The Nation July 1, 2014

Newspaper of the Year

Doctors begin nationwide strike

•France eliminate Super Eagles •Referee was biased, says Keshi •Yobo quits national team •Okocha: ‘Big boss’ should stay •‘It’s a team of the future’ PAGES 23 & 41

NEWS

Page 6

•‘Govt must meet our 24-point demand’

•France 2 Nigeria 0 •Germany 2 Algeria 1

•Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

VOL. 9, NO. 2894 TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

•www.thenationonlineng.net

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

FREEDOM HOUSE DEMOCRACY LECTURE SERIES

•Prof. Diamond...yesterday

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•Asiwaju Tinubu...yesterday

•Gen. Dambazau...yesterday

•Hon. Amaechi...yesterday

See Pages 4,9&10

•Bishop Kukah...yesterday

PHOTOS: NIYI ADENIRAN

Process leading to Ekiti election was flawed, says U.S. don

T was another opportunity yesterday to examine the polity, with a United States don leading the way in Lagos.

Prof. Larry Diamond, director at the Centre on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, delivered a thought-provoking ver-

By Raymond Mordi, Deputy Political Editor

dict —flawless voting alone is no parameter for a credible election.

He was, apparently, faulting the process that led to the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State, saying it does not inspire confidence about

•Amaechi chides Nigerians for tolerating corrupt leadership

the seriousness of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organise free and fair elections in 2015.

Prof. Diamond, who was

delivering the inaugural edition of the Freedom House Democracy Lecture Series at the Muson Centre on Lagos Island, said: “You cannot have the police and the mili-

tary blocking the supporters (not to mention fellow governors) of one party from moving about a state and campaigning, and call that a fully free and fair election.”

He said democratic elections require a level-playing field and that every step in the electoral process must be

monitored to ensure transparency.

The former Fulbright scholar at the Bayero University, Kano, was worried about the future of constitutional government in the country, like most Nigerians.

Continued on page 4

Troops arrest ‘mastermind’ of Chibok girls’ abduction Row over ‘secret Constitution’ rocks conference

Two women held for being Boko Haram spies Jonathan: Nigeria won’t succumb to terror

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HE military has arrested a businessman who is suspected to be one of those who masterminded the abduction of 223 girls from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State.

Babuji Ya’ari is said to be a key member of the group which killed the Emir of Gwoza, Alhaji Idrissa Shehu Timta, in May. Also being detained are two women, Hafsat Bako and Haj Kaka, who are suspected to be Boko Haram spies, following Ya’ari’s confession.

But the military appears set for

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

a long-drawn battle with Boko Haram insurgents to check the resurgence of attacks on villages.

There were strong indications yesterday that President Goodluck Jonathan ordered tighter security in and around Chibok, following renewed attacks on villages in the area by Boko Haram – the sect whose insurgency has killed thousands.

Defence spokesman Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade in a statement last night, said the suspects were

undergoing interrogation.

The statement said: “A terrorists’ intelligence cell headed by a businessman who participated actively in the abduction of school girls in Chibok has been bursted by troops.

“The man, Babuji Ya’ari, who is also a member of the Youth Vigilante Group popularly known as Civilian JTF, which he uses as cover while remaining an active terrorist, also spearheaded the murder of the Emir of Gwoza.

“His main role in the group is to spy and gather information for Continued on page 4

From Onyedi Ojiabor and Dele Anofi, Abuja

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ROCEEDINGS at the ongoing National Conference were halted for over two hours yesterday over allegations of a hidden agenda levelled against the leadership of the conference by Northern delegates.

The development almost snowballed into a rowdy session, as some delegates insisted on digging into the allegation which impunged on the integrity of the conference.

•Ya’ari

Continued on page 4

•FUNSHO WILLIAMS’ MURDER: COURT FREES SUSPECTS P61 •FOREIGN RESERVES HIT $37B P11

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

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NEWS

Inside Dangote’s

•Co-ordinator, Honorary International Investors' Council (HICC), Lynda Baroness Chalker speaking at the 16th Meeting of the HICC in Abuja...yesterday. With her are Vice-President Namadi Sambo (left) and Minister of Trade and Investment Olusegun Aganga.

•From right: Director-General, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mrs Dupe Atoki(right), Director, Registry, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Mr. Effiong Asu and Representative of United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Efehi Ubebe during the launch of "check best before campaign" in Abuja… yesterday.

PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE

•From left: Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Ibrahim Abdulsalam, Supervising Minister of Avation Dr Samuel Ortom, Managing Director, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma and DirectorGeneral, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Benedict Adeyileka During the minister’s inspection of the Muritala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos...yesterday.

•From left: Marketing Manager Nigeria Market,Juawei,Olanipekun Okunowo,Vice President Middle East And West Africa Huawei Sandeep Sahigal And Country Manager, Nobile Device Huawei,Yang Fufu House at the presentation of PHOTO BOLA OMILABU Ascend 7 Mobile Phone in Lagos... at the weekend .

Dangote Group’s cement plant in Cameroon is set to take off in next month, with annual production capacity of 1.5 million metric tonnes (MMTPA) of 42.5 grade cement, thus adding to a vast growing empire spread across many African countries, writes Assitant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA, who is just back from Cameroon.

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FRICA’S quest for self-sufficiency in quality cement is on course.

From Zambia through Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa, Congo (Brazzaville), Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Senegal to Ghana, where either a cement manufacturing plant or terminal operation for bulk bagging of cement is being planted, the continent is getting closer to achieving its long-term ambition to develop a 50 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) of production and terminal capacity by 2015.

The ambition, sustained through aggressive investments almost single-handedly by Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man and president, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), is to transform Dangote Cement, one of the companies under the Dangote Group, into a truly pan-African champion in the cement sub-sector capable of competing globally with the largest companies in the world.

With projects and operations in Nigeria and 14 other African countries, the Dangote Group draws excitement across the continent over the prospects of meeting the target and the numerous economic benefits the development would spur.

In Cameroon for instance, where Dangote's $140 million, about N22 billion cement plant, is expected to roar into life next month, producing 1.5 MMTPA of cement, the country's estimated 22 million population is upbeat over the numerous socio-economic impacts of the investment. To start with, the plant would generate 300 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs. The project, located within the premises of the country's largest sea port in Douala, Cameroon's commercial capital, has reached 70 per cent completion. The remaining 30 per cent includes roads within the expansive plant.

The project, which has Sinoma International Engineering of China as Procurement and Construction Engineering (EPC) contractor, sits on eight hectares of land and parades the best technology in cement production.

"We have a jetty to support this operation. That is why this site is very

•Dangote Cement’s Cameroon plant

strategic because it is adjacent to the water front where we are building a jetty of 200 meters long for all our clinker and gymson ship to come and berth here. Right from the ship side we are installing some of the best equipment in dust control," the General Manager, Dangote Cement Cameroon, Abdullahi Baba said.

Baba, who spoke to journalists during a facility tour of the factory on June 24, disclosed that the contract for the construction of the jetty, which is being designed by PI Engineering, a local contractor, would be awarded within the next two weeks. He also noted that the plant parades a clinker silo with a capacity of 30, 000 tonnes as well as a Vertical Roller Mill (VRM) with a capacity of 170 tonnes per hour.

"That is the most efficient grinding mill in the world in terms of energy, noise, and pollution. We have two cement silos each with a capacity of 7, 000 tons. So, all together, we can store a total of 14, 000 tons of cement.

We have three bagging machines and six automatic loading machines. That means all the trucks will be loaded automatically," he said.

But it is not so much the state-ofthe-art technology being deployed in the construction of the cement plant that has raised the adrenalin of Cameroonians. Rather, it is the prospect of a drastic reduction in the price of cement on account of the competition the plant’s production would bring to the industry.

"Our price will be quite competitive.," Mr. Baba said, adding that the government of Cameroon is interested in diversifying the cement market.

“We welcome other cement manufacturers; the more, the merrier, it is better for Cameroonian consumers," he said.

HE cement market in Cameroon, The Nation learnt, is dominated by a few foreign manufacturers, such as the 'Cimenteries du Cameroun' (CIMENCAM), owned by the French group Lafarge. The French company is said to have enjoyed a monopoly in Cameroon's cement industry for over 40 years.

CIMENCAM has two factories in Douala and Figuil and has begun plant construction works on the outskirts of the capital, Yaoundé, to supply the Central, Southern and Eastern regions of the country. There is

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

3

s multi-billion dollar cement empire

also the Moroccan group CIMAF whose annual production capacity is 500, 000 tonnes, and another cement project initiated with support from a Korean firm. The project is being set up in the country's South-western province of Limbe.

However, the combined capacities of the existing manufacturers can hardly meet local requirements in terms of quantity, quality and pricing. Cameroon, The Nation learnt, has been facing recurrent cement shortages for more than a decade.

This was why the country opted for massive imports, with potential domestic demand being 8 million tonnes per year (Mt/yr), while domestic production is currently estimated at just 1.6 Mt/yr. This was why not a few Cameroonians heaved a sigh of relief when the foundation stone for Dangote Cameroon cement factory was laid on September 19, 2012. Their expectation was that the breaking of the monopoly enjoyed by the French company by Dangote cement would crash the price of cement in the local market and also ensure products' availability.

For Cameroonians, the icing on the cake is perhaps, the quality of cement the Dangote Cameroon plant is bringing to the table. While existing cement manufacturers in the country are churning out 32.5 grade of cement, Dangote Cameroon plant, in line with the standard in all its factories across the world, is raising the bar with the production of 42.5 grade cement. "As a policy, Dangote cement worldwide produces 42.5 grade of cement because we take the safety and health of our people very seriously," Mr. Baba said.

In Nigeria where 'Mr. Cement' as Dangote is popularly called, his company produces only 42.5 grade cement in all its three plants in Obajana, Kogi State; Ibese, Ogun State; and Gboko, Benue State.

According to the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the company, this is in line with the company's adherence to global best practices of cement production of a minimum of 42.5 grade. He said Dangote Cement chose to produce 42.5 cement grade because it is stronger and has better qualities such as higher strength capability and rapid setting, which makes it the preferred grade among block makers, builders and construction workers.

Dangote Cement's current total production capacity in Nigeria from

its three existing cement plants namely Obajana (10.25 MMTPA), Ibese (6.0MMTPA) and Gboko (4.0MMTPA) is 20.25MMTPA. The Obajana Cement Plant (OCP) is reputed to be one of the single largest cement plants in the world with a combined capacity of 10.25 MMTPA. By the time Line Four, which adds 3.0 MMTPA to the existing capacity, is completed in 2015, the total capacity of the Obajana cement plant will be 13.25 MMTPA, making it one of the eight largest manufacturing concerns in the world.

Apart from manufacturing cement, Dangote also calls the shot in the bagging of bulk cement in various locations in Lagos and Port Harcourt. The terminal operations have a combined capacity of 9 MMTPA.

Tanzania, others also in line

Y

ET, Nigeria and Cameroon are not the only African coun tries where the serial investor has taken the campaign to drive self-sufficiency in cement and in the process put the African economy on the global map.

Dangote's pan-African outlook and philosophy has also seen him inaugurating a $500 million cement plant in the East African country of Tanzania. That was on May 27, 2013.

Operation is scheduled to begin in October 2015 at the 3 MMTPA gasfired plant in Mtwara, Tanzania. At the foundation laying ceremony for the plant, Dangote said its commencement was part of the strategy of the conglomerate to increase its capacity by 2015. The company is also investing in new cement production in Zambia and South Africa.

After the opening of the 1.5 MMTPA Dangote Ndola plant in Masaiti, Zambia, the company has concluded plans to also open another $400 million cement plant in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, with a production capacity of 1.5 million MTPA, bringing its total investment in Zambia to $800 million.

The acquisition of 64 per cent equity in local company Sephaku Cement has also goven Dangote a foothold in South Africa's cement market.

The deal, according to experts, represents the largest single foreign direct investment in South Africa by an African company. The South African plant has a capacity of 2.2 MMTPA. The company also plans to build a 1.5

•Dangote

•Baba

MMTPA grinding plant in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, with operations projected to begin in early 2015.

Same for Ghana where the company plans to open 1.5Mt/yr grinding plants in Tema and Takoradi by early 2015. Dangote's terminal operations in Ghana has a total capacity of 3.0 MTPA. And in Liberia, order for equipment has been made for an import facility in Freeport, Monrovia.

Imports into Liberia are expected to commence in early 2015.

The Dangote cement plant in Senegal and Ethiopia is 1.5 MMTPA each, while Congo (Brazzaville) is 1.5 MMTPA.

turns on investment (ROI) in the world for discerning investors who can take calculated risks. It also explains why at a time many investors are citing inadequate infrastructure as one of the reasons for holding back, Dangote is charging on.

He has a knack for investing heavily into infrastructure anywhere his companies have operations, such as building roads, hospitals, providing electricity, borehole, and other necessary infrastructure to improve the lives of people in the host communities and also ensure that his companies' operations are not in any way hampered by the nation' huge infrastructure deficit. This is why the company has a power plant to power its operations anywhere it has its footprint. The excess from the power plant is usually sent to the national grid for the use of the host communities.

Although, Dangote Cameroon, after studying the power utilisation and the outages in the country, and being a grinding plant, believes that the national grid can support its grinding operations, the company has in place a plan B with regards to power supply for its operations. Mr. Baba disclosed that if the need arises, Dangote cement would build a power plant to support its operations and also feed the host communities in Cameroon.

$10 billion on cement plants In all, Dangote Group is said to have invested close to $10 billion on cement plants. The huge and mindboggling investment, according to the business mogul, is fuelled by the need to complement African governments in tackling the continents' developmental challenges, which are quite tremendous. The billionaire businessman reiterated this much when, as a panelist on 'More Inclusive Growth and Creating Jobs' at the recent World Economic Forum Africa (WEFA) in Lagos, he said the solution to poverty in Africa is for Africans to invest their money at home rather than take the continent's wealth away to others parts of the world.

He noted that the problem of poverty and lack of development on the continent had a lot to do with activities of Africans who deny the continent of its resources by taking them to other parts of the globe.

Dangote, who said he would invest $16 billion on the continent in the next four years, emphasized that massive investment in Africa should be the pre-occupation of both state and non-state actors in Africa.

While noting that there was no alternative to industralisation of the continent, he said "when you import goods, you import poverty and you export jobs to other parts of the globe where such goods are produced."

In investing in Africa, particularly in the cement sub-sector, Dangote believes in the school of thought, which says that Africa is the last remaining frontier for real growth. This perhaps, explains why at every turn or opportunity, he has never failed to remind whoever cares to listen that Africa offers one of the highest re-

Navigating many a investment landmine

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UT it has not been a smooth jolly ride for the serial inves tor. He has had to contend with challenges the magnitude of which could only be surmounted by a lion-hearted investor like him. Apart from general issues around poor infrastructure and policy inconsistency, among others, which are thorns in the flesh of investors, the billionaire businessman had peculiar challenges.

For instance, in the Senegalese town of Pout, 40 kilometers west of Dakar where the new Dangote Cement plant is located, the company had to contend with legal action from competitors who say the new plant was built in violation of safety standards and without a proper environmental impact assessment. There was also opposition by those who claimed the plant encroached on their land. However, Dangote, a man well-schooled in commercial diplomacy especially how to navigate investment landmines, was able to pull through.

Similarly, Dangote Cement, which

was first registered in Cameroon in 2008 and signed an investment agreement with the Government of Cameroon in September 2011, could not mobilise Sinoma of China to site until September 2012 when actual construction started. Before the commencement of construction, a soil investigation of the area was conducted and the result showed that the site was all water, which needed to be reclaimed.

"This whole area was reclaimed.

We never knew this. However, during our soil investigation, we got to get all these information and of course, that led to a complete re-engineering of our foundation.

Because of that, every single structure you are seeing here is standing on piles. We sank a total of about 8, 500 piles on this site. Without piles, there is no way this place can support an investment or structure of this nature," Mr. Baba said.

The company also had a problem with the host community, which was promptly resolved.

"We had a problem with the community because there is only one cement industry they are used to and they felt that if another cement industry is coming here, it's going to give them the same level of pollution they have been used to. It took us a lot of time to convince everybody that this technology is different, it's new, and there is no way we can give that level of pollution," the General Manager said, adding, "Our number one priority is pollution control; we have 100 per cent dust control mechanism using the best technology in the world," he said.

There is also the challenge posed by those who allegedly do not want the monopoly in the cement industry broken. For instance, a reliable source informed The Nation in Cameroon that even before Dangote cement successfully sealed the deal to establish a plant in that country, the existing operators were jittery, fearing that the coming of the company particularly its decision to produce 42.5 grade of cement in a country where existing operators are still producing the lower grades of cement, might mean bad business. To the competitors, the coming of Dangote means that they may be forced to thinker with their current pay or wage structure. This is so considering the fact that Dangote has a track record of holding down the best hands in the industry with irresistible and mouth-watering pay package.

"We have not come here to rock the boat; we have not come here to create employment problem for our competitors, Mr. Baba assured. But it is doubtful if the competitors are swayed by such assurances. Also, in Nigeria where the company became the first to produce 42.5 grade of cement, the price of the product remains the same for 32.5 grade.

The Director of Sales/Marketing, Dangote Cement Plc, Mr. Etim Ekanem, said in the last five years, the price of cement from Dangote has remained constant despite the high inflationary rate, high cost of fuel, and infrastructure deficit, and other operational challenges.

"Even though, we have consistently been producing 4.2 grade cement the price is the same for 32.5 grade," he pointed out, noting that the company invested so much in logistics hence, the company's cost of moving cement products is the lowest in the industry.

The same scenario is expected to play out in Cameroon and, indeed, other African countries where Dangote Cement has presence. And when this happens, experts say that it would help boost the drive for selfsufficiency in quality and cost-effective cement in Africa.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

NEWS ‘Process leading to Ekiti election was flawed’ Continued from page 1

In his view, Nigeria’s prob-

lems are products of deficient institutions and a culture that has grown up around them. He added, however, that people make institutions and that can still change them. “There is a chronic tendency in Nigeria and abroad to see the country’s prospect as nearly hopeless. But Nigeria is not condemned to suffer endemic corruption, waste, ineptitude, and insecurity,” Diamond added.

He said: “Think of how different Nigeria’s modern history would have been if it could simply have held free and fair elections. Compare Nigeria for a

moment with another former British colony that is also a com•Minister of Interior Abba Moro, (middle) cutting the tape to open the renovated Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) office complex Ikoyi in Lagos by Diamond Bank...yesterday. With him are: GMD, Diamond Bank, Dr. Alex Uti, (second left). Others (from right) are: Former Commonwealth Secretary General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, representative of Controller General, NIS, Mr. Ayotunde Oredipe and Deputy Controller NIS, Mrs. Modupe Anyalechi

Row over ‘secret Constitution’ rocks conference Continued from page 1

Northern delegates claimed that they have a 102-page draft constitution waiting to be rubber stamped by the leadership of the conference.

Deputy Chairman of the Conference, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, was accused of labouring to lobby northern delegates to back the new constitution.

Akinyemi said though he met with some northern delegates, the intention was to resolve contentious issues threatening the conference.

It all started with a reference to a publication by a national daily which claimed that Akinyemi was lobbying northern delegates to support a new constitution.

Some delegates insisted that Akinyemi should clear his name.

Chief Mike Ahamba said those who claimed to have been lobbied should speak up before Akinyemi would be called to clear the air.

But former Senate President Senator Ken Nnamani disagreed.

Nnamani said Akinyemi should be given the opportuni-

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ty to clear the air on the allegation because of its gravity.

Chairman of conference, Justice Idris Kutigi asked Akinyemi to offer his explanation.

There was dead silence in the chamber as Akinyemi said he was being accused falsely.

He said: “I have always asked delegates to reach out to each other whenever I sensed an emerging conflict arising from a controversial issue on the floor.

“If you are going to be fair, we have heard some people who said they are here to write a new constitution while there were others who said no, that’s not why they were here.

“We have an issue coming up which was a discussion on modalities for implementing the decisions of the Conference. So, I approached those who said they were here to write a new constitution and asked them what exactly they meant by writing a new constitution. They explained.

“Then I approached Alhaji Coomassie (Ibrahim) as the head of the northern delegation, as well as Prof. Gambari (Ibrahim) who is a colleague that I wanted to speak with them.

“Alh Coomassie said the time I picked was not convenient for him but he would send a delegation to speak with me.

“I have at various occasions raised the issues with Prof.

Yadudu (Awwalu) I said to them that what I got from those that want new constitution, I told the northern delegation that if people move for amendment which we have approved and they said in view of the fact that they moved new amendment to the 1999 constitution, they now have new a constitution. I said is that a big issue for us to have a big conflict over?

Akinyemi said Prof Iyorchia Ayu led the northern delegation to him.

The northern delegation, he said, explained their objection to calling the proposal a new constitution.

“That was the beginning and the end of that discussion that have now been called lobbying or whatever it is.

“All I did was to ensure that both sides started talking to each other before we have a big conflict on the floor over a new or old constitution.”

Senator Ibrahim Ida who was

also fingered in the unfolding development said the issues involved allegation of a hidden agenda by the conference secretariat and emergence of 102page document tagged draft constitution.

Ida noted that it was interesting to most of them to read that people were being lobbied with money and other considerations to support the offensive document.

He said: “There are two issues, one is on hidden agenda by the Conference and reference was made to a 102-page document.

“The document alleged that following the decisions made in the committee reports that an agreement was reached to prepare a draft agreement for discussion and adoption by respective zones.

“Inside the document ,contrary to the assertion that agreement contained the resolutions of respective Committees, what is contained in this 102-page document are things that were either rejected at committee level or deliberately introduced here, including the mention of States to be created.

Continued on page 56

plex agglomeration of peoples, cultures, and languages: India.

“India has a huge number of problems, and it has seen a disturbing acceleration of corruption over the last decade. There is no question that corruption and inefficiency have retarded economic growth and human development in India. But India has a serious state, and it has constructed a formidably honest and efficient apparatus for administering elections.”

Diamond said at this time of growing disaffection with the performance of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, it is important that all Nigerians—even young Nigerians who have no memory of those days of dread and depravity—appreciate this lesson of their own history, and that of other countries. He said however troubled the national situation may become, however scandalous or inept the performance of elected government may be, civilian rule remains the best option for the country.

To him, the core problem of Nigeria today is the chronic deficit of honest and effective governance.

“We have learned in Nigeria, and in Pakistan, and in Thailand, and in so many other countries around the world: there is no military shortcut to governance reform. The challenge lies with the civilian institutions and actors of democracy: parties, politicians, legislators, judges, civil servants, and civil society,” he stressed.

Boko Haram, he said, represents only one symptom of the problem, and it is not an unfamiliar one in Nigeria because during the late 1970s and early 1980s another violent religious movement, led by Maitatsine, wrought havoc on the North, leading to thousands of deaths.

Diamond thanked former Governor of Lagos State and National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for the honour of being invited to deliver the inaugural lecture and for his record of developmental performance during his eight years as Governor of Lagos State. He said Tinubu’s stewardship as governor was significant because the country has largely squandered staggering natural resource wealth and human potential for more than half a century of independence.

In his opening remarks, Tinubu said Nigerians do not understand enough about democratic governance and practice.

He added: “What we practise often is not democracy. How this nation is governed is a hybrid process where democracy is often the junior partner and minority attribute. As such the system of governance we practise has not yielded the desired results – the dividends of democracy have been painfully elusive.”

Tinubu lamented the fact that the Federal Government had arbitrarily reduced the revenues flowing to states in the opposition party, in order to punish them. “In effect, the Federal Government has imposed economic sanctions simply because some political leaders have the temerity to belong to another party. What an abuse of power,” he added.

Butressing Diamond’s point about the Ekiti election, APC National Publicity Secretary Lai Mohammed said rigging started long before the election day.

“We are going to court to challenge primarily the constitutional infractions; not for Ekiti, but for future elections,” he noted, adding that it is an abuse of power and abuse of institutions.

Diamond, who is a consultant to many international organisations and a writer, spoke on the

Continued on page 56

Nigeria won’t succumb to terror, says Jonathan

IGERIA will leave no stone unturned to reinforce its defence against

terrorism, President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday.

He spoke during the opening ceremony of the Honourary International Investor Council (HIIC) meeting at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

Jonathan, who was represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, said his administration was committed to securing the lives and property of Nigerians and others resident in the country.

He said: “This administration remains committed to ensuring security of the lives and property of Nigerians and all those that reside in this country. Our security forces are confronting terrorism and insurgency that seeks to undermine the security of the nation.

“We will remain unyielding and will continue to reinforce our defences so as to rid the country of terrorism and the forces of evil that threatens our peace and development.”

Stressing that the economy is growing stronger, Jonathan said Nigeria was determined to become one of the world’s 20 most industrialised nations.

His words: “This administration has significantly improved our investment climate and I

Troops arrest ‘mastermind’ of Chibok girls’ abduction Continued from page 1

the terrorists group.

“Babuji has been coordinating several deadly attacks in Maiduguri since 2011, including the daring attacks on Customs and military locations as well as the planting of IEDs in several locations in the town.

“The arrest of the businessman, who is known to deal in tricycles, has also yielded some vital information and facilitated the arrest of other members of the terrorists’ intelligence cell who are women.

“One of them, Hafsat Bako, had earlier escaped to Gombe State to avoid suspicion but was tracked and arrested. Prior to her arrest, Hafsat coordinated the payment of other operatives on the payroll of the group.

“In her confession, she disclosed that a From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

will continue to take all necessary steps to enhance the competitiveness of Nigeria’s enterprises. We have always believed and are indeed very encouraged that these measures are steadily contributing to the attainment of the broad objective of our administration’s transformation agenda.”

“But the challenges remain.

We must not relent in our efforts to sustain a predictable and stable policy environment. We

minimum of N10,000 is paid to each operative depending on the enormity of his task.

“Another female suspect named Haj Kaka, who doubles as an armourer and a spy for the terrorists group, has also been arrested. Until their arrest, all the suspects actively operated a terrorists’ intelligence cell in collaboration with others still at large.

The statement said troops deployed in Goniri, Yobe State had at the weekend an encounter with terrorists, resulting in casualties on both sides after the attack was repelled.”

It was gathered that Dr. Jonathan’s order was one of the decisions of the Security Council, which met yesterday in Abuja.

But the military was running out of patience over backdoor talks with the insur-

would continue to eliminate as much as possible, distortions and privileges to create a sustainable level playing ground for all investors,” he said.

He went on: “Let me reaffirm that our efforts under the transformation agenda are yielding impressive results. Today, Nigeria is one of the strongest economic performers in Africa. For the second year, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has declared Nigeria as the number one recipient of foreign direct investment, FDI,

gents and might launch full-scale battle if given the go-ahead.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The President has directed the military and security agencies to beef up security in and around Chibok.

“The troops have been directed to stop resurgence of strikes in the area by the insurgents. So, the security in Chibok and environs might be overhauled.

“In as much as the military is in support of alternatives to address the insurgency in the country, it might be forced to launch a full-scale battle against Boko Haram - if given the order.

“The insurgents have become daring through more attacks and the military might be left with no option than to take the battle to their enclaves.

“The military has the wherewithal to win the war against the insurgency.”

in Africa.”

“In May this year, Nigeria hosted global leaders at the World Economic Forum on Africa. Besides the record attendance, prospective and size able additional investment into Nigerian economy were pledged,” he said.

According to him, the recently launched Nigerian industrial revolution plan is expected to boost manufacturing from 4% of the GDP to 10% by the year 2017.

The industrial plan, he said, focused on four main areas in-

cluding light manufacturing, agro businesses, petro-chemicals and solid minerals and metals, which the President said would help to develop the nonoil sector, fast track our industrial development and create millions of jobs for Nigerians.

On agriculture, Jonathan said: “In the agricultural sector, our reform efforts are producing substantial outcomes in the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA). Through the growth enhancement scheme, we have provided subsidised farming in-

•Dr. Jonathan

puts to over 4 million farmers.

Last year alone, over 250,000 farmers were engaged in producing 1.1 million metric tonnes of rice during the dry season.

“Many young women across our country were also trained and provided with farming starter kits for fishery, snail keeping, livestock etc. The recent GDP rebasing results revealed that the services industry constitutes about 51 % of our GDP and employs many more Nigerians than we previously thought. We Continued on page 56

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5

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

NEWS

N10b jet bill probe: Makarfi faults Court’s interference •Senate to intervene in CBN’s N35m capital requirement for BDC operators

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HE Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Ahmed Makarfi, condemned yesterday attempts by the Judiciary to stall the probe of the N10 billion allegedly spent by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Deziani AlisonMadueke, on chartered private jets.

Makarfi also faulted the new policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele that Bureaux de Change (BDCs) would henceforth require N35 million capital base, up from N10 million.

He said the Senate would intervene to resolve amicably the rift between the CBN and BDC operators.

The senator noted that since the National Assembly could not stop the court from hearing any case before it, the

From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

courts should also not stop the National Assembly from carrying out its legislative and investigative duties.

On attempts by the Judiciary to stall the House of Representatives’ probe of the N10 billion Mrs Alison-Madueke allegedly spent on private jets, Makarfi said: “I think it was wrong for any court to stop the National Assembly from legislating or investigating.

“The National Assembly cannot stop any court from trying any case before it.

Equally, the court should not interfere in the operation of the National Assembly to make laws or to investigate any matter. The court can find faults at the end of the day.

“If a legislation is unconstitutional, it can annul such a

legislation; it has that power.

Or, if an investigation was biased. That is, somebody took his case to court and he can prove before the court that he was not given fair hearing.

That is a post-investigative issue, not a pre-investigative issue.

“That is my honest and personal opinion, and I think the heads of the Judiciary and the heads of the Legislature should really talk to each other and streamline so that we can adopt a code of conduct that is good for the Judiciary, good for the Legislature, good for democracy and good for this country.”

On the promise to reduce bank interest rates by the CBN governor, which he later reversed after meeting with the Bankers’ Committee, the senator said leaders ought to be abreast with facts on any is-

sue before making a pronouncement.

Makarfi said: “The statement made by the CBN governor talking about the reduction of the interest rate could be compared with when the late Chief Bola Ige made a statement on the improvement of power supply before he assumed office as Minister of Power and met something different on resumption.

“Of recent, the Chief of Defence Staff said something and had to quickly come out to say he was misquoted.

“What this means is that leaders should always think before they talk; they should know the facts before they make statements, especially when they are occupying sensitive positions.

“It is not good you say something today and change your position tomorrow. It is

good to wait a while and gather the necessary facts you need so that when you speak, people can make mediumand long-term decisions.

“Maybe that is a baptism for him and may be that will teach him a lesson not to talk before knowing the facts.”

The senator said it was wrong to tie down N35 million that would not yield any interest to the BDC operators.

“How much forex is the CBN prepared to sell to those who will tie down their interest-free N35million?” he queried.

Makarfi added: “Look at the opportunity cost. Except if you will be selling forex that somebody ties down N35 million and make a living.”

According to him, if the reason for raising the capital base is the scarcity of forex, it means the government does

•Makarfi

not have enough to sell.

He said: “You should not be looking for high capital because that would make the operators to record losses. It is a plus, minus issue here.

“In other countries,” Makarfi said, governments could sell forex to BDC regulate the exchange rate through various means.

“But the day-to-day activities of the bureaux de change is not like that, they sell based on what they buy,” Makarfi said.

North’s delegates: we aren’t being lobbied to back new constitution

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ORTHERN delegates to the National Conference have denied being lobbied by the conference secretariat - at the instance of the Presidency - to support a new constitution.

The spokesman of the Northern Delegates’ Forum, Anthony Sani, in a statement yesterday in Kaduna, titled: ReConfab Secretariat Lobbies Northern Delegates, said there was no wisdom in lobbying for a new constitution when its amendment does not fall within the purview of the National Conference.

A national newspaper reported on Monday that the conference’s secretariat was lobbying the Northern delegates to support a new constitution.

Denying the report, Sani said the constitution was being challenged, not because it was not sound but because the military and the elected constituent assemblies who brought it about did not represent the people.

The statement reads: “When one reads reports that the confab is being lobbied to accept the idea of a new constitution from deliberations of the confab, and that the lobby is at the instance of the Presidency, it is baffling.

“Stunning (it is) in the sense that Mr President, in his inaugural speech, accepted that the current constitution does not have the provision to replace itself with a new one. He then said the starting point would be to amend the current constitution to accommodate a referendum.

“But the amendment of the constitution is not within the purview of the confab but that of the National and state assemblies. So, we do not see the wisdom of lobbying the Northern delegates. The most appropriate place to go and do the lobby is the National and state Assemblies.

“As to the import of the conference making a new constitution, we wish to say that the current constitution is being challenged, not on lack of its soundness, but because the military and the elected constituent assemblies that brought it about are said not to represent the people of Nigeria.

“Where that has been the premise for the clamouring for

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

a new one, it would be contradictory for selected delegates by the Presidency to bring about the new constitution.

“In any case, this idea of a referendum is not appealing, because the level of education of most Nigerians has not reached where most Nigerians can make informed decisions on constitutional matters. Any constitution by the so-called referendum would still be by the elite for the elite, and that would be most unfair. But if the legislatures will amend the constitution to accommodate a referendum, we cannot prevent them in a democracy.

“Those who advocate for the scrapping of the 774 local governments ignore the important fact that the local governments are the closest to majority of the people who see our democracy through what they see in the local governments.

•From left: Former Ogun State Commissioner for Education and Vice Chancellor, Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Prof. Segun Awonusi; the publisher, Chief Fassy Yusuff; House of Representatives member, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa; the author, Ajoke Erogbogbo-Gbeleyi; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Special Duty, Dr. Aderemi Desalu and Mrs. Folashade Ashafa, at the public presentation of a book, titled: Wise and Witty Adolescent, in Lagos...yesterday.

PHOTO: ADEJO DAVID

Boko Haram: Anxiety at Conference over security alert ‘SSS, Army, police should treat information in confidence’

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HERE was anxiety at the National Conference yesterday when a security alert on unnamed targets in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was read to the delegates.

This is as the Conference adopted the proposal by its leaders to consider and adopt a report and reduce its working hours from 6pm to 3.30pm in two days.

The leadership said the reason for taking the two days for the remaining four reports was to allow willing delegates to comment on the reports.

The four reports include Political Parties and Electoral Matters, Devolution of Power, Energy and Political Restructuring and Forms of Government.

Shortly after the adoption of votes and proceedings for the last sittings, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), alerted his colleagues and other Nigerians to a possible terrorist attack in Abuja and other parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Ozekhome spoke under matters of urgent national im-

President deplores attacks on churches near Chibok

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan From Gbenga Omokhunu and Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja condemned yesterday Sunday’s attacks

by Boko Haram insurgents on some “The President believes, therefore, that churches in villages near Chibok, Borno State.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Sunday’s attacks on churches and other similar Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the atrocities by Boko Haram are conclusive proof, President deplored the renewed targeting by if any is still needed, that its leaders and members are thoroughly misguided persons who are only the sect’s members of a particular religion.

He urged lovers of peace and unity to using religion as a cover for their reprehensible condemn the resurgence of terrorism, which crimes against their countrymen and women.”

Jonathan urged Nigerians, irrespective of their threatens to disunite and destabilise Nigeria by instigating violence among religious religious beliefs, to resist the new attempt to undermine the nation’s firm and collective resolve groups in the country.

The statement reads: “President Jonathan to unite in full support of its Armed Forces and shares the view of the most learned Islamic security agencies against the perpetrators of brutal leaders and scholars that no true Muslim will attacks on innocent citizens.

The President again assured that the Federal resort to the mindless killing of innocent people at any time, especially not during the holy Government and national security agencies month of Ramadan, to redress any perceived would continue to intensify efforts to end Boko Haram’s attacks until the terrorists are defeated. grievance. place. formation was not meant to From Onyedi Ojiabor, Ozekhome, who warned frighten the delegates and other Assistant Editor and Dele that no delegate should disre- Nigerians but to alert all.

Anofi, Abuja gard the information, said his But Conference Chairman, portance. source was at the United Na- Justice Idris Kutigi (rtd), did not The delegate, who came to tions (UN) office in Abuja. respond to the information. the conference on the platform The source, the lawyer said, The announcement may be of Federal Government Adden- informed him that the planned responsible for the speedy dum, said he received “a highly attack would be heavier than adoption of a proposal to credible” information that “our the April 14 Nyanya bus stop change the discussion method enemy”, Boko Haram insur- bomb attack. of the reports that had not been gents, planned to launch a maOzekhome said he was considered. jor attack in and within the FCT warned to mind his movement Justice Kutigi (rtd) informed but did not say exactly where and spread the information. the delegates that unless the deand when the attack would take The lawyer added that his in- bate method was modified, the

Conference might be unable to complete work on the remaining reports.

He suggested that the delegates either agree to work from 9am to 3.30pm on a straight run without lunch or work from 9am, take the usual two-hour break and close by 5.30pm to save 30 minutes.

According to him, the proposal followed the considerations that had to be given to the fasting Muslim delegates.

After some suggestions were put forward, including the retention of the existing method, the delegates agreed to the 3.30pm closing time.

Also, the Parish Priest of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Abuja, Rev. Innocent Jooji, advised security operatives yesterday to treat in confidence any information given to them by the public on how to tackle Boko Haram.

This, the cleric said, would build the confidence and ensure the safety of the public in reporting the activities of the sect’s members to security agencies.

Jooji addressed reporters ahead of tomorrow’s N15 billion fund raiser of the church building, which will hold at 7pm at the Nicon Luxury Hotel in Abuja.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

NEWS Controversy trails Sexual Offences Bill

Lawyer sues EFCC for freezing account after winning case

From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

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From Precious Dikewoha, Port Harcourt

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ORT Harcourt lawyer, Nelson Nwaorgu, has sued the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly colluding with two banks to freeze his accounts in the banks.

Nwaorgu had won a N196 million land case for his client.

The lawyer sued the antigraft body when some aggrieved members of his client’s family disagreed over the sharing formula of the jugment money and petitioned the EFCC over the matter.

He obtained a court injunction restraining the EFCC or its agents from intimidating, harassing or arresting him, pending the determination of the suit before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt.

Nworgu addressed reporters yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on EFCC’s alleged harassment.

The lawyer said the commission has no legal and constitutional rights to freeze his accounts in both banks when he is not under investigation for any crime that could warrant it to take such action.

On how the EFCC became involved on the matter, Nworgu said the family he won the land case for wanted to sell it for N7 million per plot.

According to him, some aggrieved members of the family disagreed on the sharing formula and petitioned the EFCC. Nworgu said: “Sometime in April, my clients from Rumuwele family, Rumuchiorlu in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, headed by Ojiowhor Ambrose Ihunwo and Chief Metu Ihunwo, sold a piece of land measuring 28 plots, won in the court of law. But a problem arose among the family members on how to share the money.

• Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson cutting the tape at the opening of Bayelsa Development Investment Corporation (BDIC) in London. With him are, from left: Tam Alazigha, Deputy Managing Director, BDIC; Dr. Dalhatu Tafida, Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK); King Alfred Diette Spiff, the first Military Governor of the old Rivers State and Amanayabo of Twon Brass; Mr. Robertson, MP, Chairman, Westminister African Business Council and Lord Marland of Odstock, Chairman of the Commonwealth Business Council.

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APC: Fani-Kayode lied on our comments on Boko Haram

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked former Aviation Minister, Mr. Femi FaniKayode, to retract his comment that the party, through its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, condemned the Federal Government for proscribing the terror group, Boko Haram.

The party said it would sue the former minister, if he fails to retract his comment.

In a statement yesterday in Lagos by Mohammed, APC said at no time did it issue a statement condemning the proscription of Boko Haram.

The party challenged FaniKayode to produce the statement he alluded to, if he was sure the APC issue it.

Mohammed said: “I have caused my attorneys to formally write both FaniKayode and Channels Televi-

I, formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Adejuyigbe Rita Yetunde, now to be known and addressed as Mrs. Agidigbi Rita Yetunde. All formal document s remain valid.

General public should please take note.

sion, where he made his allegation, to retract the statement and apologise, failing which I will sue for defamation of character.

“Our position on Boko Haram has been well articulated for anyone who cares to know, but at no time did we condemn the government for proscribing it. When the state of emergency was declared on three Northern states (Adamawa, Borno and Yobe), we criticised it, and we stand by that. But we did not condemn the proscription of Boko Haram. We are not Boko Haram sympathisers and we cannot be under any circumstance.”

The party also condemned Fani-Kayode’s description of Boko Haram as the armed wing of the APC.

It noted that the former minister’s statement was most irresponsible, uncharitable and baseless.

APC said: “Equally irresponsible and condemnable is Mr. Fani-Kayode’s deliberate distortion of the statements made in the past by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to mean that he or his party is a sympathiser of Boko Haram.”

APC said Fani-Kayode’s latter-day castigation of opposition politicians, after he returned to his vomit and repudiated all the damaging statements he made publicly on the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Goodluck Jonathan administration, was not based on any altruistic considerations.

“It is common knowledge that Mr. Fani-Kayode has been charged by the Federal Government with money launder-

ing. The trial is almost ending, and he knows he faces a certain jail term, if convicted.

“It is, therefore, not impossible that Mr. Fani-Kayode may be seeking to ingratiate himself to the Federal Government by using various media platforms to destroy the APC through accusing its leaders of being Boko Haram sponsors or that the party is bent on fielding a Muslim/ Muslim ticket in next year’s presidential elections.

“Unfortunately, in his eagerness to please the Federal Government and cut a deal to avoid going to jail, he has resorted to pathological lies aimed at calling the dog a bad name in order to hang it.

“Whatever evidence he has to prove that our party is a sponsor of Boko Haram, he should be prepared to tender such in court,” APC added.

Doctors begin indefinite strike today

PUBLIC NOTICE GEORGE

I, formerly known and addressed as Mrs. George Olusola Florence, now to be known and addressed as Mrs. Agbolade Olusola . All formal document s remain valid. General public should please take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE ADEJUYIGBE

By Olamilekan Andu

HE relevance or otherwise of the Sexual Offences Bill on extant laws yesterday caused disagreement between two senators.

The disagreement arose during a public hearing between the sponsor of the Bill, Senator Chris Anyanwu, and a member of the committee and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Ita Enang.

The public hearing was organised by the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters in Abuja.

Enang raised critical legal issues bordering on the concurrent and exclusive legislative lists between the Federal and state governments on the Bill.

The senator noted that the provisions of the new Bill were already captured in the Penal and Criminal Codes and sought to know if an existing law could be re-enacted instead of being amended.

He said the National Assembly could not make laws on rape for the states.

According to him, the National Assembly can only make laws for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and not other states of the federation.

Enang said the various provisions proposed in the Bill are a repeat of existing laws on rape in various states.

The senator said the best the National Assembly could do was to amend the laws, adding: “These are the issues for determination before the public hearing.”

Enang suggested that if existing laws were weak, they should be strengthened and not duplicated.

But Anyanwu said the Bill has nothing to do with the numerous legal books being cited by Enang.

She said: “Incidents of rape have become so common place in Nigeria without any of the existing laws catching up with the perpetrators.”

D PUBLIC NOTICE OLUKANNI

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss. Olukanni Tolulope Olawumi, now to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oyewole Tolulope Olawumi. All formal document s remain valid. General public should please take note.

OCTORS have threatened to begin an indefinite strike today.

Their action may cripple medical services, especially in Federal Government hospitals, if the government fails to placate them.

The doctors, under the aegis of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), said only the issuance of a circular on their demands for the restoration of sanity in hospitals would end the strike.

They may be joined by the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), which had threatened to join the NMA strike, should the government fail to address their demands.

NMA’s decision to embark on the strike to drive home their 24-point demands was reached at its emergency delegates’ meeting at the weekend.

The association, earlier in June, gave the Federal Government a 14-day ultimatum in an open letter to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) dated 11th June, with the heading “Minimum End Point for Restoration of Sus-

From Vincent Ikuomola and Faith Yahaya, Abuja, Osagie Otabor, Benin, James Azania, Lokoja

tainable Sanity in Patient Care in Nigerian Hospitals”.

Addressing reporters yesterday in Abuja on the strike, NMA President Dr. Kayode Obembe said the union’s gentle approach was taken for granted, which made its members to resort to the action.

Obembe said: “The NMA is taking this painful route because our silence and gentle approach to these contending issues have been taken for granted.

“We have to take this action to save the health care delivery system from imminent anarchy.

“We hereby appeal to Nigerians for their understanding and to press on the government to meet our demands to avoid the strike, which is scheduled to start on July 1.

The doctors listed some of their demands.

“One of our demands is increment of hazard allowance to at least N100,000.

Presently, the hazard allowance is N5000 and we see it as ridiculously low and insulting,” Obembe said.

The union had frowned at a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) circular directing doctors to get clearance on the importation of medical equipment from the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN).

The doctors, at the weekend, directed the NMA to go to court, if it was not satisfied with the directive on importation of In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs) equipment.

Also, the Edo and Kogi states’ branches of the NMA have said they will join the indefinite strike today.

Edo State Chairman, Dr Emmanuel Ighodaro, addressed reporters yesterday in Benin, the state capital.

He said the action was to save Nigerians and the health care delivery system in the country.

Ighodaro said the strike “is to prevent the chaos that will follow the implementation of the recent circulars released by the Federal Ministry of Health”.

The union leader said there would be problems if every employee on Grade Level 15 in a hospital, were allowed to rise to a position of a director.

Ighodaro said: “We are saying that everybody within the hospital cannot be a consultant. This will cause chaos and will distort the direct communication in the Health sector.

“Everybody cannot be a director because the circular says once you are on Level 15, you should be made a director. This is against the Act setting up the hospital...”

NMA’s Kogi State Chairman, Dr Kassim Davidson, spoke yesterday in Lokoja, the state capital, on the chapter’s readiness to join the strike today.

He said this followed the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum given the Federal Government to honour the 2009 agreement it signed with the union.

The union leader said government refused to resolve contentious issues the NMA raised, adding that this forced the union to begin the indefinite strike.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

NEWS

Ajimobi canvasses decorum, decency among politicians

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YO State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has urged politicians to be decorous and decent in order to ensure a successful election next year.

Ajimobi spoke while receiving a delegation of the Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC), that visited him yesterday at the Government House in Ibadan, the state capital.

He said since the objective of any party is to promote development and the welfare of the people, there should be no bitterness among politicians.

Developmental politics, he said, should be the aim of every politician, stressing that good legacy should be the main objective to be pursued.

Praising the council’s initiative in creating a platform for interaction among parties, Ajimobi urged its members to ensure that such interface is geared towards providing good governance for the people.

He advised the council to guide against internal wrangling and selfish interest, which are capable of jeopardising its good intention of enthroning a better society.

“To me, politics should be played without rancour and

•Gets Alaafin’s support From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo

animosity. There is no need fighting one other. We should be brothers and sisters. Basically, this council is a platform to create an enabling environment for good governance, ensure sustenance of descent democratic practices and cordial relationship to promote the public interest.

“We must work towards ensuring that the best always win and so, we must support the best. It is not how long, but the legacy we are leaving behind,” he said.

Earlier, IPAC leader, Chief Sam Eke, said the council’s membership is drawn from all parties.

He said the council was formed not to antagonise any governor, but to cooperate with the government to move the country forward.

Meanwhile, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, has restated his support for Ajimobi’s administration.

Oba Adeyemi spoke when a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspir-

ant, Seyi Makinde visited him.

The monarch said his support for Ajimobi is absolute, adding: “It is unthinkable and senseless for anyone to start casting an aspersion and peddling devilish rumours that Alaafin has endorsed another candidate as

governor for 2015 in the state because of politician’s visits to the palace since the death of Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji AbdulAzeez Arisekola-Alao. For proper education to the feeble minds, the palace is open to everybody, including all sons and daughters of the Alaafin across the Yoruba nation and beyond, irrespective of political and religious

backgrounds.”

Alaafin said he enjoys cordial relationship with Ajimobi, adding he and his subjects would continue to give unflinching support to administration.

Earlier, Makinde, who said his visit had nothing to do with politics but to sympathise with the monarch, described the late ArisekolaAlao as a bridge-builder and

rallying point whose death would greatly affect Oyo’s political landscape.

The State Executive Committee of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by its Chairman, Gbenga Opadotun, visited the monarch.

Opadotun said considering the generosity of the late Arisekola-Alao, his death might be the “end of philanthropy in Yoruba-land.”

Methodist prelate congratulates Fayose •Condoles with Arisekola-Alao’s family

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HE Prelate, Methodist Church Nigeria, Dr. Samuel ‘Emeka Kanu Uche, has congratulated Ekiti State Governor-elect Ayodele Fayose on his victory in last month’s polls.

According to the prelate, Fayose’s magnanimity in victory and the equanimity of the out-going Governor, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, for accepting the election result showed high level of maturity and tolerance. The cleric, in a statement by the Conference Public Relations Officer, Aramide Tola Noibi, also condoled with the government and the people of Oyo State over the death of Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Arisekola.

He urged the family to bear the loss with fortitude.

The prelate enjoined politicians to emulate the statesmanship of Fayemi in promptly accepting such result, especially with his further pronouncement of willingness to work together with the governor-elect.

He reminded the Ekiti people on the need to assist Fayose to ensure the peaceful co-existence and economic prosperity.

He also enjoined Fayose to improve the welfare of the teeming poor masses that voted him to power and to remain focused in building gainfully on his predecessor’s achievements for a better, secured tomorrow for the good people of Ekiti.

The prelate praised INEC for the adjudged transparent and credible election.

Lagos 2015: Group urges unity in Epe division

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GROUP, the Epe Unity Development Council (EUDC), has called for understanding among all governorship aspirants ahead of the 2015 governorship elections.

Its Chairman, Justice George Oguntade (rtd) urged all aspirants to distance themselves from every act capable of reducing the chances of the division to produce a formidable candidate, who will enjoy the support and followership of all in the election.

Justice Oguntade spoke at the weekend at a forum with the divisional monarchs, party leaders and other distinguished sons and daughters of Epe in attendance.

He warned those using the various social media platforms to cause confusion and circulate untrue information about any of the aspirants to desist from the act as such behaviour would “generate undue hatred, enmity, disaffection, long-term disunity and under-development in the division.”

He said that the overall de-

sire of the EUDC is to establish a peaceful relationship among all the aspirants such that when a candidate finally emerges, other aspirants would be able to lend their support and work together for the state’s overall development.

According to him, the EUDC is not in any way affiliated to any political party, pressure group or solidarity group, but mainly interested in the division’s unity and development.

The division’s royal fathers at the event were led by the Alara of Ilara-Epe, Oba Akeem Adesanya, the Oloye of Epe, Oba Kamorudeen Animashaun, Olu of Epe, Oba Shefiu Olatunji Adewale, the Onise of Iseland, Oba Ganiyu Adegbesan.

Other prominent sons and daughters included Alhaji S. A. Seriki, Otunba Teni Zaccheaus, Chief Lanre Razak, Mrs. Shade Agbalajobi, Mr. Wale Raji, A. Aiyeola, Mr. Akin Ambode, Tunde Seriki, Dr. Tola Kasali, Dele Ibrahim, Dr. K. Hamzat and others.

•Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (middle) presenting a gift to One-Day Governor of Lagos State Master Edun Olabanji, a student ofArmy High School, Maryland, Ikeja (right). With them is Commissioner for Education Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye at the State House, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos...yesterday.

PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

We’re not worried about Ekiti poll, says Ogun APC

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HE Ogun State All Progressives Congress (APC) is not worried about the loss of the party’s candidate, Governor Kayode Fayemi n June 21 Ekiti governorship election, it said yesterday.

Its publicity secretary, Mr. Sola Lawal, in a statement, said the party was confident that verifiable infrastructural rebirth effected by the Senator Ibikunle Amosun administration in Ogun would always be translated into electoral victory.

It debunked suggestions that the Amosun administration embarked on panicky welfarist measures following the trouncing of APC in Ekiti State, saying that recently executed policies were earlier planned.

“For instance, the public distribution of severance gratuity cheques to more than 200 past political office-holders by the administration on Tuesday June 24, barely 48 hours after the Ekiti election, could not have been planned, processed and executed in such a limited period of time if it was informed by the outcome of Ekiti election,” the party stated.

APC said the governor noted that the exercise was delayed by the insistence of his administration to ensure payment of backlog of pension and gratuity of civil servants before turning to past political office-holders.

The party stated that the interactive parley the governor had with civil servants the following day could not also have been informed by the Ekiti electoral saga, since the event was part of the Civil Service Week that ran from

Amosun’s aide flays LP

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ORMER Governor Gbenga Daniel’s faction of Ogun State Labour Party (LP) has been condemned over its criticism of Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s interactive session with civil servants.

A spokesperson of the factional LP in a statement, claimed that the meeting was designed to deceive the civil servants as well as a reaction to the Ekiti governorship election.

But the Special Assistant to Amosun on Print Media, Olusola Balogun, yesterday, dismissed the factional LP. Balogun said the meeting, which was part of activities to mark the 2014 Civil Service Week, was not a reaction, but Amosun’s way of showing affection for the civil servants and addressing issues that borders on workers’ welfare.

“If this factional spokesman was well informed, he would have been told that the Head of Service, Mrs. Modupe Adekunle, explained in her opening speech at the beginning of the event, tagged: ‘A day with the governor,’ that the event was postponed by seven days due to certain work schedules that involves both the governor and top civil servants in the state.

“In fact, I still remember that Mrs. Adekunle told the packed hall at the June12 Cultural Centre, that she had to put a call to someone in Abeokuta to cancel the event when she realised that she and her team of top civil servants on the entourage of the governor could not make it back to Abeokuta before 4p.m.

June 16 to 22.

It added that other items on the week-long event, included tour of government projects and friendly football tournaments.

“Similarly, the Civil Service Week also featured hand over of 200 units of affordable houses to civil servants in the state in furtherance of the administration’s policy of promoting better standards of living for civil servants.

“No magic could have achieved this barely two days after Ekiti if the idea was a

The governor also corroborated her position when he took to the podium.

“One then wonder where the Labour Party guy got the idea that the event was a reaction to an unrelated event in far away Ekiti,” Balogun argued.

The governor’s aide maintained that Amosun, from his first week in office, left no one in doubt about his sincerity and desire to correct the wrongs and abnormalities foisted on the state by some people now masquerading as modern-day advocates of workers’ welfare.

“I am sure workers in the state civil service too would readily attest that Governor Amosun prioritised their welfare. He ensures nothing impedes the payment of their salary and allowances even when the Federal Government defaulted in the release of statutory allocation to states.

“But my joy is that the highly articulated Ogun civil servants are not deceived by this unsolicited advocacy from Labour Party. They know who their friends are,” Balogun said.

The aide also condemned the criticism of the governor’s promise to re-start the car and housing loan schemes.

“I am not surprised the Labour Party man was at sea on where the funding for car and housing loans would come from. They deserve our sympathy though. They deserve our sympathy because of their hollow intellectual capacity, which cannot accommodate anything developmental,” he added.

stampeded reaction to the election in question,” the party said.

According to the APC, the Amosun administration, since assumption of office, has always paid salaries promptly, including the extra one month salary every December - a feat never achieved by any past administration before him.

The party also observed that the administration had committed itself to clearing of backlog of pensions, leave bonuses, allowances and ar-

eas of salaries ever since assumption of office, adding that workers’ subsidised transportation scheme has become operational more than a year ago.

“On the educational front, massive investments in schools’ infrastructure, such as intra-school road network and new modern classrooms have been effected, while bursaries have been astronomically increased and promptly paid apart from scholarship and grants to challenged students,” the party concluded.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

8

NEWS

Man kills self over lover as another dies in cult violence

A

RESIDENT of Onikolobo area of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, one Oluwatosin Otaiku, has stabbed himself to death following disagreement with his fiance, identified as Toyin.

The Nation gathered that Toyin had told Otaiku (33) that they should end their courtship as she was no longer interested.

But the decision unsettled the young man for many

From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

weeks until it drove him into killing himself at the weekend.

It was learnt that concerned friends had tried to resolve the matter between the two lovers in the privacy of a shop at Safari junction in Onikolobo.

But the lady had no inkling that the man had a knife concealed in his dress.

But as Toyin stood her ground, maintaining that she

would not continue with the relationship, her partner brought out the knife from his pocket. She fled the spot, suspecting she was a target of an attack.

Toyin reportedly alerted neighbours, who rushed to the scene and met the deceased stabbing himself repeatedly.

He was said to have been rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta. But he died on the way.

A witness said a detach-

ment of policemen from Adigbe Divisional Police Headquarters were sighted carrying out preliminary investigation at the scene before removing the remains of the deceased to the State Hospital, Ijaye.

Three persons, including Toyin, were later arrested and whisked away in a Hilux Van marked NPF 7092 C. The Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said Toyin was in the custody while postmortem

examination would be carried out on the deceased.

Adejobi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police(DSP), explained the police would still examine the statements made by the suspects and the witnesses.

Adejobi said: “The lady is still with us. She is still our suspect for now until we carried out a proper investigation on the corpse.

Also, renewed rival cult violence clash between suspected members of Eiye and

Aiye confraternities in IjebuOde area on Sunday night left one Segun Adepona dead.

The late Adepona, who was suspected to be a member of one of the feuding cult groups, was said to have been shot dead at Jogbo Street, off Ibadan Garage, Ijebu Ode. In the last one month, over a dozen youths suspected to be cult members were killed in the city in attacks and counterattacks between Eiye and Aiye confraternities.

Court to determine Fayose’s eligibility on July 18 From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

A

HIGH Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, will on July 18 decide whether it has jurisdiction or not to try the case of eligibility brought against Mr. Ayodele Fayose over June 21 governorship election.

A socio-political group, the e-Eleven, which is the plaintiff in the suit, through an earlier application sought the court to stop Fayose, now the state’s governor-elect, from contesting the election.

The group claimed that Fayose had failed to disclose all necessary information in Form CF001 of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

When the case came up yesterday, Justice Isaac Ogunyemi after listening to counsel adjourned the matter to July 18 for ruling while the substantive case will proceed on the July 31st, if such was necessary based on the outcome of the first ruling.

Lagos One Day Governor praises state’s educational reform

O

NE Day Governor of Lagos State Master Edun Olabanji has praised the state government’s efforts in equipping public schools with infrastructure.

Olabanji (15) of Army Children Senior Secondary School, Onigbongbo came first in this year Spelling Bee competition and presided over the State Executive Council yesterday with his deputy, Opeyemi Blessing of Keme Balogun College, Igbogbo, Ikorodu and Macaulay Elijah Ayodele of Ojota Senior Secondary School.

The One Day Governor said the ceremony is geared towards inspiring the younger generation to greatness.

According to him, “the Lagos Governor has taken education to lofty heights and unprecedented level with the provision of textbooks and furniture for teachers and students, provision of libraries and shuttle buses to solve transportation problem.

“His Excellency also sustained payment of West African Examination Council fees for the students.”

He urged the state governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to provide school bus, electronic

Vehicle owners get ultimatum THE Ogun State Police Command wishes to inform the general public especially those who lost their vehicles/ motorcycles to thieves or left abandone to report at Odogbolu/ Isara Remo Divisions for possible identification and claims Vehicles/Morotcycles not claimed within two weeks of this notice would be sold in public auctions The vehicles are: Passat Car BGM260AA, Toyota Corolla car A2 562MKA , Pathfinder FV 634ABC, Kia Bus XL 976 KUT, Small DAF XX 481KKY, Toyota Yaris car PP 889AAA, Prado Jeep unregistered, Toyota Carina Car AA675 GRU, Mazda Car MUS 572BF, Honda Accord Car KRD 317 BK, Ford Bus XU 343 GGE and 19 motorcycles.

By Miriam Ekene-Okoro

library for his school, adding that he will also want the governor to tackle problem of erosion ravaging the premises of his school.

Fashola in his remark, praised students from the state public schools for winning various national competitions.

He said the traditional thing prevalent in the country with a change of government would have been to quickly do away with the idea, saying he retained the initiative of his predecessor because of its positive impacts in the lives of the students, who participate in the competitions.

“The seed that has been sown will germinate in ways we cannot contemplate - seeds of career choices decisions whether to serve in public sector or private sector .

“One thing that we need to point out is that the state’s public education system is producing excellent results. This is in spite of its challenges. Out of the 14,000 schools in the state, only about 2,000 belong to the government.

“But those 2,000 schools are the ones that are providing free education where free textbooks are given, where tuition is free, where children participate in different clubs - Climate Change Club, Farmer’s Club, Energy Club and Be Road Friendly Club. This happens at no cost to the children.

“It is not only One Day Governor that we celebrate.

We celebrate Master David, a national champion in Physics in the NNPC Science Competition,” he said.

He said story of the success of the children from the state educational system has spurred them to remain focus, saying other potentials will mature in the fullness of time.

Fashola explained that the state education system thrives on diversity, saying the education process is merit-driven, ethnic, religious and gender-blind, but simply developing younger generation for a greater tomorrow.

•Registrar, Librarian Registration of Nigeria, Dr. Victoria Okojie (middle), speaking during a visit of Senate Committee on Education to the office in Abuja... yesterday. With her are the chairman of the committee, Uche Chukwumerije (right) and a member of the committee, Prof. Benedict Ayede.

PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE

2015 election will be better than Ekiti’s, says REC

T

HE Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ekiti State, Alhaji Halilu Pai, has assured Nigerians that next year’s general elections would be better than the just concluded governorship poll in Ekiti State.

Pai spoke in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, yesterday through the commission’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Alhaji Taiwo Gbadegesin.

He clarified that the June 21 governorship election had “redeemed the image and integrity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

as a dependable electoral body that can do the country proud”.

Pai, who admitted that the conduct of last year’s November 16 election in Anambra State nearly marred the integrity of the commission, added that “the trend had been reversed through concerted efforts of the Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega”.

According to him, the commission, through the just held election in Ekiti, had succeeded in raising the confidence of Nigerians in the capacity of

INEC to conduct “free, fair, credible and transparent election.”

His words: “When the Anambra governorship election went in that very bad manner, the management was worried and they saw the Ekiti election as a way out. I mean, a way to redeem the image of the commission and this, we had been able to achieve through dedication to duties.

“For any country to get it right, it must have a stable electoral process and this is exactly what Prof. Jega is trying to do and we are gradually achieving that.

“A situation whereby a President or Governor or Senator will win election and spend three years to fight election petition tribunal is not good for our system. We are assuring that at the conclusion of the 2015 general elections, Nigeria would have been able to overcome this situation,” he assured.

The REC urged parties and politicians to continue to support INEC to be able to overcome the challenges facing the commission towards conducting credible and acceptable polls.

Three commissioners, six perm secs take oath of office

Abaribe to contest Abia governorship poll

•Okorocha urges them on productivity

S

I

MO State Governor Rochas Okorocha has urged the newlyappointed commissioners, permanent secretaries and a transition committee chairman to see their appointments as an opportunity to develop the state.

The governor, who spoke at the swearing-in of three commissioners, six permanent secretaries and the transition committee chairman of Orsu Local Government at the Government House in Owerri, advised them to cultivate the habit of sacrifice to enable them discharge their duties effectively.

He also enjoined them to shun accumulation of wealth and have the interest of the masses at heart.

Okorocha said the permanent secretaries’

positions were political appointments, adding that it was the wish of his administration to ensure that every local government had a permanent secretary.

He urged the relatives of the political appointees to pray for them, especially for God’s wisdom, to enable them perform effectively.

The governor recalled that Imo State three years ago was in need of a good leadership and there was high rate of kidnapping and ritual killing.

According to him, his administration had tackled the security problems.

Okorocha listed some of the projects embarked on by his government as 305 model schools, 27 general hospitals, dualisation of rural and urban roads and transformation of the three geopolitical zones in the state into mega cities.

Speaking on behalf of the

•Okorocha

new appointees, Prof. Adobi Obasi, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, thanked the governor for finding them worthy to serve in his administration and promised that they would perform.

Those sworn in are: Chief Ken Aneme, Commissioner for Transport and Tourism; Prof.

Adaobi Obasi, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and Chief Frank Chukwuemeka Ibezim, Commissioner for Agriculture.

ENATE spokesman Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe has declared his intention to contest next year’s governorship election in Abia State.

Abaribe, a former deputy governor, told officials at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretariat in Umuahia that he was heeding the entreaty from across the political spectrum of Abia to consolidate on the developmental foundation.

The PDP chairman, Senator Emma Nwaka, assured the people that a level-playing field at the primary election would be provided because the party would not encourage people without experience to learn on the job as governor.

Abaribe, amid thunderous applause, told the officials that he was at the secretariat to declare his intention to contest the Abia governorship next year.

9

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

NEWS FREEDOM HOUSE DEMOCRACY LECTURE SERIES

•Asiwaju Tinubu (second right); his wife Senator Tinubu; Lagos House of Assembly Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji (third left); his deputy Kolawole Taiwo and Deputy Chairman, Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief Funsho Ologunde at the Freedom House inaugural lecture in Lagos...yesterday

•Senator Gbenga Ashafa (middle) greeting Dr. Diamond...yesterday. With them is former minister, Chief Demola Seriki

•Editor-in-Chief, The News Magazine, Mr Bayo Onanuga (left) and journalism teacher and The Nation’s Editorial Adviser Prof Olatunji Dare

•One-time Lagos State Commissioner for Finance Mr. Olawale Edun (left) and Hon. Bashorun Alabi

•Chairman, Nasarawa Local Government, Lamin Sani (right) and Ibrahim Musa

•Former Lagos State Information and Strategy Commissioner Mr. Dele Alake (left) and Mr. Segun Babatope

•Deputy National Chairman (South) of the APC, Chief Segun Oni (left) and National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed

•APC chieftains Alhaji Safiriyu Sunmola (right) and Mr Akinwunmi Ambode

•Asiwaju Tinubu (middle) and some APC chieftains - Mrs. Kemi Nelson (Women Leader); Hon. Wale Alawiye-King (member, Lagos Assembly) (left); Jibayo Adeyeye (fourth right) and former Local Government Commissioner Rotimi Agunsoye (fifth right) and others.

PHOTOS: NIYI ADENIRAN

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

NEWS FREEDOM HOUSE DEMOCRACY LECTURE SERIES

•Students of Law School, Lagos

•Oyo State Deputy Governor Moses Adeyemo Alake (left); Amaechi; Asiwaju Tinubu, Diamond; Dambazau and Bishop Kukah

•Senator Ganiyu Solomon (left) and a member of the House of Representatives Alhaji Yakub Balogun

•Former Lagos State Commissioner for Establishment and Training Mr. Jide Sanwo-Olu (left); Lagos State Chairman, APC Chief Henry Ajomale and a member, House of Representatives Mr James Faleke

•Chairman, Asiwaju Total Loyalty, Alhaji Toyin Balogun

•Former Lagos State Commissioner for Health Dr Leke Pitan

Amaechi, others chide Nigerians for tolerating corrupt leadership

G

OVERNOR Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State chided yesterday Nigerians for being too accommodating of their leaders, insisting that the followership is as guilty as the leadership.

The governor, who was one of the discussants at the Freedom House inaugural democracy lecture in Lagos, said if Nigerians wait for people in public office to fight corruption, it would never happen.

“I wonder why Nigerians are not on the streets. Nothing would change until you take your power back, by trooping to the streets,” he observed.

Amaechi said the civil society in Nigeria has almost collapsed. He added: “The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is not speaking; the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) is not speaking. They used to be very vocal institutions. Until all of us come together to say no more stealing, it would not end.”

He said Nigeria is today ruled by a diarchy because the Federal Government was tending towards a civilian- military dictatorship.

The governor said when he was recently prevented from travelling to Ekiti on the last day of the electioneering campaign, it was a military officer, rather than the officials of

By Raymond Mordi the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), that informed him that the airport was technically closed, and that it was an order from above.

Initially, Governor Amaechi said he was tired of speaking and that there was nothing the guest lecturer, Professor Larry Diamond, has said that he had not said before. Nevertheless, when he started speaking, he held the audience spellbound with his anecdotes that he used to illustrate the pervasiveness of corruption in the Nigerian society.

Drawing from his experience as a governor, he noted that public office holders must not compromise at any point, otherwise they would not be able to check corruption in their domain.

Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, said education should have been part of the theme of the lecture, insisting that lack of it gives rise to poverty. The lecture took place under the theme, “Nigeria’s Governance Predicament: Poverty, Terrorism and Democracy”.

Gbajabiamila said a number of times when people were suppressed; it was education that was used. He said what “we need to do now is to start thinking outside the box”.

On the country’s flawed electoral processes, he wondered why the chairman of INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, should be a constant visitor to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, for closed-door meetings with the President.

He said lawmakers should begin to make regulations to curtail the conduct of the INEC chairman. He pointed out that the INEC chairman should not visit the Presidential Villa alone, without being accompanied by the chairmen of all the political parties.

On Prof. Diamond’s recommendation that Nigeria’s political parties should embrace internal democracy, the Minority Leader wondered whether Nigeria is ready for internal democracy. He said in a country where moneybags often dominate nominations for elective positions that it might be difficult for serious aspirants with good ideas to emerge.

He said Nigeria’s peculiar circumstances might have made it practically untenable.

For example, he said if somebody like Professor Pat Utomi wants to run for a senatorial seat, he might not be able to contend with a moneybag who is in a position to influence the process.

However, when the Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto, Reverend Mattew Hassan Kukah mounted the podium, he disagreed with the gloomy picture painted by Prof. Diamond that the situation in Nigeria could be compared to that in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He also took exceptions to Nigeria being compared to Ghana, saying the contexts differ.

“It depends on how we measure. I agree we could have done better, but I don’t agree that we are living in the most rotten part of God’s forsaken earth,”’ he added. He said the frustration was because Nigerians are impatient.

Reverend Kukah said the answer to the problem is not replacing the PDP with APC, but that politicians must face the challenge of making politics noble. He added that the benefits of democracy are largely intangible.

The APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, took exception to Reverend Kukah’s attempt to paint all politicians with the same paint, saying it was wrong.

The lecture was chaired by Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Dambazau, former chief of army staff.

BUSINESS

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

Agro input centres for 774 local govts From Franca Ochigbo, Abuja

P

RESIDENT, National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS), Ken Ukuoha, has said the Federal Government plans to establish the one-stop agro-input centre in all the 774 Local Government Areas in the country.

This is intended to bring agricultural inputs closer to rural farmers and assure food security.

Speaking yesterday at the stakeholders consultation on the one-stop agro-input center in Abuja, he said though most farmers are not familiar with the programme, they will get used to it when it is eventually introduced.

He said: “The proposal is to establish the one stop centre in the 774 local government areas of the country in the long run for the purpose of increasing the availability, accessibility and affordability of quality agro-input. Improved and hybrid seeds, fertilser including chemicals, especially in rural areas.

“The idea is to resuscitate the fragile rural agricultural input chain through re-engagement of markets, provision of subsidies input and significantly contribute to small holders farmers increased access to agro-inputs. Unfotunately, not many farmers in the country are aware of this plan or the existence of such a facility anywhere, and farmers are therefore not aware of the service and products available in the centre.

“Getting input closer to farmers by the government is one of the sure ways of directly impacting on the livelihoods of the farmers and rural people. We must therefore make this point to emphasise the need for all stakeholders to seek ways of supporting such laudable thinking of government and her effort at revitalising the agricultural sector.

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$117.4/barrel Cocoa -$2,686.35/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢95.17pound Gold -$1,396.9/troy Sugar -$163/lb MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE -N11.4 trillion JSE -Z5.112trillion NYSE -$10.84 trillion LSE -£61.67 trillion RATES Inflation -8% Treasury Bills -10.58%(91d) Maximum lending -30% Prime lending -15.87% Savings rate -1% 91-day NTB -15% Time Deposit -5.49% MPR -12% Foreign Reserve $45b FOREX CFA -0.2958 EUR -206.9 £ -242.1 $ -156 ¥ -1.9179 SDR -238 RIYAL -40.472

11 ‘The June deadline is by the corner; Mr. President’s word is a bond. We must generate more power; we are prepared to assist all our agencies in making sure that the ball keeps rolling. We can’t afford to fail in our duties.’

•Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo

Lagos contributes N51b to pension scheme L AGOS State’s Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) has hit over N51.6 billion, thus making the state a major contributor to the country’s N4.3 trillion pension assets, Director-General, Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC), Rotimi Hussain, said yesterday.

The contribution represents the monthly deduction of 7.5 per cent from the salary of every employee and the counterpart 7.5 per cent contribution of the state government into the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) of every employee with their Pension Fund Administration (PFAs).

By Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

Hussain, who spoke at the 11th Retirement Bond Certificate Presentation Ceremony to 354 retirees of the State Public Service held in Lagos, said the retirees who represent the second tranche of the 11th batch of the bond certificates, are paid N1.78 billion being accrued benefits to the beneficiaries.

He said the money has already been remitted into their RSA with their respective PFAs. He said in the first tranche, 437 retirees mainly

from the Local Government Areas and State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) were paid N1.72 billion.

He added that with the payment of the second and concludoing tranche of the bond presentation, Lagos State has paid N3.51 to 791 retirees.

He also restated the commitment of the state at ensuring that no employee in the public service retires into penury. It has thus paid a total accrued right of N26.2 billion to 4, 990 retirees who retired since

the inception of the CPS. The LASPEC boss said the achievement has further brought to fore, the benefit and advantages inherent in the CPS as against what was obtainable under the old Pay-As-You-Go Scheme.

The implementation of the CPS in has proved to doubting Thomases that the scheme really works. It has been found to be safe, funded, portable, transparent, convenient and ensures the payment of instant lump sum. He said it also guarantees payment of retirement benefits to the nextof-kin even when the main beneficiary has passed on.

•From left: Chairman, Ado-odo Ota Local Council, Rotimi Rahman, Special Adviser to the Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Tinu Sopeju; Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Otunba Bimbola Ashiru and Chairman, Ogun State Chapter, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Dapo Oguntuga, after the Third Quarterly meeting between the association and Ogun State Government at the Governor’ s Office, Oke-mosan, Abeokuta.

N

Foreign reserves rise to $37.3b

IGERIA’S foreign exchange reserves rose marginally to $37.3 billion on June 27, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has shown.

The reserves rose to current position from $37.2 billion on June 26 and were at $37.1 billion on June 23.

But the reserves have been down by 22.74 per cent yearon-year but had stood at $48.23 billion on June 26, 2013.

Before the current upbeat, the reserves had maintained steady decline in recent months after closing last year at $42.85 billion. The year-end figure represented a decrease of $0.98 billion or 2.23 per cent compared with $43.83 billion at end- December 2012. The reserves further dropped to $38.79 billion as at March 12.

By Collins Nweze

Analysts said the reserves declined as imports of fuel and foods soared.

But the CBN said the decrease in the reserves level was driven largely by the increased funding of the foreign exchange market in the face of intense pressure on the naira and the need to maintain stability.

The CBN said the pressure on external reserves was deemed to be consistent with the seasonal annual payment of dividends to foreign investors.

Oil prices remained relatively high while production was improving, and there were signs of accretion to external reserves. The CBN also expressed concern over the

sudden surge in domiciliary account balances which may offset the gains from imposing 75 per cent Cash Reserve Ratio on public sector funds.

It expressed concern over the continued depletion of the Excess Crude Account (ECA) which balance stood at less than $2.5 billion at the beginning of this year compared with about $11.5 billion in December 2012. According to the CBN, the absence of fiscal buffers increased its reliance on portfolio flows thus, constituting the principal risk to exchange rate stability, especially with uncertainties around capital flows and oil price.

On the depletion of fiscal buffers, the regulator decried the continuous fall in revenue from oil despite stable price of

oil and production last year.

The apex bank said accretion to external reserves remained low while much of the previous savings have been depleted, thereby undermining the ability to sustain exchange rate stability. The Committee therefore, urged the fiscal authorities to block revenue leakages and rebuild fiscal savings needed to sustain confidence and preserve the value of the naira.

It said the reduction of the United States stimulus especially, could in addition, trigger capital flow reversals and put greater pressure on the naira exchange rate. It also expressed concern about the widening gap between the official and the Bureau De Change exchange rates, noting that this could precipitate speculation and round-tripping.

cuttings among others, commenced on May 20 this year and is expected to last for 10 weeks.

He said: “We are targeting 120, 000 farmers out of the 200, 000 registered in the farmers’ database this year as efforts have been intensified to reach

the rest within the stipulated period.”

While noting that the redemption might be slow at present, the Director expressed optimism that the tempo would increase because people like to carry out activities at the last minute.

10,000 farmers benefit from GESS programme

O

VER 10,000 farmers in Ebonyi State have so far redeemed various farm input in Ebonyi under the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS) roll out programme this year.

State Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural

From Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

Development, Dr Anselm Opara, stated this in Abakaliki, the state capital.

He noted that the redemption of the farm inputs which include: fertilizers, seeds,

PENGASSAN ‘scared sheriffs with dogs’, court told

By Joseph Jibueze

T

HERE was a mild drama yesterday at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) when it was told that officials of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) chased a court sheriff away with a dog to evade service of a court order.

The court, presided over by Justice Kenneth Amadi, had restrained the association from holding its delegates’ conference until a suit seeking to stop it was determined.

The suit was filed by two of its Chevron Nigeria branch members-John Nwanosike and Jonathan Omare, who claimed they were wrongfully stopped from voting or being voted for in the conference in alleged breach of their rights.

Joined as defendants in the suit are PENGASSAN, its Chevron Branch, Mr Esanubi Frank and Mr Ayanate Kio. The plaintiffs’ lawyer Mr Uche Muoneke said PENGASSAN deliberately evaded service of the court order.

“They loosed their dogs from the bounds, and set them against the bailiff and claimants who took to their heels,” he said.

He told the court that the defendants still went ahead to hold the delegates conference after evading service.

Justice Amadi at this point, ordered the claimant’s counsel to effect service of the court processes on the defence counsel, Mr Sola Iji, in the open court.

The judge then asked: “Mr Sola Iji, have you now been served”? Iji said: “Yes my lord I have been served just now.”

Justice Amadi then adjourned till July 16 for hearing.

The judge added that since the action brought by originating summons, he would hear both the motion on notice and the main suit together.

The plaintiffs said they were duly elected as delegates to the PENGASSAN conference, adding that their tenure was valid for a term of three years.

They averred that the defendants canceled their names as delegates before the expiration of their tenure, thereby denying them the right to vote and be voted for at the conference.

The plaintiffs said in a bid to also prevent them from exercising their franchise, the second and third defendants set up a disciplinary committee to try them after they expressed the fear that their rights were been trampled.

According to them, the panel declared them guilty even when there was no evidence that they committed any offence.

The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the removal of their names as delegates to the Zonal conference and National Conference was unconstitutional.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

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14

IN THE HIGH COURT OF LAGOS STATE OF NIGERIA PROBATE REGISTRY, LAGOS DIVISION WHEREAS the person whose names are set-out in the first Column under died intestate on the date and place stated in the said Column. AND WHEREAS the person or persons whose names and addresses and relationship (if any) to the deceased are set out in the second Column here have applied to the High Court of Lagos State for a Grant of Letter of Administration of the Real and Personal Properties of the deceased. NOTICE IS HEREBY given that Letters of Administration will be granted to such persons unless a NOTICE TO PROHIBIT THE GRANT is filed in the registry within (14) days from the date hereof.

S/N

NAMES OF THE DECEASED PERSON:

S/N

1. Morenike Sanni otherwise known as Enitan Morenike Sanni. Late of No. 4, Oshodi Court, Lagos Island, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 28th day of October, 2004.

2. Owoh Nkema kolam. Late of No. 17, Bayo Oyewale Street, Okota Lagos. Who died intestate on the 10th day of August, 2003.

3. Ekeleme Chidi Emmanuel. Late of No. 17, Emodi Street, Olodi Apapa, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 29th day of September, 2012.

4. Mr. Ayeodogba Henry Odunayo. Late of No. 6, Popoola Street, Magada Onimale, Ibafo Ogun State. Who died intestate on the 15th day of October, 2013.

5. Mr. Musibau Olaleye. Late of No. 60, Ajitebi Street, Apapa Road, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 22nd day of January, 2013.

6. Oloye Julius Akinwunmi otherwise known as J.A. Oloye. Late of No. 8, Aderemi Street, Aiyetoro Lagos. Who died intestate on the 6th day of February, 2014 at Lagos.

7. Mr. Ndeze Edmond. Late of No. 59, Ibitoye Street, Ajegunle Apapa, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 7th day of February, 2014 at Lagos.

8. Mbadiwe .N. Okeke. Late of No. 122, Ejigbo Isolo Road, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 22nd day of September, 2013 at Lagos.

9. Akinwale Gabriel Taiye. Late of No. 23, Lamidi Akinwale Street, Bucknor Estate, Isolo, Lagos. Who died in estate on the 28th day of January, 2013.

10. Apena Bankole Solomon. Late of No. 110, Okesuna Street, Lagos Island, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 2nd day of June, 2012 at Lagos.

11. Okafor Emmanuel. Late of 7th Avenue, E1 Close, Festac Town Lagos. Who died intestate on the 3rd day of April, 2013.

12. Emmanuel Sunday Babatunde Omishope otherwise known as Emmanuel Sunday Omishope. Late of No. 2532 Clement Street, Michigan Wayne Detroit 48238, United State of America. Who died intestate on the 11th day of January, 2010.

13. Mrs. Olajumoke Odupitan. Late of Block 78, Flat 1, Mile 2 Estate, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 27th day of September, 2011 at Lagos.

14. Kolawole Muyideen Muibi otherwise known as Muibi. Late of No. 42, Moshalashi Street, Lagos. Who died on the 28th day of January, 2013.

15. Miss Ikechukwu Anita Kate. Late of No. 7, Ikpako Street, Ijede Ikorodu, Lagos. Who died on the 4th day of March, 2011 at Lagos.

16. Oniwinde Ayodele Modupeade otherwise known as Oniwinde Ayodele. Late of No. 5, Bank Road, satellite Town Lagos. Who died intestate on the 11th day of August, 1997.

17. Ighodalo Isaac. Late of No. 18, Anu Crescent Off Badore Road, Ajah. Who died intestate on the 1st day of February, 2012.

18. Mrs. Rachael Obianke Nkonyeasau otherwise known as Osunbor Racheal. Late of No.4, Tunde Shabi Street, Abule-Egba , Lagos State. Who died intestate on the 12th day of January, 2014.

19. Mr. Udeozo Joseph. Late of No. 17, Babs Aregbe Street, Okota Lagos. Who died intestate on the 18th day of August, 2013.

20. Ore-Oluwa Ayodeji Afolabi. Late of No. 3, Ade Onitimirin Street, Off Chief Natufe Street, Surulere Lagos. Who died intestate on the 3rd day of January, 2012.

21. Afeghelesa Anthony .E. otherwise known as Afeghelesa Anthony. Late of No. 17, Alhaji Lamidi Street, Papa Ajao, Mushin, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 20th day of September, 2011 at Lagos.

22. Alhaja Bello Bode otherwise known as Alhaja Maimunat Iyabode Bello. Late of No. 4, Kibitiu Street, Ejigbo Lagos. Who died intestate on the 2nd day of January, 2014.

23. Mr. Bolaji Bamidele otherwise known as Bamidele Bolaji. Late of 28A, Thistle Street, Northern Foreshore Estate, Lekki Lagos.

Who died intestate on the 28th day of February, 2012.

24. Sunday Omokaro. Late of 32, Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun Ikeja, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 29th day of September, 2013.

25. Madam Leah Moroundiya George. Late of No. 51, Iyun Road, Surulere, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 20th day of April, 1960.

26. Ogunde Emmanuel otherwise known as Ogunde Mufutau Adebowale. Late of 106, Oyegbami Street, Ibeju Lekki Lagos. Who died intestate on the 1st day of December, 2010 at Lagos.

27. Ikwekwe Patience Omenebele otherwise known as Ikwekwe Omenebele Patience. Late of No. 3, OgoOluwa Close, OgbaIkeja, Lagos. Who died on the 22nd day of January, 2011 at Lagos.

28. Jenyo Isaac Oluwalegan. Late of No. 1, Ilugun Street, Sango. Who died intestate on the 2nd day of November, 2010.

29. Mrs. Nwankwo Oluwafunmilola Violet otherwise known as Mrs. Jonah -Nwankwo Oluwafunmilola Victoria. Late of No. 4, Akinola Johnson Close, Surulere, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 8th day of October, 2013.

30. Mr. Okonwko Francis Nwanwodo. Late of No. 40, Tokunbo Street, Alagomeji Yaba, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 12th day of July, 2013 at Umueze Ibusa, Delta State.

31. Adamo Musikilu Olatunde. Late of No. 33, Itunagbon Street, OkunsoluIbejuLekki, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 6th day of October, 2013.

32. Miss Chukwu Lilian Chinyere otherwise known as Obioha Chinyere Lilian. Late of No. 13, Oshogbore Street, Ikotun, Lagos.

Who died intestate on the 5th day of April, 2014 at Lagos.

33. ASP Okhakume Osikhumi Timothy. Late of No. 24, Akinsoji Street, Mafoluku Oshodi Lagos. Who died intestate on the 14th day of October, 2013 at Akure.

34. Yakubu Ishola Aro. Late of 20, Obale Lane BadiaIjora, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 15th day of September, 2011.

35. Jallo Florence Fatima. Late of 3, David Stafon Street, Igbo-Elerin, Okokomaiko Lagos. Who died intestate on the 5th day of Septembr, 2010.

36. Benjamin Onyeagwara. Late of No. 34, Bunmi Ajakaye Street, Shubiri, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 10th day of January, 2013.

37. Ochasi Jonathan. Late of No. 70, Lafenwa Street, Ejigbo Lagos. Who died intestate on the 4th day of September, 2013.

38. Etong Glory. Late of Block 13, Flat 3, Games Village, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 6th day of April, 2009.

39. Maria otherwise known as Ramotu. Late of 42, Campbell Street, Lagos Island, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 18th day of September, 1968.

40. Mr. Chimezie Anusiobi. Late of No. 10, Olaide Awoye Street, Ilasamaja, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 8th day of March, 2014.

41. Mr. Amos Oguntubo. Late of No. 53, Market Street, Shomolu, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 23rd day of January, 2002.

42. Mr. Salau Rufai. Late of S Close, House 11, 23 Road, Festac Town, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 7th day of September, 2012 at U.S.A. 43. Tongo Jeffery. Late of No. 34, Kinnu-Ifa Street, Gbagada Lagos. Who died intestate on the 14th day of November, 2013.

44. Mrs. Madeline Cynthia Inniss - Palmer. Late of No. 49B, Oladipo Bateye Street, G.R.A Ikeja, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 17th day of September, 2012 at London.

45. Ekpo Esang otherwise known as Alsang Ventures, Oluekpo Enterprise. Late of No. 1, Fatiregun Street, Ebute-Metta, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 29th day of April, 2012.

46. Asalu Solomon Oladipupo. Late of 37/39 Olushi Street, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 30th day of January, 2013.

47. Chief Justin Mbalisike otherwise known as Chief Justin Chidi-Nwagbaoso Mbalisike. Late of 234, Ojo Road, Ajegunle, Apapa Lagos. Who died intestate on the 17th day of December, 2012.

48. Oladimeji Olaolu Osiyemi. Late of 5, Ijagbemi Street, Pedro Bariga, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 1st day of July, 2010.

49. Mrs. Iwedike Opul Regina. Late of 14, Lane Road, 3A, Valley Atal, Port Harcourt .who died intestate on the 17th day of December, 2013.

50. Kenneth Onukogu otherwise known as Ebebechukwu and Eberechukwu. Late of no. 63, Jinadu Street, Aguda, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 11th day of August, 2012.

51. Dr. Bamgbose Olujimi Oluwole otherwise known as Dr. Olujimi Bamgbose. Late of No. 26, Raymond Street, Yaba, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 24th day of June, 2008.

52. Mr. Adetoro Mustapha otherwise known as Oyetunde. Late of No. 6/8, Dabara Street, Olowogbowo, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 18th day of April, 2014.

53. Joagum Olatunji Yusuf. Late of No. 13/15, Karimu Street, Orile Iganmu, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 27th day of September, 2008.

54. Mr. Abiodun Akinboye. Late of No. 19, Adepoju Street, Agodo Egbe, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 8th day of August, 2013.

55. Olowoyelu Adejumoke otherwise known as Olayemi Olufunke. Late of No. 13, Wilson Avenue, Okota, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 15th day of June, 2010.

56. Edwin Edukpe Odigue. Late of Block D, Flat 2, Police Barracks, Satellite Town, Ojo Lagos. Who died intestate on the 30th day of August, 2012.

57. Ganiyu Olaniyi Adisa Oladejo. Late of N0.147, Igbosere Road, Lagos Island, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 22nd day of October, 2013 at Lagos.

58. Omokaihri Nakeno Ewefa otherwise known as Kate. Late of No. 14, Idofian Street, Off Julius Elebitu Street, Ketu Lagos. Who died intestate on the 8th day of March, 2010.

59. Mr. Alfred Ilori. Late of 82, Ibidun Street, Surulere, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 17th day of June, 2014.

60. Mr. Kazeem Abeedeen otherwise known as Abeedeen Olaribigbe Kazeem. Late of No. 24, Ayantuga Street, mushin, Olosa Lagos.

Who died intestate on the 2nd day of July, 2012 at Lagos.

61. Kayode Ogunlade. Late of No. 1, Yusuf Street, Ipaja Lagos. Who died intestate on the 22nd day of August, 2009.

62. Mr. Festus Ekundayo Oyodo otherwise known as Festus Oyobo Imeubore. Late of No. 3, Celestial Avenue,Igbogbo, Ikorodu L.G. Lagos. Who died intestate on the 9th day of July, 2012.

63. Usoro Monday Udo. Late of No. 2, Adebisi Street, IkateItire, Surulere Lagos. Who died intestate on the 18th day of December, 2009.

64. Hondonou Barth Cole .late of No. 48, Norman Williams Street, Ikoyi, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 10th day of August, 2006.

65. Chief Micheal Augustus Oluwole Pearse otherwise known as Chief Mike Pearse. Late of No. 14, Odutayo Street, Surulere, Lagos.

Who died intestate on the 25th day of October, 1999.

66. Kamorudeen Lemon Muhammed otherwise known as Kamordeen Lemon. Late of No. 2, Thomas Street, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 17th day of May, 2012 at Lagos.

67. ArijeAkanji Adebosola otherwise known as Arije Mojeed Akanji.Late of No. 5, Ogatimirin Street, Fadeyi Lagos. Who died intestate on the 24th day of January, 2013 at Lagos.

68. Dada Gabriel Akintunde. Late of No. 5, Oseni Close, Surulere Lagos. Who died intestate on the 8th day of November, 2012 at Lagos.

69. AfolabiYinka. Late of No. 51, Mosafejo Road, Amukoko Lagos. Who died intestate on the 14thday of November, 2013 at Ilorin, Kwara State.

70. Lawrence Akintola Aluko. Late of No. 3, Oluwatoyin Street, Ladylak Bariga. Who died intestate on the 25th day of September, 2010.

71. Mrs Macfarlane Florence Urenyi.Late of No. 125, Warri Sapele Road, Warri, Delta State. Who died intestate on the 27th day of July, 1989.

72. Mrs. Veronica Iyabode Agoha otherwise known as Fatumise Veronica Iyabode. Late of Amaudara Avuvu Ikeduru L.G.A, Imo State. Who died intestate on the 4th day of December, 2009.

73. Empire Uchenna Ugochukwu otherwise known as Ugochukwu Empire. Late of No. 18A, Point Road, Apapa Lagos. Who died intestate on the 25th day of September, 2013 at Lagos.

74. Nwaogwugwu Charles Mr. otherwise known as Nwaogwu Charles. Late of 17, Moss Street, Ebute-metta ,West, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 3rd day of February, 2013.

75. Alhaji Abdul-GaforOlayiwola Mustapha.Late of No. 2, Elias Street, Lagos Island Lagos.

Who died intestate on the 22nd day of April, 1983.

76. Mrs. Aigbokhaevbo Anna. Late of House 16, J Close, 5th Avenue, Festac Town, Lagos. Who died intestate on the 7th day of June, 2013.

77. Mr. Umoren Ekepe Effiong. Late of No. 2, Dele Adebayo Street, Ishashi Lagos. Who died on the 5th day of November, 2013.

78. Chief Ladipo Ibidapo-Obe. Late of No. 44A, Isirikin Street, Ilesa. Who died intestate on the 18th day of September, 1997.

NAMES OF APPLICANT APPLYING FOR THE GRANT

1. Ganiyat Arogundade and Benjamin Sanni. Both of No. 4, Oshodi Court Lagos. Children to the deceased.

2. Angela Owo and Ikechukwu Owo. Both of No. 17, BayoOyewale Street, Okota, Lagos. Widow and son to the deceased.

3. Oluchi Vivian Ekeleme and Ifeanyi Ozoh. Both of No. 17 Emodi Street, OlodiApapa, Lagos. Widow and bother to the deceased.

4. Mrs. Morenike Mary Ayeodogba and Olalekan Julius Ayeodogba. Both of No. 6, Popoola Street, Magada, Onimale, Ibafo.

Widow and son to the deceased.

5. Mrs. Tawakalitu Olatoyin Olaleye, Mrs. Sakiratu Hamzat and Mrs. Muinat Arowolo of 1A, Ajitebi Police Barracks, EbuteMetta, Lagos, 27/28, Bridge Road, Oyingbo and beside Okada Park across Filling Station, Ibafo. Widow and siblings to the deceased.

6. Adebisi Oloye and Peter Adeolu Oloye. Both of No. 8, Aderemi Street, Aiyetoro, Lagos. Widow and son to the deceased.

7. Mrs. Stella Ndeze and Miss Yvonne Onyinyechi Ndeze. Both of No. 59, Ibitoye Street, Ajegunle, Apapa Lagos. Widow and one of the children to the deceased.

8. Okeke Amaka and Okeke Jamike. Both of No. 122, Ejigbo Isolo Road, NNPC , Lagos. Children to the deceased.

9. Mrs. Halima Akinwale and Mr. Osabiya Tunde Tokunbo of No. 23, Lamidi Akinwale Street, Bucknor Estate, Isolo, Lagos and No. 1, Kehinde Abbas Street, Igando, Lagos. Widow and brother to the deceased.

10. Olubunmi Apena (Mrs.), Mr Dare Apena, Miss Risikat Apena and Miss Omobolanle Apena. All of No. 110, Okesuna Street, Lagos. Widow and children to the deceased.

11. Mr. Osita Okolisah and Mrs. Nkem Okafor of No. 4, Kikelomor Street, Ajangbadi, Ojo Lagos and 7th, Avenue, E 1 Close, festac Town, Lagos. Uncle and widow to the deceased.

12. Elizabeth Omishope, Omoyemi Omishope and Abiola Omishope. All of Plot 1, Omishope Street, Fagbile Estate, Ijegun Lagos. Widow and children to the deceased.

13. Omolara Odupitan and Omoleye Odupitan. Both of Block 78, Flat 1, Mile 2 Estate Lagos. Two of the children to the deceased.

14. Muyideen Babatunde Taofeek and Mrs. Muyideen Adijat. Both of Phase 2, Adeniji Adele Road, Lagos. Son and widow to the deceased.

15. Ike Monday Chukwuemeka and Chuks Emmanuel Ike. Both of No. 15, Oseni Street, Ikorodu, Lagos. Elder brothers to the decease.

16. Oniwinde Marian Adebunmi, Oniwinde Olajide Olumide and Oniwinde Tolulope Titilayo. All of No. 27, Suenu Street, Surulere Lagos. Widow and children to the deceased.

17. Juliet Ighodalo Mrs. And Samuel Ighodalo. Both of No. 18, Palm Crescent Estate, Badore Lagos. Widow and son to the deceased.

18. James Obianke and Moses Bienose of No. 4, Tunde Shabi Street, A/E, Lagos and No. 5, OLogbosere Street, Ikorodu, Lagos.

Widower and cousin to the deceased.

19. Mrs. Chinwe Rosaline Udeozo, Uche Ifeoma Imeche Mrs and Onyema Anthony Udeozo Mr . All of 17, BabsAregbe Street, Okota Lagos. Widow and children to the deceased.

20. Ayodele .A. Afolabi and Mrs. Eniola .O. Afolabi. Both of 3, Ade Onitimirin Street, Surulere, Lagos. Brother and mother to the deceased.

21. Afeghelesa Silver Ayo and Afeghelesa MichealIge. Both of No. 17, Alhaji Lamidi Street, Papa Ajao Mushin, Lagos. Children to the deceased.

22. Mr. Lanre Lawal Bello and Mrs. Aminat Oyelakin. Both of No. 4, Kibitiu Street, Iyana Ejigbo Lagos. Widower and sister to the deceased.

23. Mrs. Felicia Omotunde Bolaji and Mr. Ajiboye Bolaji. Both of 28A, Thistle Street, Northeren Foreshore Estate, Lekki, Lagos.

Widow and son to the deceased.

24. Mrs. Faith Omokaro and Mr. Peter Omokaro of No. 12, Ogunshola Street, OgbaAguda, and 65, KudiratAbiola Way, Oregun Ikeja, Lagos. Widow and brother to the deceased.

25. Mr. Victor Ayodeji Brown, Mrs. Victoria Folashade Ogunbiyi ( Nee Williams) and Mr. Gilbert Baabtunde George. All of 51, Iyun Road, Surulere, Lagos. Grandson and great grandchildren.

26. Afusat Ogunde, Adeleye Ogunde and Musiliu Ogunde.All of No. 5B, Oketun Street, IbejuAgbe, Lagos.Two of the children and brother to the deceased.

27. M/S Juliana Dada Ikweke and Mrs. Mary Odibi. Both of No. 3, OgoOluwa Close, Ogba Ikeja, Lagos. Sister and mother to the deceased.

28. Mrs. Iyabo Beatice Jenyo, Yetunde Jenyo, Gbolahan Jenyo and Opeyemi Jenyo. All of No. 1, Ilugun Street, Sango. Widow and children to the deceased.

29. Mr. Andy Nwankwo and Mr. Chukwudubem Nwankwo. Both of No.4, Akinola Johnson Close, Surulere Lagos. Widower and son to the deceased.

30. Mrs. Okonkwo Maria Ozulonye and Mr. Okonkwo Samuel Chiedu. Of No.7, Oluwa Lane Ebute Meta West Lagos, and f Flat 14, Block 3, E Close, 52 Road , Gowon Estate, Egbeda Lagos.

Widow and son to the deceased.

31. Hassan Taiwo and Adams Nurat. Both of No. 33, Itunagbon Street, Okunsolu Ibeju, Lekki Lagos. Brother and Daughter to the deceased.

32. Obioha Steven Uche and Chikodi Chukwu. Both of No. 13, Oshoigbore Street Ikotun Lagos. Widower and sister to the deceased.

33. Osikhumi Augustine Timothy, Rapheal Osikhumi Timothy, Godwin Osikhumi Timothy. All of No. 24, Akinsoji Street, Mafoluku Oshodi Lagos. Children to the deceased.

34. Saheed Olajide Aro and Suraj Yakub .Both of No. 20, Obale Lane Badia Ijora Lagos. Children to the deceased.

35. Patience Jallo, and Mrs. Hadiza Peter of No. 3, David Stafen Street, Igbo Elerin and Block C, Barumark Estate , Wuse Abuja.

Sister and niece to the deceased.

36. Mrs. Caroline Onyeagwara and Mr. Chima Onyeagwara.

Both of 34, Bunmi Ajakaye Street, Shubiri Lagos. Widow and one of the children to the deceased.

37. Cordilia Ifeoma Ochasi and Favour Adanma Ochasi. Both of 70, Lafenwa Street Ejigbo Lagos. Widow and Daughter to the deceased.

38. Effiong Asuquo Eton and Asuquo Eton. Both of Block 13, Flat 3, Games Village , Lagos. Two of the children to the deceased..

39. Tawakalitu Oyelamiand SamuelAdedapoEwedemi. Both of 42, Campbell Street Lagos Island, Lagos. Grand children to the deceased.

40. Mrs. Oluchi Cynthia Anisiobi and Mr. EmereAnisiobi. Both of 10, OlaideAwoye Street, Ilasamaya Lagos. Widow and brother to the deceased.

41. Adetoye Oguntubo, Adegbuyi Oguntubo. Both of No. 53, Market Street, Shomolu Lagos. Children to the deceased.

42. Mrs. Susan Salau and Mr. Mattew Orhue. Both of S Close, House 11, 23rd Road, Festac Town Lagos. Widow and Uncle to the deceased.

43. Mrs. Patricia Uwangho and Mr. EhisTongo. Both of 34, Kinnu-Ifa Street, Gbagada Lagos. Sister and brother to the deceased.

44. Mr. Godfrey Olafokunboh Inniss Palmer, Mrs. Lorraine Joy Amusan, Miss and Miss Sandra Abimbola Inniss Palmer. All of No. 49B, Oladipo Bateye Street G.R.A. Ikeja Lagos. Children to the deceased.

45. Mrs. Arit Yusufu Tremen Nee Esang Antai and Mr. Emmanuel EssangAntai. Both of No. 1, Fatiregun Street, Ebute Meta Lagos. Daughter and nephew to the deceased.

46. Mrs. Asalu Aina Eretiogo and Mrs. Adetutun Amoko. Both of 37/39 Olushi Street Lagos . Widow and sister to the deceased.

47. Lady Monica .E.Mbalisike, Dr. Jude Emeka Mbalisike and Mr. Leo Chinedu Mbalisike.

All of 234, Ojo Road, Ajegunle Lagos State. Widow and children to the deceased.

48. Mrs. Adetutu Juliana Osiyemi and Oluwaseun .O. Osiyemi.

Both of 5, Ijagbemi Street, Pedro Bariga Lagos State. Widow and son to the deceased.

49. Best OmonoIgboke and Osezemoya David Dada. Both of Lateef-Sanni Street, Ijesha Lagos. Sister and son to the deceased.

50. Onukogu Elizabeth .C. and Onukogu Emmanuel of 63, Jinadu Street, Aguda and NgwomaEbube , Owerri North, Imo State.

Widow and brother to the deceased.

51. Olubukola Bamgbose and Obafunmilayo Johnson of 23, Bola Shadipe Street , Surulere and 5, Shagamu Avenue Ilupeju Lagos. Daughter and granddaughter to the deceased.

52. Ademuyiwa Adetoro, Tajudeen Adetoro and Wosilat Adetoro. All of 6/8, Dabara Street, Olowogbowo Lagos State.

Children to the deceased.

53. Joaquim Safuri and Joaquim Jelili Oyeyemi. Both of 13/15, Karimu Street, Orile Iganmu. Mother and brother to the deceased.

54. Mrs. Comfort Akinboboye, Mrs. Sandra Bonema and Dr. (Mrs.) TosinIkerodah of 19, Adepoju Street Agodo, Egbe Lagos and 16, Stella Sholanke Street, Ajao Estate, Lagos. Widow and children to the deceased.

55. Oluwoyelu Kolawole and Bolanle Akingbola of 13 Wilson Avenue Okota, Lagos and 10, Kobiti Street, Mushin Lagos.

Widower and sister to the deceased.

56. Mrs. Bridget Odigue and Mr. Aimidogho Odigue. Both of Block D, Flat 2, Police Barracks, Satellite Town, Ojo Lagos.

Widow and son to the deceased.

57. Michael Toluwanimi Oladejo, Teslim Abiodun Oladejo, Kazeem Oladejo and Sulaimon Oladejo. All of Plot 186, Flat 4, Jakande Estate Lagos. Children to the deceased.

58. Mrs. Oluwaseyi Elizabeth Odulaja and M/S Oluwatobi Fifelomo Banjo. Both of No. 14, Idofin Street, Off Julius Elebitu Ketu.

Children to the deceased.

59. Messrs Dayo Ilori and Yomi Ilori. Both of No. 4, Oniwinde Street, Aguda Surulere Lagos. Children to the deceased.

60. Mrs. Muyinat Aderoju Kazeem and Mr. Towab Aderinola Kazeem. Both of 24, Ayantuga Street , Mushin Olosa Lagos.

Widow and son to the deceased.

61. Mrs. Folake Ogunlade and Mr. Sunday Olanipekun. Both of 4, Kosegbe Street, Ipaja Lagos. Widow and brother to the deceased.

62. Mrs. Rose Ekundayo-Imevbore and Mr. Odion Imevbore of 3, Celestial Avenue, IgbogboIkorodu, Local Government, Lagos and No. 9, Ayodele Street, Fadeyi Lagos. Widow and brother to the deceased.

63. Mrs. Comfort Monday Usoro, Victor Monday Usoro, Benjamin Monday Usoro and Anne Monday Usoro. All of No. 2, Adebisi Street, Ikate Itire Surulere, Lagos. Widow and three children to the deceased.

64. Larry Cole of No. 20, Olusegun Ojeleye Street, Lagos. The only surviving son to the deceased.

65. Akinwande Pearse , Col. Flora Pearse and Temitope Mike Pearse , of No. 14, Odutayo Street, Surulere, Lagos and HQ NAMC, Bonny Cantonment. Children to the deceased.

66. Olabisi Ganiyat Muhammed and Oluwaseyi Latifat Muhammed. Both of No. 2, Thomas Street, Lagos.Widow and first child to the deceased.

67. Hammed ABD Mojeed Arije and ABD Azeez Arije of No. 30, Community Road, Ikorodu Road, Owode Lagos and No. 5, Ohekenu Street, Fadeyi Lagos. Children to the deceased.

68. Arch Oludolapo Akinyemi Dada and Mrs. Olusola Adetoun Oworu. Both of No. 38, Sabiu Ajose Crescent, Surulere Lagos.

Children to the deceased.

69. Mrs. Elizabeth Afolabi, Mrs. Elizabeth Folashade Adekanye Nee Afolabi. Both of No. 51, mosafejo Road, Amukoko Lagos.

Widow and sister to the deceased.

70. Toba Aluko and Rachael Aluko. Both of No. 3, Oluwatoyin Street, Ladylak Bariga, Lagos. Brother and widow to the deceased.

71. Mrs. Lila Nelrose Amonye and Mr. Sigismund Onoghete Wilkey. Both of No. 7B, Fataikaffo Crescent, Agungi Lekki, Lagos.

Children to the deceased.

72. Mr. Alban .I. Agoha and Miss Chidinma Oluwatobi Agoha.Both of No. 268, Borno Way, Ebute-Metta, Lagos.Widow and daughter to the deceased.

73. Mrs. Glory Nkechi Ugochukwu, Mr. John Uzoma Ugochukwu and Miss Jane Uzoma Ugochukwu. All of No. 18A, Point Road, Apapa Lagos. Widow and two of the children to the deceased.

74. Chinwendu Nwaogwugwu and Benadine Nwaogwugwu. Both of No. 17, Moss Street, Ebute-Metta, West Lagos. Daughter and widow to the deceased.

75. Mr. Moruf Muhammed Mustapha and Alhaja Raolat Mustapha. Both of 221, Abaranje Road, Ikotun Lagos. Children to the deceased.

76. Mr. Kinsley Aigbokhaevbo and Mrs. Onnone Ekpuka. Both of House, 16, J Close, 5th Avenue, Festac Town, Lagos.

Children to the deceased.

77. Mrs. Josephine Umoren and Joseph Effiong Umoren. Both of No. 2, Dele Adebayo Street, IshashiOjo, Lagos. Widow and brother to the deceased.

78. Professor Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe and Mr. Oluwarotimi Ibidapo-Obe. Both of No. 11, Alvan Ikoku Crescent, University of Lagos.Children to the deceased.

I.O.AKINKUGBE (MRS) PROBATE REGISTRAR

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

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TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

THE NATION

BUSINESS

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

PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT Why housing-for-all remains elusive, by FMBN chief Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.com 08062722507

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FFORDABLE housing may remain elusive unless the Land Use Act and other impediments to housing, such as cost of property titles, are removed, the Chairman of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Chief Bisi Ogunjobi, has said.

He explained that the mortgage institution may have tried its best, but has not met the yearnings of the majority due to certain constraints that are related to the economy and the mortgage system.

Ogunjobi said obtaining ownership documents, such as the certificate of occupancy (C of O), remains a problem which must be tackled.

Besides, the cost of getting such titles is too high.

“It takes quite a long time to get the title to a property like the C of O, which takes three to four years or more. In Lagos State, to have the governor’s consent, which is compulsory in all states, might cost you as much as 20-25 per cent of the cost of the land,” Ogunjobi said, adding

By Muyiwa Lucas

that not only are these impediments to having a housing system, but also they make it imperative that there is a need to revise and update the Land Use Act to make it more user friendly.

When this is accomplished, bottlenecks to people having access and title to land would have become a thing of the past.

But this is not the only bane to affordable housing in the country.

Stakeholders in the sector said there is a need to have a mortgage system, which encourages a longer time period to buy and pay for houses, say for a 20-30-year tenor and at single digit interest rate. This is the practice in other developed countries. The FMBN chief agrees with this position, saying that long term funds is required for this type of regime to be put in place. But he regrets that this is not easily available because institutional investors such as the operators of the Pen-

sion Funds, have not really been very active in the mortgage or housing sector, blaming their seeming inactivity on the restriction of the amount of their resources which they can invest in such projects.

The issue of foreclosure is another problem that needs to be addressed in the industry. Stakeholders are of the opinion that foreclosure in Nigeria is not favourable because of the delay in getting debts sorted out.

“The attitude of Nigerian businessmen not paying back their loans is also a disservice to mortgage in the country. Somebody is owing you and you have no opportunity to take over possession of the property,” Ogunjobi explained.

Though the cost of building a house is still high, experts said it should not be so. Noting that a typical house has less than 40 per cent of local materials, they canvassed the use of local materials in the industry, which they reasoned is a key element to bringing down costs.

Ogunjobi disclosed that the FMBN

property@thenationonlineng.net muyiwalucas2002@yahoo.com

will soon look at its books, considering that the developers that are owing the mortgage institution are many, adding that this has led to a portfolio of non-performing loans - a development that has become a problem.

He contended that these are some of the impediments that have impacted on the functions of the PMIs or the FMBN and their ability to function efficiently.

However, all hope is not lost, he added.

With increased capitalisation, the FMBN, through the PMIs, can take on bigger projects and the institutions will be stronger and more robust in fulfilling their mandate.

They will also be in a position to assist more customers to achieve more; they will also be able to deploy more of their resources in developing the industry. To effectively achieve this will also require that more people are brought into the National Housing Fund (NHF) ambit as con-

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•From left: General Manager Admininistration/Special Duties, Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) Mrs. Abimbola Jijoho-Ogun; Managing Director Mr Oladimeji Oresanya and Group Head, Collections, Sterling Bank Plc Mr. Tunde Sonoiki, at the presentation of the bank’s branded kits to LAWMA in Lagos.

Guinness Nigeria partners NGO on safe water G UINNESS Nigeria Foundation (GNF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Concern Universal, a United Kingdom-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).

The MoU is meant to improve access to potable water in about 10 communities in Cross River State.

The newly inaugurated GNF is the special purpose vehicle through which Guinness Nigeria Plc and Diageo implements its corporate social responsibility programmes in health, education and empowerment and job creation in the Nigerian market.

Speaking at the signing, Country Director, Concern Universal, Mr. Tim Kellow, applauded Guinness Nigeria Foundation for supporting the Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria (RUSHPIN) programme by providing access to potable water in villages and communities that have achieved open defecation free status in Cross River State.

By Chikodi Okereocha

Kellow said: “This project is aimed at creating positive impact in Benue and Cross River states. The general unsanitary conditions of villages and communities across these two states often lead to a situation where human and animal faeces are carried into the only source of water in the community, a nearby stream or river. We are working with the local communities to enhance their understanding of the link between poor sanitation, hygiene behaviours and diseases like diarrhea, dysentery and cholera. However, the cycle of improved sanitation and hygiene behaviour will not be complete without access to safe water in villages and communities in Benue State and Cross River State.”

Director, Corporate Relations, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Sesan Sobowale, said GNF was delighted to be associated with the initiative, as it resonated with the company’s

‘Water of Life’ programme, which is in line with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce the number of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2015.

“I am quite delighted that we can sign this off today. We aim to commence work as soon as the project is commissioned in Calabar. We would also encourage other well-meaning multinational companies, that have deep rooted commitments to the development of host communities, to get involved in this initiative,” Sobowale said.

The Head, Sustainability and Responsibility also of Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mrs Adrianne Nwagwu, said: “Our involvement in providing clean water to communities has a remarkable history of its own. We presently have water projects of varying sizes in 15 states of the federation and we have maintained partnerships with other like-minded organisations to support the efforts of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to attain the MDG goals on water.”

•Ogunjobi

tributors, which will enable them to benefit from the FMBN and support the construction of houses for those who contribute to the NHF. “At the moment, we have been supporting the developers to be able to build houses, and if we have adequate recapitalisation then our ability to support those programmes becomes much more viable,” Ogunjobi he added.

Fed Govt inaugurates committee on NIP

HE Federal Government has inaugurated a project steering committee on National Implementation Plan for the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) for free environment in Nigeria.

At the inauguration, the Minister of Environment Mrs. Laurentia Mallam, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs. Rabi Jimeta, noted that the efforts of the Ministry to develop the first National Implementation Plan (NIP) in 2007 with stakeholders participation, documented the national status, gaps and intervention policy thrust for addressing POPs management, adding that it had given Nigeria access to international support for executing priority POPs programmes and projects.

The Minister assured that a multi-stakeholder committee that is being constituted would form part of the arrangement for the implementation of the enabling activities for the NIP update and review project.

She said POPs, when not properly managed, have implications for the socioeconomic and public health of Nigerians.

The minister disclosed that the country lost N94 billion to pesticide poison in 2005, noting

From Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

that the cross-cutting dimension of persistent POPs management and the magnitude of associated challenges call for collective responsibility among all stake holders in the sector.

This, she said, could only be addressed by instituting participatory measures and a decision making process, assuring that the ministry would take up the challenges to ensure that the NIP project is reviewed, updated, endorsed and sent to the convention secretariat with the involvement of stakeholders in the sector.

Consequent upon the amendment of Annexes A, B and C to the Stockholm convention on persistent organic pollutants, in 2008 and 2011, it was obligatory for convention parties, Nigeria inclusive to review, update and endorse their originalnational implementation plan, and same be transmitted to the convention secretariat in line with Article 7 of the convention.

She said when the NIP review and update project is completed, it will further enable Nigeria to attract support for chemicals and POPs management under Global Environment Facility (GEF) – 6 project cycle, which came into effect last month.

Ogun targets 1, 800 sites daily

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HE Ogun State government has increased the number of inspection teams for the homeowners’ charter programme from 13 to 52 to meet huge demands and ensure that it meets its 1,800 sites target daily.

The Director of Land Ratification Fatai Adeboyejo, made this known when he led a team of surveyors and land officers to some comunities of the state.

They are Ijebu-Ode, Akute, Sagamu-Ogijo, Abeokuta North, Abeokuta South and Ado-Odo Ota. He said on each site, there would be two sets of inspection teams be-

fore such property could be validated for Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) and building plan approval.

“Our people should be aware that town planners are different from surveyors and land officers, when the need arises for the surveyors to work on their sites, they must be available, for the surveyors are for another task entirely,” he explained.

He enjoined applicants to provide basic requirements such as survey plan, building plan and proof of ownership on land to surveyors during inspection for them to carry out their job effectively.

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TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

THE NATION

BUSINESS

TRANSPORTATION

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Tanker drivers issue ultimatum on Apapa-Oshodi Expressway

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ETROLEUM Tanker Drivers (PTD), an affiliate of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), has given the Federal Government two months to fix the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway to avoid fuel scarcity.

PTD National Public Relations Officer Comrade Adebayo Atanda, said though the union is not contemplating a strike, it might be impossible to access the tank farms along the axis and lift the petroleum products if the roads are not mended.

Atanda said if the rain continues with the same intensity it has been falling in recent weeks, it might not take more than two months before the road fails and Apapa becomes inaccessible.

He said: “When this happens, we might not be able to do our business of lifting these petroleum products because we may not be able to access the depots talk less of lifting petroleum products; if we all realise the importance of the centrality of this road to the entire country as the only road from where fuel is moved to every part of the country, then its repairs should be given the urgency it deserves.”

According to Atanda, 56 tank farms are located in Lagos State alone, out of which 35 are located along the Kirikiri, Trinity junction axis along the wharf/Tin can road.

This is where the condition of the road are most deplorable, causing extreme inconvenience to residents, tanker drivers and other road users.

He said the PTD is worried because that is the only road plied by all its members nationwide.

“Petroluem tankers come in from every part of this country to lift fuel

•One of the bad roads in Apapa, Lagos.

Stories by Adeyinka Aderibigbe

from these tank farms, most of which were along the largest in the country and these tank farms were specifically permitted to be in this axis because of its closeness to the wharf, so there is so much pressure on the road as a result of the heavy commercial and industrial activity that cluster around the port, which is the busiest in the country.

“We have been told that the contract for the road repair has been awarded to Julius Berger but in the last one year when we have been

told that they have been on this road, we are yet to see them around Apapa, and the Wharf area. They are yet to get to any of these tank farms and these are areas that their activities are most needed. That is why we are suggesting that maybe another contractor would be assigned to this area or government would direct them to make the Kirikiri/Wharf a priority on their rehabilitation programme,” he added.

He said PTD has often been at the butt of criticisms as residents and the government usually find it con-

PHOTO: SOLOMON ADEOLA

venient to blame members of his union for creating problems on the road. At a time, he explained, the state government approved that his men could be parking only on service lanes, but these lanes are now so bad that they can no longer serve the purpose thereby forcing the drivers to get back on the road.

As part of the union’s corporate social responsibility, his members, he further stated, usually carry out remedial works on the road, sandfilling the depressed spots with crushed stones and rubbles, but these do not stand the test of

Enforcement of master plan begins today

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HE enforcement of the new transport policy takes off in Lagos State today. Under the policy tagged: “Lagos State Strategic Master plan,” only vehicles with the Lagos State number-plate will be permitted to operate as commercial passenger vehicles.

Also, drivers and conductors yet to be fully registered with the state would be apprehended and prosecuted.

The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Kayode Opeifa said the policy is to ensure sanity in commercial vehicle operations and improve passengers’ safety.

He warned that other vehicles that failed to comply would be apprehended found on Lagos roads.

Government earlier set the deadline for the commencement of the master plan for January 1, but shifted it more than twice due to low compliance and pressure from critical stakeholders, especially members of the transport unions.

Opeifa said: “To ensure easy identification and a corporate outlook for all transport operators, the state government and the various transport unions agreed and approved a uniform.

“The take-off of this component of the policy as well as that of the development of a data base for the state’s public transport system has been affected due to the low level of compliance.”

The commissioner disclosed that going by available data, while 24,257 commercial vehicles, 28, 902 drivers, 591 conductors and 7,637 taxis exist in the state, only 12,000 drivers have so far registered with the state government.

He pointed out that the ongoing registration exercise has been free without any charge, but that with effect from July 1, operators who are yet to be captured in the exercise will now pay the stipulated price of N20,000 for commercial passengers vehicle owner, N5,000 for drivers and N2,000 for conductors.

Opeifa urged transport unions that have complied to feel free to go about their normal business activities at the commencement of the full enforcement.

The commissioner explained that with effect from that date, all commercial vehicles must use the state

colour scheme for danfo and molues with the black stripes, new uniform and badges for drivers and conductors.

He added that each commercial vehicle will be fitted with designated route numbers, names of drivers and conductors as well as phone numbers of Traffic Radio to enable passengers make calls and report any yellow bus seen to be causing obstruction on the highways.

According to him, the development will enable the state government to nab the operator and invite them for interrogation and for necessary correction in order to restore sanity to Lagos roads.

‘Why passengers are scared’

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•Opeifa

Lagos explains introduction of vehicle tag

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HE Lagos State government introduced the Temporary Vehicle Tag, TVT, to improve vehicle and motorists’ safety and to discourage vehiclerelated crimes, the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa has said.

Speaking at the stakeholders’ meeting on the introduction of TVT by the Motor Vehicle Administration Agency, MVAA, at the Adeyemi Bero-Auditorium, in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, Opeifa said the TVT guarantees a means of identification for yet-to-be-fully registered newly acquired vehicles pending full registration.

“It ensures that, for a token, a tagged vehicle’s data are captured and stored in the MVAA’s databank for easy tracking of such a vehicle in the event of security challenges.

The objective is to keep unregistered vehicles off Lagos

roads in order to reduce the festering use of such for criminal activities as well as to discourage vehicle theft while also enabling owners to use their vehicles within hours of port clearance and within the stipulated validity period of 30 days, without fear of apprehension by security agents,” he explained to automobile and spare parts dealers at the meeting.

He said the TVT was introduced to auto dealers to enable them appreciate the product and its working first-hand, before launch and also to seek clarifications on their roles in the implementation of the TVT scheme.

“As dealers, it is important for you to help government educate the public through your clients that the TVT is not a substitute for full vehicle registration, but only a provisional permit which confers on the vehicle some of the benefits

time because of the pressure on the road.

He urged government to move swiftly and address the deplorable road in order to reduce the suffering of the people, especially his men, who according to him, are sitting on flammable products and to whom the roads have become a very grave danger.

Besides regularly fixing the road, the union, he added, constitutes a task force to manage traffic especially around all the tank farms and depots within the area, and these have helped greatly in minimising traffic gridlock around Apapa.

He thanked the Lagos State government for setting up the Drivers Institute, which his members have been patronising for regular refresher driver trainings, a development that has helped greatly in reducing the carnage on the road.

“On our part we complement this training with a thorough implementation of safety regulations of our members and we also have vehicle inspection officers at various depots who ensure that not only are the trailers road worthy at every trip, they equally ensure that any driver manning those trailers are duly certified and qualified to be behind the wheels,” Atanda said.

However, while admitting the slow pace of work, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Oluwatoyin Obikoya, said work on the Oshodi/Apapa Expressway has reached 38 per cent completion.

Obikoya, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria recently, said the high volume of vehicles, indiscriminate parking of articulated vehicles and reckless driving have slowed down the pace of work.

of full registration during the validity period,” he said, urging the registered dealers to partner with MVAA in the issuance of the TVT. Opeifa stated that partnering with government would be vital in order to protect the integrity of the TVT and to discourage forgeries, warning that government would not hesitate to strip erring vehicle dealers of the authority to issue the tag forthwith.

The commissioner also appealed to auto dealers to comply with the provision of the law by registering their businesses, lamenting that their compliance to registration had remained unsatisfactory.

Permanent Secretary, MVAA, Akin Hanson, said the introduction of the TVT was in furtherance of MVAA’s movement to the next

OOR state of many boats and ferries plying the waterways have been identified as reasons behind the low patronage of water transportation.

The Lagos Area Manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr. Muazu Sanbo, gave the hint in his office at a meeting with operators and stakeholders in the water transportation business.

Sanbo said the authority will soon put in place measures to ensure that all safety requirements are met by operators.

He listed these measures to include compulsory operators’ permits, survey certificate of all water craft used to ply the waterways, use of manifest by all operators and compulsory certificate of competence for all captains driving water craft on the waterways.

Sambo said all operators must obtain their permits, survey certificates as well as stickers in the next three months or face sanction which may include stopping such offending firm from operating.

He noted that the authority has equally printed for the use of all operators a manifest which must be used by all.

He said NIWA’s decision to print the manifest is to ensure the uniformity of the document used by all operators.

He also said the advantage of operators insisting on passengers writing their names on the manifest is that it comes handy for insurance claims in case of accident, as well as serving as a source of information on all the passengers on a particular trip.

The Area Manager said all operators must obtain their drivers’ permit from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), before the end of the year.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

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THE NATION

BUSINESS AVIATION

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Recipe for growth of African airlines

FRICAN airlines need a viable business plan, a competent management and an enabling regulatory environment to succeed, the former SecretaryGeneral of African Airlines Association ( AFRAA), Nick Fadugba, has said.

Fadugba spoke in an interview in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

He said airlines needed a large pool of aircraft and air traffic route networks to operate profitably, adding that the scale and size of an airline’s operations were important because many airlines failed in the past due to lack of control over their revenues and cost of operation He said: “Running a successful airline is a very difficult job. You need deep pockets, a viable business plan, a competent management and an enabling regulatory and economic environment to run a profitable airline anywhere in the world.

For airlines to survive and prosper, they need a critical mass

Stories by Kelvin Osa-Okunbor Aviation Correspondent

of aircraft and air traffic and an optimal route network, he said, adding that a look at some local carriers showed that they have most of the ingredients to be effective and efficient.

“They have a sizeable number of aircraft with a large route network and almost certainly a large revenue turnover. So the size and scale of an airline’s operations are important. It is very hard to compete against bigger African and international airlines with just a handful of aircraft.

“I believe the message for Nigeria, especially if we take Ethiopia, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa as examples, is that airlines need a reasonably large fleet to be able to compete effectively. On the other hand, all airlines must start somewhere. Smaller airlines can succeed if they keep very tight control of their revenues and costs, or focus on niche markets.”

He said many Nigerian carriers were struggling to survive because they are competing on the same routes, stressing that such a development would make it herculean for them to operate profitably.

He said he would like to see a situation in which airlines in Nigeria enter into mutually beneficial partnership and joint ventures with others, saying it would make them more efficient and profitable.

He called on the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) to champion the cause of partnership, noting that all the domestic airlines in the country are owned by shrewd business people who, in addition to wishing to provide safe and efficient air services,also want to make a decent and significant return on their investment.

“Combining forces could help achieve these two objectives. I would like the airline owners, at least, those that are willing, to sit in a room, lock the door, and ask themselves: ‘How can we work to-

•Former Director-General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA) Dr Harold Demuren (right) receiving a life-time achievement award from Fadugba at the African Aviation Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

HE Supervising Minister of Aviation, Dr Samuel Ortom, has said aviation agencies would continue to generate more revenue to ensure completion of going airport projects.

Ortom, said in Lagos that generating more revenue had become imperative given the over N174 billion accumulated debt from the third phase of the airports remodeling.

He said efforts were on to compile a comprehensive report on all ongoing projects to enable the government work out an arrangement to pay the debt and prioritise the implementation of the projects.

Ortom said the aviation sector would require more funds to fix ongoing airport infrastructure.

He noted that the funding gap in the sector has become wide in view of the various projects that had been embarked on.

Ortom said the implementation of the aviation master plan is still in place to turn around the aviation sector for enhanced efficiency.

His words: “ I will soon come up with a comprehensive report on all the projects going on currently. ‘’This further confirms why we have a commitment of N174 billion!

Some of the commitments are on projects that have not even started.

‘’As we speak, work is going on in other airports. Some have been completed. Some of the projects have been suspended due to paucity of funds but you will agree that the 2014 budget has been delayed but it has been signed into law by Mr. President and once the funds are released to us, we will make it available to contractors to resume work. ‘’We will make sure we complete all the projects that are ongoing but even at that, we have to prioritise to complete those that are close to being completed.”

On how to address funding challenges in the aviation sector, Ortom said : “ We will programme the projects based on their current level of execution. Though we have funding challenges, through internally generated revenue, we can achieve a lot. We will strive to generate more revenue and plough it back into the system’’.

He expressed confidence in the preparedness of the President Jonathan to assist his ministry saying: ‘’We also appeal to Mr. President for more funding and we are confident if there are funds he could assist us with, he would oblige us.

He is very committed to the re-

He said plans are afoot to move the aircraft into other productive areas when they are phased out of scheduled operations in Nigeria.

He spoke of plans by the airline to carry out route analysis of its operations, before it embarks on further expansion of routes. “ Competition is not affecting our operations in any way. Despite the coming on board of new carriers, with the reduction in air fares, DANA Air is still having its fair share of passenger traffic.

The load factor has remained steady, it has not dipped, because we strategise with on time departure. The competition may be affecting other players in some way, but our projections from rev-

enue yield management have not been altered.

“We think competition is good for the industry; it will enhance capacity and increase passenger traffic, because more people could now travel with lower fares. We are still planning to bring in two additional Boeing 737 aircraft to boost our operations. The aircraft would have since arrived; we have to grapple with slot allocation at the maintenance repair overhaul facility to carry out comprehensive checks on the aircraft.

“Once, we secure the allocation at the aircraft repair facility, the Boeing aircraft would be brought in. But, before we bring in the aircraft, we must carry out major repair checks on them. ‘’After that we will start working out how to phase out the McDonnell 83 aircraft we have been flying. But, we are thinking of what to do with the aircraft, we are already talking to partners on how best to put these aircraft into other use,” he said.

‘Competition’ll enhance service delivery’

EW entrants into the aviation sector will enhance service delivery as their low fares will bring about more passengers.

The Head of Commercial, DANA Air, Obialor Mbanuzuo, said the airlines’ coming is good for business because they would make operators wake up to the realities of the market.

Mbanuzuo said competition would increase capacity for existing carriers.

He told The Nation that DANA Air welcomed the competition as it would bring about an increase in passenger traffic The DANA Air official said the airline was leveraging on timely departure as its unique selling point, to attract passengers, even as its load factors in the last few months has not dipped on account of competition.

He said the passenger traffic for the airline has remained steady.

Mbanuzuo said the airline would consolidate on its old routes, which he listed to include: Lagos-Abuja, Port Harcourt and Uyo before embarking on new

He also observed that several airlines in Nigeria operate the same aircraft and engines and advised them to form aircraft spare parts pools and engine pools so that they could achieve significant cost savings as well as greater operational efficiency. “The same approach could be applied to in-flight catering, reducing costs through joint purchasing.

Of course, each airline would have to ensure that it meets its payment obligations on time, otherwise such schemes would rapidly fail. Through such cost-saving arrangements, Nigerian airlines could maintain their individual identities, whilst working closely together.

“Even when it comes to negotiating with aircraft and engine leasing companies, airlines planning to acquire similar equipment could work together to obtain better pricing.

Two or three airlines negotiating together for a larger pool of aircraft are likely to obtain a better lease rate than one airline negotiating on its own for one or two aircraft,” he said.

Minister promises to generate more revenue for projects

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gether?’ ‘’If two or three, or more Nigerian airlines joined forces they would have a larger fleet size and combined resources and would become more bankable and more formidable.

“Sincerely Nigeria has all the ingredients for a successful airline industry but many of the players are too small, weak and undercapitalised to take advantage of the market opportunities. ‘’I believe our airlines need to achieve a critical mass so as to benefit from economies of scale. I believe Nigerian airlines should come together and work together for the common good, no matter how difficult this may seem in the early stages.In the past, I have heard some airlines in Nigeria say that it would be difficult for them to work together, as they have different owners and philosophies, and they are competitors. I agree that at the moment it would be too optimistic to envisage equity swaps among the airlines,” he said.

routes.

He noted that the lower air fare regime may affect other carriers, because of inability to offer timely departure .

Mbanuzuo said the delay in the arrival of its two additional aircraft was occasioned by hiccups in getting slots at the aircraft maintenance facility abroad.

He said in the coming weeks, the two aircraft would arrive to consolidate operations, even as DANA Air is working out a phasing out plan for its Mc Donnell 83 aircraft.

The McDonnell 83 aircraft, he said, would completely be phased out in 2015 just as the airline is considering plans to deploy the aircraft into other areas rather than scheduled operations.

‘We think competition is good for the industry; it will enhance capacity and increase passenger traffic, because more people could now travel with lower fares’

vamping of the aviation sector. He is the initiator of the transformation in the aviation sector and for the first time a president is devoting this much attention to aviation in Nigeria and committed to revamping the entire 22 airports in Nigeria. ‘’I want to assure Nigerians that the projects will be completed. The projects are part of the aviation master plan dully approved by the Federal Executive Council. Every single project that was started in the remodeling plan in the phase one, two and three will be completed.

“It is a matter of stepping up our revenue generation. We have massive opportunities. If we are able to close gap, we will generate enough revenue in addition to the federal government funding to execute the projects.”

Etihad cautions on deal

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TIHAD Airways has cautioned that it may take several months to close the deal for a 49 per cent stake in Alitalia.

Etihad said the agreement with Alitalia was the latest step in a process which could lead to the finalisation of a proposed transaction.

According to a statement by the Abu Dhabi-based airline, while “principal terms and conditions” had been agreed upon, several steps remain before the deal is sealed.

The statement further said: ‘’Further steps will include: completion of the transaction documents; finalisation of the conditions precedent; application for regulatory approval; and final shareholder and board approvals,” adding, “These next steps will be worked through over the coming months.”

The statement said Alitalia urgently needs the infusion of cash that Etihad will provide through its equity purchase. Despite a major rescue package that was finalised at the end of last year, Alitalia has continued to hemorrhage cash. Industry observers believe it is likely to run out of cash by the end of the summer.

Alitalia, like many European legacy carriers, has faced tough times in recent years. Italy, in particular, has proved lucrative for low-cost carriers, which have eaten into Alitalia’s domestic market. The airline also faces competition on its home turf from Italy’s growing high-speed rail network.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

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COMMENTARY EDITORIALS

FROM OTHER LANDS

Theysaiditcouldn’tbedone

Systemic failure •Too many corruption cases pending and it does not show a serious fight from the anti-graft agencies

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N the surface, the news that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) are currently probing 150 private companies as well as Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for the violation of various parts of the Public Procurement Act (2007) gives the impression of a vigorous drive by government against corruption in Nigeria.

This was revealed by the DirectorGeneral, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr Emeka Emeze, at the opening of a recent Procurement Cadre Conversion Training Programme in Abuja. We are unimpressed by the disclosure that about 200 persons are under investigation for sundry violations of the Act, including collusion in contract bidding, use of false documents, false claims by con-

‘There is every reason to believe that neither the EFCC nor the ICPC has the capacity to deal with the scale of these infractions of the Procurement Act. The EFCC, for instance, has claimed that one of its limitations is paucity of finance. How then can it cope with this additional burden, especially when scores of cases it has been prosecuting, some of them for over a decade, remain unresolved?’

tracting firms and suppliers, and manipulation of the procurement process.

The large number of individuals and organisations allegedly involved in these infractions of the Procurement Act only reinforces the abysmal and pervasive degree of corruption in the country. Perversion of the procurement process is one of the major avenues of criminal enrichment through frivolous and fraudulent contract awards. Speaking on the occasion, the Lead Procurement Specialist of the World Bank, Chief BayoAwosemusi, noted that 30 per cent savings would be achieved if the country’s procurement procedures meet international standards and reflect the principles and objectives of economy, efficiency, value for money and timeliness. This shows to what extent the country is being bled through procurement violations in both the public and private sectors.

The reported scale of violations of the Public Procurement Act is suggestive of an alarming systemic failure and the impotence of existing checks and balances to help minimise corruption, particularly in the public sector. A certain category of contracts, for instance, must go through the Ministerial Tenders Board, the Due Process Office and the executive council at the federal level. Also, contracts above a certain magnitude must pass the scrutiny of the State Tenders Board and the Executive Council at the state level. In addition to this, there are audit departments in the various MDAs as well as private sector organisations, which are expected to ensure adherence to due process. The offices of the state and federal Auditor- Generals are required to

routinely report violations of the financial process to the Public Accounts Committees of the legislature for necessary action. How could there be such a high degree of violation of the Act if the systemic checks and balances are functional?

There is every reason to believe that neither the EFCC nor the ICPC has the capacity to deal with the scale of these infractions of the Procurement Act. The EFCC, for instance, has claimed that one of its limitations is paucity of finance.

How then can it cope with this additional burden, especially when scores of cases it has been prosecuting, some of them for over a decade, remain unresolved? There is, therefore, no alternative to ensuring that systemic checks and balances work so that fraud is prevented in the first place and scarce public resources are not expended on investigating and prosecuting indicted fraudsters.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim, was certainly unconvincing when he charged those involved in the procurement process to conduct themselves with the highest sense of responsibility, ethics and integrity, warning that those found culpable would be punished. These words sound hollow because the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan does not itself adhere to the lofty standards espoused by Mr Anyim. Not only does it pardon persons found guilty of corruption, it has turned a blind eye to scandalous allegations of corruption by some of its top officials. In such a climate of pervasive corruption, large-scale violations of the Procurement Act is no surprise.

An alarming trend •The Federal Government must rise up to contain the refugee crisis looming in Nigeria as a result of the Boko Haram conflict

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ATEST facts emanating from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on the refugee situation across the world, and especially in Nigeria, are frightening. The leap between 2012 and last year indicates that the world is getting more unsafe and the insurgency in the North Eastern part of Nigeria has enlisted the country as a major contributor to the new trend. The UNHCR Global Trend Reports just released show that while there are 57,000 refugees from Nigeria flocking into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, the number of internally displaced persons might have reached five million or 10 per cent of the internally displaced persons in the world.

Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, John Enoh, who spoke at a lecture at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, endorsed the figures as he expressed worries that, with the relentless strikes by the terrorists in different parts of the country, the situation could actually get out of hand. He called attention to the attendant social challenges, including starvation, shelter needs and possible pressure on the lean resources available for development. We support his call on the National Assembly to be proactive in responding to the security challenge in the country and welfare of the displaced.

A breakdown of the figures released by the UNHCR indicates that there were 16 per cent more internally displaced in the world in 2013 than there were the previous year, and that 63 per cent of the displaced persons live in Syria, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Su-

dan. Contrary to previous claims by the developed countries, the world body disclosed that 80 per cent of refugees flock to developing countries. The implications are serious. It is terrifying to contemplate what would happen if the insurgents in the North who strike at will across the North East, and make forays to parts of the North West, were to remain invincible in the next two years. Given the population of Nigeria and her importance to the economy of the West African sub-region, it is obvious that many countries in the area would easily be overrun by fleeing Nigerians. Other parts of the country that may be adjudged relatively safe would possibly cave in under the pressure of those moving southwards from the theatre of war.

In recent times, poverty has remained a cause for worry; preventable communicable and non-communicable diseases are on the increase in all parts of the country, even as basic infrastructure such as roads, basic healthcare centres, functional schools and decent transportation are still unavailable. A refugee/displaced persons crisis would only compound the problem and further raise the bar in unemployment and the crime situation in the country.

We call on the armed forces to come up with fresh tactics to arrest the trend. The military must do more by way of showing positive results, for example in rescuing the abducted Chibok girls. Most Nigerians in all parts of the country feel insecure. The recent arrest in Abia State of 33 buses loaded with people from the North is a cause for alarm. The Chief of Defence Staff should be seen more than

heard.

Nigerians want to see the outcome of the disproportionate allocation of scarce resources to security. We are convinced that the only way to convince Nigerians to stay in their homestead, especially in areas ravaged by the insurgency, is by showing that the state is winning the war and is capable of arresting the trend. This is not the situation at the moment. Already, the picture in the federal capital territory is that the residents are almost as unsafe as the people in the North east.

The consequence of this is better imagined.

At a time in the country’s history, the need to fight a civil war arose; history has returned a verdict on those in government then. Similarly, this government would one day have to render account on its actions and inactions in containing the Boko Haram menace.

‘In recent times, poverty has remained a cause for worry; preventable communicable and non-communicable diseases are on the increase in all parts of the country, even as basic infrastructure such as roads, basic healthcare centres, functional schools and decent transportation are still unavailable’

– The Fate of Syria’s Chemical Weapons

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ESS than a year ago, President Bashar al-Assad of Syria and his forces were sporadically using chemical weapons on rebels and civilians in the civil war. Today, the stockpile that he grudgingly admitted to under international pressure is gone.

There are still questions about whether Syria retains hidden weapons and related technologies, but the deal brokered by the United States and Russia that eliminated the known arsenal — a 1,300-ton cache of chemical agents — has achieved an important result.

On Monday, Syria delivered the last of its known stocks to the Syrian port of Latakia where they were loaded aboard a Danish ship. Some of the arsenal is being destroyed in Finland, while other materials for weapons will be destroyed at sea on an American ship and at facilities in the United States, Britain and Germany.

The 2013 agreement was ambitious and the logistics daunting, especially because the chemical munitions components had to be cataloged and removed in the middle of a war. Even so, elimination of these weapons has not ended the Syrian civil war that has killed more than 160,000 people, displaced millions and spread into Iraq through a Sunni militant group, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

President Obama last week asked Congress for $500 million to finance the Syrian rebels who are trying to topple Mr. Assad, but it is unclear how or whether this could turn the tide.

The chemical removal operation is a particular accomplishment for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which implements a treaty that outlaws such arms and has worked with the United Nations to ensure that Syria fulfilled its commitments under the deal. However, the group, which won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2013, could not say categorically that Syria no longer possessed any chemical weapons. There is still verification work to do, and Syria has still not destroyed — as required — a dozen facilities used for making and mixing them.

One big weakness of the deal is that only the weapons acknowledged by Syria were affected; it is entirely possible that Mr. Assad is hiding an undeclared stockpile. Another question is whether he is trying to get around his commitments by using chlorine gas as a weapon. Chlorine is a common industrial chemical and not on the list of banned chemical agents, but its use as a weapon would still violate the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty.

American officials and international monitors must stay vigilant, of course, but the biggest burden falls on Russia to make sure that Mr. Assad, its ally in Damascus, does not subvert the deal in any way.

Despite the caveats and delays over nine months, the outcome has proved the wisdom of President Obama’s decision to threaten, and then back away from, military strikes against Syrian targets when Russia proposed a negotiated solution after the Syrians were found using sarin gas in August 2013 on the town of Ghouta, killing hundreds of people.

The resulting deal, which obligated Syria to give up its stockpile of mustard gas and precursor chemicals for sarin gas and other nerve agents, reduced the threat to innocent civilians. Mr. Obama averted military strikes, which were deeply unpopular at home and could have pulled the United States into the Syrian war, and President Vladimir Putin of Russia, faulted for selling arms to Mr. Assad and enabling his atrocities, saw his way to a diplomatic success.

President Obama’s critics excoriated the deal, but they have been proved wrong. The chemical weapons are now out of the hands of a brutal dictator — and all without firing a shot.

– New York Times

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

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

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CARTOON & LETTERS

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IR: When Senator Ibikunle Amosun cleared the backlog of N1 billion CONTISS and Monetization allowances of OOU staff inherited from the Daniel administration, Ekiti election was not in view. When he offset the thtmonth salaries owed staff of the same institution by the former government, there was no election in view.

When he paid the minimum wage of N18,250 as against N18,000, and implemented the increment across board, no one talked about elections. It is worth mentioning that Ogun ranks number one in the

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Amosun and Ogun workers South-west, possibly across the country, in the across-board implementation of the minimum wage.

When he offset the inherited bonuses and allowances of workers from 2008 to 2011 before the current

year, did he do so because of elections?

When Amosun paid union dues, cooperative deductions and bank loans of workers, which the previous government deducted but failed to remit, all before 2014,

Super Eagles: All about self?

IR: No man goes to war and foots his own bill. When people are sent to represent their country, it is expected that inasmuch as they have not gone to the war front on their own, they owe their victories to their nation.

Nigerians are very passionate about football and will give their all to support their team. Some Nigerians recently died at a football

viewing centre in Yobe State in an attack by the Boko Haram terrorist groups. Probably, the people had no electricity at home to watch the game or they could not afford to buy the “I pass my neighbour generating set so they went for the cheaper option of going to a viewing centre and so became victims of circumstance.

The Nigerian senior national

team is doing the nation proud in far away Brazil. They have grown with every passing game despite the fact that they have been criticized for not being tactical. From the first goal scored by Osaze Odemwingie to the brace by Ahmed Musa against Bosnia and Argentina respectively, one would have expected that they would have dedicated their goals to those who lost

Gov. Wada, please pay us our allowance IR: I hereby appeal Governor Idris Wada to without delay pay the annual leave bonuses due to civil servants in Kogi State.

He did not pay the 2013 leave bonus and now 2014 is in the middle and there no sign that he is ready to pay.

Apart from non-payment of leave bonuses, the governor has refused to implement promotion of Civil Servants since he took over. He has also refused to pay the annual salary increment which workers are entitled to.

This is unfair and dishonorable.

Apart from the salary which is very meager, these are entitlements which workers all over the world

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certainly there was no election in view.

When the governor cleared the arrears promotion of thousands of Ogun workers, including teachers due since 2008 - all before 2014 was Ekiti election in view?

are entitled to.

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) which is supposed to put pressure on government to pay these allowances has gone to sleep since Idris Wada assumed office in 2011. The fear is that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Kogi State Council has compromised workers’ interests.

Apart from non payment of leave bonus, implementation of promotion and increment, salaries of primary schools teachers and local government workers are not being paid. This is not definitely good for Kogi State workers. Though, the governor is coming from the private sector this attitude is not mo-

tivating workers. This is not a good way to save money for the government.

Even the military administration paid leave bonus and implement promotion and increment for Civil Servants. Governor, Wada should use his good offices to pay Kogi State Civil Servants their 2013 and 2014 leave bonuses and implement their outstanding promotions and increment.

He should do this without delay.

This is the only way Civil Servants can be part of his transformation agenda.

• Ibrahim Abdullahi, Lokoja.

their lives at the viewing centre or use the medium to make appeal for the release of the over 200 girls kidnapped in Chibok. But what did we see? First it was Osaze who dedicated his goal to his son and Musa later dedicating his own goals to his sons too. If I may ask, what about the other players who are yet to score a goal? Or is it now a thing of personal and family glory?

The nation griefs daily; civilians and military are murdered by the Boko Haram sect in the North with rising cases of kidnap and murder of people in the South. These players should know that we only take time from our troubled times to rejoice with them whenever they win or score a goal. The heart cannot weep all day; she searches for happiness no matter how far just to keep body and soul going.

They should know that our existence as a nation does not depend on the outcome of their participation in Brazil; whether they win the World Cup or not Nigeria remains Nigeria. We should all learn that when you wear the national colours, isn’t for you or for your family but for the whole of Nigeria.

• Nathaniel Adeiza Abdullahi, Abuja

Certainly not.

When the Ogun State civil servants planned their Public Service Week and invited the governor as their own, they had no reason to consider any election in Ekiti or elsewhere. The event even commenced before the Ekiti poll.

The governor chose an event that should be adjudged as apt to announce further welfare package for the workers, then agents of failed politicians say it’s because of polls.

Was it also because of polls that Amosun introduced free education at the nursery, primary and secondary schools, which our people at the grassroots last enjoyed over 30 years ago?

When he paid the severance allowance of past political office holders, he made it clear that what led to the postponement on two or three occasions was that he could not reconcile how the civil servants who had put in 35 years would be owed their dues while he paid the politicians who served just for eight years. He said that caused the delay.

How this could be related to Ekiti election beats my imagination.

Amosun has always been a welfarist, friend of workers and the masses. That is why his government is not owning salaries of workers and pays them as and when due since he became governor in 2011. That’s why he’s clearing (sometimes piecemeal) the arrears of pensions, gratuities, etc. of workers that had served the state meritoriously. That is why he’s implementing free education, which takes the burden of school fees, purchase of textbooks, etc. off the shoulders of our people. And that’s why he’s loved by the overwhelming majority of teachers, civil servants, farmers, market women, artisans, students, etc.

• Soyombo Opeyemi Abeokuta

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

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COMMENTS making a hash of the first), and for whom a fissured Ekiti APC would be virtual gift from the gods!

If all these would not jolt into sense the Ekiti gladiators, behaving as children without a sense of history, then it is plain F Ekiti ronu [Ekiti think] echoes hubris, the good old Yoruba Yoruba ronu, iconic caution as mass eedi, at play! protest music by late dramatist, Olakunle MOB, rumoured to be lining Hubert Ogunde, during the 1st Republordbeek1@gmail.com, 08054504169 (Sms only, please) Abimbola up joining forces with Labour lic’s political storm, it is simply because Party (LP) would probably dea storm of similar magnitude is hoverstroy himself. That is trite, but ing over Ekiti. if only conventional wisdom Should this storm dawn and thunder holds right. break, as the pan-Yoruba one did in the So, after Akintola and 1st Republic Western Region, Ekiti peoof wise elders in ancient Athens, from which Awo and allied Omoboriowo, is MOB bracing up to lead the latest generation matters must be cleared. But aside from holding this virtual ple would be the grand victims in the present South West. of progressives-turned-demons in Yoruba politics? But what if “spiritual brief”, to use legal-speak, they have done pretty litIndeed, in Ekiti, the third generation of Obafemi Awolowo’s conventional wisdom turns grand folly and MOB turns the tatle to concretise the Awo developmental essence. developmental politics are about to fall upon themselves, ironible?

Indeed, it is not illegitimate to charge this bloc with illicit cally as the paterfamilias and his policy greats did; making Still, why would a man take such a perilous path? Why would doctrinaire trade-offs, for immediate but eventually ruinous hideous political killing fields of the same Western vista they MOB eye possible glory but probable doom, and yet develop a political gains (as the Afenifere grandees did with Ogun’s former had showcased startling policy wonders; and birthing the first Samson’s complex to stake it all? That is what is not trite! governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, OGD, and his Ogun Peoples generation of Yoruba political sinners and saints!

That would suggest an intolerable political situation in his Democratic Party, PDP; and currently with Olusegun Mimiko Now what is this: history inevitably repeating itself or plain APC, that makes coexistence mutually unbeneficial. So, if a and his Labour Party in Ondo), when faced with political preshubris, pushing towards avoidable ruin? man cannot legitimately actualise his dreams in a union, why sures from rival claimants to the Awo legacy.

Enter Samuel Ladoke Akintola and his fallen angels, among should he invest his time and loyalty in it? Vaulting ambition?

Then there is the Bola Tinubu group, from the Alliance for the brightest and best in the old Action Group (AG), the first Maybe. But ambition is no crime, and “vaulting” is only an Democracy (AD) at the start of this 4th Republic, to Action Congeneration of Yoruba political sinners versus Awo and faithgress (AC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and now All adjective! ful disciples, the first generation of Yoruba saints; then Akin nd Progressives Congress (APC). Though the Afenifere bloc reThat takes the discourse to the Fayemi side, now posing as Omoboriowo and pals, among the brightest and best in the 2 gards Asiwaju Tinubu and his younger Turks as a breed of Republic Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), second generation of saints in the divide. They are not. MOB and his coalition of the upstarts (and on both sides, the contempt is mutual), the Tinubu Yoruba sinners versus Michael Adekunle Ajasin and brood, aggrieved accuse the governor of bad faith and of use-and-dump bloc has done more than any other to actualise Awo’s developsecond generation of Yoruba saints. tactics. mental vision.

Now, is the black-or-white, famously unforgiving and notoThese allegations could be right or wrong. But the reality is Indeed, what the AD class of 1999-2003 miserably flunked, riously ancestral-feuding Yoruba political clime ripe for a third that one side is aggrieved enough to torpedo the whole house. the Tinubu current brood in the South West is doing with pageneration of sinners and saints, in the looming Ekiti toss-up That cannot be good for a government that even the aggrieved nache: in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun and Ekiti states, with the between Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (MOB) and John Kayode admit – even if in private – has done enough to earn re-election.

South West boasting robust development makeovers, remiFayemi (JKF)?

MOB must beware of the Coriolanus syndrome. Shakespeare’s niscent of the golden Awo days, in stark contrast to the abject Both lead feuding blocs of the All Progressives Congress Coriolanus, in a fit of fatal anger, joined the Volscians against developmental puddle of the Olusegun Obasanjo mainstream (APC), present South West political lords of the manor, and his native Corioli. He lost his life in the gambit. era. closest articulators of Awo’s development politics, among the But JKF too must be wary of the hubris of gubernatorial conBut aside from the Afenifere and Tinubu blocs, there are the varied groups laying claim to the Awo legacy. ceit to crush a comrade turned foe. And those bent on media Awo ideological fair weather friends, exemplified by the Indeed, Awo political descendants are no united phalanx. demonization of MOB are tragically mistaken. He who is down Mimikos and OGDs, who nibble the Awo rhetoric for political From the very genesis, even with Awo in charge, the ranks need fear no fall! sustenance, but are political Machiavellis, sworn to the end had always fissured. So, it is with the present generation.

Whatever it takes, the APC leadership must tweak the ears of justifying the means – or “meanness” to parody Prof.

Wole For starters, a bloc insists it is Awo natural franchisers, to be both combatant camps, and bring both to reason – whatever it Soyinka. disputed by no one. This class comprises the living Awolowos, takes! On the basis of equal opportunity membership, they Since every Tinubu gain necessarily translates into an Afenifere the Afenifere grandees, Awo-era battle-hardened but ageing must hand each side mutual, cast iron guarantees to build confiloss (and probably vice-versa), the Mimikos and OGDs are in veterans and other Awo ideology coterie and family friends, dence and fend off the looming disaster. booming business, entering sweetheart partnerships with in the clergy and other fields.

Each time the South West advances, reactionary forces gather Afenifere, as the unending battle flares, to control of the soul of This group considers itself the Areopagus, exalted chamber to scuttle the efforts, using feuding progressives themselves as the South West. fuel.

It is to this vicious vista, therefore, that the looming MOB“MOB must beware of the Coriolanus JKF Should such happen again in Ekiti, MOB and JKF would take battle royale for the capture of Ekiti is opening. But that is syndrome. But JKF too must be wary of not the only danger: for lurking in the wings, and waiting for the flak. So, they had better both jerk awake before earning themselves a harsh verdict of history. carrion, are the federal political vultures of Goodluck Jonathan, the hubris of gubernatorial conceit” Ekiti ronu! a presidential camp desperately craving a second term (after

But for overarching hubris, June 21 was disaster foretold. But this is not time to gloat. It is a time to peep at the rear mirror, to avert avoidable future disasters. “Ekiti ronu” was first published, on this page, on 22 October 2013. Enjoy.

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epublican ipples

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LEVEN days on, it seems we haven’t done nearly enough of the post mortem on Ekiti gubernatorial polls, and certainly not least, the President Goodluck Jonathan’s ‘guided’, garrison democracy which formed a major part.

Long after the incumbent Governor Kayode Fayemi of the APC conceded defeat to his opponent, Ayodele Fayose of the PDP, pundits of different shades and hue, would appear far from done with theorising on how the battle was won and lost. Just like a good friend from the Land of Honour tried, over the weekend, to ‘sell’ the so-called ‘Zimbabwe model’ now spreading like wild-fire, I confess that some of the emerging theories have opened vistas in political sociology that yours truly cannot claim to be schooled in, and hence thoroughly ill-equipped to even comment upon!

The much that I can aver at this time is that the election appears to have validated the rather disturbing thesis that a passable electoral outcome should suffice to render the means – fair or foul – legitimate. I refer here to the build-up right up till the election day, particularly the widely reported cases of intimidation of APC’s Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, and the grounding of the aircraft which would have ferried Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State to join his colleagues in the Ekiti State capital – all on the eve of the election.

Taken together with the estimated 30,000 boots unleashed on the people in an election in which barely half a million actually voted, the nation is at once let into the into the inner sanctum of the Jonathan’s guided process. That is why I couldn’t agree more with The Nation’s columnist Gbogun Gboro when he described the exercise as ‘tainted’. I would in fact wager that it was worse given what I consider as the needless show of muscle by the security agencies. In this, the good people of Ekiti at least have a lot to be thankful for that no heads were broken by the invading army.

All said and done, the people of Ekiti can reasonably claim

‘Ask Lee Kuan Yew, the man credited with Singaporean miracle. If his country is pejoratively described as nanny state, it owes mostly part on the tough choices forced on them by Yew and co. Today, Ekiti, Edo or Lagos, the APC has demonstrated that it is both capable and willing to make the difficult choices needed to make a difference to the lives of Nigerians. That is what makes them different. And that is what gives hope’

Ekiti ronu

Policy Sanya Oni sanyaoni@yahoo.co.uk 08051101841

Ekiti 2014: A post mortem

to have made their choice. What remains ‘live’ is the debate as to how our compatriots from the Land of Honour could have fallen to the seduction of a supposedly morallychallenged individual over an incumbent generally credited with sterling performance.

And if it counts for anything at all, the dominant thread appears to be that the people have resolved their preference for the democracy of the stomach as against development.

To begin with, I do not want to be uncharitable as to join in the stomach infrastructure-trumps-good-governance chant. First, I consider the explanation not only reductionist, but one capable of undermining any real prospects of understanding of the other factors behind poor electoral showing of APC in the poll. Here, my main concern is whether the APC as a party is prepared to understand the message underlying the loss outside of that one-liner explanation of ‘stomach infrastructure’.

This is where last week’s intervention by Governor Babatunde Fashola has become relevant particularly his rather interesting attempt to frame the dillemma in terms of stark choice between development and the seduction of populism.

This was how the governor framed the dillemma: “Developmental work is difficult to initiate and to execute.

And developmental work that brings on change which is what every election ask for, will also from time to time occasion debates and policy thrust. And which legitimately must be criticised... But it must be a very dangerous message to simply suggest that once you give people money then this is the way it will happen. It is frightening for me in a democracy”.

He then asked: “Should we just be giving money and when people ask about security, we say that we have given you

money, go and rent your own security? When people ask for healthcare, we say that you have collected money. Is that the model for development?”

And finally: “But to simply suggest that All Progressives Congress (APC) states where a lot of development is taking place; the road to winning power and we want to keep power and I am not pretentious about that. We want to remain in power but to suggest to us that in the aftermath of this, that the way to do that is to give money, for me it is a very worrisome lesson to learn”.

Let me start by saying that I find nothing fundamentally disagreeable with the premise of Governor Fashola’s dilemma. However, as attractive as it seems, it certainly would amount to a grave misunderstanding to frame the Ekiti issue within the narrow alley of development versus stomach infrastructure – even if one concedes that the latter indeed, played a good part in the election. This is where I find the spirited attempt to rub the matter of “wrong” choice on the voters as not only unhelpful but capable of breeding resentment for the party among the people.

Perhaps, the fault lies as much with the media as it is with the Ekiti political elite which appear to have promoted the choice as one between the two. As one governor that has blazed the trail in matters of development – and who has since supplied a worthy template for other APC governors to follow – Fashola is probably entitled to be disappointed as many Nigerians, including yours truly, who believe that Governor Fayemi deserves a reward – and not a censure – for exemplary performance. But then, that is what democracy is all about – the right to be wrong!

In the situation, what should be more paramount at this time is the understanding of what went wrong! Surely, by every account, the governor did well. Indeed, the general opinion is that his administration delivered real value for every kobo spent. Was it a case of governance leaving the electors behind? Was it one of alienation of the organs of the party? Or communication, as some appears to suggest? There is great merit in finding out.

Hard as development is to define, it is even harder to achieve. Ask Lee Kuan Yew, the man credited with Singaporean miracle. If his country is pejoratively described as nanny state, it owes mostly part on the tough choices forced on them by Yew and co. Today, Ekiti, Edo or Lagos, the APC has demonstrated that it is both capable and willing to make the difficult choices needed to make a difference to the lives of Nigerians. That is what makes them different. And that is what gives hope.

Rather than occasion despair, the Ekiti experience might actually be a blessing of sorts – an opportunity to take stock.

If only for its sake and the sake of the nation in dire need of rescue, we can only hope that APC finds the language to communicate the message without compromising its mission.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

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COMMENTS

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HEN a colleague said it sometime last year I thought he was joking. It couldn’t be true, I said. That one can just walk into any beer parlour, as we call it here, anywhere in Ekiti State and chant osoko and green bottles would start to flow free of charge, courtesy, Ayodele Fayose, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the just concluded gubernatorial election in Ekiti State?

I immediately dismissed it as one of those talks by ‘enemies of progress’ to bring down the person of former Governor Fayose and probably ridicule the good people of Ekiti State. Haba! In the land of honour, with more professors per household than anywhere in Nigeria; how can such motor park tactic bring support for a candidate, particularly one seeking the office of the governor of the state? I didn’t even give a second thought to it.

But as elections day drew nearer, more people started to talk about it as well as other efforts including distribution of foodstuff and throwing money at people on campaign grounds, by Fayose to win votes. This must be a joke, I said and I hope Ekiti people would not allow this man hoodwink them a second time.

As these things were going on signs were emerging that there could be a surprise in Ekiti; some hitherto respected people started speaking from both sides of their mouth and the PDP hierarchy including President Goodluck Jonathan started beating their chest

The rest of Nigeria should not go the way of Ekiti in next year’s elections if truly the people there voted for stomach infrastructure; the PDP, particularly President Jonathan should not trick Nigerians into going that way just because it wants to win election in 2015. It is a route that leads only to destruction.

Ekiti: So much for stomach infrastructure and the police in Ekiti state started misbehaving; I knew something was going to happen.

My mind quickly went back to 2003 when Fayose first came in as elected governor of Ekiti state defeating the incumbent Niyi Adebayo of the then Alliance for Democracy (AD) party. In the run up to that election, Fayose among other tactics went about with water tankers supplying water to the people; and he won their hearts; they voted for him.

Two years or so down the road before he was booted out, some say illegally, it did not occur to him, I think, to provide every household in Ekiti with potable water, if he did that with what will he campaign the next time?

I told myself, lightening will not strike twice in the same place, Ekiti people would not allow it. But I was wrong; lightening did strike twice and with venom too. Fayose’s campaign with no tangible achievement of his first tenure to point at and no promise of a better future to hold on to, swept away, like a tsunami, the incumbent, winning in all the 16 local government areas, defying all logic.

Some have put his victory down to the incumbent governor, Kayode Fayemi losing touch with the common man, not being one of them, staying aloof and speaking ‘too much grammar’; his records of outstanding achievements in all sphere of governance notwithstanding. Fayose was the man of the people whose name could bring out several litres of beer at the local pub; who would go to‘paraga’ joint to ‘jolificate’ with his people; who would throw wads of naira notes at peo-

ple or stop by to buy banana or groundnut from the roadside hawker. He could do these things and more and the people ‘loved’ him for it (he was literally putting money in their pockets, food on their table, beer in their tommy, even if they had to struggle to pick the money on campaign grounds) and they rewarded him on June 21, with the key to the government house in Ado Ekiti for another stint at governance.

For and in all of these I have no grudge against Ekiti people even if I am disappointed.

They have made their choice; a people deserve the leadership they get. Life itself is dynamic. The majority have the right to be wrong; even at that, it is too early to say the majority in Ekiti was wrong in that election.

So, those who were disappointed like me should sheath their sword and allow Fayose to govern, after all he says he is a changed man now, wiser and has learnt from his mistakes. The next four years should prove that.

Only time would tell if a leopard can change its spots.

Though some people have raised eye brows over whether it was possible for the people of Ekiti who benefited so much from Governor Fayemi to so reject him massively at the polls and questioned how that huge figures were recorded, my worry is not so much about that but the bad example the Ekiti election is setting in the way the electorate judge and reward performance with their votes.

My fear is that any desperate first term governor or president with an eye on a second term could abandon physical infrastructural development of his community and the human capital development of his people for

populist programmes that would put money in the pockets of the electorate in the immediate at the expense of their future. And if the Ekiti example is anything to go by any such tactics would succeed especially in a poverty ridden society as ours.

Our politicians we know are desperate, only few of them have genuine programmes that could take the country to the next level and are prepared to stick with such programmes no matter the odds. For what he did in Ekiti, which even the people have acknowledged, Governor Fayemi must be praised for not dancing to the tune of those advocates of stomach infrastructure even if his people have punished him with an electoral defeat. Even if he didn’t mean to take it this far, discerning Nigerians, including a lot of Ekiti people know the course he had taken was the right one and time would vindicate him.

One good thing we have been witnessing in the South West where the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been in near total control of the states is the unprecedented level of infrastructural development that had been going on in the past three years. The people appreciate this, and the APC should not out of panic and in response to the Ekiti setback abandon this for cheap political gains. Nothing good comes easy. After all, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the founder of the modern Yoruba society didn’t find it easy implementing the free education programme in the then Western Region for which everybody has continued to praise him. He saw the future of Yoruba in education for his people and he stuck with that programme, even though at a point he suffered electoral losses, he never wavered.

The rest of Nigeria should not go the way of Ekiti in next year’s elections if truly the people there voted for stomach infrastructure; the PDP, particularly President Jonathan should not trick Nigerians into going that way just because it wants to win election in 2015. It is a route that leads only to destruction.

We cannot talk of curbing corruption if we expect our politicians to bring the money out for us to share; we cannot expect our roads to be good, our hospitals to be better and schools to be world class if all we are interested in is stomach infrastructure. Let us decide on what we want and live with the consequences Ekiti people have made their choice, let nobody cry for them.

Babalakin @ 54…of philanthropy and modesty

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HAD heard a lot about Dr. Bolanle Olawale Babalakin, SAN, as a lawyer with a very substantial legal practice whom young lawyers flock to in cutting their teeth in the profession. I had been told that Babalakin & Co has over 60 lawyers in chambers who are very well-paid and some of whom have risen to the highest echelon of legal practice through the active support of BOB as his colleagues in the firm fondly refer to him.

I had also been told about his acumen for business that is largely intellectual. I was told that Babalakin is not a trader.

He does not buy and sell commodities. He believes that sort of business belongs to others who may not be willing to task their intellect for more demanding issues. The Muritala Muhammed Airport 2 (MMA2) which was constructed seven years ago by Babalakin’s Bi-Courtney Ltd, remains a testimony to faith, courage, confidence and scholarship. Seven years after the MMA2 was commissioned, there has been no attempt to replicate this beautiful, yet very fruitful structure, in the real sense of the word.

However, the Federal Government in total contravention of the law has attempted to rehabilitate the General Aviation Terminal (GAT). The rehabilitation effort reflects a total lack of vision. The whole project is an embarrassment. It is development in reverse. There is nothing there that compares with MMA2 and obviously there is nothing on ground that shows that the erstwhile leadership of the Ministry of Aviation, which prosecuted the project with misguided fervor, had any vision. The resources of the State have been expended in creating unpardonable imitations parading themselves as renovated airports in Nigeria.

Apart from the GAT which should have been left as provided under the Agreement to Bi-Courtney to develop, the former domestic airport in Abuja has even been described as a classical example of poor workmanship. The quality of the tiles used and the floors remind one almost vividly of the houses belonging to Stella Oduah (the sacked Minister of Aviation) in Lagos. At the Abuja International Airport, she strangely replaced enduring and expensive tiles with very low quality cheap ceramic tiles. It is only a matter of time before all these projects of hers turn out to be a caricature of what an airport should be like. In any case, the nation is now being informed of how she plunged the ministry into needless huge debt.

Lest I be distracted by the abysmal state of the Ministry of Aviation. I was discussing the quiet philanthropy of Dr. Bolanle Olawale Babalakin LLM, PhD (Cantab), Commonwealth scholar, and a Senior Advocate in the legal Profession. I was at his conferment of honorary doctorate by the

By Adewolu Lewis Ebonyi State University a couple of years ago when some of his good deeds were reeled out. The University orator mentioned that Dr. Babalakin had built an 80-bed hostel in the University of Ilorin more than six years ago. He had also built an 80-bed hostel in Ibogun to support the Faculty of Engineering Students in the Ogun State University. In addition to this, he had donated a 500-seater auditorium at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, which was commissioned by Governor Gbenga Daniel during one of the convocation of the institution. This auditorium was named the Ramat Ibironke Babalakin Theatre, affectionately after his late mother.

The orator also mentioned that at some point in time when the office of the public defender in Lagos was razed to the ground, BOB refurbished and furnished it for the benefit of the people of Lagos State who derive immense succor from the service of the institution. He received a plaque from the Director of the program, Mr. Akindele, now the Hon. Mr. Justice Akindele of the Lagos State High Court.

At a time too, he arranged the best set of eye surgeons to come to Gbongan in Osun State for free eye check-up and treatment of people in his home town. It was a resounding success as many surgeries were carried out while a large number of glasses were also distributed to the needy. This was replicated in Owo Local Government under the auspices of the Olowo of Owo, Oba Tola Olateru Olagbegi III. More than 4000 patients were treated in Owo for the benefit of mankind. So many people today owe the existence of their sight to the magnanimity of Dr. Babalakin.

This uncommon trait must be a function of Pedigree.

Babalakin was born into the highest strata of the Nigerian society. His father, still alive was an outstanding legal practitioner who became a Judge of the old western State in 1975.

With the exit of Kayode Eso JSC, Babalakin senior is the only surviving Judge of western State. As we all know, Western State trail-blazed the development of the Judiciary in Nigeria. He retired as a Supreme Court Judge in 1992 with a series of distinction including chairing the FEDECO tribunal, the Bauchi riot tribunal and the Presidential Election tribunal in 1993.

His mother trained as a nurse but her versatility and courage led her to set up a hospital in 1967. She became one of the pioneers of hospital ownership in Nigeria and definitely one of the first three women to own hospitals in the old western State.

Dr. Babalakin was not numbed or made complacent by his privileged background. Rather, it propelled him to strive harder. He left Sacred Heart Private School in 1970 as the best student and proceeded to the prestigious Government College Ibadan in 1971. In Government College Ibadan, he came first in the first examination in the school and won the Banjo prize 1971 as the best student in the Grier House Test.

By 1978, he was on his way to University of Lagos where he graduated in 1981 as one of the best three students in the University. He was called to bar in 1982.

He proceeded to Cambridge University for an LLM program and did outstandingly well to be allowed to proceed to his doctorate program in the same University. In Cambridge, Babalakin blossomed as an academic. He became a commonwealth scholar in 1984 having been one of the three Nigerian Students chosen for that program in that year. In the same year, he was appointed to the PHILOLOGUES by the Master of Corpus Christi College. The philologues are 12 students chosen from the entire college who have shown outstanding skills in academic and leadership roles.

Though he only picked up squash in Cambridge, he was the best player in Leckhampton for many years and played for Corpus Christi College in division one for most of his stay in the College. In 1986, on the eve of his 26th birthday, he was awarded a doctorate degree in Law, probably the youngest recipient of that degree in Law till date.

On his return to Nigeria in December 1986, he joined the esteemed firm of Chief Rotimi Williams as a youth corps member. He has always described the firm and the icon of the firm, Chief Fredrick Rotimi Alade Williams as the harbinger of his fierce love for legal practice. The late Chief Williams’ brain was massive yet infectious and in the words of Babalakin, he was probably the most resourceful lawyer he ever engaged with.

Isn’t it amazing that such a phenomenal scholar and a considerable businessman would still find time and resources to donate effortlessly to the people? Nigeria requires men of good heart to help their country develop. I urge Dr. Babalakin not to relent at all in his activities. His current travails, which are demonstrably a witch-hunt, should not deter him. His position is unassailable and the Almighty God will rise up for him and subdue all the evil-doers who are trying desperately to dent this icon of Nigeria.

Many that I know fondly refer to him as “Alaanu”’ to underscore his large heart and generosity of spirit. Without doubt, not a few will bear testimony to this laudable trait of his on his birthday today and I’m sure throughout this holy month of Ramadan.

• Lewis is a Lagos-based entrepreneur

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Who has fed the Nigerian officialdom the pervading fear, that the teaching of our national history in primary and post-primary schools is ant-ethical to the unity of Nigeria, or is their any other reason for such cultural aberration of neglecting our history, as we practice in our schools.

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See page 38

E-mail:- law@thenationonlineng.net

The remains of Justice Chukwudifu Akunne Oputa have been buried in his Oguta, Imo State hometown. Dignitaries flocked to Oguta for the funeral of the eminent jurist who was nicknamed Socrates during his days at the Supreme Court. Our correspondent OKODILI NDIDI was in Oguta.

Exciting farewell to ‘Socrates’ Oputa

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HE remains of Justice Chukwudifu Akunne ‘Socrates’ Oputa have been interred in his Oguta, Imo State country home.

Dignitaries gathered at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Oguta to honour the late jurist who was nicknamed Socrates during his days at the Supreme Court As early as 7.30am, the road leading to Oguta, off the ever-busy Onitsha/Owerri Expressway, had been jammed by exotic cars heading to the sleepy community.

Gaily dressed elders and youths turned out in large numbers to catch a glimpse of their hero, who brought fame and honour to their community. Traditional dancing troupes entertained the guests.

At the church, a few metres from the Oputas’ home, security men had a hectic time controlling the surging crowd, which continued to press forward, not bothered by the presence of stern looking soldiers at the gates.

The Presiding Priest and Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, the Most Reverend Matthew Hassan Kukah, in his sermon, urged Nigerians to rise in defence of justice and equity, stressing that the late Justice Oputa was obsessed with justice and equity.

He said the late Supreme Court Justice lived a life of service and left legacies that are beyond his immediate family.

Rev. Kukah, who was Secretary of Human Rights Violation Investigation Commission (HRIVC), which was chaired by the late Justice Oputa, said justices of the Supreme Court should be taken more seriously, given their contributions to the development and stability of the nation.

Rev. Kukah said the late Justice Oputa’s capacity to manage people, was something that his people should be proud of, adding that for a man who held his kind of position to tolerate a son like Charly Boy, was a measure of his greatness.

Rev. Kukah noted that Nigerians would remember the late Oputa in the temple of justice where he excelled. “Our leaders should work for justice, equity and fairness. I believe that the history of human rights cannot be complete without mentioning the late Justice Oputa,”he said.

Opening the flood of tributes, President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, described the late Justice Oputa as a respected public servant, patriot and internationally acclaimed jurist.

He said:“It is on record that in his long service to our country, he distinguished himself and left behind an enviable legacy, which the entire Oputa family can be rightly proud of. He was not only an outstanding legal icon, he also readily gave himself off in the service of our fatherland in the demonstration of his faith in the emergence of a strong, united and prosperous Nigeria.”

In his condolence massage, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, said the late Justice Oputa served the country efficiently in various capacities throughout a distinguished career as the Judge of the High Court of the then Eastern Nigeria, from where he rose, steadily, to seat as a Justice of the Supreme Court. The late Justice Oputa will be remembered as one of the pillars of the noble

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profession.

“Personally, I deeply value the way he handled the affairs of the Oputa Panel, which I instituted in 2001 to investigate human rights abuses in Nigeria from 1979-1999. He gave it all, with commitment and a very high sense of duty, despite his short tenure as Chairman of the Panel,” Obasanjo wrote.

In her letter of condolence, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, said Oputa was a respected member of the Supreme Court who contributed his very best to the court and the development of law.

The solemn memorial service was temporarily disrupted when Mr. Charles Oputa aka Charly Boy prevented politicians from making speeches.

Charly Boy, who sat beside his aged mother, Mrs Margret Oputa,

went to the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha at the podium and forcefully collected the microphone from him.

His action forced the dignitaries to hurriedly depart the church before the end of the ceremony.

Notable Nigerians who graced the occasion include Senator Anyim Pius Anyim; Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha; Minister of Labour, Emeka Wogu; Senator Uche Chukwumerije; former Anambra and Imo State Governors, Peter Obi and Ikedi Ohakim. Others were Governors Rochas Okorocha (Imo State), Willie Obiano (Anambra State) Theodore Orji (Abia State) and Senator Chris Ngige, among others.

•Continued on page 26

Oputa on fair hearing, substantial justice

HE late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, in his almost five years sojourn at the Supreme Court (1984 – 1989), was said to have delivered 267 judgments, 50 of which were lead verdicts. One of such was in the case of Godwin Josiah v. the State, marked Suit No: SC.59/1984 (now cited as Josiah v. State (1985) NWLR (Pt.1)125 ).

Justice Oputa, in the judgment delivered on January 25, 1985 stressed the importance of fair hearing in any trial. He also emphasised the need for the court to always ensure substantial justice in cases brought before it, particularly criminal trial, involving the taking of life.

Facts of the case

•Late Justice Oputa

Godwin Josiah, Alexander Maduawusi and Monday Obiazi were arraigned in charge No. 0/5C/82 before Justice Mitaire Unurhoro of the Ogwashi-Uku Judicial Division of the Bendel

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

State High Court. The three were arraigned on a two-count charge of (1) Armed Robbery and (2) Murder, to which they pleaded not guilty.

At trial, Josiah had no legal representation, while Maduawusi and Obiazi were represented by a lawyer, J J .C. Odiete. At the close of the prosecution’s case, lawyer to the other two accused made a no-case submission for his clients. The trial judge upheld the no-case submission and discharged the two accused persons on the 26/1 0/82.

Josiah was made to conduct his entire defence, including personally cross-examining the prosecution witnesses. In his judgment delivered on November 29, 1982 the trial judge convicted Josiah on each of the two counts and sentenced him to death by hanging.

He challenged the judgment at the Court of Appeal, Benin Division. But the Court of Appeal upheld the trial court’s decision.

Dissatisfied with the decision by the Court of Appeal, Benin, Josiah, now with the assistant of a lawyer, Shola Rhodes, appealed to the Supreme Court, where one of his grounds of appeal was that ”The Court of Appeal erred in law in affirming the conviction and sentence of the appellant when the provisions of Section 287 and Section 288 of the Criminal Procedure Law and the Robbery and Firearms Tribunal (Procedure) Rules 1975 (Legal Notice No. 56 of 1975) Rule 5 were not complied with and thereby led to miscarriage of justice.”

On fair hearing

In his judgment, Justice Oputa held that the “ provisions of Section 287(1)(a) of the Criminal Procedure Law are not decorative, so, they are functional and their main function is to safeguard justice to an accused person (not defended by counsel) who himself not being legally qualified may unknowingly or •Continued on page 26

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LAW COVER CONT’D

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•Continued from page 25 unwillingly incriminate himself.

“It is not easy to stand up to cross-examination.

It may even be difficult for a trained lawyer to decide in any particular case whether it is safe or unsafe to expose an accused person to the ordeal of cross-examination. Under our system, there is no onus on an accused to prove his innocence.

The law presumes him innocent. There is thus no duty on the accused to help the prosecution prove him guilty. Our law is against self-incrimination. It is in the interest of justice that every rule in favour of an accused person is meticulously observed and that no rule is broken to his prejudice.

“The least that the trial court could have done for the appellant, whose life was at stake, (he was standing trial for his very life) was to inform him of his rights under Section 287(1) and it should be apparent on the record that each alternative was explained to the appellant since he was not represented by a legal practitioner.

“It is not for fun that the duty of the court where an accused person is represented is much lighter.

Under Section 287(1)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Law, the court will merely ‘call upon the legal practitioner to proceed with the defence.’

The rationale here is that the legal practitioner will know what to do and how to do it. He takes full responsibility.

“Under Section 287(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act after putting the three alternatives specifically to the accused, the trial court ‘shall in addition ask him (i) if he has any witnesses to examine or (ii) if he has other evidence to adduce in his defence.’ Surely, an accused may not have witnesses to examine but he may have “other evidence to adduce” like documentary evidence.

“In this case, the appellant was asked if ‘he had witnesses,’ but not if he had ‘other evidence to adduce.’ It is my humble view that to amount to full compliance with Section 287(1) Criminal Procedure Act, the trial court should have also asked the appellant if he had “other evidence to adduce.’ This was not done.

“This leads naturally to a consideration of the second limb of the 1st ground of appeal filed on behalf of the appellant, namely: failure to comply with the mandatory provisions of Rule 5 of the Robbery and Firearms Tribunal (Procedure) Rules 1975.

“Those Rules were published as Legal Notice No. 56 of 1975. Rule 5 stipulates that - ‘where an accused charged with an offence punishable with death is not defended by a legal practitioner, the tribunal shall assign a legal practitioner for his defence.’

“The above Rule in essence also reflected in Section 352 of the Criminal Procedure Act. Both emphasise the need for legal representation of an accused person on trial for his life.

In addition to the two requirements mentioned above, there is a constitutional right in the appellant to fair hearing under Section 33 of the 1979 Constitution.

“A fair hearing presupposes first and foremost a hearing. We operate the “Adversary System”. The major feature of this system is the passive and inactive role of the judge in the presentation of cases in court. The judge under our system is at best an attentive listener to all that is said on both sides. He is not an investigator. He speaks mainly to deliver judgments. This passive role of the judge emphasises the active role of counsel for the prosecution and for the defence.

“What is a “hearing” worth to an accused person who does not understand the language of the court, who does not know the rules of procedure, and who cannot properly present his case? The right to counsel is thus at the very root of, and is the necessary foundation for a fair hearing.

“The ordinary layman, even the intelligent

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•Wife of the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, Mrs. Margaret Oputa and Mr. Charles Oputa a.k.a Charley Boy at the memorial service

”To acquit the appellant at this stage, on a mere technical point, and without a retrial on the merits, will be to sacrifice justice and commonsense on the shrine of guilt not mercy, for the community has a right to regard such a wrongful acquittal as unmerciful, firstly, to the accused person whose real interests are sacrificed by his escape on a serious charge when his innocence or guilt still hangs on a balance and secondly, to society whose protection and security are compromised and jeopardised by a rash acquittal

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the non-compliance with the provisions of Section 287 of the Criminal Procedure Law by the trial judge vitiate the trial and makes it mandatory that this appeal should be allowed.

•From right to left: Minister of Labour, Emeka Wogu, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim and Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State.

•A cross section of lawyers at the memorial service.

•Members of late Justice Oputa’s family.

Exciting farewell to ‘Socrates’ Oputa and educated layman is not skilled in the science of law and he, therefore, needs the aid and advice of a counsel. It is because of this need that, in capital offences, attracting the death penalty, the accused is not left undefended. If he cannot afford the services of counsel the State assigns one to him.

“It is surprising that none was assigned to the appellant in the court of first instance. It is even more surprising that when the appellant himself (though not a lawyer) raised this point

in his 1st Ground of appeal to the court below, nobody look it up.

“A fair hearing in cases coming under Rule 5 of the Robbery and Firearms Tribunal (Procedure) Rules like the one on appeal (where Rule 5 makes the services of a legal practitioner mandatory), must include the right to and the aid of counsel for the defence.

“This was denied the appellant in this case.

I am satisfied that the appellant had no fair hearing in the trial court. This coupled with

On need for substantial justice

On whether it was just to acquit an accused not subjected to fair trial, Justice Oputa held, in relation to Rhodes’ argument that remitting his cleint’s case to the High Court for retrial would amount to subjecting his client to double jeopardy, that justice is a threeway traffic, not just to the accused person alone.

“In deciding whether to allow the appeal and acquit and discharge an appellant, the court must consider the surrounding circumstances in the interest of justice. Any order allowing this appeal and also acquitting and discharging the appellant will not be an order made in the interest of justice. And justice is not a one-way traffic.

“It is not justice for the appellant only. Justice is not even only a two-way traffic. It is really a three-way traffic - justice for the appellant accused of a heinous crime of murder; justice for the victim, the murdered man, the deceased, ‘whose blood is crying to heaven for vengeance’ and finally justice for the society at large – the society whose social norms and values had been desecrated and broken by the criminal act complained of.

“It is certainly in the interest of justice that the truth of this case should be known and that if the appellant is properly tried and found guilty, that he should be punished. That justice which seeks only to protect the appellant will not be even handed justice. It will not even be justice tempered with mercy.

“Mr. Pitt Taylor in his book on Evidence observed at p. 597 that justice and common-sense are at times sacrificed on the shrine of mercy.

Erie, J. in Reg v. Baldry (1852) 5 Cox C.C. 531 was of the opinion that the sacrifice is not even on the shrine of mercy but rather on the shrine of guilt.

“In this case on appeal, I will not attempt any such sacrifice, certainly not on the shrine of mercy.

On the contrary they cry out eloquently, though silently, for the shattering strokes of retributive justice. ”To acquit the appellant at this stage, on a mere technical point, and without a retrial on the merits, will be to sacrifice justice and common-sense on the shrine of guilt not mercy, for the community has a right to regard such a wrongful acquittal as unmerciful, firstly, to the accused person whose real interests are sacrificed by his escape on a serious charge when his innocence or guilt still hangs on a balance and secondly, to society whose protection and security are compromised and jeopardised by a rash acquittal.”

CBN objects as retirees accuse directors of contempt

ENTRAL Bank of Nigeria (CBN) retirees have initiated contempt proceedings at the Federal High Court, Lagos, against three directors for alleged disobedience of a court judgment.

But CBN and the directors have filed a preliminary objection to the contempt proceedings, saying the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

The plaintiffs sued CBN on May 6, 1999, praying the court to compel it to comply with the Federal Government’s policy directive on pension harmonisation.

The policy, introduced on January 1, 1997, was designed to eliminate the disparities in the pensions of workers who retired on the same grade/rank and who served the same number of years but retired at different times.

After CBN allegedly refused to comply with the policy directive, the plaintiffs filed the suit, numbered FHC/L/CS524/99.

By Joseph Jibueze

They are Mr Jacob Amao (now deceased), Mr Joachim Ajala (deceased), Mr James Jemilo and Mr Thompson Edun. They sued for themselves and on behalf of all CBN pensioners.

In a judgment delivered on May 22, 2000, the court, presided over by Justice Wilson EgboEgbo (now retired), granted the pensioners’ reliefs.

The judge directed CBN “to pay the applicants forthwith, all accrued pensions calculated with effect from 1st January, 1997, on emoluments currently earned by their serving counterparts as prescribed under the Federal Government policy on harmonisation of pensions aforesaid, and subsequently, all such pensions as and when they fall due.”

Dissatisfied, CBN appealed against the judgment, but lost. The Court of Appeal (on December 5, 2006) and the Supreme Court (on

May 21, 2010) affirmed the lower court’s judgment. The Supreme Court also awarded N50,000 cost against CBN. Effort by the pensioners to get the CBN to comply the judgment failed, despite their lawyer, Mr Tani Molajo (SAN) writing the bank twice.

The pensioners have, therefore, filed both Form 48 (Notice of consequence of disobedience to order of court) and Form 49 (Notice to show cause why order of attachment/committal should not be made).

While the Form 48 was filed on March 10, the Form 49 was filed on May 15. Both were said to have been served on CBN and the directors.

Listed as the alleged contemnors are CBN, its Deputy Governor, Corporate Services Alhaji Suleiman Barau; Director Human Resources Ms. Chizoba Mojekwu and Director Legal Services Mr Simon Onekutu.

After the Supreme Court judgment, CBN was

said to have slightly enhanced the pensions of 1,604 pensioners who retired before June 1, 2000 with some arrears, out of 5,000 eligible pensioners who retired after the date but were allegedly left out.

The plaintiffs said those whose pensions were enhanced are being paid lower than their colleagues who retired on the same rank in 2010 or 2011, with those who retired before June 1, 2000 not receiving up to 40 per cent of what later retirees earn.

CBN also allegedly increased the emoluments of serving staff in 2010 without effecting a corresponding review for the plaintiffs, and even slashed their monthly pension by 15 per cent with effect from February this year, thereby imposing severe hardship on them.

CBN, in its defence to the original suit, had among others, said it could only pay the harmonised pension subject to “affordability and sustainability” of pension funds.

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LAW & SOCIETY

Rededicate yourselves to ideals of law, CJ urges lawyers

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HE Chief Judge of Anambra State, Jus tice Peter Umeadi, has urged lawyers to rededicate themselves to the ideals of the founding fathers of the profession.

Justice Umeadi, who was represented at the opening of this year’s annual law week of Aguata branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) by the Administrative Judge of the High Court, Ekwulobia, Justice Pete Obiora, said there was the need for lawyers to rededicate themselves to the ideals of the profession in the light of changing times and the numerous challenges facing the country.

He said: “The legal profession is founded on honour and integrity, that is why it is a profession of honour. We must be the beacon of light wherever we find ourselves. Unless we rededicate ourselves to the honourable ideals of the profession, we cannot maximally make our contribution to fiding lasting solutions to the myriads of problems facing us as a country.”

Aguata NBA branch Chairman Mr. E. N. Ezeonwuka thanked the CJ for sending the a representative to the event which drew participants from far and near. He expressed appreciation to members of the branch, especially the law week planning committee chairman, Mr. K.C. Ezeanyika, for rallying round him and his executives to make the week a reality. He called on members, friends and well wishers to support the branch in completing its Bar Centre, which was started some years ago.

In his keynote address titled: “Law politics and national unity – the challenges in advancing Nigeria’s democracy” an NBA Presidential aspirant, Augustine Alegeh (SAN), said: “The birth of democracy in Nigeria has led to increased participation and involvement in political leadership of the country. Even lawyers are not left out in this struggle to be agents of change in their various constituencies and states.

“Recent statistics will show that there is a steady increase in the number of lawyers, who have ventured into the political terrain. This is a welcome development as we now have several lawyers who are governors, members of the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly. The resultant effect is that the quality of laws enacted by the Legislature is improved and that the laid down procedures for their enactment are followed to the latter.

“You will also agree with me that the influx of lawyers into politics has been quite rewarding. Lawyers, who are presently governors have recorded more developmental milestones than their counterparts in other states.

This is because the legal profession provides them with the requisite foundation to excel.

States such as Lagos, Enugu and Katsina are cases in point.”

Discussing the nation’s political stability and security challenges, Alegeh said: “The advent of democracy comes with its ups and downs. Rigging and cross-carpeting are some factors which have characterised our nascent democracy. Our elections are fraught with incidences of rigging whereby electoral materials are snatched at gunpoint and vandalised.

“We have seen instances whereby thousands of people have lost their lives as a result of an electoral backlash. Despite several counter measures put in place by the Electoral Commission and Security Agencies, these gruesome incidents are still prevalent.

On this note, therefore, I must seize this opportunity to commend and congratulate the good people of Anambra State on the recent peaceful elections in the state as well as the

By John Austin Unachukwu

smooth transition into office of the incumbent governor, Chief Willie Obiano.

He said: “Indeed, all eyes were on Anambra State during the election period. The various aspirants were people, who had distinguished themselves in various fields. Therefore, the electoral battle was definitely an exciting one.”

Despite reported allegations of the perceived plan of the PDP to rig the elections, the will of the people prevailed and the popular candidate won the polls.

On judicial discretion, Alegeh said: “The extent of discretion granted to our judges is too wide and this makes it open to abuse. It is the wide latitude of discretion given to the judges that opens the door to corruption. Where there is so much latitude, there is bound to be inconsistencies in the exercise of discretion, resulting in inconsistent decisions and imposition of glaringly inconsistent terms and conditions on similar circumstances. The areas that are worse hit are the areas of bail and sentencing.”

He continued: “There is urgent need to have a Bail Act that will provide the spectrum of conditions to be imposed while granting bail. The spectrum should be based on the nature of the offence and the Judge would be obliged to operate within such clearly defined spectrum.

“Trespasser would have to sell his land in order to pay solicitor’s fees and other litigation expenses should not be allowed to continue. Damages in matters like this should be awarded to ensure that the successful party would be full indemnified of all litigation expenses and attorney’s fees.”

Concluding, Alegeh said: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land, climate, water, air, or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to their responsibilities and the challenge of personal example, which are the hallmark of true leadership “Leadership is a critical factor in nationbuilding and fostering ties of National Unity.

Our political leaders should endeavour to formulate and implement policies that are people oriented. Law and politics are interdependent factors. The harmonious relationship between both factors in a democratic setup will have a corresponding effect of promoting national unity.

“This is because all government activities will be carried out in a manner prescribed by law. Social vices like corruption, insurrection, insecurity and others will be hugely reduced.

The Judiciary has a huge role to play in our bid to ensure that our nascent democracy is not scuttled. The courts must take proactive steps in ensuring that any sound and well researched judgments are delivered without fear or favour.

“The judiciary is widely perceived as the last hope of the common man and any factor capable of reversing this aphorism must be eradicated. The hallowed chambers of the courts must be seen as the altar of justice where personal and selfish gains and/or interests shall be sacrificed. The courts must be seen to foster ties of national unity rather than be seen fanning the embers of ethnic discord.

“The Bar has a crucial and critical role to play in ensuring that poplar policies are formulated and should be the voice of the people against any vice that threatens our national unity”

•From left: Alegeh (SAN); Administrative Judge Aguata High Court, Justice Pete Ebiala representing the Chief Judge of Anambra State; Justice P.C.N. Umeadi; Ezeonwuka and former Chairman NBA Aguata branch, Mr. Nebis Elendu.

•From left: Former Chairman Aguata branch, Z.C. Zokas; Izu Nwanano; C. I. Okoye and E. E. Umajiaku

•From left: C. I. Okoye; S. U. Ayia; D. U. Umeobika; I.C. Enemuo; E.N. Ezeonwuka; PRO, Aguata branch, Silvester I. Oluoba Leader R. O. Ezenwosu; Secretary Aguata branch, Hon. Bon Uche Okafor and G.O.C. Okeke.

•From left: Odiegwu Egbuna C; Chijioke Nwankwo; J. A. Okpraeke; E. I. Orachusi and Dim E. O. N.

•From left: Uzoiyi Ekwulobia, Ichie Edwin Ezeobi; Isu of Isofia and Chairman Aguata Council of Traditional Rulers, G. A. O. Muoghalu; Alupueaku of Ikenga and National Depty Chairman, Old Aguata Union (OAU) Igwe Alfred Ezeobi Onwuneme; Eze Yaba, Lagos State, Ambassador Samuel Ezekwo and Idu Igbukwu, M. N. Ezeh

Text of the lecture delivered by Prof. Epiphany Azinge (SAN) on the eve of leaving as the DirectorGeneral of NIALS.

Law and transformation: NIALS forensic empiricism and legal pragmatism

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EGAL pragmatism as a strategic vision Conscious of the criticism that legal scholarship begins and ends in the book shelves as is of no material importance to societal development, NIALS under my watch developed a strategic vision centred on pragmatic legal scholarship. By legal pragmatism, it connotes the idea of ensuring that legal research, publications and engagements are geared towards problems solving or ad-

dressing issues of importance to the nation or society which ordinarily may not have been addressed in a positive manner.

Legal experts may be quick to argue that this is nothing but Law in context and this a well beaten path as far as legal scholarship is concerned. I beg to differ. Legal pragmatism as espoused by NIALS is wider in scope and context than law –in-context. Whilst Law-in-context finds expression in magis-

terial imprimatur and judicial pronouncements, legal pragmatism critiques the law as it is, reconciles reality in society and at the same time make projections for shifting the frontiers of Law. A clear cut example (though not original idea of NIALS) is the adoption of doctrines of necessity by the National Assembly in validating the presidency of President Goodluck Jonathan. That is nothing but legal pragmatism.

•Azinge

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

LAW & SOCIETY

The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, visited the four prisons in the state. The visit was symbolic in two ways: It announced her retirement from the state public service and marked the release of 89 Awaiting Trial Inmates (ATI). ADEBISI ONANUGA and TOYOSI BABATUNDE report.

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CJ’s parting gift: 89 inmates released

HIS is going to be my last visit to you be cause I am retiring next (this) month. This is why I decided to pay another visit to the prisons to see who among you can be released before I go,” Justice Ayotunde Phillips said.

Against this backdrop, Justice Phillips went around the four prisons - the Maximum, the Medium Security Prisons, the Women Prisons in Kirikiri and the Nigerian Prisons in Ikoyi – and released 89 awaiting trial inmates between Tuesday, June 17 and Wednesday, June 18.

With this number, Justice Phillips has released 686 inmates within two years of her being in the saddle of the state judiciary as its Chief Judge (CJ). She will retire on July 26, when she would have attained 65 years, the mandatory age for the retirement of public servants.

The inmates were released pursuant to the powers conferred on her as the Chief Judge under Section 1 (1) of the Criminal Justice Release from Custody Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2007.

Among those who regained their freedom last week was pale-looking Luqman Alabi, who was brought before the CJ on a stretcher. He was among the three released from the Maximum Security Prisons. A woman also regained her freedom from the women’s prisons and 71 others from the Medium Maximum Prisons and 14 from Ikoyi Prisons.

The woman, Mandy Freedom, lived her name.

That she would regain her freedom last week Tuesday never crossed her mind. But freedom came to her when the CJ visited.

The CJ’s arrival at the Women Prison, initially appeared to have dampened the inmates’ spirits when she announced that o amongst them.

But their mood changed when Mandy Freedom’s name was called. The whole hall was thrown into a frenzy as everyone shouted in unison with joy that freedom has finally found Freedom after two years behind bars without trial. Freedom could not believe her ears when she heard her name. She stood up from where she sat, took a few steps forward and started shaking. She then suddenly realised that she has been granted freedom. She knelt down, covered her face with her two hands, started weeping and could not find any word to express her joy.

As if programmed, she started rolling on ground, stood up and finally found her voice.

And spurred on by other inmates, she opened her mouth and sang sonorously to praise God with other inmates chorusing her song. She was later taken outside by prison officials.

Although the officials prevented the media from interacting with those freed, a source, however, said Freedom was dumped in the prison by the police over two years ago. The source said throughout her stay in the prison, she was never arraigned before any Magistrate Court and there was neither a charge preferred against her until she regained her freedom.

The same could not be said of Alabi. He looked very pale as he could only manage to look at the C J when his name was mentioned. It was, however, not clear what ailment has afflicted him.

He could not savour the joy of the moment.

Justice Phillips told the inmates that the visit was her last assignment at the prisons as she would retire this month. She told the freed inmates “to go and sin no more” and counseled them to be of good behaviour as they return to the society.

She admonished them against returning to what brought them to prison. “I hope that those who will be released today will not have any cause to return to the four walls of any prison again,” she said.

Justice Phillips lamented that, in spite of all efforts at decongesting the prisons, the number of awaiting trial inmates has continued to rise. “I really don’t know what I could do to bring down the number. But I do know that I have tried my best. I think we just have to go back to the drawing board to find out what is causing this and find solution to it,” she said.

She, however, expressed optimism that the introduction of the new bail system would help to improve the situation in the system.

The CJ assured that her successor would take up the challenge of finding a solution to prison congestion and, in particular, awaiting trials.

“When I am handing over, I would make suggestions to my successor on the issue. I am sure that, with time, things would get better. For now, suffice it to say that I am glad to be here and the little I would do here would, at least, bring down your number,” she said.

The Deputy Controller of Prisons, Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Mr. Olumide Tinuoye, thanked Justice Phillips for her gesture, saying her administration had significantly reduced the number of awaiting trial inmates.

The Deputy Controller of Prison in charge of Kirikiri Female Prisons, Mrs. Leticia Isioma Onwuli, while thanking the CJ for her efforts to decongest the prisons, lamented the poor state of health facilities in the prisons.

She said the Kirikiri female prison clinic located within the prison facility currently lack adequate equipment to deal with the increasing challenge of female inmates especially the pregnant inmates.

She noted that the prison female clinic lacked the necessary equipment to deal with the health challenges of the inmates especially pregnant ones.

The DCP said the kirikiri female prison facility currently have 205 inmates of which 170 are awaiting trial, 32 convicted, two condemned, one life imprisonment, eight pregnant women and nine nursing mothers.

She pleaded with the C J to use her office to appeal to the state government to give rebate to female inmates who are referred to the general hospital for treatment.

Chairman, Prisons decogestion committee, High Court of Lagos State, Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye said the release of the awaiting trial inmates is a statutory function to be carried out by the Chief Judge.

Justice Ipaye told reporters that prison decongestion would be done on continuous basis.

She said it is important to decongest the prisons especially for the awaiting trial inmates.

“Sometimes, they remain in prison for too long, either for reasons that their prosecution is not ongoing,” she said, explaining that it was in a bid to decongest the prisons and set them free that such an exercise was carried out.

Justice Ipaye enunciated on the criteria for their release. She explained that in determining those qualified for release, certain criteria were considered. “We look at the nature of the offence, whether they are not capital offences and if they have been in custody way beyond the maximum sentenced they would have had upon conviction.

Even for a capital offence, if an inmate has been in custody for way too long and trial is not ongoing for one reason or the other, or for reasons that the police have not been able to complete their investigation or that the DPP’s advice has come out and they have declined to prosecute.

Then it behoves on the Chief Judge of Lagos State to carry out her statutory functions and try to decongest the prisons and set them free,” she said.

LEGAL DIARY

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EBF honours her heroes Friday

HE Eastern Bar Forum (EBF) will on Fri day, at the Newton Hotel, Owerri Imo State honour its founding fathers and corporate citizens. The programme which was originally scheduled for June 13 was shifted to July 4 for logistic reasons.

The topic for the seminar is “whither Nigeria” and the keynote speaker is the former President of the NBA Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), the Catholic Bishop of Abakaliki Diocese, Dr. Rev. Fr. Okweze Ode will also present a paper.

Those to be honoured include the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim

Pius Anyim, chairman Senate Committee on Ploice affairs, Senator Polycarp Igwe Nwagu, Gov. Owelle Rochers Anayo Okorocha, Gov. Seriake Dickson, Gov. Godswill Akpabio, Gov. Liyel Imoke and former Gov. Of Anambra State, Peter Obi. Others are Justice Kate Abiri, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), chief Tony Mogbo (SAN), chief Mike Ikenna Ahamba (SAN), OCJ Okocha (SAN), Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), Prof. Ernest Ojukwu, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Bayelsa State Kemasuode Wodu who is the immediate past chairman of the forum, Marc Enamhe.

•Left to right Deputy Controller, Kirikiri Women Prisons, Mrs. Letichia Isioma, Justice Phillips and Justice Ipaye

•Left to right Mr. Olufemi Isaac, Mrs. Yinka Onabolu, Mrs. Yinka Adeyemi and Director , Office of Public Defender (OPD), Mrs. Rotimi Omotola

•From left: Deputy Chief Registrar, Mrs. Abiola Soladoye, O C Legal, Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Chukwu Agwu and Deputy Chief Registrar, Mrs. Busola Okunuga

•Head Judge, Justice Funmilayo Atilade and Deputy Controller, Ikoyi Prisons, Mr. Emmanuel Bamidele

From left: Deputy Controller of Prison, Kirikiri Maximum Prisons, Mr. Olumide Tinuoye and his counter part at the Kirikiri Medium Security Prisons, Mr. Tunde Ladipo PHOTOS: ISAAC AYODELE

Justice Augie to declare open BRIPAN’s Conference

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HE Presiding Judge, Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, Honorable Justice Amina Augie will on Thursday declare open an international conference on Insolvency and the Effects of Failing Development in Nigeria.

Organised by the Business Recovery Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN), the conference will hold at The Civic Center, Victoria Island Lagos.

BRIPAN Conference Planning Chairman, Mr. Ayodele Akintunde stated this last week at a press briefing jointly addressed with the association’s President, Mr. Dele Odunowo and Secretary, Mr Chimezie Victor C. Ihekweazu in Lagos.

Akintunde said the conference has as its theme: “SMEs, Insolvency and the Effects of Failing Development in Nigeria”.

He said that the Keynote address will be

addressed by Professor Fidelis Oditah QC/ SAN. Others speakers include; Chief Anthony Idigbe SAN, Mrs. Miannaya Aja Essien SAN, Dr. Sam Amadi (Chairman; Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission), Mr. Ken Igbokwe, Mrs. Abiodun Adegboye and Ms. Dokpe Akele.

He said plenary sessions will include; Restructuring the Insolvency Legal Regime for SMEs from the Perspective of UNCITRAL Initiative, The Future of SMEs, Group Enterprises and Business Dynamics in Nigeria and What SMES should know to avoid Insolvency.

BRIPAN Secretary, Ihekweazu also said conference will climax with the presentation of the first Babington Ashaye award to a distinguished insolvency practitioner at a dinner and that the winner of the award will go away with a cash prize of $5,000.

Newspaper of the Year

AN 8-PAGE PULLOUT ON NORTHERN STATES TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

PAGE 29

Plateau youths tackle insecurity •PAGE 30

Bridges ease Sokoto traffic •PAGE 31

Subsidised fertilisers for Yobe farmers

•Scene of the Abuja blast

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LTHOUGH insurgency began in 2009 and the first bomb blast in the Federal Capital Territory occurred during the 2010 Independence Day celebration, the deaths and fear of deaths have continued to grip residents who longer feel safe wherever they are.

Some residents who spoke with our correspondents on the countless deaths resulting from bomb blasts in Abuja, said with the turn of events, everyone should be ready to vacate Abuja if the blasts persist while the positive ones still believe that things can get better.

Before now, residents were confident that Abuja, being the seat of power and headquarters of all security agencies, the city will be spared of any blasts that were witnessed in other parts of the country. But today, Abuja is gradually turning into another Borno and the authorities, seemingly, are bereft of ideas about how to tackle the hideous situation.

On June 10 this year, security operatives in Abuja claimed that they had received intelligence of a pending bomb threat within the city. They sealed off Wuse and Garki markets within the city and did not re-open them for business activities until the areas were searched by security experts to ensure the safety of the markets.

A territory in insurgents’ grip From Grace Obike and Faith Yahaya

For the rest of the day, residents going into the markets were searched with bomb detectors. Everyone was happy about this as people were of the view that security operatives had changed their tactics in the handling of the terror war. People also thought that they will begin to man public places. Unfortunately, they became tired the next day and the same Wuse Market that had heavy security the previous day became bubbly again, and the single security operative seen at one of the gates with his detector was at a corner sleeping while people walked into the market freely.

After the recent bomb blast at Emab Plaza in Wuse II, Abuja security operatives arrived at the scene to seal off the place, even though residents saw their presence as “medicine after death.”

They all accused the Nigerian se-

‘Security officials need to check all vehicles coming to park close to these buses and passengers boarding the buses also need to be checked to avoid someone boarding the el-Rufai buses with bombs. The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory promised to install bomb detectors in these buses but nothing has been done in that regard till today. They need to do something fast because the masses are dying’ curity agents of waiting until something happens before taking action.

Men and women who lost rela-

tives or survived the blast were seen crying and most of them •Continued on page 30

•PAGE 31

Ahmed warns on substandard schools

•PAGE 31

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

30

THE NORTH REPORT

Subsidised fertilisers for mers Yobe farmers I

T is not the best of times for Yobe State farmers for three years running. The activities of the Boko Haram insurgency, apart from taking a toll on human life, have also affected farming in the state.

The insurgents have been unrelenting, but the state government have been undaunted. The administration of Governor Ibrahim Gaidam is committed to the farmers through its agricultural subsidy policies, the aim being to ensure food security in the state. For instance, the state has subsidised fertilisers by over 65 per cent, leaving the growers to pay less than 35 per cent of the price.

Gaidam announced the relief at the flag-off of the fertiliser sale for the year’s cropping season. The subsidy covers all categories of all the state farmers who will now buy both the bag of Urea and NPK at the cost of N2,500 each instead of the open market price of N7,250.

The governor who launched the sale at Government House, Damaturu amidst tight security, also disclosed that the fertilisers were procured at the cost of N1.5 billion, adding that the state fertiliser blending plant will produce 4,000 tons.

His words: “our decision to subsidise the prices of fertilisers was informed by our commitment to make this farm input affordable to the common man. These assorted fertilisers are to be distributed to 17 Local Government Areas of the state.

The mode of distribution shall be 300 bags per ward. Other categories of those expected to benefit from the distribution include large-scale individual farmers, registered Farmers Associations, individual subsistence farmers, Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Institutions; as well as the open market sale.”

He called on the farmers to take advantage of his government’s subsidy and participate actively in farming activities this cropping season so

•Governor Gaidam inspecting the fertilizers in Damaturu

•Governor Gaidam inspecting new agricultural implements From Duku Joel, Damaturu

that government’s aspirations of ensuring self-sufficiency in food production could be achieved.

Some farmers who spoke with The Nation thanked Governor Gaidam but however expressed doubt over the smooth distribution of the product to the farmers.

Yusuf Abubakar, a civil servant, maintains a small farm on the outskirts of Damaturu. He sums up his scepticism thus: “What the governor has

Plateau youths tackle insecurity Youths have stepped up

done is commendable. The subsidy is great but my fear is that the poor farmers will not get anything from it. I believe that when the governor took that decision of subsidy, it was the common people that were on his mind but I bet you the big farmers will hijack it”.

For Abdullahi, the state cultural troupe was speaking his mind with the drama presentation at the lunching of the fertilizer sales which painted a clear picture of how rich people use cronies to divert fertilizers for their

selfish ends.

“You saw the drama that was presented by the cultural troupe, it is exactly the way these people send poor people to go and buy fertilizer for them.

You will see one rich man, some are even these politicians that you know sending plenty of their boys to different markets to buy for them. It is so sad especially considering the good intentions of the government”, Abdullahi said.

But Gaidam Ibrahim Gaidam dropped a warning for those who may

women in the Neighbourhood Watch, in addition to roughly the same number community police duties.

There are so many of such community-based security outfits in the

state, some branded Community Watch, Neighborhood Watch or Community Police, among others, all intent on keeping armed men and other criminals at bay. Most of their members are youths.

intend to take undue advantage of the subsidy to enrich themselves, saying; ”To this end, a high powered Fertilizer Distribution Committees at the Local Government level are hereby reconstituted to supervise the distribution of these fertilizers,” said that governor, adding that the committee should ensure fairness, transparency and accountability in the distribution exercise.

He said all the proceeds of fertilizers sales, be remitted into designated government accounts.

Another area of concern for the governor was the issue of ensuring food security in the state. consequently the governor disclosed that government has earmarked N150 million for the purchase of assorted grains for distribution; and boost the state’s Strategic Grains Reserves for sale to the general public at subsidized rates in period of critical needs.

He added that N200 million was also set aside for the implementation of Animal Traction Loan Scheme (ATLS) for 1, 000 farmers across the state.

On dry season farming, he said: “The state government in collaboration with Damaturu local government council intends to construct Water Harvesting Structure at the cost of N40 million.

Under the same collaboration a concrete Dam will be constructed in Fune local government council at the cost of N350 million to ensure all year round cropping season which will create more jobs among farmers and herdsmen.

He mentioned other projects and programmes his administration is embarking on to boost agricultural activities to include Youth Agricultural Empowerment Programme, procurement of 60 additional tractors, and procurement and distribution of agricultural machines and implements for grain winnowers, seed planters, rice millers, twig crushers, crop dryers and 210 pesticide sprayers.

Earlier in his remarks, the commissioner of agriculture, Sen. Adamu Garba Talba also told the governor that the Yobe Fertilizer Blending Plant, Gujba has been awarded with Quality Assessment Certificate from the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) certifying the quality of NPK fertilizer blended by the company for distribution to farmers.

He said with this certification by SON, the fertilizer blending company can produce and sale the farm input to other parts of the country and overseas.

to rescue Plateau State from the hands of violent elements, reports YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU

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OU could say the youths have taken more than their fate in their hands. The safety and well-being of everyone else equally rest on their shoulders, as does the future of their state, once renowned for its peace, tourism and temperate weather. For years now, Plateau State has witnessed some brutal terrorist attacks. Recently, scores of people were killed when bombs went off in the centre of Jos, the state capital.

Many more were wounded. Such violence in addition to herdsmen attacks have altered the peaceful atmosphere which once prevailed in the state.

But the youths have stepped up to rescue their state from the hands of violent elements. Thousands of them enlisted in vigilance groups to monitor their communities. No fewer than 5,000 are working with Operation Rainbow, set up by the state government to assist the joint military

•More volunteer youths in training From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

task force whose brief is to contain violent groups in the state. There are also about 4,000 young men and

Government believes that taking such a huge population of youths out of the labor market and engaging them in such ventures will on its own •Continued on page 32

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

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THE NORTH REPORT

Ahmed warns on substandard schools

Bridges ease Sokoto traffic

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

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B

EFORE they were built, vehicular traffic in Sokoto, seat of the caliphate, was frequently chaotic. Long lines of vehicles were a regular sight. Also, the movement of goods and even animals was equally problematic.

Worse, there were accidents, to boot.

Now, things are changing, thanks to the flyover bridges built in the ancient city.

The multi-million naira twinflyovers on the popular Maiduiguri and Birnin-Kebbi roads are working wonders in not only mopping up traffic, but also preventing crashes and beautifying the city.

Other equally helpful infrastructures include the numerous roundabouts, which have particularly given Sokoto a fresh, new look.

They also check over-speeding and ease pedestrian movement in the ancient city.

However, it is not only in Sokoto that these people-oriented projects have drastically reduced accidents; several cities and towns in the state are benefitting from renewed infrastructure.

Often, vehicle owners and motorcyclists lost their lives in auto crashes because there were no infrastructures to ease motoring in the state. Thankfully, things are different now.

Now benefitting from these projects in the caliphate are the famous busy areas of Old Market area, Diplomats area, Emir Yahaya, Maiduguri, and Bnirnin Kebbi roads which were once a huge source of worry to many, including successive governments in the state.

These roundabouts, strategically constructed to beautify the city, also help first-time travellers to find their way in Sokoto.

A commercial car driver, Malam Isah Maigwandu who was driving on the Maiduguri Road flyover told our correspondent that the flyover has helped a lot in reducing accidents, congestion and eases movement of road users.

He said, “Unlike before the flyover was constructed, accidents were frequent due to road narrowness. But now the road is expanded with the construction of the flyover.

You can see how it is aiding free-

•One of the bridges

•Sokoto city From Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

flow of traffic and also complementing traffic wardens’ work.

“Now we are experiencing easy movement but in the past during Ramadan, congestion was much especially between 5pm and 6:30pm when the time for the break of fast approaches. The congestion is always much but it is now considerably better with the flyover which

Poor road hurts Benue yam producers From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

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N Chito town, a predominant farming settlement in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State, yam is abundant. The local farmers are the best yam producers in the state.

Their lives almost revolve around yam. One hundred tubers sometimes go for as little as N4,000.

For most of the farmers, though, the cycle of production is incomplete without getting to the popular Zaki-Biam International Market in the headquarters of Ukum Local Government Area where their yams are bought. But the road to the market is terrible.

The journey from Chito to Zaki-Biam used to be only about 30 minutes but because of the poor road it takes two hours.

Yams are transported from Chito to Zaki-Baim by only •Continued on page 32

provides options to road users”, he said.

A commercial driver, Atto Sahabi who regularly plies the SokotoBirnin-Kebbi Road, said there is wisdom in building the flyovers because they save lives and goods.

“We have seen changes, and complaints of accidents have reduced especially on this road I ply on a daily basis to Shagari, Yabo, Tambawal and sometimes to Jega in Kebbi State.

Sahabi scored the state governor

Aliyu Wamakko high for building dual-carriage ways in the metropolis. The driver was also happy that accidents have reduced in the state capital, especially on the Sokoto Western by-pass.

“It is a great thing to see the traditional city of Sokoto looking more modern and developed with good asphalted roads, flyover and roundabouts now easing traffic congestion and accidents in the metropolis,” he concluded.

HE Kwara State government has threatened to sanction owners of private schools in the state that whose quality is below standard.

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed sounded out the warning in Ilorin, the state capital, at the presentation of award and launch of the magazine of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS).

Ahmed who was represented by Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Alhaji Saka Onimago urged the “association to join hands with government to ensure the maintenance of quality education at all levels in the state, as government will not hesitate to enforce rules on private proprietor who continues to provide substandard education.”

Alhaji Ahmed added: “On my part, we remain committed to sustaining our reform in the education agenda and ensure our pupils learn in a very conducive environment through the provision of modern infrastructure.

“In this regard, my administration intends to overhaul 120 secondary schools in the state to modern standard, similar to what can be found in any developed country around the world in the first phase of the complete modernisation of our schools.

“However, while the physical infrastructure is important my administration places equal importance on issues such as teachers training, curriculum review and functional education at all levels. We are determined that henceforth every child in Kwara state receives quality functional education that better prepare them for the future.”

In his remarks, President of NAPPS, Alhaji Abdulrahaman A. Lateef urged the federal government to ensure quick rescue of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

He lamented the paralysis of education in the north-eastern part of the country where the activities of the Islamist Boko Haram sect are well pronounced.

“We thank God we have peace in Kwara state. None of our school children has been abducted, kidnapped by the evil-minded ones,” Alhaji Lateef added.

He hailed the state government for the ongoing reforms in the education sector, adding that “it is as a result of our resolution to share the philosophy of the state government in sanitizing the rots in the education sector that made us introduce a number of innovative programmes within the six months of our inauguration.

“We have introduced ‘NAPPS transfer certificate’ with a view to curtailing incessant students crossing from one private school to another without documentation. This we identified as a factor responsible for irregularities in computation of students cumulative records at the end of the Common Entrance Examinations, Basic Education Certificate Examinations (JSS3) and WAEC/ NECO final examinations.”

•Ahmed •Chito Zaki-Biam Road

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

THE NORTH REPORT

Poor road hurts Benue yam producers

‘For over 50 years the people of Chito suffered because of their poor road, despite being the highest yam-producing community in the community’

•Continued from page 31

pickup vans. Larger trucks and even the lorry have no chance on the road, especially during rainy session.

For over 50 years the people of Chito suffered because of their poor road, despite being the highest yam-producing community in the community.

Their best chance for building Chito-Zaki-Biam Road came when an indigenous Chito politician, Hon. Benjamin Teryima Ashaver Hur was appointed Commissioner for Works by Governor Gabriel Suswam.

Ashaver who was instrumental to the election of Governor Suswam started as Agriculture Commissioner, later moving on to Education and eventually to Works.

He is said to have presented a memo to the Executive Council which led to the award of the Chito-Zaki-Biam Road contract to P.W. Ltd. Three years later, though, no work is going on. And to worsen matters, Hon Ashaver has exited

•Yams from Chito

the administration of Governor Suswam, which, in any case, will terminate next year.

A community leader in Chito, Ortsume Agabi blamed politics for the fate of the Chito Road

project.

The Commissioner for Works, Chief John Ngbede told The Na-

Plateau youths tackle insecurity •Continued from page 30 minimise crime wave and youths violence in the state.

The Nigeria police termed them as “Informal security groups”, “NonState Actors” Most of them are owned and managed by the various communities that established them to police their immediate environment. Apart from those ones, the Plateau state government has its own security outfit called ‘Operation Rainbow’ which government fund directly and has every relevant logistic support to assist the police.

The issue of community-based security outfits was specifically chosen to be discussed in a peace parley series being sponsored by the Plateau State government in collaboration with non-governmental organisations like Search For Common Ground (SFCG), Community Action for Popular Participation (CAPP) during the 8th Plateau Peace Architecture Dialogue.

The 8th peace meeting with title “Formation and Regulation of Vigilante Groups in Plateau State” was conceived by stakeholders to review how the security outfits were established and how they can be regulated to avoid abuse and for it to be made effective as expected.

The meeting which was held at the conference hall of a Cabinet Office of the Joseph Gomwalk secretariat Jos saw in attendance Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN), Neighborhood Watch, Community-Police Team, Operation Rainbow as well as government security agencies.

In his welcome remarks, Special Adviser to Gov Jonah Jang on Peace and Conflict Management Mr. Timothy Parlong said, “The situation in Plateau state today is an abnormal one as far as security is concerned.

This situation has made the emergence of vigilante groups a necessity. As a matter of fact, the state governor, Jonah Jang, has insisted that every wards, every community in the state must have its own Vigilance group”

•Members of Vigilance Group of Nigeria, Plateau State

He said, “It is not the time to sleep from dusk to dawn, it is time to remain vigilant day and night. Every community will require as much security as possible if we must keep the gunmen out of our land.”

Also speaking, the country director, Search For Common Ground (SFCG) Chom Bagu said, “The peace parley is an European Union sponsored peace program that will run for 18 months in Plateau state. It is meant to provide stakeholders of the state the common ground for all citizens and communities to come together and solve a common security problem.

Bagu said, “The 18-month peace project is meant to discourage the idea of confrontation and encourage the idea of cooperation and collaboration among the diverse ethnic groups in the state” In a brief presentation by the Plateau State Police Command, two reasons were given as reasons for the

Youths have stepped up to rescue their state from the hands of violent elements.

Thousands of them enlisted in vigilance groups to monitor their communities. No fewer than 5,000 are working with Operation Rainbow, set up by the state government to assist the joint military task force whose brief is to contain violent groups in the state. There are also about 4,000 young men and women in the Neighbourhood Watch, in addition to roughly the same number community police duties rise of vigilance groups in the country. They iclude, over-stretching teh the police and the closeness of vigilance groups to the people.

Chief Superintendent of Police,

Babayemi Akomolede who made the police presentation on behalf of the command said, “The police now has the responsibility to rise to the challenge of emergence of informal se-

tion that there are no funds to mobilise the contractors to site, though he added that there are equally important rural roads going on in the area. He dismissed insinuations that politics was behind the non-release of funds to the contractors.

Hon Ashaver has declared to contest for a seat in the state of House of Assembly on behalf of Ukum constituency. Now, the people said they are hoping the road project might be revived if Ashaver wins.

For the now, the farming community of Chito copes with erosion as the Chito-Zaki-Biam Road further deteriorates. curity group by regulating the activities of the new security outfits to make them effective and prevent them from becoming armed group or terrorists.

According to Akomolede, “an effective vigilante groups can help the formal security agencies to reduce crime, protect lives and properties, assist accident victims and provide intelligent information to the police etc” The police, though held that the emergence of vigilante groups in the country is legal, they however believed that the involvement of nonstate actors in internal security must be properly regulated and carefully managed if it must produce the needed result and comfort the society. Akomolede therefore suggested that the police be strengthen through better funding and equipment.

He also said, “Any member of the community that must serve in the vigilante group should not be someone with criminal records or ex-convict to an able to group command respect and recognition of the the community they volunteer to serve.

The background of such volunteer must be known.

“The informal security group should not be allowed to carry arms or conduct stop and search. And most importantly, the issue of security by formal or informal security groups should not be politicized for whatever reason” However, members of the vigilante group made a strong appeal to government to find a way of re unearthing their services. One of them Samson Bako said, “We know we are a product of the community, but the community is becoming weaker and cannot carry the burden of the outfit.

We need government intervention in area of funding, we hear that in other states, government have placed members of Vigilante groups on monthly salaries, we are pleading with Gov Jang to also consider us for monthly salaries, no matter how little” State commissioner for Information and communication, Barr.

Olivia Dazyem, who was represented during the meeting by Mr. Harris Dawurang said, “State governor, Jonah Jang will not leave any stone unturned in ensuring that there is adequate security of lives and properties of citizens of the state.

TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

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Website: http://www.thenationonlineng.com

•Senator Bala Mohammed (right) with Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide and other dignitaries and staff of the FCT Administration on a visit to the site of the bomb blast at Banex Plaza in Wuse II, Abuja

A territory in insurgents’ grip

•Continued from page 29 could not speak to reporters.

A young woman was seen almost running mad as she ran among the crowd searching for her mother.

She said: “My mother came here to shop; she called me not long ago and said that she was done and leaving the market before I heard the blast. Her number is no longer available and I can’t find her. Please, somebody should help me find my mother.”

A civil servant with the Federal Capital Development Agency (FCDA) who spoke to our correspondents in confidence showed our correspondents a text message that he claimed to have received on the day of the blast, saying that a bomb was going to be detonated in Abuja and residents should be careful of their movements.

His words: “I was truly scared when I received the message. Being a civil servant, I was careful of showing the message to everyone; I simply sent it to a few trusted friends. But since someone like me could get the message from someone I do not know, then I believe that security operatives must have gotten wind of such a message and concluded that it was a false alarm.

“The annoying thing is that be-

fore most of the bomb blasts that occur in this city take place, people and I believe security operatives get warnings but most times ignore them, especially if it does not happen as soon as they assume that it would.

“After the Nyanya blast, my son told me that a few days before the blast, a girl in his class was telling them that she learnt there was going to be another blast in Nyanya, Wuse and Kubwa. I’m sure security operatives received such an intelligence report but did not take it seriously before the blast occurred in Nyanya, Wuse and the area remaining to be affected by the blast is Kubwa and they are not taking things seriously.”

Although the authenticity of his story cannot be confirmed, security was beefed up the next day in and around Abuja, even as far as the Bwari Area Council. The Kubwa Market which is the landmark of the popular Kubwa area council is still mostly isolated of security operatives with hundreds of people innocently going about their businesses and officials of the market who accept payments for vehicles parked at the market vicinity. They were not bothered about checking the cars coming in to park.

A fruit seller at the market, Alhaji Sule: “What can I say? It’s God that gives and takes. So, if God decides to take me today by whatever means, who am I to ask

‘I will rather pay double amount of money to board a taxi or private vehicles with all the risk involved than board those el-Rufai buses again, I know what I experienced at the Nyanya blast and the friends that I lost’ Him why?”

In order to decongest the Kubwa Market and the security risk it poses on the residents, the Chairman of Bwari Area Council Yohanna Ushafa said the famous market will be relocated from its present position this month to allow free flow of traffic within the busy intersection.

After the two Nyanya bombings, residents of Nyanya, Maraba, Masaka and their environs have abandoned the parks and preferred boarding vehicles along the road while going to town. The scary part is that, the Nyanya Park at Berger is another death trap as there are no security operatives there.

A passenger in one of the elRufai buses Kunle said: “Honestly, I am always scared about these bomb blasts. I pray fervently anytime I come to this

park. It’s just on the road, with so many people and touts. Worst of all is lack of security operatives manning the area to discourage anyone that might want to do anything evil.

“Security officials need to check all vehicles coming to park close to these buses and passengers boarding the buses also need to be checked to avoid someone boarding the el-Rufai buses with bombs. The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory promised to install bomb detectors in these buses but nothing has been done in that regard till today. They need to do something fast because the masses are dying.”

Chinonso, another resident of Nyanya said she no longer board the el-Rufai buses. Chinonso said: “I will rather pay double amount of money to board a taxi or private vehicles with all the risk in-

volved than board those el-Rufai buses again, I know what I experienced at the Nyanya blast and the friends that I lost.”

A taxi driver who lamented the deaths of some of his colleagues said: “I always stay at the plaza to wait for those who want hire my vehicle. In fact, I am sure most of the women who sell at the entrance of the plaza have been roasted by the inferno.

“Tomorrow, they will announce and talk about it and before weeks they will be forgotten because another one comes up that will make people forget about the previous one.

“If some regions are saying we should not live together, let us go our separate ways because it is not by force that we should live in the same country. Is it possible to keep oil and water together? If we feel we cannot live together then let us go to where we belong to because this is not how to live in unity.

“There is no peace in Nigeria again. We no longer know who is who these days. Those who are working with you are your enemies.

“The government needs to act fast. Even as I am now, I don’t know how my life will end. We no longer feel safe; the security operatives need to do more to secure lives and property of Nigerians.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

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ABUJA REVIEW

Foundation empowers 276 women

F

•From left: FCT chairman, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi; National President, Dr. Godswill Okara and National Assistant Secretary, Abdulsalam Yakubu during a press conference on the effective regulation of intro-diagnostics in Abuja. PHOTO: AKIN OLADOKUN.

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650 women get N30,000 for business

O fewer than 650 women have got N30,000 each to help them set up small busi-

nesses.

Their benefactor, the Social Development Secretariat under the Federal Capital Administration, provided the money in order to help women escape the poverty trap. The beneficiaries were drawn from the six area councils in the territory.

They got the money after undergoing a six-week training on how to make household items.

The women were trained on the production of disinfectant, soap making, cosmetics and animal and agro products.

They produced hair creams, fruit juice, car wash detergents, shampoo, detergent, air freshener, odour control, bleach, antiseptic soaps, body cream and shear butter, among others.

Wife of the Minister, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Aishatu Mohammed said the administration has just declared a war on poverty

I

From Grace Obike

and will not relent in the fight to eradicate poverty from the FCT. She said: “It is my passion to see that poverty is eradicated from the country and the FCT. This informed our resolve to establish this by giving them successful training. We also trained them on ways to start up their own businesses and sustain them.”

Secretary of Social Development Secretariat, Mrs. Blessing Onu said the secretariat has so far graduated 5,000 women who have become self-reliant in order to provide for their families.

Continuing, she said: “We know the role women play in the society is to support our husbands and children. It is a fact that when you empower a woman, you do not only empower her but also her community and the nation at large.

“It takes only a little to empower a woman at the grassroots. This exercise has been going on for a while now, we have trained over 5,000

Council tackles malaria

N a bid to eradicate malaria in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), the Chairman, Hon. Micah Jiba has called on residents to cultivate a clean and healthy lifestyle.

Jiba, who gave the advice at a press briefing, said the council had launched a series of sensitisation campaigns in rural communities whose aim was to re-orientating the rural dwellers on the current challenges of unhealthy living.

He was represented by the council’s Supervisory Councilor for Special Duties, Hon. Ojo Olumayowa.

According to Jiba, the roll-back malaria campaign organised at AngwanLambu Piwoyi community, was to change the attitude of residents towards healthy living and culture. He linked the resurgence of malaria to deteriorating environment, noting that clean environment is a condition for malariafree society.

During the roll-back campaign at Piwoyi, Jiba urged residents of rural communities to avail themselves of the health facilities in their domain for better and healthy living during pregnancy and post-natal care, saying that a

‘Every family has to join in the campaign to boost maternal healthcare delivery in the council. Also, the goal for Malaria-free communities depends largely on the host communities.

So, the government would do whatever it takes to continue to support the health sector of the council for residents to have healthy living standard’ From Gbenga Omokhunu

healthy family is a wealthy community.

“Every family has to join in the campaign to boost maternal healthcare delivery in the council. Also, the goal for Malaria-free communities depends largely on the host communities. So, the government would do whatever it takes to continue to support the health sector of the council for residents to have healthy living standard,” he said.

‘It is my passion to see that poverty is eradicated from the country and the FCT. This informed our resolve to establish this by giving them successful training. We also trained them on ways to start up their own businesses and sustain them. We know the role women play in the society is to support our husbands and children. It is a fact that when you empower a woman, you do not only empower her but also her community’ women in the FCT and we trained them in order to reduce poverty, especially at the grassroots. We also advise that they should extend the gesture to others around them.”

One of the beneficiaries, Mariam Mark promised to use the donations judiciously, “I really thank God for

the opportunity given me to be part of the training and the money provided for us to start up our own businesses. This business is not the type that requires so much money to start.

I am very grateful because I will be able to feed my children and provide a few things in the house,” she said.

2,000 sites sealed for flouting environmental law

T

From Gbenga Omokhunu

HE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration has sealed up a total of 2,491 facilities and sites in the Federal Capital Territory for noncompliance with Environmental Impact Assessment/Environmental Audit (EIA/EA) regulations.

The Minister of the FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed revealed during a meeting with some senior officials of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board in his office.

Senator Mohammed further disclosed that some of these facilities were also sealed up due to default in payment of service charges and other environmental offences between January and April this year.

According to the statement issued by Assistant Director/Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, the minister said a new FCT Policy Guideline on Solid Waste Management is being packaged and stakeholders would soon brainstorm on its review, preparatory to its approval by the FCT Executive Committee (EXCO).

Though the minister did not mention the names of the sealed sites, he said the FCT Resident Sanitation Forum has been resuscitated with the objectives of increasing general awareness and full participation of the residents in environmental protection programmes.

According to him, 3,195 premises were inspected and given health talk on the importance of sanitation, while 93 premises were fumigated in the process.

Senator Mohammed warned that hard times await environmental offenders in the Federal Capital Territory, as all efforts would be made to rid Abuja of all environmental nuisances.

He solicited the co-operation and understanding of all residents as well as closer collaboration of all stakeholders.

From Bukola Amusan

OUNDER of Rock of Ages Empowerment Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Evangelist Ignatius Newman Ezeigbo has urged the Federal Government to evolve policies and programmes that will take care of the overall welfare of widows and other vulnerable groups in the society.

Evangelist Ezeigbo spoke at Abuja at this year’s International Widows’ Day celebration during which he revealed that his organisation has expended N7 million to empower 276 widows.

He said there should be enlightenment programmes on issues relating to widows’ health, as most of these women die of diseases that could have been averted if detected early.

He said the Federal Ministry of Health should take up the primary healthcare services to where these women can have easy access to them at a highly subsidised rate.

“The Federal Government should as well set up skill acquisition centres where these women would undergo various training with a view to making them selfreliant.

“Government should equally ensure that these programmes/ services actually get to the targeted audience (the very poor),” he said.

The foundation, which marked the day with over 1, 200 widows in attendance, gave out 140 units of sewing machines to 140 widows and another set of 136 widows received cash of N20, 000 each to start small-scale catering services, even as it also distributed over 1, 200 bags of rice to them.

On her part, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajia Zainab Maina praised Rock of Ages Empowerment Foundation that took it upon itself to recognise and celebrate the widows whom she said are integral part of every society.

The minister regretted that “the widows are seldom captured in statistics, unnoticed by researchers, often neglected by laws and development strategies making their situation invisible.

“What the foundation is doing today is so remarkable, especially in this era when the population of widows is steadily increasing as a result of the recent spate of terror attacks unleashed on the society by some violent groups in various parts of the country.”

‘There should be enlightenment programmes on issues relating to widows’ health, as most of these women die of diseases that could have been averted if detected early…The Federal Government should as well set up skill acquisition centres where these women would undergo various training with a view to making them self-reliant’

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

ABUJA REVIEW

•President Goodluck Jonathan (right); FCT Minister of State, Olajumoke Akinjide in a handshake with Ethiopian Prime Minister, Haile Mariam Desalegan, and FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed (second left) at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Centenary City in Abuja.

PHOTO: AKIN OLADOKUN

•From left: Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina; Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko and Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emiefile during the National Economic Council meeting at the Presidential Villa. PHOTO: AKIN OLADOKUN

•From left: Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke; Head of the Federal Service, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji; Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, and Minister of State for Works, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda during the Federal Executive Council meeting at the State House Abuja. PHOTO: AKIN OLADOKUN

•Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on ICT, Ibrahim Shehu (middle) and some participants at the African ICT Professionals’ Conference in Abuja. PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE

•Ethiopian Prime Minister Haile Mariam Desalegn inspecting the Guard of Honour mounted by the Nigerian Army during his courtesy visit to the State House, Abuja. PHOTO: AKIN OLADOKUN

•Chief Judge of Abuja, Justice Ibrahim Bukar (middle) with Mr Kayode Ajulo (left) and Mr Dotun Sowemimo during the swearing-in of Ajulo as a Notary Public in Abuja.

PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE

•Participants at Nigeria Road Safety Partnership Rally for the business community in Abuja. PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE

•Director-General, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Asishana Okauru (middle) in shakes hands with the new Head, Office of Department for International Development (DFID), Ben Mellorz. With them is NGF Executive Director Finance and Administration Alhaji Muhammed Jibia (right) during a courtesy visit to Nigeria Governors Forum secretariat in Abuja. PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

36

ABUJA REVIEW

P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan did not hide his feelings last week Sunday over the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Peter Ayo Fayose, at the Ekiti governorship election the previous day.

He first announced his happiness to the congregation at the Aso Villa Chapel on the Ekiti election and then the joy of the Super Eagles' victory in its second group match against Bosnia the previous day. Nigeria won the match by 1- 0.

Jonathan, who noted that there were threats of violence in the Ekiti State in the periods leading to the election, was particularly happy that there was no crisis in the state during and after the election.

But the opposition had already accused the Presidency of repression and undue interference of the military in the Ekiti election.

Some state governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) heading to the state to take part in the incumbent's, Dr. Kayode Fayemi's final rally prior to the Election Day were prevented from entering the state due to 'order from above'.

The actions of the military men have been said to be against the rights of the governors as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution. Some of the governors have threatened to go to court over the matter.

All these could not stop the President's joy as he was happy that the state was now a PDP state and that there was no crisis trailing the declaration of Ayo Fayose as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

During the church service, Jonathan said: "I'm particularly happy today because of the two events that happened on Saturday.

First was the election in Ekiti State.

I'm quite happy not necessarily that my party, PDP won. Yes, as a leader of the party, I must be happy, but it is beyond that. I was told that there may be crisis in Ekiti State because the report I got before the election was that yes, one party might win or lose, but there will be fire and brimstone. I have to commend the Nigerian Police and other security agencies that managed the election.

"And today, Ekiti is in a peaceful state, elections are over. And of course to cap it all, those of you who watched the late night match the Eagles made us proud. I see this as a sign of unfolding greater country coming. Nigeria will surely take its rightful position in the comity of nations. All the challenges will surely pass away."

The celebration moved to the President's residence in the afternoon when the National Working

President Jonathan's sources of joy ‘What gave me some joy was that the election was accepted as free and fair and most especially, Ekiti is peaceful. The result has been announced, nobody has been killed and no house has been burnt down. That gives me even more joy…Again, to crown it all, last night, the Super Eagles made all Nigerians to smile. Even though we know we still have a top soccer country to meet, we are convinced that we will triumph’ Committee (NWC) of the PDP, led by the party's Chairman, Adamu Muazu, came to congratulate the President on the victory in the Ekiti State governorship election.

Champagne and non-alcoholic drinks were popped while clinging of glasses followed after Vice-Presi-

From the Villa

By Augustine Ehikioya dent Namadi Sambo proposed a toast for the prosperity of the country, the party and Ekiti State.

President Jonathan did not only ensure that the right type of glasses were used by the waiters in serving the champagne and non-alcoholic drinks, he made sure that everyone in the room was relaxed and picked the drink of his or her choice.

Jonathan, who was watching everyone keenly, said to some of them who left their real choice of the drinks for non-alcoholic drinks: "Don't pretend to us here, you had better take your champagne", "Carry Champagne and give this one, he dey deceive us".

Speaking at his residence, he said: "What gave me some joy was that the election was accepted as free and fair and most especially, Ekiti is peaceful.

The result has been announced, nobody has been killed and no house has been burnt down. That gives me even more joy.

"Again, to crown it all, last night, the Super Eagles made all Nigerians to smile. Even though we know we still have a top soccer country to meet, we are convinced that we will triumph. We are convinced that we will go in for the next round."

On his part, Muazu said: "Today is a very happy Sunday after Mass; we

are here to rejoice and congratulate our President for the good and purposeful leadership he has given not only to the country but, indeed, to his party, the vehicle he has used to be where he is.

"On the Ekiti palaver, you gave me freedom to get a very reliable candidate. Ordinarily, the Nigerian factor comes in and he won't have been our candidate. Without getting our first eleven with his very good support and encouragement, we will not have been celebrating today. I want to commend you for providing security for everybody to come out and vote freely."

On the other issue of Super Eagles that made the President to be very happy that Sunday, his prediction on the Super Eagles has come to pass as they qualified for the Round of 16 even though they lost the last group match 2 -3 to Argentina.

They came second in the group while Bosnia came third on the table by beating Iran by 3-1 in their last group match.

However, Nigerians were seriously hoping that the Super Eagles will beat France and at least get to the semi-final stage, if not winning the trophy.

Residents allege breach of agreement

N

From Gbenga Omokhunu

ATIVES of Garki, Akpanjeya and Apo communities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have raised alarm over what they described as breach of agreement by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA)’s Resettlement and Compensation Committee headed by the Minister of State for the FCT, Oloye Akinjide.

Mr. Joel Jezebe, the Magajin Garki, in a press briefing expressed the natives’ dissatisfaction over the slow pace of work by the implementation committee set up by the FCT Minister of State, saying that the recent threat by the minister to forcibly move the community in two months will not be realistic. He said there is no sign to show that she meant her words.

According to Jezebe, Garki natives will not be moving in two months’ time, even as he said the statement was not accurate and the people have not seen any arrangement that would warrant the movement. He noted that if the Minister of State has put anything in place, they would have seen practical results that the movement would be a reality.

“We are not chickens or animals that you can move any how you like.

Even at that, if you want to move animals from anywhere, there must be a process. In fact, we have lost total confidence on the FCT Administration because we have not heard from them.

“The administration has nothing serious to offer our people and if the government did not stop the developers in our communities, we will mobilise our youths to stop any further work on the commercial plot at Garki resettlement area,” he said.

He said since the government has stopped the natives of Abuja to build any structure, they should provide alternatives for their up-and-coming children, saying that the natives do not know their fate anymore and their children are growing up, asking what they would tell them if they want to build.

•Some African Bishops during their visit to the Presidential Villa.

PHOTO: AKIN OLADOKUN

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1 , 2014

LAW PERSONALITY Julius Oladele Adesina ( SAN), was General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) 2002-2004. He is contesting the NBA presidential election this month. He expresses his views on the need for Electoral Offences Tribunal in the country, the NBA elections, Juducial reforms and other sundry national issues to Legal Editor JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU. Excerpts:

T

‘Why I want to be NBA president

HERE have been calls for an Electoral Offences Commission to try electoral offences in the country, what is your reaction to this?

The agitation for establishment of electoral offences tribunal to punish electoral offenders has been on for some time. It became more pronounced post 2003 and 2007 elections.

While 2003 election was regarded as flawed, many described the 2007 election as a fraud.

The agitation invariably led the former President, Musa Umaru Ya’adua, who set up the National Electoral Reform Commission under the highly respected former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice M.L. Uwais (CJN) (rtd) .

In this area of our legal jurisprudence, people commit electoral offences with impunity and get away with it. Even where they are caught, nothing happens. When people believe they can get away with anything, there is no restraint or restriction. Like other offences, offenders must not go unpunished. One of the cardinal principles of punishment in criminal jurisprudence is the principle of deterrence.

The former president in furtherance of the report of Justice Uwais panel forwarded the Electoral Offences Commission Bill to the National Assembly, regrettably nothing was heard about that bill until recently when the Senate was reported to have proposed further amendment to the 1999 Constitution by transferring the jurisdiction to try electoral offences to the Federal High Court.

What is your reaction to this?

Permit me to say that this is like one of those instances when, in my opinion, we technically avoid our problems while pretending to be solving them. Today, the Federal High Court is already over worked. Apart from Lagos and Abuja, the Federal High Court has only one courtroom in many other states. Besides and more fundamentally, we are in one breadth agitating for devolution of powers to the states, which make up the federating units, while in another breadth we are concentrating more powers at the centre, it is a paradox As a Presidential candidate in the forthcoming NBA elections, why do you think you are better qualified to lead the Bar? I wonder if I am the appropriate person to be asked this question. But since you have asked, I shall take the liberty to answer you. I believe and I say this with all sense of humility and responsibility, that I am the most qualified to lead the Bar at this time. With very profound respect to my co-contestants, I am the most enriched in the service of the Bar both at the Branch and at the national level. I am a past chairman of one of the most active branches, talking about Ikeja Branch. Out of the other candidates, only one was a former Branch Chairman like me. I am also a past General Secretary of the association, no other candidate is.

What are the advantages of these experiences?

Our Association is governed at two levels, by the President and General Secretary at the national level, and the chairman and secretary at the branch level. At both levels, I have directly participated in the corporate governance of the Bar unlike other candidates.

I have also headed some of the key committees of the association. For instance, I was the Chairman of the Electoral Committee in 2008.

I am presently the Chairman of the Rule of Law Action Group as well as the Chairman of the Constitutional and Administrative Law Sub-Committee of the Section on Legal Practce.

In all these areas and many more, I have left definite, tangible and verifiable marks.

Why do you think lawyers need you to lead the Bar? Your emphasis is “leading the Bar at this time” this is very important. Our colleagues must have the understanding of the time in order to know what to do per time. This time requires a tested and experienced hand to lead the Bar and I have that experience. This time requires a pragmatic and practical democrat to lead the Bar and advance democracy within the Bar and the larger society. A leader who

will boldly and courageously defend our constitutional democracy. A leader who will speak out boldly, courageously and timeously against all forms of oppression in the society and ensure that citizens and institutions are properly protected from the excesses, misuse and abuse of power.

My pedigree stands taller than any of my co-contestants in this realm. I come into the race with an ability already acknowledged and recognised by the generality of our members. Also, highly significant is what I consider to be a direct nexus between this election and the 2015 general elections in Nigeria. The Bar Association must stand up to ensure a credible election and defend our democracy. This period is not for the NBA to sit down and watch. What you don’t want, you don’t watch, you confront.

Lawyers’ welfare seems to be a key issue in the election, how do you intend to improve this in both old and young?

I will answer this question by recalling a story. In 2002, in the course of my campaign for office of the General Secretary of the Bar, I asked a question that “If you are not a member of the NBA, what do you lose?” I found out that one did not lose anything, then I concluded that there was a problem. After we were elected, the executive put in place some welfare programmes. We set up a group insurance policy through one of the leading insurance brokers, the Nigerian Life and Pension Consultants for Nigerian Lawyers.

The policy covered payments for medical expenses and sudden death.

At what cost was the policy?

It was at no extra charge to lawyers. The association paid the premium in full. The executive also put in place a minimum wage standard for young and junior members of the Bar. The minimum wage was by far higher than what some private chambers were paying their juniors in the big cities at that time. Even when we lost two of our colleagues in Onitsha, Anambra State under circumstances the NBA believed to be politically motivated, our executive did not only rise up like a roaring lion to protest the dastardly killings, we mounted a sustained campaign against the government of the day at that time.

We did not stop there, we set up an endowment fund for the children of the deceased colleagues. That was the priority we accorded the welfare of our members at that time. Regrettably, these welfare policies were not continued for unexplainable reasons. I have referred to these verifiable facts to assure our colleagues that I have done it before and I can do it again.

What is the objective of your welfare programmes and policies?

The objective of my welfare programmes and policies for both the senior and junior members of the Bar is to promote their security, economic advancement and assist them to maintain a standard living condition.

I have promised in my manifesto that we shall re-enact those welfare programmes that I talked about in a greater dimension. I also intend to put in place a welfare trust intervention fund at the national level which is expected to be duplicated at the branches to assist members from time to time. I shall give concentrated attention to our colleagues in the Northeast whose practice and businesses have been disrupted by the security situation there.

In order to chase away interlopers and impersonators with a view to terminate encroachment into legal practise by non lawyers, the administration will give priority attention to the stamp and seal project, a project that started during our Exco of 2002 – 2004. The administration will consciously open up the West African sub-region for Nigerian Lawyers to practice in the ECOWAS sub-region through engagement with the ECOWAS institutions, Ministries of Justice and Bar Associations within the sub- region.

Do you have any specific welfare programmes for young lawyers?

With particular reference to junior members of the Bar, I intend to give priority attention

•Adesina

that will guarantee their hope in the future, reinforce their confidence in themselves and help them to achieve their career dreams.

How do you intend to achieve this?

With respect to job creation, we shall campaign for increased public employment opportunities. In particular, we shall drive a policy of aggressive legislative advocacy, which will ensure the passing into law the Administration of Criminal Justice Bill, now pending before the National Assembly. This bill provides that only Legal Practitioners will prosecute cases at the Magistrate Courts. At present, it is a mixture of lawyers and policemen, really more of policemen. The executive will carry out constructive engagement with the local government management system to ensure that they employ lawyers as legal advisers/officers.

The local government is the third tier of government and I believe they are entitled to the benefit of sound legal opinion. I expect this initiative to open up over 800 employment opportunities across the country. All these and many more are contained in our nine-point agenda.

Additionally, the executive shall campaign for and get the judicial authority to employ legal assistants and judicial research assistants for judges in Nigeria. This was part of the idea generated in 2005 as a member of the Judiciary and Legal Reform Committee of the National Political Reform Conference, which I had the privilege of being a member. As a member of the Judicial Service Commission of Ekiti State, I can tell you that we have employed legal officers/research assistants for every judge of the High Court of Ekiti State. You can imagine the number of employment this will generate if we are able to duplicate this throughout the federation and I see no reason why we cannot.

What about sustainable social welfare schemes?

In terms of sustainable social welfare programmes, we hope to consider and implement a reasonable remuneration standard for junior lawyers as we did in the Exco of 2002 – 2004. The NBA shall embark on a sustained awareness campaign to educate members of the public on their civil, social and economic rights. As we do this, members of the public shall be alive to their rights and defend them when infringed upon.

Lastly, we intend to set up NBA Consortium Housing Fund to address housing needs of the junior members, explore legal practitioners’ mortgage cooperatives, arrange equipment leasing and professional practice support scheme. In this connection, let me pay glowing tribute to the former AttorneyGeneral of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), who singlehandedly established a Micro Finance Bank to address welfare issues of lawyers. The NBA will enter into partnership with him with a view to expanding the base and increase patronage by Nigerian lawyers.

What are the key issues in your manifesto

and how you intend to go about them?

My programme is contained in the document referred to as “Strategic Plan for Strategic Development of NBA”. It is a ninepoint agenda. For me, all the nine issues are key beginning with the corporate governance of the NBA; to promotion of efficient justice delivery; rule of law and corporate social responsibility of the NBA; the enthronement of high ethical standard; continued legal education; globalisation of Legal Practice and anti corruption. I have dealt with the critical issue of welfare under your earlier question.

Can you be a little more specific?

With regards to corporate governance of our association, I intend to pursue a deliberate policy of full democracy, active consultation, openness, transparency and accountability. I shall institutionalise democracy in the workings of the national executive committee.

For some years now, our Presidents have largely encroached on the powers of the National Executive Committee (NEC) to the extent that majority believe that the NEC has become a mere rubber stamp. This will change.

I shall unbound the presidency and work with the elected national officers, who in any event shall have unfettered ability to perform their constitutional functions and responsibilities. I shall make the branches the main focus of my development agenda. The committees, institutions, sections and fora of the association shall be strongly supported to play very active roles because there is so much to do within so short a time. There shall be effective delegation of powers. One thing that everybody knows about me is that I am a team player. I shall give everyone a sense of belonging.

Without having to repeat myself, my welfare package for the young and junior members of the Bar is captured under item three in the agenda titled: “From Capacity Building to Economic Empowerment”.

How do you intend to partner the judiciary in your administration?

The judiciary and the promotion of speedy and efficient justice system is another key item of my agenda. Our implementation strategy will be to mount sustained campaign towards increasing budgetary allocations to the judiciary, provision of adequate infrastructural facilities and provision of necessary incentives both during service and after retirement.

More importantly, we shall embark on strategic campaign against the perception that our judiciary is corrupt. Yes, a few of our judges may be bad, that few cannot take the place of the majority who are good. While taking steps as the Chief Justice of Nigeria is doing to separate the wheat from the chaff, the majority that are good in the system must be encouraged and protected. Perception, if not checked, can become a reality. It is even more dangerous when that perception attempts to change the reality. The reality is that our judiciary is still one of the best in the continent of Africa.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

LEGAL OPINION Court to decide suit against PDP zoning policy, July 24

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HIGH Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has adjourned to July 24 its decision in a suit urging it to declare unconstitutional, the zoning policy of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Justice Abubakar Umar fixed the date last Thursday after listening to arguments from plaintiff’s lawyer, Victor Iyanam, who argued that the policy is not only discriminatory, it equally negates the constitutionally guaranteed right of any Nigerian to contest election without being discriminated against, regardless of his place of birth.

Although the sole defendant - the PDP - only filed a notice of conditional appearance, but was yet to respond to the originating summons, the judge elected to entertain plaintiff’s arguments in relation to the substantive suit in view of the urgency involved in the case.

The judge, in chosing to hear the substantive suit, agreed with Iyanam’s argument that time was of the essence. Iyanam had equally argued that since the court would proceed on its annual vacation in August, if the main suit was not heard, the res - which is the party’s governorship primary, slated for September - would have been destroyed before the court resumes later in the year.

Leo Ekpenyong, a PDP governorship aspirant inAkwaIbom State stated, in a supporting affidavit, that the suit was informed

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

by a recent publication by the AkwaIbom chapter of the party, in The Nation newspaper of April 24, (on pages 59 and 60) indicating that it has zoned the governorship position to Eket Senatorial District of the state.

Ekpenyong said he is a member of the PDP, an indigene of Akwa-Ibom State, from Etinan Local Government, in Uyo Senatorial District. He contended that the party, by the publication, which it said formed the communique from its state’s Executive Committee meeting of April 22, was determined to discriminate against him and frustrate him in his aspiration for the governorship position.

He said the party’s indication to zone the position to Eket Senatorial District did not preclude other aspirants from other districts from pursuing their aspirations, was insufficient to assuage the disadvantage the party’s publication has placed his aspiration in the context of the state’ governorship primary election.

The plaintiff urged the court to decide whether he or any other aspirant to the governorship position in Akwa-Ibom State could be excluded from contesting the party’s forthcoming primary elections or placed at a disadvantage on account of his Senatorial District, Local Government or ethnicity.

He also wants the court to decide

whether the resolution of the AkwaIbom State chapter of the party, published in The Nation newspaper is not unconstitutional, null and void.

In resolving the questions, the plaintiff wants the court to declare that he or any aspirant to the governorship position cannot be excluded from the primary elections or placed at any disadvantage on account of his Senatorial District, Local Government or ethnicity.

He also seeks a declaration that the Akwa-Ibom PDP’s resolution, published in the newspaper on April 24 is unconstitutional, null and void.

Ekpenyong argued that the fact that the zoning policy is contained in the PDP’s constitution, is unhelpful to the position taken by the PDP in AkwaIbom because such policy violates the provisions of sections 14(2) (a), 15(2), 42(2), 42 (2) of the country’s Constitution and Section 87 of the Electoral Act. He contended that in view of the various constitutional provisions against discriminatory practices by political parties, the PDP in AkwaIbom State or any other party “has no choice, but to maintain the principle of equality of opportunity for all aspirants regardless of where he comes from in the state.”

The plaintiff noted that the PDP constitution did not recognise bodies like “Town Hall meetings, the Body of Chapter Chairmen, the Body of Local Government Chairmen/Vice Chairmen,” among others, listed as having endorsed the communique published by the party in Akwa-Ibom.

•Executive Secretary. Lagos State Judicial Service Commission Mrs Ayodele Odugbesan, Chief Judge of Lagos State Hon. Justice Ayotunde Phillips and a member of the Commission Mrs Abisola Oshodi during the Send-off Dinner Party Organized by the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission for its outgoing Chairman/Chief Judge of Lagos State Hon. Justice Ayotunde Adeyoola Phillips

I am leaving a strong, virile Bench, says Lagos CJ

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UT-GOING Chief Judge of Lagos State Justice Ayotunde Phillips has said she is leaving behind a strong and virile judiciary in the state.

Justice Phillips, who will retire this month, thanked God for attaining the peak in her career. she spoke at a lecture delivered last week during the anniversary of the Torch Bearers Society of the Arch Bishop Vining Memorial Church, GRA, Ikeja. The theme of the lecture was “God in my life”.

She said whenever she thought of those who died as judges in active service, she thanked God for getting to the position of the chief judge of the state.

“My attaining the peak of my career, first as a High Court judge and now the Chief Judge, could only have been made possible by God’s divine favour and grace Since birth, God has always been in my life. He is there today and shall be there tomorrow,” she said.

Her lecture touched on many personal areas of her life.

“From my birth and early education, my career path and work experience and parental influence, God was in my life all through and I enjoyed His grace and favour,” she said.

On her early life, she said: “I came back to study in Nigeria be-

By Remilekun Osasona and Toyosi Babatunde

cause I had no choice. I was aged 10. It was my father’s decision. If I had my choice, I would have stayed back. But looking back now, I thank God I had no choice.

My life was God’s handiwork,” she explained.

Justice Phillips said she had many challenges when she resumed office as a judge in 1995.

“From the first day, your reputation starts. You have to be very determined and resolute in refusing requests. I am very proud to say that, in Lagos State today, none of my judges falls prey because the Lagos State government is taking very good care of us. I am very proud to say that I am leaving behind, a very strong bench, somebody is there to help you, but you have to help yourself. If I hadn’t listened to my father, I wouldn’t have become a lawyer. In life, Heaven has helped me and I have helped myself and Heaven did the rest,” she said.

On frequent adjournments of cases in courts, Justice Phillips agreed that the process of adjournment could be faster.

She blamed lawyers as the cause, noting that they tend to give excuses for adjournments.

When asked about her embarrassing moments on the Bench, she said: “I don’t want to remember the embarrassing moments because they are too embarrassing. I only want to remember the good moments.

“The day my mother died at 9am, December 24, 1980 in England on a cold morning at the age of 56, was like an umbrella taken away from my life. The second time was when my sister, Olayinka, died on July 5, 1995 of chronic asthma, a part of my life died along with her.

The third time was when my father died. He was my mentor. I’ve had a lot of sad days, I look forward to a brighter tomorrow. Let’s think about the good days, like the time I’ll be having when I retire,” she said.

June 14, she said, marked the second anniversary of her swearing-in as the 14th chief judge of Lagos State and that she would formally bow out of office on July 26, by which time she would have attained the statutory retirement age of 65.

She said: “I have been working now as a public servant for about 40 years non-stop and that is the only life I know, now that phase of my life is over and I am free to do whatever I want and how I want it.”

LAW AND PUBLIC POWER

with gabriel AMALU email:gabrielamalu1@yahoo.com For comments: 08033054939 (sms only)

Biafra and the burden of history

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HE recent report credited to the Chairman of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) Chief Victor Umeh, that his party in collaboration with the state governments of south-eastern states will organize a befitting burial ceremony for those who died at the war front, during the Nigerian-Biafra war, is only new to the extent that the promise is coming from a political party chieftain.

This is because, similar promises have been made by Igbo sociocultural organizations in the past, but they appeared to have lacked the courage or the wherewithal to carry out, what the Nigerian state may view as a revisionist agenda. After all, there is official conspiracy against the interrogatories of our national history, with the neglect of the subject, in the primary and post-primary schools.

But with the re-burial ceremony of Isaac Adaka Boro, the Ijaw hero, championed by Bayelsa state, at President Goodluck Jonathan’s backyard, let us hope that the new protagonists will go on to win the trophy. Truly, in the Igbo cosmology, when an adult person dies, it is the responsibility of the living to ensure without fail that an appropriate burial ceremony is conducted to bring the rite of passage for the dead, to an end. It is believed that failure to do the needful will result in various incremental tragedies for the living, until the ceremony to rest the spirit of the dead is conducted. So when some Igbos claims that the wondering spirits of the ungainly buried Biafra dead are to blame for the several alu (abominations), that pervade substantial parts of the Igbo homestead, they may not be talking rubbish.

But if I may ask, who has fed the Nigerian officialdom the pervading fear, that the teaching of our national history in primary and post-primary schools is ant-ethical to the unity of Nigeria, or is their any other reason for such cultural aberration of neglecting our history, as we practice in our schools. To take away the subtlety in that poser, let me rephrase the question; is it possible, that the Nigerian state is potently afraid of the interrogatories of the history of the Nigeria-Biafra civil war, vis-à-vis the official lies that the Igbos in their malicious quest to balkanize the Nigerian state, caused the war, knowingly that history will teach otherwise? Again I ask; is the Nigerian political elite fearful of our children studying the intricate build-up of events that culminated in the civil war, knowing that they will perpetually engage in similar malfeasance in the present?

Whatever is driving the false passion for that unquestioned and understudied past, the multilayered crisis ravaging our country call for deeper introspection and national dialogue, beyound the mere cosmetics of shutting our eyes and ears from facts, and depriving ourselves from learning from our mistakes. As the south-east states prepare for the re-burial ceremony of their civil war heroes, heroines and even the villains, I remember one of them, my cousin, Ibe Ejim, whom I did not know, but who was much talked about, for his bravely and daredevilry. It will be an opportunity to remember that valiant only son, of now late Nwangwaka, who left his newly married beautiful wife, Theresa and her infant child, Emeka, to proceed to the war front, to save his people from extermination, and never came back.

Musa vs Messi

Personally I refer to Lionel Messi, the Argentine football prodigy, who plies his ingenious artistic trade at the Barcelona football club, in Spain, as the reigning god of football, in the past four years.

Never mind that he preserved his sublime skill in the past football season, for the ongoing world cup, to gift others a chance to shine.

Of course, Christian Ronaldo of Portugal and the rival Real Madrid football club is a revered prince in the inner sanctuary of the football alchemy; but not a god.

So it was with fear and trepidation that I watched the last NigeriaArgentina match at the ongoing Brazil 2014 world cup finals. Before and while the match lasted, I had wondered how can we strive against the god and not be smitten, by his artistic fury. But there we were, strike for strike, jostling with one of the best team of the tournament, according to pundits. Call it a fluke if you like, but our Super Eagles team, was able to conjure a mere mortal, Ahmed Musa, to walk in the shadow of Lionel Messsi, as he gave it to him, and the Argentines, goal for goal. As I had joked while watching the match, Musa who scored a brace, would have equalized, if the Argentine’s third goal was also scored by Messi.

But regardless of what happened between us and France, it was heartwarming to see Nigeria qualify for the knock-out stage, more so as tragedy, befell other African countries, save Algeria. What is strange, however, is that despite the concentration of humanity on the feasting at the altar of the kindred football bowls across Brazil, members of the dreaded Boko Haram, have shown utter contempt for this global feast. While the national teams of the qualified countries string their wherewithal to gain in the field of play against each other, these purveyors of death are enmeshed is their devious plan to bring our country to her knees. Their other contender in the act of wickedness against our country now, is the so called Fulani herdsmen, who strangely appear more armed than many small national armies. All across the country, Fulani herdsmen have turned a menace to the peace and well being of our country, and there is the urgent need for the federal authority to quickly tame this evil.

39

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

LAW & SOCIETY Monday Onyekachi Ubani, last week in Lagos bowed out as chairman of the Ikeja branch of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) after successfully completing his two-year tenure as provided in the branch constitution. He was inaugurated on June 2012 as the chairman of the branch and within this short period, he recorded monumental achievements for the Tiger branch and on Monday, June 23 at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the branch held at their Bar Centre in Ikeja, he handed the baton to the new officers led by Yinka Farounbi, to lead the branch for the next two years, report JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU, ADEBISI ONANUGA AND TOYOSI BABATUNDE

Ubani hands over to Farounbi: urges members to fight corruption

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ORMER Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, Mon day Ubani last week formally handed over to his successor, Yinka Farounbi with a charge that the branch should not give up on the fight against corruption in the country.

Ubani gave the charge during the handing over ceremony held at the bar Center, GRA, Ikej. The occasion also coincidedwith the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Branch at which the out-going executives gave an account of their stewardship in the last two years.

The former NBA Chairman said that during his tenure, the Branch never hesitated to comment and proffer solutions to “so many national issues” in spite of threats from high quarters.

According to him, “our country, Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gun powder. You may be surprised and shocked to learn that the gun powder, I am talking about is not Boko Haram but corruption. No arm of government is exempted but it is more pronounced with the legislative and executive arms across the three tiers of government-local, state and the centre.

“It is so cancerous that no one seems to bother about demanding bribes openly on almost all contracts awarded both at the state and federal level today. No state is spared of this allegation,” he said.

Ubani said the situation had become so bad that those who refused to be corrupt were seen as villains even as he lamented that it appeared that the country had been taken over by the worst set of citizens who had taken over Nigeria “as a conquered territory and are helping themselves with the spoils.”

“This struggle must be fought fearlessly and tirelessly to reclaim our land. May Almighty God help us in this seeming suicidal struggle,” Ubani said.

The former Ikeja NBA helmsman, had earlier recounted the achievements of his administration.

Part of his achievements, according to him included the procurement of 6KVA generator and a 30 KVA generator; two buses; continuation of the completion process of the Bar Centre.

The former chairman counseled the branch to pursue income yielding ventures to boost its finances as part of future arrangements.

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“This administration really tried to ensure the proper utilization of funds towards accomplishing several things, some of which the Secretary and I have mentioned. We pray for the sustenance and possibly, for the new executive to surpass our record”.

Ubani who said the Bar Centre at Ikeja was the largest one in the federation, also stated that he was leaving the cash balance of about N20,528,864 in the accounts of the Branch.

On the national election of the NBA holding this month, Ubani urged members to remember that “the branch has a candidate in the person of Dele Adesina(SAN) who is vying for the position of the Presidency of the bar. The branch has earlier adopted him as candidate for that position.

While admitting that members have constitutional right to support a candidate of their choice, Ubani stressed the fact that the preferred position of Ikeja Branch “is to support its own whose election will bring many benefits to the branch”.

The former secretary of the branch, Mr. Adesina Adegbite in his report described the last two years as “the most challenging and turbulent period” of his professional and private life.

Adegbite, however, expressed happiness that inspite of all these, the Ikeja branch of the NBA is the busiest bar in the country and most professionalised.

The new chairman, Mr. Farounbi in a brief remark, expressed appreciation to the members of the branch for the confidence reposed in him and other members of the new executive committee who were voted into office.

Farounbi also commended his predecessor, Ubani, for the achievements he recorded along with other members of his executive committee and promised to work in similar stead to further put the branch on greater pedestal.

In a chat with The Nation, Faronbi said: “ I am highly impressed with the milestone achievements recorded by my predecessor, having received the baton from him, I promise to fly the flag from where they stopped. Leadership is a continuum, you do your best and subsequent leadership will continue from where you stop. We hope to surpass the achievements of my predecessor, he has laid a solid foundation and we will build thereupon”.

•From left: Former Chairman NBA Ikeja branch, Monday Onyekachi Ubani, former Secretary Ikeja branch, Adesina Adegbite and former Treasurer Ikeja branch, Caroline Ibharuneafe

From left: J.K. Akhigbe, Secretary Ikorodu branch NBA, Bayo Akinlade, his wife, Lara, Chairman NBA Ikeja branch, Yinka Farounbi and Second Vice-President, NBA Steve Abar

•From left: Steve Abar, Lekan Yusuf (SAN), Dave Ajetumobi, Innocent Ananaba (SAN), Ahmed Dada Abas and Komolafe Richard

•From left: Dapo Durosinmi-Etti, Adekunle Ojo, Seyi Olawunmi, Adebamigbe Omole and Bisi Ade-Ademuwagun

Court urged to void NBC powers to regulate broadcast media

HE Federal High Court, Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has been urged to void some provisions in the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Act empowering the commission to regulate broadcast media owned by state governments and to collect licence fees from Nigerians for owning radio and television sets.

The request formed part of prayers contained in one of two suits filed by an Abujabased lawyer, Abubakar D. Sani before the court.

The first, marked:FHC/ABJ/CS/275/ 2014 with the NBC as sole defendant, specifically challenged the constitutionality of Sections 2, 9(1)(a), (6), 14(2)(a) and 15 of the NBC Act 1992.

Sani contested the provisions of the NBA Act, empowering the commission to “regulate such media owned by state governments, as well as collect licence fees for owning radio and television sets,” as invalid as they are inconsistent with the provisions of item 66 of the Exclusive Legislative List and Section 7(5) and Item 1(b) of the 4th Schedule of the Constitution.

He argued that powers to regulate state government-owned radio and television stations and collect licence fees from Nigerians for owning radio and television sets

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

are vested in the National Assembly and Local Governments Councils by virtue of the provisions of Item 66 of the Exclusive Legislative List and Section 7(5) and Item 1(b) of the 4th Schedule of the Constitution.

Sani wants the court to declare among others, that the NBC is incompetent to regulate and control state government-owned broadcast media such as radio and television, with regard to the provisions of Item 66 of the Constitution, and that it lacks the powers to collect licence for owning radio and television.

He also seeks a declaration that it is only Local Government Council and not NBC that is competent to collect radio and television licence fees by virtue of the provisions of Section 7(5) and Item 1(b) of the 4th Schedule of the Constitution; Sections 1,2 and 4; Item 17 of the Taxes and Levies (Approved List of Collection) Act 1998. And that Section 15 of the NBC Act, which purports to empower the commission to collect such fees, is invalid and ultra vires the powers of the National Assembly.

He prays the court for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the NBC from continuing to regulate or control state government-owned radio and television sta-

tions as well as collecting licence fees for owing radio and television.

The NBC has objected to the jurisdiction of the court and urged it to strike out the suit on the ground that the plaintiff lacked the requisite locus standi to institute the case.

Defendant’s lawyer, Joseph Nwobike (SAN) argued, in the preliminary objection filed for NBC, to the effect that the plaintiff, not being a beneficiary of the radio and television license fees and having not suffered any loss or prejudice by reason of the statutory powers exercised by NBC, can not maintain the action.

Sani is, in the second suit marked: /ABJ/ CS/251/2014 challenging the competence of the law made by the Lagos State Government House of Assembly, which the governor signed on February 17, this year. The law, among others prohibits smoking in public places and imposes fines or term of imprisonment on violators.

He is of the view that the active ingredients in tobacco –nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide – are all poisons, which by virtue of item 21 of the Exclusive Legislative List contained in Part II of the Constitution, could only be regulated and legislated upon by the National Assembly.

He argued that the National Assembly al-

ready has in place, the Tobacco Smoking (Control) Act 1990, which regulates the smoking, sale and marketing of tobacco and cigarettes in the country.

Sani wants the court to declare that by virtue of Section 4(2) and (3) and Item 21 of the Exclusive Legislative List, it is only the National Assembly that is competent to make law to control or regulate the consumption of the poisonous content of tobacco through smoking.

He also wants the court to declare as invalid, null and void the law made by the Lagos State Government in view of the existence of the law on tobacco already enacted by the National Assembly.

When both suits came up for mention last Tuesday, Justice Gabriel Kolawole chose to hear the suit against NBC and fixed hearing for October 22.

He, however, refused to hear the suit filed against Lagos State Government. The judge, who declined to make public his reasons for refusing the case, said he will return the case file to the Chief Judge for reassignment to another judge.

“I have personal reasons for not hearing this matter. The reasons are personal and I do not want to disclose them in the open court. I shall return the file to the CJ (Chief Judge) for it to be reassigned to another judge,” Justice Kolawole said.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

LAW & SOCIETY Being contribution of Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Innocent Umezuluike, to a book on former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais.

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‘Only a governor can appoint Chief Judge’

HE not infrequent delays, toxemia and heavy politics involved in the appoint ment of a Chief Judge of a State Judiciary seem to indicate that perhaps, the least known, most generally ignored or misunderstood, and least carefully evaluated provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are those dealing with the appointment of a Chief Judge of a State in Nigeria. The process of appointment of a Chief Judge of a State is purely a Political/Constitutional process rather than geographical, cultural, or idiosyncratic one.

Hence a process which the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria seems to treat as political should not be ridiculously objectified to the extent that meta-legal factors outside the process are entertained and perhaps given some consideration and accord.

Those who designed the Constitutional process plainly contemplated that the involvement of the Governor and the House of Assembly of a State must be first or paramount importance and obviously final.

The constitutional provisions In his characteristics elaboration Justice Marshal once said: “Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the Constitution and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adopted to that end, which are not prohibited, but are consistent with the letter and spirit of the Constitution, are constitutional”.

It is therefore to be contended that in the appointment of a Chief Judge of a State once the provisions of the constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 are clearly satisfied or complied with, the process becomes obviously legitimate, valid and final. And it cannot be impugned by reference to meta-legal factors outside the constitutional process. What therefore does the Constitution say? Under Section 271(1) thereof it is enacted as follows: “The appointment of a person to the office of Chief Judge of a State shall be made by the Governor of the State on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to the confirmation of the appointment by the House of Assembly of the State.”

The above provision is clearly determinative of the process of appointment of a substantive Chief Judge of a State. This paper is not concerned with the provision of Section 271(4) of the Constitution which deals with appointment of a Chief Judge on acting capacity. Under Section 271 subsection (1) above, it is clearly stated that the appointment of a person to the office of Chief Judge of a State shall be made by the Governor of the State on “the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, subject to “the confirmation” of the appointment by the House of Assembly of the State.

The above provision when reduced to its last analysis comes to this: 1.The appointor of a Chief Judge of a State is the Governor of that State; 2.The organ that confirms or rejects the Governor’s appointment of a Chief Judge is wholly and solely the State House of Assembly; 3.

The organ that recommends candidates for such appointment is the National Judicial Council.

The Constitution clearly sets forth, assigns and delimits the functions of these organs in

the appointment process. Each organ is under a solemn constitutional duty not to transcend the limits of its functions and powers. Upon the unjaundiced reading of Section 271 (1) of the Constitution, the clear surmise is that subject to the confirmation by the State House of Assembly, the power and duty to appoint a Chief Judge of a State rests solely with the Governor. And the duty of the National Judicial Council is fairly closely and mainly confined to mere recommendation of the candidates for the appointment to the Governor of the State.

This conclusion of law is reinforced by the clear provisions of paragraph 21(1)(C) of Third Schedule of the same Constitution, as follows: “The National Judicial Council shall have power to – (C) recommend to the Governors from among the list of persons submitted to it by the State Judiciary Service Commission persons for appointments to the offices of the Chief Judges of the States and Judges of the High Courts of the States, the Grand Khadis, Kadis of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the States and the Presidents and Judges of the Customary Courts of Appeal of the States.”

Furthermore, under paragraph 6 of part II of the Third Schedule of the constitution it is clearly provided as follows: “The State Judicial Service Commission shall have power to advise the National Judicial Council on suitable persons for the nomination of the office of – i.The Chief Judge of the State; ii.The Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal; iii.The President of the Customary Court of Appeal; iv.Judges of the High Court of the State – v.Kadis of the Sharia Court of Appeal and vi.Judges of the Customary Court of Appeal”.

What one can clearly take away from the above constitutional provisions is that the process begins with the State Judicial Service Commission which usually recommends three nominees to the National Judicial Council which in turn makes its own recommendation of the Governor of the State. The Governor finally goes to the House of Assembly for the confirmation of the nominee. As we have indicated above, the power to recommend cannot in law, grammar and syntax translate or mean the power to appoint. Hence the N.J.C. should make its recommendation in deference to the equally legitimate constitutional rights of the Governor and the House of Assembly to exercise their discretion. Of importance, of course, is that none of the constitutional provisions stipulated that the Governor shall nominate to the N.J.C. They clearly state that the Governor shall appoint. Section 271 of the Constitution clearly presents appropriate division of responsibilities between the Governor, the N.J.C. and the House of Assembly. The involvement of the N.J.C in the appointing process would have been greater than nominal if the Section provided that: “The Governor shall appoint a Chief Judge of a State by and with the advice and consent of the National Judicial Council”.

If the above provision was the case in Nigeria (and it is not) the Governor cannot therefore deviate from the recommendation or nomination of the N.J.C. However, under our present Constitution, it is clear that the N.J.C.

•From left: Chairman, NBA Ikeja, Mr. Yinka Farounbi, Magistrates of Lagos Judiciary, Princess Olajumoke Olagbegi-Adelabu and Mrs. A.S. Odusanya

•CJN, Justice Aloma Mukhtar

•Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi

shall have such importance in the matter as only delegated to it by the said Constitution which is merely to recommend nominees for the office of the Chief Judge of the State to the Governor. And feel discharged. The sovereignty of the State and the authority of the Governor should receive the benefit of doubt as to who he decides to appoint. We shall now in mere outline examine the functions or roles of the various agencies or bodies in the process of appointment of the Chief Judge of a State. In doing so we must confine our evaluation fairly closely to what the law and Constitution provide rather than the demands of popular views.

In our research for this paper we were unable to place a finger on any constitutional provision or rule of law, or Statue which emphatically or clearly says that in making its recommendation to the N.J.C., the State Judicial Service Commission should be bound and guided by the roster of seniority of the judges in the State. In any case it will be paralogical to state that one judge in a State is senior to another.

Aside from the Chief Judge, all the judges in the State earn the same salary not withstanding their years on the bench.

Furthermore, each judge is completely in charge of his or her own court. And his or her judicial decisions can only be reviewed by the Court of Appeal and not even by the Chief Judge of the State. The logical assumption is in favour of parity of judges in the State. In our view therefore, every judge in the state is a potential Chief Judge. If he sees himself as such, his basic allegiance will be to the law and to judicial ethics. No more, no less.

read his convictions into the law or Constitution. If the Constitution assigns the duty of appointment of a Chief Judge of a state to the Governor, it will be indefensible for the N.J.C. to contest that function with him. It is obvious in practical terms, that any friction between the N.J.C. and the Governor may occasion paralysis on the State judicial system. As between the N.J.C. and the Governor relative to this process, there should be back-slapping rather than back-stabbing. The above position is venerable, appealing and must be useful to the N.J.C. in order to avoid a stalemate or avoid coming to blows with the State Governor in which the judiciary of the State may stand to be worsted. A stalemate will occasion inconvenience. And a show-down with the Governor may sound in disaster for the State judiciary. Justice Mohammadu Lawal Uwais as Chairman of N.J.C. will go down in history as always adopting an approach that kept the N.J.C. away from unnecessary collision with the State Governments. It is obviously not a sign of weakness. But a demonstration of intellectual strength and savvy. By requiring the Governor to appoint the Chief Judge of the State subject to the confirmation of the House of Assembly, the constitution obviously treats the entire process as political. And we cannot objectify a process in which the constitution clearly treats as political. It results therefore that the disposition and opinion of the Governor on the matter must prevail.

The governor of the state The appointment of a person to the office of a Chief Judge shall be made by the Governor of the State on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to the confirmation by the House of Assembly of the State.

Upon the constitutional provisions, the Governor, it seems, is the unrivalled paramount and principal organ in the entire appointing process. As we have seen above, the State Judicial Service Commission sends a list of usually three nominees to the National Judicial Council (N.J.C.) with its recommendation. The NJC is expected to send the same list to the Governor with its own recommendation. The Governor can therefore pick any one of the three or so names sent to him for confirmation by the House of Assembly. The horizon of the Governor to appoint any of the nominees from the list sent by the NJC is uncircumspect. It is only where the N.J.C. had adjudged one or all of the nominees unappointable for grave reasons shown, would the Governor defer to its judgment. It does not connote that the N.J.C. is weak and ineffectual. It merely evinces that in a constitutional democracy, agencies and organs of the State function within the limits set forth or delimited for them under the Constitution. The contention that the N.J.C. must send only the name of the most senior judge in the list and insist that such judge must be appointed by the Governor is an unwarranted obligation which the N.J.C. may have imposed on itself. It is neither supported by any law nor by the provisions of the Constitution. If the N.J.C. must exploit criteria outside the provisions of the law and constitution, there are weightier considerations than mere seniority such as incorruptibility; distinction in character and learning; and acceptability by the State or organs of the State. As between the Governor and the nominee, there must exist deep mutual respect, deep confidence, courtesy and civility. These have no bearing whatsoever on the independence of the judiciary.

One of the sacred duties of a judge is not to

My experience in outline My predecessor in office retired from office on the 13th of December 2004. To avoid a void, the process of his succession began at the State Judicial Service Commission in September 2004. At this meeting three judges were considered for appointment. They were Justice R. C. Agbo, Justice I. A. Umezulike and Justice V. N. Nebo. By a vote of 4 to 1, the State Judicial Service Commission decided that the writer be recommended to N.J.C. for the appointment. But in a twisted and startling report sent to the N.J.C., which did not reflect the speeches at the State Judicial Commission’s meeting, the above names were sent to the N.J.C. as recommended; as fit and proper persons for the position and as respectively competent. In fact a passage in the report clearly stated that each of the three candidates recommended will make a good Chief Judge for the State. The dilemma created by this novel mode of recommendation prompted the N.J.C. to resort to the meta-legal factor of seniority. It then recommended Justice R. C. Agbo being what it called the most senior judge on the list, to the Governor of Enugu State for appointment subject to the confirmation of the House of Assembly.

It may be significant to mention here that before the above N.J.C. meeting, all the people whom I have found guilty of stealing, outright embezzlement of state funds, abuse of office and other criminalities in the course of my public inquiries and assignments for the State together with their relations and allies descended into the arena with bags of frivolous petitions against me. Nigeria is a place where thieves are permitted to throw stones from glass houses. In their desperation, the petitioners alleged that I was a Professor of Law of Ebonyi State University and earn salaries from the institution, that I was too friendly with the Governor to make a good Chief Judge and safeguard the independence of the judiciary; that among others, I showed disrespect to elders. No allegation of corruption or incompetence was made as none could sanely be made against the writer.

•To be continued nextweek

1

OTHER SPORT...OTHER SPORT...

43

TUESDAY JULY 1, 2014

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

KANO POLITICS

•Ganduje

•Sumaila

•Abacha

•Takai

•Gaya

Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwakwanso will bow out of office next year. KOLADE ADEYEMI examines the succession battle in the Northwest state, the governorship aspirants and their chances.

2015: Tough succession battle in Kano K

ANO State is the most populous and sophisticated state in the Northern Region.

This explains why the next governorship election will be a tough battle. The succession struggle has polarised the state. Gladiators are gathering civilian armies.

Next year, Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso will bow out of office after completing his two terms of eight years. He will leave behind worthy legacies. How to defend these legacies is his major priority. Thus, according to analysts, the governor will not be indifferent to the tendency of his successor.

Kwankwaso, who is expected to anoint a successor, is working assiduously to retain Kano State for the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). A source also said that the governor is eyeing the presidential ticket of the party.

A source close to the Government House said that the governor has set up a committee to screen the APC governorship aspirants, with a view to selecting a consensus candidate that would be acceptable to the stakeholders.

The source said: “Governor Kwankwaso, who is a democrat, does not want to take the decision alone.

He does not want his influence to really count. We are not unaware of the fact that, already, some people have started spreading the rumour that there is a grand-plan to install a Kwankwasiyya die-hard member as Kwankwaso’s successor. This is not true because all the political blocs within the APC are being carried along and they are well represented in the committee.

“However, I must assure you that whoever that will finally make the list must be someone who has the qualities to carry on with the good work Kwankwaso has started. It must be somebody who is loyal to the cause of the people’s governor because it will be a great injustice to allow sentiment to overrule our sense of reasoning. In a very short while, you will see what will happen and whoever will emerge as the governorship candidate of the APC will surely be acceptable to all.”

However, the committee has a Herculean task to perform. The aspirants are formidable. The are also competent to succeed the governor. How to select the candidate

‘Kwankwaso is interested in handing over to a loyal successor. But, the question is: will his political opponents fold their hands and watch him actualise his dream of becoming another Aminu Kano in the ancient commercial city? Time will tell’ is challenhing. In the race are two key leaders of the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and their supporters are growing in leaps and bounds. The campaign posters of Senator Kabiru Gaya, the Third Republic governor of the state, and Hon. Abdulralman Kawu Sumaila, the Deputy Minority Leader of the House of representatives, adorn the streets of Kano. The two politicians refused to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) along with former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau.

Gaya, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on State and Local Government Administration, told reporters in Kano, the state capital, that his ambition was informed by personal conviction and willingness to contribute his quota towards development. He described himself as a trusted and tested leader. He lamented that his administration was cut short by the military incursion into politics in the Third Republic. Describing himself as an experienced politician and administrator, Gaya added: “I have done it before as a young man of 38 years, who became the first civilian governor of modern Kano, and I will do it again. I remember I attended a function with the late Alhaji Abubakar Rimi and he introduced himself as the first civilian governor of Kano. When I took over the microphone. I introduced myself as the first civilian governor of modern Kano and people were confused.

“But, I explained that while Rimi was the first civilian governor of the old Kano, including present day Jigawa, I was the first civilian governor of the present Kano when Jigawa had been carved out.”

Kawu also has a tale of political achievement to tell. He said that he has worked for the state as its representative in the National Assembly. To him, the next governorship poll is not a do-or-die affair.

The federal legislator has inaugurating a 19-member ad-hoc Local Government Coordinating Committee across the 44 Local Government Areas to coordinate his campaigns.

“Our journey started about a year ago and, from all indications, we are making steady progress and there is no going back. We are determined to accomplish our mission to salvage Kano from the clutches of the PDP misrule. We have informed our stakeholders and elders of the party of our intention to contest the governorship. From the body language of the people, we have been accepted.

What I saw from the mammoth crowd that witnessed the inauguration was a clear testimony that a political revolution is about to take place in Kano for a change.Those insinuating that Hon. Kawu Sumuila has no interest to contest the governorship race in Kano are jokers,” he said.

A source however, said that Senator Gaya and Hon. Kawu Sumaila may be flying a kite in a bid to retain their seats at the National Assembly.

Another formidable aspirant itching to succeed Kwakwanso is Prof.

Hafiz Abubakar, a former Commissioner for Finance during Kwankwaso’s first term and the Chairman, Implementation Committee of the Northwest University.

He is very close to the governor. He was said to have rejected an offer given to him by Kwankwaso to serve as a Special Adviser. A source said that the scholar had hoped to be appointed as the Secretary to Government.

The Secretary to the Government, Suleiman Bichi, an enginer, is also in the race. He is a loyalist and a grassroots actor. Bichi is perceived as a member of the governor’s thinktank. When Kwankwaso was defeated by Malam Shekrau in 2003, Bichi invested his time and resources campaigning for the second coming

of Kwankwaso. As the SSG, he wields enormous powers. Bichi also has experience. He is a former Commissioner for Land and Physical Planning and Managing-Director of Urban Development Bank.

Another aspirant is Abdullahi Ganduje, an engineer and the deputy governor. He is a loyal and dependable ally of the governor.

But, there are rumours that both leaders are now in a silent political war. In 1999, Ganduje stepped down for his boss at the primaries. After the primaries, he was selected as the running mate. In power, the deputy governor did not undermine his boss. In appreciation of his loyalty, Kwakwanso picked him again as his running mate in 2011. In addition, he retained his portfolio as the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

Alhaji Ahmed Garba Bichi, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate in 2007 and a former Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, is another contender. He is an associate of the governor. In 2007, Kwakwanso had fielded him for the governorship against Shekarau. That followed Kwaka-wanso’s disqualification from the race. Bichi is a top APC leader in Kano State.

Another aspirant is Alhaji Abba Kabiru Yusuf, the Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport. He is Kwankwaso’s in-law. Apart from that, Kabiru, who was the governor’s Personal Assistant for many years, is very influential in the government. He is the only commissioner allowed to award contract above N50 million. in Kwankwaso’s government. Based on the privileges he enjoy, he is a subject of envy.

Another contender, Alhaji Ibrahim El-Amin, popularly known as Little, has been endorsed by powerful bloc in the ruling party. The

argument of leaders backing his bid is that he deserves to be compensated for his past political misfortunes. In 2003, he lost the ticket to Shekarau. in the defunct ANPP. A source said that Little’s popularity in the APC may put the aspirations of Gaya and Kawu at risk.

The former deputy governor, Abdullahi Gwarzo, is also eyeing the seat. He is the former Interim Chairman of the APC. He was also the Chairman of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). He is a popular politician.

In Kano, the ambition of the son of the maximum military ruler, the late Gen. Sani Abacha, Mohammed, is the talk of the town. He is a rich politician. Recently, Mohammed got a clean bill from the court over allegations of money laundering.

Sources said that he is mobilising for his ambition to rule. His campaign office along Audu Bako Way is now wearing a new look. The building has been refurbished. His political structure is visible in Kano and environs. Mohammed is the toast of the masses in Kano. He is loved by the youths.

The belief is that Mohammed is not a baby politician. In 2011, he narrowly lost the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) governorship ticket.

Shekarau’s political son, Alhaji Salihu Sagir Takai, may also unfold his ambition soon. He is the former Commissioner for Water Resources and Local Government Affairs. Takai was also a three-time Chairman of Takai Local Government Area. He contested the governorship election in 2011on the platform of the ANPP. But, he was defeated by Kwankwaso.

Before the end of this quarter, more aspirants may still join the race. Analysts have predicted a tough battle. The priority of the APC is to retain the state. But, the PDP is also working hard. Events in the APC may shape the events in the PDP as the race gets tougher.

Kwankwaso, it is believed, is interested in handing over to a loyal successor. But, the question is: will his political opponents fold their hands and watch him actualise his dream of becoming another Aminu Kano in the ancient commercial city?

Time will tell.

44

THE NATION TUESDAY JULY 1, 2014

POLITICS Osun State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Tourism and Culture Hon. Sikiru Adetona-Ayedun spoke with reporters in Osogbo, the state capital, on the second term ambition of Governor Rauf Aregbesola and other partisan issues. Excerpts:

‘No vacancy in Bola Ige House’

W

HAT is the chance of the APC in the governorship election?

You can even see it yourself. With the transformation that we have done in Osun in the last three and half years, it is obvious that ours is a government of the people for the people. These can be seen in all our programmes and activities. Today, this is the state that we have Opon Imo. We have uniforms for all our students. We have transformed our educational infrastructures, we have good roads now and we are generating wealth. Our hospitals have been upgraded for the benefit of the down trodden masses. With all these achievements I believe that no candidate can match Ogbeni. I believe that by August 9 the mandate will be renewed.

The PDP candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, is from your ward in IleIfe. What is the possibility that you would deliver your constituency during the election?

Yes, he is from my ward. In 2011, he even lost in our ward. Whatever they are telling you outside is just grandstanding. The only thing they believe is violence. We don’t believe in violence; we know our people and they know that we are working for them. This is a warning signal to them that they should not waste their resources and time.

They should not introduce violence into the election. We are propagating our own programmes and manifestoes, they should also come up with their own and let the people do the comparism. They should compare their own Osun of seven and half years to our own Osun of three and half years.

I know that this is period of returns.

An adages says “one good turn deserves another.“ The government of Osun has done a lot for my people in Ile-Ife, so in whatever way we are looking at it, we want this development to continue. That is why we are working seriously to make sure that, we will not only win, but convincingly in all ramifications. What is on the ground now, in terms of the infrastructural development in IleIfe has so much endeared the people to Governor Aregbesola and our party. They believe any government that has done this much must be supported. I can tell you categorically, that the people of Ife are for Aregbesola and they will support him to rule beyond 2014.

What is your reaction to the call for the transfer of the Resident Electoral Commissioner?

I would say that they are just caterwauling. What has Akeju done wrong? Is it because he refused to do their bidding? Is that the reason why they are running after him? What has he done in the past elections that showed that he was tilting towards a particular party?

We had one man one vote and the opposition parties suffered an allround defeat. Is it because they want him to upturn the result and he refused? Is that the reason? We need to ask them. The only unsubstantiated reason they have been parading around is that Akeju is related to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Who has established that? What is the linkage that has established that? They are already afraid of the defeat that is awaiting for them at the polls.

Going back to Ile-Ife, a politician there said he wants to become the governor of the State of Osun, let me tell you, he has no capacity to be a state governor, the charisma is not there at all. We are from the same place, but the level that Osun has attained in the last three and half years requires a person with good

•Ayeduni

brainwave, a focused leader, not a mere rabble-rouser who cannot comprehend the complex nature of governance in our state.

Tourism industry in the state of Osun is experiencing a turn around.

What really is the magic wand?

The magic wand concerning turn around in Osun is nothing other than our desire to turn Osun to one of the tourism hubs in Nigeria. We are leveraging on the fact that the state is the cultural centre of Yoruba nation and the custodian of Yoruba culture and cultural artifacts of Yoruba land. Also, the turnaround is an integral part of six master plan of the Governor Rauf Aregbesola to develop State of Osun. The aim of the government is to banish poverty and hunger, to create wealth, to provide qualitative education. All we have been doing is executing the master plan of the governor. In the first instance, I will attribute the prevailing atmosphere of peace and security in the state as one of the factors responsible for the growth of the hospitality industry here. Again, the Aregbesola administration has been busy opening up the state through massive development of road infrastructure, education and health. These are some of the things responsible for the growth of the hospitality and tourism industry in the state. We are well aware that there is no one that needed to carry out a transaction that would not need a befitting place to do so. And that is why we pay attention to regulation of standards in the hospitality business, so as to make it more attractive to tourists, visitors and would-be investors alike. I believe our commitment and intervention to make the industry competitive is responsible for the growth in the industry.

Can you tell us some of the innovations that you have brought in so far?

In turning around most of our historical sites, we have done a stadiumlike podium at Osun Osogbo groove.

If you go to Olumere, we have constructed a stair case to take visitors to the second level of the water base.

The artists are working on how to get the best for Olumere and to have the opportunity to stay overnight there. We are also working on the

‘The aim of the government is to banish poverty and hunger, to create wealth, to provide qualitative education. All we have been doing is executing the master plan of the governor’

statue of Oduduwa and Opa Oranyan at Ile-Ife. We have also attracted attention and patronage for Osun Osogbo and Olojo festivals that every year everybody look up to the festivals. As a focused government, we have divided our tourism agenda into four broad areas: “We have the socio-religious, religious, socio-traditional and eco-tourism. All these are investor attractive and the main one is socio-traditional because the State of Osun is the cultural melting pot of the Yorubas and the Diaspora Yoruba always want to associate with the state. All our brothers and sisters in diaspora want to have the touch with home, and you know developing our socio-cultural identity would attract them whenever they visit the country and the state.

Is there a synergy between the private sector and government on tourism in the state?

We are expecting them to come and collaborate with us in what we can call public private partnership. We have been having a lot of meetings and dialogues with the owners and operators of these hospitality outfits, with a view to setting a standard for their operation, so as to guarantee maximum comfort for their guests. Also, we are making the environment conducive for them to do business without stress. But we still want to have a touch on all these sites before we start looking for partners.

As the Commissioner for Tourism, Culture and Home Affairs, how do you manage the balance between religion and culture?

Being the commissioner, everybody knows it is a public office in which you have opportunities to manage different types of people. The constitution of Nigeria says that governance should deal with all citizens of the state, irrespective of their religion or educational background or social background. In this case, since we know that Osun is the centre of the Yoruba nation, we recognize all the religion in the state.

We know that we have traditionalists, Christians and Muslims also. We believe that religion exists while culture exists as well. There is no contradiction.

We are very clear in our stand on religion and culture. We are convinced that our rich cultural heritage should not be jettisoned because of religion. There is the need for constant re-awakening by putting on the front burner the search for who we are as a people. The beauty of the whole thing is that we have a culture that thrives on integrity, uprightness, industry, good communal living, and a well established system of punishment for the erring ones in the society. It is sad that when foreign religions came, we started to cast aspersion on our culture to the point of seeing it as diabolical.

What is the government doing to ensure that Yoruba language is not fading out among students and the younger generation?

We know that our culture, if you want to go by civilization due to colonization, is non negotiable. In the APC controlled states in the Southwest it is compulsory for students to study Yoruba Language, History and Civics from primary one to the secondary level, so that they will be able to speak their language, know their origin and their background.

In view of the meagre resources of the state, coupled with the sharp drop in the statutory allocation accruing to Osun, how are you coping, in terms of sustaining the administration’s tourism agenda?

All of us in this administration right from governor down are working to keep a lasting legacy. Yes, there is a meagre resources, but whatever development that you are seeing today was achieved through financial engineering. When the money comes the application matter a lot.

•Ajimobi

•Lanlehin

The defection of Senator Olufemi Lanlehin from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Accord Party (AP) has generated controversy in Oyo State. TAYO JOHNSON examines the politics of defection and its implications.

New face of opposition in Oyo

T

HE recent defection of Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, who represents Oyo South District in the National Assembly, from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Accord Party may have strengthened the resolve of the opposition that it can give the ruling party a run for its money in the 2015 general elections.

Lanlehin’s defection has created worries for the APC, bearing in mind that he is a lawmaker representing nine local government areas, including: Ibadan North, Ibadan North-East, Ibadan North West, Ibadan Southwest, Ibadan South-east, Ibarapa Central, Ibarapa North, Ibarapa East and Ido. The party’s fear is that the Senator was capable of helping Accord win more votes in the above local council areas in 2015.

Lanlehin, who opted out of the APC to join Accord on June 5, 2014, said the 2013 merger of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) with other parties, which included the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) did not go down well with him.

In the letter he wrote to Senate President, David Mark in which he explained his position, he said:”My action was in exercise of my constitutional rights to freedom of association under the 1999 constitution as amended, and pursuant to the provision contained in section 68 (g). I decided to transfer my membership of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria to the Accord Party with all the rights and duties accruing thereto.”

However, the APC has played down the significance of Lanlehin’s defection. In his reaction, the State Publicity Secretary of APC, Hon. Dauda Kolawole, described the exit the Senator Lanlehin from the party as good riddance to bad rubbish, saying it is worthy of being celebrated.

“Lanlehin was only putting into action his well-known political pedigree of political flirtation,” he had said, stressing that if the Senator had not abandoned the APC, he would have made news as acting against what the world knew him to be.

He said: “No one who knew Lanlehin’s political odyssey would be shocked at his most recent flirtation and betrayal of the hands that fed him. He has travelled a political road that is land marked by political treachery, abandonment and lack of basic ideology.

“That it took him this long to show his most recent political destination is a testimony to the fact that the APC is a good manager of political deviants.”

The Chairman of the Accord Party, Lawal Bashiru, disagrees with the APC spokesman. He argued that Lanlehin’s defection was a good omen that will bring peace and progress to the party.

He said: “We are happy that Accord Party now has a serving Senator and we are sure that this will create a better chance for us to snatch the governorship of the state from the APC come 2015.”

But observers say the Accord Party does not stand any chance of challenging the ruling APC in the state in 2015, without teaming up with the other opposition parties. Aside from the APC, other political parties in the state have dismissed Lanlehin’s defection to the Accord Party, saying it would not improve the party’s chances of winning in 2015.

For instance, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) believes the Accord Party does not stand much chance in the forthcoming general elections in the state, even with the defection of Senator Lanlehin. A chieftain of the party in the state, Alhaji Rashid Olopoenia argued that Lanlehin’s defection is not a threat to PDP, because the lawmaker has no political history and electoral value.

He said: “Lanlehin has made the greatest mistake to have joined the Accord Party; nobody knows him in Oyo State and if not for the crisis in PDP by then, he won’t have won any election. For instance, you cannot compare him to Senator Ayo Adeseun who has announced that he would be leaving the APC back to the PDP. Adeseun is a big catch for us to win the 2015 general election and we are all happy that he will be back soon in our midst.

“Oyo PDP is so happy to receive the news that Adeseun will be returning back to our party, this has indeed proved to the citizens of the state that our house is now in order. With his presence we shall reclaim back this state from the opposition party,” Olopoenia boasted.

Similarly, a Labour Party deputy youth leader in the state, Mr. Gbade Agunbiade condemned the lawmaker for pitching his tent with what he described as a ‘one man’s party’. He noted that the Labour Party is waxing stronger in the state everyday and does not have a dent on its name.

Agunbiade, said: “We are not afraid of Sen. Lanlehin ‘s accord with Accord Party in the state, because our party is too strong for him to withstand in the next general election in the state.”

What could have been responsible for letting Lanlehin and some of his supporters leave the APC? The crisis is not unconnected with unresolved grievances within the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), now APC, prior to the 2011 general elections when Senator Abiola Ajimobi was given the governorship ticket.

The demise of the former governor, Alhaji Lamidi Adesina, and the merger of the ACN with other political parties to form the APC also appear to have dimmed the chances of some defunct ACN chieftains of realising their political ambitions in the next general elections in the state.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

45

HEALTH THE NATION

E-mail:- health@thenationonlineng.net

Mental disorders in children misunderstood, say experts A RE children immune to mental illness? Does the society understand that when children are belligerent, they are trying to register their displeasure with certain things?

According to a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Dr Ibironke Annette Amodu, society does not pay attention to children mental illeness because it assumes they do not experience it.

Dr Amodu said most children do not receive treatment because of the way the society perceives their condition.

For instance, nine-year-old Michael Eze lost his father in an auto-crash. He was devastated, so was his mother. The behaviour of his extended family that came to take possession of his father’s house and business did not help matters.

Though his mother tried to stop them, but after much plea with the family members without any success, she resigned to fate But determined to give her two children- a boy and a girl good education, she sent them to her sister. Their maternal aunt added to the children’s agony as she was always abusing them. This made them sad. Sometimes, she would ask them to hawk bread before going to school in the morning. She put them in a public school whereas they were hitherto attending a private school.

This drastic change in life did not go down well with the children who could be have being born with a silver spoon.

Michael joined a gang and started taking drugs, such as Marijuana and heroine. His sister took to prostitution. The children turned out to be the opposite of what their parents planned for them.

To Dr Amodu, who worked with children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral and learning disabilities for almost two decades, “the frustration encountered by the duo drove them to the underworld, where they vented their anger, found solace in the ills they were involved in and their counterparts.

Meanwhile, the society will see them as miscreants, disturbing the

By Wale Adepoju

peace of everybody”.

She said these children are not mad; rather they are using their behaviour to communicate how they feel within.

Those are not the only way childhood and adolescent psychiatry occur, they encompass behaviour disorders, autism, psychotic illness and learning disability, among others.

Dr Amodu cited how child mental health can be stimulated unintentionally: Mrs Toke (surname withheld) loved her husband of 18 years passionately but did not have her affection reciprocated. The husband was having extra marital affairs, to the point of bringing his mistresses home. Thinking another pregnancy would endear her husband to her, she took in. But her husband flared up on this and would always beat her. Mrs Toke found comfort in alcohol and smoking.

She gave birth to her child during this period. Ola, as her son is called, was affected and had mental challenges at a young age. He did not develop like children of his age.

Dr Amodu said this is a clear case of error with resultant effects.

“Also, sickle cell, asthma, diabetes, seizures and epilepsy all have a way of gingering mental illness in children. There are also learning disabilities among children that are backward academically, otherwise called dullards, known as olodo in Yoruba”, she said.

She said in Nigeria, it is taken for granted that children do not have emotional trauma thinking wrongly that this obtains only in the Western world. “The illness is not limited to the Western world, for example, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders are also present in children in Nigeria.

“In the United Kingdom, one in 100 children has autism disorder while attention deficit disorder is four out of 100. But, here in Nigeria when such children apparently display, they are seen as naughty children and so they get beaten,” she

said.

To find a sustainable solution to child mental illness, Dr Amodu said more professionals should specialise in it, “this area of specialty is not so common because psychiatrists must sub-specialise to be able to attend to children living with these conditions.

“Childhood psychiatry is about children with behaviour disorders, for example, children with autism and those seen as having “naughty” behaviours. Also, children who have psychotic illness, or those depressed early in life and end up with a condition called schizophrenia; children with drug-related problems.”

A consultant psychiatrist, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital (FNPH), Yaba, Lagos, Dr Olugbenga Owoeye, corroborated his colleague that mental illness is no respecter of age or creed. But more young people are now having mental problems because of their population.

Dr Owoeye said: “Mental illness is any clinical condition characterised with psychological disturbance, such as disturbances of thinking, emotion, memory and behaviour. That is, it’s severe enough to cause pain or distress either to the person who is having the condition or to those around him. It is also associated with impairment in the ability of the person to function socially and occupationally.”

Mental illness, he said, is a psychological disturbance which causes distress to the sufferer or those who live around him. “It could cause impairment in social and occupational functioning of that individual,” he said.

Owoeye said the facilities and personnel to handle the illness are grossly inadequate in terms of number, adding that Nigeria presently has eight neuro-psychiatric hospitals spread across the six geopolitical zones.

He said there are about 200 consultant psychiatrists in the country to take care of the country’s population of 160 million people, adding: “I doubt if clinical psycholo-

•Amodu

•Owoeye

gists are not up to 100.

“There are few neuro-psychiatric hospitals where patients get serious treatment; they only receive treatment at units and departments at teaching hospitals or general hospitals”.

The country, he said, lacked capacity in psychiatric nursing, occupational therapy and social workers.

“This set of workers are involved in the integration of the mentally ill and their re-integration back into the community. However, they are few,” he added.

The Federal Government, he said, should establish a neuro-psychiatric hospital in each state, adding that it should focus on mental health, specifically in the training and retraining of personnel locally and internationally.

The consultant psychiatrist identified predisposing, precipitating and perpetrating factors as things that help the illness, saying one or two may be operating at a time.

Pre-disposing factors, he said: are factors that operate earlier in the life of an individual and appear to cause mental illness later in life.

This happens during pregnancy, especially when the mother is malnourished or suffer from infection

or she is traumatised due to a fall during pregnancy, Owoeye said.

This, he said can have effect on the brain of the baby which is developing in the womb.

He said: “The second is that there are factors operating around the time of delivery. Where a baby is delivered is important; is it in the village or at home, or where there are no experts to take care of the baby? All can lead to trauma and cause infection to the baby. Some babies may have birth asphyxia, which may have stress on the brain later in life.

“The baby may develop jaundice or childhood infection. It may become malnourished, underweight or undergrowth.

“If a woman suffers a problem such as child abuse, either physical or sexual while she was younger, when there is exposure to trauma”.

Precipitating factors, he said, are factors which appear to be responsible for the development of mental illness as at the time the illness started.

This can be due to infection, trauma, head injury, road traffic accident and drugs, he said.

Other causes are psychiatric drugs such as Indian hemp, alcohol, nicotine, tobacco and cocaine, and heroine.

New technology to ease delivery

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•From left: Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Dr Femi Thomas, Chairman, Sickle Cell Foundation Prof Olu Akinyanju, Vice President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Sani Dangote, Managing Director, Red Care Health Management Organisation (HMO) Dr Babatunde Salako and CEO Reddington Hospital Group. Dr Yemi Onabowale during the fifth anniversary and inauguration of Red Care Health Services Ltd’s new corporate head office in Lagos.

ENERAL Electronics (GE) has developed an additive technology for making delivery easy. The technology can also speed up the ultrasound transducer manufacturing process. Besides, it can eliminate time-consuming and costly processes, such as lamination and cutting.

The technology will ensure affordable and more accessible ultrasound systems for doctors and their patients.

The company has presented the technology to some health workers.

Speaking on the role of technology in healthcare delivery, the General Manager of GE Healthcare, Alex Canfor-Dumas, said GE was committed to the use of advanced technology and innovation in patient care and management.

He said the silent MR Scanner is one of the latest technologies by GE to address, “the horror of the loud noise usually experienced by patients undergoing MRR scans. Patients no longer have to go through the ordeal of repeating MR examinations due to lack of cooperation

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

from patients as the new technology has helped to humanise MR examinations. GE is the first to accomplish this great task in healthcare globally.”

Canfor-Dumas said: “Garages Nigeria will run till next week Wednesday, July 11, at GE’s regional headquarters in Lagos, and will feature curated speakers sessions and workshops amidst a fully equipped fabulous laboratories.

Participants can work with technical experts and use advanced hardware and software to bring their ideas to life, using equipment like CNC mills, laser cutters, 3D printers, and electrical engineering kits to quickly and collaboratively create new parts and prototypes.

“In partnership with the Dangote Foundation and other local partners, Garages Nigeria will expand into a programme dedicated to training skilled entrepreneurs, employable workers and creating employment opportunities amongst service suppliers within the growing power generation sector.”

46

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

HEALTH DENTAL TALK

A 14-month-old boy with a cancerous tumour on his back requires N2million for surgery. His indigent parents are calling on Nigerians to come to their aid, reports TAIWO ABIODUN.

with Dr

Congenital Spinal Bifida Cystica; Bilateral tallipes equinovacum and Defect in the frontal bones.

The child was referred to the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, Oyo State for further experts’ attendance.

She said at UCH “we were told it is possible to address the medical challenges but that we will need between two and three million naira. But l am a petty trader and my husband is self employed.”

The 28-year-old woman whose husband Olatunji is a barber said his income cannot sustain the medical expenses of the baby.

Mrs Olatunji said: “Our shoes now pinch us more than bearable. We have spent our life savings on the upkeep of the baby after spending several hundred thousands of naira in those hospitals we have visited and churches for spiritual solution which never came.

“With the uncertainty that has continued to shroud the future survival

H •Hemisection : The surgical separation of a multirooted tooth through the furcation area in such a way that the blocked, defective, or periodontally affected root or roots may be removed along with the associated portion of the crown. " High noble metal : See metal, classification of.

•Mrs Olatunji and her baby

of the baby and with the cost implication of finding a solution to Kayode’s health and seeing that there was no way. I and my husband could not raise the two to three million naira that was needed for the surgical operation. We have resulted to prayers and now are appealing to wellmeaning individuals to save our baby from dying, as he would not sit or sleep

‘We were told it is possible to address the medical challenges but that we will need between two and three million naira. But am a petty trader and my husband is self employed’

normally.

“As a mother, I cannot say that am fed up, our purse can no longer accommodate further spending to take him to UCH, Ibadan for further treatment and the eventual surgery,’’ the mother of the baby said in an emotion- laden voice, as tears rolled freely down her face.

What next for Victoria?

She wants well-meaning Nigerians in whose vein the milk of kindness flows to extend help to them, so that they could survive their present predicament. Any donation can be channeled through the following bank accounts: ‘’Baby Kayode’’ c/o Account Number 2005900477– First Bank (Sunday Ijanawo) or Access Bank – c/o Account Number 0054086764 (Sunday Ijanawo).

‘Truck

drivers, ‘commercial’ sex workers more susceptible to HIV/AIDS’

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RUCK drivers and “commercial” sex workers (SWs) are more susceptible to HIV/ AIDS than other members of the society, says a study.

The study tagged: AbidjanLagos Corridor (ALCO), was carried out in West Africa’s five major ports: Apapa, Cotonou (Benin), Lome (Togo), Tema (Ghana) and Abidjan Cote (D’Ivoire).

It was entitled: ‘Sexual transmitted infections (STIs), HIV and AIDS integrated biological and behavioural surveillance survey in ports’, sponsored by Abidjan-Lagos Trade and Transport Facilitation Project.

The aim, Assistant Director, Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA), Dr Dayo Lajide, said this is to help reduce incidence of HIV and AIDS and alleviate its effect on those infected and affected.

She said the study would help governments to provide intervention in the ports.

By Wale Adepoju

The targets, she said, are the truckers and sex workers because both by virtue of their profession have a higher risk of contracting the disease, especially because of the mobile nature of the former’s job.

Lajide said: “This study has helped us to understand what the prevalent rate is. It has also helped us to know the kind of behaviour they exhibit or knowledge that they have about the disease.

“By this, we can know the type of programme to design to prevent the transmission of the disease.”

She said it was discovered that major roads and borders crossing help to accelerate the transmission of the virus due to the high mobility of people, goods and services among the countries.

The road transport workers are at risk because of the highly mobile nature of their work.

She said their job makes them to be away from their

08108155239 (SMS Only); email- samawosolu@yahoo.co.uk

Glossary of common dental terms

‘Help, our baby is dying’ T HE arrival of a new baby brings joy to the family.

But for Mr and Mrs Seun Olatunji of 8, Imaran Street, Oke-Ogun in Owo, Ondo State the story is different.

Since they had their baby boy, Kayode, 14 months ago, it has been a tale of horror.

They have been going from one hospital to another to find solution to the cancerous tumour on Kayode’s back, which doctors say could kill him if not removed.

Seeing the baby with the growth on his back is heart wrenching.

His agonising cries bring tears into people’s eyes as he sleeps on his chest.

Now the tissues are turning red as if it is about to burst. The pain is better imagined than experienced. Many wonder how a 14- month- old baby could be suffering from such painful swelling.

On discovering the swelling after he was born, his parents thought light of it and always gave him pain killers, and apply anointing oil as ‘ prescribed’ by spiritualists.

The mother, Victoria, who is a petty trader, took him to the Federal Medical Centre, (FMC) Owo five days after birth.

At the FMC, Owo, it was discovered the lump on the baby’s waist and back were birth defects. And further diagnoses revealed the child was suffering from:

Samuel Awosolu

relatives a lot.

“Sometimes when the call of nature is upon them they have the urge to engage in sex with commercial sexual workers or even young girls who sell food and other items to them when they have stopovers,” she said.

She explained that the sex workers who were studied generally work in the cities, adding: “And they are the preferred targets for AIDS prevention interventions as was shown not only by the exposure indicator but by behavioural and knowledge indicators”.

The level of the indicators, she said, shows the programmes implemented in the different countries, are producing results.

LSACA Prevention/Focal Person, Mr Michael Essien, urged the five countries involved in the study, to scaleup prevention activities to hasten the declination of prevalence which has been initiated in all the countries.

Essien said the prevalence observed in the port areas is

identical to national prevalence estimated during the national Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance Survey (IBBSS) and is influenced by many factors.

“The development of an appropriate strategy and the strengthening of activities towards this objective which is the main target fuelling the epidemic will enable countries to control the epidemic in the coming years” he said.

He said two major concerns were identified in this study and requires the necessary action. They are drug used by sex workers (SWs) and sexual exploitation of minors.

“Over a quarter of sex workers use drugs and it would therefore be pertinent if each country establishes a system of fighting against drug use among SWs. “Sexual exploitation of minors in the sex trade has been noted in all ports. It is desirable that countries design a recovery and rehabilitation system for minors involved in the sex trade,” Essien said.

I •Immediate denture : A denture constructed for immediate placement after removal of the remaining teeth.

•Impacted tooth : An unerupted or partially erupted tooth that is positioned against another bone or soft tissue so that total eruption is unlikely.

•Implant : An artificial device, usually make of a metal alloy or ceramic material, that is implanted within the jawbone as a means to attach an artificial crown, denture , or bridge.

•Incipient : Dental carries in an early stage of development, usually not requiring immediate restorations.

•Incisal : Pertaining to the cutting edges of incisor and cuspid teeth.

•Incision and Drain : (I and D) A sweeping incision made through the core of a lesion to allow draining of infection, and removal of any abnormal or unhealthy tissue.

•Indirect pulp cap : A procedure in which the nearly exposed pulp as covered with a protective dressing to protect the pulp from additional injury and to promote healing and repair via formation of secondary dentin.

•Inlay : A cast gold filling that is used replace part of the tooth.

•Interproximal : The area between two adjacent teeth.

•Intracoronal : The area within a crown of a tooth.

•Intraoral : The inside of a mouth.

L •Labial : The area pertaining to or around the lip.

•Lingual : The area pertaining to or around the tongue.

•Local Anesthetic : The injection given in the mouth to numb the areas where a tooth or area needs a dental procedure. Often referred to as Novocain.

M •Malocclusion : The improper alignment of biting or chewing surfaces of upper and lower teeth.

•Mandible : The lower jaw.

•Maryland bridge : The trade name that becomes synonymous with any resin bonded fixed partial denture (bridge).

•Mastication : The act of chewing.

•Maxilla : The upper jaw.

•Mesial : Toward or situated in the middle.

•Metals, classification of : The noble metal classification system has been adopted as a more precise method of reporting various alloys in dentistry commonly used in crowns, bridges, and dentures. These alloys contain varying percentages of Gold, Palladium, and/or Platinum.

High noble contains more than 60% of Gold, Palladium and/or Platinum (with at least 40% Gold); noble contains more than 25% Gold, Palladium and/or Platinum; predominately base less than 25% Gold, Palladium and/or Platinum.

•Molars : The broad, multicusped back teeth, used for grinding food are considered the largest teeth in the mouth.

In adults there are a total of twelve molars (including the four wisdom teeth, or third molars), three on each side of the upper and lower jaws.

N •Nitrous oxide : A controlled mixture of nitrogen and oxygen gases (N2O) that is inhaled by the patient in order to decrease sensitivity to pain. Also referred to as laughing gas.

•Novocain : A generic name for the many kinds of anesthetics used in the dental injection, such as Xylocaine, Lidocaine, or Novocaine. See local anesthetic.

O •Occlusal x-ray : An intraoral x-ray taken with the film held between the teeth in biting position.

•Occlusal surface : The chewing surface of the back teeth.

•To be continued next week.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

47

THE NATION

BUSINESS MARITIME

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e-mail: maritime@thenationonlineng.net

Fed Govt invests N50b in water transportation

HE Federal Government has invested about N50 billion in inland waterways to ensure its efficiency, the Managing Director, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Hajiya Maryam Ciroma, has said.

The investment, she said in Lagos, is to modernise the sector and boost the economy.

Nigeria’s natural endowment in inland waterways is about 10,000 kilometres, which if developed through dredging and provision of auxiliary facilities will provide all-year round navigation for the transportation of bulk cargo and passengers.

The Federal Government, it was learnt, invested the amount to promote the movement of goods and persons through the waterways.

Over N36 billion of the amount, it was gathered, was spent on the dredging of River Niger to attract local and foreign investors in shipping and promote carriage of inland cargoes through the water.

Also, it was gathered that an additional N13 billion was spent on the construction of jetties and other ports along the coast line to ease cargo movement and remove pressure on the roads. In addition, N700 million was spent on machines to eradicate water hyacinths for safe navigation.

Mrs Ciroma said the Federal Government injected the amount to open up the waterways to local and foreign investors and provide jobs for the youth.

Stories by Oluwakemi Dauda Maritime Correspondent

NIWA, she said, is poised to transform inland waterways infrastructure in line with the Federal Government’s vision towards creating a modern competitive multi-modal inland water transport system, offering services that are consistent with global best practices.

She said in addition to the dredging of the river, the government was also planning to concession the Onitsha River port in Anambra State to promote trade and commerce, adding that Nigeria is blessed with a large network of inland waters and that government is set to promote inland water transportation because it is the cheapest means of transporting goods.

According to her, during the colonial ere, there were barges that moved cargoes from Warri in Delta State to Baro, in Niger State, saying the government is determined to revive the system.

“The nation’s inland water transport system is grossly underutilised and as we tap into it, it will reduce the pressure on the existing roads as many goods being transported by road will pass through the water,” she said.

The NIWA boss also mentioned that the lower river Niger has been dredged by 2.5 metres to allow cargo and passenger vessels and badges to navigate the water even when the tide is low.

The dredging of the lower river Niger, she said, covered a total of 500 kilometres from Gwari to Baro area of

the Niger, adding that the government has created enabling environment for the private investor to invest and help to develop the water transport sector.

She said NIWA has been given the nod to open up the waterways for a proper transportation system.

In this respect, she said NIWA is planning to hold a three-day international conference to complement the government’s efforts on opening up the nation’s inland waterways, pointing out that government has removed clog militating against the development of water transportation.

Hajiya Ciroma said the government is determined to develop a public transport system that would promote people’s safety and security, as well as create jobs for the youths and boost economic development.

She said the banking sector is expected to play a prominent role at the proposed conference, adding that the agency will use the forum and the exhibition to showcase the huge investment made by the government to the world. She said the inland waters have numerous opportunities to be tapped by importers within and outside the country.

“Nigeria cannot afford to be lagging behind in modernisation. We need to bring our developments to international standard, so it is important for us to organise the exhibition to know what is obtained internationally so that we too can bring such development to our country,” she said.

NIMASA donates 150 life jackets to boat operators

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IGERIAN Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) chief Patrick Akpobolokemi is sensitising passengers and enforcing safety standards to curb boat mishaps in the country.

Speaking at the kick-off of the campaigns for operators of boats and other mechanically-propelled water craft in Lagos, the director-general said safety was paramount to the agency.

“NIMASA is committed to the safety of lives and property on the nation’s waterways and as such, will continue to intensify safety awareness campaigns in states where water transportation is in high use.

“We are also concerned about the increasing number of boat accidents which have claimed many lives and property.

“Information-sharing with stakeholders has the potential to significantly reduce accidents.

“Under the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS 1974), NIMASA as the custodian of all IMO conventions also has responsibility to ensure the safety of lives at sea of all kind of craft in its waters,’’ he further said.

Akpobolokemi said NIMASA, as a maritime administrator, is committed to the enhancement of safety of marine transport.

The agency, he said, will continue to educate boat operators and enlighten passengers utilising water transport on the safety procedures to be adopted at all times.

It urged boat operators to adhere to safety standards in all their operations to stop deaths occasioned by boat accidents on the waterways.

The statement said the campaigns in states such Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Delta and Kogi would commence this week.

Meanwhile, the agency has donated over 150 safety jackets to boat operators in Warri, Delta to mark the ‘Awareness Campaign on Maritime Safety’.

NIMASA ‘s Assistant Director,

Capt Kunle Olayiwola, handed over the jackets to the operators at Ogolaha Jetty in Warri on behalf of the agency.

Olayiwola, who is also the District Surveyor, Eastern Zone of NIMASA, warned the beneficiaries against selling them, noting that proper use of the items would encourage the agency to provide more.

“Do not sell the life jackets because that is the only way you can encourage us to provide more.’’

Olayiwola urged the operators to make proper use of the jackets and to also avoid speeding and over-loading for their safety.

He said the campaign was to educate the boat operators on the hazard of sailing without observing the rules, saying that they should always operate with optimum efficiency.

The director also advised the operators to ensure they carried the approved number of jackets and fire-fighting equipment on their boats.

“Boat operators must check the engine performance every morning and do necessary servicing regularly.

“Loaded boats must be properly balanced before embarking on any journey and also have a minimum of two lifebuoys on board.

“Boat or canoe drivers must have fire extinguishers and must shun night journey or low visibility to avoid falling prey to pirates,’’ he said.

The Warri Zonal Coordinator of NIMASA, Mr Akin Akinyosoye, said the programme was to guarantee safety on the nation’s waterways.

He urged the operators to take advantage of the exercise to enhance their operations and promote safety.

The Chairman of the Maritime Workers Union, Market Road in Warri, Mr Yakubu Biukeme, who spoke on behalf of the operators, commended NIMASA for the gesture.

Shippers seek linkage of depots, stations by rail

T •From left: Hajiya Ciroma and Lagos Area Manager NIWA Muazu Sambo at the event.

PHOTO: OLUWAKEMI DAUDA

Customs begins collection of 70% tariff on imported vehicles today

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HE collection of the 70 per cent tariff on imported vehicles by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) will start today, The Nation has learnt.

A Customs’ source said the Service would collect the new tariff in compliance with the new fiscal policy on imported vehicles as directed by the Federal Government.

Importers and car dealers who hitherto paid 35 per cent duty and two per cent levy on new cars, will as from today, pay 35 per cent duty and another 35 per cent levy, making 70 per cent.

The official said last year, the Federal Government, changed its policy on imported cars, which increased the duty on imported cars from 20 per cent to 70 per cent to encourage the local production of vehicles.

Accordingly, Customs has directed all Deputy Comptroller-Generals, Assistant Comptroller-Generals, Zonal Coordinators, Area

Controllers and unit heads to implement the policy.

The Customs Public Relations Officer, Tin-Can Island Command, Chris Osunkwo, told The Nation that the NCS circular dated February 28 to all Customs commands across the country is valid since there is no other circular directing otherwise.

He said importers must pay the duty and the levy.

Some vehicles imported into the country about two months ago have been abandoned at the ports over the new duty.

The affected vehicles, Customs sources said, were abandoned by their importers because of their inability to pay the tariff.

Importers and other stakeholders, the source said, are concerned over the 70 per cent tariff because of looming congestion, urging the government to address the problem.

An official of one of the terminals

in Lagos, who craved anonymity, said there were indications that over 800 vehicles have been abandoned inside their terminal.

A freight forwarder and member, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Mr Okey Nerus, said the congestion has already affected the traffic of vessels into the country.

According to him, cargoes were abandoned at the port because importers were waiting for the government to review the policy, but the more they waited the more demurrage the cargoes incurred.

“Some of the cargoes in the port are consignments that came on May 1st to mid-June, importers felt the policy will not commence until July, so they rushed to make imports, and when the 35 per cent duty was introduced, they decided to wait and see if government will review it,” Nerus said.

HE Shipper’s Association, Lagos State, has urged the Federal Government to link the six Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and Container Freight Stations (CFS) across the country by rail.

Its President, Jonathan Nicol made the call in Lagos.

Nicol said the depots and stations would be more effective if they were linked by rail.

He said an effective rail system would ease the movement of goods and persons across the country.

He said the ICDs and CFS if connected by rail will decongest the Lagos ports, whose facilities and the

T

adjourning roads, he said, had been overstretched.

Nicol said he was happy that the Federal Government is planning to build deep seaports in the country.

“Aside from creating more job opportunities, it will increase the cargo throughput (imports and exports) of Nigerian ports.

“The seaports will be to the advantage of Nigerian shippers (importers and exporters) if they receive bigger vessels, discharge more cargoes.

“But there will be a problem if the deep seaports are not linked by rail,” he said.

Agents urge Lagos to fix roads

HE National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) has urged the Lagos State Government to use the Wharf Landing Levies to repair some roads leading to the Lagos ports.

Its National President, Lucky Amiwero, decried the poor state of access roads in and out of the Lagos seaports, noting that their deplorable state was impacting negatively on the nation’s revenue.

He said potholes on the roads to Tin Can Island Port, Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, Port Terminal MultiService Ltd, Brawal and Lilypond constituted a major hindrance to

trucks carrying containers.

“The potholes pose a huge threat to lives and property due to the endless traffic congestion on the roads.

“The situation of the roads has assumed an alarming proportion resulting in intermittent loss of lives as a result of loaded goods that fall on cars, trucks and sometimes on persons.

“The dilapidated roads also aid operation of armed robbers because the condition of some of the bad spots is alarming,” Amiwero said.

He appealed to the Lagos State government to fix the roads.

TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

48

THE NATION

BUSINESS ENERGY

E-mail:- energy@thenationonlineng.net

Ikeja Disco shuts substation over attacks

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HE Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) has shut its injection substation in Mafoluku, a Lagos suburb, over frequent attacks on its workers and equipment.

Its Assistant General Manager (AGM), Public Affairs, Mr. Pekun Adeyanju, said despite inadequate supply from the grid, the firm still ensures that its customers get electricity. But

Stories by Emeka Ugwuanyi

some people who do not appreciate the firm’s services assault workers on duty and damage its facilities, Adeyanju added.

He said: “The management of IKEDC hereby notes with dismay that while it continues to enjoy the support of most customers in its quest for improved power supply, in spite of considerable shortfall in the power allocation from the grid,

certain groups in some communities have persisted in carrying out assaults on IKEDC staff and malicious damage to company’s equipment and installations.

“Consequently, the management has taken a painful but inevitable decision to temporarily shut the Mafoluku Injection Substation to protect the lives of staff and safeguard the ultra-modern equipment in the station from

•From left: Thailand Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Chailert Limsomboon and Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) Benjamin Dikki during the ambassador’s visit to him in Abuja.

IPMAN to build refineries in Bayelsa, Kogi

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HE Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) is to build two ultramodern refineries in Bayelsa and Kogi states for about $3 billion to increase the volume of refined products internally.

Its National President, Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo, said in Lagos that the ground-breaking would be performed before the end of this year, adding that the project will be carried out in collaboration with foreign investors.

He said: “We are proposing to build two refineries in Nigeria - one in Bayelsa and Kogi states to eliminate fuel scarcity, which is part of the agenda of the present administration. We are in discussion with our foreign investors. The discussion is ongoing and we are reaching agreement, which hopefully will be sealed before the end of July, while the ground-breaking is expected to take place in the fourth quarter of the year.

“When the proposed refineries come on stream, they will go a long way in ensuring availability of petroleum products to IPMAN members, and ease

scarcity in the country. We will ensure that the products get to all nooks and crannies of the country. Besides, the two refineries will help grow the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country because the capital flight on importation of products will reduce drastically,” he said.

He explained that what the country spends in exporting its crude overseas for refining and the associated cost of importing the refined product, would be drastically reduced when both refineries come on stream.

Expectedly, he said the refineries will also create jobs, where lots of Nigerian youths will be gainfully employed, and this will also reduce incessant kidnapping in the country.

Okoronkwo said the association is also working with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and Products and Pipeline Marketing Company PPMC) to ensure products availability.

He said contrary to rumours, the association’s account was not frozen. “We are ready to commence the project and we

hope to make it work because we are also involving our money.

We are going on with our legitimate work and no account of the association was frozen.”

He commended the efforts of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani AlisonMadueke and the Managing Director of PPMC, Prince Haruna Momoh, for their commitments to ensuring effective distribution of petroleum products to all the depots across the country.

He said the commercial arm of IPMAN, NIPCO, is doing well, but that it would do better when the proposed refineries come on stream because it will ensure steady product availability.

He enjoined Nigerians to move beyond the use of kerosene and switch over to gas so that the gas that is being flared could be harnessed and used. Kerosene should be used for aviation and other purposes. That is what we are doing right now, he said.

He added: “We want to enlighten Nigerians on the benefits of using gas. Government should also ensure passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to attract investors to open up the industry.”

vandalism by some residents of Mafoluku, who besieged the station under the guise of protest.

“IKEDC in a bid to forge robust partnerships and address specific needs has held series of meetings with the communities within its network. The company has also introduced an interactive contact centre that is equipped to handle customer queries through its e-mail p o r t a l : customercare@ikedc.com and dedicated telephone lines: 0700-2255-45332 and 08002255-45332 (with options to speak to the call executives in English, Pidgin, Ibo and Hausa). ‘’It is on record that the company had severally engaged various representatives of the Mafoluku Community on improved service delivery.”

He explained that IKEDC Mafoluku Community Residents Association met on January 25; it held a meeting with the Oshodi Youth Alliance on February 8; a Customer Forum on March 22, in which the Community Development Associations (CDAs) of the area were in attendance, and influential Mafoluku leaders at a meeting between IKEDC and the Community Development Committee (CDC) on June 5, the two groups discussed issues of recurring inadequate power supply and estimated billings.

In response to these issues, the

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company he said constructed two additional 11kv feeders from the Mafoluku Injection Substation to relieve overloaded ones and this improved power supply to the community, achieved maintenance of the 11kv overhead lines to remove undersized conductors and replaced bad high and low tension poles. Besides, management has embarked on continuous adjustments of proven cases of over-billing, he added.

“It is important to mention that the issue of low power supply to the community is as a result of inadequate power from the grid.

IKEDC gets an average of 35 per cent to 40 per cent of its maximum demand on daily basis from the grid.

“We have remained resolute in our commitment to ensure equitable distribution of this low allocation to all our customers at all times, including the Mafoluku community. We strongly condemn the assaults on the company’s staff and malicious damage to its property. Such acts run contrary to the law and relevant security agencies have been called in to ensure prosecution of defaulters.

“The management appeals for the understanding of well-meaning customers in the area, as the station will remain shut until the community can guarantee the safety of the lives of staff and the multi-million naira investments that have been made to drive improved power supply,” Adeyanju added.

Egbin host community protests blackout

HE people of Ijede Local Community Development Area (LCDA) in Ikorodu on the outskirts of Lagos have protested not having light despite being the host of Egbin power station.

The community has over the years suffered poor electricity supply.

The protest, which started peacefully from the Oba of Ijede’s palace to the power station gate, almost turned violent when two military men guarding the plant, started shooting into the air to disperse the protesters. But the presence of the Ijede Divisional Police Officer saved the day.

The Ijede Community Development Committee (CDC) Chairman, Rotimi AyokuOwolawi, said the the protest was to draw attention to their plight.

He said: “In the last few years, due to population explosion, our electricity needs increased in geometric progression without concomitant power infrastructural improvement.”

Upon investigation, he said, it was discovered that the Federal Government awarded a contract for the construction of a 15KVA injection substation at Oke-Elutu, Ijede and also a 100 MVA transmission transformer at Egbin.

Ayoku-Owolawi said it was expected that on completion, the Ijede LCDA, and parts of other four local governments in Ikorodu would enjoy uninterrupted power supply. He lamented that years later, the reverse is the case.

“As responsible leaders, we

By Alvin Afadama

made several efforts in writings and other fora to express our grievances, taking due cognisance of the consumer protection laws as enacted, to put our position across, but alas, we were not given audience,” adding that the community resolved to express its grievance through the medium.

He said although Egbin power station is a generating station, they have made various demands to the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company {IKEDC} to help commission the 15KVA injection substation and 100MVA transformer, which though completed, is yet to be connected to the network.

He noted that they were using the protest to implore the IKEDC/ NIPP to intervene and set all machinery in motion to energise and inaugurate the substation in four weeks.

The Chief Executive Officer, Egbin Power Station, Mike Uzoigwe, who took the (CDC) chairman and members and as well as reporters on inspection of the 15KVA injection substation and the 100MVA transformer, assuring that work was in progress and that the projects would be inaugurated soon.

He said the blame for the delay of the project should go to past governments for not providing proper infrastructure. He promised the Ijede people that he would ensure that soon, they would enjoy constant power supply and that all the projects would be completed.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

49

DISCOURSE

Pathway to sustainable education in Nigeria Text of a keynote address delivered by Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, at the 29th Conference of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors at the Afe Babalola University (ABUAD).

•Continued from last Monday

I

T is heart-warming that as far back as 1996, the Committee of Registrars of Nigerian University sent a powerful memo to the Federal Government on diversification of funding system. The solutions suggested by the Registrars in 1996 include the following: (a) Parents who can pay fees should be allowed to pay instead of preventing them by declaring a free education policy which is not matched with commensurate financial backing . (b) No student who qualifies for admission should be denied higher education merely because of his/her inability to pay fees (c) All tiers of government from Local Council to Federal Government should be part of the fee paying process. (d) The private sector should be encouraged to be part of the scheme To achieve the objectives stated above the Registrars suggested the following guidelines: 1. The Federal Government may provide Scholarships on merit covering 100% tuition to about 30% of those who properly gain admission to the universities. Tuition will of course be different from institution to institution as indicated above.

Additional loans may be granted to cover a proportion of other cost of living and books, while parents or guardians take care of the rest, which will be minimal.

2. Again, scholarships may be granted to cover about 75% of tuition for the next 30% on merit. And additional loans may be granted to cover another segment of the cost of living and books.

3.

State governments should also follow suit by granting scholarships and loans according to their own criteria to cover the remaining 40% of the population of admitted students from their states.

4. Local Councils may grant scholarships and loans to indigent students from their Local Council communities. Local authorities are best at determining criteria for indigence and membership of a Local Council.

5. The Federal Government may again grant scholarships and loans to those from disadvantaged areas who have not been adequately covered by 1 - 4 above.

6. Universities themselves may grant scholarships based on their own criteria.

The above guidelines will work on the following conditions: •That no one will benefit, in the same year, from more than one award of scholarship and from loans to cover the same item of expenditure.

•That universities publish verifiable and approved costs of tuition and other charges.

•That each student has a university identity card. ·•Continuation of scholarships and loans will depend on continued good academic standing.

•That students take the first step to apply for these scholarships and loans •Each Registrar’s Office will have a unit clarifying applications yearly on the basis of good academic standing.

It is sad indeed that the resolution of the Registrars of 1996, which are still valid today, has not been acted upon by the Federal Government. I urge this Committee to revisit the Registrars’ recommendation of 1996 and make it part of the decision of this year’s communiqué.

Scholarships Scholarship constitutes a form of financial aid in the funding of education. In other countries, scholarship are given to students for different reasons including (a) Merit - based scholarship (b) Need – based scholarship (c) Student – specific scholarship (d) Career – specific scholarship (e) College – specific scholarship In ABUAD, we have scholarships for: (a) outstanding brilliance, (b) Merit scholarship (c) students who demonstrate leadership qualities, (d) outstanding sports men and women, and (e) indigent students The award of scholarship should not be restricted to government alone. It should be extended to philanthropic and patriotic Nigerians, private and public companies, multi-national companies, charity organizations, Foundations, NGOs, clubs such as the Rotary International and the Lions Club, professional bodies like NUJ, NBA, ICAN, COREN etc Endowment Fund History tells us that the early universities were funded by scholars and wealthy people or groups of people and generally by people who are interested in learning. Nigerian universities appear not to appreciate the importance of endowment.

A classical example of the university that utilizes endowment to the fullest is Harvard University. The Harvard’s Endowment Fund is indeed a success story worthy of being told over and over. The Harvard University Endowment as at year 2013 is $32.7billion which at exchange rate of N170 to $1 amounts to N5,559,000,000,000. It remains the largest source of revenue to support the university budget which in year 2012/2013 amounted to $7,130,137,243 which at exchange rate of N170 to $1 amounts N1,200,000,000,000.

In the year 2012, 48% of Harvard undergraduates received scholarship grant averaging $18,700 each, while 17% of undergraduates received some form of financial aid totalling more than $81million. This means that all students at Harvard University are on financial aid because the actual cost of Harvard Education exceeds the cost of tuition by approximately $10,000 per student I agree that these are legitimate matters which should be of concern to anybody with an interest in the educational sector of the country.

However, I do not believe that strike actions offer the best solution available in all cases. I have stated it elsewhere in this paper that government alone cannot fund education. I have earlier in the course of this speech highlighted the roles which Vice Chancellors can play in diversifying the sources of funding available to the Universities. Therefore, if Vice Chancellors tread the paths which I have highlighted and succeed in raking in much needed funding for their institutions, they would by so doing reduce the probability of strike actions occurring in their institutions.

I am also aware that some Vice Chancellors tacitly encourage strike actions by their staff in the belief that such actions will ultimately make the government provide funding to their universities. Such Vice Chan-

•Aare Babalola

cellors publicly condemn the strike actions whilst in private they encourage Union leaders to continue with the strike. It is said that fear of security of tenure encourages some to adopt this behaviour as they fear that government may have them removed if they either appear to support the strike actions publicly or if they personally make demands from governments for increased funding of their universities. This again reiterates the need for autonomy of universities. A Vice Chancellor who is appointed by members of the university community with little or no input from the government will entertain no such fear of security of tenure and will be better positioned to fight the cause of the university.

However, security of tenure should not under any guise be used as an excuse by any Vice Chancellor to support directly or indirectly such incessant strike actions in the Universities. Sustainable education cannot be achieved even with the most advanced of facilities when students are made to spend months on end idling at home because of strike actions. Academic programs which ordinarily should last no more than four years now take about five or even six years to complete. Incessant strike actions in Nigerian Universities have forced many parents to send their children and wards out of the country for tertiary education.

Universities in Ghana and even Republic of Benin now compete with Nigeria Universities for enrolment of Nigerian students.

There is also the point that in embarking on these strike actions, little regard is often had for the law which limits strike actions to matters connected with employment and no more. Whilst I do not intend to dwell extensively on legal matters, I consider it pertinent to refer to Sections 1 and 48 of the Trade Dispute Act Cap T8 which defines “dispute”, “strike” and “trade dispute” as follows: Strike means the cessation of work by a body of persons employed acting in combination, or a concerted refusal or a refusal under a common understanding of any number of persons employed to continue to work for an employer in consequence of a dispute, done as a means of compelling their employer or any person or body of persons employed, or to aid other workers in compelling their employer or any persons of body of persons employed, to accept or not to accept terms of employment and physical conditions of work;…

Trade dispute means any dispute between employers and workers or between workers and workers, which is connected with the employment or non-employment, or the terms of employment and physical conditions of work of any person;” In spite of the clear provisions of the law forbidding strike in matters not connected with employment, the staff of our educational institutions both academic and non-academic, and even students embark on strikes.

Sometimes, it is an instrument of blackmail to compel those in authority to meet one demand or the other.

But most of the time, the motives are sometimes ridiculous, illegal and totally unconnected with the conditions of service of the staff or terms of employment.

This is in total disregard to the decisions of the Courts of the law in so many cases. For example, in the case of Oshiomole v. FGN & Anor. (2005)

1 NWLR (Pt. 907) 414, the Court of Appeal upheld my submission that a strike to protest government policy on fuel tax and style of government do not fall within the ambit of trade dispute. In B.P.E v. N.U.E.E. (2003) 13 NWLR (Pt. 837) 382 @ 402-403, the Court was categorical that for a trade dispute to be said to have arisen, there must be a clear case of an employer/ employee relationship between the parties and the point of agreement between them must point unequivocally to a trade dispute.

Therefore, any strike action over matters not related with the terms and conditions of the employee or employee’s appointments would be illegal and unlawful.

It is clear from the above that issues bothering on general policies of government such as whether or not to remove petroleum subsidies are not matters connected with the employment terms of staff in the Universities and therefore should not constitute grounds for embarking on strikes. Similarly, some of the issues on which ASUU went on strike for about nine months in July 2013 offended the law as they were not connected with their terms of employment. Clearly, ASUU was not competent to embark on strike on matters such as Registration of Nigeria Universities Management Company, transformation of Federal Government landed property to universities, setting up of Research Department and Development Unit by companies operating in Nigeria, Budget Monitoring Committee and Revitalization of Nigerian tertiary institutions.

Based on the above, Vice Chancellors should, as stated earlier, not regard themselves as mere civil servants. They must act like the courageous captain of a ship who is expected to do everything to save his ship and failing that must be ready to sink with the ship. Vice Chancellors must offer effective leadership to those they lead and hearken to the saying that, to lead men, one must sometimes turn his back on them.

They should make use of knowledgeable lawyers to advise them on legal issues including matters on which their employees can or cannot embark on strike.

University teachers in Nigeria One other area where the Vice Chancellor can positively affect sustainable education is by properly harnessing the resources at his disposal towards the achievement of the University’s major objective which is teaching. To do this, he must ensure that only qualified and dedicated lecturers are employed to teach in the institution. Owing to the importance of education, only qualified teachers should be employed. It is also expected that those who are so employed will go about the discharge of their duties with utmost zeal and dedication. Most unfortunately, the Nigerian experience has shown that this is not so.

Many teachers spend more time in other businesses than they spend in the work. There have been reported cases of employment of some University Lecturers whose credentials were later found to have been fake or doctored. Unfortunately, many of such quack lecturers had worked in schools for many years turning out graduates before the discovery of their fake certificates.

Some Lecturers using the poor funding of the Universities as excuse decided to make the preparation, printing and selling of handouts their main occupation to the detriment of the diligent discharge of their duties. Purchase of these handouts became the only way by which a student could be guaranteed a pass mark in any particular course. It did not matter to these lecturers that these so called handouts were simply reproductions of decades old lecture notes utilized by successive generations of lecturers. In recognition of the malady, sales of handouts were subsequently banned in some institutions.

However, one of the most shame-

ful indices of the rot in our tertiary institutions is sexual abuse or sex for marks. In some cases, male Lecturers demand sex from their female students as a condition for awarding them pass marks even where such marks are deserved. In other cases, female students themselves offer sex to their lecturers as a way of escaping what they consider the rigors of attending classes, studying, writing and passing examinations.

Many of such cases are largely unreported and even where reported, the culprits go unpunished. A lecturer against whom a student compiles compelling evidence will often only earn the sympathy of his colleagues and not the ridicule and disgrace which such conduct would attract in other climes. Thus, most victims would rather find some means of appeasing the errant lecturer than reporting him to the authorities.

Discipline If a Vice Chancellor has all the funding required, employs qualified and dedicated teachers and he is able to deploy all other resources available towards the achievement of the goal of the institution, he would still need to secure the co-operation of the students. He must necessarily instill discipline in all aspects of the University’s operations.

In present day Nigeria, it cannot be argued that indiscipline is still a problem that militates against the quest of the country to achieve full social, economic and political development. In a paper delivered by A.P Idu and David Olugbade on the subject of indiscipline, it was stated that: “Indiscipline is the negative form of discipline…..discipline in schools is respect for school laws and regulations and the maintenance of an established standard of behaviour and implies self-control, restraint, respect for oneself and others. A behaviour that contradicts the above becomes indiscipline” Acts of indiscipline such as abseentism from work, vandalism of public property, truancy, willful disobedience of simple traffic rules are still common occurrence in Nigeria. However, it is to the educational institutions across all the tiers that one must look to find the highest incidents of indiscipline in Nigerian Society. A visit to many Nigerian schools will discover that acts such as cultism, drug abuse, assault, stealing, lateness to school, rioting etc. are common place. Yet this was not the case in the Nigeria of old.

Nigerians of adolescent ages now regard the consumption of narcotics such as cocaine, heroin and even marijuana as nothing more than a status symbol of sorts. At parties, drugs are considered a part of the menu and freely given to those willing to accept them. Anyone who doubts this should simply visit some of the Psychiatric Hospitals to find out the number of adolescents receiving treatment for drug induced Psychosis.

Reasons for the high prevalence of indiscipline Many reasons have been adduced for the high prevalence of indiscipline in Nigerian Schools. What I have discovered is that many Parents have abandoned the moral development of their children to the schools. Many parents are too busy attending to economic matters to attend to issues bothering on the welfare and development of their children. They believe that their responsibility starts and ends with the payment of tuition and the provision of such amenities like uniforms and books. Many children therefore grow up without receiving any form of moral education from their parents who as decreed by God are their first contacts with humanity. These children grow up and consider their parents to be virtual strangers. Such circumstances make them susceptible to peer pressure. This way, they pick up anti-social habits. By the time the parents realise their error, it is often too late.

•Continued on page 50

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

50

DISCOURSE

Pathway to sustainable education in Nigeria

Text of a keynote address delivered by Aare Afe Babalola SAN, CON at the 29th Conference of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors at Afe Babalola University (ABUAD).

•Continued from page 49

Vice Chancellor in public and private university There is a world of difference in the process of establishment, running and administrative set up of public and private universities. For one, the Visitor for a public university is the Governor in the case of a State University and the President of the Federal Republic in the case of a federal university. However, the Visitor of a private university is its Founder who may be a private individual or the head of an organization that established the University.

From my personal experience, I know that this difference plays a very crucial role in the manner in which university staff, students and management approach different aspects of university existence.

A public university in Nigeria is normally regarded more or less like any other government establishment. There is therefore a tendency for staff of public universities including its Vice Chancellors to view themselves as mere public servants who have little or no stake in the success of the university. The situation is not helped by the fact that the Visitor of the public university is a public functionary that is a Governor or the President as the case may be. Such a person due to the demand of office finds it difficult to perform his duties as Visitor to all universities of which he is Visitor. In several instances, he ends up appointing delegates to perform his visitation duties.

However, a private university usually has an active and known owner who has a purpose, mission and goal.

He takes personal and passionate charge. He is passionately interested in the success of his enterprise. In private universities, such virtues like discipline, punctuality, regular attendance and high standards of productivity form the yardstick for promotions, increments as against the trend in the public sector where rank, cadre, number of years in service and mere paper qualifications count the most.

As a result, Vice Chancellor will also be expected to show a corresponding measure of zeal for the success of the university. Afterall, the stakes are usually very high for the private institutions because their level of patronage is a direct function of the performance they put up. This is why in the United States of America today, most of the leading universities are those privately owned and run, and they feature prominently in the first 200 best universities in the world.

The private universities are generally not vulnerable to the many common ills of public universities. There is no place for strike actions in private institutions. Students and staff are strictly bound by the undertakings they would have made at the inception of their engagements. The proprietors, not bound by any stereotype grading of remuneration are also afforded wide latitudes to appoint or employ their lecturers and pay salaries commensurate with their ascertained capacities and productivity.

In the absence of strikes, there would hardly be any interruption of academic calendars. So, if the duration of programmes as well as their standards or quality are predictable, why then would any student who has a modicum of regard for time and standard look elsewhere other than private university.

Other factors necessary for the

sustainability of education in Nigeria Having addressed matters or areas which should be of interest to any Vice Chancellor in ensuring the growth of his university and therefore the sustainability of education in Nigeria, it is imperative to also highlight some other factors which deserve some measure of focus.

National University Commission (NUC) The National University Commission (NUC) is statutorily empowered to regulate tertiary education in Nigeria. To a very large extent, the Commission has over the years discharged its duties creditably. However, there is a need for an amendment of the NUC Act which came into existence as far back as 1974 in order to further empower the Commission particularly with regards to the establishment of new universities by State and Federal Governments.

Power of the NUC in relation to public, state, and private universities Education falls into the concurrent legislative list contained in Part II of the 2ndSchedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.Paragraphs 27, 28, 29 and 30 of the said Schedule provides as follows: “27. The National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the Federation or any pant thereof with respect to university education, technological education or such professional education as may from time to time be designated by the National Assembly.

28. The power conferred on the National Assembly under section 27 of this item shall include power to establish an institution for the purposes of university, post-primary, technological or professional education.

29. Subject as herein provided, a House of Assembly shall have power to make laws for the State with respect to the establishment of an institution for purposes of university, technological or professional education.

30. Nothing in the foregoing paragraphs of this item shall be construed so as to limit the powers of a House of Assembly to make laws for the State with respect to technical, vocational, post primary, primary or other forms of education, including the establishment of institutions for the pursuit of such education.”

Pursuant to the above, both the Federal and State Government have legislative competence over the issue of universities and can both establish Federal and State Universities respectively.

At the Federal level, the National Universities Commission’s Act, Cap N81 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 is one of the statutes made pursuant to the legislative powers of the Federal Government under paragraph 27 above. What is however clear from a combined reading of the above stated provisions is that NUC which is itself a creation of the Federal Government has no power to stop a State Government from establishing a university. Indeed, by virtue of Section 4 of the NUC Act, the role of the Commission is merely to advise the President and the Governors on creation of new Universities.

The power of the States to create Universities as they deem fit remains unaffected and extant. The full effect of the powers of the NUC in relation to the establishment and location of

•Babalola

a University are only felt in the case of private Universities As a result therefore, most State Governments establish Universities with little or no regard for the provision of adequate infrastructure and facilities. Universities are established by the States and sited, based on political rather than educational and logistical considerations in often obscure and undeveloped locations with little or no facility to accommodate the take off of the Universities.

In order to make themselves popular in their constituencies, some establish Universities and multiple campuses in their hamlets or villages which lack infrastructure like electricity, water and accommodation.

Some use abandoned modern school buildings as Universities.

The Nation Newspaper edition of Thursday April 29, 2010 in its column on education reported the difficulties encountered by students of one of the universities established by one of the South-West states. It was reported that some students of the institution in order to beat the accommodation problem had taken up residence in houses originally earmarked by the indigenes of the town to keep their livestock including goats. A picture of one of the ramshackle mud buildings aptly named “Rugged Villa” by the students is contained at page 25 of the Newspaper.

The laboratories and other teaching facilities in some of the Universities are below the standard expected in secondary schools. There was the case of a graduate in Engineering who never saw an Engineering laboratory throughout his university days.

Recently, the authorities of a state University disengaged over 700 academic and non-academic staff who were found amongst other reasons, to have gained employment into university with questionable credentials. Yet, these same persons prior to the discovery of the anomaly had probably spent years in the University teaching students, some of whom are today probably also teachers in one institution of learning or another.

As far as some States are concerned, there is no room for the recommendation of UNESCO that states should allocate 26% of the revenue on education. Some states allocate less than one percent of their budget to education. In a particular case, a state government allocated only N50million to its university for capital project over the period of several years.

Clearly, the time has come to revisit the law setting up NUC. To further assist the Commission, Vice Chancellors must be innovative and resourceful in maintaining the NUC minimum standards. Vice Chancellors must as a matter of fact aim to surpass the minimum standard. I also suggest that universities be ranked annually so that the management of each university will be able to gauge how effectively it has been able to comply with NUC regulations on standards.

Illegal schools Recently, the National Universities Commission released a list of 36 illegal Universities operating in the country. From the list of published on the website of the body, the Uni-

versities were located in virtually all parts of the country. Many indeed had very curious sounding names which reasonably should have alerted discerning minds to the fraud represented by the institution. On the list of illegal universities were UNESCO University, Pebbles University, Atlantic Intercontinental University Okija, Samuel Ahmadu University, Makurdi, Christian Charity University of Science and Tech., Volta University College, Royal University Izhia, Houdegbe North American University, Atlanta University, Anyigba, Sunday Adokpela University, Otada Adoka, Richmond Open University, Arochukwu, Lobi Business School, Makurdi, APA University, Utonkon, Bolta University College, Aba, United Nigeria University College, Okija, Blacksmith University, Anambra State, Pilgrims University and one University of Industry, Yaba Lagos.

I am of the view that the increasing number of such schools shows that much more still needs to be done by governments and the regulatory agencies. It is on record that after USA, Nigeria has the largest number of illegal universities in the world.

The question then is how do we get out of these embarrassing quagmire? The answer is that government should urgently and immediately amend the NUC law and give the commission sufficient powers of immediate and outright closure of illegal universities with further powers of severe sanctions including forfeiture of the university’s properties to government while the promoters, founders, councils and teachers of such illegality should face life imprisonment.

Curriculm and sustainable education Since its establishment in the NUC has been responsible for maintaining a minimum standard in Nigerian Universities vis-à-vis curriculum development. Without the NUC’s approval, no University can undertake academic programs in any course.

Whilst the NUC has meticulously carried out this important aspect of its statutory duty, the effect has been that most universities have been satisfied with maintaining the minimum standards permissible so as to meet accreditation requirements when with some measure of policy planning and implementation, they could aim for and achieve much more in the area of curriculum development. This explains why for decades now the same courses have been taught in much the same manner in Nigerian Universities with little or no improvement in course content or outline to meet modern realities and demands. Many Lecturers still teach their students with the same lecture notes with which they received instructions themselves as students.

Such a scenario cannot aid the development of a country or the sustainability of education. Curriculum development must move with the times. I therefore advocate a situation in which the Universities would be given autonomy in the area of curriculum development. Where this is done, I am sure that most Universities will develop programs that will aid sustainable education. At ABUAD, motivated by such ideals, we successfully started programs such as Social Justice, Intelligence and Security Studies, Mechatronics, Human Biology, Events Management as part of Tourism and Media as part of Communication Studies. The Nigerian Police in particular, as an institution, has been quick to afford its officers and men of the opportunity to partake in our programs on Social Justice.

Education trust fund By virtue of Education Tax Law Cap 34, Companies operating in Nigeria are required to pay annual Education Tax at the rate of 2% on the assessable profit.

An education Fund was also established for the establishment and consolidation of education in Nigeria which shall be managed by the Board

of Trustees.

Under Section 6 of the Act, the Board is empowered to disburse the money to “various levels and categories of education”.

However, in Section 7 of the Act, the Board shall administer the amount in the fund to Federal, State and Local Government educational institutions including primary and secondary schools.

First, it seems to me that Section 7 contradicts Section 6 of the Act. Section 6 of the Act specifically empowers the Board to disburse the money to various levels and categories of education. Whereas in the management and administration of fund under Section 7, the educational institutions which were made beneficiaries of the fund were limited to Federal, States and Local Government Institutions.

The intention of the law makers is to provide funds for advancement of education to various levels and categories of education. It does not allow for discrimination. Further, those who provide education for Nigeria are not limited to Federal, States and Local Governments.

There is no reason therefore why the Education Trust Fund (ETF) should be made the property of the Federal Government institutions alone. Moreover, the fund is collected from private sectors and no part of it is contributed by the Federal Government. .

In view of the admission of the Federal Government that the emergence of private universities is a logical response to fill the demand gap located by the inability of the governments to meet the number of the universities required, it is only logical that the fund be shared among public and private universities who are providing education to the public.

This is more so, if as I have suggested, the proprietors of private universities are not permitted to make or demand profit from university account.

If there is any doubt about the legal validity of my submission, there can be no doubt about the logicality of it.

Recapitulation and suggestions for sustainable education in Nigeria The Council of Vice Chancellors should call on the Federal Government, the State Governments and all stake holders to address the worrisome deterioration in the standard of primary and secondary education to ensure that Nigeria produce high quality materials for Universities.

The Higher School Certificate (HSC), a two year course which is equivalent to GCE Advanced Level in England should be resuscitated.

HSC and GCE Advanced Level should be made the requisite entry qualification to Universities as it is done in advanced countries including England, thereby ensuring that only mature students are admitted to Universities. That was the practice in Nigeria before it was abolished by the military.

The committee is advised to note and adopt the marked difference between the attitude to work by teachers in public universities and the attitude to work in private universities. In public universities, detachment attitude and civil service culture is prevalent. Whereas, the philosophy and attitude in private universities is one of absolute loyalty, industry, commitment, integrity, punctuality and strict discipline.

There is imperative need to amend the portion of the constitution on the concurrent power of state governments to establish universities. The amendment should provide that before a license is issued by NUC, there should be clear evidence of adequate structures and facilities including modern teaching aids.

The numerous state universities which are making use of abandoned secondary schools, rented apartments and operating without requisite facilities like library, laboratory and classrooms and relevant teaching facility should be closed down immediately by NUC. •To be continued

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

51

DISCOURSE

‘Poverty and terrorism threaten foundations of our democracy’

I

thank all of you for participating in this maiden Freedom House lecture on democracy. I want to express special appreciation to Professor Larry Diamond for honoring us by accepting to deliver this inaugural address. It is my fervent hope that what we embark on today shall become a perennial institution, a permanent feature of our democratic landscape.

Such lectures are needed because our nation needs a broader, deeper appreciation of democracy in all of its complexities and ramifications. To state it bluntly because I know of no other way to state it, we do not understand enough about democratic governance and practice.

What we practice is often not democracy. How this nation is governed is a hybrid process where democracy is often the junior partner and minority attribute.

As such, the system of governance we practice has not yielded the desired results – the dividends of democracy have been painfully elusive.

How could it be otherwise? It would be wrong to anticipate a pear to grow from apple tree or a dog to give birth to a goat. Thus, it is wrong to expect this current form of governance to produce the fruits of democracy when it is the wrong type of tree.

To think otherwise is not to be optimistic. It is to engage in unproductive wishful thinking that precludes us from doing the heavy and hard work needed to transform “what is” into “what ought to be.” This lecture series is a modest contribution toward this benign change.

Since the 1999 transition from military to civilian rule, we have effectively limited our definition of democracy to the holding of elections with little regard to the quality thereof. There are two jarring problems with this self-imposed constraint.

First, most members of the Nige-

rian political class was weaned on the rancid milk of dictatorship and the imperial mindset upon which it is based. Fairness and openness of process and outcome discourse and debate, and compromise and conciliation have no place in this realm. In this authoritarian world, the ends justify the means and the only ends pursued are those that increase the power and wealth of the people wielding them. It is a top- down world where the top dictates the tune and everyone dances to it or gets kicked into the shadows.

Most adult Nigerians have spent the majority of their lives under military, or its antecedent, colonial rule.

Neither one is a good primer for democracy. Nigerians are smart people and learn fast. Too bad, our history has presented bad governance role models to us. We have learned much.

Sadly, most of it has been the wrong lessons from the wrong textbook.

Thus, the conduct of elections during the past fifteen years has been basically an unbroken trail of malpractice and connivance to steer Nigeria to a contrived result with scant connection to the popular will.

Instead of being the periodic celebration of democracy, elections in Nigeria have generally mocked the very notion of democracy they are supposed to uphold.

Worst has been what comes after elections. Since the winner often is not chosen by the people but by some subterranean process, he continues to dishonor the people while resorting to that subterranean process in how he rules. Generally, these office holders believe they have the inborn right to rule instead of have been given a duty to govern.

For the most part, elections have become a perverse form of modern coronation. Instead of choosing public servants, elections in Nigeria have been basically to select a new aristoc-

racy, an elected royalty.

Government is run like a medieval court, full of intrigue and an excessive number of jesters and unproductive courtiers whose only reason for being is to use their proximity to power to extract rents from the improper operation of government.

One can only find rhyme and reason in governance to the extent one can decipher or anticipate the whim and caprice of the man in power.

Thus, we call ourselves a new, growing democracy yet we retreat further into the old ways. We slip into authoritarian darkness.

Faced with a growing number of state governors in the opposition party, the federal government arbitrarily has reduced the revenues flowing to the states in order to punish the political opposition. In effect, the federal government has imposed economic sanctions simply because some political leaders have the temerity to belong to another party. That the people are made to suffer means little for the people are not why they entered into governance. Power and privilege are.

This is why they shut down newspapers recently and restricted freedom of movement by prohibiting key APC members from travelling into Ekiti state prior to elections. This is why they deployed more security people to hover over the elections in Ekiti than they do to protect the people and tackle the security challenges in Borno state. The Minister of State for Defence has spent more time in Ekiti than he has in Chibok. This is not responsible democratic governance.

It is a hoax.

This brings me to the point where I would like to say a few words about the topic of today’s lecture: Poverty, Terrorism and Democracy. In my view, the first two concepts have intertwined to form a terrible union against the third, against democracy.

Some claim the rise of Boko Haram has nothing to do with poverty.

They blame it all on ideology. Some go as far as implying that Islam is at fault. Those who say this can be ex-

•Asiwaju Tinubu

,

Text of the opening remarks by All Progressives Congress (APC) National leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the inaugural lecture of the Freedom House Democracy Lecture Series at the MUSON Centre, Agip Hall, Lagos, Nigeria... yesterday.

As such, poverty and terrorism are truly a compound threat to democracy. Not only do those who manufacture terror undermine democracy through their direct actions. We also must take carethat government’s response is not such a heavy-handed and indiscriminate one that it undermines civil liberties and chases people into the camp of the terrorists.

,

cused to some extent for they are as ignorant about Islam as Boko Haram is. However, Boko Haram cannot be excused. They are violent murders of both Muslim and Christians. There is not one word in Islam that supports the evil they do.

It is obvious that Boko Haram terrorists have lashed themselves to a dangerous and desperate ideology.

But we must ask who does such a thing and why do they seem to have so many adherents and supporters?

Poverty is a big part of the answer.

Poverty often distorts a person’s humanity. The destitute and the ignorant, casting about on their last strand of hope, are susceptible to a mean and wicked interpretation of the world that labels everyone not in that group as expendable sacrifices and objects of terror.

Again to put it bluntly because I know of no other way, Boko Haram is an extreme manifestation of the chronic and acute misgovernance that has spread gross injustice and mass poverty across the face of our beloved nation.

All nations have their wayward souls. However, in better governed, more prosperous societies, the number of anti-social actors is much less and even their extremism is somewhat muted. Because of their low numbers, they are confined to being a law enforcement problem.

But here, abject poverty swells their ranks. Here, they have become a small army. With that, they are a national security threat and a political challenge to a free and open society.

We must deal with them decisively yet wisely. Also, government must also be cautious in not using the fight against terrorism to truncate otherwise legitimate political activity by a legitimate and peaceful political opposition. Also, government must restrain itself from striking indiscriminately against people in the affected areas, in the process committing human rights abuses that undermine democracy and that become a recruiting tool for the terrorists.

As such, poverty and terrorism are truly a compound threat to democracy. Not only do those who manufacture terror undermine democracy through their direct actions. We also must take carethat government’s response is not such a heavy-handed and indiscriminate one that it undermines civil liberties and chases people into the camp of the terrorists.

I shall end here that we may soon come to the meat of this gathering; Professor Diamond’s address.

Again, I thank you all for coming today that we may use this lecture to take a step toward the democracy we truly seek.

NEWS

•From left: Director, Momas Electricity Meters Manufacturing Company Limited (MEMMCOL) Mr Garth Smith; Member, House of Representative Committee on Power Hon Omo Christopher Isu; Chairman, House of Representative Committee on Power, Hon Patrick Ikhariale; MEMMCOL chairman, Mr Kola Balogun and Deputy Chairman, House of Representative Committee on Power, Hon Muhammed Ricco, during a visit by the lawmakers to MEMMCOL in Ogun State.

•Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun (middle) assisted by his wife, Olufunso GTBank Managing Director, Mr Segun Agbaje and Head and General Manager, External and Communications Affairs, Mrs Lola Odedina to present trophy and cheque to the Alamuwa captain, Sarah Roja.

•From left: Mr Olatunde Daudu; Rev V.O. Odebode; Sheikh Ahmed Tijani bn Omar; Chief Abimbola Aboderin; Mrs Iyabo Obasa; Mr Ola Akintonwa and Mr Tunji Idowu during Citinet’s annual dinner and lecture series at Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Ikeja, Lagos.

•Gen. Gowon (second right) with President and Chairman of Council, Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), Dr Nelson Uwaga (left); Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Prof Oladipupo Akinkugbe (second left); President, Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy (NAP), Prince Julius AdelusiAdeluyi (third left) and President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Olumide Akintayo, at PHOTO: NNEKA NWANERI the inauguration of NAP at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja.

52

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

53

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

MONEYLINK

Cash-less policy goes national today T HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) cash-less banking policy commenced today across the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The apex bank introduced the policy 30 months ago to promote financial intermediation, financial inclusion, minimise revenue leakages, eliminate incidence of robbery and also to reduce the amount of cash payment and encourage electronic payment.

CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, on June 5, removed the three per cent charge on cash deposits above N500, 000 for individuals and N3 million for corporate customers. The charges were sanction for customers that

Stories by Collins Nweze

breached the policy. The apex bank however said the nationwide rollout will hold. However, the apex bank has deferred charges in the newly introduced thirty states till 1st July, 2015.

To improve acceptance of the policy, Emefiele said charges on excess deposits imposed by the cashless policy will no longer apply. He said many bank customers device means to avoid the charges, such as opening multiple accounts, a move he described as detrimental to the cashless policy.

He had directed that all charges on excess deposits be stopped with immediate effect, while charges on

withdrawals in view of their elimination will remain sustained at the current three per cent for individual transactions exceeding N500,000 and five per cent for corporate transactions exceeding N3 million.

Its Head, Shared Services, Chidi Umeano said the cash-less policy which before now, ran in six states plus Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja will now be deployed nationwide.

The policy’s pilot phase was done in Lagos in January 2012 and last year. It was implemented in six other states namely Abia, Anambra, Ogun, Kano, Rivers and FCT. Continuing, he said from the success recorded in those states, the

DMO plans $$300m Diaspora bond by year-end EBT Management Office (DMO) has said it plans to issue a bond totaling $100 to $300 million aimed at the Diaspora by the end of the year, a senior debt official said.

“We are still working on it, it will be a minimum $100 million and up to

D

$300 million,” Abraham Nwankwo, director-general of DMO, told Reuters on the sidelines of an Africa debt forum, adding the bond would launch “before the year ends”.

Nigeria chose Stanbic IBTC and Goldman Sachs as lead managers of

the Diaspora bond in April.

Nwankwo said the bond would be sold only to offshore diaspora investors, with no on-shore portion. Nigeria has no current plans for a regular sovereign dollar bond, Nwankwo added.

UBA chief urges online media regulation

T

HE Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (GMD/CEO), United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Phillips Oduoza has called on Nigerian journalists to strengthen self-regulation of online media.

Oduoza made the call at the Abuja edition of “The Summit on Functional Social Networking for Journalists” sponsored by the bank and organised by the Everything Journalism Group.

Represented by the Divisional Head, Marketing and Corporate Relations,

Charles Aigbe, the bank chief noted that there is a rising trend of online pirates “whose only agenda in the online media space is to blackmail and spread false information about credible brands.”

“It is critical that these online pirates are brought into check through self-regulation so that the government is not forced to introduce statutory regulations that may impact negatively on press freedom,” he said.

He said, UBA is sponsoring the programme in the hope that the discus-

sions will provide a clear path way for the media industry in the fast evolving digital media space.

The summit, the second, after a highly successful first edition hosted at the UBA Plc Head Office in Lagos, brought together top level media practitioners including senior journalists, bloggers, students of journalism and mass communication as well as media executives and government officials to discuss the future of journalism in Nigeria in the age of the internet.

CBN decided to move to other states in the country, adding that the policy remains a critical part of the payment system modernisation. He said the success registered so far has been very impressive.

However, many bank customers have complaints concerning the implementation and poor service quality that come with using e-channels like Point of Sale (PoS) terminals, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), web payment, online transfers and even mobile money in banking transactions instead of relying on cash.

In emailed reports to customers, GTBank said the policy will drive the

F

tered Accountants of Nigeria with over 20 years experience, Dr. Adeduntan was prior to his appointment a director and the pioneer Chief Financial Officer of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).

Before joining the AFC, he was a Senior Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer of Citibank Nigeria Limited, Citigroup’s largest subsidiary in sub-Sahara Africa.

The new CFO was previously a Senior Manager in the Financial Services Group of KPMG Professional Services where he managed high profile assurance, financial and risk advisory engagements.

He has skills and expertise in treasury & financial management, risk management, accounting, internal controls, corporate governance, corporate strategy development and implementation, corporate finance among others. He attended University of Ibadan, where he obtained a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree.

IRST Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) yesterday announced the appointment of Dr. Adesola Kazeem Adeduntan as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

In a statement, he replaces former CFO, Adebayo Adelabu, who was recently appointed a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Adeduntan’s appointment, which is in the Executive Director cadre, has received the approval of the regulator. According to the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank, Bisi Onasanya, the choice of the new CFO is in line with the lender’s commitment to attracting the best resources in the industry, sustaining best practice in its operations, and enhancing the capacity of the Executive Management and Board.

He said it would also deepen specialisation and strengthen corporate governance culture of the bank.

A Fellow of the Institute of Char-

DATA BANK

Tenor

Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year

35m 35m

11.039 12.23

19-05-2014 18-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($) 400m 400m 400m 400m 400m 400m

MANAGED FUNDS

NIDF

development and modernisation of Nigeria’s payment system nationwide as all individuals and corporates will be encouraged to adopt electronic payment and banking options.

New CFO for FirstBank

FGN BONDS

Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33

• CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele

Price Loss 2754.67

Amount Sold ($) 399.9m 399.9m 399.9m

Exchange Rate (N) 155.75 155.8 155.7

Date 2-5-14 2-3-14 1-29-14

EXHANGE RATE 6-03-12 CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Currency OBB Rate

INTERBANK RATES 7.9-10%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day

Amount 30m 46.7m

Rate % 10.96 9.62

Date 28-04-2012 “

OANDO TRANSCORP MOBIL TOTAL UPL PORTPAINT MANSARD NESTLE ETI PZ

O/PRICE 27.36 4.74 131.00 171.05 4.47 5.14 2.50 1,098.90 16.24 36.00

C/PRICE 29.25 5.05 137.55 179.60 4.69 5.39 2.62 1.150.00 16.89 37.40

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

147.6000 239.4810 212.4997

149.7100 244.0123 207.9023

150.7100 245.6422 209.2910

-2.11 -2.57 -1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

152.0000

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

(S/N)

GAINERS AS AT 30-06-14

SYMBOL

NGN USD NGN GBP NGN EUR NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N) (S/N) Bureau de Change

Year Start Offer

CHANGE 1.89 0.31 6.55 8.55 0.22 0.25 0.12 51.10 0.65 1.40

DISCOUNT WINDOWx Feb. ’11

July ’11

July ’12

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

12%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00%

SYMBOL

O/PRICE 0.66 6.56 1.44 0.85 4.77 1.77 2.45 1.57 0.94 0.52

C/PRICE 0.60 6.24 1.37 0.81 4.55 1.69 2.34 1.50 0.90 0.50

CHANGE -0.06 -0.32 -0.07 -0.04 -0.22 -0.08 -0.11 -0.07 -0.04 -0.02

6-2-14

28-10-11

% Change

CAP Index

N13.07tr 40,766.16

N6.617tr 20,903.16

-1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH BGL NUBIAN FUND BGL SAPPHIRE FUND CANARY GROWTH FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CORAL INCOME FUND FBN FIXED INCOME FUND FBN HERITAGET FUND FBN MONEY MARKET FUND FIDELITY NIGFUND INTERCONTINENTAL INTEGRITY FUND KAKAWA GUARANTEED INCOME FUND

Offer Price Bid Price 157.99 157.07 9.17 9.08 1.09 1.08 1.18 1.18 0.68 0.68 1.39 1.33 1,664.78 1,661.81 1,087.24 1,086.78 119.02 118.19 1,087.30 1,087.00 1.67 1.62 1.05 1.03

LEGACY FUND NIGERIA INTER DEBIT FUND PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND STANBIC IBTC ETHICAL FUND • • • •

LOSERS AS AT 30-06-14

JAPAULOIL CAVERTON AGLEVENT NPFMCRFBK ETERNA AVONCROWN AIRSERVICE LEARNAFRCA ABCTRANS CILEASING

NSE

UBA BALANCED FUND UBA BOND FUND UBA EQUITY FUND UBA MONEY MARKET FUND

143.11

142.62

0.78 1,944.64 13.62 1.07

0.76 1,936.31 13.28 1.05

1.3379 1.3544 1.0146 1.1770

1.3271 1.3544 0.9967 1.1770

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days

Rate (Previous) 4 Mar, 2012 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917

Rate (Currency) 6, Mar, 2012 10.17% 11.46% 11.96%

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK

Bank

Previous 04 July, 2012

Current 07, Aug, 2012

8.5000

8.5000

Movement

54

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 30-06-14

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 30-06-14

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

55

EQUITIES

Nigerian equities set new high with N333b gain in June IGERIAN equities made a strong last push and closed the last trading session in June with a new 2014 high and additional capital gains of N333 billion. The uptrend yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) added 0.70 per cent to push the month’s average return to 2.43 per cent.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities crossed the N14 trillion mark to close June at N14.028 trillion as against the opening value for the month at N13.695 trillion. This represented additional gain of N333 billion.

The All Share Index (ASI), the main value-based index that tracks prices of all quoted equities, rose from index on board for the month of 41,474.40 points to

N

Stories by Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

close June at 42,482.48 points.

The last trading session yesterday provided considerable boost to the overall month-on-month performance. Market capitalisation appreciated by N98 billion to close at N14.028 trillion as against its opening value of N13.930 trillion while the ASI rallied 0.70 per cent to close at 42,482.48 points as against the day’s index-on-board of 42,187.62 points.

With 36 decliners to 23 advancers, the overall market performance was driven by bullish sentiments within the highly capitalised stocks. Nestle Nigeria led the gainers’ table by N51 to close at N1,150 per share. Seplat Petroleum Development Company

followed with N24.90 to close at N700. Total Nigeria appreciated

by N8.55 to close at N179.60 per share. Mobil Oil Nigeria advanced

by N6.55 to close at N137.55 while Oando rose by N1.89 to close at N29.25 per share.

On the other hand, Cadbury Nigeria topped the losers’ chart by N1.89 to close at N80 per share.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria followed with a loss of N1 to close at N64. Presco dropped by 99 kobo to close at N35.01 per share. Ashaka Cement dropped by 49 kobo to close at N28.51 while Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria lost 40 kobo to close at N111 per share.

Total turnover stood at 408.52 million shares worth N7.57 billion in 5,882 deals. Transnational Cor-

poration of Nigeria (Transcorp) was the most-traded stock with 67.57 billion shares worth N346.78 billion.

UBA followed with a total of 46.70 million shares valued at N365.92 million while Oando placed third with 42.21 million shares worth N1.24 billion.

Nigerian equities had the first time this year, finally broke away from a year-long bearish streak with a gain of N1.02 trillion in May. With a similar last-day bullish rally that added N392 billion, quoted equities strode through May with their best performance so far this year, displacing the bears that had left the average yearto-date return negative in the past four months.

While the market had closed April with a four-month average loss of 6.88 per cent, the average gain of 7.77

per cent recorded in May turned the average year-to-date return positive at 0.35 per cent. Though modest, the five-month average gain of 0.35 per cent represents a significant breakeven for the equities market. It also underlined the overtly bullish overall market situation during the month.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities closed May at N13.695 trillion as against its opening value of N12.672 trillion, indicating a whooping gain of N1.02 trillion. The ASI also rallied by 7.77 per cent to close May at a high of 41,474.40 points compared with its index-on-board of 38,485.48 points.

The market had seen strong rally last week with the ASI recording a week-on-week gain of 4.12 per cent.

Seplat reassures shareholders on profitable operations

S

EPLAT Petroleum Development Company Plc yesterday held its maiden annual general meeting (AGM)as a publicly quoted company with a reassurance that the company would continue to build immediate and long-term returns to shareholders by continuously optimizing its current oil and gas assets and identifying and acquiring new assets.

At a post-AGM briefing, chairman, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, Dr. Ambrosie Orjiako, said the company would continue on its growth strategy of ensuring not only capital growth but delivery of profit and dividends to shareholders.

According to him, the company would seek to build sustainable long-term business with substantial contributions to Nigeria’s energy security while delivering competitive returns to shareholders.

He outlined that the company is targeting gross operated oil production of 85 million barrels per day by the end of 2016.

“Seplat has continued to deliver growth holistically since inception in line with our strategy. Operated crude oil production has grown significantly from 2011 to 2013, from 11.5 million barrels in 2011 to 18.8 million barrels in 2013, with an exit gross production rate at December 31, 2013 of 61.7 thousand barrels per day. Operated average daily production for 2013 was 51.4 thousand barrels per day, with total annual operated production of 18.8 million barrels,” Orjiako said.

He noted that despite a harsh operating environment underlined by the uncertainties about the passage of the petroleum industry bill, persistent oil theft, huge exposure to subsidies and reduced demand for Nigerian crude oil blends in the United States among other things, Seplat has continued to grow exponentially.

He pointed out that the company recorded total revenues of $880.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2013, representing growth of 41 per cent over the 2012 figure. The company also paid a dividend per share of N16.50 for the year.

“The future of our company is very

bright. We shall strive to maintain our leadership position in the indigenous exploration and production industry in Nigeria and our focus in following our growth strategy to seek to ensure delivery of our commitment not only to grow capital but also to remain profitable and dividend paying. We shall seek to deliver tangible rewards to all shareholders,” Orjiako said.

In his remarks, chief executive officer, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, Mr. Austin Avuru assured that the company’s growth trajectory would remain on the upward as it would continue to keep production levels and revenue streams on the high by investing in new wells, improving infrastructure and monetising its natural gas resources.

According to him, new developments for recent discoveries and the completion of identified development projects will also ensure that the company is well-positioned to grow both the reserves and production by converting contingent and prospective resources into commercial reserves.

It would be recalled that Seplat was simultaneously listed on Nigerian and

London Stock Exchanges in April 2014. The company’s share price rose by 3.69 per cent yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to close at N700. This represented an increase of 23.5 per cent on its listing price of N567.

Seplat, the first upstream company to be listed on the NSE, had recently increased its capital base by about N5.78 billion with the absorption of the oversubscription from its recent $500 million initial public offering (IPO). It added about 10.03 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to its shares.

The company attributed the additional shares to oversubscription and allotment that resulted from the recent IPO. After a highly successful global IPO of $500 million, SEPLAT had made history mid April as the first upstream company to be listed on the NSE. It also simultaneously listed its shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The initial offer size of the IPO was expected to raise gross pro-

ceeds of approximately $500 million, equivalent to £300.9 million and N82.5 billion. SEPLAT had however indicated it intended to absorb oversubscription.

The listing of Seplat activated the exploration and production subsector of the oil and gas sector of the NSE and added N313 billion to the aggregate market value of quoted companies. About 543.3 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each were then listed at N576 per share.

The supplementary listing subsequently increased SEPLAT’s outstanding shares to 553.33 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

The company had indicated that it intended to use $48 million from the net proceeds of the IPO to repay in full all outstanding amounts under its shareholder loan from MPI S.A. (MPI) while the balance would be used to acquire and develop new acquisitions or pay down any additional debt raised in connection therewith, of both onshore and shallow offshore acreages, assets or joint venture (JV) farm-ins.

According to the company, the main source of acquisitions is expected to come from divestitures by various international oil companies.

SEPLAT was founded in 2009 by Shebah Petroleum Development Company Limited and Platform Petroleum (Joint Ventures) Limited for the purpose of investing in Nigerian oil and gas opportunities.

Maurel& Prom, a French independent oil company, subsequently acquired a 45 per cent equity interest in SEPLAT; this interest was later spun-off to form Maurel & Prom Nigeria S.A, which is now known as Maurel & Prom International.

In July 2010, SEPLAT acquired a 45 per cent participating interest in, and was appointed operator of, a portfolio of three onshore producing oil mining leases-OMLs 4, 38 and 41, which are located in the Niger Delta. In June 2013, the company entered into an agreement for the acquisition of a 40 per cent participating interest in the Umuseti/ Igbuku marginal field area located within OPL 283 in the Niger Delta.

Oando, ConocoPhillips agree on July closure date for assets swap

O

ANDO Plc and ConocoPhillips have agreed to extend the outside completion date for Oando’s acquisition of ConocoPhillips (COP)’s Nigerian upstream and gas business to July 31, 2014.

In a statement yesterday, Oando indicated that both parties have extended the outside closing date for completion of the acquisition to enable them finalise activities required to conclude the transaction.

Oando’s share price recorded the highest percentage gain yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange with a gain of 6.91 per cent to close at N29.25 per share.

The Federal Government had recently approved the landmark acquisition, paving the way for the final closure of the $1.65 billion acquisition deal.

The much-awaited consent of the Minister of Petroleum Resources sealed the deal for Oando and sent investors scrambling for the shares of the leading indigenous integrated

•Oando leads bullish stocks energy group. Oando’s share price has since been on the upward.

In December 2012, Oando, through its exploration and production subsidiary, Oando Energy Resources (OER), had entered into an agreement with COP to acquire its Nigerian businesses. Though Oando successfully acquired all funds required to complete its acquisition of the assets, closing of the COP acquisition had remained subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions, including government and regulatory approval, and the consent of the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources.

Ministerial consent is the mandatory final approval of all oil and gas acquisitions by the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources as required by the Petroleum Act of 1969 which states that “prior consent of the

Minister of Petroleum Resources is obtained before the assignment of any right, power or interest in an oil prospecting license or oil mining lease”.

The Act stipulates that the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources must conduct due diligence to ensure ownership is being transferred to a company that is of good reputation, has sufficient knowledge, experience and financial resources to work the license or lease and in all other respects is acceptable to the Federal Government. Consent of the Minister may only be granted where the Minister is satisfied that the above conditions have been fully met.

With the due completion of the game-changing acquisition, Oando would be immediately positioned as the largest indigenous oil producer in Nigeria and would now produce circa 50,000 barrels per day from six producing fields and will signifi-

cantly impact its near immediate Upstream strategy and operations, and optimise its value across the energy chain.

As it awaited the government approval, OER had reached agreement with COP to extend the outside completion date for the acquisition till June 30, 2014.

In a statement, OER stated that it would now work with ConocoPhillips towards completing the acquisition by the long stop date of June 30, 2014 or shortly thereafter.

“Further to the receipt of consent of the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources, OER and ConocoPhillips are now positioned to complete the ConocoPhillips transaction,” OER stated.

As it awaited the ministerial approval, Oando had made a total deposit of $550 million to COP, onethird of the $1.65 billion deal while it has already amassed the funds needed to close the transaction.

56

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

NEWS (SHOWBIZ)

No big deal collaborating with Fuji artistes, says Islamic singer Aiyeloyun

BET Awards: Davido wins again

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ROM far away Los Angeles, United States, echoes of another success story for Omo Baba Olowo crooner, David Adeleke, aka Davido, literarily reverberated around the globe at the weekend, thereby sending his far-flung fans in a joyous mood.

The young singer holds a new place as Best International Act from Africa, having been so crowned by the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards, which held Sunday night.

The profile of the Nigerian star is rising at an alarming rate, having just won the Best African Act and Best African Male laurels, at the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA) in Durban, South Africa earlier in the month.

At the BET awards, Davido beat trending South African group Mafikizolo, Nigerian counterpart Tiwa Savage, Ghanaian sensation Sarkodie, Toofan, and Diamond Platnumz to attain his new feat.

The social media was abuzz the moment the singer posted on Instagram with photo of the plague, saying: “Thanks to my fans, we won!

BET Best African Act 2014!!

Time to party!!!”

The event, which held at LA’s Nokia Theatre, was kicked off with a performance by Pharrell Williams.

The artiste performed his latest singles, G I R L and Come

Get It Bae. Lil Wayne came on with his performance of a live debut of his new Tha Carter V single titled Krazy.

John Legend did You & I, while Chris Brown performed his single, Loyal, alongside Lil Wayne and Tyga.

At some point, there was a feeling of nostalgia as the ‘90s rave bands, Color Me Badd and Silk, transported fans back to their days with their performances. While Colour Me Badd performed their hit track, I Wanna Sex You Up, Silk put up a show with the track, Freak Me. Other winners at the awards ceremony include August Alsina (Best New Artiste), Tamela Mann (Best Gospel Artiste),Lupita Nyong’o (Best Actress), Drake (Best Male Hip-Hop Artiste),Pharrell Williams’

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• Davido

Happy(Video of the Year),Pharrell Williams (Best Male Pop Artiste), Young Money (Best Group), August Alsina (Viewers Choice Award) as well as Nicki Minaj (Best Female Hip-Hop Artist).

S more Nigerian Islamic singers are collaborating with secular musicians, particularly Fuji artistes, not a few conscious Muslims have expressed concern about the appropriateness or otherwise of the trend which, according to them, is not in sync with the Qur’anic teachings.

However, popular Islamic singer Qamardeen Odunlami, aka Aiyeloyun, has rationalised the motive behind the romance between Islamic singers and Fuji artistes.

In an interview with The Nation, Aiyeloyun, who started singing profession-

By Babatunde Sulaiman

ally about 22 years ago, described the current trend as a welcome development.

The singer, who has just released his 25 th album titled Iwulo( Benefit), said: We are trying to cut across.

Both the Fuji and Hip hop artistes have their own fans, just as we have ours too. So, if an Islamic singer decides to collaborate with any of them, he or she stands to grow his or her fan base and vice versa. When you are in Rome, you behave like the Romans. In Nigeria, we have a lot of people who are fans of these artistes and for you to win their hearts, you cannot totally shut your

Gospel singer, Sinach weds

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OPULAR Gospel singer, Osinachi Kalu, at the weekend, got married to Christ Embassy’s Pastor Joseph Chime Egbo.

The couple exchanged vows at the Christ Embassy Church, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos, in the presence of pastors, family, friends and well-wishers.

The wedding ceremony, which took place at the Church’s headquarters, also took the nature of a concert.

Interestingly, Sinach’s hit

By Ovwe Medeme

track, I Stand Amazed, was rendered by Frank Edwards to the admiration of the guests.

The couple had earlier been joined in a traditional wedding on Saturday, June 21, in Ebonyi State.

Sinach is an award-winning songwriter, worship leader and recording artiste.

A prominent member of the Love World music team of Christ Embassy, she started singing at a very young age.

• Sinach and Joe white wedding

• Ayeloyun

door against their favourite stars. So, it has nothing to do with my faith, but my music. Besides, what matters is the message I am trying to pass across.”

However, the Kwara State-born act, also a graduate of Marcaz Islamic and Arabic Training Centre, Agege, emphasized that he had not been driven by pecuniary motive in all the collabos he had done either with Islamic singers or Fuji artistes. “Some time ago, a notable music producer, whose name I won’t like to mention now, wanted me to do a particular kind of song in my album. Of course, I knew I would have made some money from it, but I declined on the grounds that it was not in tune with my religious belief.”

NEWS Row over ‘secret Constitution’ rocks conference Continued from page 4

“No Committee report has it, I have all of them. Mr Chairman, the publication says clearly that it was the draft agreement that was being promoted as hidden Agenda by the conference.

“When the President inaugurated the Conference, he made it very clear that the Conference should come up with recommendations to see to the betterment of Nigeria.

“Anybody that is propagating a document alleged to be an agreement arising from committees is deliberately trying to truncate this conference.

“So it behoves on the leadership to come out very clearly and disown this document that even carried the logo of the conference “It is interesting to read that people are being lobbied with money and other considerations.

This is an opportunity for the leadership to disown the document before the delegates and the world.

“To say it does not have any knowledge of it or support it and those behind it are on their own.”

Former Inspector General

Coomassie whose name was mentioned in the publication said: “Last Monday the Deputy Chair (Akinyemi) sent a note to me and asked ‘can we meet here at six today, you can come with a few people to back you up.’ ’I couldn’t make it but after discussing with a few colleagues, I delegated former Senate President Iyorchia Ayu to lead Bashir Dalhatu and Khairat Gwadabe and one other.

“When we finished here that day, he (Akinyemi) approached me and explained what he just told the house now and that if we agree on certain issues, why use referendum to okay it, then we have a new constitution.

“I told him to wait until the team comes to him to discuss it.

That’s what happened.”

Coomassie noted that in addition, Chief Raymomd Dokpesi, since the beginning of the conference, had always been organising meetings between north and south delegates.

“I never attended one but I have always been invited. Even Prof Gambari tried to win me over but I still didn’t go.

Eventually one day here, Prof Gambari asked me, Chief Edwin Clark, myself, Prof Anya O

Anya, Prof Gambari, Prof Jerry Gana and one or two others “We met at the lobby and they said they wanted us to sanction setting up a technical committee to look into contentious issues so that it will help the conference. “ I said no objection but that people should stop abusing us northerners because I have seen series of publications, including paid publications in newspapers abusing northerners over the situation here “Chief Clark reacted and said he too had been abused by even governors from the north, he mentioned one governor.

“I asked if that was meant as a reaction to my complaint Some people intervened and it was agreed that the technical committee, three from each zone be set up.

“We shook hands and left and I handed over the nominees from the north to Jerry Gana to give them. ’I think they have been meeting but this last Wednesday, I was told a new constitution is being written.

“Later, Chief Dokpesi himself came over here handed a paper to me, addressed to Prof Yadudu that from that day,

northern delegates would not participate again.

“He gave a lengthy explanation about the document he referred to as a new constitution.

“I submitted the document with the logo of the conference to the leadership this morning, it even contained the new states to be established.

“I was pondering on this whether to call a meeting of northern delegates today to consider and give appropriate reply to this.

“Suddenly over the weekend, I learnt that the agenda is now out and it has been published, they detailed some of the things contained in the document.

“Another publication came today that I was lobbied and I detailed some to represent me.

It is true, Prof Ayu is here.

Chief Dokpesi who was named by Coomasie said Ambassador Gambari and himself elected to convene a national consensus bridge building group to help the conference to arrive at consensus on controversial issues.

He said the conference secretariat was not part of the organisation of the consensus bridge building group.

the core problem in the country is not poverty. “Neither is it one of terrorism. These are manifestations of a deeper and more diffuse malignancy: bad governance. Governance that is not addressing the central policy challenges of the country,” he added.

Nigeria’s huge oil reserves, he noted, has largely been a curse, because it distorted the structure of production and discouraged agriculture. “Corruption booms, because the money is there for the

taking— unimaginable amounts of it — and it is not really anyone’s money anyway, it is just spewing up from the ground,” he added. It is a different ballgame, he said, when compared to countries like India, which relied primarily on taxes.

The lecture was well attended by politicians, particularly members of the APC. They include: Rivers State Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi; Deputy National Chairman Chief Segun Oni; Senators Gbenga Ashafa,

Oluremi Tinubu, Olorunimbe Mamora; and Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.

Others include Deputy Governor of Oyo State Moses Adeyemo; Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assemby Adeyemi Ikuforiji, who was accompanied by 24 members of the Assembly; chairman of Kano APC, Hon. Umar Haruna and Mrs. Kemi Nelson. Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, among others was there.

‘Process leading to Ekiti election was flawed’ Continued from page 4

theme, “Nigeria’s Governance Predicament: Poverty, Terrorism and Democracy”. His latest book, “The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World”, explores the sources of global democratic progress and stresses the prospects for future democratic expansion.

He noted that though he had been asked to speak about the challenge posed to democracy by poverty and terrorism in Nigeria,

Dokpesi said, “It’s absolutely true that Prof. Gambari and I convened the National consensus bridge building group when it became glaring that we were going to have problems with the last group of reports and so it became imperative to form an intervention group.

“Membership extended to all delegates and we have been meeting regularly.

“From South South we have Chief Clark, we have Gen. Ike Nwachukwu from the Southeast, Chief Olu Falae from the Southwest, Alh Coomassie and Prof Gana from the North.

This group nominated three delegates from the zones and I was the 19th and the convener.

“In our first meeting, we discussed the National Security report and the major issue was State police.

“We tried to harmonise and agreed on the need to have State Police.

“We discussed fears against and reasons for and agreed that it was agreed that in a federal system, a multi tier police is the best.

“Anyone who is honest will testify that it was agreed at the meeting also the recommendations of the five reports embedded in the new document. ’Also embedded in that report are some of the arguments raised and wanted to be discussed. All are tabulated in the document.

‘Nigeria won’t succumb to terror’ Continued from page 4

are therefore investing in the sector such as ICT and the creative industry to generate more of such jobs which will be key to making our recent economic record more inclusive.”

Despite the challenges in the education sector, he said, Nigeria is improving the standard and carrying out teaching and infrastructure upgrade in institutions.

“Within the last two months, we have played hosts to several business delegations from all over the world, including a Chinese delegation of 100 businessmen, 75 Kenyan businessmen, 18 Swiss investors and second largest business enterprise in China, a Fortune 500 company, which pledged to invest in our transmission and power generating sector.”

“The visit by the U. S. Commerce Secretary, accompanied by a powerful delegation, the

delegation from Pakistan and the team from Netherlands are also worthy of note.”

The Coordinator of HIIC, Baroness Lynda Chalker, noted that dropout of pupils in primary schools show the magnitude of educational problem in the country.

She said: “Children who go to primary schools do not complete their education, that tells us a lot about the problems of the country. That is why we want to focus on education.”

“We do not have a separate session on power supply, but we do know that Nigeria’s progress again depends on the gas reforms, the management of the transmission company of Nigeria, fuel supply to power plants, speedy implementation of renewable energy and progress plan for developing domestic gas utilization. Power and education are at the heart of what must be achieved,” she said.

THE NATION TUESDAY JULY 1, 2014

57

NEWS

Suspended Rivers CJ: Court adjourns Court grants Majority Leader bail T suit indefinitely A From Osagie Otabor, Benin

FEDERAL High Court in Abuja adjourned hearing indefinitely yesterday in the suit filed by the suspended Rivers State Chief Judge, Justice Peter Agumagu.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola held that since parties agreed to await the outcome of the respondents’ appeals filed against his earlier ruling, the case should be adjourned till the determination of the appeals.

Agumagu is challenging his March 18 suspension by the National Judicial Council (NJC), which claimed that he was sworn in without being nominated by the NJC as required by the constitution.

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

Sued with NJC are Justices Babatunde Adejumo, Jubril Idris and Cromwell Idahosa (chairman and members of the panel set up by the NJC to investigate allegations against Justice Agumagu).

Yesterday, Agumagu’s lawyer, Akin Olujinmi (SAN) reminded the court that the case was fixed for the hearing of all pending applications.

He said his client has also filed an application on June 12 seeking an order to join three new parties in the suit.

The lawyer informed the court that shortly after its last ruling, in which the court heard the respondents’ objections with the substantive suit, the respondents had appealed.

Olujinmi added that two of the respondents have also applied for stay of proceedings pending the appeal.

The counsel told the court that the respondents have served him copies of the record of appeal; some of them have also served him copies of briefs of argument.

He said it was proper for the court to adjourn the case because the respondents have

compiled records of appeal and have even filed briefs of argument.

NJC’s lawyer Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Fola Shotikare (for Justice Adejumo) and Emmanuel Ukala (SAN) for Justices Idris and Idahosa, did not object to Olujinmi’s suggestion that the court should adjourn.

The respondents are challenging the court’s decision to hear the substantive suit and the preliminary objection, noting that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case.

It is their contention that jurisdiction is a constitutional issue that goes to the root of the case, that must first be resolved before further steps are taken.

HE trial of the Majority Leader of the Edo State House of Assembly, Philip Shaibu, began yesterday with the accused taking his plea. Shaibu pleaded not guilty to the six-count charges.

He was charged to court by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences on allegation of falsification of tax clearance certificate.

His counsel, Enahoro Aghomo, applied for bail based on self recognition but the ICPC counsel, Godson Igbadumhe, urged the court to give stringent conditions for the bail.

Igbadumhe told the court that the accused had threatened some ICPC officials and that assailants were also sent after the investigating officers.

Justice Esther Edigin held that the ICPC failed to provide print of the network provider to get details of the telephone conversation between the accused and the ICPC officials.

Justice Edigin said the ICPC should have reported the attack to the police and that it was not enough to tie the assailants to the accused.

She held that the reasons adduced by the ICPC were not sufficient enough and bereft of substance to deny the accused bail as according to her, no witnesses were called.

The judge granted the accused bail of N3million and a surety, who must be a land owner and resident in Benin City.

Orubebe visits monarchs

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PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Delta State, Godsday Orubebe, has received another endorsement, when Central Senatorial District monarchs prayed for him yesterday.

Orubebe, a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, has been visiting opinion leaders and traditional rulers across the state.

He started with Delta North before moving to the Central where he was hosted yesterday by traditional rulers in Ethiope West Local Government at the palace of the Ovie of Mosogar, Samson Omene.

Orubebe told them he would take the state higher, if given the opportunity to lead.

He said he had prepared a roadmap that would take Delta to the next level, adding that with proper plan-

Orubebe being blessed by the Ovie of Mosogar, Samson Omene... yesterday

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Three students ‘killed’ in Bayelsa

HREE undergraduates of the Bayelsa State-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), Wilberforce Island, Amassomma, have been reportedly killed, following a clash between two rival cult groups.

It was gathered that the clash between AY and Vagas group claimed the lives of a 300-Level and two final year students.

The killings were said to have happened before and during the exams, which ended last week.

The unnamed 300-Level student was said to have been inflicted with machete cuts.

It was gathered that he died

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•Police arrest five ‘cult members’ From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

in a private hospital at Amassoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

A female student claimed that a final year male student was also killed by some gunmen who stormed the examination hall.

“The student was in the hall writing exams when eight cult members stormed the hall and shot him.

They escaped after shooting sporadically into the air to scare other students,” she

said. It was learnt that the third victim, a female, was also in her final year. She was allegedly killed by a cult group before exams began two weeks ago.

It was further learnt that cult activities compelled the school management to beef up security on campus.

Efforts to get the school management to respond to the issues proved abortive.

Calls to the institution’s spokesman, Domo Alagoa, were not answered.

The text message sent to his phone was not responded to.

A security source confirmed

that a student was killed in the exam hall.

“Gunmen came from the bush and gained access to the classroom. They shot the student and disappeared through the bush,” the source said.

Commissioner of Police Hilary Opara said the police were still investigating the matter.

Opara, who did not confirm any casualty, however, said five persons involved in cultrelated activities have been arrested.

“We are investigating the matter. Five cult members have been arrested. Others are still on the run,” he said.

Edo PDP lawmakers locked out of Assembly

EOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers in the Edo State House of Assembly, who resumed plenary yesterday, were not allowed into the premises.

The Deputy Speaker, Festus Ebea, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and three othersFriday Ogieriakhi (Orhionmwon South) Jude Ise-Idehen (Ikpoba-Okha) and Patrick Osayimen (Oredo East)- were suspended on June 9 for alleged misconduct.

The police advised the warring lawmakers not to sit separately in the chamber.

Last week, Speaker Uyi Igbe adjourned sitting till

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

Wednesday; the PDP led by Ebea adjourned till yesterday.

The PDP lawmakers resumed duty and stayed outside the gate for about four hours before leaving.

Assembly workers were also not allowed in as all the offices were locked.

Police Commissioner Foluso Adebanjo, who was at the Assembly, expressed fears that the crisis may escalate.

Adebanjo urged stakeholders to wade into the crisis before it gets out of hand.

He warned those fueling

the crisis to pursue peace in the state’s interest.

“I want to urge all stakeholders to intervene before this crisis claims lives. We should not allow the situation escalates.”

Ebea, at a briefing, said they would not disobey any order from a competent court.

He said bullet proof doors have replaced doors leading to the hallowed chamber and their offices.

According to him, “We were here to resume work. The police told us they cannot open the chamber for just one group to do its business.

“We adjourned till today and we found that the cham-

ber has been seriously armoured.

“There are bullet proof doors. We do not know why they have resorted to using bullet proof doors.

“We appreciate market women and youths for not listening to the governor to come out and enforce court orders.

“We cannot enter the chambers and my office has been shut down likewise my other colleagues.

“They are always planning on how to bring the state to anarchy. By July 7, we will seek other avenues to resolving the crisis amicably.”

ning and serious implementation, the state would witness a leap in development.

Moribund industries, according to him, will be brought be revived and jobs provided h. Orubebe said he was responsible for Federal Government’s implementation of the East-West road contract and that the road would be completed by next March.

The Ovie of Oghara, Nobele Esiemita, said he was convinced Orubebe had what it took to be governor, saying he would be in a position to continue to build on the foundation laid by former Governor James Ibori.

Omene said with his sound education and experience, Orubebe would perform excellently if elected.

He praised him for the East West road project which he described as of monumental importance to businesses in the Niger Delta.

Oil spill in Akwa Ibom From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

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N oil spill from Mobil Oil Producing Nigeria, the operator of Qua Iboe Terminal, has affected Nkpana; Inua Eyet Ikot and Esuk Ikim Ekeme communities in Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

The spill reportedly occurred when a thunderstorm caused a fire. The amount of oil lost to the fire and spill hasn’t been calculated.

The Village Head of Iwuo Okpom, a community in Ibeno, Okon Akpanubong, urged Mobil to begin clean up without delay.

He appealed to the Federal Government and other relevant agencies to come to the people’s rescue.

The Coordinator of Artisan Fishermen Association of Nigeria, John Etim, said fishermen are facing hardship because of the spill.

Rainstorm destroys 60 houses

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From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

HE Cross River State Emergency Management Agency said yesterday that 60 houses were destroyed by rainstorm in the last one week.

A statement by the Deputy Director (Information), David Akate, said fences, roads and school buildings were also damaged.

He said areas affected were Ikot Ansa, Ikot Eneobong, Ikot Nkebre and Big Qua Town in Calabar Municipality as well as some parts of Calabar South.

“The flood is attributed to the blockage of drains and other waterways as well as the construction of buildings in flood-prone areas.

“Also affected are 11 vehicles, including a new car owned by the Vice Chairman of Ogoja Local Government Area, John Orim.

“The trauma is coming at a time the government is committing huge amount of human and material resources towards the rehabilitation and construction of roads and drains across the state capital,” he said.

The agency’s Director-General, Vincent Aquah, said the incident was caused by blocked drains within the city centre.

THE NATION TUESDAY JULY 1, 2014

58

NEWS Yero to revoke contracts

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From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

ADUNA State Governor Ramalan Yero has threatened to revoke all non-performing contracts awarded by the government.

The governor, who inspected the 28.8 kilometres SobaIkara Road, said the government would soon begin a review of all projects across the state.

Yero said the state would take action against contractors, who have abandoned their projects.

He noted that the review was to ensure the completion of projects earmarked in the budget before December.

“I can see that the first coat is completed, the second coat which is the laying of asphalt should begin immediately. I want this road completed and I want the 1.6 kilometre Soba township section to be completed also.

“There is no outstanding payment on this project, so I urge you to complete the work so that you can be paid the balance.”

Caretaker chairmen’s list submitted

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HE Bauchi State House of Assembly began deliberations yesterday on a new list of local government council caretaker committee chairmen sent to it by Governor Isa Yuguda.

In a letter by Permanent Secretary, Special Services, Abdul Aliyu Ilelah, Yuguda sought ‘’the screening and confirmation of the nominees for the 20 local government areas of the state’’.

The nominees are: Bala Abdullahi Dan (Alkaleri) ; Umar Aliyu Zungur (Bauchi); Mrs. Hassana Arkila (Bogoro), Abdul Umar (Dambam) and Saidu Ibrahim Hamza (Darazo).

Others include Muhammad Suleman (Dass); Bunu Mohammed (Ganjuwa); Muhammad Tabako (Gamawa); Adamu Madaki (Giade); Ibrahim Halilu( Jama’are); Adamu Zakari (Itas/ Gadau); Tijani Abdul Chinade (Katagum) and Danjuma Mohammed Bara (Kirfi).

The rest are Muhammad Kura Bapayo (Misau) ; Aba Salleh Balmasi (Ningi); Muktarhi Ahmed Shira (Shira); Idris Hibrahim (Tafawa Balewa); Adamu Danyaro Geji (Toro); Adamu Yahaya Katanga (Warji) and Zakari Ibrahim Mohammed (Zaki).

Fidau on Sunday

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HE eighth-day Fidau for the late auto-technician, Fatai Ayinde Karaole, comes up on Sunday at his Ota, Ogun State, home.

Karaole died in an accident on June 28. His remains were buried the following day.

He is survived by his widow, Risikat and six children.

•The late Karaole

From left: National President, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, Dr. Godswill Okara; National Assistant Secretary Abdulsalam Yakubu and National Public Relations Officer, Dudu Olabode at a briefing on the effective regulation of PHOTO AKIN OLADOKUN intro-diagnostics in Abuja.

UniAbuja Council splits over VC’s appointment T HE Governing Council of the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) was divided yesterday on the choice of a new vice chancellor.

Members were split along religious and ethnic lines on who to choose among the three candidates recommended to the Council.

But after the tension, the 13member council voted, with eight votes in favour of a Professor of Pharmacy from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof. Mike Aduku.

Five members of the council abstained from voting over alleged claim that Aduku, who is from Benue State, was rated

•Aduku

emerges VC

From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

third in the assessment and interview.

Aduku was said to be favoured by some persons in the Presidency and in the National Assembly.

According to findings, the choice of a new vice chancellor has created tension, leading to the deployment of soldiers in the campus.

It was gathered that 124 candidates applied but only three candidates were short-listed.

The candidates, in order of assessment and interview, were a former Acting VC of Kano State University of Technology, Prof. Umar G. Danbata; Prof. Bayo Lawal of the University of Ilorin; and Prof.

Aduku.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The signs of division in the council began early in the day when armed soldiers barricaded the gate leading to the campus.

“They prevented people, including workers, from entering the campus. When some people tried to enquire on what led to the siege, they said it was to prevent a breakdown of law and order.

“The appointment of a new VC has been dividing UNIABUJA community leading to the shut down of the institution thrice in the last few months.”

Responding to a question, the source added: “When the council convened, there was however division among members along ethno-religious lines.

“While some members from the core North insisted on order of merit, those from the Middle Belt and South opted for an election to choose among the three candidates who had been found suitable.

“This development made some council members to abstain from voting. Eight of the 13 members favoured Aduku.

“So, the eight members (being in the majority) had their way and the others boycotted the election.”

A member of the university Senate said: “There were issues about federal character principle because the bursar, the librarian, and the director of works are from the NorthCentral.

“To choose a VC from the North Central is a violation of this principle. But the forces from the Presidency and the National Assembly had their way.”

A member of the council however said: “While it is natural to lobby for this type of appointment, any of the three candidates was suitable for appointment as VC. “You should ask those complaining that is there any of the three candidates that did not lobby?

“For the three candidates to emerge from 124 applicants, they have some academic and administrative pedigree to lead UniAbuja.

“The choice of Aduku was a clean break from the past. It is time to reposition the university which had gone through many crises.”

Police discover ‘ritualists’ hideout in Kwara

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HE police in Kwara State said yesterday that they have discovered a human parts market in Ilorin, the state capital.

The command said the place is close to NASFAT praying centre at the Airport/Eyenkorin area on the Ilorin-Lagos expressway.

Briefing reporters yesterday in Ilorin, Commissioner of Police Ambrose Aisabor said: “We discovered some abandoned buildings at Airport/ Eyenkorin on the Ilorin-Lagos Expressway suspected to be hideouts for criminal dealings in human parts.”

Aisabor also paraded two students of the State College of Education, Ilorin for alleged robbery.

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From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

His words: “When we got the information we went to the place and actually discovered a bizarre scenario and the following items were discovered at the scene- a decomposing headless body, a human foot, snail shells, and clothes suspected to be used in strangulating victims.

“If you get there you will still see particles of human parts. I believe that place has been a human parts market.

“The case is under investigation and we will let you know the result of our investigation.

“The building belongs to a 85-year-old woman and we are interrogating her. Maybe as investigation progresses, we

are going to make some arrests. Presently, no arrest has been made.”

On the robbery, the commissioner said: “On June 25, the two students were arrested for conspiracy and armed robbery.

Items recovered from them include the complainant’s phone, another phone and N1000.

“I want to assure the people that we are ready to protect them. There is insecurity in the country; we in Kwara want to be proactive; we are blocking all avenues where criminals can infiltrate the state. “ The state remains a no-go area for criminals and criminal activities.

“We are counting on the people to continue to give us information to serve them better.”

Govt pays victims’ hospital bills

AUCHI State Governor Isa Yuguda has directed hospitals treating victims of last Friday’s explosion in Bayan-Gari in Bauchi metropolis to send the bill to the government.

He sympathised with the injured and condoled with the

From Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi

families of the dead.

Yuguda gave the directive when he visited hospitals, where the injured are receiving treatment.

He was accompanied by the Commissioner for Health,

Sani Mallami. The governor instructed the commissioner ’’to ensure that the victims receive adequate treatment’’.

Yuguda directed that ‘’those who need to be referred to other hospitals outside the state be taken out to enable them get better treatment’’.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

59

FOREIGN NEWS

Rebels declare 'Islamic state' in Iraq and Syria

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IHADIST militant group Isis has said it is establishing a caliphate, or Islamic state, on the territories it controls in Iraq and Syria.

It also proclaimed the group's leader, Abu Bakr alBaghdadi, as caliph and "leader for Muslims everywhere".

Setting up a state governed under strict Islamic law has long been a goal of many jihadists.

Meanwhile, Iraq's army continued an offensive to retake the northern city of Tikrit from the Isis-led rebels.

The city was seized by the insurgents on 11 June as they swept across large parts of northern-western Iraq.

In a separate development, Israel called for the creation of an independent Kurdish state in response to the gain made by the Sunni rebels in Iraq.

The Islamic State in Iraq and

the Levant (Isis) announced the establishment of the caliphate in an audio recording posted on the internet on Sunday.

Generations of Sunni radicals have dreamt of a moment when, in the words of Isis spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, Muslims "shake off the dust of humiliation and disgrace" and a new caliphate rises out of the chaos, confusion and despair of the modern Middle East.In one of the Isis videos uploaded on Sunday, a bearded fighter called Abu Safiyya guides the viewer around a newly demolished border post. The video, with its arresting imagery and impressive production values, is designed to electrify the group's followers.

The fact that Abu Safiyya is described as being from Chile merely adds to what the authors hope is now the or-

ganisation's global appeal.

Isis said the Islamic state would extend from Aleppo in northern Syria to Diyala province in eastern Iraq.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the group said, would become the leader of the state and would be known as "Caliph Ibrahim".

In the recording, the rebels also demanded that all Muslims "pledge allegiance" to the new ruler and "reject democracy and other garbage from the West".

On Sunday, Iraqi government jets struck at rebel positions and clashes broke out in various parts of Tikrit, witnesses and officials said.

Troops had reportedly pulled back to the nearby town of Dijla as Saturday's initial offensive met stiff resisAn Iraqi machine-gunner guards a highway west of Karbala, a Shia holy city

The heavy fighting over the two days caused many casualties on both sides, eyewitnesses and journalists told the BBC. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the creation of an independent Kurdish state in response to gains made by Sunni insurgents in Iraq.

In a speech in Tel Aviv, he said the Kurds were "a nation of fighters and have proved political commitment and are worthy of independence".

The Kurds have long striven for an independent state but they remain divided between Syria and Turkey, Iran and Iraq.

The international community, including neighbouring Turkey and the US, remains opposed to the breakup of Iraq.

a state of panic after mistaking her for an intruder.

The prosecution says Mr Pistorius deliberately killed Ms Steenkamp following an argument.

Both prosecution and defence have accepted the results of the psychological report.

Before the case was adjourned until today, the defence called acoustic expert Ivan Lin to give evidence in the hope of discrediting prosecution witnesses who said they heard the scream of a woman on the night Ms Steenkamp was killed.

Earlier, the court heard from Dr Gerry Versfeld, who amputated Mr Pistorius’ legs when he was just 11 months old. He was born without the fibulas in both of his legs but went on to become an Olympic athlete.

Dr Versfeld testified about the impact of the disability on Mr

Pistorius, 27, and to what extent he can walk without his prosthetic legs.

The defence is expected to finish presenting its evidence in the next few days.

Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and law graduate, was shot through a toilet door at Mr Pistorius’ house in Pretoria on Valentine’s Day last year.

The couple had been dating for three months.

Oscar Pistorius has often displayed his emotions during the trial The athlete underwent tests on his mental state at the Weskoppies Hospital in Pretoria Mr Pistorius says he mistook Reeva Steenkamp - model and law graduate - for an intruder “Mr Pistorius did not suffer from a mental illness or defect that would have rendered him criminally not responsible for the

offence charged,” said state prosecutor Gerrie Nel, reading from the psychologist report.

The prosecution requested the evaluation after a defence witness said the double amputee was suffering from Generalised Anxiety Disorder (Gad).

Mr Pistorius, 27, underwent a month of tests as an outpatient at Weskoppies psychiatric hospital in Pretoria.

He has often displayed his emotions during the trial, and has sobbed and vomited in court.

There are no juries at trials in South Africa, so the athlete’s fate will ultimately be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors.

If found guilty of murder, Mr Pistorius, who went on trial on 3 March this year, could face life imprisonment. If he is acquitted of that charge, the court will consider an alternative charge of culpable homicide, for which he could receive about 15 years in prison.

seeking extra work elsewhere.

“All the evidence shows that it is good for the individuals... but also that it boosts the productivity” The government expects the extension of flexible working rights to be of particular interest to older workers approaching retirement and to young workers looking for additional training while they work.

“Modern businesses know that flexible working boosts productivity and staff morale, and helps them keep their top talent so that they can grow,” said Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

“It’s about time we brought working practices bang up-todate with the needs, and choices, of our modern families.”

The Chartered Institute of Per-

sonnel Development said the change in the law was recognition of the growing importance of flexible working for both employees and employers.

“Employers increasingly recognise the strong business case for flexible working, including enhanced employee engagement and the attraction and retention of a more diverse workforce,” said the institute’s chief executive Susannah Clements.

The TUC welcomed the move, but said more needed to be done to ensure that employees’ requests were given fair consideration.

“When you make a flexible working request you also need a fair hearing, so we should improve things further by giving people a right to challenge an employer’s reason for rejecting a re-

quest,” said the TUC’s general secretary Frances O’Grady.

Many businesses already offer flexible working to their staff.

“We know from our own membership that more than three quarters of our members offer flexible working but there will be a small number of small businesses who just will not be able to do that, whether it’s through cost or just from balancing their teams,” Liesl Smith from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) told the BBC. The FSB has expressed concerns about the additional administrative burden the right to request flexible working might place on small businesses.

It has said the right could introduce a “negative dynamic” into the workplace, particularly in the case of unsuccessful requests.

Oscar Pistorius ‘had no mental disorder’, says report

•Pistorius

O

SCAR Pistorius did not have a mental disorder when he killed his girlfriend, a psychological report said as his murder trial resumed.

This means the Olympic athlete was criminally responsible for his actions when he shot her, the prosecution said.

The defence team has said Mr Pistorius was suffering from an anxiety disorder.

The athlete denies deliberately killing Reeva Steenkamp. He says he shot her accidentally in

E

UK: Flexible working rights extended to all

VERY employee now has the right to request flexible working hours after the government extended the right previously reserved for carers and those looking after children.

As part of the right, employees can expect their request to be considered “in a reasonable manner” by employers.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said 20 million people now had the right to ask to work flexibly. Unions and employment groups welcomed the move.

The change in the law, which affects everyone with more than six months’ service, comes less than a week after the government said it would ban employers from stopping staff with zero-hours contracts - under which employees’ hours are not guaranteed -

N.Korea to put two detained Americans on trial

•Jung-un

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ORTH Korea announced yesterday that it will put two detained Americans on trial, the latest move in several days of mixed signals coming from the reclusive country.

A report by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated that investigations had been carried out into the two cases, and that there was enough evidence to move ahead with indictments. The two Americans, Jeffrey Fowle and Matthew Miller, both traveled to North Korea on approved tourist trips.

North Korea has claimed that Mr. Miller tore up his visa and requested asylum shortly after arriving in Pyongyang in early June. Unnamed diplomatic sources told Japan’s Kyodo news agency that Mr. Fowle left a Bible behind in his hotel room in North Korea in April. Today’s KCNA report announcing that the two men will be tried did not specify their alleged crimes, instead using the vague term “hos-

tile acts.”

The Pyongyang regime also made headlines this weekend after conducting test launches of short-range missiles, in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit missile and nuclear activity in the North.

Then yesterday, in a twist of temperament, North Korea also used its official media to call for a cessation of military hostilities with South Korea starting this week. Today’s conciliatory gesture was at odds with a number of aggressive statements made in recent months, including calling South Korean President Park Geun-hye a “prostitute” and labeling the forthcoming Hollywood comedy “The Interview,” which includes a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim

Jung-un, an “act of war.”

North and South remain technically at war since combat ended in the 1950-53 Korean War. While they have not had a serious confrontation since 2010, when the North torpedoed a South Korean naval vessel and shelled Yeonpyeong Island, killing four people, skirmishes are somewhat common along their Yellow Sea maritime border, and militaries on both sides regularly exchange hostile rhetoric about what they would do if the other attacked.

This recent flurry of activity by North Korea may be related to the upcoming visits by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will visit Seoul from July 3-4, and is scheduled to then travel on to Pyongyang.

Israeli police forcibly end African migrants’ protest

•Netanyahu

I

SRAELI police yesterday forcibly broke up up a three-day desert sit-in by hundreds of African migrants who bolted a detention center to march toward the Egyptian border, where they were prevented from leaving by Israeli soldiers.

The march and sit-in marked a new defiance of Israeli government policy, which recently began ordering African migrants who entered the country illegally years ago to leave work and homes in Israeli cities and report to the Holot desert detention camp. Photographs uploaded to Twitter by human rights activists showed police dragging migrants to buses.

Though the government has promised to consider the Africans’ requests for political asylum, the migrants contend no action is being taken and that indefinite detention at Holot is being used to pressure them to accept so-called “voluntary departure’’ packages to relocate to third-party African countries. They have asked the United Nations to intervene on their behalf.

The plight of African refugee seekers in Israel, who have been called “infiltrators” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, has become a high profile human rights issue for his government, since a government that views itself as driven by morality - and a refuge for people fleeing oppression - has used increasingly harsh tactics against asylum seekers. Senior Israeli officials say most of the African migrants are seeking economic opportunity, not freedom from oppression.

‘There is no medical care, there is no decent food, and there’s nowhere to go. It’s like a prison, but they tell people it’s an open facility,’’ said Hassan Shakur, a 27-year old migrant from Sudan who spoke by telephone from the border area as police surrounded the protesters.

Shortly after he spoke, an Israeli police officer asked the refugees to get onto buses and return to Holot, or face mounted police and water cannon who would force them back. “Let’s not clash,” said the officer, according to a video uploaded to Facebook by Israeli activists.

The Africans, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea, say they are refugees, while Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government considers them threats to Israel’s national character.

The Holot camp was opened earlier this year and the government calls it a “residence” for African migrants and says they are allowed to come and go. However, the facility is located about a one hour drive from the nearest city, operated by the Israeli prison service, and inmates are required to be present for three roll calls a day and sleep at the facility.

The demonstration at the border was the latest in a string of protests by the Holot inmates against their detention. In recent weeks leaders of the demonstrations have been transferred to a full-fledged prison nearby as punishment.

Africans ordered to Holot have said they faced pressure by prison service employees at Holot to agree to voluntary departure packages, which consists of several thousand dollar stipends and a free plane ticket to Uganda or Rwanda. The migrants claim that those who return to Africa aren’t given residency visas in the new country and risk repatriation to their homelands.

60

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

61

CITYBEATS Funsho Williams: Tales of sorrow as judge frees suspects

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ERGEANT Ikpowansa Imariabe stepped out of the dock, walked outside the court room and knelt down with his hands and tear-soaked eyes facing the heavens.

Tears of joy ran down his cheeks as he murmured: “I was locked up for eight years for a crime I did not commit. My wife left me; my mother suffered stroke and has not recovered, but God I still thank you for proving yourself today. At last, the court has proved my innocence.”

Then, he got up, still shedding tears, went and hugged his lawyer, Okezie Agbara, who made efforts to console him. Imariabe said” “I am shedding tears of joy.”

Similarly, Kayode Mustapha, another defendant in the alleged murder of Lagos politician Funsho Williams, lamented how he lost his child, who he never saw, while in prison and how his mother suddenly went blind following his misfortune.

Bulama Kolo, Musa Maina, David Cassidy, Tunani Sonoma, Imariabe and Mustapha have since 2006 been held in prison custody after they were accused by the state government and the police of killing Williams, an Engineer.

The defendants, who were security attachés and domestic servants of the deceased, got their freedom yesterday after Justice Adeniyi Adebajo of a Lagos High Court discharged and acquitted them.

Ruling on a no-case submission made by their lawyer, Agbara, Justice Adebajo held that the prosecution had not established a prima facie case against them.

He said the charges of conspiracy and murder against the defendants were “weak and superficial.”

While the prosecution alleged that the fourth to sixth defendants, policemen deployed to provide security for Williams, made calls with their co-defendants with the

By Precious Igbonwelundu

deceased’s mobile phone, Adebajo said the state failed to produce the call logs of the communication in court.

Justice Adebajo said: “I agree with the defendants’ counsel that the evidence given in respect of the offence of conspiracy to commit murder is weak and unreliable. Because they are superficial, they amount to speculation when given consideration. There is nothing cogent and compelling to show that any combination of the defendants had acted in furtherance of a crime.

“The Supreme Court per Sir Udo Udoma in the case of Daboh and another v the state held that courts usually consider it sufficient if it be established by evidence the circumstances from which the court would consider safe and reasonable to infer or presume conspiracy.

“In the circumstance of the present case where the evidence are so superficial that they at best present a situation of mere speculation, it can neither be safe nor reasonable to infer conspiracy.”

On the charge of murder, Justice Adebajo held that though it was proven that the deceased was killed, nothing suggests that the defendants’ were his assailants.

“It is noteworthy to state that the Chief Medical Pathologist of the state, in his evidence, state clearly that the deceased was killed by strangulation. The dagger and the rope (found at the murder scene) were distractions. The evidence of the pathologist (PW3) clearly established the cause of death.

“The prosecution did not make any effort to tie the cause of death to the action of any individual or set of defendants. I am satisfied that the deceased has been shown to have died, but it remains at large after the conclusion of prosecution’s case as to the person

• The late Williams

• Imariabe

or persons who caused his death.

“The pathologist who said the deceased died by strangulation did not allude to any of the defendants as having carried out the act, he was never asked. There is absolutely nothing to suggest that the death of the deceased resulted from the act of any of the defendants.”

“In the final analysis, I am satisfied that the prosecution has failed to show a nexus between the defendants with a statutory element of the offence with which they have been charged. Further, I am of the opinion that the evidence led is so manifestly unreliable that this court cannot call on the defendants to make their defence. The defendants are discharged and acquitted and the charge is dismissed,” he said.

Imariabe, who was leader of the police team guarding the late Williams, said he was off-duty on the day of the murder.

“In the past eight years, I have not been paid salary. The police virtually sacked me. They sacrificed me for an offence I know nothing about...But I leave everything to God. Please I cannot talk now; I just want to talk to my God first. I thank Him for everything.”

Their lawyer, Agbara, who said he did the case pro bono, insisted that it would now be just for the police to reinstate Ikponmwose, Kayode and Tunani Sonoma, who were sacked over the incident.

He charged the police to carry out their investigation to ensure the actual killers of Williams were brought to justice, just as he lauded the judge for his wisdom in handling the matter.

The defendants were first arraigned on March 1, 2013 before Justice Adebajo on a two-count charge of conspiracy and murder of Williams at his 34A, Corporation Drive, Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi home on July 27, 2006.

The alleged offence was said to have contravened Sections 316 and 324 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos, 2003.

Agbara had on May 20, submitted a no-case-to-answer submission after the prosecution closed its case against the defendants.

Freedom at last...

As soon as Justice Adebajo made his pronouncement, the six defendants who were hitherto apprehensive all beamed with smiles as they left the dock.

Some bowed severally before the judge, others exchanged pleasant gestures with prison wardens who sat close to the exit door of the court.

Outside the court, as Imariabe was giving thanks to God for granting him freedom and Mustapha explaining his ordeal to onlookers, the others were obviously short of words.

A

P

By Precious Igbonwelundu

prosecution’s prayer, stating that the document does not fulfil the provisions of Section 104 of the Evidence Act. He argued that the certification was done after the trial had commenced and that there was nothing to show that legal fees had been paid to obtain the document, citing a case of Tapik United Vs GTB Plc. Ipaye cited Section 141 of the Evidence Act, noting that the proof of payment is required where “there are legal fees prescribed in that respect.”

Ipaye urged the court to admit the DVD accompanied with the certification as evidence because they are very relevant.

“The DVD was produced at the instruction of the police in the course of investigation; the whole purpose is to put it in evidence in a prosecution initiated by the state as between the police and the prosecution authority.

“What the Supreme Court said on the case cited by the defence counsel was that the learned trial judge ought to have ordered counsel to ensure that the said documents are paid for after which the trial continues,” said Ipaye.

Subsequently, Akinlade ruled in favour of the prosecution and admitted the video and certification

He had told Justice Adebajo that the state’s case against his clients must collapse because it was built on unfounded suspicion. He submitted that an analysis of the evidence submitted by the prosecution showed that they were at best circumstantial.

“For a court of law to base conviction on circumstantial evidence, it must be of a compelling and irresistible nature to show that the accused persons and no one else were responsible for the crime.

“There has been no legally admissible evidence against the defendants,” argued Agbara, who insisted the prosecution in its case has failed to connect any of the defendants’ with the murder.

Citing Section 243 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, Agbara urged the court to dismiss the charge and set his clients free.

His prayers were, however, objected to by the prosecution who insisted that the defendants had a case to answer, especially because the the late Williams’ phone was found with some of them.

Prosecuting counsel Mrs. Idowu Alakija said it had made out a prima facie case enough to warrant the defendants to enter a defence.

Pastor who ‘runs kidnap cartel’ ASTOR Ernest Chukwuemeka arrested Nwankwo, a suspected

Cynthia: Court admits video evidence

LAGOS High Court, Igbosere, has admitted as exhibit a video recording of suspected killers of Cynthia Osokogu tendered by the state.

Justice Olabisi Akinlade admitted the video in a ruling after the prosecution and defence teams made their submissions on point of law.

Lagos Attorney General, Ade Ipaye, on Friday sought to tender the video evidence, but after opposition from lawyers to the first and second defendants on grounds that the video recording was not certified, withdrew same and prayed for an adjournment.

At the resumed hearing yesterday, Ipaye continued his evidence-inchief with film editor and cinematographer, Emmanuel Peters who told the court how he made the video recording and certification.

He said that he connected his Sony digital camera to a Panasonic DVD player with a DELL laptop computer which he used in producing the DVD containing the video after which he destroyed the copy on his camera.

When shown the video, which played for a short while, the witness identified the DVD and its certification document which Ipaye urged the court to admit as exhibit.

However, counsel to the second defendant (Olisaeloka Ezike), Micheal Ajayi objected the

‘I agree with the defendants’ counsel that the evidence given in respect of the offence of conspiracy to commit murder is weak and unreliable. Because they are superficial, they amount to speculation when given consideration.

There is nothing cogent and compelling to show that any combination of the defendants had acted in furtherance of a crime’

• The late Cynthia

as exhibits.

Another prosecution witness, Inspector Yemi Olagbende from the Homicide Section of State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, was later called to give account of his investigation, after which the matter was adjourned till September 19 for continuation.

The defendants in the trial are Okwumo Nwabufo 34; Ezike, 24; Orji Osita, 33, and Ezike Nonso, 25.

They were charged with alleged conspiracy, murder, armed robbery administering illegal drug and receiving stolen property.

kidnapper and ritualist masquerading as the pastor and General Overseer of Holy Family Ministry (a.k.a House of Mercy), has been arrested by the police.

Nwankwo, who fled his home and church in Ikorodu, a Lagos suburb, following an allegation by a member of the church, Rosemary Chukwu, that he sent her to kidnap a six-yearold boy on June 25, was arrested in Ebute-Metta, Lagos Mainland.

Apart from the boy, eight other kidnapped victims were rescued from him and his gang in Ogolonto, Ikorodu.

Police spokesperson Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), who confirmed the arrest, said the suspect who had been on the run since the incident occurred was arrested yesterday.

Braide said the matter was being investigated at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba Mainland.

Chukwu allegedly abducted Kelvin Emmanuel, who lives with his parents in the same compound with her in Ogolonto.

Sources said the woman was at the bus stop with a box and other people who were waiting for vehicles heard the cry of a baby from inside the box.

It was gathered that at first they thought it was a goat crying but people suspected Chukwu and ordered her to open the box.

They were shocked to see a baby in

By Jude Isiguzo

the box and immediately arrested and interrogated her about where she got the baby from and she reportedly confessed that she kidnapped him.

Chukwu was beaten up and stripped naked. The mob was about to lynch her when policemen from the nearby Ipakodo Police Station arrived the scene.

Chukwu confessed that she kidnapped the baby and wanted to sell him for N4million to a pastor of a popular church in the area who asked her for it.

Nwankwo is an indigene of Nsugbe in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State.

He allegedly manages two kidnap centres, Happy Family Home Foundation International, at both Ikorodu and Nkwelle-Ezunaka in Oyi council area of Anambra State.

• Nwankwo

THE NATION TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014

62

NEWS RAMADAN KAREEM Dana Air offers special in-flight meals

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

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ANA Air has announced that it would offer special in-flight menu throughout the fasting period to cater for the dietary needs of Muslim guests.

Announcing the initiative in Lagos, the Chief Commercial Officer of Dana Air, Obi Mbanuzuo, said: “Ramadan, which is considered one of the five pillars of Islam, is here again and seeing that we understand the significance of the fasting period in the lives of our Muslim guests, we have included additional fruits like dates in our in-flight catering due to the numerous health benefits they bring.”

While urging brethrens to use the observance of the holy month to reflect and start a personal relationship with their creator, Mbanuzuo encouraged guests who are observing the daytime fasting to take along the in-flight meals while disembarking until they are ready to break their fast.

The airline has also reiterated its commitment to continue to offer customerfriendly services, especially its web fares, starting at N9,000 on its existing route network.

K

Ramadan 4TH, 1436AH

Kano spends N250m on free feeding

ANO State Government has spent over N250 million to purchase food items for its Free Ramadan Feeding Programme at 176 centres in eight metropolitan local governments.

The Deputy Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, made this known while inspecting the food items at the headquarters of Kano Printing Press, Kano, where they were stored.

Ganduje said the feeding is done to compliment the effort of the less-privileged who could not afford to feed themselves during the Ramadan fast-

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

ing, adding that the programme has no political undertone.

He said committees were set up in the eight local government areas to oversee the feeding to avoid hitches.

Over 720,000 bags of grains were distributed for the exercise.

He stated that a fivemember committee was constituted in each centre with an Imam as chairman.

According to him, N10,000 is being disbursed to each centre as

allowance for soup ingredients and another 10,000 and a pair of wax will be given to each cook at the end of fasting period.

Ganduje pointed out that the token amount for the cooks is not meant to pay for the services they rendered during the fasting period, but to serve as a source of encouragement.

He added that they would get their overall reward.

He directed that each secretary of the committee to submit a comprehensive report on the exercise at the end of every 10 days.

Use fasting for reflection, Glo urges Muslims

T

ELECOMMUNICATIONS operator, Globacom, has prayed for divine strength and spiritual fulfillment to Muslims.

The company also urged faithful to use the period to rededicate themselves to godliness, life of discipline and devotion to Almighty Allah.

The company’s Group Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Mohamed Jameel, in a statement, called on “all Muslims to pray with one accord for themselves, their families, the nation and the world.”

Globacom said as Nigeria is currently passing through a trying phase, Muslim

faithful should pray for the nation’s peace and unity.

The company advised Muslims to see “Ramadan as a period of total spiritual cleansing, sober reflection and expression of love for other faithful.

“We believe that this year’s Ramadan will usher in a new era of prosperity, love, peaceful co-existence and stability for our country.”

It urged Muslims to imbibe the teachings of Prophet Mohamed (SAW) and continue to live a life of uprightness, while upholding the tenet of the Islamic religion, which is peace.

RAMADAN GUIDE WITH FEMI ABBAS

e-mail: femabbas@yahoo.com Tel: 08122697498

Temptation in Ramadan...

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IGERIA is a home of temptations. The agents of Satan are many and ubiquitous. They are most active in the sacred month of Ramadan. You will meet them in the neighbourhood, in offices, in commuter buses, in the markets and on the roads. Like Satanic rainbow, they come in various colours and sizes carrying with them all sorts of tempting materials. Some of them are men. Some are women.

Their temptations come in different forms. Some will make jest of you in a provocative way. Some will deliberately bring food to your seat and start eating right in front of you. Some will pretend not to be aware that you are fasting and, therefore, offer you drink. Some women will tempt you with the most sensitive contours of their bodies. The powders on their faces and other cosmetic materials on some of them alone are enough to disrobe you spiritually if you are not a formidable type. Their antics are many. But your resistance to all these is the most vital ingredient for the acceptance of your fast by Allah. This is a situation in which Muslims are expected to close their eyes and their minds at the same time. They should close their eyes to any eyesore and close their minds to all spiritual irritants.

In no Islamic society can such temptations be experienced. It is a punishable offence to deliberately tempt or provoke fasting Muslims in the month of Ramadan. As a matter of fact, all food vendors and restaurants statutorily refrain from operating in the days of Ramadan.

They can only trade in the nights. And of course, there is nothing like alcohol or nudism in such societies even outside the sacred month.

Resistance to temptation in Ramadan is a function of two things: high level of discipline and strong faith in Allah. Any Muslim who lacks these two is surely bereft of armour against temptation. Ramadan in the life of a Muslim is like a delicious food given to a hungry man.

If he handles it carelessly, it may end up in the belly of a goat.

Satan is always on standby to snatch any reward accruing to pious people from good deeds. To avoid becoming a victim of satanic machination, do not be careless with Allah bounties for you in this sacred month.

TODAY IN THE NATION

TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

‘The rest of Nigeria should not go the way of Ekiti in next year’s elections if truly the people there voted for stomach infrastructure; the PDP, particularly President Jonathan should not trick Nigerians...’

VOL.9

NO. 2894

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

w

B

ACK in October 1991, a tantalising new delicacy was added to the already formidable menu of the nation’s political cuisine.

It made a grand entry at the governorship primaries in Lagos State, a crucial benchmark in the stultifying and merrygo-round that self-anointed Military President Ibrahim Babangida called a transition to democratic rule. Provisional, because the confection owes nothing to the great Murtala Muhammed, who must have been too busy tending his garden after-hours to have any time left for baking.

The seductive delicacy was in fact the imaginative invention of one of Babangida’s newly-bred politicians, but my attorneys had warned that I would be dancing dangerously on the edge of defamation if I named the product or its inventor. I was inconsolable because, when the product (sandwich) is prefixed with his name, the whole thing has a cadenced, alliterative ring.

I can now reveal that its inventor was Dapo Sarumi, who failed in the election aforementioned, but went on to serve as Minister of Information during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s first term. I can also now call it by its proper name – the Sarumi Sandwich.

The recipe was simple. Get a freshbaked loaf of bread. Split it at the top with a sharp knife. Gently insert into the slit a crisp N20 note (that was the Murtala, or “Muri” connection), then put the loaf in a cellophane wrapping and seal. It did not exactly come with an advisory that it was tastiest when served oven-fresh on Election Day, at the precincts of a polling centre, with the candidate looking out from a not-so discreet stance for those who “obtained” the sandwich but failed to deliver.

But the message was clear.

Detecting inconstancy was easy. That, remember, was the era of the Open Ballot System, in which voters lined up behind their candidate’s portrait and cast their ballot for the candidate in full public view.

And many were the voters who paid dearly for their inconstancy.

There were several variations to that theme. As told me by my driver at the time, the landlord would on the eve of crucial elections summon all the voting-age residents of his sprawling tenement to a meeting in the courtyard, announce his candidate, and hint broadly that he expected them to vote for his choice.

They were of course perfectly at liberty

OLATUNJI DARE

AT HOME ABROAD olatunji.dare@thenationonlineng.net

Vote-harvesting, then and now

•Jega

to vote the otherwise, he assured them solemnly, just as he too, a committed democrat, was perfectly at liberty to determine their tenancy if they ignored his preference.

For good measure, he positioned himself close to the polling booth well before voting started and remained there until voting closed, checking off each tenant on a master list as they did his bidding.

To return to the Sarumi Sandwich: shortly after the entry of that treacherous victual into the political scene, Prof.

Humphrey Nwosu’s National Electoral Commission swiftly banned the sale, display, storage, distribution or consumption of bread in any guise or disguise, and by whatsoever name called, within a 200metre radius of a polling centre. The same rule applied to biscuits and fruit, but apparently not to cake.

Nwosu took no chances. If the usual sus-

RIPPLES FORMER MINISTER GAVE CONTRACTS TO HIS FRIEND–DG

So you mean he should have given his ENEMIES... ehn?

•Nwosu

pects had tried to evade the law by offering a Sarumi Cake in place of the eponymous sandwich, Nwosu would have moved the Federal Military Government to promulgate a decree forbidding its baking, display, sale, consumption or distribution in any form a full week before Election Day. Our sociologists may well assert, then, that what is now being called the “infrastructure of the stomach,” the cultivation of which turned the recent Ekiti governorship election for the populist challenger against the donnish incumbent and made the voters appear as if they cared more about their stomachs than their future and the future of their children, had as its antecedent the Sarumi Sandwich.

Ekiti Governor-elect Ayo Fayose emerges from the foregoing as a serious student of the political sociology of Nigeria. He had entered the 2003 governorship race with

HARDBALL

O

KAY, Hardball is quite aware that the term 3 rd World has long been banished, especially as it concerns Africa. But a village wag used to say that you can only rename your goat, you cannot help the fact of its goatness. You may take umbrage about African countries being labelled in derogatory terms what is to be done if we cannot help acting in self-deprecating and even disgraceful ways?

We simply refer here to the attitude and behaviours of teams and football officials at the ongoing world football fiesta in Brazil. Information oozing out of the camps of most of the five African nations at the tournament has been less than savoury, to say the least. Apart from Team Algeria, the others, including Cote D’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria are all encumbered with one money row or the other. This, of course, has hampered the performance, of African teams in the competition apart from the odium it brings upon the continent.

Most notable is the Ghana cash haul affair. The world had four years to prepare for this great football show. Even the host nation built numerous new,

World Cup: Way of the (3rd) world? state-of-the-art stadia among other massive infrastructure provisions in the build-up to hosting the world. But for Ghana, it seems the mundial caught up with her by surprise, though it had qualified for the competition several months ago. Why do we assert thus, you might ask? It’s because the whole world is still laughing over the ribald transAtlantic cash haul ordered by the Ghanaian president last Monday to unlock a most embarrassing deadlock between the country’s players and her football officials.

According to a BBC report, the World Cup qualifying bonuses, which ought to have been paid to the team months ago, were not paid. Now, the players boycotted training early last week, threatening not to file out for their last group match against Portugal last Thursday. The looming crisis and attendant shame pushed Ghana’s president to charter a plane, load it with over $3

WAHEED ODUSILE

virtually no political assets – certainly no name recognition, and no godfathers. But he had somehow edged out an incumbent who had all the right assets, even if not a sterling performance record.

True, Fayose had pulled it off with help from a sitting president desperate to show that he was not without significant following in his geographical home base and an Arch-Fixer, whose specialty is turning victory into defeat and defeat into victory.

But he also catered, even if indirectly, to the infrastructure of the stomach. In parts of the state where water was scarce, he sent in tankers to distribute the precious commodity free. He also supplied free kerosene at a time when its price had risen beyond what ordinary consumers could afford.

In his latest outing, his approach was more sharply targeted, less nuanced.

You showed up at his campaign headquarters, and were rewarded with 2.5kg parcel of parboiled long-grain rice in a package bearing his portrait and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) umbrella, plus cash that, by some accounts, ranged from N2, 500 to just N500.

But there was a catch. You had to present a current Voter Card, probably as an indication at the very least, of an intention to vote, though not necessarily for him.

He was not prepared to waste the provisions bounteously furnished by Abuja on people who were not in a position to deliver even if they had the best will in the world.

That was exactly what those starving polytechnic students discovered when they stormed Fayose’s campaign headquarters in expectation of free rice and some pocket change. No current voter card, no free rice and no free money.

It does not follow, I should add, that his sweeping election victory resulted directly from the freebies. You could still obtain the freebies and vote against him or abstain from voting. You could obtain and still exercise your democratic franchise freely.

Perhaps that was why Prof. Attahiru Jega’s INEC had no problem with that approach.

Say it for Ayo Fayose, that a person credited with few intellectual skills, is singlehandedly rewriting the theory and practice of electioneering in Nigeria, and perhaps globally.

•For comments, send SMS to 08111813080

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above million in cash and had it flown direct to Brazil. Presidential officials noted that the cash was borrowed in lieu of FIFA’s prize money pay-out after the tournament. Whoever hauls cash like this anymore in this age? The president’s cash did not save the Ghanaian team; it crashed out.

Players’ fee crisis also brewed in Nigeria’s Super Eagles’ camp through last weekend, even though officials denied it. Nigeria’s team that qualified for the round of 16 is said to have refused to turn out for training late last week because of appearance fees palaver. Nigeria’s president too had to fly emergency cash to Brazil. Will this save the team against an organised and psychologically stable France?

So would we be unreasonable if we insist that this can only happen in a 3 rd World country? Would the American, English or even Iranian teams get into this kind of mess? These vexatious players’ fee brouhaha that continuously plague African countries, are they not simple administrative routines that ought to have been carefully documented before any tournament and strictly adhered to like other nations?

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