokuma/Opokuma out of the eight local government areas in the state saying that the exercise was a success. He enjoined the children not to disappoint their parents and the society at large.

The pupils held a community awareness rally and presented of short drama. Prizes were also given to the winners of the art competition.

•The hostel

doctors will improve. As a people we are grateful to the federal government for the gesture. Together, as agents of growth, we will continue to bring dividend of democracy to our people.”

The governor also appealed to host communities not to encroach on the land they willingly give to institutions of government.

In his speech, UUTH’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. Etete Peters urged NDDC to construct a link road from the hostel to the teaching hospital.

Prof Peters said: “This is not the only project that has lasted a decade. At the UUTH, we also have projects that are scattered all around. Please, also help us to intervene so that we can see the quick completion of the project.”

DELTA State hospital is keeping the bodies of six people killed in the crisis rocking Irri, Isoko South Local Government Area for alleged N13.059m mortuary bill. Five others have been released and laid to

rest.

The crisis was said to have happened as a result of power tussle allegedly instigated by an oil company operating in the area.

The five bodies released by the government hospital in Isoko South were interred amid tears and mourning as markets and stores were closed and movement restricted as signs of last respect for the deceased.

The deceased that were interred are Ororo Okemena, Edhor Wilifred, Agnes Osoh, Okogba Okiemute and Okrota Henry.

Speaking to reporters after the funeral service for the deceased at Irri town hall, the Chairman of Irri Development Union, Hon Goddey Igorigo said they were burying their brothers and sisters who lost their lives since 2002 in a crisis that rocked the community.

Igorigo said one of the deceased was taken to Oleh for burial while others still in the mortuary in a private hospital that are yet to be released following a mortuary bill of N13.059m debt yet to be upset.

He said: “We ought to have buried all today but because we don’t have money, the management of the private hospital took us to court that we should pay the sum of N13.059m and to also pay the damage of N1 million to them before they can release for us.

“The matter is in court as we speak now and with the judgment passed, the court asked the management of the hospital to reduce the bill for us because we as a community, we don’t have money to pay and we want the remaining people to be buried.

“So we are begging the local government, state and Federal Government to come to the aid of Irri to help us in offsetting the bill because day in day out the bill is increasing.”

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

31

NIGER DELTA REPORT FEATURE

Ibom Power MD to engineers: ethics very important

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HE Managing Director of Ibom Power Company, Dr. Victor Udo, has urged engineers to uphold the ethics of the profession.

He spoke at the seminar organised by the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) tagged “Infrastructure Decay: A case study of Akwa Ibom State”.

The MD said: “Engineers ought to be at the vanguard of infrastructure development and management for sustainable development.”

He urged engineers to “be involved in the technical, financial and public policy aspects of infrastructure development”.

He added: “If engineers concentrate only on the technical aspect, neglecting the other two, the problem of infrastructure decay will persist. The problem of infrastructure decay cannot be blamed solely on corruption because Engineers also have a role to play.

“Engineers should take responsibility for infrastructure management by shunning the use of substandard materials for infrastructure projects. Infrastructure decay can be minimised if there is core competency development with private sector involvement. Core

•Udoh (fourth right) and participants at the seminar.

competency development includes public policy analysis, financing acumen and the technical aspects

of infrastructure development.

“Private sector involvement can be either through Build Operate

and Transfer (BOT) or Build Own and Operate (BOO).”

The MD concluded that “to curb

the problem of infrastructure decay there must be improved management and maintenance culture for sustainable development”.

IYC leader bags award, raises fresh concerns on Niger Delta

T

HE executive members of the Niger Delta Youth Forum (NYF) were in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State recently. They came all the way from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Led by their President, Mr. Emmanuel Goodhead, the leaders were on a mission to honour the President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide, Mr. Udens Eradiri. They came to bestow on Eradiri an award of excellence for his leadership qualities.

Indeed, Eradiri has distinguished himself as a young, vibrant and proactive leader of the Ijaw race. In the history of IYC leadership, Eradiri has made a difference. He has refocused the council and repositioned it to actualise the dreams of its founding fathers as encapsulated in the Kaiama Declaration.

Goodhead said: “We have been following your track records of achievements. It is for your quality leadership lifestyle. We have even following your strides in ensuring the development of youths in the region.

“We have come to appreciate you for toeing the path of founding fathers of the Niger Delta struggle. You are one of the charismatic personalities in the region that have made things easier for the youths. Keep up your good work. You have taught us how to cross our Is and dot out Ts.” But Eradiri said he was receiving the awards with mixed feelings. He attributed the successes of his leadership on the cooperation of the Ijaw youths. He dedicated the award to them. He further used the occasion to comment on current issues bothering the region.

Topping the list of his concerns is the current condition of the Amnesty Office. The IYC boss urged President Muhammadu Buhari to reactivate the office by quckly appointing a Coordinator for the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP). He asked the President to separate the office of the Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta from that of PAP’s coordinator.

He added: “The programme is dear to us. It is building the capacity of our people. There are a lot of Niger Delta people scattered around the world and they are receiving qualitative education in various countries of the world.

“So, leaving the office vacant is a problem.

We know what we are doing in trying to manage our youths in order not to carry out activities that will draw the attention of government because we may not know the repercussions that will come. But the truth is that you cannot leave that office vacant.

“Our people have not been paid for close to two months now. This style may lead to breakdown of law and order in the region. There-

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

fore, we urge Buhari to quickly appoint a Coordinator of PAP This is because the office of the Special Adviser on Niger Delta is different from the coordinator of the amnesty programme.

“In the past, the two offices are one, that is why it is being political. The office of the SA to the President on Niger Delta is political but the coordinator of the amnesty programme is not supposed to be political.

“So, Buhari should demarcate that office, share it and let there be PAP coordinated by someone who understands the process while they can play politics with whoever that will advise him on amnesty programme.

“I think if he quickly does that, it will reduce the pressure some of us are carrying in terms of trying to maintain the orderly conduct of Ijaw youths in the region.”

He further lamented the travails of over 6,000 Niger Delta students on amnesty scholarship of the Federal Government in some universities abroad following the vacancy in the office.

He said the management of the universities had started delisting the students because of the failure of the Federal Government to pay their fees. He urged Buhari to intervene to save the students and the country from embarrassment.

He said the students’ problem was worsened by the vacuum in the Presidential Amnesty Programme office because of absence of an administrator for the programme. He said the programme was no longer functional following the absence of an administrator and urged the President to either fill the vacuum in the amnesty office or invoke his executive powers to save the students.

He said there was intense pressure on him to maintain the peace in the region because stipends for ex-agitators had not been paid for two months. He stressed that they had been appealing to them to give Buhari an opportunity to run government.

He said: “I want to use this opportunity to call on the Niger Delta leaders, well-meaning Nigerians and President Muhammadu Buhari to the fact that the cause of the vacuum in the presidential amnesty programme is as a result of the change in leadership.

“It has begun to tell on the lives of our young ones that are undergoing university training as a result of the amnesty programme in various countries - America, United King-

•Eradiri (middle), Goodhead (2nd left) and others after the presentation of award in Yenagoa

dom, London, South Africa and other African countries where we have young Nigerians.

“These young Nigerians who are undergoing education and training scattered round the world, because of the bureaucratic nature of the programme, the funding used to be month by month, most of the upkeep of the students is usually on a monthly basis.

“But for two months now, the students have not been paid; the financial obligations to the institutions have not been met because the Federal Government is to do that on a monthly basis and so we have the shocking news that some of the institutions have started delisting some of the students studying there.

“As for the UK, we know that rents are paid monthly and when the stipends are paid, these students also pay their rent. As I speak to you a lot of them now are being thrown out of their accommodation; they are all on the streets.”

“We have been doing that with just the word of mouth and the goodwill we enjoy as leaders. But when government fails to do their own part, then very unfortunately, we will not be able to maintain the peace as it was in the last few months.”

On the alleged random bombings of some areas in the Niger Delta by the military, Eradiri urged the soldiers to seek better methods of combating criminality in the region.

He said: “Very unfortunately the military, (I do not know if they are doing eye service), in recent times, there are a series of bombings of the region to fish out pirates.

“The Nigerian Navy is there, a lot of money

is spent on the Navy. There are a lot of blockades in the waterways, yet pirates and kidnappers still have their ways, abducting people on the main routes manned by the military.

“I think there is complicity. So, this pretext of looking for pirates and begin to bomb randomly is not accepted by us. We see it as a ploy to begin to move towards bombing people in the Niger Delta region.

“We are saying that inasmuch as we condemn criminality in the region, the approach as experienced in the recent weeks is not acceptable because there are statutory organs - the Joint Military Task Force, the Navy that have been funded over the years to secure the waterways.

“But when we begin to bring in the Air Force, then there will be colossal damage and at the end of the day our innocent communities will suffer for it.”

He warned the youths to desist from criminality. According to him youths should not give the military any reason to attack the region.

“So, if your a kidnapper, don’t use our environment to kidnap, if you are pirates, leave the Ijaw environment because we do not want a situation your activities which are not sanctioned by our people will begin to bring calamities to the Niger Delta.

“I have been talking to many youths, we must give the current administration in the country the opportunity to express themselves and we begin to take them on their actions accordingly.”

32

33

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

NIGER DELTA REPORT FEATURE

NIGER DELTA REPORT INTERVIEW

Mbiama... Motorists’ nightmare on East-West Highway C

OMMERCIAL bus/taxi drivers, travellers and users of the Benin – Warri - Port Harcourt axis of the East West Highway dread Tuesdays: The second working day of any week is not a good time to ply the busy highway and certainly not when you have to pass through the Mbiama Junction either to or from Port Harcourt or any other part of the Niger Delta.

Commercial bus drivers know that Tuesday is a market day in the border town between Rivers and Bayelsa states and the traders from within and outside the area bring in their goods, from foodstuffs to household items, vegetable to cocoyam, potato and poultry products, to sell. Consumers also besiege the market in search of irresistible deals. So, Tuesday is a very busy day in Mbiama and traders come prepared; they have the six other days of the week to gird their loins for the hectic day.

Unfortunately, like their counterparts in other parts of the region, the traders at the market are averse to merely trading in their makeshift stalls and shops on the roadsides.

They relish the chance of taking over the road for at least 12 hours or more, once, every week. Their temporal ownership of the Federal highway however creates nightmare for motorists and travellers.

Despite being only partially completed, travelling on the busy highway has improved tremendously over the past year with the completion of work on several hitherto notorious portions of the road and bridges such as the Umeh Junction in Delta State, Zarama and Sagbama areas of Bayelsa and others.

Consequently, a journey from Warri to Port Harcourt now takes just a little over two hours on any given day of the week, except on a Tuesday, when it could take up to two hours to meander from the notorious Yenagoa Junction to the Mbiama Bridge across the Urashi River, due to the activities of traders, who defy all moral and safety logics to spread their wares on the road. Their actions narrow the available track to barely half, which buses, trailers, tankers and other road users have to sluice through.

The travails of road users are further compounded by the deplorable state of that portion of the road, especially during the rainy season.

Strangely, after working on the road to Yenagoa Junction, Setraco, the con-

From Shola O’Neil, Port Harcourt

struction firm handling the project, skipped the areas around the market and continued working after the Mbiama Bridge.

“It is like Setraco has ceded this part of the road to the traders and the people of Mbiama and left us to our fate,” a frustrated traveler who told our reporter that he had been at the notorious spot for over one hour, said to no one.

Meanwhile, even the section of the road around the market that had been graded by the construction firm in preparation for tarring is also taken over by traders on Tuesday, thereby pushing motorists to the very worse section of the road.

“The rainy season is usually worse because when it rains, like it did today (Tuesday, June 23), it is usually more difficult to move on the road because everywhere becomes marshy and dirty. The traders, in their desire to avoid the muddy poodles near the road usually encroach more into the road and take up space that we could pass through.

“Also, due to the nature of this bad portion of the road, it is usually very difficult to know the bad spot, except of course, if you are a regularly user of the road like us (commercial driver) due to the flooding on the road. Even if you know the bad portion, you only have the luxury of avoiding the bad portion when there is alternative because it is when you have space that you can choose where to go through and where to avoid. Sometimes you just run into it and hope for the best,” a commercial driver with Agofure Motors, one of the prominent transporters on the route told our reporter.

Beyond the menace of traders, treacherous road, motorists also face the rage of wheelbarrows and motorcyclist, who usually enjoy a field day every Thursday. These two service providers, in their desperation to outdo their competitors, move about with careless abandon and mostly run at breakneck speed through any crevice and opening in the airtight traffic jam.

“Today is our own Christmas,” Ekon, one of the wheelbarrow-pushers told Niger Delta Report with a sardonic smile. “We don’t have oil wells; we are not politicians this is our own business and on a day like this we have to make as much money as possible to survive through the next six days.”

D

Pax Joel is the president, Initiative for Entrepreneurship and Talent Advancement (IETA), a non-government organisation. He obtained a bachelors degree in Economics at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. After working briefly in the private sector, he veered into business. In this interview, he speaks on his experiences on his mission to create jobs and guide young people ready to take on new challenges.

Y

•Mbiama gridlock

•Mbiama traders

Ibori, Uduaghan, Okowa and Delta’s N0.64tr debt ELTA State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa last weekend stunned the state when he announced that his predecessor and former boss, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, left a whopping N637 billion debts in various forms.

Okowa told members of the Delta State House of Assembly, most of whom were part of the past 5th Assembly, that his administration inherited a debt profile of N637.22 billion.

According to Prince Victor Efeizomor, the governor’s Press Secretary, “ Giving a breakdown of the debt profile, Okowa disclosed that N98.62 billion is as a result of Revenue Bond and indebtedness to commercial banks, while outstanding contractual obligations stood at N538, 601,962,421.50.”

By that revelation, Delta state vaulted to the top ‘States in Debt’ table.

From the figure, which is yet to be disputed by the former governor, the

'What my experience in Agbor taught me about unemployment'

From Shola O’Neil, Warri

state’s debt profile is higher than that of Lagos and a few others combined.

More worrying for citizens of the state, is the disclosure by Oghenejabor Ikimi of the Centre for the Vulnerable and Underprivileged, who posited that that the state owed over N1 trillion to creditors. Ikimi cited a report by the transition committee in arriving at the figure.

He said, “Though we are not oblivious of the fact that the actual debt burden of the State is well over a trillion naira as revealed in the transition committee report submitted to the incumbent Governor, we wonder why the State Governor has settled for the above sum of N636 billion.

“We therefore call on the incumbent Governor for the avoidance of doubt to immediately publish the full extract of his transition committee report in the above regard as the above subject, such as the debt profile of the State cannot be traded for politics as same is not a PDP family affair or

•Uduaghan

•Ibori

•Okowa

an Ibori Political family affair. “ Ikimi’s parting shot was pregnant and in consonance with feelings of a

OUR organisation once held a programme in Agbor. What did it tell you about unemployment in the country?

My first outing some years ago in Agbor, my home town, in Delta State was very revealing. I experienced firsthand the challenges of unemployed and unemployable graduates who were at a loss about how to begin life.

What exactly is the mission IETA? The mission of IETA is to re-engineer small and micro enterprise value chain. Over the years, we have provided platforms for young people to express themselves and we are encouraged by the feedback we receive. I think to a large extent, we derive our strength from the fact that we have assisted some young people in discovering themselves and they have moved on with their lives.

At the core of our mission is our belief that the solution to unemployment is entrepreneurship and this is captured in three perspectives: concept, capacity and capital.

Entrepreneurship will not thrive outside these three things and we make this known people who pass through us. The truth is that most people believe that what you need first to do business and succeed is money. This is absolutely incorrect because there is more to entrepreneurship than funding. What this simply means is that in starting up a business you need an idea of what you want to do which forms your concept. Afterwards, you need to build your capacity which may require further education in the form of training or even coming to us at IETA where we mentor people. What follows next is capital which may come in the form of loan or assistance.

Could you share you experiences particularly with regard to young entrepreneurs that pass through you?

First, my understanding is that young people in tertiary institutions tend to believe that certificates are meal tickets to a good life. Over time, this belief has been proved wrong. But the most revealing experience I have had is that young graduates who come to us lack the necessary tools for life outside school. Most of them had gone through school believing that one job or the other awaits them somewhere.

But the truth is that there is no job anywhere, you can either create job or remain jobless. However, we have also discovered that some graduates believe that some jobs are beneath them so •Joel they look down on certain jobs. Part of our mentoring process is to let these also discovered that many people have idealistic young people know that passion for entrepreneurship if only there is dignity in labour; no job is they have the right environment.

Apart from the youth who are obbeneath anybody who is willing to work. But more important, we have viously high on your agenda, who

have seen retirees who blew their gratuity in a matter of weeks and lived a miserable life afterwards. This is unacceptable in a thinking society. At IETA, our focus is human capital development, so who ever you are irrespective of age, sex or status, there is always a gap for entrepreneurial development. Take for instance, the public servant, part of our problem in public service today is insincerity and lack of patriotism. We know the damage corruption has done to

section of the state, particularly the opposition All Progressive Congress, that the incumbent governor cannot extricate himself from the political merry ground that plunged the state into the chasm of debt. Besides being the Secretary to the Government during Uduaghan’s first tenure, Okowa was a serial commissioner under the eight-year two tenures of Governor James Ibori and therefore a partaker by association, at least.

The ‘Debt Statement’ was also silent on how much of the debt went into the prosecution of the 2015 election both for Okowa and the state’s People’s Democratic Party candidates in the various positions. It was gathered that his Campaign Organization presented a whopping bill of N3.5billion to then Governor Uduaghan to enable it succeed at the polls. Although it could not be ascertained how the fund was sourced, a source close to the party leadership and the former governor disclosed that the budget was funded thoroughly without a review.

Our source said, “Just weeks to the governorship election, N3bn had been released to the committee and I am sure the N500m balance was also released.”.

It was against the above background that the APC in the state accused

Okowa of being part of the cabal that plunged the state into that depth in the pit of debt.

APC’s Media Adviser in Delta state, Dr Martins Mukoro, in a press release slammed Okowa for shedding ‘crocodile tears’ urging the people of the state not to get carried away by the subterfuge.

Mukoro said Okowa’s lamentation was merely to prepare the minds of Deltans for another jamboree in the debt market, adding that he represented the misrule that had bedeviled the state in the hands of the PDP over the past 16 years.

"From Gov Okowa's days as Commissioner under Gov Ibori to his days as the Secretary to the Government under Gov Uduaghan that accumulated these debts , he has no moral excuse to attempt to distance himself as if he was an on-looker or bystander while the state was being wrecked!

"Gov Okowa was not an onlooker but a key participant and a major coconspirator in wrecking the finances and Economy of Delta State and he is in no position to rescue Delta from the mess created by him and the past PDP Administrations."

‘

In creating more entrepreneurs in Nigeria, we must therefore not lose sight of the fact that we must have up and running infrastructure, friendly government policies,

‘

again can likely benefit from your programmes?

Entrepreneurship is not only for the young or those who are unemployed, it is for everybody. For instance, we

our society today which has made nonsense of our efforts to build a great nation. This is why civics and ethics are taught in detail to those who pass through our programmes.

How can Nigeria as a nation create more entrepreneurs and also address the issue of unemployment which is now global matter?

As a nation, our biggest resource is our size. This is why practically anything sells here, from tooth picks, tissue papers and fabrics to phones, electrical appliances, drugs and even food items. In creating more entrepreneurs in Nigeria, we must therefore not lose sight of the fact that we must have up and running infrastructure, friendly government policies, eco business environment and enriched curriculum that would include robust vocational training. Ultimately, our desire is to get Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria my alma mater to establish a school of entrepreneurship which will serve as our pilot project.

34

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

FEATURE Emotional farewell in Port Harcourt as Deputy Comptroller Umar bows out of NIS

L

AST Friday was a day to say goodbye for Alhaji Umar Ningi, a Deputy Comptroller, who retired from Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

He fought back tears as he appreciated officers and friends who gathered to celebrate his exit from the service.

Ningi said: "It is not about retiring but how I am going to miss you, especially your attitudes towards me which have made me to feel so much important today; you have surprised me."

Ningi, who was in charge of Human Resource Management at the Rivers State Immigration Command from 2014 till his retirement, said his relationship with his colleagues everywhere he was posted had always stood him out.

"I joined the service in 1980 as an Assistant Superintendent. I am very strong and healthy today even as I am retiring. To show you that I am very strong, the last time I traveled from Port Harcourt to Gombe State, I drove myself and I got to my state, Gombe, a very long journey by 5pm. There is nothing I cannot do as far as I am concerned. That is why I am very happy that God has given me good health.

"I have served in 11 states out of 36, including the Federal Capital. I am delighted that in all the areas I served, I tried my best to ensure that I delivered. Sometimes the success comes with the help of intelligent officers that worked around me. That is why in Port Harcourt command, when I took over things was in shambles, but I told myself that it was time to put things in a right perspective and that is what I did and I am proud that officers can appreciate it even as I leave the service.

"I am going to miss all the officers that worked with me, including the Comptroller of Rivers Command, who showed so much love and encouragement to me and other officers work-

•Longe (left) congratulating Umar on his retirement From Precious Dikewoha, Port Harcourt

ing under him. I will continue to be grateful to God and all of those who have made my task easy while in service which led to so many results we have achieved."

The Comptroller, Rivers State immigration command, Mr Mike Longe, a lawyer, said Umar had paid his dues in the service as a diligent officer. He said Umar would be missed by his colleagues and the entire command.

"Umar is an officer that was posted to work with me here, and I find in him a complete officer and gentle man.

He is somebody who is humble and ready to learn to improve situation. He is a level-headed gentle man. To a very large extent, he is very eager to not only get assignment but to get it done.

In fact, I must say that he is a born

leader; he is an embodiment of what we think officers should do, especially in this era where things don't go the way one expects them to go. But I know coming to this command he imparted greatly, especially in the human resource management where he was in change. As you see him, he is very strong retiring and not tired. I know that God will prepare a table before him.

"I will say officers should follow his footstep and not see retirement as something negative; he went about his work diligently and calmly. If it is an era where people would be re-appointed on contract I think I will recommend Alhaji Umar to be re-absorbed with contract because he has those sterling qualities. If you see him, you would not know that he is the husband of a Permanent Secretary in his state."

Edo community where poor, helpless kids get food

I

T is meal time at a camp run by the International Christian Centre for Mission. Children dressed in tattered clothes lined their plates on the ground for the food to be served. After meal is served, the children sat in clusters while some took to under trees to savour the food containing bits of fish.

Welcome to Uhogua, host community for the camp now housing 1,300 supposedly homeless individuals including children. Among residents in the camp are victims displaced by the Boko Haram attacks in Borno State.

Inside the camp is a school attended by the children in their rags-like clothing. It is on an expansive land and some of the wooden structures are being replaced with block buildings. Many of the children looked sickly.

The classrooms provided for teaching are untidy and small. Many of the children stay outside and learn from the window.

According to the camp founder, Solomon Folorunsho, there were 400 persons being cared for at the camp before another 900 were brought in from the North East.

He explained, “This centre is a place for mission work and discipleship and also to care for children who are in need from different parts of Nigeria. We ?have been in existence since 1992, catering for children from different villages who have been abused, oppressed and are orphans in the society.

“We had about 400 children before we saw the need of children in the North East, whose parents were killed. Some of them ran to the mountains where they ate sand, stones and leaves. And there were some who started dying of malnutrition disease.”

However, statements from some of the children who spoke to our reporter countered claims by Pastor Solomon.

They said they were not orphans and that their parents are alive and living in Nigeria.

One claimed that his father was told that Pastor Solomon was catering for children’s education and well-being which was why his father brought him there.

John Wani said, “They tell my father that Pastor Solomon want to help children. They told my father to bring me.

My parents are in Maiduguri, they are not doing anything.

To Matthias who said he hails from Borgu, “My father is in Abuja. I came here to school.”

A girl who gave her name as Martha said she hails from Kebbi State and that her village was not attacked by Boko Haram.

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

“I came here for somethings like food, water and school.

My parents are in Kebbi. I left because of school. My village was not attacked by Boko Haram.”

Two little girls who were seen eating under a flower said they were four siblings in the camp.

According to one of them, “I am five years old. I am in nursery two. My father is in Maiduguri.”

John who hails from Maiduguri said, “I come to school here. Nothing happens.”

David from Chibok said he left because of Boko Haram killings. “My parents are in Chibok. I come because of school.”

On his part, David Moses said his relatives are in a camp in Taraba State but that they hail from Gworza. “I was in school when Boko Haram attacked our village. We are three in this camp. Seven of my siblings are in Taraba. I hear that Pastor want to help those who are not in school. That is why I am here.”

To Pastor Solomon, “Some of them ran to Cameroon and I started getting phone calls there that we from the South here should help to rescue these children, as they were just wandering in the streets. That was what prompted us to set up a committee of pastors who located the children and brought them together to verify their identity.”

“We have orphans and vulnerable children from other parts of Nigeria. I am a Christian. I grew up as a sick child and was a punching bag. I am a Nigerian and cannot fold my hands to see people suffering. We felt as Christians, we should do our little bits.”

On how he relates with children who are Moslems, Pastor Solomon said he does not know whether there are any Moslems among the children.

He said he has 89 support staff at the camp who are on pay roll.

Several groups and individuals have started donating items to support the children.

Several groups and individuals have started donating items to support the children.

A former official of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Mr. Greg Abonoga volunteered one of his daughters to help teach morals aspect to the children.

Mr. Greg joined the children on Sunday service and played music for them.

NIGER DELTA REPORT BRIEFS Akwa Ibom governor’s wife advises women From Uyoatta Eshiet, Uyo

T

HE National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS) Akwa Ibom chapter has been challenged to engage in economic activities that will help re-orientate, rehabilitate and empower women.

Akwa Ibom First Lady Mrs. Martha Udom Emmanuel gave the charge when she received a delegation of the executive of the association led by its president, Mrs. Mmeyene Nkwo at the Government House, Uyo. Mrs. Emmanuel said the group being an umbrella women organisation with over 140 affiliated groups needed to do more to create programmes that will change the status of women.

She said the task of developing and empowering women remains the collective responsibility of all, calling on the group to be more active in the discharge of their duties and also work towards inculcating good moral values on teenage girls and women.

On issues bothering the organisation, the First Lady assured that government was committed to meeting the yearnings of women in the state.

She also promised to look into the group’s various demands.

Mrs. Nkwo thanked the governor’s wife for granting the group audience. She also congratulated Mrs. Emmanuel on her assumption of duties as the First Lady of the state, saying that with her, the women were secured. She highlighted the aims of the organisation to include promoting the economic, social wellbeing and progress of women, youths and the physically challenged, with emphasis on education, training and empowerment adding that within her stay in office, she has been able to conduct 24 local chapters elections, visit orphanages in the three senatorial districts of the state and as well organise seminars/ workshops for women.

Mrs. Nkwo solicited for government’s assistance to enable the group function effectively and also pledge their unflinching support and unalloyed loyalty to the administration of Mr. Udom Emmanuel.

The highpoint of the visit was the conferment of the organisation’s Patron award on the governor’s wife .

In a related development, the wife of governor also received the Cornelia Connelly College Old Girls Association at the Government House. Its National President, Mrs. Hannah Essien, said they were at the Government House to intimate the first lady, who is also an old girl of the school, on events mapped out to celebrate the re-union party for the old girls. She said the school having been a citadel of academic excellence over the years has produced worthy ambassadors in different endeavours.

She said the group has achieved some results in the furnishing of the Home Economics department and the expansion of the school refectory while soliciting assistance for the construction of a two story building to serve as dormitory for the school girls.

Mrs. Emmanuel thanked the group for the visit, saying that she was delighted to see some old faces she has not seen for a while. She thanked the group for their unflinching support during and after the elections promising that she would not let them down. She harped on the need to ensure that the school was restored to its glorious days, calling on the principal of the school to scale up disciplinary measures.

Group to Buhari: stop Amnesty stipends

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HE Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), a Non-Governmental Organisation, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to send all exmilitants and beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme to a farm settlement where they would be useful to the nation and themselves.

The group warned that doling out largesse to the former armed agitators and pampering them with political appointments and lucrative contract were dangerous to the economic wellbeing of the country and creating wrong role models for Niger Delta youths.

CEPEJ CEO Comrade Sheriff Mulade said: “The Amnesty Programme is a Greek gift; we advise President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle head-on the fundamental issues of deprivation in the region as the only way to engender lasting peace in the region.

“We canvass the adoption of strategic action plans for the massive development of the region, since the present efforts by the Niger Delta Ministry and Niger Delta Development Commission are nothing to write home about.

“On the December deadline set by the Federal Government to phase out the programme, CEPEJ wants the President to carefully study it with a view to adopting effective and more pragmatic methods in discharging its functions.

“We suggest that the ex-militants should be involved in mechanised farming, rather than dishing out stipends to them at end of every month without doing anything.

“Beside, we implore the Federal Government to create employment opportunities for those who are un-

From Shola O’Neil, Port Harcourt

dergoing training in various fields under the programme to give them a sense of belonging.”

Mulade also called on the President to ensure that only credible persons from the region are appointed as Minister of Niger Delta Ministry and to other intervention agencies, such as the Amnesty Programme and the Niger Delta Development Commission.

He said CEPEJ was not unaware of intense pressure being mounted on the President Buhari by vested interests and stakeholders who are lobbying for the nomination of their “candidates” into the strategic ministry and agencies.

Mulade advised the President not to be swayed by sentiments and such pressure by bowing to the gambits of the lobbyists and their agents, but he should take decisions that would benefit the people and his administration.

He said CEPEJ believed that only the appointment of grassroots persons with a grasp of the issues and problems of the oil bearing region into the various offices could bring the much needed impact and dividends to the communities.

Mulade warned against the appointment of ex-militants and offering of such positions as political patronage as it could provoke and incite their ilk to take on arms against the state, because they would think that it is rewarding to be violent.

He said: “We believe that appointing a thoroughbred to oversee the affairs of the amnesty office will go a long way to reshaping the programme and making it more resultoriented.”

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

36

NIGER DELTA REPORT COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

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VER the years he has been more than just another political figure to me. For reasons I cannot explain, I have taken interest in him right from his days as Commissioner for Health right through his time as Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and eventually Senator.

His name is Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa.

Some years back, while he was still SSG, I met his sister, Mrs Shenton, who is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. I also met his brother Preddy Wise, who was once a musician and was running a guest house at the end of Opebi, Lagos mainland. May be my meeting and working relationship with Mrs Shenton, who was then publishing a magazine known as Virtues, further made Okowa more than a passing interest to me.

I was sad when their father was kidnapped some years back and it brought back memories of my time with Mrs Shenton.

I remember telling a politician-friend during the run-up to the last elections that as far as I was concerned, Okowa was the most qualified of those seeking the office of the governor of Delta. At that time, it seemed a task that could not be done. The governor then, Emmanuel Uduaghan, was obviously not looking the way of Okowa. His choice was Anthony Obuh, who was a Permanent Secretary in the Delta State civil service.

Okowa had his plans and worked towards actualising his dream. He won the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket and it seemed the battle was just beginning when the Urhobo decided they would support the party with their kinsman as candidate. Two parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Labour Party (LP), had Urhobo as their candidates. It became a dilemma for the umbrella body of Urhobo to pick a candidate. It eventually pitched its tent with Great Ogboru of the LP, but some within its fold went with APC’S Olorogun Ortega Emerhor. The group has not recovered from the crisis that began as a result of the endorsement politics.

When the results of the April 11 polls were declared, Okowa was named winner of the Delta governorship race. He was sworn-in on May 29.

Today he calls the shot at the Government House, Asaba.

But Okowa is not a happy man. He is leading a state in debt and in need of help. Few days before his inauguration, an incident happened, which I think is worth recalling. The Accountant General of the state vanished into thin air. It was a pained Uduaghan who cried out. He accused the civil servant of holding the state to ransom, adding that money needed for the inauguration and other purposes could not be accessed because of the man’s absence.

My suspicion is that the civil servant deliberately vanished because he was not sure of the disposition of the then incoming governor to the use of such money in the twilight of the administration, especially at a time when he knew the state was broke. Another suspicion is that he perhaps consulted people in Okowa’s camp and he was advised in his own interest to make himself unavailable.

Whatever the true position is, Delta is broke.

At a briefing with lawmakers on the state’s

OLUKOREDE YISHAU

ABOVE WHISPERS

•A weekly intervention on Southsouth people and matters

olukoredeyishau@gmail.com

Okowa’s cry ‘

Is all well between Okowa and Uduaghan? Like Okowa, Kano Statem Governor Umar Ganduje also spoke about the state’s debt. But unlike Okowa, Ganduje...described it as not unusual. Okowa does not seem to share this view about Delta’s debt and, in my calculation, was close to accusing Uduaghan of messing up

•Okowa

financial status, Okowa said Delta would need to run a monthly deficit of about N2 billion and would need to borrow to pay salaries and finance the cost of government.

This is how it got into the current mess: N637.2 billion is owed to commercial banks and outstanding contractual obligations. Of this amount, N98.62 billion is the principal sum Delta is owing commercial banks; outstanding contractual obligation equals N538,601,421.50.

A N50 billion facility from the bond market with a repayment period of seven years in 84 instalments at N1.098 billion each month is also hanging. This facility terminates in September 2018 with 40 more instalments, totalling N43.92 billion.

The state also guaranteed some contractors with the issuance of an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) of N2.23 billion monthly for which the contractors. And for the next 20

LAST WORD

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months, it has to pay back N44.60.

There is also an outstanding overdraft facility of N19 billion and N715 million with Zenith Bank Plc. There are other smaller loan and overdrafts of N2 billion.

With effect from June to March 2017, after a deduction of N4.60 billion from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) receipts, the state will draw a meagre N3.4 billion, that is if the FAAC allocation stays at N8.03 billion monthly. And to add salt to injury, the receipts from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) stand at N2.0 billion monthly. This means N5.40 billion is available to the state monthly to run government.

This may make more sense when juxtaposed with the fact that the state has a workforce of 60,000 workers and an attendant wage bill of N7,437,940,015.38. So, the N5.4 b balance is insufficient to offset the wage bill, let alone fund

overheads or capital projects.

This situation has forced Okowa to ask the House of Assembly to review this year’s budget of N409 billion, because “it is no longer realistic in the wake of current realities”.

The effect of this grim state is that Ministries, Department, and Agencies (MDAs) have been running at half steam.

But, for the APC, Okowa should just shut up. The party described as embarrassing Okowa’s attempt to shed “crocodile tears over the huge debt profile of the state totalling over N600bn, which his predecessor left behind”.

According to the party, the governor “is merely setting the stage by crying wolf to divert attention and in order to lay the foundation for him to go borrowing more money, thereby plunging the state into a deeper financial disaster.”

The party said it warned the people during electioneering that “Okowa represents no change but more of the same of Peoples Democratic Party’s 16 years of misrule.”

APC’S words: “From Okowa’s days as Commissioner, multiple times under exgovernor James Ibori to his days as the Secretary to the State Government under Uduaghan that accumulated these debts, he has no moral excuse to attempt to distance himself as if he was an onlooker or bystander while the state was being wrecked!

“Okowa was not an onlooker but a key participant and a major co-conspirator in wrecking the finances and economy of Delta State and he is in no position to rescue Delta from the mess created by him and the past PDP administrations.

“If indeed Okowa insists he has been an onlooker and truly expect Deltans to believe he was not a party to the financial rot, let him immediately and urgently institute a panel to probe the huge debt in order to unearth how it was accumulated and who were the beneficiaries of the massive plundering of our commonwealth! Until then, Gov Okowa can’t pull wool over our eyes.”

What is clear in all of this is that Okowa, like Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, will soon ask the House for permission to borrow from available sources. Wike has so far gotten the permission to borrow N30 billion. Chances are he will still borrow more.

My final take: For me, the cry by Okowa has also raised a poser: is all well between him and Uduaghan? I ask this question because like Okowa, the governor of Kano State, Umar Ganduje, also spoke about the state’s debt. But unlike Okowa, Ganduje, who was deputy governor in the previous dispensation, justified the debt profile and described it as not unusual.

Okowa does not seem to share this view about Delta’s debt and, in my calculation, was close to accusing Uduaghan of messing up.

I am sure Uduaghan will point at the many developmental projects in the state to justify the loans and blame the dwindling federal allocation for the inability to cushion the effect of the loans.

I certainly do not pity Okowa. The early days are frightening and dark.

FROM PRECIOUS DIKEWOHA, PORT HARCOURT

Politics of Omehia’s portrait and entitlements

AST week the news was everywhere that Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike had restored all the entitlements and benefits of Sir Celestine Omehia as a former governor of the state. Indeed I was very happy that my uncle can now enjoy his entitlements like other past governors who have served the state.

While I was still excited about the news, the governor took Omehia to the Government House, where he raised his portrait and hanged it among other past governors. That means visitors to the Rivers State Government House can now see the portrait and identify Omehia as the past governor of Rivers State. Of course, Wike will be described by Omehia and his loyalists as a man who is kind to their master. But most of us who saw what happened during Omehia’s electioneering campaign in 2007 and what happened when the Supreme Court gave Amaechi the mandate to become the governor will know that Wike is playing politics with my uncles (Omehia and Amaechi).

I am putting this on record for the sake of my uncles and to avoid unnecessary hatred among their loyalists which the politics of por-

trait and entitlement is about to cause. Like me, Amaechi and Omehia are from Umuordu village in Ubima community of Ikwerre Local Government Area and as far as I am concerned, Omehia does not need the entitlements to survive but Wike only enjoys the benefit of using my uncles for his political advancement.

In 2007, former President Olusegun Obasanjo put a spanner in the works of Amaechi’s governorship plan with his novel Kleg declaration thereby temporarily denying him the opportunity of contesting the election of that year as a governorship candidate on the platform of People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

To consider Ikwerre people for the vacant job, Omehia was considered for the job and most of us from Ikwerre ethnic nationality, particularly Ubima community threw up ethnic sentiment and supported Omehia as our brother.

But Wike, who was described by Amaechi then as fearless, bold, and reliable political ally, kicked against Omehia’s candidacy.

Just like Okrika is in the eyes of APC in Rivers, Obio/Akpor was hell for Omehia. Wike did not give Omehia a breathing space to campaign in his area. Because of Wike’s ‘hatred’ for

Omehia, he vowed to ensure Omehia would not become the governor of Rivers State. He promised Omehia that his supporters were going to vote for the PDP and get victory in the court for Amaechi .

Omehia sent some elders to Wike to persuade him to cross over to his camp but he refused. Eventually, Omehia served Rivers State from May 29, 2007 to October 26, 2007.

Because of Wike’s contributions to the struggle that led to Amaechi’s victory at the Supreme Court, he became the first to be appointed into a political position in Amaechi’s government as the Chief of Staff in 2007.

One thing Omehia should not forget in a hurry is that most of the decisions against his administration, especially the alleged recovery of missing government properties and the order that all the past commissioners who served under him should return their official vehicles were all masterminded by Wike. It was Amaechi who pleaded with Wike not to enforce the witch-hunt. Apart from chasing those who served under Omehia, Wike also ensured that none of Omehia’s supporters got contract or appointment. We need to know that when

Wike was working with Ameachi he had more power than the governor because the governor trusted him so much more than any of his cabinet members.

In the 2011 election, Omehia went back to political field to try his luck. At that time he came under the platform of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), his worst enemy was Amaechi’s campaign director, Wike.

In Obio/Akpor Local Government where I covered the 2011 election, Wike personally ensured that Omehia did not have reasonable votes in all the wards . APGA party agents and Omehia’s supporters were brutalised by hired thugs. Some of the APGA party agents who escaped can attest to what they saw in 2011 under the supervision of Wike.

So, who is deceiving who over the politics of entitlements and portrait? Uncle Omehia, you are a man of high sense of decency, the few times I have interacted with you showed that you are a decent man. Who knows what Wike has in mind for doing what he is doing? Just be careful; if Amaechi who trusted him so much could fall out with him, then you an old enemy must be careful.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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THE SOUTHEAST REPORT Drivers, residents urge Buhari to rebuild federal roads

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ESIDENTS and commercial bus drivers in Aba, Abia State, have urged President Muhammadu Buahri to rebuild the collapsed federal roads not only in the state but also the entire region.

Not only are the roads broken up in several parts and riddled with potholes; they are nearly impassable when it rains. Those who brave it, have tales of woe.

Some residents and commercial bus drivers who spoke with our correspondent in Aba, the commercial nerve of the region on Tuesday, lamented that most federal roads in the city and other parts of southeast can only be described as death traps.

They said that if nothing was urgently done, the Southeast especially Aba may soon be cut off from other parts of the country.

Checks on Tuesday revealed that out of the three major roads, AbaIkot Ekpene Expressway, Port Harcourt Road and the Osisioma axis that connect the city centre to other parts of the region and the Southsouth, the best is the Osisioma axis, even though it is not in the best of shapes. It serves as the major entrance and exit route for private and commercial vehicles including articulated trucks.

The Nation can authoritatively report that the heavy influx of vehicles into the city centre through the Osisioma axis usually results to heavy gridlock on the road and one may spend more hours on the road

Not only are the roads broken up in several sections and riddled with potholes; they are nearly impassable when it rains.

Those who brave it, have tales of woe

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From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

at the slightest drop of rain.

Residents and business owners who regretted that their repeated appeals and SOS calls to the last administrations at state and federal on their plight failed on deaf ears feared that economic and business activities in the commercial city would crumble if President Buhari and Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration fails to reach an understanding on how to partner with each other to tackle and bring to an

•Commuting in Aba after the rains end the sufferings of commuters and other road users in the state to an end.

A commercial motorist plying from Aba to Akwa Ibom State who gave his name as Ifeanyi in a chat with The Nation said that they now use rural roads in Obingwa Local Government to and fro Aba and no thanks to some youths of the communities who always compel them to pay toll fess for using their vil-

lage roads.

“I am sure that you might not have traveled to UYO, Akwa Ibom State recently. You need to go to Akwa Ibom through Aba-Ikot Ekpene expressway and see for yourself what drivers are passing through there on a daily basis. We keep patronizing mechanics every week repairing one thing or the other. The only route we now is to find a bit motorable is the village

roads, but the youths are also feeding fat on the road. We pay as much as N100 and at some point, we pay N50 and this is to and fro Aba to Akwa Ibom.

“We are urging the federal and state government to collaborate and do something about the ugly nature of roads liking Aba with Akwa Ibom and other states, if not •Continued on page 39

‘Fed Govt should initiate creative writing workshops’ From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

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•Continued on page 38

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Brewery stocks school

•Continued from page 28 Lolu Ogunkeye, head brewer, Aba brewery happing on the gains of education to the society stated that the company would never relent in its resolve to continue assisting the state and federal government in giving education a facelift.

Ogunkeye, reiterating the importance of technical education which students of the secondary school were being exposed to, noted that the economic development of Nigeria would be on the increase and unemployment reduced drastically if special attention would be given to technical.

Ogunkeye was optimistic that the refurbished library would enhance teaching and learning among teachers and students in the institution.

“We believe that if we upgrade the school’s library it will go a long way [in empowering] the students to become better human beings and better future leaders, and that for us, is the foundation, because with knowledge, we will be able to do a lot more things”, Ogunkeye said.

In his response, BTC principal, G.O. Nnamdi said he was excited

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HE traditional ruler of Ndikelionwu community in Anambra State, Prof.

Chukwuemeka Ike has advocated public reading of literary works to encourage creative writing among youths.

The renowned writer and former Registrar of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) said such approach to literary works will broaden the country’s leadership options, arguing that the brain power of writers can be a huge advantage in tackling natiomnal challenges.

Also, a lecturer at the Department of English, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Dr. Florence Orabueze said the Federal Government should initiate creative writing workshops from elementary to tertiary institutions and provide the facility needed to publish works of best brains from schools.

Both spoke at the workshop organised in partnership with Prof.

Ezenwa Ohaeto Resource Centre in Awka in a lecture whose theme was “Language and Literature as tools for social reconstruction; an evaluation of Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’ and ‘Arrow of God’ .

It was a literary workshop organised by the National Association of Students of English and Literary Studies (NASELS), Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka chapter.

The prolific writer cum traditional ruler of Ndikelionwu community in Orumba North Local Council Area of Anambra, said that works of literature were ready tools for changing any society.

According to him, public readings would encourage people to listen to good literature which was helpful for the society because the writer would write about the society and how to correct its ills.

“We have brain power which we have not recognised to save the coun-

We believe that if we upgrade the school’s library it will go a long way [in empowering] the students to become better human beings and better future leaders, and that for us, is the foundation because with knowledge, we will be able to do a lot more things

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over the project and thanked the management of NB plc for selecting their school as one of the schools that would benefit from their educational pet project.

Nnamdi who promised to secure and put the donated items into good, used the opportunity to beckon on NB plc and other corporate organizations and well-meaning individuals in the commercial town and the state at large to come and help the school by providing them with technical education fa-

cilities and to complete the perimeter fencing of the school which he said would help them to secure the donated facilities from being carted away by hoodlums.

Nnamdi said, “We have a lot of problems in this school, and we are happy that you have solved one of them, which is the library. We have a porous environment, our school needs fencing. We need also equipment in the workshop as well as electricity”.

A senior staff at the State Second-

ary School Management Board (SEMB), Aba zone, Mr. Eugene Uzoma Nwaoha Nigerian Breweries plc has invested wisely into the future of Abia children and has also assisted Abia State Government in providing infrastructure in public schools in the State.

While calling on the brewing company not to relent in their efforts in patterning with the state government to continue giving education a facelift in the state urged other organizations in the state to emulate the good steps of NB plc who have made education a priority in the Corporate Social responsibility.

“If you go to some public schools in the state, like Ngwa High School and Osokwa Secondary School, you will see very magnificent class-room blocks, built and equipped by the Nigerian Breweries plc, and it has been so wonderful, because NB plc is not the only company in Aba, there are so many other companies that make money from this city and none of them has shown this type of interest in the education sector and I want to ask them to queue into the steps taken so far by NB plc”.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

Free medical services for Imo community

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VER 3000 villagers suffering from various ailments, ranging from high blood pressure, diabetes, malaria, among others, have been given free medical treatment at Onicha Uboma community in Ihite Uboma Local Government Area of Imo State.

Most of the recipients were old men and women.

Their benefactor was a non-governmental organisation, the Satellite Medical Foundation (SMF).

Before the intervention of the Foundation according to the President, Dr. Harold Onumo, scores of the villagers have died from treatable diseases as a result of ignorance.

So it was a huge relief for the sick and the old in the community as they filed out in large numbers to the free medical treatment. Most of them were diagnosed of several ailments and given treatment, while others with more serious cases were referred to the Foundation’s Clinic in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

According to the President, who is also the Medical Director, the gesture is a pilot community project, which embarks on free monthly medical services to rural communities using the mobile clinic.

He said that the mobile hospital, which is solely funded by the Foundation is moved to the communities where there are no hospitals or quality healthcare centers or access to genuine drugs.

Onumo disclosed further that the Foundation has given out hundreds of free medical cards to patients and has maintained a database of the benefitting patients for effective follow up treatments.

He said, “In the course of this outreach, we discovered that scores of people have died in the rural communities as a result of treatable ailments like hypertension, which is the major cause of stroke and heart attack. In most of the communities, these attacks are blamed on evil forces and this has not helped their condition. ”We have also discovered that

We discovered that scores of people have died in the rural communities as a result of treatable ailments like hypertension, which is the major cause of stroke and heart attack. In most of the communities, these attacks are blamed on evil forces and this has not helped their condition

•Dr. Onumo and members of the foundation

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From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

ignorance and lack of access to genuine drugs and healthcare services have contributed to over 60% of deaths recorded in the rural areas. So it is our intension to extend the free medical care to other parts of the state but we are having constraints of funds and manpower. We are hoping to collaborate with related agencies to continue to extend these services to the rural communities in the state and beyond. ”Currently we have seven medical doctors in different fields, two pharmacists and two lab scientists and several Nurses in the team. We also have plans to establish a community health insurance scheme to enable the poor rural dwellers access quality medicare at little cost.

This we hope to achieve by sponsoring an independent bill at the State House of Assembly”.

However, Dr Onumo lamented that the activities of the Founda-

•A patient being examined tion have been impeded by mounting challenges, which include, the high cost of developing capacity and manpower base to reach out to more communities, inadequate funding, among other challenges.

He stated that, “the challenge is enormous and it is becoming difficult to finance the activities of the Foundation alone. For instance we

are not only involved in the direct treatment of ailments; we are also involved in counseling and advocacy on the kind of lifestyle that are permissible to diseases. We have in the past three years that the Foundation started, shared out over 10,000 treated mosquito nets to the people in the rural communities. The financial burden is quite

NDLEA arrests 85 suspects in Ebonyi •Continued from page 27 would make significant impact, if demands for it were drastically reduced.

He said this could be achieved through the provision of accurate information on the negative effects of drug abuse and its attendant consequences.

Mr Magnus urged Education planners across the country to embed drug education in the curricula of primary and secondary schools, even as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Ebonyi state disclosed that the Agency counselled and discharged 35 drug users while three drug dependent persons were being rehabilitated in the first half of 2015.

According to Chief Eze who is also founder of Mezie Okposi, a non-governmental Organisation leading ethical revival in the state, “community support is extremely important to prevent, treat, rehabilitate and accept those addicted to substances. All hands must be on deck. Be a good role model and empower young people to deal

•From left: Representative of Ebonyi State Police Commissioner, ACP Mathew Akinyosola; Comptroller of Prisons, Mrs. Bibiana Okposo; NDLEA state Commander, Mr. Ralph Igwenagu and Coordinator of Okposi Development Centre, Chief Magnus Eze, during the commemoration of this year’s UN International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Ebonyi State with life challenges to stay away from substance abuse. We can achieve this by forming drug-free club in our schools and also making drug education part of the curricula of primary and secondary schools in Nigeria. Teenagers need to get the accurate and detailed information about substance use from a trusted and reliable adult – be it a parent or a teacher.”

Chief Eze further charged families, schools, civil society and faith-

based organizations to do their part to rid their communities of drugs, while urging the Nigerian media to raise greater awareness about the dangers of narcotics.

The state police Commissioner of Police, Dikko Maigari, who was represented by Assistant Commissioner of Police Mathew Akinyosola cautioned Nigerian youth against involvement in drug abuse in view of its damaging effect on the body and the society.

He warned that the long arm of the law would always catch up with those involved in drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking.

Other speakers at the occasion were Bibian Okpoko, Comptroller of Prisons, Ebonyi State; and Richard Anichukwu, state coordinator, NAFDAC. The theme of the celebration is: Let’s Develop Our Lives; Our Communities, Our Identities without Drugs.

enormous”.

Speaking on why he took up the burden of caring for the health need of the poor rural dwellers, the soft spoken medical practitioner, stated that, “my motivation is the my knowledge that many rural dwellers could not on their own access basic healthcare. When we started, people thought it was politically motivated but this is our own way of extending care and love to the poor people in the society”.

Commending the initiative, some of the beneficiaries appealed to the Foundation to sustain the programme and extend it to other villages.

73-year-old Mrs. Eunice Okeoma, who was diagnosed of diabetes, stated that, “I thank God for the doctors, before they came we have been suffering but now I have received free treatment and I am grateful to these people.

“Most of us suffer from hypertension and arthritis and we cannot travel the long distance to the city to get treatment and we don’t also have the money, so when the people came we thought that they were going to collect money so many people did not come out but when we found out that it was free, many people came out to be examined.

“Another other thing we love about them is the kind manner they attend to us, irrespective of the fact that we are not paying any money. Our prayer is that God will reward them and give them the power to continue to assist poor people”.

A community leader, Chief Paul Udodinma, said that, “before now we were dying of ignorance because we had blamed our fate on evil forces. Now we know that hypertension and other diseases that were afraid of are treatable. We thank members of the Foundation for this gesture”.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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THE SOUTHEAST REPORT ‘Fed Govt should initiate creative writing workshops’

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•Continued from page 38

•The suspected kidnappers

Grandma among paraded suspects in Aba From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

obtained as at the time of this report, have been arrested at Umunna Nsulu in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of the state by the police.

The women, according to reports, were arrested by police over the role the grandmother and her daughter played in an alleged abduction of a week old baby by yet to be identified abductors.

The initial report was that unknown gunmen attacked the resident of the family to abduct the baby after the mother had allegedly lost one of her children during childbirth.

According to a source who pleaded anonymous, “The situation in the first instance attracted pity by members of the community but the women shot themselves in the foot when they told police that they raised alarm which the people living around their house countered. Because, according

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HE police in Abia State have paraded three suspected members of a robbery gang allegedly specialising in dispossessing victims of their cars and other valuables.

Two women have also been nabbed in the kidnap of a baby only a few weeks old. One of the suspects is said to be a grandmother, the other her daughter.

The male suspects Promise Sunday, two commercial motorcyclists Uche Nwachukwu and Ugochukwu Okoro, both of Mgbarakuma village in Umuahia South Local Government Area of the state were arrested and brought to the Ubakala Police Station by soldiers after they allegedly robbed two female victims.

The gang was said to have collected from their victim a handbag containing clothing valued at N27,500, shoes valued N7,500, necklace and earrings valued at N1,700, cream and perfume valued N2,000, one Samsung Galaxy X4, two Tecno phone valued N40,000, two Nokia phones valued N9,000, totalling N79,700.

The victims who names were given as Jenifer Ekpeme of Okpuala Ngwa and Tochi Ngwaba of Umuode both in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area were said to have engaged the services of Promise Sunday and Uche Nwachukwu not knowing that the duo had evil intention against them.

The Commissioner of Police, Joshiak Habila who spoke through the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Ezekiel Onyeke said that the suspects were followed by Ugochukwu Okoro in another motorcycle as he later joined his friends to rob the victims after brandishing machete and threatened to cut them to sizes if they refuses to cooperate with them.

Onyeke said luck ran out on the gang when detectives from Ubakala Police station swooped on them.

According to Onyeke, the police team was able to recover from the gang, three out of the four phones, necklace/earring, perfume/pomade, two machetes, three motorcycles, one Army face cap, one LG TV, one Sony/LG DVD, one Kenwood deck, two speakers and one standing fan.

He said that investigation into the matter were still ongoing.

In another development, two women whose names were yet to be

A member of the kinsmen claimed that the women were overheard making arrangements for a shop before the incident happened which raised suspicions that they connived with the abductors to sell the baby

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to them, there is no way that the two women could have raised alarm without members of the family not being aware.

“In fact, a member of the kinsmen had claimed that the women were overheard making arrangements for a shop before the incident happened which raised suspicions that they connived with the abductors to sell the baby”.

The state Police Public Relations

Officer, Onyeke in a telephone chat confirmed the incident though he said he was out of the state on official assignment.

According the PPRO, who said he was yet to be properly briefed on the matter by the divisional police in whose jurisdiction the incident happened, added that the matter and the suspects have been transferred to the state CID for further investigation into the matter.

•Continued from page 37 any other thing, to save us from these youths who are taken advantage of the bad road to exploit us.

Aba is a commercial city that attracts traders from different parts of the country and Africa and so therefore, roads linking the city to other state should not be allowed to degenerate so badly as it is today”.

Another commercial bus driver plying Aba-Port Harcourt, Chima Okorie narrating his experience asked the federal government to declare state of emergency on Aba roads.

Okorie who said he spent nearly 3hrs one of the days last week from Milverton by Asa road to Osisioma because it rained on that day stated that the need for the reconstruction and total repair of all exit routes in Aba cannot be overemphasized, stressing that if the incumbent Governor, Victor Okezie Ikpeazu would be able to fulfill his campaign promises of building more roads and overhead bridges, it was help to decongest the city of heavy trucks that ply on the intra-city roads on daily basis.

“All we want is for the federal and state government to partner and build more roads. Governor Victor Okezie Ikpeazu promised to build more roads and tackle the problem of traffic congestion in Aba. Let them see ways to divert some of the big trucks that come into Aba before going to places like Calabar, Akwa Ibom, Rivers State

•A tricycle on Port Harcourt Road, Aba

Drivers, residents urge Buhari to rebuild federal roads and other parts of the country from coming into Aba. It will help to avoid the roads from spoiling easily and as such reduce the constant

repair of roads.”

A journey from Milverton to Flyover which normally cost N70 now costs between N120 to N140

and could rise to N200 if rain falls.

A resident of Ude Nwanyi by Port Harcourt Road, Mr. Kingsley Offor said that the situation could some-

try. The literary creativity is one important tool in transmitting the proper culture needed to build confidence and restructure the country” Dr Florence Orabueze of the Department of English, University of Nigeria (UNN), extolled the contributions of late Prof. Chinua Achebe to African and world literature.

She praised Achebe for what she described as his “hybridisation of Igbo and English language in communicating the experience of Africans during the colonial era.

“We as literary artists should not accept neo-colonialism or domination from any group.

“We should encourage our children to speak their mother tongue and feel the lacuna of corruption, decayed infrastructure and loss of identity through our literary works,” she said.

However, the Chief Executive Officer of late Prof. Ezenwa Ohaeto Resource Centre, Dr Ngozi Ohaeto, said that the library decided to partner the students for the workshop to promote literary creativity.

Ohaeto said that the centre aims at providing education materials for life through mentoring, tutoring and inspiring writers of younger generations.

The Head of Department, English and Literary Studies, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Stella Ekpe, charged the students to see their course of study as call to duty.

Represented by Prof. Afam Ebogwu, Ekpe further urged them to realise the need to see their discipline as different from other disciplines.

The NASELS president in the institution, Mr. Triumph Okorocha, explained that the workshop was aimed at exposing and correcting the ills in society through the creative writings of students.

According to him, “The workshop is an avenue for students who represent the younger generation of writers to learn under the guidance of more experienced writers.”

times get worse that they have to trek home from Milverton because some of the tricycle drivers would not want “to go beyond no. 1 Port Harcourt road because they either do not want to be held in traffic or get their tricycle trapped in the water.

“If there are people who will pray to God and God will answer their prayers, we living at Port Harcourt road will always pray for dry season throughout the year.

That is the only time we can to an extent go home comfortably. Government should please look into our case. The past governor of the state and the past president could not do anything to ameliorate our situation and we hope that the story will not be the same now that Dr. Victor Okezie Ikpeazu and president Buhari are in power.

I also believe that despite their political party difference, that they should consider the plight of Aba residents as Nigerians who are in dire need of both the presence of government at the state and federal level. Aba is an economic city that has and is still attracting investors and buyers from all over the world and should not be allowed to degenerate badly, Offor cried out passionately.

It could be recalled that the administration of Governor Ikpeazu had flagged off the reconstruction of 7 roads in Aba with the promise that it would be completed and commissioned within its 100 days in office.

40

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

•Some of the displaced people

•Continued from page 28 such eye-sore. We are going to fix it and put rails so that if a motorist has a mishap, he doesn’t end it dead or mortally wounded by falling into the gullies.”

“Without fixing this, our beautification project will come to nil. And we cannot let that happen. Then we are going to fix repair the roads from Local Government office to Eke Market round about. Then head to Amangbala round about and then to

600 displaced in boundary clash From Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakiliki

Ebonyi State, Igwe Dominic Aloh alleged that the people of Adadama broke the covenant reached by their ancestors and invaded the land under dispute, killing raping and kidnapping his subjects and destroying properties and farmlands.

He spoke when the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State visited the community.

Igwe Aloh recalled that when the people of Adadama first invaded the land and settled their many of them died and were taken back to their village where they were buried and wondered why the persistent invasion.

His words, “It is a long standing dispute and it has taken years. These started even before my own grandfather and a covenant was reached here between the Amagu people and Adadama people and since that time we have been respecting that covenant”.

“There was a point it reached, the people of Adadama invaded the place. Some years past, they came in and started settling there but surprisingly to them all those people

,

T

HE Adadama/Ikwo boundary crisis in Ebonyi State has reared its ugly head again, leaving three dead and no fewer than 600 people displaced.

The renewed hostilities have led to questions as to whether the crisis will ever end.

Investigations by The Nation reveal that the crisis which started many decades ago was triggered by land dispute between the people of Adadama in Ani Local Government Area in Cross River State and their counterpart from Ochoenyim Amagu in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

Successive governments have tried to find lasting peace to the crisis all to no avail.

Elders of the communities blame the flouting of the covenant entered into by both communities as the reason for the inability to resolve the dispute.

According to our investigations, ancestors of both communities had entered into a covenant not to invade each other’s community but the pact was long ago broken when they started attacking each other which led to the death of many people.

Yet another outbreak of the crisis was witnessed on 3rd June with about three lives lost. One indigene of Ochienyim was kidnapped, while scores were injured?

The traditional ruler of Amagu in Ikwo Local Government Area of

We have many refugees; we do not know how to continue feeding them. We have started making contributions from our people to feed them but it is not sufficient.

Some of our men have been killed

,

that settled their died and when they died they were taken back to their original village. That shows that the covenant was strong” “Many of our children and adults have been missing for many years and they were all captured by Adadama people, we never saw them till today. Whenever they show mercy after catching our women they are raped”.

“On the 3rd of June, they came around where our people safely farm, removed yams, cassava, corn and other crops. On the 4th when some of those people went to the area to see what really happened on the land that is not among the disputed one, they attacked them again. In the attack one person was killed and one person running

away got drowned and they wounded one that is still in hospital”.

“On the 6th, these people came again, killed two of our sons and one is still missing”.

The renewed crisis has led to the displacement of at least 600 persons in the community majority of whom are women without shelter, refuge and food as they have to levy residents in order to carter for the displaced persons. The children of the affected women have also dropped out of school”.

“We have many refugees, we do not know how to continue feeding them. We have started making contributions from our people to feed them but it is not sufficient. Some of our men have been killed; they

Hope for decaying historical town Egesco for now. The next phase of road repairs will follow soon after.”

“The most tear-inducing thing I saw today is the toilets for Eke Market. It was disgracefully bad and so unhealthy. Looks like what I do not know and understand. Words fail me. Oh God, my people have suffered. Well I am going to build a world standard toilet facility for our

•Inspection of the Dilapidated Eke market toilet facility

Eke Market. It is going to be even more beautiful than what is obtained in civilized world. I will see to it.

Enough is enough. The building of this first class toilet will start this month.”

“We will also fix the drainage system in the market and the roads we are retouching and beautifying for without that there will still be a prob-

lem. So much to do, I am ready because it is all about making sure Governance works the way it was meant to work, which is to lessen the burden of those being governed and to make their lives as easy possible. I will continue to serve myself last. As should be the case for those elected to serve, so this country can also one day become a first world nation.

“There is so much I am about to do.

Also, Afikpo Beautification Project team and staff, whose duty it is to sweep Afikpo and keep it looking beautiful, will start work in a few weeks.”

She also visited Oziza Road where a gully has claimed many lives.

Nwachi promised to start work there soon.

“When the road leading to Ozizza was constructed, the company involved neglected to properly handle Ogbordor bridge in Mater road, this costly error in judgment, extreme incompetence and callous carelessness is engendering the lives of those plying the road daily.

Many have already been sent to their early graves. We went there last week with an indigenous company to look at it, tell us the way forward and cost implications; and to be sure we have all bases covered, we also invited a foreign company there too to do the same.

“We have decided on which company will best do the job for us and will start work there this month. At the mean time we would put some danger signs around the area so that

cut off their heads and enslave some of them. It is sacrilegious to cut off the head of your brother. It is a declaration of total war but I have so far been able to pacify my people not to retaliate because we know that the governor, Engr Dave Umahi is a peace-loving person and will not be happy if we do that.”

Village Head of Ochienyim village, Mr Peter Azuegu said the people of Adadama invaded their community and started shooting through one Nwanchor Ajah’s compound and overpowered the people there who were en-route to inform soldiers on the development He appealed for government intervention so that the crisis could stop saying that they don’t want war adding that weeds have taken over their deserted homes.

On his part, the state deputy governor, Kelechi Igwe assured the displaced persons of government’s intervention.

The Deputy Governor lamented the condition of the displaced persons who are currently not having homes, shelter and food to eat even as he promised that the government of Engr Dave Umahi would not seat back and watch the people of Ebonyi State suffer in the hands of external aggressors. motorists and cyclists do not fall victim to this deadly erosion gully”.

She also appealed to the people to be patient and support the government of Chief Dave Umahi who she said has a lot of good things in stock for the people of Afikpo which he will unveil as the dire financial situation of the state government which the governor inherited improves.

Reacting to the actions of the Lawmaker, a resident of the city, Mr Ekoh Isaac commended the Mrs Maria for her vision and determination to uplift the living standards of her constituents and charged other lected leaders to emulate her.

“There is hadly any lawmaker whether state of federal that has even gone to assess developmental problems in Afikpo talk more of thinking of the solutions. God will give you all it takes to do the job. We are sure you have a good heart towards Afikpo people, more powers to your elbows” Another resident resident Mr Charles Otu urged other elected leaders to strive to change the lives of the people.

He said: “ If all elected political office holders will be as selfless as Nwanyi Afikpo the Ebonyi State and Nigeria will be a world leader in a short time. Being a member of the legislature is not only about making laws but also about touching the lives of the people and I have no doubt that Mrs Nwachi will excell in both areas because she has been at the forefront of uplifting the lives of the people even before she became a lawmaker. That is why she was voted in overwhelmingly despite running under the platform of the opposition Poeples Pregressive Alliance (PPA)”.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3 2015

42

COMMENTARY

I

T is an open fact that Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari will be an invited guest of President Barrack Obama of the United States on the 20th of this month. Such is nothing strange especially whenever the honeymoon remains fresh for any newly elected President of an African country. Virtually all the former Presidents of Nigeria also enjoyed that privilege in Washington.

The difference this time however, is that President Buhari’s visit is coming up at a time when sodomy has become America’s new civilisation. And President Buhari’s host has described that ‘new civilisation’ which was authoritatively proclaimed by America’s Supreme Court last Friday as a joyous victory for his regime which he may want to share with anybody that falls into that country’s web of sacrilege. The Almighty Allah said much about this in Qur’an 11: verses 76, 77, 81 & 82 as follows: “And when our messengers came to Lut (Lot), he was grieved for them because he could not protect them against the sacrilegious acts of his townsmen (who were neck deep in homosexuality). Lut concluded: ‘this is a day of woe.’

And as the evil doers came rushing towards him he said: ‘’my people, here are my daughters; they are (sexually) rather lawful to you than your fellowmen. Have fear of Allah and do not humiliate me (with your sacrilege) before my guests. Is there no single good man amongst you?

“Then, the Angels said: ‘Lut! We are the messengers of your Lord; they shall not touch you. Depart with your kinsfolk in some part of the night and let none of you look back, except your wife.

She shall suffer the fate of the others.

Their appointed time is the morning.

And, is the morning not near? And when our judgement came to pass, we laid them (and their towns) upside down and let loose upon them a shower of burnt stones bearing the tokens of your Lord.

Such is not far off from all evil doers”.

Exposition The above Qur’anic quotations are in reference to the people of Prophet Lut (Lot) and the consequences of their evil deeds. But as the last quoted verse indicates, the story of such evil machination did not end with them and its consequences will not end with them. Now, the imperial West seems to have found a new civilisation in sodomy. It probably believes that the men of Sodom and Gomorrah were afflicted by the mentioned calamity either because they were not clever enough or they had no nuclear power with which to fight God.

Words of advice Sodomy has long been a global phenomenon from which no part of the world is excluded. But with its current institutionalisation backed up by governmental authority, especially in Europe and America the leaders of sane countries from the rest of the world must be on their guard. It is characteristic of the West to want to impose any newly invented idea by them, and considered as civilisation, on others. This is where President Muhammadu Buhari has to be very careful when he travels to the United States.

The Western imperialists have a way of luring others to their traps with open carrots while hiding the stick. With them, there is no free lunch. Every gift that comes from them is a Greek one.

As of now, President Barrack Obama seems to be very desperate in helping Nigeria to get rid of Boko Haram menace. And he has noticed desperation on the part of President Buhari in solving the same problem.

When two Presidents meet with such desperation on the same issue one is likely to bow for the other depending on whose will is stronger. But in a situation where one of them is the giver and the other is the recipient, the elasticity of will may be limited.

Whoever pays the piper surely dictates the tune. The imperialists do not traditionally live in a house with only one door. They are invariably known for keeping the front door wide open to all visitors while a back door, which is an alternative, remains hidden. No Nigerian interest can ever be a priority for

FEMI ABBAS ON femabbas756@gmail.com 08115708536

As Buhari visits US any country that refused to allow gay freedom in its constitution.

Reactions

• President Buhari an American President.

The evil axis America is currently the champion of modern civilisation. Whatever emerges from America is perceived as a trend of civilisation with which the rest of the world must keep pace. Last Friday (June 27, 2015), America’s Supreme Court gave a split judgment (of 5 to 4) that shocked the sane world to the marrow.

The judgment officially granted the citizens of that devil’s own country the legal right to practise sodomy throughout the country in what is now seen as a token of civilisation at higher pedestal.

The implications of that evil judgment are innumerable. Some of them are as follows: 1.Marriage between male and female has been consigned to the uncivilised basket of the primordial time.

2.The legal natural and conventional means of procreation of children has been rubbished and rendered irrelevant.

3.Adoption of other people’s children has become a new artificial means of increasing human demography.

4.Through a devilish connivance with Europe, America has challenged the authority of the Almighty God to make law for mankind.

Human history is generally dotted with waves of civilisations from era to era. The fall of one civilisation has always signaled the beginning of another. Where are the civilisations of the yore today?

Haven’t such ancient civilisations, such as Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, Mesopotamian, Carthaginian, Greek and Roman each of which lasted far more than a thousand years now become sheer rubbles on the pages of history? From the experience of history, we have come to learn that when a civilisation wants fall, its conductors will begin to see themselves as super human beings and clad in the garb of arrogance.

That is now the lot of America which amounts to challenging the authority of God.

Audacious chief gay A few years back, the world’s chief gay crusader was no less a personality than the Prime Minister of Britain, David Cameron whose campaign for free homosexuality and same sex marriage is going international.

At the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting in Australia in 2011, Cameron’s preoccupation was to sell the constitutional entrenchment of free homosexuality to other heads of governments, particularly those from Africa. He threatened to withdraw his government’s aid to

The first reaction to that threat came from the then Ghanaian President, John Atta Mills, who publicly and eloquently told his fellow countrymen that his government would not tolerate the linkage of foreign aid to promotion of gay rights.

President Mills’ open denunciation came after David Cameron boasted in the British Parliament that he had sold the concept of gay rights to the Commonwealth countries.

“If the aid is going to be tied to things that will destroy the moral fibre of our society, do you really want that?” John Mills concluded.

Ghana was not alone in such denunciation. Uganda also asserted that she would rather suffer any economic backlash from anywhere over her opposition to gay rights. Meanwhile, the Presidents of both countries had separately proscribed homosexuality and condemned Cameron’s threat.

However, about a year thereafter, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda went back to his vomit and announced to the world that Uganda was ready for institutionalisation of homosexuality in line with the new trend in the West. The presidential afterthought was to enable Uganda gain access to the satanic dollars that were to be granted to her in the name of economic aid.

Analysis Out of the 54 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, 41 maintained their enacted laws banning homosexuality with many of those laws dating back to the British colonial rule. During the early days of resistance to that evil proposal, Uganda had described Cameron’s threat to cut bilateral aid as “bullying tactics”.

And Ghana, which enjoyed some 36 million British pounds aid in 2010, said she would not compromise on the matter. It will be recalled that Cameron had been harping on gay rights since early 2010.

He had apparently promised his party to take the campaign for gay rights to the outside world, convinced that the British point of view was more salutary than Africa’s.

When Malawi, another African Country, sentenced two homosexuals to 14 years imprisonment with hard labour shortly after the 2011 Commonwealth conference, David Cameron responded by slashing $30 million from that country’s aid.

Nigerian experience Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan led a Nigerian delegation to the referred Commonwealth meeting in Australia.

But no one in that delegation gave any report of that devilish mission after the delegation arrived home.

What we rather saw was a shameless sponsor of a bill in the Senate calling for the inclusion of gay freedom in Nigerian constitution. Incidentally, a public controversy had ensued on an allegation that the then Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu was working on such a bill, an allegation which he promptly denied.

Although the allegation could not be proved, people felt it was be too much of a coincidence for a bill of that nature

to suddenly surface in our Senate subsequent to the Commonwealth meeting at which Cameron’s gay crusade was intense. The coincidence became more suspicious when a termagant Nigerian woman of South-Eastern extraction suddenly appeared on the Senate floor to defend the sacrilegious bill.

However, we thank God that the then Senate President, Senator David Mark, maintained his dignity and upheld the cultural honour of Nigerians by not allowing any debate at all on such an obnoxious bill.

In his remark over the bill, David Mark told his colleagues that such a bill was not only incompatible with African culture but also antithetical to religious beliefs in Nigeria.

Though it could be assumed that for David Cameron to have championed such a desecration, he must have also been a gay but what could be strange in having a gay as the Prime Minister of Britain when publicly known gays were being consecrated as Bishops in the Church of England which was and is still headed by the Queen. And despite the hue and cry over Cameron’s heretic action in that instance the Queen as Head of State remained silent an action which some people considered as a sign of approval.

Irony The irony of Cameron’s crusade in 2011 was that he had, in the past opposed any inclusion of gay rights in the British constitution. Even as recently as 2003 he voted for the retention of section 28 of the British acts which prohibited gay rights in Britain.

But in a sharp departure from his Tory past, Cameron later came out shamelessly to apologise for supporting that section of that constitution and turned round to say that teaching sexual equality in the British society was an important way of combating homophobic bullying.

Britain’s changing attitude towards homosexuality was highlighted last in a study in 2011by the National Centre for Social Research which found that 36% of respondents thought sexual relations between two adults of the same sex were “always or mostly” wrong. This was down from 63% in 1983. Today, the figure in favour of sodomy in Europe and America has gone up so tremendously that it has boosted the audacity of some evil agents to turn the evil act into an open market trade.

Nigeria’s cultural bereavement Now, with the rapid rate of moral degeneration and deification of capitalism in the West, major vices like homosexuality, lesbianism and bisexualism have become so contagious that those opposed to them are in the minority. This cannot be strange in any European country. What became strange is the official exportation of such vices to Africa with such cheap blackmail. The concern here is not much for Africa as a continent as it is for Nigeria as a country.

Here is a country of multi-cultural, multi-religious adherents who had once held on tenaciously to their cultural identity and religious affinity for centuries.

But with the arrival of European colonialists over a century ago, foreign vices began to overwhelm Nigerian cultural lifestyle as blind imitation became the tradition of Nigerian youths. Thus, today most Nigerians, especially those of the south, only see with European eyes, speak with European tongues and reason with European minds as they have totally lost their cultural origin to the imitated evil lifestyle of the Europeans.

In this case and many other vices that are yet to surface, only genuine prayer can bail out Nigeria.

Admonition and supplication “Allah does not impose upon a soul a duty that it cannot bear; for each soul is the benefit of what it has earned; and upon it is the evil of what it has wrought.

Our Lord! Do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake; Do not lay on us a burden that you did not lay on those before us; Our Lord! Do not impose upon us what we have no strength to bear; Pardon us, grant us protection and have mercy on us; You are the Patron (of the universe) so help us to overcome the machinations of the infidels”. Amen.

43

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

THE NATION

SOCIETY

For information on how to feature on this page, contact:

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WEDDING

•Bride’s parents Mr Gbenga Segun and Yeni Kuti

By Nneka Nwaneri

•The groom Benedict Jacka and bride Rolari

First grandchild of the late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Rolari Femi Segun and only child of Yeni Kuti got married to an Austrailian, Benedict Jacka, last Saturday in a rich traditional ceremony at the Afrikan Shrine, Alausa, Ikeja.

•Bride’s grandmother Mrs Mabel Segun and Afrobeat Star Femi Kuti

Tributes for Aimiuwu A service of songs/night of tributes has been held for the late former President of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), Chairman, Governing Council of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria and Osayuwanoba of Benin Kingdom Dr Lugard Aimiuwu at the City Hall, Onikan, Lagos. NNEKA NWANERI and OLUCHI IGBOKWE report.

H

E stood tall at gatherings, jovial and friendly. The late light complexioned economic affairs analyst and commentator Dr Lugard Aimiuwu was never missed out in a gathering.

His traditional attire always stood him out.

All these have now become memories to cherish by his family members, friends and associates. Last Tuesday, they held a tribute session for him at the City Hall in Lagos. He died on April 16. He was 70.

The late Aimiuwu was a director of many blue-chip companies, where he contributed his quota to national development.

Large portraits of the deceased were placed at the venue. Many nodded their heads in sadness. Stricken with grief, the place was graceful and scerene.

Death, where is thy sting? They silently asked as they made their way to occupy seats.

Past presidents of NIM sat on one side of the front row while the daughter of the deceased and other family members of the late Aimiuwu were on the other side.

Many songs were rendered to remind all of the eventuality of death.

NIM President, Dr Nelson Uwaga, in his tribute, said the late Aimiuwu ensured that the country did not fail. He urged all to follow the footsteps the late Benin Chief left behind to ensure the success of the country.

President of the Nigerian Institute of Directors Prof Yemi Akeju, who described the deceased as a first-choice facilitator, said the late Aimiuwu was an emblem of resourcefulness and humility to the institute and the country.

Former Minister for Industry,

•From left: brother of the deceased John Aimiuwu; Dr Uwaga; daughter of the deceased Mrs Imina Ehigie and her husband Efe. Inset: the late Aimiuwu

Chief Nike Akande, who grew up with the late Aimiuwu recalled how they played games as toddlers and how the late Aimiuwu participated actively during her 7th birthday. She said they had been friends for the past 60 years and had in all those years known him to be an intelligent and eloquent speaker.

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo, who was represented by Victor Durodola described the late Aimiuwu as a brilliant and hardworking professional

who contributed a lot to the development of the country.

Other friends of the late Aimiuwu described him as a professional boardroom guru and doyen of management, who had a song in his mouth.

Daughter of the deceased Mrs Keisha Imina Ehigie was proud to know her father was a genius, who never wanted to leave things the way he saw them. “In his eyes, I was great. He was a big inspiration to I and many and I am glad he finished well.” She said.

•Publisher of Guardian newspapers Lady Maiden Ibru (left) and Chief Akande PHOTOS: NNEKA NWANERI

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

44

SOCIETY COMMUNICATE YOUR IDEAS

Prince Leke Olateru Olagbegi, son of Olowo of Owo, Oba David Olateru- Olagbegi III, last week married his heartthrob, and former Miss Olubunmi Josephine Aladejebi in Owo, Ondo State. TAIWO ABIODUN was there.

The Seed

O

•Bride’s parents Chief Samuel Aladejebi and his wife

Royal union •The couple Olubunmi and Prince Olaleke

L

AST Friday the Owo Town Hall in Owo, Ondo State was agog when Prince Leke, the son of the Olowo of Owo, Oba David Folagbade Olateru Olagbegi signed the dotted lines with his heartthrob Olubumi Josephine.

The event was attended by many people, including monarchs and chiefs.

The following day, the tradi-

tional wedding took place at Aruwajoye Events Centre.

All the necessary items for the ceremony were provided but the Aladejebi’s rejected the bride price, also known as 'Owo Ori', as they see their daughter as priceless.

The groom told The Nation he had always wanted to marry an indigene of Owo. His dream became a reality when God granted

Anambra student gets US degree in Medicine

•Groom’s father Olateru-Olagbegi and his wife

him his heart desire and gave him a woman of his choice.

He said: “I am proud to be married to a lady from Owo, and as a Prince am glad I obeyed my father. He also added that his wife is from a very humble, reliable and God - fearing background.

The bride Olubunmi said: “I met the Prince at the right time and place and having

found in him a humble and honest person.”

At the event were: the Ojomo Oluda of Ijebu Owo, Oba Kofoworola Oladoyinbo Ojomo; Oliyere of Iyere, Olunaun of Unaun Oba Olanrewaju Abegunde; Chief Rotimi Ibidapo; Jide Tububo, Chief Tola Ogwatowose , Tunde Okunrinboye, among others.

AWARD

A

NAMBRA State-born Ikenna Erinne has received a Doctorate Degree in Medicine (MD) from Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia in the United States.

Ikenna, who attended Navy Secondary School, Port Harcourt, is an alumnus of Portland State University, Oregon, USA. His list of awards also include: M.D. Graduate Award Magna Cum Laude; Alpha Omega Alpha honour; Pathophysiology, Pharmacology and Medical Microbiology.

He has since started his six-year Residency and Fellowship programme in International Medicine and Cardiology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA.

•Registrar, Institute of Strategic Management Mr. Adeyemi Mapaderum presenting a Certificate of Fellowship to Imo State Deputy Governor Prince Eze Madumere after the latter took the oath of fellowship at Government House, Owerri.

CONJUGAL BLISS

The Nation’s Mathew Ovwe Medeme and former Miss Cynthia Ebi Okubo after their wedding at St Jude Catholic Church, Benin City.

•Dr Ikenna flanked by his parents Chris and Chinwe Erinne

NCE upon a time, there lived three supernatural beings and their names were Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Each of them had special powers to control certain aspects of time. For instance, anything that had to do with memories or history was within the domain of Yesterday; Today was the lord of actions and execution of plans, while LANRE OLAOLU AMODU Tomorrow superintended (Ph.D) sospeak2lanre@yahoo.com. over the realms of vision, 07034737394 dreams, projections and @lanreamodu strategic plans. One day, ego set in and these three ment but there was no one beings got into an argu- to mediate among them.

After several days of arment on who was the most important. Of course, each gument, which almost led of them put forth his argu- to a disruption in the time continuum, a little Seed approached the three supernatural beings and said, “I hail you mighty ones. While you are supernatural, I am natural. However, I can help you decide who is the greatest among you.” The three beings became very curious because no one had been able to judge among them thus far. So they asked how the Seed planned to carry out the task. In response, the Seed said, “I have life within me and my capabilities are without limit. I can provide food, shade, books, and several other amazing things. However, my powers cannot be released until I am planted and I grow. Whoever can perform this colossal feat is worthy of honour.”

After giving the proposition some thought, the three beings agreed that it was a brilliant idea. They decided that they would return to the conference table after seven days to see who would have released the power of the Seed. Immediately they left the meeting, Yesterday had a terrible mood swing, or should we call it a wave of depression? He told himself, “If I had known about this challenge, I would have planted my seed since yesterday, and by now it would have grown”. As each day passed, he became more and more depressed.

Tomorrow was quite the opposite. He was full of such hope that he could not sleep. He kept telling himself, “Tomorrow, I will buy a beautiful flower pot and plant the seed. After it has grown a little, I will transplant it to where it will have all the space needed to mature. After maturity, more seeds will be produced and I will repeat the process so that I can have a big plantation. Of course, I will multiply the power of the seed several times over and become the greatest”. With every passing day, Tomorrow became more and more excited.

As for Today, he planted the seed immediately. He said to himself, “It is true that I could have planted this seed yesterday, but I never knew of this challenge then and I cannot beat myself up for that. Besides, it is better late than never. Also, though the condition today is not the best for planting and tomorrow may be better, I will start small and improve with time rather than wait for a perfect condition.” And so, with every passing day, Today watched as the seed began to grow.

On the seventh day of the challenge, the three supernatural beings converged. Yesterday was depressed because he still felt yesterday was the perfect time to have planted but he missed it, and Tomorrow was ecstatic because with every passing day, his dreams were becoming greater and new strategies were emerging. As for Today, he was grateful that he took advantage of the moment to plant the seed, which had sprouted. At the meeting that day, the three beings agreed that though each of them was unique in its own assignment, only Today could get anything done. But more importantly, they agreed that the Seed was a perfect test of greatness.

Dear readers, today’s article is not necessarily about using time effectively, though this is obvious from the story above. Our focus today is on the seed. A seed is not supernatural, yet it determines your harvest. It is only what you plant that you reap, not what you are getting ready to plant. It doesn’t matter how great or influential you are, the question is, “How productive are you?” It is possible to get involved in a lot of activities such as clearing the farmland, making ridges, and fertilizing the soil, without actually doing the planting! What a wasted effort it would be.

Stop getting ready to live; start living right away.

You have been planning all along; now, have the courage to actually take the step. If you see nothing on the surface of the ground (plant), you don’t need to worry because every process requires time, but if you don’t have anything (seed) in the ground, you better start worrying because time can never bring a harvest when there was no planting.

Dr. Amodu teaches at the Department of Mass Communication, Covenant University, Ogun State.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

45

HEALTH THE NATION

E-mail:- health@thenationonlineng.net

‘Prompt medical intervention can reverse stroke’

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HERE IS hope for first-time stroke victims. Yes, if a first-time victim of stroke can be reached within three hours of the attack, the condition can be totally reversed.

Consultant Interventional Cardiologist and Medical Director, First Cardiology Consultants, Dr Adeyemi Johnson, made this known at the 12th annual faculty conference and gathering of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos.

According to Johnson, the guest lecturer who spoke on, Cardiovascular diseases in Nigeria: Current and emerging trends in epidemiology, prevention and interventional therapies, the trick is properly diagnosing a stroke when it occurs, and getting medical attention for the patient within three hours. This, he said, is tough in this clime.

Stroke is one of the cardiovascular diseases, which is when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off. Johnson also spoke on other cardiovascular diseases.

Cardiovascular disease is not a single condition, but a general term used to describe conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels.

Examples include: coronary heart disease, which describes a number of conditions caused by atherosclerosis of the arteries to the heart,heart failure, which is when the pumping action of the heart is impaired, and therefore its ability to supply blood to other parts of the body is less efficient, particularly on exertion, and peripheral arterial disease, which causes problems with the blood supply to the legs and arms.

He identified the basic factors confronting the war against management of the diseases.

They are poor road networks, lack of many Nigerians not having any form of health insurance, quackery, not going for continuous medical education by specialists, lack of upto-date equipment in hospitals and many not knowing their numbers or even the cause of the disease.

Though prevention is the best way to nip stroke in the bud, Johnson said when primary prevention fails, treatment and secondary prevention are the next stage and they are a lot more expensive than prevention.

“With limited funding and a fragmented healthcare delivery system, this technology is not readily available to the lower income

•Dr Johnson

•Source: www. ffipo.org

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

bracket,” said Dr Johnson.

He said diagnosis and treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF) has improved over the past decade and many health care facilities in the major cities now have echocardiography that is perhaps the most important diagnostic tool.

According to him, “The main treatment is a combination of lifestyle changes (low salt diet) and medications most of which are available. With optimum medical treatment, the prognosis of heart failure has improved over the years but a significant number of patients succumb. Large proportions are at risk for sudden cardiac death (cardiac arrest, ventricular fibrillation) and implantation of an intra-cardiac defibrillator (ICD) can be performed to further reduce mortality.”

He said in some patients with CHF and cardiac dysynchrony, left bundle branch block (LBBB),implantation of a cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) device can also improve symptoms and mortality.

Dr Johnson said: “The CRT device is a special type of a pacemaker that is placed in the heart to make the walls of the heart contract simultaneously. ICDs and CRT are available in Nigeria but they are expensive.The price ranges between N1.5 million and N3 million. Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a type of pump that can be placed to assist the left ventricle, this technology is expen-

sive and requires continuous power supply and is not yet available in Nigeria.”

In the meantime, Cardica catherisation, coronary angiography and stenting are now being performed in several institutions in Lagos, Ibadan and Abuja. The most effective treatment for a heart attack is direct angioplasty and stenting within 10 hours of symptom onset. In hospitals, that do not have this technology available, thrombolytic therapy is the next best option. Unfortunately, majority of patients do not get adequate treatment so mortality for ischemic heart disease in Nigeria is high.

Dr Johnson said patients often report late, more than 24 hours after symptoms; most hospitals do not have the ability to perform ECG’s and cardiac enzymes. Diagnosis is made late, effective treatment is not given to prevent permanent myocardial damage. This increases the complication rate and mortality of myocardial infarction. The good news is that the technology is now available, the challenge is to make it accessible.”

Dr Johnson said that many amputations being carried out in the country on people with diabetes is one too many, “because many surgeons erroneously believe that amputation is the last intervention for such people with wounds or sores that won’t heal due to diabetes mellitus. But modern management of diabetes mellitus has afforded us the luxury of rehabilitating such limbs, and the patient can live with same limbs, no matter how crude or crooked they may look. Such is bet-

ter than the emotional trauma of losing one’s limbs”.

The identified major causes of CVDs rapid growth in Nigeria to include hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, smoking, physical inactivity and obesity. “West Africa has the highest average levels of blood pressure in the world and unfortunately this trend is rising,” he stated.

Dr Johnson said high blood pressure is responsible for approximately 50 percent of deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD) and more than 60 percent of deaths from stroke- the two leading causes of preventable death, morbidity, and disability in the world.

Excessive salt intake and reduced physical activity, according to him, are thought to be major contributory factors, “The average Nigerian diet contains about 9 grams of salt, compared to the European diet which contains about four to five grams. A meta-analysis of several studies suggests that a 5g higher salt intake is associated with a 17 percent greater risk of total CVD and, crucially, a 23 percent greater risk of stroke. The incidence of Type 2 diabetes has almost reached epidemic levels. Smoking does not appear to be a major factor in our population, but we have extremely high levels of air pollution from generators and kerosene cookers etc.,” he stated.

Dr Johnson said eating habits are changing and a lot of people, especially the younger generation are transitioning to fast foods.

“Rapid urbanisation has affected the way people get around and people are exercising less. In places like Lagos the daily commute can be anywhere from one to five hours, and there are security concerns that make it difficult to find the time to exercise or walk outdoors,” he said.

Firm to increase hypertension check in Nigeria

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MRON Healthcare is seeking to ensure every home in Nigeria has a blood pressure monitor to check hypertension - a killer disease.

Its President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Europe, Mr Andre Van Gils said the disease is a killer that should be addressed promptly because most hypertensives do not know they have it.

Gils spoke at a conference organised by Omron’s partner, New Heights Pharmaceuticals (NHP) in Lagos.

He said the best way to tackle it is through prevention, which could only be achieved by monitoring the blood pressure numbers regularly.

“One in three adults in the country has high blood pressure (HBP). The device would ensure people do more home measurement of the blood pressure,” he said.

Gils said many people did not use the monitor, and as such the company had no market share in Nigeria despite being one of the largest in the world. “One out of every two monitor sold is from our firm,” he added.

He said Omron, which is a Japanese company, has been addressing lifestyle-related diseases, such as hypertension, and respira-

By Wale Adepoju

tory diseases like asthma.

“We will help the children who are asthmatic get better. We will also educate healthcare workers on the disease.

“Our company was established over 80 years and it has been working for the benefit of the society. This will be replicated in Nigeria. We are all about quality, accuracy and durability,” Gils said.

He said there is a 10-year plan to develop

healthcare industry in Nigeria.

“Our main goal is to create awareness. We will see how fast we can increase awareness in Lagos. We will also see how we can help hospitals in the country. In most markets, it takes between five to 10 years. I cannot commit to a number but there will be improvement,” Gils said.

The president advised the people to reduce their salt intake, exercise regularly and embrace nutrition, among other prevention

strategies.

Managing Director, NHP, Mr Omaruaye Ogheneochuko said people, especially adults, who are more susceptible to the disease, should be more responsive to their health.

“Nobody would take care of you than yourself,” he added.

He said the health system is not what it should be, hence the need for people to have monitors to prevent it.

Nigerians deserve quality healthcare

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RE Nigerians getting value for their money in healthcare? No, says the Chairman, Brighthope Specialist Hospital Limited (BSH), Prof Rotimi Jaiyesinmi.

According to him, Nigerians deserve quality healthcare but the university teaching hospitals and General Hospitals are not providing that.

Jaiyesinmi, who spoke at the inauguration of BSH in Ikeja, Lagos, said the patient deserves the best treatment because without them there cannot be a hospital. The setup is

By Wale Adepoju

centred on them, he added.

He said the private sector should be at the forefront of healthcare because the government cannot do it alone, hence the need for public-private partnership (PPP).

The availability of quality care, he said, would stop the people from seeking treatment overseas, adding: “Our mantra at BSH is to provide quality service to the patient.

Commander, Nigeria Military Medical Corps, Major General Shina Ogunbiyi said

the hospital is a one-stop-shop healthcare facility as it was built based on the current World Health Organisation’s concept of curative and preventive services in the same place.

He said the presence of hi-tech equipment and personnel will ensure that patients get the high quality treatment and as such curb health tourism.

“I am fascinated with the paperless system.

Everything is electronically organised. The e-record will ensure that accurate information on the patients is received when needed,” Ogunbiyi said.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

46

HEALTH

Malaria misdiagnosis common, says don A

DON at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, Lagos, Dr Wellington Oyibo, has said malaria is often misdiagnosed by people in Nigeria.

Oyibo, who spoke at a workshop organised by Malaria No More in Lagos, said no fewer than 300 diseases have similar symptoms like malaria.

Malaria, he said, can only be diagnosed by using rapid diagnostic test (RDT), adding: “Fever is the only way the body reacts when there are external factors in the body. Pneumonia, malaria and gastroenteritis; among other diseases can cause fever but the RDT would show if it is malaria or not.”

Oyibo said chloroquine is not a recommended malaria drug despite being sold in the market, saying: “Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) remained the ideal therapy for malaria treatment.”

He said there was a policy since 2005 that people should not use chloroquine, stressing that it is a malpractice to use it.

Oyibo said the capacity to test for malaria is just growing in Nigeria, adding: “There is communication gap.”

He said commodities for malaria control are expiring where they are kept because people are not using them.

The country, he said, is moving towards getting a vaccine, adding that the RTSS vaccine has gone through the clinical trials and it should be approved soon.

By Wale Adepoju

He said the vaccine would bring hope to malaria prevention, especially in protecting. “However, there is still much to be done for it to be desirable,” he said.

The expert charged the Federal Government to provide policy and guidance, adding that public-private partnership (PPP) was very critical to malaria control.

“The state governments should take full responsibility for malaria control. Also, advocacy and communication are necessary for effective control of the disease,” he said.

The health system, Oyibo said, is weak, adding that this impacts on the health status.

He said about N132 billion is lost in the economy because of malaria attacks yearly.

This, he said, is alarming despite the preventable and curable nature of the disease.

“Over 90 per cent of malaria infections in Nigeria are caused by plasmodium falciparum carrying anopheles mosquitoes, which is most dangerous,” he said.

He said malaria can cause continuous abortion in expectant mothers, adding that it may also cause stillbirth.

“Expectant mothers may not have fever because the parasite goes into the placenta to attack the foetus. Sometimes, malaria kills the mother and the baby in uterus,” he said.

The don said malaria figures are coming down but a lot still has to be done because the disease happens differently in different places.

He said Nigeria is still controlling the disease, adding: “We are still reducing the disease burden to a level at which it is no longer a public health problem.”

His words: “At least 80 per cent of targeted population should utilise appropriate preventive measures by 2020. Also, we should be able to expand universal access and increase the use of insecticide treated materials (ITM) and indoor residual spray (IRS) as well as expanding the larviciding and intermittent preventive therapy (IPT) in expectant mothers”.

National Coordinator, National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Nnenna Ezeigwe identified lack of fund as a major obstacle to malaria control.

She said 97 per cent of people are at risk of the disease in the country, adding: “Nigeria accounts for a quarter of malaria burden in Africa.

Under-five mortality is 201 out of 1000 in 2003; in 2006, it is 157 in 1000 while that of 2013 is 128 in 1000.

“Malaria is responsible for 30 per cent of childhood mortality; 11 per cent of maternal mortality and outpatient attendance. Only 30 per cent of under-5 receives treatment within 24 hours.”

Ezeigwe said 50 per cent of the population has malaria episode yearly, stressing that the disease is still a public health problem in Nigeria.

•From left: Customer Services Manager, Tyonex Nigeria Limited, Miss Julia Sule; Medical Officer, IgandoIkotun Local Government Development Area (L.C.D.A), Dr Orebiyi O. Sunday and an officer, Aneke Ikechukwu during the company’s Hypertension Awareness Programme for You (HAPY) held at Igando Market, Lagos.

Firm, US agency partner on affordable drug

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AYER Healthcare and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are collaborating to make Microgyon® Fe Oral Contraceptive available and affordable in Nigeria.

The company said the drug is now available in local pharmacies at a significantly lower price.

The reduced price was announced in Abuja, at the innovative publicprivate partnership between Bayer HealthCare and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The brand is the world’s most widely used oral contraceptive.

The reduced price will enable middle-income couples to access a quality, affordable family planning product.

The partnership is designed to make more affordable family planning choices available to women through the private sector and ad-

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

dress the growing demand for contraceptives and the overall sustainability of supply.

Family planning allows couples to plan their families as they desire, reduces the risks from unintended and/or high-risk pregnancies, and improves the health of mothers and their children by allowing time between pregnancies.

USAID Nigeria’s Director, Health, Population and Nutrition Office, Dr. Nancy Lawenthal, emphasised the importance of public-private partnerships in helping governments meet their Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“We are pleased that this important initiative between USAID and Bayer Healthcare is being extended to Nigeria. The private sector has an important role to play in contributing to sustainable development and in this case, by ensuring that Nigerian women have access

to a sustainable supply of quality, affordable oral contraceptives,” he stated.

Dr. O.I. Akinola, Obstetrician/ Gyneacologist, and President of the OB/GYN Society of Nigeria (SOGON) said, “Combined oral contraceptives are 99 per cent effective when used consistently and correctly. It also provides women with a reversible method that is easy to discontinue and has a rapid return to fertility. The drug is being used by millions of women around the world and is well known and trusted by medical professionals.”

Women interested in finding out more information about Microgynon® Fe should talk with their nearest private healthcare provider.

The drug is manufactured in Germany by Bayer HealthCare and imported to Nigeria by CHI Pharmaceuticals.

HEALTH TALK with Pregnancy: How to get a healthy mother and child

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9

HE outcome of a planned and desirable pregnancy is a healthy mother and baby.

Nevertheless, most of the necessary steps to be taken that will ultimately lead to a happy outcome rest squarely with the pregnant woman or woman desiring to be pregnant, her husband and healthcare professionals.

Steps to take should include: A. • Eat balanced diet • Avoid exposure to infections and treat or control all forms of infections (common cold, herpes, chest infections, stomach, food, urine, vagina, HIV infections. See our previous articles on this). c) Avoid exposure to excessive radiations. Radiation may kill or deform the baby. d) Have adequate and appropriate vitamins and minerals (folic acid, vitamins and iron if not enough is taken in the diet). e) Avoid exposure to illegal drugs such as cannabis, alcohol, chemicals and non-prescribed medications. They may damage the cells and your baby.

Time is everything. While individual situations differ, the ideal age bracket, for the woman, to have children is between 2035 years. While, pregnancy is possible at the extremes and beyond the quoted age bracket, there are higher risks in having babies, with such pregnancies at extreme age brackets.

Example: Chances of Down’s syndrome is much higher at age of 40 than at 30 years.

B. Have all forms of infections and illnesses, detected and treated or be put under proper medical control. HIV, High blood pressure, diabetic mellitus, and thyroid problems must be treated and or controlled. Otherwise, they may cause you and the baby serious problems.

C. The woman will need to get vaccinated against some infections (for example, tetanus depending on the country where you live) if you have not done so in pre-pregnancy (rubella, chicken-pox, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C). Preferably, all vaccinations should be done before pregnancy.

D. During pregnancy, be vigilant to your baby movements from 16 weeks onwards. Note any reduction in or excessive movements of the baby. It may be a sign of distress.

Report to your carer or doctor immediately: if there is any reduction in foetal movement or if there are excessive movements.

Also, are you feeling unwell?

Report it now to your nurses/ midwife or doctor no matter how mundane the illness may be.

The birth We must remember that the process of birth is the most dangerous journey anyone coming through the birth canal can ever undertake. Apart from the pain of labour, that the woman experiences, the baby is hugely at risk too. The risks include physical injuries from pressure of labour through the narrow birth (vagina) canal. Others are chemical injuries to the brain from inadequate supply of oxygen to the brain, possible blockage of wind pipe from aspirations of the birth

Dr Joel Akande Infertility Specialist and Consultant 08188343865 managementlease@yahoo.com

materials. Bleeding from possible injuries sustained by the baby during birth may lead to brain and organ impairment.

Excessive bleeding during birth, by the mother may affect the baby too as it may starve the baby of needed oxygen and food. Brain damage may therefore result from inadequate oxygen. All these may either cut short the life of the baby and the mother or reduce either person’s life span.

All these require planning and vigilance by both the doctors and the care receiver — you!

For example, if oxygen had been inadequately supplied to the baby before or during birth or shortly after birth, there may be brain damage and this may lead to seizures later in life which in turn reduces the quality of life of the person. Seizure may also lead to early death, thus defeating the lofty objective of healthy living ideals. If the baby has been exposed to dangerous substances (cocaine, cannabis, alcohol) while in the womb, and before birth, this may determine the quality of life that the baby may lead later on in life.

The child may not grow properly, brain may be damaged and his personality may suffer.

The life span may also be reduced as a result of poor delivery even if delivered by surgical intervention.

The main things that parents can do are: • Ensure preventive measure is in place even before pregnancy occurs • Get screened for any preventable illness (infections such as HIV, for example) before pregnancy: Any defects that may affect you or the baby.

• Get screened for genetic diseases (cystic fibrosis, sickle cell) before pregnancy. This will help the individual to determine if passing such diseases to others is worthwhile.

• Be alert to risks or dangers that may harm the baby during pregnancy such as maternal falls and physical trauma.

• Be alert to dangers of radiation, chemotherapy, strong magnetic fields, illegal substances, cigarette/nicotine, alcohol and so forth.

• Be alert to deficiencies of vitamins and minerals.

•Be alert to dangers at birth time (during labour). The professionals will be very vigilant on this however.

As a parent, be even more vigilant too. Professionals are humans. Error does occur.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

47

THE NATION

BUSINESS INDUSTRY

industry@thenationaonlineng.net

Amidt growing concern over the delay in the formation of a cabinet by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, industrialists and business operators are optimistic that the delay will augur well for the economy. According to them, it will ensure that only technocrats who are square pegs in square holes make the list, thus boosting investor’ confidence, reports Assistant Editor OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE.

• Buhari

• Adediji

• Yusuf

• Othman

Buhari’s cabinet: We are hopeful, say industrialists, investors

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T’S probably one of the hottest issues of national discourse, but to many industri alists and business operators, the anxiety over the delay in the announcement of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet is unnecessary.

Many who spoke with The Nation said contrary to insinuations that the delay in making the cabinet list is slowing down governance and investment decisions, it is better for the administration to take its time to study the complexities of the economy before announcing its cabinet. According to them, this was necessary to ensure a clean break from the past when square pegs were put in round holes, a reference to the appointment of nontechnocrats to man key positions.

The consensus of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), is that in the long run, the delay could turn out a shot-in-the arm for industrialists and other business operators, as the delay would ensure that only those properly schooled in the dynamics of the Nigerian economy are appointed, particularly now that the nation is facing its worst crisis ever. This, in turn, would boost investor’ confidence, guarantee the protection of their investment, and ultimately return the economy on the path of recovery.

For instance, as former President of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV), Mr. Bode Adediji put it, the nation is in transition and so it needs to take time to ensure a dynamic and credible team to tackle the monumental problems confronting her.

Adediji, who defended the President’s seeming inaction based on his (Buhari’s) anticorruption credentials, insisted that he must be given enough time to assemble a crackteam for the job.

Hear him: “Buhari needs to be diligent. A single man cannot effectively fight the war against corruption, or correct the ills of several years of under development. But based on his track record, l am confident that he is working silently for the good of the nation. I also urge his political party to quickly resolve their differences in order to usher in a sustainable change. A situation that they can’t agree on power sharing formula and other things of common interest, is not healthy for the country.”

A Public Affairs Analyst, Mr. Mahmud Othman, agreed with Adediji. He said he wouldn’t join the ranks of those criticising

the president for not constituting his cabinet yet.

According to him, “people are finding it very difficult to believe the level of damage to the economy. The transition committee headed

by Ahmed Joda made a lot of discoveries. If you appoint ministers without knowing the state of the economy and bringing the right people on board, the economy will run into deeper problems. People are becoming impatient, but l will counsel that we are better off doing the right thing before constituting the cabinet.

Othman said Buhari didn’t hide his preference to choose the best for the task ahead and not necessarily based on political consideration, but those who can deliver to move the economy forward. He pointed out that the economy is in tatters as can be seen from the various states that can’t pay workers’ salaries, let alone embarking on new projects.

“Oil money is no longer available. The debt profile is scary. Personally l don’t envy any political appointee especially ministers because the expectations are too high. As a stop gap to the appointment of ministers, the Permanent Secretaries in the ministries are working and no investor will leave because of late appointment of ministers,” he added.

The Public Affairs Analyst is not done. While disagreeing with those arguing that governance is crawling because of the delay in constituting a cabinet, he insisted that various aspects of governance backed by law are operating as they don’t need ministers to work.

He said anti corruption agencies, such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission (ICPC), have suddenly woken up and are arresting those alleged to be corrupt unlike before. This, he said, is because they have read the president’s body language and known that he is not interested in condoling corruption.

Othman however criticised the lack of information from the Buhari’s government.

While noting that it is a minus to the administration, he said, “Frayed nerves are not calmed because it is a different thing for 36 ministers to be talking from the perspective of their ministries rather than what is obtainable now where nobody is hearing anything that can sooth the nerves of the public and people just believe that governance has taken flight.” He however, encouraged Nigerians to be hopeful and be confident that the Buhari administration will deliver on his campaign promises and that the nation will be great again.

However, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, over the weekend, sought to close the perceived communication gap when he said it will take time to clear the mess created by the Goodluck Jonathan administration. Adesina, in statement, said “It requires scrupulous and painstaking planning to clean the PDP’s Augean Stable.” He also noted that Nigerians were already on the side of the administration, which he said was on course.

Adesina was reacting to the 30 days appraisal of Buhari administration by the opposition PDP. Its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, had in a statement during the weekend, taken a swipe on the Buhari administration, noting that the enormity of the confusion surrounding the government and the ruling party in the last one month had made it imperative for Nigerians to pray as the success or failure of the Buhari administration would not only affect the President and his party, but also the entire nation.

The statement by Metuh said: “We urge Nigerians to join hands in prayers and offer useful suggestions to President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC because with what we have seen in the last 30 days, the present administration is finding it very difficult to get its bearings right while showing no inclination towards implementing its numerous campaign promises for which they were voted into office at the centre. We are deeply

‘Oil money is no longer available. The debt profile is scary. Personally l don’t envy any political appointee especially ministers because the expectations are too high. As a stop gap to the appointment of ministers, the Permanent Secretaries in the ministries are working and no investor will leave because of late appointment of ministers’

worried that the President, who promised to unveil his cabinet two weeks after his inauguration, has not been able to decide on key appointments, such as ministers, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief of Staff and advisers in key sectors of the economy.”

Metu said the delay has brought government business in ministries, departments and agencies to a dangerous standstill with coordination of important policies vested on ministers and the SGF now in tatters while the system drifts. According to him, the situation is taking its toll on the economy, which has in the last 30 days witnessed unprecedented decline with a terrifying crippling of foreign and domestic investments, including activities in the money and capital market sectors.

He said under Buhari, for instance, the stock market has lost over N238 billion while the AllShare Index fell by 849.87 basis points as at June 19.

For Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf, there is no clear indication on the position of the government and investors need to know the direction the administration is going to avoid creating doubt in the minds of the public. By now, there should have been clear direction in key sectors of the economy such as energy, oil and gas, monetary and fiscal policies.

The problems of uncertainty have persisted in the economy and the issue of conjecture has persisted in the economy with people guessing at what the government is planning as far as policy direction is concerned,” he told The Nation.

While pointing out that people are not insisting on full implementation of the administration’s blue print on the economy, he said there is need for investors to have a bearing on what to expect in the new dispensation. But the thinking of other operators in various sectors is that the delay in constituting a cabinet was informed by the realities on ground particularly the need to get things right.

For instance, apart from the need to clear the rot inherited from the previous administration, the crisis in the National Assembly over the choice of principal officers as well as the need to prune down the number of ministries and parastatals, The Nation learnt, are also responsible for the delay. But the consensus is that by the time the cabinet is eventually constituted, Nigerians and the economy would be better for it.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

48

INDUSTRY

Manufacturers assured of public sector restructuring T

HE Lagos State government is committed to restructuring the public sector, to make it responsive and responsible in line with the present administration’s pledge to run an all-inclusive government, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said.

Speaking at this year’s Business Luncheon for CEOs/MDs’ of member companies of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) held at MAN Centre, Ikeja, Lagos, last week, Ambode said the administration recognised the role of the private sector in building the state’s economy, hence, the need to restructure it.

At the luncheon organised by the Ikeja chapter of MAN with the theme, Nigeria: the Sensible Road to Economic Prosperity, the governor, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Minis-

By Chikodi Okereocha

try of Finance, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Adegbuji-Onikoyi, assured of the administration’s commitment to private sector partnership.

Ambode said: “Despite being Africa’s largest economy, the Nigerian business environment and economy is not what we all desire it to be. As a government, Lagos recognises the role of the private sector and we are committed to restructuring the public sector to make it more responsive and responsible.”

In his address, Chairman, Ikeja branch of MAN, Prince Oba Okojie, said the luncheon was the seventh in the series of the annual business luncheon exclusively for managing directors and chief executive officers to interact in a more informal atmo-

sphere and address some issues considered germane to the development of the country in general and the economy in particular.

“The yearly institutionalised gathering of issues of the moment enables us to contribute meaningfully to critical matters of policy and also enhance our advocacy thrust,” he explained, recalling that the 2014 edition focused on multiple taxation and how it constituted a disincentive to industrialists.

Prince Okojie said that at the forum, MAN also expressed worry over the late release of budget and the deteriorating state of infrastructure. “In addition, we canvassed for national security, as this has enormous negative effects on potential investors.

“More importantly, we also pre-

scribed good governance, adherence to the dictates of the constitution and focus on the economy,” he said, pointing out that this year’s theme aptly reflects the reality on ground.

In his presentation as Guest Speaker, economist and industrialist Mr. Henry Boyo, made a strong case for the fundamental restructuring of Nigeria’s monetary framework to usher in a regime of single digit lending rates, increased employment opportunities, single digit inflation, and a marketdetermined exchange rate mechanism.

Boyo, who is Managing Director of Abel Sell Limited, recommended the use of dollar certificate or coupons (strictly not cash) for payment of monthly allocations to the three tiers of government. He said with the use of dollar certificate, instead of the Centreal Bank of Nigeria (CBN) get-

ting dollar from the government and substituting it with naira, the bank regulator would rather give the certificates to beneficiaries who would go to banks to change the certificate into naira.

The economist said by using the dollar certificate, interest rate, inflation and debt rates would come down.

“It has so many ramifications, and the earlier it is adopted, the better,” he said, blaming CBN’s payment policy of substituting naira allocations for dollar-derived revenue for the market imbalance, which ultimately weakens the naira exchange rate.

According to him, the challenge of excess liquidity in the system is caused by the obnoxious payment arrangement and is also responsible for the unacceptably high inflation rate, high cost of funds and interest rates.

110m Nigerians live in extreme poverty, says Osinbajo

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• From left: 1st Vice Chairman, Ikeja branch of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Princess Layo Okeowo; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance/Representative of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Toyin Onikoyi; branch Chairman Prince Oba Okojie, and Guest Speaker Mr. Henry Boyo, at the MAN Businness Luncheon for MDs/CEOs in Lagos.

BoI gets AA+ on credit performance

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NTERNATIONAL rating agency, Fitch, has assigned Bank of Industry (BoI) a national longterm rating of ‘AA+(nga)’ and national short-term rating of ‘F1+(nga)’, noting that the national ratings reflect the bank’s creditworthiness relative to the best credits in Nigeria.

Fitch’s rating is coming on the heels of a domestic credit rating of A- secured for BoI from Agusto & Co, a Nigerian credit rating agency, affirming that the financial institution remains in good financial condition and has a strong capacity to repay obligations on a timely basis.

With a long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘BB-’ as well as a negative outlook and a short-term IDR of ‘B’, Fitch has advocated increased support for the BoI by the Federal Government in order to improve the bank’s lending capacity and aid the realisation of its objective.

According to Fitch, BoI’s longterm IDR is at its Support Rating Floor (SRF) of ‘BB-’, which considers Nigeria’s ability to provide such support in a timely manner as and when required, as indicated by Nigeria’s long-term foreign currency IDR of ‘BB-’.

“BoI’s ratings are driven by and equalised with Nigeria’s sovereign ratings (BB-/Negative/B). They reflect Fitch’s view that if required,

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

there is a moderate probability that the Nigerian authorities would provide extraordinary support to BOI. The moderate probability of support is reflected in BoI’s Support Rating (SR) of ‘3’. The Negative Outlook on BoI’s long-term IDRs reflects the negative outlook on the sovereign rating.

“We also believe that its propensity to provide such support is high, reflecting its 99.9 per cent ownership, BOI’s policy role and the bank’s strategic importance to economic and industrial development. BoI is also highly reliant on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its funds”, the rating agency explained.

Fitch however, noted that BoI’s IDRs, SR and SRF could be sensitive to any weakening of the ability or willingness of Nigeria to support the bank, the former being reflected by Nigeria’s sovereign rating.

“The ratings could also be downgraded in the event of material change in the government ownership and/or any change in the bank’s policy role. An upgrade of the Nigerian sovereign would not necessarily lead to an upgrade of BoIs IDRs. BoI’s national ratings are sensitive to any change in Fitch’s opinion of BoI’s creditworthiness relative to the best credits in Nigeria”, Fitch added.

Speaking on the rating, the Bank’s Managing Director, Rasheed Olaoluwa, said “The positive rating is an endorsement of our ongoing transformation project at BoI, and an affirmation of our strategic intent of adopting global best practices in all aspects of our operations. It further affirms an improvement in Agusto’s rating of the development finance institution.”

Olaoluwa added that the bank was determined to make increasing impact in its focus sectors and to continue to set the pace as Nigeria’s leading development bank.

BoI was established in 2001 by the Nigerian government, and is 94.8 per cent owned by the Ministry of Finance and 5.1 per cent by CBN. BoI is Nigeria’s leading development finance institution with the sole mandate of financing local industries.

The bank provides concessional financing to SMEs and larger corporates in specific industries in the form of direct loans and on-lending to commercial banks. This includes lending to start-ups, existing businesses and the rehabilitation of ailing businesses and industries.

The bank has 14 offices across the country. BOI also acts as a fund manager for state governments, the Federal Government and legacy funds of high net worth individuals. Some of the funds are intervention funds aimed at supporting specific industries.

Again, Fed Govt puts 35% levy on used vehicles on hold

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OR the fourth time in one year, the Federal Government through the National Automotive Council (NAC), has shifted the implementation of the 35 per cent levy on imported used vehicles. The implementation of the second phase of the auto policy was expected to commence on Wednesday, July 1, 2015, but was shifted to an undisclosed date.

The implementation of the policy was first moved from July 2014 to January 2015, then to April and subsequently to July 1. According to the Director-General of NAC, Aminu Jalal, the implementation of the 35 per cent levy

By Chikodi Okereocha with agency report

would be on hold until the appointment of new Ministers by President Muhammadu Buhari.

“We have to wait for the Minister to come. As far as I know, the ministers are not around. When the new Finance Minister comes, we have to brief the person on what we are doing, explain the policy and why we are doing it.

The minister will then take up the issue. He has to give the order before it is implemented,” Jalal explained.

Recall that Federal Government under former President Goodluck

Jonathan had in September 2013 introduced the policy under which it increased the duty payable on imported vehicles to 35 per cent and slammed an additional levy of another 35 per cent, bringing the total to 70 per cent from 20 per cent.

At that time, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga explained that the policy was aimed at discouraging importation and encouraging local production of vehicles.

While the new duty rate and additional levy has since been applied on imported new cars, importers of fairly used cars otherwise known as ‘tokunbo’ have been exempted from paying the levy.

NE Hundred and ten million Nigerians live in extreme poverty, which accounts for the high illiteracy figures and shocking infant and maternal mortality rates. It is also the reason over a million Nigerians die yearly of preventable causes, Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has said.

Delivering a lecture titled: Beyond Compliance: Imbibing a Culture of Business Integrity, at the Third Annual Christopher Kolade Lecture on Business Integrity in Lagos, Osinbajo said when a large swathe of the population is excluded, with no stake in society because of poverty, the society is endangered.

Organised by the Convention on Business Integrity (CBi), a company limited by Guarantee, Prof. Osinbajo used the opportunity to highlight the present administration’s policies on anti-corruption and specifically business integrity. He said the Muhammadu Buhari administration was committed to the fight against corruption.

According to the Vice President, poverty and corruption are two major related ills confronting the nation. “Poverty and corruption are two major related ills confronting our society. My question is, how do we respond to the ethical dilemma of poverty amidst mindboggling wealth?

“Corruption on the other hand is perhaps the single most potent cause of poverty. The systematic stealing of the commonwealth by a few individuals – in public and private sectors,” he said.

Osinbajo while noting that it was not possible for anyone without integrity to still have integrity in his business, said, “Integrity must reflect in behaviour, it is an accepted standard.”

He added that integrity should be an acceptable standard and aspiration of every business leader.

While reiterating that the present administration’s vision and mission was to give meaning to the life of ev-

By Chikodi Okereocha

ery Nigerian, he noted that the administration’s decision to fight corruption was in the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.

Osinbajo pointed out that corrupt practices, weak public and private institutions, as well as public policies, were the greatest threat to the stability of the economy. “The most important thing is to do things right. It is important that what we do comply with the rule of law.

“There is need to ensure that people’s rights are not trampled on. And there is need to ensure that people face the consequences for wrongful actions.

That balance is necessary. The administration will ensure that loopholes compliance are plugged and those responsible for creating loopholes will face the consequence,” he said.

Earlier in his opening remarks, Dr Christopher Kolade noted that Nigeria was a difficult place to practise integrity because corruption was perceived as the norm. “We use corruption in our conversations than we talk about integrity. Integrity should feature more in our conversations. Integrity is meant to be natural to human beings,” he said.

The third in the edition, the annual Christopher Kolade lecture series is emerging as a forum for businesses to engage with experts and with each other on business integrity issues. The event addressed the existing and potential regulatory impetus for sound business practices, and urged businesses to improve their competitiveness by going beyond the letter of corporate governance codes and anti-corruption laws to imbibe the spirit of ethical business practice.

The event was attended by top government dignitaries from the private and public sector as well as managing directors of private and public companies, members of the diplomatic corp and other notable stakeholders.

Novartis buys drug firm Spinifex

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WISS drug-maker Novartis AG boosted its presence in pain man agement by agreeing to buy U.S.Australian biotech firm, Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, the companies said in separate statements during the week.

Spinifex said Novartis was paying $200 million upfront and Spinifex shareholders could get further payments based on clinical development and regulatory milestones.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of this year, pending regulatory approval.

The deal gives Novartis access to Spinifex’s experimental neuropathic pain drug EMA401, which showed positive mid-stage Phase II clinical trial results in treating post-herpetic neuralgia.

Post-herpetic neuralgia is a painful condition some people get after shingles. Chronic neuropathic pain,

caused by nerve problems, is a relatively common condition, afflicting up to 7-8 per cent of the adult population, but current treatment options are limited and can be problematic.

Because EMA401 acts outside the blood-brain barrier, it can avoid common side effects such as dizziness or confusion seen with painkillers affecting the central nervous system.

Novartis plans to continue the development of EMA401 and intends to start Phase II clinical trials in patients with PHN or another condition called painful diabetic neuropathy, which is caused by diabetes.

“Neuropathic pain is a chronic and debilitating condition with high unmet need. EMA401 could provide a novel, differentiated treatment approach,” said David Epstein, head of Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

The acquisition is small by the standards of Novartis, but it highlights

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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50

FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

THE NATION

BUSINESS

E-mail: toniaitose@gmail.com

sms : 07035302326

SHOPPING

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LOBAL consumer demand for petrol has steadily grown thanks to low oil prices combined with economic growth, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Last year, global oil demand was 92.6 million barrels per day, and demand for 2015 is expected to increase by 1.4 million barrels each day, to a total of 94 million. This phenomenon truly spans the globe; gas prices have decreased from the pumps in Pakistan to stations in Senegal. But while most countries have seen savings, the price of gas differs wildly across the globe.

Carmudi, the leading online car platform, examined the fuel price and general affordability of petrol in eighteen emerging markets. In Africa, it comes as no surprise that fuel prices in Nigeria, the biggest oil producer in the region, are among the cheapest standing at $0.46 per litre or 5.6% of the national average income per day.

Fuel prices look different for those East African countries with significantly lower average incomes. In Rwanda, where fuel costs $1.17, the average person makes only $1.55 per day. One liter accounts for over 75% of a typical daily income, almost a full day’s work.

In Indonesia, where fuel subsidies have been cut by the government since early 2015, most people are forced to spend over 30% of their daily earnings to buy a single litre of petrol. In Sri Lanka a single litre of fuel costs $0.96, taking up to nearly 45% of the

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

How How affordable affordable is is fuel fuel to to the the average average Nigerian?

Nigerian?

•A long queue of consumers waiting to buy fuel

By Tonia ’Diyan

national average daily.

Carmudi created an infographic using Q2 2015 prices and 2014 average income data compiled from sources including Nigeria National Bureau Statistics, Philippines Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics, The Pan African Bank, Crédit Agricole, Trading Economics, Global Petrol Prices, and World

Vision. 2014 income data were used for all countries except Vietnam (2015) and Sri Lanka (GDP per capita). Petrol price for Myanmar is Q2 2014.

Fuel prices in Mexico, the world’s seventh largest oil producer, are similar to prices in several Asian countries such as Vietnam, where a litre is priced at $0.92 and $0.97, respectively. Despite the similar

prices, the average daily income in Mexico is almost three times more than Vietnam. It takes 7.8% of a day’s wage in Mexico to buy a litre; whereas, in Vietnam it costs more than 25% of the average daily income.

Fuel prices in the oil-wealthy Middle East are incredibly low, and that, coupled with the high average daily income, makes it the best place

Retailers urge Buhari, Ambode, Amosun on OME market leaders in the infrastructure ‘I think the Lagos metropolis have

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urged Governor Akinwumi Ambode and his Ogun State counterpart, Ibikunle Amosun, to address their challenges.

The Nation Shopping met with the leaders of Ibafo Market in Ogun State and Saw Mill market in Lagos, among other markets as well as retailers in shopping malls and super stores across the states.

Alhaja Fawusatu Ikumapami, the leader of Ibafo market in Ogun State, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to prioritise electricity supply, adding that when there is adequate generation into the national grid, Ogun State government will ensure power supply to the market. “We need steady power supply for our businesses. If electricity supply is steady here, the market will attract investors from far and near and will be more developed than what it is today,” she said, adding that the governor should help reconstruct the bad road leading to the market.

She said these would help traders spend less on transporting their produce to the market and would make their customers visit again and again.

“We want our governor to give Ibafo market in Ogun State a face-lift. The market is small, and we want it rebuilt to accommodate all of us. We are facing the challenge of free movement and some of us are left with no choice but to display our wares on the walkway and on the road and outside the market.

“We have a land that is wasting away; part of it has been turned to trailer park, we beg the new government to help us utilise it and build a bigger market for us.

We also need a local government of our own and want close monitoring on those that will be working on this project, some contractors sometimes do not carry out their duties diligently,” she added.

Like Ikumapami, the leader of Saw-Mill market in Bariga-Lagos, Mrs. Abibatu Amusa also wants steady power supply, good road network and pipe-borne water in the market. Most importantly, she wants the electric pole in the market that has fallen erected to avoid any tragegy, saying the pole has been in that position for eight years.

Mrs Abimbola Adeyemi Sumola representing the Iyaloga of Oyingbo Market, said their hopes were high that soon, the face of the market would change. ‘’We expect that the new government ensures good welfare for us. We always want to be part of ultra modern markets when they are built. We no longer want to be erased from the picture and forgotten. We beg the government to build low priced shops and stalls that are affordable to the common man,’’ she said.

Alhaja Mufuliat Abimbola Adebumi the Iyaloja General of Mushin Ojuwoye Market, said much was expected from the new administration as they have promised change for the better. ‘’The issue of security should be looked into and adequate security in our market to be provided.

Sometimes, when we leave our goods outside for those who do not have shops, we don’t find them the next day,’’ she said.

Mr Abdulrasheed Ariji, a representative of Office Everything store at the Silverbird Galleria said he expects that with the new government, exchange rate of the

government should address the issue of foreigners who are here to do business and use young Nigerians to build their brands and later lay them off without benefits’

naira would be stabilised to favour traders who sell imported goods.

For Mr. George Nwokocha of Mega Plaza, his expectations are numerous. He said: “The main issue here is electricity. For many years, millions of dollars have been pumped into the power sector but, there is little or nothing to show for it. Most times, we pay electricity bills that we do not use.

But, if power is stable businesses will thrive because that is the backbone of businesses in Nigeria.”

Oluwaseun Lasisi of Spar super store, said: “I think the government should address the issue of foreigners who are here to do business and use young Nigerians to build their brands and later lay them off without benefits. Most of us are suffering in silence.“ The management of Leisure mall in Surulere agrees no less with the others. To them, the starting point is fixing the power sector. ‘’Electricity should be made available for use because lack of it has led to the closure of some businesses that we know of.

Also, there should be a tax review. It should be reduced or better amenities provided,” he added.

to own a gas guzzler. Prices range from $0.15 per liter in Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest oil producer (average daily income $143.60), to $0.26 in Qatar, the world’s third largest oil producer (average daily income $382.60), to $0.47 in the United Arab Emirates, the world’s eighth largest oil producer (average daily income $170.00).

Valmont water enters market

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IANT Beverages Limited has introduced Valmont, a super-premium water brand, unique in both content and packaging into the Nigerian market. The new product is coming with a new trailblazing Sport cap offering which is the first of its kind in the industry. With this unique offering, the company, a wholly owned Nigerian company is bent on ensuring Nigerian brands join the league of internationally renowned brands.

Its General Manager, Mr. Ayo Afolabi, said the introduction of the product into the market is to ensure that this mark of quality – which comes in a blazing red colour -is stamped on the product from the onset to differentiate it from the pack and ensure it sets the pace in quality and packaging. “What we are doing is making a statement that Nigerians can produce quality product with packaging that can conform to the highest international standards. This is why our Sportcap will make the difference.”

To this end, the new product, Valmont is positioned as a superpremium water produced to the best of international standards.

“The water goes through our ultrapurification processes without being exposed to air until it enters our unique bottles, thus preserving its freshness and purity. It is called ‘Valmont’ for its strong, rich, luxurious and sophisticated background.”

He added that Valmont is natural and produced to accompany fine food and luxurious lifestyle. Its transparent and minimalistic

labeling further gives it an extra touch of class which is expected to appeal to discerning consumers who will stop at nothing to enjoy the best that life offers.

In order to make maximum market impact to meet consumers’ varying needs, the product comes in, 600ml, 750ml (Sportcap) and 1.5L 100 per cent recyclable plastic bottles. At a later point, it will also be available in 750ml glass bottles sold only through high-end restaurants, hotels, international airlines and event outfits Giving additional information on the brand, Marketing Manager, Mrs. Bose Ogunyemi reinforced the earlier statement that Valmont’s Sportcap (750ml) “Valmont is a lifestyle brand that delivers much more than hydration to the consumer.

Valmont has the red cap which signifies prestige in Nigeria; it also makes the brand striking and outstanding. That is the fundamental reason the brand promises prestigious quality and purity.”With the tagline “Live Pure,” the brand, which is bottled to the highest standards, provides the refreshing essence that matches discerning consumers’ lifestyle wherever they are found.

Giant Beverages Limited was set-up to focus primarily on the manufacturing of quality healthy alternatives to the traditional sugar sweetened carbonated beverages. With this mandate, it will fill a huge gap in the beverage sector, a gap for healthy and natural beverages.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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SHOPPING

Why Kote, Panla fish are scarce

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ome frozen seafood have been scarce in the market.

Affected are (Kote) and (Panla) fish, commonly consumed by buyers due to its affordability.

Fish sellers in Lagos markets have attributed the sudden scarcity of these fishes to the fact that the seafo od which used to come in small, medium and big sizes, is now only available in big sizes.

Mr. Joseph Nwite, a cold room owner at Bariga, saw-mill market, in Lagos said the unavailability of small-sized fishes is the reason for the scarcity, as petty traders who buy from fish depot to sell in bit are lamenting that their customers cannot afford to buy the big sizes because they are more expensive.

“Kote and Panla come in big sizes of between N600 and N700 per one. Poor power supply is

By Ekeowa Patience

another reason the item is scarce and expensive,’’ he said.

Kote and panla like every other fish thaws easily and when this happens, the customer will not purchase them.

Instead they lay complains that it has spoilt and above all, there is no money in the country.

A fish seller said: ‘’In each carton of the big size, we have between 25 and 28 pieces of fish.

It used to be 30 pieces. We buy at the rate of N6, 000 or N5, 000 and sell between N300 and N400 per kilogramme. A carton of kote now goes for between N8, 500 and N9, 000; panla is now N5, 400.’’ “With this increase, some sellers have withdrawn from the trade completely or start selling other types,’’ one fish seller at Iyana Ip[aja, a Lagos suburb, said.

A cold room attendant at Time Fishery, Anthony Lagos, who preferred not to be named, blamed the scarcity on government’s policy. ‘’From 2012, government revoked the license of those that import fish from other countries, leaving us with the little quantity that we can provide locally. ”They even went to the extent of banning croaker (a type of fish) totally, reason being that it is scaly; we normally convey the fish to our cold room with a big bus which can accommodate up to 300 cartons from a bigger fish depot and we offload three of those buses per day.

“But now, it has reduced to two which means we are now having 600 cartons per day. That is to say that the quantity has reduced and has affected its distribution in the general market.”

Books for Ramadan

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AMADAN period is a special season for the Muslims all over the world. During this period, Muslims can while away time; keep themselves busy and holy by reading Islamic books.

During Ramadan, one of the activities that the Muslims normally engage in is supplication and reading of the Glorious Book (the Qur’an). Apart from these, there are some other things that can be added like reading other Islamic books for male, female and children.

These books are sold online and offline, they are; Usool at-Tafseer by Bilal Philips, it cost N4,000, Tafsir Bin Kathir (vol 1-10) cost N15,000, Charity even with a trifle sells for N700, cleanliness of faith is N850, key to the treasures of jannah is N1,000, Ramadan made simple is N1,400, Kitabu-us-Salat: Muslim prayer book, N600, A glimpse at the beauty of Islam, N950, Basic essentials for Muslims cost N850, Allah commands us to make du’aa sells for N750, Da’wah according to the Qur’an and the Sunnah is N2,500, Dajjal the final deception by Aftab

By Ochu ohunene latifah

Shahrya cost N1,300, Life is a fading shadow is N900 and The ultimate guide to Umrah which sells for N2,500.

For the women, Don’t be Sad can be bought for N1,500, You can be the most happiest woman in the world cost N850, Selected fatawah for women is N1,200, Laws regarding to purity of women is N750.

Others are ; The Ideal Muslimah

by Muhammad Ali Al-Hashimi, Islamic Dress Code for Women, Questions about the Mothers of the Believers, The Pious Woman, Who are the sinful women according to the Qur’an and Hadith, women in Islamic Shari ‘a Sahih Muslim by Imam Muslim (vol 1-4), The Collection of An-Nawawi (40 Hadith), Etiquette of A Muslim on Two Eids, A summary of Islamic Jurisprudence (vol 1-2) by Saleh Al-Fawzan, , Compilation of the Hadith (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim).

These books are available in all Islamic stores in various neighbouhood and they vary in prices depending on the area one is buying from.

New online platform berths

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N online social enterprise that provides various products for people for free has berthed in Lagos. It is called lofelofe.com.

From a fairly used sewing machine that will help an amateur seamstress hone skills and make a living to giving interview candidates outfits that will give them the look and confidence to get that new job, lofelofe.com is said to be the place to channel items that people no longer need to those who need them.

It said in a statement that it was driven by the famous saying ‘the thing you take for granted, someone else is praying for’.

Its founder, Funmi Odushola said: “The goal for lofelofe.com is not to offer handouts but give a hand to the needy, things that encourage people have better their lifestyle and inspire them to work harder.”

She said in this part of the world, it is important to form initiatives that values humanity and preserves our innate community spirit, adding that the reason is that there are not enough support systems in these parts and the government cannot solve every problem. “Think of the 81.5 per cent of Africans who are considered working poor; these are hard working individuals who work yet struggle to make ends meet. Think of over 90 million Nigerians, families who live on N300 per day or less. With the economic downturn, it seems more people are getting into poverty than getting out and this is evident in our various neighborhood. As such, citizen-led initiatives like this can help ease the difficulty and foster a safer environment than any government can. A helping hand can be the difference from a street child being a robber and a respectable citizen,” she said.

The platform works with partners tagged ‘Givers’ and ‘Receivers’. Each has a significant role to play and are equally important and interchangeable.

Lofelofe is said to have been derived from ‘lofe’ which means “free”. The organisation is encouraging everyone to give for free and receive for free.

“Every year, many families in Nigeria perform their benevolence “duty” by giving away various items at Christmas, Ramadan, Easter. Lofelofe.com

will like to make this happen everyday as the lives of people in need cannot wait until these festivities.

“There is a void between people who receive benevolence and the people who need them. We have found orphanages that have excess clothes but what they needed is books, shoes and medical supplies. We take the excess and balance the need; society can continue to give whatever they have to give but we will make sure that it reaches the right people,” Odushola said. lofelofe.com is unique from the usual NGOs or nonprofit in that, it partners with existing NGOs and social organisation and does not depend on donations to continue its operations in the long term. It promotes its partners and works with them in their niche areas to have an even bigger impact. By 2017, the platform hopes to have reached 200+ million disadvantaged Africans mostly achieved by physical presence on ground in the grassroots and through partnerships since the online space has its limitations. In addition to this, lofelofe.com runs an annual food kitchen event targeted specifically towards the destitute and people on the streets.

The organisation is planning a food kitchen event in August 29 where communities will be given free medical screening, hot meals, drinks and love to about 3000 people in need, particularly people from the Alimosho – Agege – Ikeja axis.

The food kitchen event inspired by similar programmes in other parts of the world brings people from different spectrum to one location. It is laudable and beautiful to see Nigerians come together like this.

Everything for the event has been put together by benevolent citizens; from the event location (given by the Ministry of Youth & Sports) to the food, drinks and medical supplies. In addition, all the medical team, caterers, entertainers are all volunteering to give a helping hand. Organisations will be giving their products and services for free, WeClean, a cleaning company will clean the location at no charge. While Halogen securities will give its professional services in crowd control and event securities, SixthLab will donate medical test kits.

• From left: Mrs Amaka Okafor, General Manager, Mouka Lifestyle Store, Garki, Abuja, Mr Femi Fapohunda, Acting Managing Director, Mouka Limited, Dr Azuka Onya, Chief Financial Officer, and Mr Olusegun Ajala, Marketing Manager, at the opening of the new Lifestyle Store and Depot in Abuja.

•From left: President, SAP Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Mr. Franck Cohen; Principal, Ojodu Junior Grammar School, Ikeja, Lagos, Mrs. Victoria Kolawole and Managing Director, SAP, Mr Kudzai Dhana during the second Africa Code Week Pilot Project for children between 8 and 17 years in Africa in Lagos

Apapa amusement park re-opens on Sallah Day

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HE famous Apapa Amusement Park, Lagos, which was not only known for its being a fun centre for children but also a recreational centre as well as venue for promotion and exhibitions has been closed since 2012.

The place is undergoing renovations and necessary arrangements are made to re-open on Sallah Day. Head of the construction team, Mr Hussein Jamal who works with Crystal Cubes Company, the construction company handling the renovation, told The

Nation: “The park will re-open soon, most certainly on Eid-Fitri Day, but not fully, because we are still working on some part, and there is plenty of work yet to be done to make the place better than what it used to be.”

Mr Kelvin Gordon, the security officer attached to the park, said: “So far, plenty of work has been done in a short while beyond human imagination. The hotel is almost ready, the playing ground also, which is now stocked with new and improved playing equipments, blocks of shops and a sup-

per market have also been completed for business purposes.

There is a party hall for occasions and events.”

Comparing the park with what it used to be before the renovation, he said: “Amusement park is better and would be busier than what it used to be. As big as this place is, I don’t think it will accommodate the number of people that will be visiting on a daily basis. All the equipments are new and modernised to entice more people than before.”

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Road to MAMA: Nominees rock tonight

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S the July 18 date for the much publicised MTV Africa Music Award (MAMA) draws close, a special preevent gig called Road To Mama, will tonight, provide a taste of what tyo expect at the award ceremony in Durban, South Africa.

The show, which takes place at The Marquee, Federal Palace Hotel, 6-8 Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos, will feature performances from an all-star line-up of MAMA nominated artistes.

The annual party is one of the biggest panAfrican party tours, in which nominees crisscross the continent in the build-up to the MAMA awards in July. The show, an off-thehook club night and celebration of Africa’s musical evolution, kicked off in Durban before heading to Lagos.

Headlining the gig are Song of the Year and Best Hip Hop nominee Olamide, Yemi Alade (nominated for Best Female and Song of the Year), Phyno (Best Hip Hop), Lil Kesh (Song of the Year), and Iyanya (Best Collaboration). As an added treat, Tanzanian artist Diamond Platnuzm will be showing off the moves that earned him three nominations (Best Male, Best Live & Best Collaboration).

Rounding out the evening with some hot deck action will be DJ Jimmy Jatt, DJ Neptune, DJ Xclusive & DJ Caise.

Meanwhile, for the award ceremony in Durban, 10 of Africa’s most influential and iconic contemporary musicians have been nominated for the ”Evolution” award, to be presented at the MAMAs. Nominated in the category are Nigeria’s 2Face Idibia, Asa, D’Banj and P-Square.

Others are Anselmo Ralph from Angola; Black Coffee from South Africa; Chameleone from Uganda; Fally Ipupa from DRC; HHP from South Africa and Samini from Ghana.

According to Tim Horwood, Channel Director, MTV Base, “The MAMA ”Evolution”

Olamide gets another deal

By Dupe Ayinla-Olasunkanmi

T

HESE are good times for popular rap artiste, Olamide Adedeji, having been signed to lotto outfit, SureBet, just few weeks after renewing his deal with telecommunication company, Etisalat.

The YBNL boss, who recently celebrated his birthday in Dubai, also welcomed a baby boy early this year.

A Part-Time student of Mass Communication at the Tai Solarin University, Olamide’s prominence in the Nigerian music industry started with his hit track, Eni duro, which became a street anthem of sorts.

The artiste is also a brand ambassador for Vodka Ciroc, which according to reports, makes him the company’s first Nigerian ambassador, placing him amongst other international representatives like Rick Ross and French Montana.

• Olamide

•As 2Face, Asa, P-Square, D’banj, others are nominated in special category award honours established artistes who have made an indelible mark on African and global music culture, taken African music to new territories around the world, pushed the boundaries of creativity, and shaped the soundscape of contemporary Africa.”

He noted that the winner of

the Evolution award will be decided jointly

by MTV Base and music fans voting online, and via Twitter and Instagram.

Fans are expected to vote their favourite artiste at http://mama.mtv.com or use the hashtag #Evolution on Twitter or Instagram, followed by the artiste’s name.

NCC confiscates 20 containers of pirated works

T

HE Lagos zonal Director of National Copy Right Commission, NCC, Barrister Chris Nkwocha has debunked the claim that the Commission is doing nothing concerning the recent piracy of some notable movies at Alaba market in Lagos, noting that the Commission has just confiscated about 20 containers of pirated works which include books, musical works and films at the point of entry. He said the products were worth N10 billion.

Nwocha who spoke to The Nation in an exclusive chat said the container was seized by the men of the Customs at the point of entrance, noting that all hands are on deck to make the country an unbearable place for piracy to triumph.”We have about 173 cases of piracy in various courts throughout the country “ According to him, despite the challenges the commission is facing, it has done a lot to stem the activities of the pirates in recent times, adding that when his Commission received a distress call on February 9, 2015 from Mr. Gab Okoye that some of his movies, ‘Tango with Me’, ‘Phone Swap’ and ‘Onye Ozi’ were pirated, his men swung to action and one Mr. Samuel Oluchukwu Eze was arrested.

He explained that on the same day, his men also apprehended another man, Mr. Donatus Madu who was charged to court on May 12th but

Empress Njamah, Seun Akindele, others for Emily K premiere

• Empress

By Joe Agbro Jr

P

OPULAR Nollywood actress, Empress Njamah, actor Seun Akindele and other actors in the entertainment industry will today, grace the premiere of Emily K which holds at Barcelona Hotel, Wuse II, Abuja.

Empress, who plays a lead role in the movie, will join other cast to hit the red carpet at 5pm, ahead of the start of movie scheduled for 6pm.

Emily K, a movie directed and produced by Peter Kundum, explores stories about people living with terminal illnesses, especially heart related ailments.

“We want people to know that there are people suffering with these ailments,” said Kundum, explaining the motivation for the film. ”We want to encourage people living with any heart related diseases to be hopeful and for people to also care for them.

“I can tell you that once this movie is out, many Nigerians will love it because of the research works that went into it. We worked

tirelessly to ensure that the movie succeeds.”

Other actors in the movie, which was shot entirely in the Federal Capital Territory, include ChuksChyke, Gina Castel, Dr.Ayuba, A-JAy of Threadstone and a host of others.

By Sina Fadare

the culprit which was granted bail refused to turn up, a situation which forced the court to issue a bench warrant for his arrest and was brought to court on 26th of May where he was arraigned before Justice O Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

The Director pointed out that the commission has not relented in its fight against piracy noting that in the recent past pirated works which comprises literary, musical and films worth about N6billion were bunt. “The purpose of the burning exercise was to demonstrate the Commission’s commitment to zero tolerance for policy on piracy and send a warning signal that piracy would no longer be a profitable venture,” he said.

Sammie Okposo’s Praise Party heads to Abuja

T

HE Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, is set to play host to Sammie Okposo, one of Nigeria’s leading gospel musicians and SABC African Gospel Artiste of the year as his annual tour, Sammie Okposo Praise Party (SOPP) comes to town. Having held sold out concerts in cities like Lagos, Benin, Port-Harcourt and Umuahia, it is now the turn of Abuja residents to witness the ground-breaking concert scheduled for July 12, 2015 at the Transforming Church, Abuja.

The concert will also feature other top gospel artistes and talented comedians to thrill guests and attendees.

The 2015 edition of the SOPP Global Tour started in Lagos on May 1at the Grace Gardens Events Centre with a large turn-out of artistes and music lovers across the state.

The train later moved to Benin on May 30.

The Benin gig which took place at CGMI Unusual Conference Centre, featured talented gospel artistes like Buchi, Eben, Efe Nathan, Tim Godfrey, Victor Atenega, Nikki Laoye, Anny, among others.

The tour was in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, on June 14, 2015 at the Kings Assembly and it featured Nikki Laoye, Nosa, Tim Godfrey, Nathan, Afy Douglas, PreyeOdede, Mercy Chinwo, Dan D Humorous and many others. It was the turn of Umuahia, the Abia State capital to experience mind blowing live performances concert on June 21, 2015.

The inspiring and amazing concert which held at the Stream of Joy International was particularly spectacular as the main audito-

• Okposo

By Joe Agbro Jr

rium and the overflows couldn’t contain the fans and music lovers that came out for the concert.

The SOPP Global Tour is currently one of the most talked about concerts among the gospel community and the organisers have kick-started plans for the annual Europe and America SOPP Global Tour.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

53

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 02-07-15

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 02-07-15

Turnover drops by42% as equities dwindle further

T

URNOVER at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) took a major plunge yesterday as investors remained cautious and uncertain about the macroeconomic outlook and impact of emerging policies on returns.

For the second consecutive day in the second half, share prices were also mostly on the downside, worsening the average year-to-date loss at the stock market.

Total turnover stood at 186.73 million shares valued at N1.77 billion in 3,.257 deals yesterday, representing declines of 42.3 per cent, 62.6 per cent and 20.4 per cent in turnover volume, value and number of deals respectively.

The All Share Index (ASI), the value-based index that tracks all quoted equities, declined by 0.38% to close at 32,739.11 points as against its

By Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

opening points of 32,863.43 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities also dropped from N11.218 trillion to N11.176 trillion.

The downtrend further depressed the negative average year-to-date return at the stock market to -5.53 per cent.

“We also note that most foreign investors are discontent by CBN’s decision to delay the much anticipated devaluation of the Naira which is holding back their investments positioning in stock and bond markets,” said SCM Capital, former Sterling Capital Markets, in a post-trading review.

Analysts said the market may continue on the downtrend as investors weigh their options amidst macroeconomic concerns and expected first half earnings.

Nigeria’s major breweries led the downtrend. Guinness Nigeria, which earlier this week announced a new chief executive, topped the losers’ list with a loss of N7.28 to close at N153. Nigerian Breweries, NSE’s second most capitalised stock, followed with a loss of N3.45 to close at N145.05. Seven-Up Bottling Company dropped by N3 to close at N183. Presco lost N1 to close at N35 while Stanbic IBTC Holdings dropped by 93 kobo to close at N25 per share.

On the positive side, Seplat Petroleum Development Company led the gainers with a gain of N2.94 to close at N343. Forte Oil followed with a gain of N1.97 to close at N189.07. PZ Cussons rose

by N1.52 to close at N31.97 while Dangote Cement and Nascon Industries rose by 50 kobo and 31 kobo to close at N172.50 and N8 respectively.

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 02-07-15

54

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

MONEYLINK

Delay in naira devaluation T slows investment

T

HERE are fears that further foreign investment may be delayed, The Nation has learnt.

Foreign international investors from whom Foreign Direct Investments (HDI) are expected, are concerned that their expectation that the naira would be further devalued, is taking time to materialise.

Reuters said the markets have moved sharply in the past week in particular after the central bank announced curbs on dollar funding for investors, as well as for importers of goods ranging from toothpicks to private jets.

The move, meant to conserve foreign exchange, has dashed widely-held expectations of naira devaluation - the central reform that investors had been banking on.

Since then 10-year bond yields have jumped one percentage point to almost 15 per cent, stocks have fallen and the naira’s value is plunging in the parallel market, down about seven per cent from early-June levels.

A devaluation to restore the economy to competitiveness is a matter of time, fund managers still believe. “It will take a combination of weaker currency and higher interest rates to get us back to Nigeria,” said Kieran Curtis, a bond fund manager at Standard Life Investments. “When we compare Nigeria to other oil exporters it hasn’t had enough of a currency adjustment.”

With oil exports providing 70 per cent of budget revenues,

By Collins Nweze

Nigeria can certainly use a cheaper currency. Most had reckoned on 10 to 15 per cent devaluation at least and some such as Curtis estimate about 25 per cent move is probably needed.

The naira fell 20 percent in the year to February. Even so its real exchange rate, against currencies of trade partners and adjusted for inflation, is up than 50 percent in the past decade.

In real terms, currencies of oilexporting peers Russia and Colombia are five and 17 per cent respectively below long-term averages. African oil producer Angola also recently devalued its kwanza, which is down 15 per cent to the dollar this year And the price for supporting the naira is high - the central bank has spent at least $3.4 billion since fixing the exchange rate in February and reserves have fallen below $30 billion for the first time since 2005.

Non-deliverable forwards, derivatives used to hedge against future exchange rate moves, reflect expectations of currency weakening: sixmonth NDFs price the naira at 225 per dollar, while a week ago the forward price was around 215. “To me, (central bank measures) are doing more harm than good: you are putting off the inevitable and the reaction you are seeing on rates markets and the NDF shows that,” said Kevin Daly, a fund manager at Aberdeen Asset Management.

“Effectively the bond market is starting to price in a much wider move on the currency.”

Curbing access to dollars may briefly stabilise reserves and constrict imports but pent-up demand for hard currency will eventually weaken the exchange rate and drains central bank coffers. It may also stoke inflation if importers are forced to pay more for dollars.

The naira trades at 230 per dollar in the black market, some 14 percent below the official rate.

With oil revenues down and borrowing costs rising, the 2015 budget is already 3.2 percent smaller than last year’s. By early May, the government had already exhausted half its borrowing allowance for the year.

Ten-year yields at almost 15 percent, 250 basis points above post-election lows, will raise borrowing costs for the government and the private sector.

“Ultimately (devaluation) will become more of a fiscal necessity than an external necessity.

The longer they will take to do the adjustment, the bigger the adjustment would have to be,” said Antoon de Klerk, portfolio manager at Investec’s African Fixed Income Fund.

And crucially for investment flows, Nigeria’s place in the GBI-EM local currency debt index looks increasingly precarious. JPMorgan warned in June it could eject Nigeria from its benchmark index by year-end unless it restores liquidity to currency markets in a way that allowed foreign investors to transact with minimal hurdles.

HE Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking, UBA Plc, Femi Olaloku, has called on the Federal and state governments to diversify the productive bases and foreign exchange earnings of the economy.

He said this would enable the economy overcome the challenges brought about by dwindling revenues from crude oil sales.

Olaloku made the call as one of the panel discussants at the Bloomberg/Nigerian Stock Exchange CEO Roundtable on the Banking and Oil industry.

“Dwindling oil prices around the globe poses serious challenges to a developing economy like Nigeria, hence the need for government to also consider various diversification options,” he said.

For him, further devalu-

Bank chief advises govt on economic diversification ation of the naira is imminent, this will make the importation of goods into the country more expensive, encourage local manufacturing and inflow of foreign capital. He assured that banks have been strengthened over the last few years and are now well positioned to fund new opportunities that the country may wish to explore as a result of dwindling oil prices.

“We have a banking system that is today a lot stronger than what it was 10 years ago. Whether in power infrastructure, or in the agriculture, Nigerian banks have been able to meet the growing demand for funding.”

He advised that the country needs to leverage on the successful political change of power, and the

resulting increased foreign interest in Nigeria to drive economic growth.

While expressing optimism on the growth opportunities available in the Nigerian economy, he urged that the right policies and measures be put in place, to fully tap the increased potential of the Nigerian economy.

Earlier in his welcome remarks, Oscar Onyema, the CEO, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), said it was important for banks to evolve strategies to boost the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“Nigerian banks will have to fashion out strategies to assist the country to wade through the various challenges that the dwindling oil fortunes present to the country,” he said.

Couteville acquires Jamaican firm

C

OURTEVILLE Business Solutions Plc has announced its first international acquisition with the purchase of Priority Loss Adjusters Limited. an auto adjuster, from the Priority Group in Jamaica.

Speaking on the cross-border deal, the Group Managing Director of Courteville Business Solutions Plc, Mr. Adebola Akindele, said the acquisition validates the global appeal of his firm’s unique business model.

“In the space of 10 years,

Courteville has established its dominance as the most successful business process outsourcing provider for the transportation and insurance sectors in sub-Saharan Africa.

The next logical step is to push our value proposition into virgin markets outside these shores.

“In Priority Loss Adjusters, and Jamaica, we have found the ideal partner, and a welcoming market where we can create additional value for customers, and our share-

holders. Courteville is passionate about its vision to positively touch the lives of citizens of the world, and this acquisition only serve to further this quest.”

Chief Executive Officer of the Priority Group, Denis St. Bernard, added: “The Priority Group is delighted to conclude this transaction with Courteville Business Solutions. We are convinced that the company has the pedigree, and commitment to take Priority Loss Adjusters to the next level.”

55

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

NEWS

Putting Osun’s salary challenge in a fairer context •Continued from page 3 chaos.

In general, the mood in the state currently is largely that of supportive concern as the administration is one that has been given to populist and innovative development, the kind of which the people had hitherto not experienced. The government champions the only surviving school feeding scheme in the country, which benefits 252,000 school children at a yearly cost of just N3.5 billion.The scheme has been hailed by development institutions from far and near as a cost-effective silver bullet to tackling the challenges of education, malnutrition and empowerment that bedevil millions of households in Nigeria and the developing world at large.

In Osun, the scheme has proven to be a means of critical support to hundreds of thousands of families, sustains 3, 007 community caterers, thousands of small holder and commercial farmers.

Osun also pioneered a social welfare programme that engages youths in community service, capacity development in return for a monthly stipend of N10,000 each. The scheme, called OYES engages 20,000 youths in a two-year rolling scheme at a yearly cost of just N3 billion.

Today, OYES has proven to be another cost-effective means of empowering the grassroots economy to such an extent that it’s been adopted by no less than the World Bank as the template for its own National Youth Empowerment Scheme called YESSO. The scheme has directly benefited 40,000 youths and indirectly tens of thousands of households across Osun.

The people, being beneficiaries and witnesses to this unusual peoplecentered development in the last few years, are therefore in a high state of concern and enthusiasm to see the state overcome it’s current predicament and return to its usual business of delivering to the people.

The Osun salary arrears challenge is a symptom of a larger national problem, which affects governments at all level and was occasioned by multiple factors outside the single control of any one government.

Osun State and its people have been lopsidedly vilified as the face of this challenge in such a way as to appear that the state is the architect of the problem. It is therefore important to place this problem in a more appropriate context so as to allow for a genuine resolution for Osun, other states and the nation at large.

How we got here In Osun, three keys factors contributed to the current problem.

•2012: The demand for ‘blanket’ implementation of minimum wage increase.

•July 2013 : The 40 per cent crash in statutory allocation due to alleged oil theft of 400,000 barrels of crude per day.

•June 2014 : The 50 per cent crash in the global price of crude oil and impact on statutory allocation.

The minimum wage increase of 2012 came with its blessings and challenges. The Federal Government negotiated a uniform minimum wage for the nation without due consideration for the varying earning capaci-

•Aregbesola

‘Osun is momentarily set back by factors that were largely outside its purview.

It is with this mind that Osun needs to be supported to conclude on its development agenda, some of which are widely seen as a model for people-focused development for the nation’ ties of the constituent states. Thus, creating a situation where top-earning states like Akwa Ibom, were to pay the same minimum wage as Osun that earns a fraction of Akwa Ibom’s revenue.

The administration in Osun being pro-worker in origin, nonetheless sought a minimalist and literal implementation by increasing wages for the lowest earning cadre of the civil service and augmenting the remaining level in order to maintain seniority in level and an affordable wage bill to government. The unions refused this arrangement for affordability, rather demanded for a proportional increase across board.

This led to an increase in wages from N1.7 billion per month to N3.6 billion, more than a 100 per cent increase. This arbitrary increase occasioned by the Federal Government’s negotiation of a unitary minimum wage for all states regardless of their earning capacity signaled the beginning of major disturbances in the state’s finances.

In retrospect, perhaps the state could have been harder in enforcing its implementation of minimum wages. This was one factor that was within the control of the state although the consequence of such action could have proven costly.

By July 2013, the Federal Government had declared that the country was losing 400,000 barrel of crude per day to oil bunkering. The immediate effect of this to states was that statutory allocation suffered a 40 per cent reduction, which further destabilised the state’s budget. It was bad enough that any reduction threatened the funding and delivery plans of any serious government, much worse it

was that the 40 per cent reduction in revenue didn’t add up. The country produces around 2.6 million barrels a day. The theft of 400,000 barrels should translate to 15 per cent reduction. Osun, like other states, experienced a 40 per cent reduction and the Federal Government gave no explanation for this. This anomaly among other funding concerns led the governor to raise an alarm on the 16th of February 2014 edition of Vanguard Newspaper about the dangers of the situation to the nation. Please see http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/ 02/nigeria-war-situation-aregbesola/ In June 2014, the macro economic event of the crash in international price of crude occurred. Prices crashed by as much as 50 per cent and a similar reduction was transferred to statutory allocation. This led to a further depletion in statutory revenue. In average Osun suffered at least a 56 per cent reduction in its revenue in this period and this impacted the state’s development and wages obligations.

The oil bunkering issue and the attendant effects on states’ revenue was exclusively a federal matter, while the drastic crash in crude oil prices was a macro-economic disaster. Both factors were totally out of the purview of the state. The response of any state to such issues should have been to downscale activities as much as possible, which Osun did. The government subsequently slowed down efforts on some projects in order to cushion the effects of this challenge.

It is pertinent to highlight that regardless of the good intentions of the state, its handling of the blanket minimum wage increase following union pressure, if avoided, could have reduced

the effect of the fiscal woes being experienced.

While, it can be argued that this could have further cushioned the effect of the challenge, nonetheless, it also could have proven somewhat costly to manage in social and political terms. It is instructive that at the heart of this unfortunate development lie the critical structural problems in government. It is with this in mind that it must be noted that the nation will have to tackle the challenge of bloated government head on, if we are to decisively deal with this matter now.

The government in Osun, given its progressive origin, did not rely only on the statutory funds to drive its development agenda. The state has been ramping up on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from the administration’s inception. Osun’s concerted efforts in this regard, since 2010, has translated to a 200 per cent increase in IGR, one of the highest increase in its economic zone.

However, this IGR increase was not enough to radically drive economic growth. Osun cannot exclusively rely on its IGR to fund personnel costs for now.

In fact, an increase in IGR can only be as quick as the growth of the economy and Osun for most of its 24 years of existence as a state has suffered weak economic growth, lacking the critical social and physical infrastructure required to become vibrant.

Thus, to radically increase IGR, Osun will need to expand the economy; to expand the economy, Osun needs to build social, physical and business infrastructure.

So, from November 2010, Osun

became synonymous with radical, bold and innovative socio-economic infrastructure programmes. Some of these include: •Agri-business reform – The programme led to the emergence of one of the largest poultry producers in the country in Osun.

•Aggressive development of road infrastructure – Highways, inter and intra-city road networks to aid trade and development of industry.

Education reform •Development of model school infrastructure - No fewer than 252,000 children are benefitting from the school feeding scheme.

• Opon Imo - The electronic learning (e-learning) tool targeted at 150,000 high school pupils.

• Teacher training - Training and retraining programmes from teachers in public schools.

• School uniform harmonisation – This policy led to the emergence of the largest garment factory in West Africa.

Therefore Osun, in its quest for strategic diversification of the economy, could not undergo a swift weaning from statutory allocation as it lacked the economic base for a quick and proportional ramp up of IGR. This informed the bold efforts by the administration to invest in the needed infrastructure to boost the economy.

Implementing infrastructure development required huge resources.

The cost of wages has historically taken a large chunk of government spending in this space, Osun and the nation at large. The previous administrations in the state had consistently shied away from filling the infrastructure gap that the state so badly needed to be economically viable.

The incumbent administration sought to act decisively by devising new means of leveraging regular although marginal revenue to access low-cost and long-term funds called bonds. Thus, the government accessed bonds at the early days of this administration, based on revenue projections, which understandably, did not capture the mishaps from 2012. Unfortunately this meant the state also had obligations to it creditor which would not have been a problem when the projections were made.

But, for the unexpected and unfortunate national problem of oil theft and the macro economic disaster of 50 per cent reduction in oil prices, Osun would now be celebrating the actualisation of its well thought-out socio-economic rejuvenation without any problem of meeting its wages and other obligations.

Man proposes and God disposes, Osun is momentarily set back by factors that were largely outside its purview. It is with this mind that Osun needs to be supported to conclude on its development agenda, some of which are widely seen as a model for people-focused development for the nation.

The people of Osun know this and so do the men and women of reason in our nation. Leadership is for time of crisis. Osun’s finest moment is yet to come. By the grace of God, Osun will champion an admirable way out of this, for the benefit of its people and the nation at large.

What Obama’ll discuss with Buhari, by U.S. officials •Continued from page 3 The military has a lot of skin in the game in Liberia for the Ebola response as well. Do you have anything you’d like to add on that No, just as the assistant secretary said, there’s still work to be done. There has been some

capacity-building efforts already. And I think that just with the initial reports coming out of this individual who got sick, that the things that they had learned in the past that were successful between the isolation and the chain contact, as well as the burial standards

that the USAID has helped them build, that they will be able to better handle the situation now so that it doesn’t get out of hand as it had been before.

You mentioned AGOA, which is a very important piece of legislation for trade in Africa. Can you comment on

what that legislation would mean?

What that legislation means is that – first, it shows our confidence in Africa and in our trade relationship with Africa.

But secondly, what it means to Africa is better business opportunities. It means more jobs.

It means jobs on the continent of Africa. And it also means jobs in the U.S. And the companies that are benefiting from AGOA really welcomed the signing of this legislation. It gave them the confidence to move forward, to sign deals on delivery of goods and services

that will take place over the next few years. We will be hosting the AGOA Forum in Gabon in August, and we are delighted that this legislation has been signed and will be, again, a signal of the U.S. commitment and confidence in Africa’s future.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

56

CITYBEATS

CITYBEATS LINE: 09091178827

Canoe mishap: six bodies recovered

•Four siblings among victims •Boat operator held

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HE bodies of six school children declared missing after Wednesday’s canoe mishap in Ojo, Lagos, were yesterday recovered by rescuers. Among the victims are four siblings.

They are Patience Ajigbo, Josephine Ajigbo, Nelson Fiaku, Jonathan Fiaku, Imonina Bridget and Kayode Nathaniel.

The canoe carrying 15 persons, including the paddler, was said to have capsized around 8am after a fibre boat, ran into it. The operator of the boat named Ola Mother has been arrested, it was learnt yesterday.

Rescuers said the children aged between 13 and 17 were on their way to school when the mishap occurred.

While nine passengers were rescued, the six others could not be found by emergency workers at the close of operation.

The Nation gathered that three of the bodies were recovered on Wednesday night; and the other three were found around 9am yesterday.

According to the community leader, Idris Momoh, four of the dead are siblings. He said such a misfortune had never befallen the community.

“Four of the affected teenagers are of the same family. All six have been buried. They were very respectful children. This is the first time such a thing is happening in our community. If they had life jackets, they would have survived.

I am appealing to the government to provide life jackets for those school boats that carry our children.The water is the only means of accessing the other community where there is a school. We

Mr Marinho (Right), during his address. With him are: Dr Oke-Osanyintolu (Left) and Mr Haruna.

By Precious Igbonwelundu, Adeyinka Aderibigbe, Oziegbe Okoeki and Mariam Ekene-Okoro

do not have a bridge,” Momoh said.

Briefing reporters yesterday at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) Director Yinka Marinho, said that government would no longer tolerate boat operators that do not use of life jackets.

Marinho explained that the paddler was trying to restart his engine when his canoe inched close to the channel where it eventually collided with the speed boat.

“The incident happened while the canoe operator was trying to restart his engine because he felt something got into his propeller and stop it from moving unknown to him that he has moved towards the speed boat channel and the boat

‘

They were very respectful children.

This is the first time such a thing is happening in our community. If they had life jackets, they would have survived.

’

coming towards him hit him directly,” he said.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Habib Aruna also confirmed that 12 children and an adult were on board the boat.

Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA), General Manager Dr. Femi OkeOsanyintolu said their response

was prompt, adding that the victims rescued on Wednesday were treated on the spot. Five, he said, were transferred to Igando General Hospital.

He blamed the accident on the passengers’ failure to use life jackets, recalling that the agency distributed free life jackets in the area when a similar incident happened in 2012.

Oke- Osanyintolu Said:”We distributed life jackets in that area after the incident that happened around that area in 2012, we distributed 80 life jackets. All these life jackets were distributed to forestall cases like this. But unfortunately people don’t like using them. As a government we will continue to distribute and sensitise people on the danger of not using them.”

Ojo Local Government Executive Secretary Mr. Lawal Sakiru Adewale said he had already led a

Tanker driver gets N250, 000 bail

Residents protest against land grabbers

F

OR the second time in two weeks residents of Labora Owode in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, stormed the Lagos State House of Assembly, complaining that in spite of their earlier visit to the House, hoodlums who had taken over their land under force of arms have refused to leave, but continue to bulldoze the seized large expanse of land and erect fences.

The residents came displaying various placards with inscriptions like: “Please Save, Protect and Preserve our traditional heritage,” “Save us from oppression response to

By Oziegbe Okoeki

our need,” “Why should we be rendered homeless,” “Nigeria belong to all of us, save Labora Owode from Invasion,” “Please help us to ensure compliance with the court order restraining further destruction,” among others.

They called for the intervention of the House to rescue them from the land grabbers said to be led by one Yemi Idowu allegedly working for a new generation bank.

Addressing newsmen, the leader of the protesters, Alhaji Tolani Bakare, who is head of

Busari Bakare Family of Labora Owode, said the situation the community found itself was made very difficult because of lack of cooperation by the state police command.

According to Alhaji Bakare, the residents have been able to secure the cooperation of the police, saying that the leader of the gang, Idowu, who he said was always carrying guns and handcuffs, among others, had continued to boast that nobody could arrest him.

Bakare also lamented that several injunctions handed over by the court had been largely ignored as the hood-

lums had refused to vacate the land in question.

“The hoodlums are led by one Yemi Idowu. He has continued to boast that no policeman can arrest him. We took police there and they could not arrest him. Only a bricklayer was arrested and he was released later that day. This Idowu carry guns, handcuffs,” he said.

Alhaji Bakare also disclosed that two court bailiffs, including Shittu, were stabbed by the hoodlums led by Idowu and had to be rushed to the hospital where they spent two weeks.

delegation to condole with the bereaved families.

At the Lagos State House of Assembly, Lanre Ogunyemi (Ojo II) called on his colleagues to rise up to the occasion as the tragedy has become recurrent.

In a motion, Ogunyemi said the 14-seater canoe capsized when an oncoming boat allegedly “belonging to bunkerers sped recklessly causing confusion”.

The lawmaker said four children died in the mishap.

Commiserating with the bereaved families, the Chief Whip, Rotimi Abiru urged his colleagues to call on LASWA, the regulatory body charged with monitoring waterways activities, to rise up to the occasion.

Majority Leader Sanai Agunbiade urged the lawmakers to stop such disasters.

He said: “This particular incident has reinforced the need to use the defaulters of waterways regulations as scapegoat. By doing this we would have sent a strong signal to the operators at the waterways.”

Gbolahan Yishawu (Eti-Osa 2) said the sizes of the safety jackets must be considered in asking the operators to maintain safety standards.

He said the life jackets provided for the children were oversized, noting that it would have amounted to nothing even if the children wore the jackets.

Ibrahim Layode (Badagry 1) urged his colleagues to do a selfappraisal to determine the degree of enforcement of the law passed by the House on waterways regulation.

He said: “The Assembly should rise up to its responsibility, the law has been passed in this House since 2008. How far have we been able to ensure that the provisions of the law are complied with.”

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SURULERE Chief Magistrates’ Court yesterday in Lagos granted N250,000 bail and two sureties in the like sum to a tanker driver, Olamilekan Kareem, charged with manslaughter.

Chief Magistrate A.A. Oshoniyi, said the sureties should provide evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government as part of the bail conditions.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Oshoniyi stood in for the Magistrate, Mrs A.F. Adeeyo, who has been handling the case.

Kareem, 34, who lives at No. 24, Akinloye St., Ibadan, Oyo State, pleaded not guilty to the

charge.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Sgt. Jimah Iseghede told the court that the tanker driver, who allegedly drove recklessly, lost control and knocked down a man, Rasheed Ashimiyu.

According to him, the 38year-old Ashimiyu from Opoyeosa Street, Ibadan, was a bus conductor.

He said the accused committed the offence at Onile Bus Stop on Lagos-Badagry Expressway at about 1.30 p.m. on June 30.

Iseghede noted that the offence contravened Section 20 of the Road Traffic Laws of Lagos State.

The case was adjourned to July 31 for mention.

Lagos court remands man in prison for brandishing pistol in public

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•From left : District Secretary, Rotary 9110 Femi Adenekan; District Governor Otunba Onabadejo and Chairman, Installation Committee Wale Adegbite at a news conference in Lagos...yesterday PHOTO:NNEKA NNWANERI

YABA Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Thursday remanded a 37-year-old man, Sunday Johnson, in prison custody for allegedly brandishing a pistol in public.

Chief Magistrate A.O. AJibade, ordered that Johnson should be remanded after the accused had pleaded guilty to the charge.

Johnson, who resides at No.2, Depolotun St., Ojowo JebuIgbo, Ogun, is facing a two-count charge of “unlawful possession and unauthorised possession”.

The Prosecutor, ASP Rita Momah, had told the court that the accused committed the offences on June 26 at Bar Beach, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Momah said that the accused was arrested by the police while having a heated argument with someone at the beach with a pistol in his hand.

He said the offences contravened Sections 310 and 51 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The case was adjourned till July 3 for facts and sentencing.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

57

NEWS

Some governors haven’t declared assets, says Conduct Bureau

‘Buhari’ll turn Nigeria around’ From Bolaji Ogundele, Warri

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CHIEFTAIN of the Delta State All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Francis Inegbeniki, has urged Nigerians to be patient with the Muhammad Buhari administration to change the current woes to welfare and pains to gains.

Inegbeniki said the new administration needed some time to analyse the damage done to the nation’s system and proffer appropriate solutions.

The APC chieftain addressed reporters yesterday in Warri, Delta State, on the need for Nigerians to allow the Buhari administration to focus on how to fulfil its campaign promises to the nation.

He said President Buhari had a genuine determination and commitment to reposition Nigeria for greatness.

Inegbeniki, who was APC’s senatorial candidate for Edo Central in the March 28 National Assembly election, said: “It is better for Mr. President to study the problems facing the country critically before embarking on the reforms that will bring about the long-awaited change.”

The APC chief assured that Nigeria under President Buhari would witness tremendous growth, stability and rapid development.

But he noted that this would require the support and cooperation of Nigerians.

Inegbeniki said: “We Nigerians must remain thankful to God for giving the country two reliable, competent and trustworthy leaders President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osibanjo - at this time to save the country.”

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OME governors have failed to declare their assets, more than one month after taking office.

Chairman of Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Sam Saba, yesterday expressed worry about the delay.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that he had no problem with federal lawmakers over assets declaration.

“Let me say that we really don’t have problem with members of the National Assembly as far as assets declaration is concerned.

“Also, the president and the Vice-President declared their assets before they took oath of office in compliance with Schedule 7 of the Constitution.

“The people we are having problem with now are some governors, but I cannot be categorical in terms of statistics except I confirm,’ he said.’

Saba said he had demanded to know the number of governors that had declared their assets from state directors of the bureau.

The CCB boss then

blamed the delay by some governors to declare their assets to their failure to study the constitution.

He said: “the governors are not even supposed to start work as political office holders until they declare their assets.

“It is provided in Section 185 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

“It reads that; a person elected to the office of a governor of a state shall not begin to perform the function of that office until he has declared his assets

•Residents, indigenes and Aborigines of Labora-Owode Village, Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area, Lagos State, protesting at the Lagos State House of Assembly on the need to protect the lives and property of Agbon/Bollo Busari family of LaboraOwode...yesterday.

PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

Benin Airport to reopen July 10

Executive Secretary, Mushin Local Government Mr Babajide Bello addressing a news conference on the renovation of Ladipo International Market, Mushin, Lagos...yesterday.

With him is Managing Director/CEO of Total Value Integrated Services Nigeria Limited, Mr Chris Onyekachi

From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

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HE Head of Corporate Affairs and Public Relations of Benin Airport in Edo State, Mrs. Dan-Oshevire Michelle, has debunked speculations that the airport has been closed down.

She said it would be reopened for commercial services on July 10.

Mrs. Michelle addressed reporters yesterday in Benin on the state of the airport.

She said: “The Benin Airport has not been totally closed down, as speculated by people. The airport is in perfect condition, just that there is a small break to allow maintenance work at the runway. It is the runway that needs to be up graded. That is where work is presently ongoing.

The civil department of the national headquarters is here with the contractors. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, specifically on July 10, the runway will reopen to commercial flight.

“In fact, let me state here that apart from commercial airlines, such as Aero Contractors and Arik Air, other private aircraft, such as choppers, can land and take off at the Benin Airport. It’s only commercial flights that have been temporarily shut down for this period of maintenance.”

and liabilities.’’

Saba said that in spite of the fact that the section made assets declaration prelude to taking oath of office, some governors took over office without declaring their assets because of ignorance.

“It is not like they are not willing to declare, but because of the erroneous impression that they have up to three months within which to declare their assets and liabilities.

“But the issue is that they are supposed to have declared before being sworn in as governors.’’

Rivers Assembly empowers Wike to dissolve commissions From Clarice Azuatalam, Port Harcourt

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HE Rivers State House of Assembly yesterday directed Governor Nyesom Wike to dissolve the State Local Government Service Commission and the House of Assembly Commission with immediate effect.

Speaker Ikuinyi Ibani gave the directive, after other lawmakers debated the activities of both commissions.

Ibani warned anyone seeking public office to be ready to defend his or her actions.

Members of the Local Government Service Commission did not appear before the Assembly, despite the invitation sent to them and the publicity given the matter.

But before the Speaker’s directive, some of the lawmakers, who spoke during plenary, suggested that a warrant of arrest be issued on members of the local government commission.

Others called for the immediate disengagement of members of the commission for alleged misconduct, financial misappropriation and refusal to appear before the Assembly, after an invitation.

The Assembly said it was taking the action, following a petition by a lawyer to the Speaker against the commission.

The petitioner was said to have alleged indiscriminate recruitment, gross misconduct and financial misappropriation.

The lawmakers said the petitioner also urged the Assembly to investigate the allegations and take appropriate actions, where necessary.

On the House of Assembly Commission, the Assembly agreed that the body should be dissolved for illegal employment, official misconduct and financial misappropriation.

Unlike the members of the Local Government Service Commission, those of the Assembly’s service commission appeared before the lawmakers for questioning.

The lawmakers who at the end found them culpable of the allegations levelled against them.

Bayelsa APC blasts sanctioned members over parallel Exco

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AYELSA State All Progressive Congress (APC) yesterday lambasted its expelled and suspended members who claimed to have dissolved the State Working Committee (SWC) and formed a parallel Executive Committee (Exco).

A group of embattled APC members, led by Chief Perekeme Kpodo, told reporters in Yenagoa, the state capital, that the party’s SWC, led by Chief Tiwe Oruminighe, had

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

been dissolved.

The group immediately inaugurated a nine-man Exco and named Kpodo its Chairman.

But the APC described the Kpodo-led group and its members as jesters.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Panebi Fortune, the party said the group comprised expelled and suspended persons who were no longer

bona fide APC members.

APC said Kpodo and his cotravellers were making a laughing stock of themselves before the public.

It passed a vote of confidence in the Oruminighe-led SWC and restated its recognition of former Governor Timipre Sylva as its state leader.

The statement said: “First, APC’s constitution gives no room for any individual or group to suspend or expel any member. For instance, can a

group suspend a governor or commissioner and constitute itself as the executive arm? It is not possible.

“Our constitution makes it clear that it is only the national and state executive working committees that have the constitutional rights to raise their axes against any member who defaults its norm.

“The SWC has already expelled Kpodo and the others.

Kpodo is known for political blackmail over the years. It is

his source of income. He is still bent on it this time, but he will be disgraced.”

The party urged the public and its supporters to continue to clamour for change ahead of next year’s governorship elections.

“Kpodo and his group are failed politicians... The APC is united under our Chairman, Chief Timipa Tiwe Oruminighe. We are confident that we shall emerge victorious at the poll in 2016.”

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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NEWS Giade hails NDLEA agents for bravery

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

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HAIRMAN/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Ahmadu Giade has lauded his officers for the bravery displayed in preventing an accused from escaping through the lagoon at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos on Wednesday.

The NDLEA boss also expressed satisfaction with the discovery of 8.09kg of dried weeds that tested positive for cannabis concealed inside packs of noodles and 1.05kg of whitish substance that tested positive for methamphetamine hidden inside female hair attachment.

“The gallantry and courage of the officer who re-arrested and prevented an accused from escaping through the waterside is laudable. I also thanked the court security official, who apprehended the second accused person.

“Similarly, the ingenuity of officers that led to the discovery of narcotics hidden inside noodles and hair attachment is equally praise worthy.

“These notable acts attest to the enthusiasm and commitment of officers in getting results even when the situation appears daunting. The agency will continue to motivate officers by rewarding outstanding performance,” Giade stated.

The accused, Enitan Ibrahim and Kehinde Ogunmola, were said to have been arraigned before Justice Musa Kurya over alleged illicit dealing in narcotics.

Both accused took to their heels at the court registry while their remand documents were being signed.

Group makes case for Northeast

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GROUP, National Mandate Group, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) from the Northeast Zone following the outcome of Senate President’s election.

The group, in an open letter to Buhari signed by Otunba Doyin Adeniyi and Alhaji Ibrahim Modibbo, asked him to consider the contribution of the zone to his emergence as the winner of the March 28 polls.

The group recommended Alhaji Gambo Mogaji, a former Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman of defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), “as a reputable person whom the president can work with from the Northeast being a retired Federal Permanent Secretary with great understanding of the political class”.

IGP deploys CPs in Lagos, Rivers, Ogun

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HE Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase has ordered the posting of new Commissioners of Police to Lagos, Ogun, Rivers and other formations in the Force headquarters.

In a statement by the Deputy Force PRO, Abayomi Shogunle, the new posting is expected to reduce the crime

From Faith Yahaya, Abuja

rate in the affected states.

The statement read: “It is expected that the new postings will reverse the crime wave in the affected states and also strengthen the administration in the Force headquarters formations”.

The commissioners affect-

ed by the posting and the states they are posted to are; “CP Ajani Fatai Owoseni; Lagos State, CP Chris Ezike; Rivers State, CP Abdulmajid Ali; Ogun State.

Other CPs posted to formations in the Force headquarters are: “Dan Bature; Intelligence FCIID Abuja, CP Valentine Ntomchukwu,

CP Admin Department of Logistics and Supply, Abuja, Hyelasinda Kimo Musa; CP Fed. Special Anti Robbery Squad, Abuja, CP Kayode Aderanti; CP Admin, department of Operations Abuja, CP Ibine; CP Port Authority Eastern Command; CP Ogbusua Aja Oleh, CP Provost, Abuja”.

•From left: President-General, Bakana Community Development Association Mr Iloye Braide; Prof. Victor Omuaru and Rivers State Deputy Governor Mrs Ipalibo Banigo when the association visited the deputy governor in Port Harcourt...yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

‘We condemn politicisation of the appointment of INEC chairman’ C OALITION of Progressive Political Parties (COP3), the umbrella organisation for 13 registered political parties has condemned what it calls ‘the dangerous, irresponsible and inciting statement issued by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the appointment of the acting chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC)’.

The appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari as acting chairman of the Commission has drawn opprobrium from Chief Olisa Metuh, the National Publicity Secretary of PDP. In a statement yesterday, chairman of the coalition and National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM),

Mallam Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim, COP3 decried what it described as ‘the dangerous precedent whereby a political party is trying to decide who became the INEC Chairman’. It said that function was constitutionally reserved for the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the National Assembly.

The statement reads: “Any interference by political parties in the appointment of INEC officials is tantamount to politicising the process and the Commission itself, which is capable of creating dangerous schism and generating unnec-

essary tension in the country.

“INEC is an independent body, which must be insulated from politics and irresponsible politicking. The power of and procedure for the appointment of its chairman is a constitutional matter and not a subject of political bargaining.

“Mrs. Zakari was not appointed to the Commission by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. She was appointed as INEC National Commissioner by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010 and by the time she was appointed acting chairman, she had the distinction of being the most

senior INEC National Commissioner in terms of time served. If she is good to be a National Commissioner and chairman of its Committees under President Jonathan, she is good to be the Commission’s acting chairman at any other time.”

“Opposition politics must be responsible politics. After suffering for 16 interrupted years under its institutional mismanagement, Nigerians deserve a respite from PDP’s meddlesomeness and brinkmanship. “PDP’s acidic and divisive politics was rejected in the election. We advise that they try some modesty and learn from their past mistakes instead of trying to give Nigerians more of the same”.

BoT, pastors back Oshoffa’s son as CCC leader

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HE Board of Trustees, Pastor-in-Council, senior clergy, women and elders of the Celestial Church of Christ worldwide have affirmed Reverend Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa as their leader.

This declaration was made

by Superior Evangeslist S.O. Banjo, one of the chuch’s oldest members of the Board of Trustees at a news conference organised by the church’s National Headquarters at Makoko, Yaba, Lagos. The conference was to clarify some issues

affecting the church over leadership tussle.

He stated that one Godwin Bolanle Shonekan, who declared himself as the pastor of the church, was ex-communicated for illegal and antichurch activities in 2004.

He added that on March 26, 2015, Justice A. O. Asenuga ruled that the self-proclamation of Shonekan as pastor of the church was illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.

He said the self-declaration of Senior Evangelist Omotosho Oshoffa to the “church

pastorship or leadership of the church is fake, ingenuine, illadvised and baseless”. Omotosho Oshoffa, was an administrative officer of the church.

He said there was no wrangling in Oshoffa’s family, adding that “the family is intact and effort is being made to reconcile the two warring brothers”.

Superior Evangelist S.O. Banjo said the essence of the court decision to declare that there was no pastor in the church was to allow its leadership to rewrite its constitu-

tion and find peaceful solution to its lingering problems.

The Constitution Review committee that is assiduously working on the constitution consists of judges, lawyers and senior clergy in the church.

Banjo said the Board of Trustees and Pastor-in-Council, which is the highest ruling council of the church, is making arrangements for the smooth, proper and peaceful running of the affairs of the church at all its parishes worldwide.

Pupil attacks teacher with matchete From Chris Oji, Enugu

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PUPIL of Community Secondary School, Alor Uno, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State attacked a classroom teacher with a machete, giving him cuts on the head.

The boy, identified as Ebuka, attacked the teacher identified as Ike, for punishing his girlfriend.

Ebuka, said to have acted under the influence of alcohol, hid the machete under his cloth and beckoned on Ike. Ike, on sensing danger, took to his heels but Ebuka chased him into a classroom and cut him with the machete.

Ike was rushed to a private hospital for treatment.

Ebuka was over-powered and handed to the police. He said his girlfriend reported Ike to him and he decided to retaliate.

Ebuka’s family members are trying to settle out of court.

The police confirmed the incident, insisting that Ebuka would be prosecuted.

‘Be patient with Buhari’

By Sina Fadare

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IGERIANS have been urged to be patient with President Muhammadu Buhari in his bid to tackle corruption and reposition the economy.

Former Chairman of Ife Central Local Government Area, Osun State Mr. Adetunji Obawole, who said this in a chat with The Nation, noted that it would take time to correct the rot left behind by former government.

He added that the change being clamoured for would come as expected, adding that the country, under Buhari, would witness “tremendous achievement that Nigeria needed to survive”.

“The president’s rich experience over the years will bail the country out of its present economic crisis,” Obawole said.

He lamented that for the last 16 years, the nation’s wealth has been squandered by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government, a situation which, he said, has put the present government on its toes.

“Had it been that the nation’s resources were well harnessed, we would not be where we are today,” Obawole said.

The former chairman explained that there was need for government to “intensity efforts at making the oil sector to be productive while monitoring and protecting pipelines as well as stopping the oil theft, which has crippled the economic fortune of the country”.

‘Withdraw suit against govt, apologise’ ‘NFF can’t discourage my love for football’

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MO State Governor Rochas Okorocha has directed the 40 embattled monarchs who sued the state government to withdraw the suit and apologise.

The monarchs sued the government following their suspension by the Council of Traditional Rulers for alleged disobedience.

From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

The governor gave the directive at a meeting with the traditional rulers. The meeting was boycotted by the 40 monarchs.

A statement by Okorocha’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo said the monarchs had taken the governor’s

patience, tolerance and respect for the people for granted.

The statement reads: “The 40 monarchs had gone to court on the grounds that the governor suspended them; they even claimed in the media that the court had restrained the governor from suspending them.

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HE Founder of One Love Family, Satguru Maharaj Ji said he will not be discouraged by the non-recognition of his effort by the Nigeria Football Association (NFF). He has renewed his support for the body.

Maharaj ji, who spoke after receiving a gold merit award from the Discovery Sports Federation (DSF) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, said his support for the Super Eagles would continue.

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

Despite the non-acknowledgement of his effort by the NFF. According to him, he had willingly donated the 2013 AFCON trophy to the Super Eagles as a spiritual leader, and a Nigerian resident in the country. Maharaj Ji said he was initially sad over the way NFF heaped praises on someone else after he donated the trophy.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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NEWS Ortom urges farmers on soya beans From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

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ENUE State Governor Samuel Ortom yesterday urged farmers to cultivate soya beans.

The governor, who spoke at the inauguration of Seraph Oil Mill, Makurdi, advised investors to take a cue from the initiative to boost the economy.

He said he was impressed that the factory had positioned itself to play a role in the realisation of his administration’s dream.

Ortom noted that through processing, the factory could add value to the primary products, boost the economic fortunes of farmers and generate employment, wealth and opportunities.

He enjoined farmers to increase the production of soya beans to ensure adequate supply to the mill and others.

According to him, the company was one of those that demonstrated faith and willingness that Benue remained the food basket of the nation.

The governor promised that his administration would create an enabling environment for the private sector to drive the economy.

He said through the development, internally- generated revenue would be improved to assist the government in paying salaries and meeting other obligations.

The Managing Director of NEXIM Bank, Mr. Roberts Orya, said the inauguration would inspire investments in value-added agro processing to take advantage of the raw materials.

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OKO Haram Insurgents on Wednesday invaded Kukawa town in Kukawa Local Government and Monguno town in Monguno Council of Borno State, killing 148 people.

Over 68 persons were injured.

Kukawa is a farming and herding community, located about 179 kilometres north of Maiduguri, the state capital.

A survivor, Aji Bukar, who escaped to Maiduguri, gave a horrific account of how the terrorists surrounded Kukawa and started shooting indiscriminately at the time Muslims were about to break their fast.

He said: “We started hearing gunshots all over the town. The terrorists surrounded the town, shooting.

Confusion and panic took over the town as people ran helter-skelter. They were confused.”

According to him, the insurgents had a field day, leaving the streets littered with bodies.

Residents, Bukar said, were yesterday still afraid to come out to bury the dead. “ The village is deserted.

Elders are afraid the attack-

Boko Haram kills 148 in Borno attacks From Duku Joel, Maiduguri

ers may return, which has delayed the burial of the victims,” he said.

A member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) told our correspondent on the phone that the militias caught many residents and shot them in two mosques.

He said: “People were just preparing to break their Ramadan fast and had gathered in nearby mosques when the Boko Haram insurgents came in a convoy of Toyota Hilux vehicles and motorcycles painted in ash colour. They rounded up people and shot them.

“They torched several houses. One of our colleagues, who escaped the attack, said they have recovered 97 bodies, some of them burnt beyond recognition, before burying them this afternoon (yesterday).”

Forty-eight people were reportedly killed at Monguno in Monguno Local Government Area of Borno State on Tuesday night, which is located about 145 kilometres from Maiduguri and 25 kil-

ometres from Kukawa town.

About 23 people were said to have sustained injuries. Houses and shops were burnt down by the gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists.

Narrating the Monguno attack, an escapee said the insurgents fled from the Sambisa Forest and regrouped on the shores of Lake Chad to attack unprotected villages near Monguno town.

He said: “The attackers, armed with rifles and explosives, burst into our villages and summoned men to gather for a special message from the Boko Haram leader. Three minutes after, one of the gunmen ordered them to lie down and all of them were shot dead at close range.”

The man said they launched another attack on a nearby village, eight kilometres from Monguno, adding: “The number of casualties, including the injured ones, is 23. Twentyfive farmers and herdsmen were killed in the other vil-

lage. No woman or child was killed.”

The House of Representatives member representing Monguno, Nganzai and Marte Federal Constituency, Mohammed Tahir Monguno, confirmed the attack yesterday. He described it as deadly.

A military source said: “Many people were killed.

I don’t think our men were there at the time of the attack. The casualty figure may be much high.”

A former official of Kukawa Local Government, Alhaji Habib Kakero, wrote on his facebook: “Our town Kukawa has been attacked

by Boko Haram. They killed many of our people. May their souls rest in peace.”

Mohammed Kukawa, who hails from Kukawa but lives in Maiduguri said he lost three of his family members in the attack.

“A family member, who escaped to a nearby village in Niger Republic, called to tell me that my elder brother, who is a farmer, an uncle and other relations were

‘Why Kogi is not working’ From James Azania, Lokoja

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MEMBER of the Yahaya Bello for Governor Organisation, Mr. Edward Onoja, has said “Kogi is not working because we have left the administration of the state to professionals and insincere politicians.”

Bemoaning the situation the state found itself, he suggested a paradigm shift in the perception of the people, asserting that the potential of the state would not be realised under the present dispensation.

Onoja urged the people to support the political aspiration of Bello, noting that his credentials as an administrator would benefit the state.

He said: “Kogi is not working. We must say it as it is.

The reason is that we have left it to bad politicians. We will not leave it to them again.

“We must bring our best, our experience, our entrepreneurship and support one of us, who is not a regular politician, but is an excellent administrator.

“Bello, 40, has served in the public service and he has a clean record. He started his company with two vehicles, but today he has a fleet of vehicles.

“We are talking about good governance and power shift from the old order to the new order. We are talking of a change that works.”

•Pupils having lunch at an internally-displaced persons’ camp at Kichingoro in Abuja.

PHOTO: NAN

Court protects Kwankwaso from EFCC’s arrest

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HIGH Court sitting in Gezewa, Kano State, yesterday protected former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso from being arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He placed himself under house arrest following a petition by the Concerned Kano State Workers and Pensioners, forwarded to the anti-graft agency, alleging that he misappropriated over N10 billion pension funds.

Justice Mohammed Yahaya ordered the applicant and the respondents to maintain the status quo, pending the determination of an exparte motion on notice in which Kwankwaso sought an order to restrain EFCC from arresting him in connection with the alleged misuse of the funds.

The counsel, Okechukwu Eze, averred that “my client has been in his house over the threat of arrest by the EFCC

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

and has been denied the liberty to perform his legislative duties as mandated by voters of Kano Central Senatorial District.”

He added: “We express fear that Kwankwaso’s right to liberty and freedom of movement, as guaranteed under the constitution, is likely to be violated by EFCC.” Eze said Kwankwaso did not infringe on the pension laws to warrant efforts by the anti-corruption agency to arrest him.

The court refused to grant the order to restrain EFCC from apprehending Kwankwaso, the senator representing Kano Central. It rather ordered the parties to maintain the status quo.

The court ruled that hearing notice be served on the EFCC through courier service.

It adjourned the matter till

July 15 for the hearing of the substantive motion on notice, to enable the parties announce their appearances.

Kwankwaso on Wednesday told the court that EFCC’s threat to arrest him restricted him to his home in Abuja.

Addressing the court on the exparte motion filed to restrain EFCC from arresting him, the lawyer urged the court to grant the request in the interest of Kwankwaso’s right.

The court, however, declined, noting that the allegation was a speculation.

Eze prayed the court that the status quo ante be maintained, pending the determination of the suit, a prayer the court granted.

He asked the court to grant his prayers on the grounds that the “injunction will be used as a shield and not as a sword.”

The petition filed on behalf of Concerned State Workers

and Pensioners by Bashir Nasir & Co alleged that the ex-governor deposited N2billion in the Kano branch of the defunct Euro Bank Plc, adding that after the deposit was made, the bank went into liquidation.

According to the petition, Kwankwaso refused to follow up on a claim of the deposit from the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

The petitioner, who lodged the complaint nine days to the expiration of the governor’s mandate, said the action of the former governor was a violation of the provisions of the Kano State Pension and Gratuity Law. Two weeks ago, officials of key ministries, including the accountant-general of the state, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Finance and his counterpart in the Works ministry were quizzed by the EFCC in connection with the petition.

among those killed yesterday,” he said.

A medical personal of the Accident and Emergency Unit (E&AU) of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) said 25 injured persons were brought in along with many bodies from Monguno and deposited at the morgue.

“We received 25 victims of Boko Haram attacks in Monguno village today (Thursday). I was at the hospital when the victims were brought in by some security operatives with over a dozen members of Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF),” he said.

Governor vows to chase away criminals From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

BENUE State Governor Samuel Ortom yesterday declared his determination to chase criminals, especially armed robbers and kidnappers, from the state.

He spoke when members of the Executive Committee of Mdzough U Tiv, a sociocultural organisation, visited him at the Benue Peoples House in Makurdi.

The governor said: “These criminals pose a threat to residents and investments, since no investor will be willing to invest in an insecure environment.”

He said he would collaborate with the conventional security apparatus, traditional rulers, youths and civilian joint task force to use the carrot and stick approach to drive away criminals.

Ortom said he was happy that the peace-building efforts between Tiv farmers and Fulani herdsmen had started yielding results, with the two groups signing a peace accord in Logo Local Government.

He enjoined the people to live peacefully to create what he described as a new Benue.

Community activist dies at 74 THE death has occurred of a woman leader and a community activist, the late Madam Wapiri Sokari Nwosisi. She died after a brief illness. She was 74.

A statement by her sonin-law, Pastor Frank Oyibo, described her as a spiritual woman and a source of help to those who came across her.

The late Mrs. Nwosisi is survived by children and grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are as announced by the family. May her soul rest in peace.

•The late Madam Nwosisi

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

FOREIGN NEWS

• Rescuers comforting a survivor of the sinking ferry who said his pregnant wife and two children are missing

A

T least 12 soldiers have been killed in Pakistan after a train carrying hundreds of army personnel derailed from a bridge and plunged into a canal.

• Four carriages of the train derailed after part of the bridge collapsed...yesterday

12 die in Pakistan train accident The army said four carriages derailed after part of the bridge collapsed near Wazirabad in Punjab prov-

ince.

It was not clear what caused the bridge to collapse, but reports said it dated back to the

36 dead in Philippines ferry accident

A

T least 36 people have died after a passenger ferry capsized off the coast of Leyte in the central Philippines.

The Kim Nirvana was carrying 173 people when it overturned in rough waters just outside the port of Ormoc.

Philippine coast guard officials told the BBC the rescue operation was ongoing but gave no further details.

The chair of the Philippine Red Cross, Richard Gordon, said that between 50 and 70 people had been rescued from the boat, which was visible from the shore.

“We’re sending an ambulance and divers to the area to help with the search and rescue,” he told the BBC. Ciriaco Tolibao, an official at Ormoc’s disaster risk reduction and management office, told the AFP news agency that divers were searching inside the upturned ship.

Local reports said the ferry was heading for the central islands of Camotes, in Cebu province, to the south-west of Leyte. The cause of the sinking is not yet known. “[The ferry] rolled while attempting to turn around

swiftly. I am alive because I jumped overboard as soon as it happened,” vegetable trader Reynante Manza told reporters.

A photographer for the AFP news agency at the scene of the sinking said that only a small section of the boat’s underbelly, surrounded by rescue boats, could be seen by late Thursday afternoon.

People in the Philippines rely on ferry services to get around its thousands of islands, but vessels are often poorly maintained, leading to scores of deaths at sea every year.

British colonial era.

Khawaja Saad Rafique, Pakistan’s railways minister, suggested sabotage may have been involved in the accident.

“It seems like some other

EXPRESSO

Hashtagharsh truths for APC

•Continued

from Back page

With this in mind, it was easy for Senator Bukola Saraki, another turk of Nigeria’s power game simply rallied ‘aggrieved’ elements both within and without the party to resist this supposed Asiwaju dominance.

This is simply at the heart of the brouhaha currently raging in the APC and any resolution not based on this premise would be an exercise in shadow boxing.

NEWS

Which way forward: who leads APC? It must be noted

PDP senators at war over post of Minority Leader

that for the first time, Asiwaju is encountering stiff challenge and resistance to his leadership since his ascendancy to the apogee of his political power.

All through the AC and ACN years and up until April 28 this year, he had largely called the shots and had his way. Now, it’s a different ball game; it’s national politics now with all the intrigues and intricacies and especially so for a party that is still at best, an SUV. He must therefore, learn to share power, he must learn to wield power more graciously and most quietly. He must learn the art of quiet strengths. His power and influence now lie in their mutedness.

Having helped immensely in killing the PDP dragon and ‘installing’ a president of Nigeria’s desire, he has earned his place in history; he must be care full now not to unearn it.

His best strategy now is to to backtrack, lead from the rear and allow the president to be in front. By virtue of the power and authority imbued his office, power locus has shifted; it is therefore trite to note that the de facto leader of any ruling party is the president and not the ‘party leader’. In fact, he is now president and party leader.

The party must never be seen to be contradicting its president; not publicly, not even when he is wrong. That would diminish both the party and president. But this is what APC did when it would not toe President Buhari’s line of not interfering in the NASS election ab initio.

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HREE senators elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are on the war path over who gets the position of Senate Minority Leader.

Senators Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); George Sekibo (Rivers) and James Manager (Delta) are slugging it out for the job. While Akpabio, the immediate past Akwa Ibom governor is a freshman, Sekibo and Manager are third time senators.

The leadership of the PDP has zoned the position to the South-south geopolitical zone from where the three senators hail.

Our correspondent gathered that the scramble for the plum job has pitted former President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife, Patience and their loyalists on the one hand, against Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike on the other.

A source said yesterday that while the Jonathanians are rooting for Sekibo, Ekweremadu and Wike are insisting on Manager.

Akpabio is believed to have been emboldened by Senate President Bukola Saraki’s announcement of Edo State Senator Alimikhena, a first timer, as Deputy Chief Whip.

T h e source said Ekweremadu/ Wike group’s position is premised on the principle of rank-

From Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja

ing, as stated in the Senate’s standing rules.

The scale is said to be tilting in favour of Akpabio, as most of the senators from the Southsouth zone are said to be queuing behind him.

The leadership of the PDP had thrown the position open to senators from the Southsouth zone to pick a candidate.

Announcing the party’s position on the various minority positions in the Senate and House of Representatives on Wednesday, PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh urged the lawmakers to use their various zonal caucuses to in choosing the candidates for the various positions.

“The party will not chose leaders for our senators. We will zone the positions and expect the senators to fill in the positions. We have directed them to note that in accordance with the practice and convention of our party, the nomination process should take into consideration ranking, gender and religious sensitivities.

“Furthermore, it is the wish of the NWC that this exercise be concluded within one week and communicated accordingly”, Metuh had added.

The source hinted that Senator Manager, earlier favoured for the position, may have been losing ground to Akpabio’s superior lobbying prow-

ess.

Inside sources traced the scramble to a meeting called

by Ekweremadu at his residence on Wednesday night where the name of a first-term senator, John Owan Eno (Akwa Inom) came up as a possible candidate.

Though a first timer in the Senate, Eno served an unbroken three-term of 12 years in the House of Representatives.

The development was said to have prompted Akpabio who is also from Akwa Ibom state, to indicate interest in the position.

Apparently worried by the crisis that could result from the choice of Eno, Ekweremadu was said to have backed out immediately and shifted to Manager.

But the Akpabio camp in the South-south caucus is reported to have pointed out that the PDP caucus in the House of Representatives had already settled for Mr. Louis Ogor (Delta State) as Rep Minority Leader.

The camp is said to have argued that Manger is from Delta State, just as Ogor and that it would be out of place to have the Minority Leaders in the two chambers coming from the same state.

In the zoning arrangement handed out by the PDP, the position of Minority Leader goes to the South-south zone in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

hand must be involved because derailment does not happen like this,” he told local media.

The dead reportedly included a senior officer.

Mr Rafique called the inci-

dent “unprecedented”.

“It could either be a case of a blast or someone has tried to loosen the fish-plate on the track,” he told Karachi’s Geo TV. A preliminary report would be issued on Thursday night, followed by a more detailed report within 72 hours, he said.

The fallacy of party supremacy is exactly what it is.

A ruling party can only be as supreme as its president allows it. Or can a party be openly supreme to a president. It is trite again to note that, there is party, there is the constitution, there are national institutions and there is national interest. We must situate this party supremacy in the context of all these centrifugal forces. Party power or supremacy, we must admonish, can only be effective in the context of quiet suasion, dialogue and negotiation. It hardly has any force to work by fiat, letters and ultimatums.

Since the NASS debacle, a section of the party has lapsed into vilification and disparagement of APC members who would not submit to ‘party supremacy’. This is unfair and it’s recipe for breeding bad blood and catastrophe for the party. Atiku Abubakar, for instance, is suddenly despicable evil and Bukola Saraki has grown horns overnight? Even our elder John Oyegun faces unkind blackmail. But when when these people were courted and enlisted in the battle to kill the PDP ‘monster’, they were ‘angels’; when they threw in enormous resources and delivered there various states and zones, it was cool. And now they insist on having a say in the sharing the ‘booty’, they are monsters?

Buhari: how to groom a dictator There has also been a

sustained badgering of President Buhari to wield his powers and ‘rein in’ the ‘errant’ NASS members. We must be careful what we ask for. We are asking the president to exercise direct control over NASS (in spite of his better judgment) by interfering in who becomes principal officers in the legislative tier of government.

Is this not against the grain of democratic principles?

Have we forgotten the mess former President Olusegun Obasanjo made of the PDP and the NASS during his days?

Is this what we want in 2015? It is not political inadequacy or

weakness for Buhari to have removed himself from the NASS imbroglio so far. On the contrary, it is a masterstroke that will earn him more respect from the NASS members and this is the kind of change Nigerians voted for.

Many have criticised Saraki very harshly for working with PDP members and throwing up Ike Ekweremadu as deputy senate president. Galling as this may be to APC members, this may well be the greatest move APC has made even though by default. With north as president, southwest as vice president and middle belt (Yoruba) as Senate president; allowing the southeast deputy senate presidency in a multiparty arrangement could have turned out the most strategic move of the APC if they had played it well and appropriated the mistake.

If only for the reasons that we need to unite the country, we need to spread the party further afield, we need to start preparing for the next election and we need to expand APC further into Igbo land. Besides, what manner of party would APC portray itself to be if at the end of the day there is no Igbo principal officer in the NASS? What would it look like if Yoruba had vice president and speaker while southeast and south-south has no position of note? Apart from the purposes of ceremony and protocol, deputy senate president is merely a symbolic gesture that is worth nothing in the scheme of things.

Unknown to many, by the current arrangement in the NASS, APC is a stronger party, it has suddenly grown bigger in clout and more national in spread and outlook. Besides, another election will soon be here; APC must think long term. APC must convince Nigerians that the muchvaunted change is inclusive, expansive and not even about spoils and offices but about delivering value to the people.

Just by the way: 30 days in office and it’s a harvest of bickering from the APC government!

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

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NEWS

RAMADAN KAREEM

Ramadan 16, 1436AH

•From left: Chief of Staff, Edo State Government House, Hon Patrick Obahiagbon, Alhaja Kudirat Lai Mohameed, Chief Missioner of Al’Rahaman Islamic Centre, United Kingdom, Alhaji Khalifah Muhyideen Nojimudeen Al’kubra 11, National Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohamed, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government, Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Dada Abari, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr Abdulrahman Akano (rtd) and Osun State Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshod Adeoti at the lecture...yesterday PHOTO NIYI ADENIRAN

Nigerians must insist on good governance, says Lai Muhammed

T

HE National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Muhammed yesterday painted a grim picture of the nation’s critical sector but assured Nigerians that with the continued support of Nigerians, President

By Seun Akioye

Muhammadu Buhari would bring the desired change.

Speaking yesterday at the Annual Lai Muhammed Ramadan Lecture series in Oro, Kwara state, the APC chieftain said Nigerians must remain politically aware, de-

RAMADAN GUIDE WITH FEMI ABBAS e-mail: femabbas@yahoo.com Tel: 08122697498

Youths and mosque

I

T is very pleasing to note that Nigerian Mosques are now regularly full of Muslim youths. This is an indication that a silent Islamic renaissance is going on especially in the society. It looks like a repeat of the situation that led to the formation of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) in 1954.

With the current development, two great possibilities are expected to sail through the Islamic coast of good hope in the 21st century.

One is the return of the Mosque to its original objective (of a multipurpose Centre). The other is the inalienable continuation of positive Islamic dynamism in reshaping the destiny of the Ummah. The hope that these two possibilities are achievable in the hands of today’s teeming Muslim youths is in fulfilment of a fundamental prophesy about the signs of the last days.

One of those signs is that ‘the sun will start rising where it used to set’. The reference here is not to the physical sun. The Prophet was referring to the spiritual photosynthesis of the souls of mankind for the ultimate metamorphosis of those souls from mortality to immortality.

The agent of photosynthesis in this case is Islam. And, the fulfilment of this prophesy is gradually being confirmed today either by technology or by the scientists. Mosque is the meeting place for offering Salat five times a day. It is the centre of congregation for Ju’mat prayer every Friday. It brings the Muslims together twice in a year for congregational observance of Eidul-Fitr and Eidul-Adha. Yet, the meeting place called Arafah which is the climax of Hajj is a Mosque.

The Mosques in Makkah, Madinah, and Quds (Jerusalem) serve the same purpose as those in Cairo, Jakarta, Sydney and Rio De Janeiro. And, there is no difference between the Mosque in Sokoto and the one in Vancouver. Generally, the Mosque plays a central role in fortifying the unity of the Muslims wherever they are. But unfortunately, with time and crave for personal benefits, the Mosque became relegated to just a place for observing Salat.

That is the real cause of the backwardness in which the Muslim Ummah is now wallowing. It is ironic that the Imams who should manage the Mosques lack any administrative prowess with which to do that. And those who claim to be Mosques administrators lack the Islamic knowledge with which to drive it. The result is that majority of unemployed Muslim youths who should find succour in the Mosque are frustrated even as the Mosque remains helpless. Where are we going from here?

manding for good governance and preventing reactionary forces from sabotaging the change they voted for.

Muhammed said that President Buhari faces a daunting task of rebuilding from scratch because all the sectors have become nearly comatose saying it is necessary for the new government at the centre to make haste slowly, and get it right once and for all.

In an x-ray of the sectors, Muhammed said Nigeria’s health sector is worse than the average for African countries.

“Let’s look at the statistics, 128 children die in every 1000 live births as at 2013 while mortality from malaria is estimated at 1,157 malaria deaths per 100,000 population, tuberculosis is estimated at 5 deaths per 100,000 population in 2013. About 900,000 children and mothers die each year in Nigeria, accounting for 14% of all maternal and 13% of all under-5 deaths globally, and second only to India.”

He said Nigeria is still one of the three remaining polio-endemic countries, together with Pakistan and Afghanistan. ”In addition, Nigeria has the world’s largest burden of HIV-positive newborns, with more than 50,000 children born with positive status each year.”

In the Education sector, the APC chieftain noted that the current system is failing to equip Nigeria’s children with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in today’s rapidly changing society and economy.

“The current situation of education in Nigeria depicts large numbers of children that is 10.5 million, remain out of school. Children who are from poorer households, rural areas and are female are more likely not to be in school.

“Primary school attendance is 44% in the northeast compared to 81% in the southeast.

Even when children are in school, a large proportion is not learning. To buttress this fact, nearly half of all children who have completed primary school cannot read a complete sentence,” Muhammed said.

Muhammed also noted that a large proportion Nigerians live close to poverty line saying though the country recorded some strong economic growth since 2003 with the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) averaging 7 percent, however poverty rate in the same period has only declined slightly from about 48.4 percent in 2003 to 46 percent in 2010.

“We do not have the figures of those who live in extreme poverty, which the UN defined as those who live on less than 1 US dollar a day. But from what we can see around us, it will not be wrong to say many of our countrymen and women fall into that grim category.”

He said women, who constitute about half of the Nigerian population, are particularly worst hit, hence the need to focus the efforts to eradicate poverty among women.

Muhammed also decried the increasing rate of unemploy-

We sent down the Quran in truth, and it truth has it descended and we sent thee but to give glad tiding and to warn sinners. It is a Quran which we have divided into parts from time to time in order that thou mightest recite it to men at intervals. We revealed it by stages say: Whether ye believe in it or not, it is true that those were given knowledge before hand, when it is recited to them, falldown on their faces in humble prostration.

Qur’an 17 vs 105-107 Sponsored by ALHAJI KHAMIS TUNDE BADMUS Asiwaju Musulumi of the Yorubaland

ment among the youths describing it as a “time bomb” and one of the most critical challenges Nigeria faces at the moment.

“From 8 percent in 1999, Nigeria’s unemployment rate increased to an annual average of 13.3 percent in 2000 to 2008, and then increased again after the global crisis to an annual average of 21.66 percent in 2009, to peak at 23.9 percent by 2011.

“Experts have said that unemployment is escalating in the face of high economic growth due to three reasons: (a) The growth character is ‘jobless’; (b) Existing jobs are being destroyed in the face of growth; and (c) Escalation in other “non-economic” variables associated with unemployment,” Muhammed said.

He decried the situation where elected officials have been unable to translate growth to increased employment because they have left the task of budgeting, fiscal and monetary policy management in the hands of appointees who then made policy choices that

have weakened growth, constrained domestic demand, a n d worsened unemployment rate.

Muhammed said the Nigeria will be in trouble if the government does not act in a ” deliberate, concerted and determined way to turn things around for the better.” He said the challenge is to understand the enormity of the problems and finding a lasting solution once and for all. ”The Buhari Administration has the blueprint to tackle the problems that have held down our country over the years. The government has worked out immediate, intermediate and long-term measures to ameliorate the challenges in all critical sectors, even in the face of paucity of funds.”

He urged Nigerians to continue to play their part by making their voices heard and resisting all the reactionary forces who favour the status quo because it favours them and, above all, giving an unflinching support to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Muslims urged to shun thuggery

T

HE Executive Secretary of Ifelodun Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Mr. Adigun Wahab Adebayo, has urged Muslim youths to shun hooliganism.

He advised politicians to design programmes for them during the holidays, to enable them acquire skills that would be beneficial to them.

Adebayo, who spoke at a Ramadan lecture he organised in the LCDA, titled: “Towards a peaceful society”, said if youths were catered for, it would ensure a peaceful society, which would breed vibrancy.

His words: “It becomes necessary for us to start a campaign of peace and unity in our area in order to stop hooliganism. That was why we invited a revered Islamic cleric to come and deliver a lecture.”

He said the lecture was

By Tokunbo Ogunsami

organised to foster unity and peace among the people of the LCDA. The lecturer, Sheikh Musa Yahya Agboola, the founder of Darul Falah, Amukoko in Ifelodun LCDA said Muslims should be pious not only during the Ramadan fast, but at every time.

He warned people against seeking evil power because of personal gains.

Sheikh Agboola described Mr. Adebayo as a faithful, cool-headed, skilled and good politician, who would bring development to the area.

The event was attended by Prince Rabiu Oluwa, an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Lagos West Senatorial District; Mrs. Kudirat Adigun; Mr Paul Kalejaye, former S.A. to ex-Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola and others.

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63

NEWS First class air tickets cost more as FIRS raises new taxes Continued from page 4

my but we often do not realise that if government does not support that sector, through cash calls, virtually nothing would happen in the oil sector.

“If government does not spend money, the withholding taxes from that sector is not realised and the value income tax is not realised, Bureau of Statistics will tell us that the aggregate level of consumption has actually gone down.

“And that affects Value Added Tax because VAT is a consumer tax.

“What is significant is that May/June, we are witnessing the highest collection in the last 10/12 years.

“The spike here in June, which is taking in about N702bn for this month, it would be about N715bn at the end of the month by the time we include Nigeria Customs Service collection.

On the challenges the FIRS is contending with, Odugbesan said: “Since 2012, until the exit of my former boss, FIRS has no board, no substantive board. There are some actions that are very critical and are being delayed.

“Encroachment into the powers of the FIRS but very recently the National Assembly passed an Act to establish the Abuja/FCT board of FIRS. “The law says government is at liberty to select who should do the collection for the FCT. And I think in the last 35 years, it’s been given to the FIRS. “Now you have an Act that empowers the FCT board to collect personal income tax within the FCT; you are taking away the powers of the FIRS

to go into the consolidated account because they will now be taking that money for themselves. Low level of consumption in the economy.

“There is no hiding place anymore. There will be transparency but we need information because without information, no tax administration in the world can function or perform effectively.

“The Joint Tax Board (JTB) platform was developed so that all of us can speak as a country.

“There are three states that have not keyed into that platform. Lagos State, for whatever reason, it could be borne out of fear, they always think that the centre wants to take their responsibility.

“We were working to get everyone doing business in Nigeria into our system. We are also working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to enable us have access into the account of everybody doing business in Nigeria.

“The idea of collecting our VAT upfront from telecommunication companies, airlines operators and from the power sector has appealed to us.

“And all the regulatory bodies have also given us their word. At the moment, it is only the airlines that we are collecting upfront within the country.

“We have introduced some set of new taxes that are not in the law. We call them subcharges on air tickets.

“If you are travelling out, you pay N15,000. If you are a business class flier or first class flier.

“We also looked at those who owned private jets. We thought that you enjoy facility

or asset, which most Nigerians do not have access to enjoy. We would levy something we call sub-charges on you.

“And of course, Custom wants to do something like furniture sub-charge, mansion sub-charge.

“Regrettably, we have not been able to administer this.

One, we need assessment on about 130 private jet owners because we were made to understand we have up to that.

“We raised assessment on them. One particular company we raised about N100 million on them.

“We have our own doubts about some of these levies too.

For instance some people who are flying business class or first class, N15,000. How many are they? How many people fly first class or business class. Will that N15,000 times that number guarantee the kind of revenue source that we need to finance it.

“If you have mansion in Abuja, levy sometime two per cent on the value. Abuja wants to do property tax. So would that not be additional burden?

Saraki said the country needed a broad-based efficient tax system.

“The success of our revenue collection depends on FIRS. We need to develop and depend on the non-oil sector. Senate will be very stringent in its oversight.

“The issue of surcharge is not the issue, the issue is how to expand the revenue through income tax. Tax holidays should stop.

“We should stop deceiving Nigerians; the issue is how do we improve on company income tax. Some of the oil companies, how do we.

Buhari to Saraki, Dogara: I’m for party supremacy Continued from page 4

lude with the PDP to flagrantly disobey Mr. President, the governors and the party with a view to bringing the party and government to ridicule before Nigerians.

“The conduct of the 39 APC members colluding with the PDP is tantamount to affront, ultimately targeted at polarising our party so as to give room for many of them to decamp to the PDP. “It is, therefore, imperative for Mr. President to take a stand and save the integrity of the party by calling to order the 39 members, which include the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, to respect, honour and obey our Party Leaders and their directives.

“In conclusion, Mr. President, we as loyal party members shall continue to abide by the party and our party leaders and their directives. We strongly appeal to you to di-

rect the Speaker to return to our fold and be truly elected Speaker on APC platform. He should be directed to announce the other four party principal officers positions as directed by the party as it has always been the convention.

“We sincerely appreciate Mr. President for the audience, trusting in his ability to successfully mediate so as to save our great party, the APC, from further embarrassment.”

Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Gbajabiamila said it was “very successful” and that the caucus and the party will come out bigger and stronger.

According to him, Buhari, who is a party man, is committed to party supremacy.

On what Buhari’s response to the group was, he said: “We all know that the President is a party man. He believes in the party supremacy. He believes

in the ideology of the party and he believes that the party will move forward. That is how much I can tell you. That is not new; we all know the President.”

Asked why Dogara did not attend the meeting if it was a caucus meeting, Gbajabiamila said: “The Speaker probably had other engagement and there were other caucus members that were not here. We are a representative of the caucus.”

He said that the meeting was not about himself or any individual, but the party.

“It is not about me. We need to get that very straight. They voted with me, but the idea is about the party; they supported the party, the party position and the party line. It is not about any individual. Nobody came here as an independent candidate.”

On the way forward, Gbajabiamila said: “The party’s will will be done.”

Buhari, Saraki, Dogara, others meet today Continued from page 4

the party.”

There was anxiety last night that the meeting could make or break the APC in view of the “volatile nature” of the agenda.

The warring groups in the National Assembly engaged in marathon consultations and intensified the lobbying of NEC members.

Ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, however, set the tone for the meeting by pleading with APC leaders to “shift ground and move to the centre”.

He said the blame game targeted at individuals was an unnecessary diversion of energies at the expense of the urgency of the mission of the party.

Those expected at the session are President Muhammadu

Buhari, all APC governors, Senate President Bukola Saraki, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, members of the National Working Committee and some principal officers.

It will be the first meeting in which the Presidency will be present with Saraki and Dogara in attendance.

On the agenda are the journey so far by the Buhari administration, the crisis in the National Assembly and the way out; the constitution of the party’s Board of Trustees; and how to enhance party supremacy in managing challenges.

A source in the party said the session would be devoted to “frank talks” on the crisis in the National Assembly over the election of Saraki, Dogara and some principal officers.

The source said National Chairman, Chief John OdigieOyegun will make a detailed presentation on the crisis in the National Assembly, the extent of intervention by the party, mediation by President Buhari and the way out of the logjam.

The source said: “We are set for a NEC session of frank talks because the crisis in the National Assembly has overshadowed our mission for the nation. We promised change and Nigerians are becoming weary with what is happening.

“Our governors and leaders are really disturbed about the trend of things. Now, we have a golden opportunity to tell ourselves the home truths and resolve the impasse. We are hopeful that we will reconcile and reunite at the end of the day.”

TODAY IN THE NATION

FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

‘The best music journalism should set the standards for the industry and regulate it. It should be more than an attempt to wrap writers around the fingers of every artiste, record label and corporate sponsor with a “flava” plan.

It uses the language of everyday musicality but too much of Nigerian music journalism lacks such passion and artistry’ VOL.10 NO. 3264

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

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IGERIANS voted for change and they rightly expect their representatives to implement change. It isn’t clear however that their representatives take change seriously. The National Assembly (NASS) crisis is a fundamental threat to the change agenda.

There is an argument that All Progressives Congress (APC) must not waste time on NASS matters because there are greater and more urgent priorities— power, corruption, unpaid salaries, etc. What this argument misses is that NASS cannot be ignored because these priorities on which APC promised to focus its attention cannot be resolved without a united NASS led by credible change agents. Therefore, while NASS is not all there is to change, its role in the change Nigerians desire cannot be overestimated.

If the present impasse were just about the matter of appointments into NASS leadership positions, perhaps it can be resolved and contending forces reconciled.

For this to happen, the actors must be willing to submerge personal interests for the larger group and national interests. However, it may not be about appointments after all. It may be the outcome of a fractious coalition of special interests.

Assume, for instance, that the impasse is about calculations toward 2019 even when the incumbent has not publicly declared an intention to retire. In this case, it seems clear that we are back to the unfortunate climate of suspicion that birthed new Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in which case APC is just a wrecking platform in the unassailable analogy of Chief Bisi Akande.

From this reasoning, the only inference is that innocent electorate have been sold a dummy, yet again! Yet, to believe this or to reconcile oneself to that possibility is a short course to depression. I choose optimism and the path of sanity instead. To achieve sanity, I think we have to isolate the issues that we are dealing with. Then we can see what the prospects are, if any, for reconciliation.

For one side to the conflict, it has been suggested that we have here a contention between party supremacy and individual or group ambition. And for this side, party supremacy has a moral edge. After all, without the party, individuals cannot pursue or achieve their political ambition. If individuals wreck the party, they will have no base to pursue their ambition. This ignores the possibility that some individuals may choose to ditch the party and seek their interest in some other parties. The new PDP defectors chose that path months ago and may choose it again and go back to PDP where they came from.

T

SEGUN GBADEGESIN gbadegesin@thenationonlineng.net

Change and NASS For the other side, it is not about party supremacy but about internal democracy and parliamentary convention. They claim that they are not against the interest of the party, but are actually protecting those interests.

Given what has occurred, the opposing side finds it hard to believe this reasoning.

“Would someone who cares about the interest of the party cede to another party a position that belongs to his party so he could emerge as Senate President?” they ask. “If that wasn’t the intention, what prevented Senator Bukola Saraki from requesting that the election be delayed to allow his fellow party members arrive the chambers? Assume he wasn’t in a position to do so at the time, how about now?

Can’t he at least show his loyalty to the party now by taking steps to correct the anomaly?”

Thus far, the Senate President appeared to resist that idea.

There is more. The latest resistance to honour the request of the party for the appointment of Senate officers, including Senate Leader, Whip and Deputy Whip signals an even more serious issue. There are insinuations that the Senate President refused in part because he doesn’t want his “rivals” to be in such sensitive positions.

This is a strange reasoning, to say the least.

Senator Saraki doesn’t see a PDP Deputy Senate President as a threat, but he sees his party members as political rivals who cannot be trusted! Compare how President Obama appointed Mrs. Clinton to the most coveted cabinet position in his administration, thus putting together “a team of rivals”, which strengthened the party and his administration.

The positions of the Senate President and House Speaker suggest to observers that there is something else going on. If Saraki and Dogara are reluctant to appoint partyendorsed candidates into leadership positions in the Senate and the House respectively, is it too far-fetched to sense a 2019 calculation going on? But what does this calculation mean for APC, for President Muhammadu Buhari and for Nigerians, who voted for

O bite the bullet: There is no other

way to do this than to administer a harsh, if not brutish therapy to the malaise afflicting the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The group is obviously suffering the scourge of an unexpected good fortune or shall we call it a sudden deluge of over-abundance. As noted on this page (“APC: The pains of success,” Friday, June 12, 2015), the ruling party obviously lacks a strategic core. For a party made up of a motley crowd of membership, it needs a core of multi-ethnic thinkers, brainstorming day and night, reviewing the past, dissecting the present and projecting into the future. Yes, 10, 20, 40 years into the future or as long as the party seeks to exist. A corps that can look the party leadership in the face and speak truth to it is lacking and that leaves APC, looking like a fractured market women association with so much noise and hysteria renting the air and beclouding clear thought.

One recommends here, Mr. Audu Ogbeh’s recent interview (Sunday Punch June 28, 2015). There is hardly a more reticent, a wiser voice in Nigeria’s politics today. He attributed the rumpus in the APC to an absence of a Board of Trustees and lack of proper consultation. Yes a BoT with eminent and honourable members is okay but a think-tank is necessary in addition.

Routine party palavers that would have been sorted out through basic intermediation has festered into a free for all ego feud and personalised acrimonies.

Just as was the case before the PDP

‘

It is good that Northern political elite have denied a conspiracy against the Southwest. It is important for them to work hard with individuals and groups in the Senate and the House to restore normalcy and party unity

’

change?

First, for the APC, it means that at the dawn of its victory, the party has succumbed to the disease and paralysis that struck the PDP at the dusk of its reign. Isn’t it too soon? But as tragic as it is, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

PDP started out as a party of contractors and business partners. Members knew what they wanted out of the bargain. Politics for them was business.

That was the mindset when a Southwest party leader accused Chief Bola Ige of ingratitude, on the ground that they had invited him to the dinner table but he returned the favour with a critique of their approach to national interest. “What national interest other than the acquisitive and possessive interests of the elite party members?” That was, and is, PDP. ACN is the major legacy party of APC with core progressive principles. With an ideological orientation that prioritises social welfare, it prides itself as a descendant of UPN and SDP. With its achievements in the Southwest, it needed an alliance of likeminded groups to capture the centre. Buhari’s CPC, with its leader’s famed integrity and love for the welfare of the masses as well as

STEVE OSUJI

EXPRESSO

steve.osuji@yahoo.com

•Columnist of the Year (NMMA)

Hashtagharsh truths for APC As America returns to Sodom…

F

RIDAY, June 26, 2015 must mark the beginning of an American epoch. It is the day the American age must have begun its final decline. It is the day the American Supreme Court legalised same-sex marriage for the entire country.

One sympathises with the ‘silent’ majority of US citizens, who have been badgered to submission by a perverse minority. Oh, what a calamity that has befallen the world. After the ruling, one saw the new earthlings crawl out of their cupboards and taking to the streets of America in triumphant march. It was oddity on parade: wife and waif; John and Johnson, kissing openly to affirm their perfidy.

Before the ruling, 36 of America’s 50 states had upheld same-sex marriage. America is the 21st country in the world to allow this wholesale desecration of humanity. As the world inexorably returns to Sodom, people of God must get hard on their knees …He that vanquished Sodom once can do it again. debacle and eventual crash; at the height of its calamity, a thousand members would proffer a thousand reasons why the party was inexorably headed for a great fall.

Hardly anyone dared to tell President Goodluck Jonathan the harsh truth which

was: that the cause of PDP’s problem was simply and squarely, Jonathan’s second term bid. Nobody in his circle dared tell him that his abject lack of honour would be the ruin of PDP. And those who told him (as this column did, and stridently too) were

OLA TUNJI OL OLADE OLATUNJI OLOLADE

its large Northern following, was a good fit.

What wasn’t clear was whether other individuals and groups shared the same political worldview. But electoral politics is a game of numbers and no one can really fault the pioneers of the APC idea for dealing with the reality.

With obsession with numbers come different motivations and intentions. There are individuals who felt that their political interests were threatened in the PDP and sought other means. APC was a willing tool and they jumped ship. If what they wanted out of their association with APC wasn’t anything as grandeur as the change mantra implied, they naturally will feel unnecessarily burdened by the imposition.

They can therefore jettison change without a moral qualm.

For the group in question, the 2019 calculation is simply consistent with their original motive and intention. If it doesn’t jell with the grand mission of the party, it’s just too bad. They cannot toe party line and they cannot acknowledge party supremacy where their understanding of self-interest is at stake. For them, that is what politics is all about.

Second, for President Buhari, the 2019 calculation on the part of Saraki, Dogara, and their collaborators means that his leadership is being questioned and he is being treated as a lame duck, even before he gets started.

How is he going to receive the cooperation of a divided NASS led by a divided majority of his own party?

When the President sends his ministerial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, what can he expect? Will the “rival” groups within APC cooperate to confirm the nominees or will each group look for who among the nominees belongs to which camp? As far as change is concerned, can we expect any serious legislative agenda that targets and delivers APC’s promises to the electorate? As long as the conflict endures and the mutual suspicion lingers, it is doubtful.

Third, for the nation in general, and for the masses that voted for change, it means we are not out of the woods yet and the crab in us must watch its head with its eyes. This is my reading of Chief Bisi Akande’s warning. It is good that Northern political elite have denied a conspiracy against the Southwest. It is important for them to work hard with individuals and groups in the Senate and the House to restore normalcy and party unity. The alternative is MAD, aka, Mutually Assured Destruction.

•For comments, send SMS to 08111813080 considered enemies of the state. But the grandest delusion of all is that till this moment, a PDP committee headed by Sen. Ike Ekwerenmadu is still hard at work seeking the reason PDP failed! Well the answer, again and again, is primarily, a lack of honour on the part of ex-president Jonathan. And here is a poser: would PDP have failed if it fielded for instance, a Sule Lamido or Ibrahim Shema as presidential candidate?

Same scenario may be playing out in the APC today; no group can look the party’s chief visioner in the face and make him realise that his seeming overbearing personality may be harming the party now.

At the root of the trouble rocking the National Assembly (NASS) and threatening to bring the party to perdition is the perception that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu seeks to wield an absolute control over the polity. The unspoken angst is that he ‘delivered’ the president, he nominated the vice president and he sought to install the Senate president and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Whether right or wrong, this is the perception out there.

The import of this and of course, the fear of members would be that if allowed, Asiwaju would exert an overly supreme control over the polity.

•Continued

on page 60

•For comments, send SMS to 08111526725

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