The Nation June 04, 2012

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

NMA directs doctors to resume work

Suicide bomber kills 15 in Bauchi churches •42 injured in attack on Winners, Harvest Field NEWS

Page 9

—Page 8

www.thenationonlineng.net

VOL. 7, NO. 2146 MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

Levi Ajuonuma, Gen., 151 others die in plane crash Aikhomu’s son, family of five among victims Jonathan declares three days of mourning

•The late Ajuonuma

•The scene of the crash...yesterday

MORE PHOTOGRAPHS AND STORIES ON PAGES 2-5

‘ •The late Aikhomu

I saw people...running around. And then I heard a loud explosion and a huge smoke. The whole place was covered in huge smoke.

Then there was another explosion. I heard about five explosions

’

THE DEAD •Otaru Saka •Anjola Fatokun •Olaoluwa Fatokun •Ibukun Fatokun •Ugabio Oyosoro •Rajulie Oyosoro •Adenike Ajani •Aimanehi Onemolease •Eyinojuoluwa Davidkolawole •Fortune Davidkolawole •Obiola Ikpoki •Abraham Adijolola •Iniobong Asuquo •Udoh Patience Sunday •Chinero Okafor •Antonia Attuh •Oluwadamilare Adeleke •Jennifer Onita •Josephine Onita •Jones Ifekawa •Kim Norris •Roger Aouade •Olusanmi Awodogan •Adedunni Doherty •Temitope Ariyibi •Chinwe Dike •Chukwuezugo Dike •Shutao Zhai •Idris bugaje Amina •Maikudi Bukhari •Huizhu Li •Yu Wang •Yi Kang •Emmanuel Obot •Farida Kaikai •Ibrahim Nagidi •Oluwakemi Somolu •Onyeyiri Oluchi •Myindadi Berkisu •Anyene Onyeka •Njoku Ogechi •Anyene Maimuna •Anyene Kamsiyonna •Anyene Kayimarachi •Anyene Noah •Anyene Kayinetochi •Ibrahm Yusuf •Bassey Eyo •Charles Ntuko •Tosin Anibaba •Femi Shobowale •Christopher Okocha •Falmata Mohammed •Adebiyi Adekunbi •Nosike Peter •Sonny Ehioghae •Chinwe Obi •Memuna Shaibu Continued on page 4

•NEWS EXTRA P18 •POLITICS P43 •SPORTS P23 •MOTORING P45 •CEO P32

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

2

NEWS DANA AIR PLANE CRASH

I warned Dana, says Akpabio

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KWA Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio yesterday said he recently warned the Managing Director of Dana Air on the need to ensure its aircraft are air-worthy.

The governor, according to a statement by his Commissioner for Information, Mr. Aniekan Umanah, advised Dana’s management in a recent telephone chat not to endanger the lives of Nigerians.

The governor’s warning came on the heels of an averted air disaster involving Dana aircraft en-route Lagos from Uyo, which had technical problems that forced the aircraft to hover for hours before finally making it to Lagos.

Akpabio bemoaned the disaster and described it as a national calamity that calls for more stringent safety measures in the aviation sector.

He said regulatory agencies should ensure that airline operators adhere strictly to global aviation operational standards.

The governor, who called on airline operators in the country not to experiment with the people’s lives, maintained that similar situations had caused serial air disasters in the past thereby resulting in massive loss of lives and the extinction of affected airlines.

Mark, Tambuwal, governors: it’s a national tragedy

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ROMINENT Nigerians yesterday mourned the victims of the Dana Air crash.

Senate President David Mark lamented the double plane crash involving Nigeria cargo plane in Accra, Ghana and Dana Airline in Lagos, Nigeria.

Mark, in a statement by his media aide, Kola Ologbondiyan in Abuja, said: “I feel so sad and heartbroken hearing the news of this ugly incident.

“It is quite unfortunate and disheartening. We mourn the loss of lives and prayed God to put a stop to every form of evil in our land.”

“The Senate will definitely investigate the cause of this ugly incident to checkmate any future occurrence.”

Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal said he received the news with shock and sadness.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, Tambuwal condoled with the families of the victims and prayed to God to grant them eternal rest.

He said the unfortunate incidence came at a time Nigeria made giant strides in the area of aviation safety.

According to him, this is a one off incidence that should not deter Nigerians from travelling by air.

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) condoled with the families of victims.

Fashola, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Hakeem Bello, expressed shock at the incident.

The governor said: "It is unfortunate that your expectations to welcome and embrace your loved ones after their journey could be cut short so abruptly and in such unexpected manner. There is no gainsaying the experience could be traumatic."

Osun State Governor Rauf Aresgbesola described the crash as another sad day in the history of the country's aviation.

From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

Aregbesola, in a statement, said the crash coming barely after another cargo plane from Nigeria crashed in Ghana called for serious concern.

The governor, while commiserating with the entire Nigerians, said the tragedy called for a serious overhaul of the aviation sector.

He said: "It is another sad day in the history of Nigeria's aviation sector. The crash in the Iju area of Lagos today should remind us of the urgent need for a total overhaul of that sector.

"Our hearts go out to the families of those who have died in this crash.

May the Almighty God give them the strength to bear these irreparable losses."

Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole described the crash as a great loss to the nation.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Peter Okhiria, the governor said: “I wish to convey the deepest condolence of the people and Government of Edo State as well as my personal commiseration to the families of the victims. The death of the victims is not only a sad loss to their families but also a great loss to the nation.”

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, in a statement, said: “The entire members of our Party share in the grief, the pain and the anguish of the families of those who have lost their loved ones, their confidants, their sisters and brothers; their fathers and mothers; breadwinners and employers; and all those who are affected by this national calamity.”

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu expressed shock over the crash.

He said: “We must therefore work together as a nation to get to the root of the mishap, strengthen air safety, and arrest any form of relapse in this critical sector.”

It’s Black Sunday, says Atiku From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

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ORMER Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described yesterday as Black Sunday because of the Dana Air plane crash in Lagos and the bombings in Bauchi.

In a statement by his media office, Abubakar condoled with the families of the deceased in the plane crash, those of the Bauchi suicide bombings and the earlier crash involving a Nigerian cargo plane in Accra, Ghana on Saturday.

He said it’s unimaginable that the country could be visited with these tragedies that have left many families bruised and broken. He conveyed his condolences to the people and government of Nigeria over the deaths from the tragedies.

Atiku charged rescue and emergency services personnel to ensure that everything is done to save the lives of those who needed to be saved while urging all well meaning Nigerians to rally round the families of all those who may have been affected by the tragedies.

According to him, it is “our collective duty as Nigerians to help the affected families deal with their losses.”

He called for immediate commencement of investigation to get to the root cause of the air crash.

•An injured military man being attended to by emergency officials... yesterday

•The burnt engine of the ill-fated plane

About MD-82: the ill-fated aircraft

T

HE MD-82 was first announced on April 16, 1979, a new of the MD-80 variant dimensionally similar to the MD-81 but equipped with more powerful engines. The MD-82 was intended for operation from ‘hot and high’ airports but also offered greater payload/range when in use at ‘standard’ airfields. American Airlines is the world’s largest operator of the MD-82, with at one point over 300 MD-82s in the fleet, but the number now stands around 200.

Originally certificated with 20,000 lbf (89 kN) thrust JT8D-217s, a -217A powered MD-82 was certificated in mid-1982 and became available in Autumn 1982. The new version featured a higher MTOW (149,500 lb), while the JT8D-217As had a

guaranteed take-off thrust at temperature of up to 29 degrees C or 5,000 ft altitude. The JT8D-217C engines were also offered on the MD-82 giving improved sfc. Several operators have taken delivery of the -219-powered MD-82s, while Balair ordered its MD-82s powered by the lower thrust -209 engine.

Its first flight was on January 8, 1981. It got FAA certification on July 29, 1981. Its first delivery was on August 5, 1981 to Republic Airlines.

Last delivery was on November 17, 1997 to U-Land Airlines of Taiwan.

The MD-82 was assembled under licence in Shanghai by the Shanghai Aviation Industrial Corporation (SAIC) since November 1986; the sub-assemblies were delivered by McDonnell Douglas in kit form.

The popular MD-80 series is a stretched and improved development of the McDonnell Douglas DC-9.

The origins of the MD-80 lie in 1975 testing where a standard DC-9 was fitted with improved, more efficient, higher bypass ratio JT8D200 series turbofans. MDC originally proposed fitting the new engines (which meet Stage 3 noise limits) to a development designated the DC-9-55, which would have featured two JT8D-209s and a 3.86m (12ft 8in) stretched fuselage over the 50.

Instead MDC developed the DC9 Super 80 (or DC-9-80), combining the new engines with a further stretched fuselage, increased span wing and other improvements.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

3

NEWS DANA AIR PLANE CRASH

Timeline of air crashes

•An injured man at the scene of the crash

•Two men mounting a tank to get water to put out the fire caused by the crash...yesterday

•Ruins caused by the crash

PHOTOS: ISAAC AYODELE

What Dana Air says of itself

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ANA Airlines Limited (Dana Air) is a member of Dana Group of Companies Plc. The airline began commercial flight operations on Monday, November 10, 2008 and has grown to become one of Nigeria’s leading airlines, operating daily flights to Abuja, Calabar, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Uyo. The Dana Air fleet currently consists of Boeing MD83 aircrafts which have a higher number of passenger seats and a larger cargo capacity than currently available in the country. The airline offers a two class service with 12 seats in its dedicated ‘Smart Class’ business cabin and 128 seats in its spacious ‘Traveller Class’ economy cabin.

Dana Air places a high premium

on safety. The airline adheres strictly to the maintenance schedule for all aircrafts in its fleet, as prescribed by the manufacturers and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. More detailed and scheduled checks of the Boeing MD83 aircrafts are, however, carried out at aircrafts maintenance facilities overseas.

Dana Air’s most prized asset is her staff. Led by Jacky Hathiramani, Chief Executive Officer,the Dana Air staff are highly motivated to deliver excellent service to all guests of the airline. Every cadre of staff participates in regular training programmes and update courses to ensure quality at all levels of operation.

Recipient of several local and international awards for aviation

service excellence,the airline is reputed for its efficient customer services,world-class in-flight services, on-time departures and arrivals,innovative e-airline products and high safety and quality standards. Its operations base is at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 (MMA2) Lagos.

Dana Air’s vision is “To be recognised and respected as Nigeria’s most reliable and customer-friendly airline”, and her mission is “To earn the loyalty and respect of our customers by consistently demonstrating our commitment to service, and providing affordable regional air transport services that focus on innovation, quality and service excellence.”

•November 20, 1969: Nigeria Airways BAC VC10 crashes on landing killing 87 on board.

• January 22, 1973: Royal Jordanian Airlines flight 707 carrying 171 Nigerian Muslims returning from Mecca and 5 crewmen died in crash in Kano, Nigeria.

•March 1, 1978: Nigeria Airways F28-1000 crashes in Kano killing 16.

•November 28, 1983: Nigeria Airways F28-1000 crashes on approach in Enugu killing 53 on board.

•December 1988: Skypower Brandeironte aircraft overshot Ilorin Airport runway All the passengers died.

•26 Jun 1991; Okada Air BAC-111; Sokoto, Nigeria: Fuel starvation during holding pattern over Sokoto due to heavy rain. Flight from Benin City diverted from Kano due to heavey rain. None of the three-crew members and three of the 52 passengers sustained fatal injuries.

•February 24, 1991: British Helicopter crashed in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, killing all nine people on board.

• May 21, 1991: A Cessna Citation 550 of Ashaka Cement, Hombe, crashed, killing all on board.

• June 26, 1991: An Okada Air Bac-11 crashed in Sokoto, three people died.

• July 11, 1991: Nigeria Airways DC-8-61 crashes in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from system failure killing 261 on board.

• September 26, 1992: Nigerian Air Force A C-130 plane crashes minutes after take-off from Lagos. All 200 on board killed.

•June 24, 1995: Harka Air Services Tupolev 34 crashes on landing in Lagos killing 16.

• November 13, 1995: Nigeria Airways Boeing 737-2F9 crashes on landing in Kaduna killing 9.

• January 17, 1996: Ibrahim Abacha, son of Sani Abacha, was killed in a plane crash. The group “United Front for Nigeria’s Liberation” (UFNL) claimed responsibility for the crash.

•November 7, 1996: A Nigerian ADC (Aviation Development Corporation) Airline Boeing 727-231 flying from Port Harcourt to Lagos with 142 passengers and 9 crew members crashed on landing, plunging into a lagoon with all on board killed.

•January 31, 1997: SkyPower Express Airways Embraer 110PIA crashes on landing in Yola killing 5.

• September 12, 1997: A NAF Dornier 228-212 in Nguru, Bornu State ran into a ditch during the take off, none of the 10 people died.

• January 5, 2000: SkyPower Express Airways Bandeirante 110P1A crashes on landing in Abuja killing 17.

•October 26, 2000: Dornier aircraft plunged into a thick bush near the Niger Delta, 6 occupants injured.

• May 4, 2002: EAS Airlines’ BAC 1-11-500 with 105 people on board crashed and burst into flames in a poor, densely populated suburb of Kano.

76 on board killed, including 72 on the ground bringing it to a total 148 dead.

• November 30, 2003, a Cargo aircraft of Hydro Cargo, Brussels, Belgium, crash landed.

• March 6, 2004: An aenail spray aircraft with registration number 5NBEF belonging to Berfieex Nigeria Ltd, crashed at the Bauchi Airport.

• July 26, 2004: Pan African Airlines’ helicopter crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in Eacraros, Delta State, 4 people on board died.

• December 29, 2004: A Boeing 727 of Chanchangi Airlines belly- landed at the MMA. •December 29, 2004: A Kenya Airlines aircraft crashed- landed at the MMA due to gear fault.

• January 28, 2005: A Nigeria Air Force fighter plane crashed into a farmland in Yar Kanya, Kano State.

• February 25, 2005: ADC’s B73 aircraft had its tyre burnt while landing at Yola airport.

• March 27, 2005: A Boeing 737 of Bellview had one of its engines caught fire.

• June 11/12, 2005: Lagos: a Boeing 727-200 aircraft belonging to the domestic Chachangi Airlines overshot the runway at Murtala Muhammed airport, while yet another overshot the runway at the airport in Jos in central Nigeria a day earlier • June 24, 2005: A Russian aircraft belonging to Harka Air crash- landed at the MMA, all the people on board died • July 6, 2005, Port Harcourt: an Air France A330 plane crashed into a herd of cattle at Port Harcourt airport sustaining serious damage and killing many of the cows. The airport had no perimeter fence and herdsmen usually take their cattle across the tarmac, sometimes abandoning them there.

• July 23, 2005, a Lufthansa aircraft crash-landed at Lagos airport and was badly damaged, but no life was lost.

• October 22, 2005: A Bellview Airlines Boeing 737 airl iner with 117 people on board crashes and disintegrates in flames shortly after take-off from Lagos. All on board killed.

• December 10, 2005: A Sosoliso Airlines DC-9 crashes in Port Harcourt, killing all 103 on board. Most on board were for schoolchildren going home for Christmas.

• September 17, 2006: A 18-seater Dornier 228 Air Force transport plane, carrying 15 senior army officers and three crew members crashed leaving only three survivors that sustained serious injuries. The plane with registration number 228-212 crashed in northern part of the country at Oko village in Vandeikya local government area of Benue State at about 10:30 a.m.

• October 29, 2006: Aviation Development Corporation Airline Boeing 737 with 104 on board crashes minutes after take-off from Abuja’s airport during a rain storm. All but 6 perished in the disaster. The spiritual leader of Nigeria’s Sunni Muslims, His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido was among the dead.

• November 10, 2006: OAS Service Helicopter crashed in Warri, Delta state killing 4 on board.

• August 2, 2007: Bristow-owned helicopter crashed inside ExxonMobil facility in Port Harcout.

• March 15, 2008: Beechcraft 1900D plane marked 5N-JAH, belonging to Wing Aviation crashed in the mountainous forest of Busi in Cross River State on its way to Obudu airstrip. The wreakage was not found until 6 months after the disappearance of the aircraft. All 4 man crew on board died.

•March 14, 2012: A Helicopter belonging to the Joint Task Force (JTF) crashes in Kabong, Jos, killing all members onboard including 4 senior Police officers.

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THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

NEWS DANA AIR PLANE CRASH THE DEAD

•Some of the relatives of the passengers making enquries at Dana Air’s office in Abuja...yesterday PHOTOS: AKIN OLADOKUN

•A relative of a passenger at the airline’s office in Abuja...yesterday

Together...even in death

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•A relative of a passenger crying at the airline’s office in Abuja...yesterday

FAMILY of five died in the air crash. The Anyene family lost Mr Onyeka Anyene, Mrs Maimuna Anyene and their children - one child and two infants – Kayinetochi, Kayimara and Kamsiyonna.

According to the manifest of the flight released last night, there were at least nine other families who lost two members each in the crash.

These are Ojugbana Amaka and Ojugbana Christopher; Echandu Ibe and Jenifer Ibe; Rajuli Oyosoro and Ugbabio Oyosoro; P. Awani and O. Awani;Chidinma Onyeagache and Ogechi Onyeagache.

The rest are Omonogho Akinsanya and Moyo Akinsanya, Ibukun Fatokun and Ola Oluwa Fatokun; Garba Abdul and Aisha Abdul and Yusuf Ali and Yusuf Ibrahim.

There were no fewer than three foreigners - Wang Yu, Li Rui and Xie Zhenfeng Also among the dead were Mrs Tosin Anibaba, daughter of Senator Dipo Odujinrin, a prominent politician from Ogun State and Ms Oluwakemi Somolu, daughter of former Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) chief Foluseke Somolu, an engineer.

Also dead are former Super Permanent Secretary in the 1970s, Alhaji Ibrahim Damcida and a retired Inspector General of Police Mr. •A relative of a passenger at the John Ahmadu.

airline’s office in Abuja...yesterday

Levi Ajuonuma, Gen, 151 others die in plane crash

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HARRED human bodies, scattered metal pieces, burnt personal belongings and documents.

That was all that remained of a Dana Air plane that crashed yesterday in Iju-Ishaga on the outskirts of Lagos.

The McDonnel Douglas (MD) 82 aircraft coming from Abuja rammed into buildings, about two minutes to “emergency” landing at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, killing all the 153 persons on board.

The dead include Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) spokesman Levi Ajuonuma, Ehime Aikhomu, first son of the late Admiral Augustus Aikhomu and former Super Permanent Secretary Ibrahim Damcida.

There were also three military officers – a General, a Lt. Col. And a Major.

Besides, the figure of casualties on the ground could not be ascertained as at press time last night.

Flight 0992, which came down around 3:45pm, crashed into a warehouse and a storey building on Tolulope Street, off Popoola Street, Iju Ishaga, Ifako-Ijaye Local Government Area.

The aircraft was reported to have hovered in the air before eventually crashing into a mango tree, killing a cow instantly. It then crashed into a residential building adjoining a warehouse, bursting into flames a few minutes later. At least, three buildings were set on fire.

An eye witness said the loud bang of the fallen aircraft drew residents’ attention. Many ran for dear lives, some scamper-

How the crash happened, by Minister

M

INISTER of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah yesterday said the Federal Government will institute an investigation into the cause of the crash. She said rescue were ongoing to unravel the cause of the crash.

The minister who spoke at a news conference at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) headquarters said: “Today( Sunday , June 3, 2012), at 3.43 pm local time , DANA Air flight 0992 from Abuja to Lagos declared an emergency with the Lagos Control From Yusuf Ali, Abuja, Kelvin Osa-Okunbor, Jude Isiguzo Eric Ikhilae, Yinka Aderibigbe, Precious Igbonwelundu and Damilola Owoyele

ing to pick their belongings.

A lawyer, Mr. Wole Jones, said: “I was on top of my house when I saw the plane coming very low. The plane crashed at exactly 3:38pm when it rammed into a two-storey building.”

Before eventually falling on the two-storey building, it destroyed the roof of a bakery on Sadiq Close, off Olaore Street, Power Line.

An eye witness, Pastor Patrick Akingbe of Mispem Bible Church, a bungalow located on 7 Popoola Street, said: “I just retired home.

There was no one left in the church. I suddenly heard something fell on our roof. I raced out.And saw people, including children, running around. And then I heard a loud explosion and a huge smoke. The whole place was covered in huge smoke. Then there was another explosion.

I heard about five explosions.”

Tower at eleven nautical miles to Murtala Muhammed Airport( MMA).

“A minute later, the aircraft disappeared from the air traffic control radar. The flight was found to have crashed into a residential building at Iju area of Agege with 153 people on board. The police, National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA), rescue teams from the airport, Lagos State , Ogun State and other agencies were at the crash site within minutes, At this time, no survivor have been found.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the

Also affected were two other buildings, a three-storey building on 4, Olaniyi Street, a bungalow, which was levelled and an abandoned warehouse earlier occupied by a church, End Time Chapel Ministries.

A woman, whose name was not ascertained, was held by security personnel as she rushed towards her burning home. She was said to have left her new born baby with her parents to go and fix her hair before the crash. Neither her parents nor baby could be located.

Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) Managing Director Dr. Olufemi Osanyintolu said the plane crashed about 3:40pm.

Three houses were affected.

“It landed on a two-storey building and reduced it to rubble. The number of casualties not yet ascertained.

“The plane landed on house number 9, Popoola Street, off Akande/Tolulope Streer, Toyin Bus Stop, IjuIshaga, Agege. Other affected buildings are 2 and 4 Olaniyi

families of the passengers and the people on the ground who lost their lives in this tragedy.

“The Federal Government will ensure that this incident is thoroughly investigated to determine the exact cause of the accident in order to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.”

“Recall that a Nigeria registered cargo aircraft belonging to Allied Air crashed in Accra, Ghana on Saturday killing ten people in a mini bus near a hotel and Ghana Ministry of Defense near the Kotoka International Airport.

Street.”

He said four bodies had been retrieved from 4, Olaniyi Street, a green twostorey building.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared three days of mourning for the victims.

He also cancelled all his engagements for today and directed that flags be flown at half mast during the mourning period.

According to a statement by presidential spokesman Dr. Reuben Abati, Dr. Jonathan directed Minister of Aviation Stella Oduah to leave for Lagos to oversee the crash investigations and present an interim report to the Federal Government as quickly as possible.

“The President joins all Nigerians in mourning all those who lost their lives in the plane crash, which has sadly plunged the nation into further sorrow on a day when Nigerians were already in grief over the loss of many other innocent lives in the church bombing in Bauchi State.

“President Jonathan assures air travellers in the country that every possible effort will be made to ensure that the right lessons are learnt from the tragic loss of valuable lives in today’s plane crash and that further measures will be put in place to boost aviation safety in the country.

“He prays that God Almighty will grant the families of the victims of the plane crash the courage and fortitude to bear their irreparable loss.”

About 5.00 pm when The Nation arrived at the scene of the crash, hundreds of sympathisers had blocked the roads leading to the crash site, making it difficult for rescue equipment and officials to reach the scene.

At about 6.00 pm, three helicopters hovered in the sky. A Nigeria Navy helicopter landed on one of the buildings to bring in rescue materials.

As hundreds of sympathisers thronged the crash scene, some of them picked up parts of the aircraft, as they struggled with fire fighting officials to put out the raging smoke.

•Mahmud Dukawa •Ehime Aikhomu •Abiodun Oluwasegunfunmi •Abiodun Jonathan •Arokoyu Olusola •Ayoola Adekola •Obianuju Erokwu •Ochigbo Lt Col chumbo •Ali Yusuf •Jangana Ibrahim •Nwaokoagbara Anthony •Eventus Mbong •Banji Olukoya •Adamu Bamaiyi •Tatoru Abikalio •Wale Eribake •Aliyu Mahmud •Lamidi Taiwo •Chukwu-Buka Philip •Oluwayomi Benson •Okara Anthony •Hadiza Otegbeye •Okere Chukwuemeka •Olugbenga Komolafe •Amaka Ojugbana •Christopher Ojugbana •Olumide Coker •WalterHunna •Istifanus Mutihir •Istifanus Mutihir •Garba Nabila •Garba Nabila •John Nnadi •Abdu Garba •Aisha Abdu •Godwin Apochi •Las Lilian •Chimdinma Onyeagocha •Ogechi Onyegocha •Celestine Onwuliri •Garba Nabil •Raphael Nmiaka •Sam Shaibu •Abubakar Kaltum •Priscilla Eleje •Ruth Wasa •Awyetu Wasa •Jonathan Ekeledo •Ahmadu John •Moyosore Akisanya •Eseoghene Okor •Omonigho Akisanya •Onyijuke Ijeoma •Saad usman Shehu •Abugu Ike •Eke Mecha •Eseoghene Okor •Allison Joy •Ochonogor Ike •Moyo Akinsanya •Omonigho Akinsanya •Tunji Oloko •Lawal Anakobe •U. Anakobe Lawal •Alvana Ojukwu •Okwulehie Maria •Ibe Echeidu •Ibe Jennifer •Umar Maj gen tahir •Olumodeji Akinola •Tibiebiowei Zuofa •Priscilla Yinusa •Lawal hurriya •Elizabeth Akwaeze •Patrick Okonji •Olukayode Okikiolu •Aderoju Osunbade

The man Ajuonuma

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EVI Ajuonuma ran a programme –The Sunday Show-on the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).

He joined the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as Group General Manager, Public Affairs, the position he held until his death.

Major General Tahir Umar was the Chairman, Emergency Plan Implementation Committee of the Defence Headquarters, Abuja.

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

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THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

NEWS DANA AIR PLANE CRASH

‘I saw my brother in pieces’

By Olatunji OLOLADE, Assistant Editor

A

SHADOW fell on House Number 41, Akande Street, off Popoola Street, just as the residents savoured the rest of their Sunday evening.

Time was 3.30 pm and Abayomi Adeolu, 22, had gone out to fetch water but he would scurry back to meet death and devastation.

A solitary shriek, the rumbling cry of some towering force from the sky plummeted into the two-storey building he shared with Bolaji, his brother. It was the noise of a Dana Passenger Airplane. The plane with 153 passengers on board sank into the building with a deadly groan, crashing into two other bungalows as it did. But unlike many residents and survivors who scampered away from the scene, Adeolu tossed off his bucket and sprinted up to the second floor.

By the time he got to what used to be their apartment, he met the bodies of his brother and two girls from a neighbouring flat. “I saw my brother in pieces. He was dead. He was totally dead. I only went out to fetch water…but I came back to meet him dead. I have no one now.”

Adeolu wasn’t the only casualty of the ill-fated crash that turned three houses in Iju-Ishaga, a suburb of Lagos into a graveyard of rubble and residents.

Efforts to rescue victims of the crash were hampered by the presence of a huge crowd of urchins and spectators. Inacces-

•One of the wings of the aircraft at the scene of horror...yesterday

•Adeolu...yesterday

sibility of the crash area also made it difficult for rescue teams, which included the Police, Red Cross, Army, FRSC, Nigeria Air Force and Fire Service to get to the crash site. The General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Femi Osanyintolu, said the building on which the plane landed must be collapsed for any rescue operation to take place.

He also said they had to be cautious in collapsing the building because of the location of the site of the crash in a residential area.

While officers of the fire service and the police struggled to put out the fire, many of the spectators ignored the raging inferno at the scene to take pictures of the wreck with their camera phones.

•Some rescue workers lifting a water pipe to put off the fire

•A military helicopter on surveillance

•One of the affected buildings

•A crowd of sympathisers...yesterday

•Another affected building

PHOTOS: OMOSEHIN MOSES, ISAAC AYODELE, BOLA OMILABU AND ADEJO DAVID

6

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

NEWS Revenue board hailed on N29b debt recovery plan

NCC allays Reps’ fear on N6.1b SIM card registration budget

From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Warri

A NON-GOVERNMENTAL organisation (NGO), Transparent Leadership lnitiative (TLI), at the weekend hailed the Executive Chairman, Delta State Board of Internal Revenue (DBIR), Mr JoelOnowakpo Thomas, on the board’s move to engage the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to recover over N29billion some companies are owing the state.

In a statement by its National President, Comrade Efe Idudu, and the National Secretary, Comrade Mathew Okafor, the group said it is interested in seeing that the board carries out its operation to the fullest.

It declared its support for the revenue board to recover all the money owed the state government.

Ajibola hails NJI From Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja

A FORMER Judge of International Court of Justice (ICJ), Prince Bola Ajibola, has praised the National Judicial Institute (NJI) for improving the capacity of Judicial officers.

In a letter, Ajibola described the NJI Administrator, Justice Umaru Eri, as a prudent manager of resources and personnel.

A statement by NJI’s Head of Information Unit, Madu Emezie, said Ajibola expressed happiness about the physical structure and human capacity building the NJI has achieved under Eri. He urged public officers to emulate the NJI Administrator in performing their constitutional assignments.

Ajibola said: “I admire your efforts and we in the profession - judicial and legal are proud of your achievements. We have series of problems in our dear country at the moment and they are innumerable. But the salient ones are corruption, disrespect for the rule of law, reckless misappropriation of funds and utter disregard of performance of performance of any given assignment with impunity. Many of these problems bother on lawlessness, recklessness as if there is no one to correct any of these situations by way of sanctions.”

FRSC advises motorists THE Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has urged motorists to display good driving culture and be mentally alert on the road.

The Otta, Ogun State Unit Commander of the commission, Mr. Kolawole Salami, spoke at the weekend during a public enlightenment campaign organised with Shell Gas Nigeria Limited.

He said the topic of this year’s campaign is: Truck drivers and the road.

According to him, the campaign was organised because of the frequent accidents involving heavy duty vehicles on Ado-Odo/ Ota roads.

The representative of Shell Gas Nigeria Limited, Mr. Celestine Omimi, said: “Some of the drivers are under-aged.

They don’t pass through the normal process of learning driving. They don’t know the traffic rules and regulations.”

From Dele Anofi, Abuja

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• Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu (right) speaking with a patient after the inauguration of the Kidney Dialysis Centre at the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) Specialist Hospital, Minna...at the weekend

Tinubu’s wife to Fed Govt: declare June 12 public holiday A S many Nigerians mark the 16th anniversary of the assassination of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola today, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has urged the Federal Government to immortalise the late Amazon and her husband, Chief MKO Abiola, for their struggle for the restoration of democracy in Nigeria.

She said: “Thirteen years into civil democracy, there is no better time for Nigeria’s current leaders to immortalise selfless fighters, like Alhaja Abiola and her husband, Chief Moshood Abiola, whose struggles gave birth to the democracy that we all now enjoy. I call upon the government, even though belated, to name a special day after late Chief MKO Abiola and Alhaji Kudirat Abiola or approve a national commemoration of the June 12 democratic struggle.”

In a statement yesterday in Lagos, the senator expressed sadness over the gruesome murder of Alhaja Abiola on June 4, 1996.

She noted that immortalising her would be the right thing to do now.

Mrs Tinubu said: “Exactly 16 years ago, at the behest of anti-

•Calls for immortalisation of Kudirat Abiola

democratic forces that still seek to perpetuate their hold on Nigeria, Alhaja Abiola was felled, in cold blood, by assassins’ bullets. On that day, Alhaja Abiola, a mother, a committed housewife and an exemplary patriot, who had become a potent force in the campaign for social change, was martyred for her unwavering commitment to the cause of democracy.

“That is why today, as always, many continue to recall with clarity, her ardent commitment to her husband, the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola and the cause of justice, democracy and the rule of law.

“Like her husband, Chief Abiola, she made her mark in history, making the supreme sacrifice for the cause of justice and democracy in Nigeria.

Though martyred, Alhaja Abiola, her husband and other Nigerians, who risked all and stood firm on the right side of history, will forever be remembered for planting the seeds of progressive politics that many of us will continue to identify

with.”

The wife of former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, recalled the deprivations her family and millions of others Nigerians went through during the campaign for the actualisation of June 12.

Mrs Tinubu said: “For my family, the ferment across the nation during the defining moment of Alhaja Abiola’s energetic and vibrant defiance of military dictatorship and arbitrary use of coercive power remain evergreen. My dear husband’s uncompromising loyalty to Chief Abiola’s cause and the June 12 mandate made us prime targets too. But despite the aggressive hounding, selfexile and unforeseen disruption of our family life, we comparatively got off very lightly.

“For standing by the cause of truth, many were unjustifiably jailed, tortured, robbed of their means of economic survival and many more faced other forms of deprivation. The mass suffering unleashed on millions of Nigerians by two callous mili-

tary regimes of the same hue, along with the globally condemned incarceration of her husband brought out the fiery activism in Alhaja Kudirat.

“She became a major voice in the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). Following the unjustifiable annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election and the incarceration of her husband in 1994, Alhaja Abiola defied danger and rallied Nigerians against the barefaced violation of the people’s fundamental right to elect a government of their choice.

“For instance, she actively mobilised support for starting and sustaining the 12-week oil workers’ strike that temporarily paralysed the military regime.

In December 1995, she defied the intimidating guns of military personnel by joining the likes of Chief Anthony Enahoro, Pa Adekunle Ajasin, Pa Alfred Rewane, Baba Abraham Adesanya, Chief Bola Ige, Senator Bola Tinubu and others, who led Nigerians on a freedom

16,000 Ekiti teachers for assessment test today

•Monarchs urge teachers to embrace exercise

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BOUT 16,000 teachers in primary and secondary schools in Ekiti State will today take the Teachers’ Development Needs Assessment (TDNA) test.

The test is to enhance the capacity of the teachers and improve their performance.

This followed the decision of the government to conmduct the assessment, despite the threats by some teachers to boycott the exercise and go on strike.

The assessment, the government said, would hold in 39 designated centres in the 16 lo-

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

cal government areas.

The government said the assessment is neither a “promotion examination” nor aimed at sacking teachers who perform poorly.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Yinka Oyebode, said Governor Kayode Fayemi has reassured the teachers that the assessment is not designed to sack anyone.

The statement reads: “The assessment is geared towards enhancing the capacity of the

•Teachers plan strike

teachers and improving students’ performance. It will also help in designing trainings for the teachers in the bid to improve the standard of education in the state.

“Adequate security arrangements have been made for those willing to participate in the assessment in all the designated centres, while other logistics have been put in place to ensure a hitch free exercise.”

The statement said as the government is not aware of any strike nor can understand the justification for such action, anyone who fails to show up

for the assessment would be deemed to have deliberately opted out in defiance of the government directive on the TDNA. “As far as the government is concerned, the assessment would hold. There is no strike, no industrial action was declared and no notice (usually 14 days’ notice) was given,” the statement added.

But the state’s Council of Obas as well as prominent indigenes has faulted the negative attitude of the teachers to the test.

It urged them to participate in the test.

Lawyers urge Jonathan to remove acting Appeal Court president

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RIGHTS group, Lawyers Unite Against Corruption (LUC), has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to direct the acting President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Mahmud Dalhatu, to vacate the office.

LUC Convener, Mr. Ikechukwu Ikeji, told reporters in Lagos that there is no justification for Justice Dalhatu to be reappointed acting PCA since the National Judicial Council (NJC) has reinstated substantive Appeal Court President, Justice Justice Isa Ayo Salami.

Ikeji said: “Section 238 (5) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, is very clear in pro-

By Adebisi Onanuga

viding that the President cannot reappoint a person as acting President of the Court of Appeal except on the recommendation of the of the NJC. “The NJC did not recommend the reappointment of Justice Dalhatu. It clearly reinstated Justice Salami. This is strictly within its powers to so do, under the provisions of the Third Schedule, Part 1 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. The President’s power, with regard to the Office of the President of the Court of Appeal stops at appointment and removal, not suspension or discipline.”

He noted that the present federal structure is defective and encourages lack of patriotism and corruption.

Ikeji said: “…No one feels strong allegiance to the centre, which in turn wields too much power, contrary to tenets of federalism. The centre needs unbundling.”

He called for the convocation of a sovereign national conference to strengthen the country.

The activist said what Nigeria needs now is constitutional restructuring and not a constitutional amendment.

Ikeji said: “You cannot build a house on faulty foundation and expect it to stand for long.”

HE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) at the weekend allayed fears over the implementation of the N6.1billion Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card registration budget.

It said the nation would be better for the project on completion.

Its Executive Vice Chairman, Mr. Eugene Juwah, spoke in Abuja when he appeared before the House of Representatives Sub-Committee probing the SIM card registration.

He said NCC would provide the most credible data for the registration of GSM subscribers at the end of the exercise.

The NCC chief said the commission was deploying a foolproof verification technology, adding that more than 40 per cent of the data has been “cleansed”.

The Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Communication, who is also the Chairman of the Sub-Committee probing the SIM Card Registration project, Usman Bawa, said the committee members were eager to understand the status of the project.

He said: “Nigerians are eager to know the current status of the project, not just because of the huge funds involved but also because of the issue of national security that has been the concern of all of us.

“We implore you to cooperate with us so that we can find a lasting solution to problems associated with the registration and the sale of un-registered SIM Cards on the streets Juwah said contrary to insinuations from some quarters, the amount budgeted for the project has not been misappropriated and that the contractors were paid in line with the Procurement Act. He said: “We have been cautious in the implementation of this project, especially because of the controversies that it has generated. We also have to be mindful of the objectives of the project on national security.

Senate summons PHCN chief From Onyedi Ojiabor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

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HE Senate has summoned the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDC) to appear before it tomorrow.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Steel and Metallurgy, Philip Tanimu Aduda, spoke during an inspection tour of a major electricity sub-station for the transmission of power to Yelwa, Yauri and Zuru in Kebbi State.

He said the KEDC chief needs to explain why a project awarded in 2007 is still at its primary phase.

Aduda noted that lack of supervision causes non-completion of power projects across the country.

He said this is why improved power supply has been a tall order in Nigeria.

The senator warned that the Upper Chamber would no longer tolerate the attitude of contractors who are paid but abandon or delay the completion of projects.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

7

NEWS

Jonathan, Tinubu, Atiku, others mourn Osun monarch Olashore P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Senate President David Mark and Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi have commiserated with Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola on the death of the Aloko of Iloko-Ijeshaland, Oba Oladele Olashore.

He was 77.

The late monarch, who was the managing director of First Bank of Nigeria Plc and Minister of Finance before he was crowned, was also a school proprietor.

In a statement by his media aide, Dr. Reuben Abati, the President noted that Olashore’s contributions to the banking sector and his service as a former Minister of Finance have assured him a place in Nigeria’s history.

Dr Jonathan said he would also be remembered for elevating the profile of his once humble community through personal effort and selfless service.

He prayed God to grant Oba Olashore’s soul peaceful repose.

Asiwaju Tinubu expressed pain over Oba Olashore’s death, describing it as the passage of a moderniser of no mean repute.

In a statement yesterday in Lagos, Tinubu said: “With the death of Oba Olashore, the traditional institution in our country has lost a foremost moderniser and key asset; and Nigeria has lost a committed patriot.”

The former governor noted that Oba Olashore’s life was a study in vision, excellence and service, from the private and public sectors on the national scale and at the community level, when he mounted the throne of his forefathers.

He added: “We have always called for visionary and dedicated citizens, and Oba Olashore was one of the very few,” Tinubusaid. “From banking, where he rose to be managing director of First Bank, to government, when he was Secretary (Minister) of Finance, under Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, and finally to the traditional institution, where he gave his all to his Iloko-Ijesa community and demonstrated excellent community value, Oba Olashore was a star all through.”

Condoling with Aregbesola,

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

the Ijesas and Osun residents, Asiwaju Tinubu said the late monarch was a brilliant advertisement for the traditional institution for those still doubting its relevance.

The former governor hailed the late Oba’s vision in education and his rare passion to transform his rustic community by not only setting up businesses but also attracting ventures that have transformed Iloko-Ijesa since he ascended the throne.

“He was among the most transformational traditional rulers of his age. His Olashore International School was a model in quality education; so was the resort and hotel he founded. Both not only put Iloko-Ijesa on the global map, they also added great value to the local economy,” Tinubu said.

Praying God Almighty to grant the departed monarch eternal rest, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Leader urged his subjects to take heart and be grateful, even in their grief, that the late Olashore lived a life of service and did his best for his community.

Tinubu condoled with the Oba’s family, saying their pa-

triarch has left a huge record in national and community service, which they must attempt to equal, if not surpass.

Atiku Abubakar described Olashore’s death as not only a loss to his subjects and the financial sector but also to the educational sector, where his contributions remain enviable.

A statement by his media office yesterday noted that through hard work and commitment to excellence, the late Olashore rose to become the Managing Director of First Bank Plc. Atiku added: “The late traditional ruler had set a standard that had challenged others after him to maintain or exceed them. The late Olashore never hesitated to say where he stood on every issue and was always ready to pay the price of his principles.”

Mark described the death as a “painful loss”.

In a statement in Abuja by his media aide, Kola Ologbondiyan, the Senate President said: “Oba Olasore was a Colossus; his contributions to nation-building are unparallel. He lived a life of sacrifice, a life full of passion for uplifting his kinsmen. He built a bridge of hope and unity among the Ijesa race.”

Fayemi expressed shock on the Olashore’s death.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, the governor said the late monarch served his community, his state and Nigeria to the best of his ability.

Fayemi described the late Oba Olashore as a consummate banker, an astute administrator, an erudite educationist, a shrewd investor and an altruistic traditional ruler.

He said: “The late Oba Olashore graciously accepted to leave the lure of the city to ascend the throne of his fathers in a rustic community, like Iloko, which he helped to build into a global brand, by personally investing in the community and also encouraging others to do so.

“The Olashore International School and Royal Parks Hotel are some of the immortal legacies left behind by this revered royal father who made his community a Mecca for students, tourists and people from far and near.”

The Osun State House of Assembly has commiserated with the people of the state, particularly the Iloko-Ijesha community, in Oriade Local Government Area, over Oba Olashore’s death.

A statement by Goke Butika,

the Press Secretary to Speaker Najeem Salaam said the monarch’s death was a devastating blow to Nigeria and Osun State.

The National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, described the death as a huge loss to Osun State and the nation.

In a statement yesterday by his media aide, Mr. Ayo Olaiya, the PDP secretary noted that the late monarch contributed a lot to his community and Osun State.

His death, Oyinlola said, marks the end of an era in true patriotism.

The Osun State Assembly said the nation has lost a nation-builder, whose love for his people was legendary.

Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji commiserated with Aregbesola, the people, the banking sector, Yoruba monarchs and members of the Olashore family on the death of the traditional ruler.

In a statement by his Press Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Adebayo, the Speaker said: “The sudden demise of Oba Olashore at this time of our nation’s history, when we still need his wealth of experience, is very sad and highly unfortunate indeed.”

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From Damisi Ojo, Akure

A GOVERNORSHIP aspirant on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Ondo State, Prince Soji Ehinlanwo, at the weekend decried the poverty level among the people.

The aspirant noted that with the abundant resources the state is endowed with, coupled with the huge monthly allocation from the Federation Account, as an oil producing state, the development level of the state should not have remained as low as it is.

Ehinlanwo, who is a consultant with the European Commission (EC), addressed reporters after joining the race to unseat Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

The aspirant is the son of a former senator representing Ondo Central, Hosea Ehinlanwo.

He said he shares the disappointment and frustration of majority of the residents on the alleged financial profligacy of the Mimiko administration.

Ehinlanwo said: “The people of this state have witnessed how a government, which rode upon massive popular goodwill, have eroded all of that support through financial recklessness, ineptitude and sheer inability to achieve real impact in transforming the state.

“On account of this, many indigenes are now witnessing the wide gap between what this government promised, the expectations of the citizenry and what is visible in terms of achievements.”

The aspirant promised to ensure accelerated development and change to the state, if he becomes the governor.

The past’ll continue to haunt PDP in Ekiti, says group From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

•Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi (middle); House of Assembly Speaker Adewale Omirin (second left); Deputy Speaker Adetunji Orisalade (second right) with other members of the Assembly, after a thanksgiving service on the first year anniversary of the Fourth Assembly in Ado-Ekiti...yesterday.

Court restates order voiding Southwest PDP’s zonal congress FEDERAL High Court in Lagos has restated its orders voiding the last zonal congress of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Southwest.

It warned leaders of the parties in the suit to avoid violating the orders in its ruling of April 27.

Justice Oko Efreti Abang on Friday ordered the parties in the suit brought against the national leadership of the PDP by the Dayo Soremi-led faction in Ogun State, “to ensure that the orders made by the court on April 27 remain subsisting”.

The judge warned the parties against violating the subsisting orders in the ruling on an interlocutory application by the applicants.

Justice Abang ordered the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to ensure that punitive measures are brought against anyone found to have breached the orders.

In the April 27 ruling, the court set aside the list of delegates

‘Ondo’ll be transformed’

•Stays proceedings pending outcome of PDP’s appeal

By Eric Ikhilae

sent to the party’s headquarters by the Ogun State chapter and the nullification of the nomination of Tunji Akinosi, Segun Sowunmi and Pegba Otemolu as delegates from the state’s chapter.

It gave an interim injunction restraining the PDP by its national organs – the National Working Committee, the National Executive Committee, its Southwest Zonal organs and their officials - from taking any disciplinary actions against them on the purported queries against Soremi, the Chairman of the party’s harmonized state Executive and others, including Prince Buruji Kashamu, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

The court restrained the party, its organs and officers from taking disciplinary actions against the plaintiffs and their supporters on the congresses they con-

ducted in the state pursuant to the judgment by Justice Charles Achibong on January 27.

It ordered the PDP, organs and officers to “accept, recognise and utilise the results of the congresses conducted at ward, local government and state levels of the party under the leadership of the applicants”.

The court ordered the party to accord the officers elected at the congress the recognition and facilities recognised in the party’s constitution.

Applicants in the suit, which was filed by members of the harmonised Executive of the PDP in Ogun State, include Dayo Soremi, Bayo Dayo and Taiwo Abisekan. Named as defendants are: the PDP and its former national leaders, including Abubakar Kawu Baraje, Tajudeen Oladipo, Uche Secondus, Olusola Oke and Prof Rufia Alkali.

Last Friday, despite the opposition by the plaintiffs’ lawyer,

Ajibola Oluyede, Justice Abang granted an oral application by the respondents, except Oladipo, for a stay of further proceedings, pending the determination of an application for a stay of proceedings pending before the appeal court. They also exhibited a notice of appeal.

Justice Abang held that though the court ought to promptly decide contempt proceedings by the applicants against the party’s national leaders, the court could not afford to proceed with the proceedings because the respondents compiled the records of appeal and provided evidence.

The judge ordered the applicants to apply to the Appeal Court for a prompt hearing of their motion for committal proceedings.

In the motion for committal proceedings, in which the new leaders of the party – Bamanga Tukur, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Bode Mustapha, Segun Oni and

Olisa Metuh – were cited as alleged contemnors, the applicants accused them of flouting the court’s order and a May 2 judgment by Justice Charles Achibong of the Federal High Court. Lagos.

In the ruling, the court voided the appointment of Bode Mustapha as the party’s National Auditor.

Justice Achibong declared that Mustapha “is not a valid nominee nor could he have been validly elected for the office of the National Auditor of the PDP zoned to Ogun State in accordance with the constitution of the party, because he is not qualified as an accountant or nominated by at the state congress of the party conducted by the Soremi-led Harmonised Executive Committee”.

In his place, the court ordered the PDP, Tukur and Oyinlola to appoint Alhaji Fatai Adewole Adeyanju, being a qualified chartered accountant and nominated at the state congress organised by the Soremi-led executive.

THE International Group for Awareness Democracy (IGAD) has said history of non-performance would not make it possible for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to win any future election in Ekiti State.

In a statement at the weekend in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, the group noted that for over 12 years, the PDP had the opportunity to live in the people’s hearts but rather impoverished them while all “manner of infrastructure decayed”.

IGAD was replying to a statement by the state chairman of the PDP, Mr Makanjuola Ogundipe, who reportedly said the party would return to power in 2014.

The group said Ekiti people would never vote the “PDP, a party with no direction, no cohesion, no internal harmony and no iota of idea about actual purpose of governance”.

The statement by its Executive Director, Mr Sina Awelewa, said: “It is only a people living in fools’ paradise that can be dreaming of taking power from an achiever-governor like Dr. Kayode Fayemi.”

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

8

NEWS

Casual teachers to get full time status, says Wike

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HE Federal Government has approved the employment of 1305 part-time teachers teaching in Unity Colleges, the Minister of State for Education Ezenwo Nyesom Wike has announced.

Wike spoke during the public hearing of the Senate Committee on Education on the prevalence of part-time teachers in the Federal Government colleges.

The minister stated that the approval for the employment of the part-time teachers was given in re-

sponse to the memorandum he wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan.

He told the senators that after he visited more than 40 Unity Colleges, he discovered that several teachers employed by Parents' Teachers Associations were working as part-time, with meager salaries.

He said: "The Federal Government has decided to engage the part-time lecturers in its bid to ensure that the academic strength of these unity colleges is improved upon. The decision to employ 1305

of the part time teachers is part of the efforts of the government to address the challenge".

The minister said the Ministry of Education would not compromise quality in the employment of the teachers. He insisted that only part-time teachers with requisite qualification in education will be regularised by the Federal Government.

He added that aside the regularisation of the employment of the teachers, the Federal Government will also employ fresh teachers to ensure that the aca-

demic requirement of the Federal Government Colleges are met.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Education, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, said the public hearing was convened to ensure that part-time teachers in Unity Colleges were not discriminated against in the Federal Government's quest to boost the academic strength of the schools.

Mover of the motion which led to the resolution, Senator Andy Uba, urged the ministry to ensure that all part-time teachers have their employments regularised.

Fed Govt to flag off book distribution MINISTER of State for Education Ezenwo Nyesom Wike has said the Federal Government will ensure primary school pupils have access to books in the core subjects .

The minister spoke in Model Primary School, Maitama yesterday, while inspecting facilities in readiness for the flag off the 2012 nationwide distribution of books to pupils of primary schools.

He said the Federal Government is determined to ensure that no Nigerian child who attends a public primary school is denied access to books.

He said: “The President has directed that all children in the country have access to basic books. We have put in place measures to ensure that the books get to the children. It will not be the case in the past when the books did not get to the children.”

Wike added that anyone discovered to have diverted the books meant for the children will be prosecuted.

The Federal Government plans to distribute 20million books to Nigeria children.

‘How I INEC denied me of my mandate’

From left: Immediate Past President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mines and Agriculture (ABUCCIMA) Mr. Dele Oye, Mayor of Johannesbourg, Mr. Parks Tau, President of ABUCCIMA Mr Solomon Nyagba, Director-General ABUCCIMA Mr. Joe Wenegieme at the Business Meeting between the Mayor of Johannesbourg and ABUCCIMA, at the Eko Hotel, in Lagos.

Policeman killed in Lagos bank robbery

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POLICEMAN was shot dead and four suspected armed robbers were arrested in the early hours of yesterday in a failed bank robbery in Festac Town, Lagos.

It was gathered that the armed men who were over 20 seized the first Avenue branch of a new generation bank, close to the Police Area Command and Division.

Sources said the robbers who were heavily armed came with welding equipment, which they used to dismantle the Automated Teller Machine (ATM).

The Nation learnt that the bandits

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By Jude Isiguzo

could not take the money in the machine as the police led by the Area Commander in charge of Area ‘E’ Command, Mr Dan Okoro, an Assistant Commissioner confronted them.

It was gathered that there was heavy exchange of fire between the police and the armed robbers, forcing the hoodlums to abandon the operation and fled.

Four of the robbers, who were sustained gunshot wound, were arrested by the police, including their

informant.

A policeman was also shot in the leg during the failed attempt on the bank.

Police recovered firearms and ammunition and the welding machine used by the hoodlums during the operation.

Police spokesman Jayieoba Joseph said the target was the ATM. He said the robbers stormed the bank around 3 am. He confirmed that a policeman was killed during the robbery.

Jayieoba said: “On June 2, at about 0300hrs, police patrol team

NMA directs striking doctors to resume work

HE Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has directed all the doctors on strike, including those in Lagos State, to resume work immediately.

The National President of NMA, Dr Osahan Enabulele, spoke with reporters after a five-hour Emergency Delegates Meeting (EDM) in Lagos.

He said: “The EDM resolved that there should be an unconditional recall by the issuance of individual letters of recall to all the 788 illegally sacked doctors in Lagos State, without any punitive measures.

“The EDM also resolved that a meeting between Lagos State chapter of NMA and the Lagos State government be convened within two weeks.

“The meeting should address issues relating to the withdrawal of sack letters and the implementation of all agreements earlier entered into by the Lagos State Government.’’

Enabulele said the EDM has empowered the National Executive Council of the NMA to issue a threeweek ultimatum to the Lagos State Government to issue the letters.

He said: “The EDM of the NMA revalidates the December 2010 National Executive Council resolution

directing all the state branches of NMA to negotiate with the state governments that have yet to commence the implementation of CONMESS. “The EDM resolved to utilise appropriate mechanisms to address all acts of disloyalty and gross abuse of the ideals of the association and the medical profession by its members.

“The EDM directs the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to suspend its earlier ultimatum given to the Federal Government on an indefinite strike over the crisis in the Lagos State’s health sector.

“The national body of the NMA directs the Lagos State branch of NMA to suspend its strike, with the hope that the Lagos State Government will fulfil all the agreements it earlier entered into with doctors in Lagos State Government’s employment.’’

Enabulele praised the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr Femi Falana, Dr Tunji Braithwaite and other well-meaning Nigerians.

He, however, appealed to the citizens to prevail on the Lagos State Government to fulfil all the agreements it had with the doctors.

“We expect the Lagos State Government to show good example to others by doing this.’’

attached to Area ‘E’ Command that responded to distress call exchanged gunfire with armed robbers that attempted to rob the atm machine of Skye Bank Plc, Festac branch. The robbers succeeded in tying the two security guards on duty at the bank on both hands and legs; damaged the ATM machine and shot Sergeant Femi Ikupoluyi in the left leg. Two gas cylinders; two big chisels; three ATM money cassettes containing cash sum of N3,480,00 abandoned by the hoodlums were recovered.”

He said the injured officer is receiving treatment.

‘Protest against UNILAG’s name change unnecessary’ From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

•Abiola

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HE Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, has condemned the protest against the renaming of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) in honour of the late Chief MKO Abiola .

Moro, in an interview with reporters in Abuja, said the complaint was unnecessary and misplaced.

He said President Goodluck Jonathan’s action was best to honour Abiola, who contributed in no small measure to the entrenchment of democratic rule in Nigeria.

He said: “Let me tell you that I am an alumni of UNILAG. And I can say that the complaint by most of them may have been borne of the nostalgia that they already have with the name UNILAG, being an institution that is as old as education in Nigeria.

“As a matter of fact, I am of the view that renaming that institution after a great popular philanthropist in Nigeria, a Nigerian that symbolises democracy and the struggle for democracy in this country, should be seen as a great honour to the entire members of that academic community. I think that protest and condemnation is misplaced. I think it is due to lack of understanding of the reason behind the renaming. MKO Abiola is long overdue for honour and that is because of his immense contribution to the struggle for democratic rule in Nigeria .”

A HOUSE of Representatives candidate, Sanusi Aliyu Kunde, has told a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja how he was allegedly denied his mandate by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Kunde is suing the electoral body, the Speaker of the House Representatives, the Clerk of the National Assembly and the Clerk of the House of Representatives over allegation that his Certificate of Return already issued in his name was withheld by the commission.

According to the originating summons filed by his cousel, Mr. Demola Bakre, the plaintiff wants the court to make an order, restraining the electoral body from issuing to any person or political party any Certificate of Return relating to the Misau/Dambam Federal Constituency of Bauchi State.

He also urges the court to restrain the Clerk of the House of Representatives from admitting, swearing in or admistering the Oath of office on any preson representing or purporting to represent the Misau/Dambam Federal Constituency of Bauchi State.

In the affidavit in support of the originating summons, deposed to, by the plaintiff, he told the court how the electoral umpire denied him of his seat at the House of Representatives.

He said in the affidavit: “Upon my being declared the winner of the election to represent the Misau/Dambam Federal Constituency seat at the House of Representatives for the 2011-2015 session, the Independent National Electoral Commission, the 1st defendant herein invited all winners, into the various seats contested for in Bauchi state for the presentation of our individual Certificates of Return.

“Further to paragraph 3 above, I was among those invited for the presentation of Certificates of Return.

“Further to paragraphs 3 and 4 above, this presentation of Certificates of Return was organized by the 1st defendant for all winners at the general election into the Gubernatorial, Senatorial, House of Representatives and Sand State House of Assembly seats in Bauchi State.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

9

NEWS EXPLOSIONS IN BAUCHI

•A baby victim of the blast receiving medical attention...yesterday

• One of the bombed vehicles and the destroyed Harvest Field Church In Yelwa, Bauchi ...yesterday

Bombs kill 15 in Bauchi churches

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WO churches in Bauchi State were yesterday hit by bombs, which killed 15 people and injured 42 others.

The government deployed the military, the police and other security agencies to the scene of the blast.

The churches affected were Living Faith and Harvest Field, both located in the Yelwa Tudu area of the Bauchi metropolis.

The Chairman of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in Bauchi, Alhaji Muhammed Inuwa Bello, said the incident occurred between 9am and 9.30am.

He said: “We experienced a bomb explosion at Living Faith Church in Yelwa Tudu, which is about 10 to 12 kilometres to Bauchi, the state capital.

“From the account at our disposal, the bomb explosion occurred when some worshippers were coming out of the church. The car involved in the explosion attempted to hit the church but it could not get to the building.

“The car rammed into the entrance leading into an instant bomb explosion. Cars parked within the premises of the church got engulfed.

“We have so far retrieved 15 corpses. 42 injured have been evacuated to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital in Bauchi.”

Bello, who said the mopping operation was continuing at press time, confirmed that the Army and other security agencies had been deployed in the area.

He added: “We are trying as much as possible to attend to those injured in the blast and all hands are on deck to save them.”

Another source, who gave an insight into the explosion, said: “We suspected that a neat Honda car was used for the dastardly act by the bomber.

He said some of them suffered high degree of burns

From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation and Austine Tsenzughul Bauchi

as a result of the impact of the explosion.

He said: “The attack was targeted at a period the first set of worshippers was leaving. Most of them were caught unawares as they were exchanging pleasantries.

“The security was tight at the church but the suicide bomber defied the barricades to wreak havoc. Expectedly, the suicide bomber died alongside some security guards and other volunteers in the church premises.

“The death toll could be higher than 15 given by SEMA. Most people are still looking for their relations.”

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), through its spokesman Yushau Shuaib, said: “NEMA has confirmed an explosion in Yelwa Tudu community in Bauchi State .

Since NEMA does not have an office in the state, it mobilises response agencies to the scene for rescue and intervention.”

A security source said: “Given the religious configuration of Bauchi, we have so far beefed up security in the area because of likely reprisal attacks “Anti-bomb experts have also been deployed in the scene of the blast for preliminary investigation.”

Recounting the incident in an interview with NAN, a Living Faith Church pastor, Mr. Johnson Elogu, said the suicide bomber forced his car into a group of worshippers.

He said: “At about 9.20 in the morning when those who attended the first service came out of the church, we heard a blast that shook the entire church building.

“People started running helter-skelter for their lives.

I managed to come out only to discover that it was a case of suicide bombing.

“Several persons died while others were seriously injured and had been taken to the hospital.’’

The pastor stated that the casualty figure was yet to be ascertained, but that the corpses were taken to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi, alongside the injured.

Sources at the hospital’s morgue who requested anonymity confirmed that corpses were deposited at the facility from the explosion site but did not state the figure.

A Red Cross official, who spoke at the teaching Hospital mortuary, said: “We have moved in 16 corpses. And from what I have seen so far, there are about 40 others with various degrees of injuries.

You can confirm from my colleagues from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC),who have being helping in bringing out the bodies’’ About 40 others, with various degrees of injuries were being treated and given beds in the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi.

Harvest Field Church is 25 meters away from the Living Faith Church, which, according to the Police, was the main target of the suicide bomber Bauchi Police Commissioner Mohammed Ladan told reporters that nine people so far have been confirmed dead and 27 are presently receiving treatment at the ATBUTH. Ladan said: “On June 2, 2012, sustained joint internal security intelligence revealed that there will be multiple attacks on churches within Bauchi metropolis. And it was based on the intelligence reports that security personnel were deployed in likely targets. The Living Faith Church in Yelwa was among then.”

The police chief explained that “the suicide bomber, who came in a Honda Civic car attempted to force his way in

•Sypathisers helping a victim ...yesterday

Jonathan saddened by attack on churches

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said he was saddened by the bombing of a church in Bauchi.

The president, in a statement, said no patriotic Nigerian should stand aloof while enemies of the nation wage a wicked war against innocent citizens.

He appealed to Nigerians, especially those who occupy

leadership positions, to fully support the Federal Government and security services in the fight against terrorism.

The statement reads: “While the recurrence of a heinous attack on a place of worship is most regrettable, the President urges Nigerians not to be disheartened

by it. Rather, he urges Nigerians and friends of the country to be comforted by the knowledge that the significant reduction in the frequency of such attacks in recent weeks is a clear indication of the increasing effectiveness of measures that have been put in place by the security services to combat the evil of terrorism.”

through the iron barricade at the entrance of the Church. In the process, the bomber detonated his explosive at the barrier opposite Harvest Field Church.

Ladan said an Improvised Explosive Divice(IED) that was to be detonated, was intercepted near Dass Motor Park and defused by the Police.

Among the dead was a policeman while a soldier was said to be seriously injured.

An eye-witness, Miss Grace Luka said: “I worship at the Living Faith, and I went for the First Service and was

about to come out when I saw the car followed by a Sienna. Then suddenly, there was a loud explosion, followed by a ball of fire and smoke.

“Others that I saw dead on the spot included: one NSCDC official, a policeman, and a boy born to a muslim family, but he worshipped with us at the Living Faith Church” The police chief told reporters: “We have security personnel who mounted road block which the suicide bomber didn’t reach where he intended to go, because

he was stopped by our men who denied him free entrance and he hit a security gate and the bomb exploded and killed the suicide bomber instantly.”

An eye witness said: “After the explosion, there was fire and the explosives destroyed part of the Living Faith Church building,cars and other buildings also got damaged.”

The Pastor of Harvest Church, Mbamingo Godia, asked Christians not to take retaliatory measures in any way, but pray to God for peace.

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abujua

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THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

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NEWS How Nigerian aircraft crash landed in Accra

ACN warns against stripping CBN of autonomy

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HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday warned against amendment of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act that could strip the apex bank of its musthave autonomy. It urged the parties to seek a common ground in addressing their concerns.

In a statement in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said having studied the arguments of the bank and the National Assembly, it has found that both have genuine concerns, even though they differ in their approaches.

It said the CBN’s argument that any amendment that strips it of its autonomy would be against international best practices and put the economy in jeopardy cannot be jettisoned with a wave of the hand, just like the National As-

By Nneka Nwaneri

sembly’s argument grounded in the Constitution, that the CBN must submit its budget to it.

The statement reads: ‘’Since the Constitution supersedes any other law, and in order to ensure that the CBN is not weakened by any amendment to its Act, we urge the National Assembly to consider amending the Constitution so as to allow the apex bank to continue to enjoy its autonomy and for its board to continue to approve its budget, in line with what obtains in the world’s foremost economies. ‘’We say this because the case for the independence of the CBN outweighs the argument against its independence. The National Assembly must therefore find an acceptable way to ensure probity and ac-

countability by the apex bank without politicising monetary policy action’’.

The party however rejected an attempt to tamper with the operations of the CBN, especially tinkering with its Board of Directors, as well as any move that could encourage political interference in the bank’s operations.

It praised the National Assembly for its transparency in the way and manner it has gone about whole CBN issue, saying the public hearing organised recently by the Senate Joint Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions and Judiciary and Legal Matters has allowed key stakeholders to table their arguments for and against the proposed amendment of the CBN Act of 2007. ‘’We urge the National

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•Alhaji Mohammed

Assembly to continue in that spirit by ensuring that its final decisions on the issue reflect the views and submissions made at the hearing, which overwhelmingly weigh in favour of CBN’s independence,’’ the ACN said.

Kidnapped Italian national freed in Ilorin

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N Italian national, Digi Modesto, working with Borini Prono Construction Company, kidnapped in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital on May 30, has been released.

A police source told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Ilorin that the expatriate was released on Saturday by his

captors.

According to the source, the Italian was immediately taken away from Ilorin by the construction company.

The source refused to confirm the amount paid to the captors before the release of the expatriate was effected.

It was gathered that the victim was kidnapped while going to inspect an on-going

road construction at Bishop Smith road, opposite Stella Obasanjo Multipurpose Hall.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Fabode Olufemi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the release to NAN, saying investigation was still going on.

The police spokesman as-

sured the general public that the security agents were determined to ensure security of lives and property.

He urged members of the public to go about their normal business and assist the security agents with useful information that would always lead to the arrest of criminals in the society.

CARGO plane crash-landed near the airport in Ghana’s capital Accra after overshooting the runway and hit a bus on the ground, killing at least 10 people, but the crew survived, officials said.

Wreckage from the Boeing 727 Allied Air plane could be seen in an area near the airport with the badly damaged bus.

Rescue, police and fire officers flooded the scene and cordoned off the immediate area of the crash.

The plane arrived from Lagos when it attempted to land in Accra.

Ghana’s airport operator confirmed in a statement that “flight number DHV 111, cargo aircraft, operating from Lagos to Accra, has overshot the runway on landing on Saturday June 2, at 7:10 pm local time. (About 8.10pm Nigerian time)” It added that “the crew of four people on board all survived the accident and are currently receiving treatment at the airport clinic. The aircraft collided with a minivan, resulting in 10 confirmed fatalities ...”

One witness reported seeing the plane come down and hit the bus, killing those inside.

“I closed from work, walking home in the rain, only to see the plane falling and people in the Benz bus crushed to death,” said Kofi Anor.

A senior military officer said the plane crash-landed and also confirmed the casualty figures.

The bus was severely damaged, while the plane’s wings and tail were broken off from its body.

The bodies of those killed were taken to a morgue at a nearby military hospital where a small crowd had begun to gather trying to identify the dead, an AFP reporter said.

Some at the morgue cried out, fearing that their relatives were among those killed, but they declined to talk to reporters.

The plane crashed in an area just outside a stadium, near the airport and a military base. It did not appear to strike any houses, and scores of people gathered in the area seeking to get a view of the crash.

Ghana’s Vice President John Dramani Mahama told reporters at the airport that a thorough investigation would be carried out.

“No early conclusions should be drawn,” he said before heading toward the scene of the accident.

“We should allow investigations to arrive at the actual cause of the accident. But I can assure Ghanaians that the situation is under control.”

Someone who answered at a number listed for Allied Air in Port Harcourt identified the company as Nigerian-owned but said only officials at the Lagos office could comment on the crash.

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THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

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OYO STATE GOVERNMENT

THE J O U R N E Y SO F AR …

FAR SCORECARD OF SENATOR ISIAKA ABIOLA AJIMOBI’s

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSAR Y, AS O YO ST ATE ANNIVERSARY OY STA GO VERNOR GOVERNOR INFRASTRUCTURE - WORKS • Rehabilitation of 199 roads and seven bridges across the State • Construction of Flyover Bridge at Mokola, Ibadan at a cost of N2.1 billion (ongoing) • Construction of ultra-modern Motor Parks at Temidire on New Ife Road and Podo Garage • Advertisement for Expression of Interest on the construction of the 110KM Ibadan Circular Road.

• •

Institutionalization of weekly environmental sanitation exercise On-going beautification programme on Trunk A roads in Ibadan & Local Govt. HQs

ADMINISTRATION - ESTABLISHMENT AND TRAINING • Payment of minimum wage of N19, 100.

• Resolution of seven month medical doctors strike and approval of enhanced salary structure for WATER RESOURCES medical personnel • Commencement of comprehensive Survey of • Payment of 140% increase in pension various water bodies in Ibadan and its environs. • Payment of 2 year accumulated pension • Commencement of detailed analysis of water • Complete overhaul/Rehabilitation of Simeon situation throughout the state up to Year 2061.

Adebo Training School via provision of World Class learning aids, equipments, computers and LANDS AND HOUSING infrastructural facilities.

• Creation of modern and Satellite Towns at Elenusonso, Ibadan, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway ADMINISTRATION - SECURITY and Ibadan-Oyo Expressway through PPP • Establishment of Oyo State Joint Security Task (ongoing).

Force, Operation Burst.

• Automation of Deed Registry, Phase I of which • Procurement of 88 Pick-up Vans for Operation hasbeen completed.

Burst • Introduction of Digitalized Sheets for Deed Registration to avoid duplication of title registration.

• Construction of Deed Registry Building which is 40% completed.

• Adoption of a Land Policy that will facilitate access to land so that accelerated social and economic development of Oyo State could be achieved.

ENVIRONMENT AND HABITAT • Clearing of Over 120 blocked drains in Ibadan metropolis • Dredging of 43 rivers and streams across the state

• On-going overhead Mokola bridge

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

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THE JOURNEY SO F AR… FAR… ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, AS OYO STATE GOVERNOR

excess deductions from FAAC for improved servicing of external debts • Standardization and Harmonization of government accounts from inherited 114 to 24 ECONOMY - AGRICULTURE • Resuscitation of schools’ agriculture programme • Introduction of 3,500 Agriculture Cadets for agric extension services • Establishment of Oyo-Odu’a Farmers’ Academy at Awe, Oyo • Signing of MoU with four • Rehabilitated Benjamin-Eleyele Road-Completed and inaugurated foreign investors for large scale commercial farming ADMINISTRATION - OYSAA ECONOMY - TRADE AND INVESTMENT. • Establishment of Oyo State Signage & • Signing of MoU with five foreign investors for Advertising Agency DFI in Oyo State * To standardize outdoor advertising, improve • Signing of MoU on Okerete Trans-Border Market environmental aesthetics, and enhance the • Signing of MoU with BOI for One Billion Naira loan for Small Scale Manufacturers in Oyo State.

State IGR. ADMINISTRATION - INFORMATION AND ORIENTATION • Rebranding of Oyo State. Creation of new Identity through Logo and colour • Human Capital Development through training of Information officers and Local Government Information officers.

• Successful production of the first edition of Alore Ipinle, venacular newsletter of Oyo State Government, in colour print.

• Construction of archival and record centre (ongoing) • Construction of Information centre at Iseyin to service the Oke - Ogun area of the State (ongoing) • Resucitation of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State ECONOMY - FINANCE • 50 per cent improvement on internally-generated revenue • Introduction of e-payment system.

• Prompt payment of workers’ salaries on the 25th of every month • On-going biometrics to eliminate ghost workers • Disbursement of car loans to civil servants to the tune of N45m • Reconciliation of debt portfolio and recovery of

SOCIAL SERVICES - EDUCATION • Ongoing rehabilitation of 235 blocks of classrooms in primary and secondary schools across the State • Establishment of a University with focus on Technology • Reduction of tuition in tertiary institutions • Successful accreditation of Courses at the Polytechnic, Ibadan and College of Agriculture, Igboora • Supply of Science and Home Economics equipment in Secondary Schools • Resolution of the ownership crises of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso • Payment of N394 million WAEC fees for students in 2011 • Supply of 7,000 school furniture • Production and distribution of 3.3 million exercise books for pupils in primary School SOCIAL SERVICES - WOMEN AFFAIRS • Purchase and distribution of 1,000 units of Tricycles nicknamed “KekeAjumose” • Over 300 women given empowerment tools such as freezers, generators, and sewing machines across the State.

• Prompt distribution of relief materials to, and resettlement of the victims of the 26th August,

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THE JOURNEY SO F AR… FAR… ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, AS OYO STATE GOVERNOR

•

•

2011 flood disaster.

Reconciliation of 450 cases of families in distress with noticeable positive effect on the children and over 261 delinquent children reformed and reintegrated with their families.

Evacuation of 251 destitute and other displaced persons from major streets within Ibadan metropolis.

They had been treated medically while rehabilitation/reintegration process is ongoing.

• • •

•

• •

Production of 20 Artificial Limbs at the Rehabilitation Centre for the Disabled, Moniya, Ibadan to aid movement of amputees.

Provision of sitting allowance for Magistrates and Juvenile Court Panelists as motivation for quick adjudication of juvenile cases in the state.

Empowerment of 170 persons with disabilities with vocational resettlement materials/ equipment after their graduation from Social Welfare Institutions to prevent street begging.

Extension of Grants to eighty-two (82) NGOs collaborating with government on issues relating to women, children, physically challenged, old people and other disadvantaged persons.

Rescue of 57 children from traffickers rehabilitated and reunited with their families.

Distribution of educational materials in form of

Unveiling of 5-Star Hotel at Mokola Hills, Ibadan

•

•

uniforms, sandals, school bags and books to 400children affected by the flood disaster in the State in collaboration with UNICEF. Provision of Over 26 Pilot Villages across the State with basic agro-allied equipment like Gari and Palm Oil Processing Machines to stem Rural–Urban migration.

Release of the sum of N10 million as grant-inaid to complement the 70 self-help projects across the 33 Local Government Areas of the State.

SOCIAL SERVICES - YOUTH AND SPORTS • Installation of Artificial Turf/Tartan Track at the main bowl of the Lekan Salami Stadium • Rehabilitation of Squash Hall at the Lekan Salami Sports Complex.

• Rebranding of the 2011 Governor’s cup SOCIAL SERVICES - HEALTH • Commencement of the first phase of the construction of 62 new Primary Health Centres in 60 wards without PHCs for the provision of effective basic health care services to the people.

• Renovation of hospitals for the provision of comprehensive healthcare services for the people of the State.

• Commencement of the Abiyamo Project through which at least one (1) Primary Health Centre will be equipped with essential drugs at every political ward in selected LGAs. • Commencement of the New-Born Screening Initiative geared towards improving the quality of life of people living with sickle cell disease (SCD), the first in Nigeria.

• Increase in Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for health workers in the State.

•

•

•

• 3-D Impression of New Oyo State 5-Star Hotel

Provision of Free Health Service to over 300,000 beneficiaries across the state through the Free Health Mission Programme.

Procurement of 34 ambulances for intra and inter-city ambulance services.

Distribution of medical equipment worth N40 million to 41 state-owned facilities and Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) equipment to 33 Local Government Areas. continued on page 49

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Ogun to dredge major rivers

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N its determination to tackle perennial urban flooding, the Ogun State Government has said it would look into the possibility of dredging major rivers within urban centres to aid free flow of water.

The state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who disclosed this at the opening of

Ogun a two-day sensitisation workshop on “Flood Prevention, Mitigation and Preparedness” in Abeokuta, assured that his administration would continue to take proactive steps towards addressing the perennial urban flooding.

Amosun lamented that most of the disasters referred to as natural were manmade as some people who like breaking the laws engage in activities that block waterways which cause flooding.

The governor maintained that if drains were clean, structures removed from water ways and river courses, and residents

Ajimobi pledges support for retirees

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YO State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has expressed concern over the neglect of the country’s retirees, even as he added that this has resulted in the death of many of them instead of enjoying the fruits of their labour.

He spoke last week while receiving members of the state chapter of Retired Army, Navy and Air Force Officers’ Association (RANAO) led by their chairman, Lt-Col. Abdul-Ganiyu Abdusalam who visited him.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Otunba Moses Alake Adeyemo, said that his administration would continue to give priority attention to the needs of retirees to prevent unwarranted death of those who had served their fatherland meritoriously.

On security he said that one of the means of ensuring that lives and property are protected in the state was through the establishment of the security outfit codenamed “Operation Burst.”

Oyo This, Governor Ajimobi said, had gone a long way in stemming the tide of insecurity which used to be the bane of the state.

He praised the association’s support to the state government, especially in the area of security. He pledged that his administration would also assist it in its areas of need.

In his remarks, the chairman of RANAO frowned at the way pension funds running into several billions of Naira were being misappropriated, saying this had sent many pensioners to their early graves.

He called for death penalty against those found guilty in the ongoing pension fund scam probe by the National Assembly.

Abdusalam commended the Ajimobi administration for the establishment of “Operation Burst’’ which, he said, had helped in the reduction of criminal activities in the state.

observe the laid down rules and regulations on town planning particularly, the observance of the “set back” rules, the occurrence of flooding in the state would be reduced to its barest minimum.

He further noted that the state has been experiencing the problem of flooding almost on yearly basis since 2007, adding that his administration, on assumption of office, took special interest in issues affecting the environment and had put in place measures that will check the menace.

In his remarks, Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Adebayo Fari said that a bill to provide a back-up law for its statutory duties for the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) will soon be forwarded to the State House of Assembly for passage into law, while plans were on for the procurement of more state-of-theart emergency rescue equipment and an ambulance for SEMA. Mr. Fari noted that the workshop was put together to educate the public on the flooding that may occur this year as the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) had predicted heavy rainfall this year. He further said that the state would take appropriate measures to prevent, mitigate and lessen its impact on lives and property.

On his part, the Zonal Coordinator of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Iyiola Akande said the global warming phenomenon has led to an increase in disasters worldwide; pointing out that the sensitisation workshop was part of the agency’s programmes to sensitise the public on ways of safeguarding their lives and property.

‘Give priority to mother-child health’ W

•Mrs Aregbesola

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“T

HE cultural values and tradition of the people tell a lot about them in the community. Based on this, we are determined to revive the historical values of the people of Mushin in order to tell a story that cannot easily be erased.”

This was the view of the chairman of Mushin Local Government Area Hon.Olatunde Babatunde Adepitan at the celebration of 2012 Children’s Day, 2012 at St. Jude’s Primary School, Ilasamaja, Mushin.

Addressing children from over 30 primary schools who converged on the parade ground of the school, the chairman advised that parents

Lagos

By Amidu Arije and Abike Adegbulehin

awareness on the matter,” she said.

She urged young ladies to know their rhesus factor and avoid pre-marital sex.

“Be careful, play safe. You need to know your rhesus status and your blood group.

Avoid pre-material sex and keep to yourself until after you have gotten the right partner,” she said.

In a lecture to enlighten the traditional child birth attendants, Dr. Fatai Bello of the Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), said that apart from blood type which could be (O, A, B, or AB), every person has a blood type, and an Rh factor which could be positive or negative.

According to Bello, the Rh factor is a protein that is found on the covering of the red blood cells. If the Rh factor protein is present on the cells, the person is Rh positive. If there is no Rh factor protein, the person is Rh negative.

To prevent rhesus disease, Dr. Bello said: “The woman must know her blood group before her first pregnancy. It she is rhesus negative, she must know her partner’s blood group too. If the male partner is rhesus positive, she must take an injection when she gets pregnant.”

Mrs Banire (middle), Mrs Oyefeso (left) and another guest at the rhesus factor day

• From left: Wife of Leader of the House Mrs Omolewu, Coordinator Lagos State Cashier Centre Mr. Aig Esekhade, wife of the chairman of Mushin Local Government Mrs Rachel Adepitan and a student at the centre Master Moses Osayade at the 2012 Children’s Day presentation of household items.

Children urged to shun violence

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HILDREN have been advised to remain focused and shun social violence.

Chairman, Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Area, Hon Bolaji Muse Ariyoh gave the advice during the Children’s Day celebration at the council’s secretariat.

He assured the youth that the council would provide for them enabling environment in order to realise their goals in life.

“I want to sincerely appeal to our children to see themselves as future leaders and as such should start abiding by rules, values and norms of our society,” he said.

Continuing, he said: “You should avoid all social vices that are dangerous to your progress and that of the society. We assure you that government will always create avenue for the realisation of your desired goals.”

There was march-past by pupils of primary and secondary schools within the council area. Cultural groups from the various primary schools in the council entertained the guests.

Hon. Muse Ariyoh promised to consolidate on the good works of Governor Babatunde Fashola by ameliorating the suffering of the citizens.

“This administration will leave no stone unturned to consolidate the efforts of the state government on poverty alleviation.

No doubt, we realised that without education, a rural setting can never become urban. Therefore, we have the

IFE of Osun State governor, Mrs Sherifat Aregbesola has called on stakeholders in the healthcare sector to give priority attention to the well-being of mothers and children.

She spoke while flagging off this year’s maternal, newborn and child health week at Ile-Ogbo Town Hall in Ayedire Local Government Area of the state.

According to her, mother-child health is such an important issue that no government or well-meaning individuals can ignore if they sincerely aim at bringing about development in the country or state.

“Maternal health is directly connected to the healthcare or well-being of the children in any society. The need for proper health care system for mother and child is underscored by the significant role which they play in every society. This role goes to

Council seeks revival of culture, tradition

Group counsels women on health GROUP, Rhesus Solution Initiative, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) has advised mothers to know their Rhesus status. It also advised young ladies to avoid undergoing abortion as the blood of a negative mother is not supposed to mix with that of a positive child during birth.

The group gave the advice during the 2012 Rhesus Factor Day celebration in Lagos. The event was held at the office of Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board , Onikan Lagos.

Speaking at the event, the president of the group Mrs Olufunmilayo Banire said the day was specially set aside to create public awareness on Rhesus factor.

This year’s Rhesus Factor Day, which was in commemoration of the day RSI was founded five years ago was designed to train and enlighten traditional birth attendants on all information about Rhesus factor, with particular emphasis on the importance of blood group and determination of rhesus status for their patients.

Mrs Banire further lamented the increasing rate of child mortality and low public awareness on how to prevent it. She said these motivated her group to embark on the initiative.

“Knowledge on the Rhesus factor is not common as genotype, malaria or polio.

However, it is one of the contributing factors to the increasing rate of infant mortality and maternal morbidity, hence our public

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plan to invest so much on our children so that their future will be bright,” he said.

He called on parents and other stakeholders to join hands with government in promoting better welfare for the children.

“It is worth mentioning that promoting the welfare of our children should not be seen as the responsibilities of the government alone. Nongovernmental organisations, parents and other stakeholders also have crucial roles to play in meeting the aspirations and needs of these children,” he said.

Among the various schools that took part in the march-past included Bolade Senior Grammar School, Unity Junior High School, Oshodi Senior High School, Owoseni Primary School, Imperial International Primary School, Oshodi Primary School, Afolabi Primary School, Ipesa Balogun Primary School, among others.

In the secondary school category of the marchpast, Bolade Senior Grammar School took first position while Oshodi Senior High School and Unity Junior High School came second and third respectively.

In the primary category, Oshodi Primary School , Imperial International Primary School and Afolabi Primary School took first, second and third positions respectively.

The schools were presented with prizes and trophies by the council chairman.

One of the students from Bolade Senior Grammar School, Ijioma Ndimkioha appreciated the council chairman for making their day fulfilled.

She, however, appealed to the chairman not to forget his promises in helping the children achieve their goals in life through free and quality education.

Lagos should be friendly in their approach with their children. Adepitan also said that children have their own world. They must have a voice, “listen” to them while they “talk.”

“If you allow your children to get closer to you, they will be free to express their fears and worries. This will also allow you to explain things in a more mature way. When you refuse to listen to them, they tend to relate with wrong people that might give them misleading pieces of advice.

“Parents should have sizeable number of children so that they can easily be managed.

An atmosphere conducive to proper upbringing of children is also very important.

Good accommodation, good food, clothing, quality healthcare facility and the ability to interract well are also important,” he said.

Continuing, he said: “Government should provide good schools, qualified teachers, security of lives and property and provide recreational facilities in every community,” he said.

He also advised the children to respect constituted authorities and obey societal rules and regulations.

Adepitan appealed to teachers to give their best to the pupils, promising to institute a policy that will reward the best teacher in Mushin with a car.

At the end of the march-past, Olisa Primary School came first, Layi Oyekanmi Primary School 2nd and Akodu primary school came 3rd.

Osun

the foundation and sustenance of the society. I am therefore happy that this programme has bundled the two together,” Mrs Aregbesola said.

She lamented the high rate of death among pregnant women in the rural areas during child birth , saying government is working towards eliminating the incident.

She further disclosed that the state government accords the attainment of this goal a major priority.

Mrs Aregbesola added that the administration is particularly determined to ensure that “our state becomes a reference point in Nigeria in terms of quality and adequate provision of healthcare facilities manned by well-trained medical personnel.”

She urged mothers to protect their children from preventable killer diseases by taking advantage of government’s quality healthcare policy and innoculate them at appropriate time.

Doing this, according to her, would go a long way in helping government to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal death by 75 per cent by the year 2015.

She then called on wives of local government chairmen in the state to support

• From left: Apostle Oke (middle) being presented with a gift. With him is Mrs Modupe Oke (right)

Council chief lauded

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HE administration of Apostle Oloruntoba Oke, in Ifako-Ijaye Local Government Area of Lagos State, has been described as God’s covenant with the people of the council. The General Overseer of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele disclosed this at a special

Briefly

Poly mourns rare nursing mother CHIEF lecturer of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, Mr. Olumuyiwa Scott, and the management of the school are mourning the death of Scott’s wife, American-trained nursing mother, Mrs. Henrietta Dada Scott.

The late Scott who died on May 14 was once a Programming Officer in charge of Family Planning at the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN), Lagos and a staff of the General Hospital, Lagos.

While alive, she had organised series of family planning lectures and seminars for wives of army and police officers while working for the PPFN between 1989 and 1994.

In a release signed by the polytechnic’s image maker, Rev. Olasunkanmi Bolaji, the late Mrs Scott was said to have exhibited exemplary commitment in various activities as a member of Sunbeam Sisters of the Anglican Church of Nigeria, Catholic Church of Christ, Ilaro.

Her husband described her death as a traumatic loss, adding: “She was an uncommon mother and above all, an unquantifiable public servant who saw her work as a sacred commitment.

To say that the system will miss her is an understatement.

She has created a v a c u u m , •The late Mrs. Dada definitely.”

• From left: Mrs Folusho Olaniyan Managing Director U.T.C Nigeria Plc, Dr Paul Orhii, Director-General NAFDAC, Mr James Awoniyi, member Cassava Value Chain office of the Minister of Agric. during the launch of the commercialised high quality cassava-based bread during NAFDAC Director-General’s visit.

PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

Lagos

By Yinka Aderibigbe

prayer programme hosted by the council recently at the council secretariat.

He said the circumstances surrounding the election of the chairman having made two unsuccessful attempts for the same office in the past, on the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria Party (ACN) reinforced his conviction that Oke was divinely appointed to be the chairman.

He eulogised Oke for exhibiting Godfearing attributes such as humility in leadership, leadership by example and love for the masses. He noted that the various people-oriented projects executed by his administration such as construction of roads, construction and rehabilitation of school buildings, welfare package for staff, youth empowerment, care for the women folk, among others, are evidence of these attributes.

Oke in his remarks restated his commitment to good governance, transparency and developmental stewardship to improve the lives of the residents of the area.

The prayer session which was attended by members of Oke’s cabinet, councillors, traditional rulers, management, staff and the public, witnessed drama presentation by widows’ group, INRI Foundation (IF), which dwelt on values of good governance.

There were also melodious praises and worship songs and thanksgiving segments which added glamour to the programme.

There was a prayer session for the development of the council area.

Hard times await unhygienic food vendors

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HE Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria (EHON) Lagos chapter has said it will henceforth arrest those who violate the state environmental edict on food and hygiene.

Speaking through its president Mr. Lawal Sulaiman after a meeting held at Oshodi Local Government Area secretariat, the association noted that the state would no longer tolerate unhygienic behaviours by food vendors.

He said: “In order to avert the outbreak of epidemics that are associated with exposed food items in Lagos State. EHON had given food handlers in the state up till June 1, 2012 to desist from the habit of exposing food meant for public consumption and also to stop preparing such food in unhygienic environment.”

He stated that the ultimatum became necessary because many people were now exposed to danger associated with such unwholesome practice. “This is necessary to curb any act that might result in the outbreak of preventable food-borne diseases such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid, Lassa fever, etc.”

Sulaiman stated that much awareness had been done in the past to educate food vendors on the dangers associated with such practices but the trend seemed to be on the increase.

The only way to nip this in the bud was to invoke the provision of Lagos State laws which prohibit such conduct.

He explained that those who violate the law would be prosecuted and their items burnt immediately the arrest is made.

“Members of the public are hereby enjoined

By Musa Odoshimokhe

to cooperate with the environmental sanitation officers by desisting from patronising these food vendors.”

The officers believe that through this effort, much untimely deaths that normally occur when they eat food exposed to unwholesome places would be prevented. He observed that in most cases some of the food vendors have equally constituted themselves to environmental menace

•Health workers at the event

by dumping remnants into the drains.

“We also advise the good people of Lagos State to eschew the unsanitary habit of dumping refuse in the drains as these acts are capable of compounding the occurrence of flooding which is highly injurious to our health and environment.”

The association further appealed to all the councils within the state to support and provide the necessary logistics to enable it to achieve a healthy environment in the state.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

19

EDITORIAL/OPINION EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

COMMENT

New power tariff • What the government has done is to put the cart before the horse

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UCH ado has been made about the tariff hike proposed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), expected to have taken effect on June 1, as inevitable to salvaging the power sector. The latest refrain from the regulator was that the power sector faced an imminent collapse except the electricity consumer acceded to the tariff plan, which would see electricity charges hiked by 11 percent.

Chairman of NERC, Sam Amadi, was quoted to have said: “the truth is that the sector is going to collapse if we don’t get this tariff, and if we get this tariff and do not do more, it will still collapse”. And rather curiously, he added: “that is the message I want to give to the civil society; they shouldn’t think about opposing

‘For most Nigerians, the issue seems settled. They want electricity; the question of not readily paying whatever is considered market-determined rates when value is delivered at this time does not arise at all.

The sticky point has always been the attempt by the government to force tariff hikes even when it has not put in place the necessary infrastructure to ensure that the hapless consumer is not extorted any further’

it, but how to sanitise the system so that when you are paying N1, you will be getting N1 value”.

Earlier, he had noted that perhaps with the exception of Zambia, Nigeria enjoys the lowest electricity tariff in the world.

For reasons best known to the NERC chief, he appears to have conveniently glossed over the underlying causes of resentment to the new tariff. At stake is the question of which should come first between the need to cleanse the Augean stables which the inept power utility firm has come to typify, and, getting powerstarved Nigerians to pay more now, with a promise of value to be delivered at a future date.

For most Nigerians, the issue seems settled. They want electricity; the question of not readily paying whatever is considered market-determined rates when value is delivered at this time does not arise at all. The sticky point has always been the attempt by the government to force tariff hikes even when it has not put in place the necessary infrastructure to ensure that the hapless consumer is not extorted any further.

A major part of the problem is the current situation in which majority of electricity consumers are hooked on the estimated bills platform. That way, they are billed for services that are never at any time delivered. Objections to crazy, outrageous bills have often come at the pain of pulling down service cables no matter how meritorious the complaint of the consumer. Even when the government attempted to remedy the situation by in-

troducing pre-paid meters, the efforts appear to have succumbed to the virus of corruption, red tape and ineptitude of officials of the power utility firm. Today, many Nigerians who paid for pre-paid meters cannot get one – months and years after.

Of course we agree that a fundamental restructuring of the industry is needed.

Indeed, a review of tariff may become inevitable, both as strategy for cost recovery and as incentive to attract new investments. What we do not accept is the suggestion that the Nigerian consumer should continue to subsidise the regime of corruption in the power sector. In case the NERC pretends not to know, Nigerians are already paying far more than the value delivered by the electricity firm.

Not only are they made to pay for estimated bills; there are also issues of prepaid meters which, although have been paid for, have remained undeliverable.

We expected NERC to make good its promise to deliver pre-paid meters to Nigerians; we expected this to come before the ramming of the tariff review down the throats of Nigerians. Why should the electricity consumer pay a dime more than they actually consume?

What is so difficult about procuring prepaid meters for consumers after paying for them?

What has happened so far on the tariff review appears to us, as putting the cart before the horse. NERC should do the right thing – which in this instance, is to ensure immediate distribution of prepaid meters to those who have paid for them.

Wrong way •The president should have followed the law in renaming UNILAG, among other flaws

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan’s Democracy Day broadcast in which he renamed the University of Lagos (UNILAG) after Bashorun Moshood Abiola, winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election has overheated the polity. Scholars, political leaders, alumni of the institution and other eminent Nigerians have expressed dismay with the method adopted in honouring Bashorun Abiola. Even students of the institution vehemently protested the renaming of the school to Moshood Abiola University, Lagos (MAUL) by barricading roads in the former federal capital. However, the Federal Government has said it would not reverse itself on the decision to rename the institution which was consequently shut for two weeks.

We are not particularly swayed by President Jonathan’s renaming of UNILAG after the symbol of democracy that is being enjoyed in the country today. The president baffled us with his lack of regard for constitutionalism and the due process. What Abiola stood, fought and died for are the highest ideals of democratic values and we would have thought that anything to be done in his memory by any government will comply with these standards. Unfortunately, the president’s act in this regard falls short of this expectation.

Why the haste in renaming the university such that would make the president forget the necessity of following the law or provisions of the Act setting up the institution? The president has the power to change the name as the Visitor to the in-

stitution but such must comply with the provisions of the University of Lagos Act, Cap U9: Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. The university is a creation of statute and not of any president.

We recognise that the University of Lagos Act 2004 in Section 1 provides for Incorporation and Objectives of the university to wit: “There is hereby established a University to be known as the University of Lagos (in this Act referred to as “the University”) to provide courses of instruction and learning in the faculties of arts, law, medicine, science, education, commerce and business administration, engineering, and any other faculties which may, from time to time, be approved under this Act. The University shall be a body corporate and shall have perpetual succession and a common seal”.

The implication of this is that the name pronounced by the president without recourse to due process is unknown to the enabling law and is thereby null and void to the extent of its inconsistency. If the letters of section 16 of the Act are anything to go by, then, the president as Visitor to the university, acted ultra vires his power by renaming the institution unilaterally.

Clearly, section 16(3) (b) requires bodies and persons comprised in the university to give effect to the instructions of the Visitor which are consistent with the provisions of the Act. The sad thing though is that the president behaved like a dictator in a democracy by not even granting them the courtesy of informing

them ahead of his decision to rename the institution. Legally, the administrators of the institution have the right to ignore this presidential directive. Even if the president had the powers to rename the university, he should have known that there’s more to a university than the structures; the name counts. Indeed, not a few people who attend universities have sentimental attachment to them.

We call on President Jonathan to hearken to the voice of legality and reason.

The University of Lagos Act is an Act of the National Assembly and can only be amended by another Act of the National Assembly. This is the most civilised path to toe, otherwise; the president could be accused of usurping the powers of the National Assembly.

‘The implication of this is that the name pronounced by the president without recourse to due process is unknown to the enabling law and is thereby null and void to the extent of its inconsistency. If the letters of section 16 of the Act are anything to go by, then, the president as Visitor to the university, acted ultra vires his power by renaming the institution unilaterally’

What the U.S. should do about Syria

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N ITS EAGERNESS to avoid exercising U.S. leadership on Syria, the Obama administration is offering a grim and deterministic analysis of the situation there. “There are only three outcomes,” the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan E. Rice, said Wednesday.

One, she told MSNBC, is that the U.N. diplomatic initiative of Kofi Annan will succeed, “but that is not the most likely scenario.”

The second is for Russia to support greater U.N. pressure against the regime of Bashar al-Assad — but that, too, Ms. Rice conceded, is not happening.

That leaves what the U.S. ambassador called, in another press appearance, “the most probable” outcome: “The violence escalates, the conflict spreads and intensifies, it reaches a higher degree of severity, it involves countries in the region, it takes on increasingly sectarian forms and we have a major crisis not only in Syria but the region.”

Unhappily, we believe that Ms. Rice is absolutely right on that last point: We have been saying for months that the conflagration she describes is the most likely result of the Obama administration’s strategy of relying on the feckless diplomacy of Mr. Annan or an unlikely rescue from autocratic Russia.

But why are there only three possible outcomes?

What’s conspicuous about Ms. Rice’s statement — as well as a similar one Thursday by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton — is that it excludes any scenario that involves action by the United States. The Obama administration portrays itself as helpless, at the mercy of Mr. Assad and Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. If the former declines to stop slaughtering his people and the latter refuses to stop supporting him, well then — what Ms. Rice calls “a hot regional war in one of the world’s most sensitive areas” is unavoidable.

That’s where we differ. In fact there are steps the United States and its allies could take to head off the conflagration Ms. Rice describes — or at least to temper it. They are not guaranteed to succeed, but they are more likely to bring about the demise of the Assad regime, to prevent sectarian conflict and to stop a regional war. They also will do more to protect vital U.S. interests than a policy of passivity.

The first of these would be to recruit a coalition to create safe zones along and eventually inside Syria’s borders with Turkey and perhaps Jordan, close U.S. allies that already harbor tens of thousands of Syrian refugees. These areas could be defended by air power or by a modest force of Turkish troops; the Turkish government has expressed support for safe zones. With only a handful of loyal military units, the Assad regime would be hard-pressed to challenge the zones while maintaining control over the rest of the country.

They could become an area where opposition forces could organize and train, with the help and influence of Western governments. Some experts believe that their very creation could cause the regime to crumble; at a minimum, many civilian lives could be saved.

A lesser option would be for the United States to begin supplying opposition forces of its choosing with weapons and intelligence. The administration argues that this would intensify the fighting — but it is already predicting that the fighting will escalate in any case. If that is to happen, better that pro-democracy forces — which, as White House press secretary Jay Carney correctly noted, compose “the vast majority of the Syrian opposition” — look to the United States for help rather than to Saudi Arabia and other Arab sponsors with sectarian and Islamist agendas.

Pursuing these options would require President Obama to abandon his passivity, to spend political and diplomatic capital, and to set aside his campaign boast that “the tide of war is receding” in the Middle East. But if he does not do so, that tide will swell — and the cost of stemming it will steadily grow.

– Washington Post

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THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

20

EDITORIAL/OPINION

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IR : The position of the IMF on the autonomy of the CBN is insincere therefore in bad taste. Has the IMF been hired to speak in favour of the CBN autonomy?

That Act can and should only be redrafted wholesale but not merely amended. The drafting shows the handiwork of either a person not trained in legal draftsmanship or one so obsessed with granting the CBN absolute autonomy without regard to the provisions of the constitution and placing it above the law of the land.

Now consider the following sections of the Act: S.1(3) Provides “In order to facilitate the achievement of its mandate under this Act… the Bank shall be an independent body in the discharge of its functions”. What functions and independent of who and what?

The elasticity of this section stretches to infinity and may cover donating the CBN (nation’s) resources to anybody including Kano State government. This section is very dangerous in the hands of the devil-may-care CBN Governor.

S.II (2) (b) ousts the sanction powers of the Court and empowers the Bank to disobey Court orders.

Is this not strange?

S.52 also ousts the entire jurisdiction of the Court in all its deeds and misdeeds. No person injured by the operations of the Bank can access and seek redress in any Court. Which Central Bank had this type of Autonomy anywhere else in the word except in Nigeria?

S.8 seeks to remove the Bank from the Public services of the Federation thus covertly amending

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CBN: What manner of autonomy?

S.318 of the Constitution in its definition of the Public Service of the Federation.

S.8(3) seeks to make the appointment of the Governor and his deputies pensionable whereas they are non-career staff, have no career paths in the CBN and therefore non-pensionable in the CBN. Truly speaking, the CBN performed better in the past than today with the abuse of autonomy

being witnessed since the coming of Paul Oguma as CBN Governor through professor Soludo. Core functions of the CBN are neglected and brazen donations of huge sums of the CBN/nation’s resources are made selectively to preferred persons all in the name of corporate social responsibility. Indeed the CBN runs a parallel budget with the Federal Government.

Indeed, what the CBN needs to perform is the appointment of

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• G.N.A. Enebeli Esq. Lagos.

Tribute to Paschal Bafyau IR: That the former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Paschal Bafyau is no more, is no longer news. He was hale and hearty up till around 9: pm of Tuesday May 15, but bowed to a heavy stroke same day round 11: pm.

Who was Paschal Bafyau? What was his antecedents before assuming NLC Leadership in 1988? What trails did he leave behind in the sands of Labour movement? What lessons can the present day Labour Leaders learn from the lives of a Paschal Bafyau?

Before Paschal became the general secretary of the Railwayworkers in 1982, it was an

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open secret that his union was a perfect blend of the East and the West ideologies. Paschal as the then second deputy secretary was to the left while the first Deputy Secretary Deji Oyeyemi was to the West, but with the death of the union secretary then, Laolu Oduleye (Rector) Paschal became the General Secretary and the Railwaymen, at least to the outsiders had an ambience of a united front.

The NLC broke into two in BeninCity in February 1988 during the third delegates conference of the Congress which led to the appointment of a Receiver, Mr Micheal Ogunkoya from John Holt, who handed over to Paschal Bafyau to

ACN position on Buhari’s outburst unfortunate IR: I am disappointed, that my party, known for good works, progressive and right thinking leaders and followers agreed with what Gen. Mohammed Buhari said in respect of 2015 election.

Buhari told his followers from Niger State that dogs and baboons will be soaked in blood as published in May 15, of The Nation. The atrocious statement needs to be condemned by ACN that loves, and is working for the masses.

In 2007 election, how may people or ACN members were soaked with their blood when PDD stole

men/women of character, ability, knowledge and financial experience to the CBN Board.

Members don’t have to be professors or Ph.D holders in economics who fear that paying the CBN pensioners their due would make the CBN go insolvent. There should be no space in the CBN Board for sinecure office seekers who are only interested in their sitting allowances and their annual leave overseas.

Abandonment of the CBN regulatory function of supervision and examination to graft has led to the collapse of the banking sector, capital market and the economy as a whole. With the coming of the present Board, one expected the CBN to call for a probe or even a judicial commission of inquiry covering the period of Oguma down to Soludo’s regime. But for the failure of the CBN within this period, the capital market and the Banking sector would not have collapsed.

Please, CBN Act 2007 needs redrafting not mere amendment, for as it is now, it is a lethal weapon in the hands of a Governor who shows courage in the wrong direction.

their mandates in Osun, Ekiti and Edo States? No blood oozed in these states by ACN to claim their mandates. They took to the courts!

I was expecting a strong condemnation from ACN, rather than commendation as reported on in May 17, edition of The Nation.

ACN is not known for blood sucking, blood shedding and blood splitting like CPC. ACN believes in judicial institution to fight their rights hence such wicked a utterances should not be supported.

People were killed, houses and the places of worship destroyed as a result of utterances. I am sure, the

parents and the relations of the slain corpers are still in melancholy for their children’s lives that were terminated.

Buhari should know that last year April rot is still fresh in mind.

Dogs and baboons blood are still crying to God for vengeance.

His plan for 2015 election is welcome. Then, not only dogs and baboons will be soaked in the blood, but the donkeys and cows too. The geese and the chicken will be roasted.

• Umar Okah, Ungwa Biro, Kaduna

become the leader of a harmonized NLC. During his tenure (1988-94) he was a team leader who delegated responsibilities. His two deputies then had their hands full with Chief Frank Oramulu in charge of the building of the present 12 storey NLC secretariat in Abuja while Adams Oshiomhole, now Edo State governor was in charge of negotiations on all issues with the Federal Government. Paschal and other leaders stayed behind for consultations and to be briefed on progress on all fronts at either the National Administration Counal (NAC) of the NLC or at the Central Working Committee (CWC).Throughout Paschal days, cases of sell-outs were very minimal, and NLC leadership was cohesive.

It was because NLC leadership then was cohesive that other gains rolled in like the formation of the Labour Transport Service, establishment of the Labour party in 1989 whose secretary then A.A. Salam has returned as the substantive secretary after his sojourn with the Local Govt Workers Union. NLC under Paschal also quietly got the minimum wage from N100 a month to N250 without hassles.

NLC under Paschal also told IBB bluntly that, he should leave petrol price at 50k per litre if he wanted industrial peace, and this pact was kept throughout Babangida’s reign.

What some people termed a ‘’dent’’ on Paschal remained the June

12 crisis. He was expected to play the role Frank Kokori of NUPENG played, to spearhead the actualization of June 12 political logjam. But, NLC could only implement a decision jointly arrived at, by all the unions and left to the unionists, Paschal remained a force in the resolution of June 12 crisis. It was Labour that pressurized for the conditional bail granted M.K.O Abiola which he did not utilise. What should be noted however was that, if NLC was not politically active, Abacha would not have dissolved it with NUPENG so as to have a breather when he assumed office.

Lesson to learn from Paschal?

Present Labour leaders should be credible and selfless. Many present day labour leaders emerged through blackmail, and they are sustaining themselves again by blackmailing others. When Paschal left office, he had just a three bedroom bungalow in his Lamorde home in Adamawa State.

He assisted children of many deceased Labour leaders until his death from the little he had. Now that another crack is emerging in NLC, the only apostle of harmonized leaderships in the Labour movement, is gone, and gone forever.

Nobody amongst the living past NLC leaders can harmonize the present fractured NLC, as wittingly or unwittingly they are all, part of the problems. Adieu Paschal Bafyau.

• Seyi Adekeye, NUJ, Abuja.

21

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

EDITORIAL/OPINION

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HE recent re-appointment of Patrick Ugbe as Commissioner and his deployment to Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has signalled the determination of the administration of Senator Liyel Imoke, Governor of Cross River State to build up reforms in the sector. To the Governor, Ugbe is the right man to drive the transformation process following the dynamism the former Commissioner for Information and Orientation demonstrated ahead of Imoke’ re-election of February 25.

He is characteristic of Dame Wedgwood’s maxim: An educated man should know something about everything, and everything about something. Ugbe has revealed this, and will have no complicatedness in driving reforms in the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development. Upon assumption of office at the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Ugbe informed staff of the administration’s vision for the ministry, but assured them of his readiness to partner with them in actualizing the vision.

Typical of him, he told the workers that he would not be daunted by the avalanche of challenges in the ministry, such as inadequate office space, furniture, vehicles and computers, but would seek ways of complementing government’s revenue drive to attain set targets. These targets are already being arrived at with the strides the state has been making in the last few years.

For instance, at the National School Sports Festival (NSSF) held in 2009, the state was placed on 10th position, having bagged eight gold, eight silver and seven bronze medals.

That year, the state won only one bronze medal in athletics.

In 2010, the Comprehensive Sports Development Programme resulted in a modest reversal of fortune at the National School Sports Festival (NSSF) held in Kano, when Cross River State moved up to sixth place overall with 16 gold, 18 silver and 12 bronze medals. In 2010, athletics alone (a key sport in the sports programme) won seven gold, eight silver and five

‘Major advantage of this initiative is that besides propping up sports talents among young ones and helping to develop human capital, sports takes the minds of restive youths off criminal tendencies and channels them into activities that build self esteem and develop them into great citizens of tomorrow’

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EFLECTING once on the cause of Nigeria’s underdevelopment despite her abundant human and material resources, Professor Chinua Achebe categorically blamed it squarely on bad leadership. By that, the renowned writer was not alone referring to political leadership, but also those in position of trust in traditional institution, spiritual realm, academia etc who abuse same. From royal fathers who debase their stool, to prophets who bear false witness, to academics who profess falsehood.

Achebe’s candid words echoed again in my ears after reading through a syndicated article entiled ‘Flight of Logic and Decency in Edo State’ by one Godwin Sogolo, who prides himself as a Professor of Philosophy. It was supposed to be a rejoinder to a piece written by Louis Odion, Edo Commissioner for Information, entitled ‘Death and The Old Witch’s Cry’.

In an article titled, Death and the Old Witch, Odion had narrated the encounter he had with Chief Tony Anenih in the courtyard of His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolor, Oba of Benin on February 18, and how the latter threatened him. In no unclear terms, he explained how hours after the said threat, he received a flurry of threat calls apart from the fact that he observed a particular jeep was trailing him around Benin City.

Between February and April, a lot of water has passed under the Edo bridge, so to speak. A gang of four gunmen attacked Odion’s private residence in Benin City on April 29.

The cardinal question to ask is: did Anenih openly threaten Odion? Here, the accuser not only made the claim but also listed a living witness no less than the Chief Executive of Delta State, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan.

Now, neither Anenih nor Uduaghan has come out to deny Odion’s charge. Rather than address this fundamental question, Sogolo lamely tries to confuse the issue with a fraudulent academic excursion into Philosophy.

In his article entitled ‘Flight of Logic and Decency in Edo state’, the professor of philosophy would rather advise the commissioner to go back to school for perhaps, logic 101.

Sadly, Sogolo became guilty of his own accusations by not only ignoring logic largely but also advertising ignorance about his understanding of the Nigerian and indeed, Edo State realities. By his own grave error of omission, Sogolo only succeeded in removing further doubt on the real identity of the “old witch” Odion figuratively referred to.

In the first salvo, he posited that “many of those who pollute the nation’s environment do not have the tools of their trade.” That is very true as Nigeria has refused to get to its socio-political El Dorado despite all its God-given natural and human resources. However, the problem with Sogolo’s claim is that instead of pointing at the right direction by identifying individuals in exalted seats without requisite qualification beyond the need to turn our commonwealth to personal estates. If Sogolo is not pretending ignorance, he should

Changing face of sports development in Cross River

By Otei Oham bronze medals while chess and wrestling produced the bulk of the remaining medals.

Work continued intensively in 2011 with the addition of swimming and weightlifting to the programme at the insistence of the Deputy Governor, Barr. Cobham. By the NSSF held in Calabar from November 14 to 24, last year, it became obvious that indeed Governor Imoke’s sports programme is a revolution and the right model for state and national sports development. At the end of the festival, Cross River State emerged overall winner and national youth sports champions for the first time in the history of the state, with 114 gold, 104 silver and 100 bronze medals. No athletes were bought from any other state and all the state athletes were bonafide students within the age limits of the National School Sports Federation.

Another interesting feature of the festival was that the state track and field team dominated the rest of the participating states in all age categories by winning 42 gold, 28 silver and 15 bronze medals, while the rest of the 35 states shared 24 gold, 38 silver and 51 bronze. The state also dominated swimming by winning 26 gold, 17 silver and 13 bronze medals.

Chess and wrestling contributed most of the remaining medals. In two years, Imoke’s comprehensive sports development programme took the state from near bottom to the top in national youth sports development. And within the two years, several talented boys and girls were discovered at the various age categories and they are being groomed to represent and bring honour to Nigeria in the coming years. The sports programme is also being implemented in all the 18 Local Government Areas of the state and it is being actively supported by their chairmen.

Major advantage of this initiative is that besides propping up sports talents among young ones and helping to develop human capital, sports takes the minds of restive youths off criminal tendencies and channels them into activities that build self esteem and develop them into great citizens of tomorrow.

Since Imoke came into office as governor, Calabar has become the favorite destination for major sports competitions in Nigeria. The city was one of the host cities for the 2009 U-17

World Cup. It hosted the Mobil All Nigeria Athletics Championship in 2010 and subsequently won the five-year hosting right from 2011 to 2015, at the sum of N250 million. Calabar hosted the 2011 national school sports festival, and has won the hosting rights for the 2014 National Sports Festival.

The Governor has designated six schools (two in each senatorial district) as centres for sports excellence in the state.

State-of-the-art sports equipment have been procured by the governor for grooming talent in various sports and will be delivered to these schools before the end of this year. The Commissioner for Youth and Sports is aiming at achieving this. In a recent interview, he said there was still much to be accomplished despite government’s achievements in sports in the past five years, assuring however that the ministry under his leadership would continue building on that the successes.

He said: “We know that the sport festival will be coming up in Lagos in November. As a charge from his Excellency is not to poach athletes which means we must be very aggressive in building a team that will represent Cross River State and ensure that they come tops at the festival. We must keep improving from our position and of course we have to build and start building now for the festival which we will be hosting next one after Lagos, which we will be hosting in 2014, that means all the facilities should be put in place.

“It also means ensuring that even the athletes that will participate will start building towards that, so that we again host and win as we did last year with the School Sports Festival.

Apart from that we have the World Mountain Running Championship that will be coming to Cross River in Obudu in 2014 as well there is a whole lot to be done there we need to put facilities in place to host the World in 2014. It is a big event, a major event; we will become the first in Africa to host such a championship and we must not let Africa down. So there is a whole lot to be done to ensure that we host effectively.

“We also have the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN)/ Cross River State Athletic Championship, which we got the right to host for five years. We had the first one last year so we have four more years to go and the event is just two months away, and we must start to plan and ensure that we host one of the best athletics championship we ever had in the Country. So there is so much to be done. There is the Primary and Secondary Schools Athletics Competition to come, so we have our hands full.”

He is also not neglecting safety in sports. He has urged youths wishing to skate to avoid the use of public highways, but to rather utilize the U.J. Esuene Sports Stadium, Marina Resort and Tinapa Resort all in Calabar, as well as other designated sporting grounds and locations. This well-thought out idea is to ease free flow of traffic on public roads and obviate road accidents.

• Oham wrote from Calabar

Re: Flight of logic and decency in Edo State

By Osaze Stanley know that those who ruled Edo for nearly a decade are among those in that category. He ought to know that Anenih held a supervisory position over the period under review here.

Even though Sogolo admitted that traditional philosophy is logically acceptable, he however posited that Odion’s analysis for conclusion that Anenih is chief suspect in the attack on his residence is not supported by the position of contingency and necessity, two basic ingredients he said are imperative to both the criminal justice system and practice of medicine.

To that extent therefore, Sogolo can only see the nexus between Anenih and events that the commissioner narrated succinctly in his article as mere coincidence. Good thinking, except however that the professor failed to understand that like traditional logic, jurisprudence imposes the onus of proof of innocence on a man who threatened to burn down another man’s house and shortly after the house is actually razed down.

Thus, contingently or necessarily, Odion could not have been that wrong in concluding that the man who threatened him earlier in February could have information on the gunmen who began to trail barely 24hours later and the eventual attack on his residence two months later by four gunmen.

But the ‘professor of Philosophy’ just would not consider the following posers. For instance, given the prevalence of politically motivated killings in the state, will Sogolo, assuming he is in Odion’s position, not recall what transpired earlier in situating who to hold responsible? Will the idea of necessity and contingency matter at all were he to be the target of the said threat? My guess is that even if the InspectorGeneral of Police were to transfer his entire retinue of guards to his (Sogolo’s) residence, he would remain paranoid.

In the face of these possibilities, I am at a loss as to how Sogolo fails to realize that Odion understands well the distinction between contingency and necessity and that there is indeed a glaring thread of logic in his “Death and the Old Witch’s Cry.” If Sogolo’s hold on facts of history is as sharp as his idea of the manner of logic, it is unlikely that he will write an informed piece rather than propagate his tendentiously peculiar and beggarly liturgy.

According to Sogolo, “Odion is a small fry” because of the disparity between his age, status and accomplishment of the man he fondly addressed as “Chief Anenih” who “has attained some of the greatest heights possible in Nigeria’s socio-economic life.” Therefore, the lowly commissioner is only at-

tempting to ridicule the chief’s many worthy-of-emulation feats in order to be relevant. The problem here is that the Professor conveniently chose to ignore the odious reputation that appears to trail every position his revered idol ever held.

Indeed, given the traditional philosophy that those who live in glass houses ought not to throw stones, the erudite professor, defender of logic, failed to understand that when the mighty came down, unashamedly, from his Olympian height to meddle with Lilliputian Louis Odion, age, status and accomplishment will become irrelevant. Or has it become proper now for those who throw stones to live in glass houses?

Lastly, Sogolo made it clear that the killing of Odion would not affect the political equation in Edo state. Many an observer made the point in the past that the ungodly run of murder, near-murder and what not in the state are orchestrated to possibly derail the governor’s campaign for re-election. Is Sogolo’s logic so outdated that he does not understand that a commissioner can be as close as the word in the circle mentioned above?

If Sogolo’s idea of logic holds a contrary view, he must be an apostle of trite philosophy.

Sogolo claims that Edo state is in a moral and intellectual turmoil because people like Odion are acting as commissioners. How come that even in the current realities in the state, he is speaking of moral turmoil in the present tense while deliberately ignoring the past when his revered Chief held sway? He must be a variant of the absurd if his allegiance to the chief is so blinding that he cannot see the current speed of development described as a fitting definition of quality performance? For me, therefore, nothing can be vulgar, indecent or improper when describing an old man who chose to dance naked in the market place.

• Dr. Stanley wrote from University of Benin.

‘Will the idea of necessity and contingency matter at all were he to be the target of the said threat? My guess is that even if the Inspector-General of Police were to transfer his entire retinue of guards to his (Sogolo’s) residence, he would remain paranoid’

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

22

EDITORIAL/OPINION

I

T has become fashionable for governments both federal and state to showcase their projects and achievements as part of the activities marking May 29 of every year as Democracy Day. The idea at once, throws up the impression of a country that is appreciative of the inherent qualities of democracy with an abiding commitment to the rules of the game. This presupposes that by setting aside that day, both the leaders and followers recognize the immense benefits that go with the practice of true democracy as opposed to some other governance framework.

Such an occasion therefore provides ample ambience for us for sober reflection. In that reflection, the question that should occupy our minds is to what extent we have satisfied those fine tenets that are supportive of the flourishing of true democracy. And to what extent are we prepared to abide by those dispositions, orientations and attitudes that sustain and reinforce the flourishing of true democracy?

Democracy is not an end but a means for the approximation of some public good. So to what extent have we satisfied those ideals for which democracy has become the most alluring form of government? These are the questions to ponder for our celebrations to have real meaning and relevance.

In this regard, issues of free and fair elections and accountability in governance occupy a pre-eminent position. Without them, democracy loses relevance and therefore not worthy of celebrating. Modern democracy as opposed to the participatory democracy of the Greek city states finds expression in the representative form. The size of modern states has made it compelling that the people now exercise the power to govern through their elected representatives. This in turn presupposes that that right must neither be abridged nor circumscribed under any guise.

Ironically, it is within this philosophical context that our democracy is facing the greatest challenge. This year’s democracy day has come and gone. And as usual, governments have used the opportunity not only to reel out what they consider their achievements but to point the way forward. They also took advantage of the occasion to pontificate on the advantages of democracy as opposed to other forms of governance contraption.

President Jonathan in a symposium to mark the day titled ‘Our Democracy: Progress and Challenges’ said Nigerians ought to cel-

Emeka OMEIHE 08121971199 email: EmekaOmeihe@yahoo.com

May 29: Matters arising ebrate this year’s Democracy Day because the worst democratic government is better than a dictatorial government. He also urged Nigerians to focus on governance first and stop the undue focus on 2015 since “we are just talking about one year of a government of four years” The same view was shared by former Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku when he urged Nigerian politicians and the media to spare the nation the distraction of engaging now in the debate on the 2015 elections.

The impression we get from these exhortations is that discussions on the 2015 elections are premature and could prevent Jonathan from seeing through his transformation agenda. Thus, Jonathan can only make real progress in the remaining three years of his regime when all discussions on his ambition in 2015 are foreclosed. This does not seem convincing. It is not only a lame excuse but an impracticable appeal. It is difficult to fathom how Nigerians can be restrained from discussing issues that affect their lives especially when 2015 is seen as loaded with frightening prospects for the survival of this country. Discussions on the matter therefore underscore the place of the next elections in the hearts of Nigerians. There is nothing anybody can do to stop that now. Moreover, the more the government shows a frightening disdain for such discussions and talks about it the more it ignites such discussions. The government is therefore equally culpable for igniting and sustaining the tempo of such discussions. Much of the distractions on the matter emanate from those who elect to hold brief for the President. Maybe these are the

H

EALTHCARE delivery system is a very important sector that requires serious attention of governments.

This is premised on the fact that sound mind and body will produce productive citizens.

It is imperative therefore that any society with quest for development must devote adequate attention and resources to its health sector, if it intends to build a healthy economy, since it is universally agreed that a healthy nation is a wealthy one. Failure on the part of any government to give priority to its health sector could lead to low productivity, as its manpower capacity would be hampered by diseases.

Developed countries around the world maintain their status by dedicating substantial part of their budgets to healthcare delivery. Besides these, they thread the path of prevention rather than waiting to combat various deadly diseases. It is the other way round in a developing country like ours where policy makers contend with different priorities, leaving the masses at the mercy of preventable diseases.

In the State of Osun, since the assumption of office of the Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, he has taken the bull by the horn through political will at ensuring that people live healthy in line with his Six-point Integral Action Plan, which includes Restoration of Healthy Living.

Proactive measures taken by the administration has led in no small measure to the restoration of healthy living in the state. For instance, the state recorded one of the lowest maternal mortality rates in Nigeria, as adjudged by the National Demographic Survey. Also, it recorded only 200,000 cases of malaria last year as against 500,000 that was recorded in 2009.

The state government made it a duty to procure drugs and distribute it to all the 56 state-owned hospitals and comprehensive health centres. In 2012 alone, a total sum of N130

‘So far over 1000 patients have benefited from different free surgical operation to combat diseases like hernias, lipoma and other swellings and bumps including breast lumps and ganglions. In addition over 10,000 people have been screened and treated for hypertension, diabetes, diarrhea and also over 290,348 onchocerciasis (River Blindness) cases were treated last year among others’

people to restrain. Discussions and media publications no matter their frequency cannot prevent a purposeful and committed government from carrying out its programmes.

Even then, President Jonathan wants the nation to focus on governance. But the same President told the nation that his government has only succeeded in laying the foundation for a greater Nigeria and the first year has been more of planning year. The question is what foundation? Perhaps, the President needs to tell us those institutions that will lead to a greater Nigeria either in the area of infrastructural development, security and national stability. It would appear that what confronts us daily is the reverse of this optimism. It is also very contradictory for the President to speak of having laid solid foundation for a greater Nigeria even when he admitted that the first year of his regime has been more of planning. So when and at what point did he move beyond panning to lay such monumental foundations? Again, if it took his regime one year to plan, then its corollary is that Jonathan had no idea of what he intended doing in office at the time he was running for the last elections. What then was the basis for the plethora of election promises he made at that time? Perhaps, it is the absence of perceptible signposts of credible benefits of governance that propel and sustain the discussions on 2015. The people are perhaps being futuristic out of frustrations with the current set up.

Admitted there is something ominous in the way the matter is being canvassed by some sections of the country, but that cannot be a sufficient reason to

gag Nigerians from discussions that are at the heart of the peace and stability of this country. Jonathan can still do well discussions on 2015 or not. Perhaps, when he is seen to be attending to the myriad of challenges holding the nation prostrate, public attention will inevitably shift to issues of governance.

It is also not sufficient to pontificate that the worst form of democracy is better than the most benevolent dictatorship. After 13 years of unbroken practice of democracy, such trite statements add up to nothing. What should be of interest to the ordinary people is a practical demonstration of those philosophical issues that stand democracy over and above other forms of governmement.

Each time leaders make such comparisons, they unwittingly admit failure. Otherwise those advantages would have been there for the people to see and feel. If they were, reminding us of the prospects democracy holds for us would have been patently superfluous. Such reminders still have a place because there is a wide gap between what democracy serves and what it is in this country.

The greatest service we can do to democracy in occasions like this is to resolve to play according to the rules of the game. The challenge of effecting credible and orderly change; change that tallies with the collective will of the electorate as expressed at the ballot box has become most compelling. The way this is handled will inevitably chart the future for democracy and the survival of the country.

‘The question is what foundation? Perhaps, the President needs to tell us those institutions that will lead to a greater Nigeria either in the area of infrastructural development, security and national stability. It would appear that what confronts us daily is the reverse of this optimism’

Re-awakening healthcare delivery in Osun

By Oyintiloye Olatunbosun million worth of drugs have been purchased, while in the last quarter of 2011, a sum of N100 million was spent on drugs.

Also a number of intervention programmes were initiated including series of test were carried out free of charge to meet the short term needs of the people. Such tests include malaria, urinalysis (to curb diabetes mellitus), blood pressure to curb hypertension.

So far over 1000 patients have benefited from different free surgical operation to combat diseases like hernias, lipoma and other swellings and bumps including breast lumps and ganglions. In addition over 10,000 people have been screened and treated for hypertension, diabetes, diarrhea and also over 290,348 onchocerciasis (River Blindness) cases were treated last year among others.

The patients were also given free drugs after treatment and the beneficiaries are now full of praises to the government, as they confessed that such things have never happened in the history of the state.

To control the prevalence of Malaria, insecticide mosquito nets were distributed to pregnant women, young and aged, along with Insecticide Residual Spraying being newly introduced.

In pursuance of this, a pilot study is being carried out in some selected local governments including Boripe and Atakunmosa West.

To sustain its Polio free record, the state government has upscaled the sensitisation, awareness and deepened the coverage of immunisation. Health Workers are being mobilised to go door to door for the immunisation of children under the ages of five. In the last one and half years, immunisation exercise has recorded unprecedented coverage.

Also on the deadly breast cancer, many health workers in the state have been trained on how to carry out breast examination, while women were also trained on how to examine themselves. Apart from that, women were also screened for cervical cancer, while health workers were also trained on how to screen for cervical cancer.

Similarly, the government has committed millions of naira to procuring medical supplies such as laboratory, dental and theatre equipments, many of which have been distributed to various state hospitals and now being put to use. A sum of N19.6 million was also recently approved for the procurement of some minor medical equipment to be distributed to the state health facilities in order to improve on their services.

There have been large reduction in the various ailments in

the state and the situation cannot be separated from the totality of governance in the state, especially on the free healthcare system and the efforts in the fight against filth and dirt through the dredging of waterways and restoration of environmental sanitation.

When the present administration came on board, health workers were on strike, as the last administration could not meet their demands for Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS) and the Consolidated Health Workers Salary Scale (CONHESS). This became a challenge for the government, but due to labour-friendly disposition of the administration, the industrial dispute was resolved amicably and health workers are now earning CONMESS and CONHESS, which has actually boosted their service delivery.

In the area of manpower and capacity building, the state government has been showing its commitment to the training and retraining of health personnel within and outside the country. Recently, six health personnel of three nurses and three doctors were sent to Germany to undergo some specialist training to boost their skills. Recently, some microbiologists were also sent to Cote d’ Ivoire to undergo training in microbiology, and while health personnel are being sent out to undergo training in the various teaching hospitals within Nigeria, in-house trainings are also being organised periodically All the medical related institutions across the state were receiving government attention through refurbishment of facilities and increasing their manpower training to boost their service delivery.

To further enhance effectiveness in the health sector the government put in place the processes of procuring emergency ambulance services on the highways to strengthen the referral system and curb deaths occurring from accidents.

Under the government blueprint, the service is expected to start in the nine major points along the major highways, which are Ikire to Owena axis in the Osun-Ondo boundary; Gbogan Junction to Osogbo axis, and Osogbo to Ijabe axis.

The Highway ambulances will be powered by doctors, health workers and paramedics.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Temitope Ilori said that all the measures and efforts of the administration at ensuring the healthy living of the people are ongoing, saying that this in a view to ensuring that the healthcare delivery system of Osun can meet up with that of the developed countries. * Olatunbosun, is Assistant Director, (Community Forum) Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Office of the Osun Governor.

NATIONSPORT MONDAY JUNE 4, 2012

GROUP F (TABLE)

25

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

ISSUES

THE CEO

Correcting the male-female digital imbalance - P. 27 News Briefing

NSE, market makers set for take-off THE Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and market makers are working out the modus operandi for the takeoff of market-making in the stock market.

- Page 26

GTBank’s, Ecobank’s MDs are Bankers of the Year THE Managing Director, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Mr Olusegun Agbaje, and Chief Executive officer, Ecobank International Incorporated (ETI), Mr Arnold Ekpe have won the African Banker Award

We emphatically want to state that the choice of the 12 airports undergoing remodelling and face-lift was not influenced by any political considerations.

-Mrs Stella Oduah, Minister of Aviation

‘Why waterways were concessioned’ - P. 32

CBN plans database on ‘politically exposed persons’ T HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is planning to establish a database on Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) to check financial malpractices.

This is attributed to the need to check loan abuses by politicians and further strengthen the industry. A policy to that effect would be released by the apex bank soon.

An senior official of the CBN said the database would catalogue the profiles of governors and their deputies, senators and members of the House of Representatives, as well as that of state Houses of Assembly, local govern-

By Akinola Ajibade

ment chairmen, commissioners, among other political office holders.

The sources said the database would spell out the activities of politically exposed persons residing in Nigeria, and beyond. According to the sources, the provision of a database of PEPs was a fallout of the visit of International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) delegations to Nigeria early in the year.

Recently, the International Monetary Fund’s officials, who visited Ni-

geria made observations on some issues.

The fallout of the visit is the arrangement between the CBN and the National Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to see whether the country could get the database.

According to the sources, the exercise will not be easy because CBN has defined the politically exposed persons to mean the international and local ones.

Alao, an official of Citibank Group confirmed the development.

He said a consultant is

working with the CBN on how to compile the lists of such people. He said the Committee of Chief Compliance Officers of Banks at their last meeting issued a communiqué on the matter.

The communiqué, he said, was to enable the government to take over the list of PEPs, and stop it from pushing the issue of politically exposed persons to the banks.

He said banks submit transactions on PEPs to CBN monthly, adding that the government must be the front runner on

Interbank rates up on CBN liquidity mop-up

- Page 30

US: Nigerian crude slide to 15-year low

N

UNITED States imports of Nigerian crude slumped to the lowest level in more than 15 years in March, according to Energy Department data.

- Page 31 DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$107/barrel Cocoa -$2,686.35/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢95.17pound Gold -$1,800/troy ounce Rubber -¢159.21pound MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE JSE NYSE LSE

-N6.503 trillion -Z5.112trillion -$10.84 trillion -£61.67 trillion RATES Inflation -10.5% Treasury Bills -7.08% Maximum lending-22.42% Prime lending -15.87% Savings rate -2% 91-day NTB -15% Time Deposit -5.49% MPR -12% Foreign Reserve $35.8b FOREX CFA 0.2958 EUR 206.9 £ 242.1 $ 156 ¥ 1.9179 SDR 238 RIYAL 40.472

PEPs. In a related development, a director, National Financial Intelligence Unit, Mr Norman Wokoma, said the body is not targeting financial institutions, but criminals who use legitimate platforms.

He urged the banks to sanction any infraction discovered to foster best practices of corporate governance in the industry. He said the industry should not wait until every Nigerian has a unique identifier before things happened, arguing that people must try and engage in genuine transactions with banks.

From left: Executive Director (Corporate and Investment Banking) Mainstreet Bank, Roger Woodbridge; Executive Director Globacom, Adewale Sangowawa and Assistant Director, Banking Operations, Anthony Okafor, CBN at the launch of Glo Verve MPIN in Lagos... on Thursday.

Lagos to regulate masts installation

T

HE Lagos State Government through the Urban Furniture Regu-

latory Unit (UFRU) is to start the regulation of masts.

The state’s Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development Mr Olutoyin Ayinde said this during an interview with The Nation at the consultative forum organised by the ministry in Lagos.

He said this would ensure the safety of lives and property as well as avoid repeat of the February 23 rainstorm that pulled down several masts belonging to banks, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and telecoms operators in the state, and leaving many people dead.

By Adline Atili

Ayinde said: “Henceforth, mast operators must seek permit of approval from UFRU for every new mast to be installed in the state, while inventory of existing masts will be taken.”

He explained that the ministry was not going to issue new specifications for masts installation, but would ensure compliance with existing specifications as released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and other regulatory bodies that were among stakeholders present at the forum.

The commissioner advised users of masts in the state to meet with UFRU and obtain a planning information form

with which they will process approval for installation of masts in the state.

“Our aim is to create an environment conducive to making businesses thrive in the state. Additionally, we are concerned about safety of lives and property, hence the need to supervise mast installations in the state,” he said.

NCC’s Head of Compliance and Monitoring, Mr Ephraim Nwokonneya said as a telecoms industry regulator, NCC respects environmental laws and had introduced infrastructure sharing among telcos to reduce the masts, well over 6,000 in the state.

Executive Secretary, ALTON Mr Gbolahan Awonuga, however, advised

•Governor Babatunde Fashola

the commissioner to harmonise the ministry’s functions with that of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) to avoid duplication.

The commissioner promised to ensure fairness, adding that approval period for installation of masts in the state would not be more than eight weeks.

IGERIA’S interbank lending rates climbed by about 3.84 percentage points on the average last week to 14.25 per cent, compared with 10.41 per cent the previous week, as the Central Bank OF Nigeria (CBN) aggressively mopped up liquidity to curb inflation.

The cost of borrowing among banks, according to Reuters, fell last week after large budget allocations from centrally-held oil revenue accounts were disbursed to the three tiers of government, increaing liquidity in the market.

“Market liquidity has dropped significantly (since then) because the central bank has been aggressively mopping up funds from the system with the conduct of open market operations (OMO),” one dealer said.

Traders said the central bank mopped-up around N200 billion ($1.25 billion) using treasury bills for OMO, creating cash shortage and rate spike.

The market opened with a cash balance of about N92 billion on Friday, compared with N387 billion balance last Friday.

The secured Open Buy Back (OBB) jumped to 14 percent, from 10.25 per cent last week, 200 basis points above the central bank’s 12 per cent benchmark rate, and four percentage points above the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate.

Overnight placement also climbed to 14.25 per cent, from 10.5 per cent, while call money rose to 14.50 percent, compared with 10.5 per cent last week.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

26

BUSINESS NEWS Flight Schedule

Buyers coming for bank-owned insurance firms

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

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LAGOS – BENIN Arik 07.30 Associated 08.30 Aero 10.50 Arik 11.45 Associated 13.00 Aero 14.25 Arik 15.30 Associated 16.00

1.

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4.

Arik Aero Arik Aero

1. Arik 2. Aero 1.

2.

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4.

LAGOS – CALABAR 07.30 11.20 12.50 16.00 LAGOS – JOS 10.55 11.15

LAGOS – KADUNA Aero 08.00 Chanchangi 10.00 Arik 10.00 Arik 15.10

08.30 09.10 11.50 12.45 13.40 15.20 16.30 16.40 08.50 12.40 14.10 17.20 12.15 12.45 09.10 11.00 11.10 16.20

LAGOS – PORT HARCOURT (CIVIL) 1. Aero 07.15 08.35 2. Arik 07.15 08.35 3. Arik 09.00 10.20 4. Dana 09.27 10.40 5. Aero 10.50 12.30 6. Arik 11.40 13.00 7. Air Nigeria 12.00 13.10 8. IRS 13.30 15.00 9. Arik 14.00 15.20 10. Dana 15.03 16.20 11. Air Nigeria 16.00 17.10 12. Arik 16.10 17.30 13. Aero 16.15 17.30 14. Arik 17.10 18.30 1.

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5.

LAGOS – OWERRI Aero 07.30 Arik 07.30 Air Nigeria 13.40 Arik 14.00 Arik 16.30

08.40 08.40 14.55 15.10 17.40

1.

2.

3.

4.

Arik Aero Arik Aero

LAGOS – WARRI 08.15 11.50 11.55 14.55

09.1 12.50 12.55 15.55

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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

08.50 09.45 09.40 14.00 15.45 19.55

LAGOS – OWERRI 07.20 14.00 16.30

08.30 15.10 17.40

LAGOS – UYO 10.35

11.35

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

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

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

By Chuks Udo Okonta

B

•From left: International Sales Manager, KISS Photo-Me Group Mr Pierre Buendia; Managing Director, Skysat Technologies Mr Izzat Debs and Managing Director, Tecruc Digital Place (Distributor) Mr Charles Oghuvwu, watch during the demonstration of its products DKS-4 photo equipment by Buendia at the company’s Corporate Affairs Office, Ikeja, Lagos ... yesterday.

PHOTO: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE

Market makers: NSE, operators work out operating framework

T

HE Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and market makers are working out the modus operandi for the take-off of market-making in the stock market.

The NSE had in April appointed 10 stockbrokers as market makers after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the initial rules for the usb-sector.

A reliable source told The Nation that the management of the NSE has been working to finalise operating framework and effective platform for successful take-off of the market making function.

According to the source, NSE will be meeting with the selected market makers to brainstorm on the operating mode and ensure a buy-in from stakeholders for the final working document.

The mode would detail the daily application of rules guiding market making and synchronise them with the trading system at the NSE. Stockbrokers with requisite volume of shares are allowed to move price of the affected stock in the five per cent

D

By Taofik Salako

daily.

The 10 stockbroking firms selected as market makers from a list of 20 firms that applied included Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, Renaissance Capital, Future View Securities, Vetiva Capital, ESS/DunnLoren Merrifield, WSTC Financial Services, Capital Bancorp, FBN Securities, Greenwich Securities and CSL Stockbrokers.

Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Mr Oscar Onyema had described the appointment of market makers as a major landmark aimed at bringing back liquidity and depth into the market.

However, he has expressed concerns that Central Bank of Nigeria and SEC’s prudential guidelines that fix banks’ exposure to margin lending at 10 per cent of a bank’s loan portfolio might adversely affect the operations of market makers.

According to him, for the market makers to meet the needs of their customers and the market, they must be able to buy securities, borrow securities to meet demand at any time and be liquid enough to carry out their

professional duties. For this purpose, access to margin loan facilities is critical to the success of the market making function.

He called for exemption of the market makers from the 10 per cent margin loan limit noting that subsisting rules on margin lending are enough to checkmate any abuse.

As part of the selection requirement, a market maker is required to have a minimum net capital N570 million as well as excellent compliance and operational records.

Market making is a technical term that refers to the system of providing liquidity to securities through provision of bid and offer prices in the trading system of a stock exchange. A member of the exchange that undertakes the function of market making is called market maker.

Market makers can be categorised according to the level of liquidity supports they provide. A primary market maker is regarded as the foremost liquidity provider of a particular security while the supplemental market maker acts as a supplementary liquidity provider.

‘Why budget is delayed’

ELAYS in the submission and approval of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) have led to late budget implementation and ill-execution of development plans.

The Commissioner, Monitoring and Evaluation, Fiscal Responsibility Commission Alhaji Shuaibu Abdullahi Kore disclosed this in a report he presented at a management retreat of the Commission at Lafia, Nasarawa State.

The retreat was chaired by Chairman of the Commission, Alhaji Aliyu Jibril Yelwa.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007 provides that the Federal Government, after consultation with states, shall not later than four months before the start of the next financial year, cause to be prepared a Medium Term Framework for the next three years.

The Fiscal Responsibility Commission is empowered to ensure that the Framework is produced.

While admitting that the Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been producing the document since 2009, a statement from the commission said the late production of the document had always resulted in the late passage of annual budgets.

The report also frowned at non-compliance with the preparation of Disbursement Schedule by the Ministry of Finance, a situation it attributed to delays in the passage of the appropriation Acts and poor attitude of officers charged with the responsibilities.

The report further said while the last year’s budget was largely in line with the 2011-2013 MTEF, the MTEF 2012 – 2015 covered four years contrary to the provision of FRA, 2007, which stipulates that MTEF should be pre-

pared for the next three years.

It further added that the MTEF 2012 -2015 as presented was deficient in content and details suggesting noncompliance with FRA 2007.

The report said despite concerted efforts by the Commission, it is yet to obtain any record of transactions for the sale of Federal Government houses from the Presidential Implementation Committee. The Commission is, however, meeting with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) over the privatisation proceeds of some government firms.

On revenue monitoring, the report said revenue monitoring peaked during the year as more MDAS contacted by the Commission made increased revenue returns to government coffers. It gave the total revenues remitted to the treasury by the MDAs in 2011 as N11,017,716,440.57 as against N2,583,906,352.94 remitted in 2010.

Africa nations warned on bond risks as Europe slumps

A

FRICAN nations that plan to sell a record amount ofeuro bonds in the next two years risk higher debt costs as the European debt crisis worsens, threatening economic stability, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB) and investors.

Policy makers from Africa attending the AfDB’s annual meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, this week were cautioned against racking up debt in the face of a slowdown in Europe.

AfDB President Donald Kaberuka warned member-nations to avoid

“hubris” because of recent discoveries of major oil, gas and other commodity deposits.

Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, which is set to become Africa’s newest oil producer this year, may sell more than $800 million in Eurobonds in the next two years, marking the first time the east African nations raise money in foreign debt markets. Zambia, the continent’s largest producer of copper, plans to sell its first global bond this year.

“Across Africa, save for a few outliers, there is much of a ‘feel good

factor’,” Kaberuka has said. “Nonetheless, today I want to draw a note of caution. This is no time for hubris. It is rather a moment of sober reflection.”

Europe’s debt crisis is undermining economic growth and trade in Africa at a time when governments have less fiscal room to stimulate demand. Nations from South Africa to Rwanda to Nigeria have already cut growth forecasts in the face of a possible recession in Europe, Africa’s largest trading partner.

ANK-owned insurance firms are not lacking in buyers, the Chairman Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) Olusola LadipoAjayi, has said.

He told The Nation that many organisations are discussing with the insurance firms to buy stakes of their affiliated banks.

Ladipo-Ajayi noted that the association is playing a neutral role in the process as it is not bound to encourage its members to buy stakes in the troubled firms.

He said it is commercial decision for any insurer to invest in the firms, which were affected by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) divestment policy.

“The decision to invest in the bankown firms is purely commercial business decisions for any individual to take. The NIA is not concerned with that now because it is not a major problem. “The companies are not in danger of lack of suitors. To the best of my knowledge, there are people that are willing to get involved with them either from the insurance industry or outside. So, it has not been a problem for us to consider.”

He said it is the duty of the NIA to promoted ownership of a company, adding that the association is only saddled with ensuring that existing firms adhere to stipulated rules.

“It is not the responsibility of the NIA to ensure that any company remains afloat. NIA does not promote ownership of a company, we only deal with companies that are in existence and are licensed by NAICOM. “From our point of view, those bank-sponsored companies have not contravened any law. What the insurance industry was against was the kind of universal banking they wanted to introduce years back, whereby a bank would not need an insurance licence to transact insurance business,” he said.

FUTA V-C urges investment in agric

By Daniel Essiet

V

ICE-Chancellor,Federal University of Technology ,Akure(FUTA)Prof Biyi Daramola has said investment in agric can produce a good internal rate of return.

Speaking with The Nation, Daramola said the developments in the sector will explode, “because of strong support from government policies, different kinds of capital, have flowed into the agricultural sector.”

He said the agriculture sector will offer private equity firms greater business and higher returns on investment.

He said agriculture as a broad investment theme has increasingly gained momentum in the past years.

Daramola said there are now signs the sector is entering a period of sustainable growth.

This is being driven by some global factors including rising population and increasing income levels.

He noted that some factors are working in favour of the sector, including surging commodity prices and expectation that that food demand thus prices will remain high for some times.

Many people benefit from rich soil and a climate that allows for doublecropping, or two crops per year.

This leads to the potential, in wellstructured investments, for high productivity and strong cash returns relative to other agricultural markets.

According to him, a successful agribusiness investment that incorporates primary production must include other elements in the value chain such as processing, storage and transportation.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

27

ISSUES Men dominate the world. They wield political and economic power. It is only in few cases that women call the shots. Even at that, they still complain about being marginalised. The story is not different in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector where the women seem to be struggling to find their voice. Of course, there is the “digital divide,” but what about the “male-female digital divide?” the women are asking. ADLINE ATILI reports

•Bridging the gender inequality gap in access to ICT can provide unlimited opportunities for economic development and social engagement

Correcting the male-female digital imbalance T

HE world over, women play second fiddle to men. In many countries, they are denied access to basic health care, education and equal opportunities at work. In Nigeria the disparity between men and women in accessing basic Information and Communications Technology

(ICT) services is perceived as hindrance to the country’s quest of becoming a major player in the sector in Africa. Besides, it is seen as “a great disservice to women in the country.”

Analysts believe that women suffer discrimination from birth. As girls, they

noted, the boys enjoy more preferences than them in all facets of life. It continues like that until they become adults when they face severe marginalisation economically, politically and socially.

How can this imbalance be corrected? A school of thought believes that ICT can

come to the rescue.

According to the United Nations (UN), relegation of women in terms of participation in ICT “is unacceptable and must be addressed with all means available.”

UN said gender equality is a basic hu• Continued on page 28

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

28

ISSUES

• Mrs Johnson

•CEO, MainOne Cable Company, Mrs Funke Opeke

•Mrs Alade

Correcting the male-female digital imbalance • Continued from page 27

man right enshrined in its Charter, adding that it is one of the main objectives of its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It called on member states, the private sector, donors, civil society groups and education actors to acknowledge the central role of women in further developing and servicing a dynamic and competitive ICT sector in any nation.

To the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson, the demand for ICT skills across the world presents a unique opportunity to position girls and women in the industry and provide them with the tools to succeed.

Mrs Johnson said women should be given requisite support to embrace careers in ICT. She, however, advised them to rise to the challenge of closing the “male-female digital divide” by developing interest in pursuing careers in ICT. “In order to close the digital divide between the male and female genders in terms of education in, ownership of and access to ICT, girls must pick interest in ICT and related careers.

“This will not only prepare them for employment, it will improve their capacity to compete for jobs with fabulous rewards and imbue them with the ability to start their own businesses and be employers,” she said.

Lamenting the low level of ICT access among Nigerian girls, she said taking up a career in ICT would position female children to be more employable even after marriage.

Acknowledging that the participation of women in ICT is modest, she said: “There is no doubt that women are beginning to show that ICT is not, and should not be, the preserve of men by taking up challenging positions in the industry.”

Enabling environment Chief Executive Officer of E-Business Life Communications Mrs Ufuoma Emuophedaro said there is need to create an environment for empowering and encouraging girls and young women to consider careers in ICT. Speaking in Lagos at the celebration of the maiden ICT Girls’ Day, Mrs Emuophedaro said while there exists a global digital divide between nations, there also exists an internal gender digital divide that needs to be bridged urgently.

According to her, the need to sensitise young girls is premised on the fact that the society has unconsciously relegated the female gender and delegated careers in technical fields, especially in ICT, to the male gender.

She pointed out that efforts should be made to introduce young girls to career opportunities in technical fields in the

public and private sectors to help them have a wide range of options and contribute their quota to the development of the economy.

She called on the government, parents and educational institutions to support the cause by building a formidable workforce of ICT professionals with emphasis on female gender participation.

The private sector is also responding to calls for increased participation of women in ICT for national development.

A professional network aimed at encouraging women’s participation in the nation’s development through ICT, Women In Technology In Nigeria (WITIN) is also in the forefront of campaigns for women empowerment and addressing equity issues with regard to gender, disadvantaged groups and those in rural and underserved communities.

Without mincing words, WITIN president, Mrs Martha Alade, said Nigeria stands at a great disadvantage if the disparity between them and men in the ICT realm persists.

According to her, when women are empowered, a nation develops. She noted that with an increasing number of families depending on the income of the woman, it has become pertinent to say “an empowered woman is an empowered nation.”

Mrs Alade said an economically-empowered and technologically-competent Nigerian woman with increased participation in the civic, social, political and economic processes is critical to achieving a better society.

To her, using ICT to promote socioeconomic empowerment of women and upholding egalitarian principles with regard to the disadvantaged groups and those in rural and underserved communities is of utmost urgency, if the nation hopes to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Barriers to embracing ICT WITIN said some of the challenges discouraging young girls from pursuing careers in ICT include: ignorance of the opportunities and benefits inherent in ICT; lack of female ICT role models; unhelpful

influence of parents and teachers, and the thinking that ICT is more of hardware, mathematics, algorithms and programming.

Mrs Johnson identified social behaviours, culture and religious traditions, as some of the challenges repelling women and young girls from pursuing careers in ICT. Explaining why female children should take career in ICT seriously, Mrs Johnson said it is a known fact that girls are more brilliant in their young ages, backing up her claim with evidence from nursery and primary schools globally.

She said: “However, as girls reach the ages of puberty, the pressures and pains of becoming a woman slow us down a little.

“Early marriage and childbearing also contribute to the reduction in young women’s academic achievements.

“Girls must, therefore, be exposed to ICT education very early in life, so that the culture, orientation and requisite ICT skills would have been acquired.

“The good news, however, is that with ICT, you can now be at home and build your productive skills, obtain a degree and even earn a living online while you have enough time to look after your children and take good care of the home.”

Call for action To address these issues, WITIN has developed initiatives aimed at awakening the interest of the womenfolk to ICT. The group is planning an online contest for young girls across the country, emphasising the appealing and social side of ICT, as well as the Grassroots Women Empowerment Through ICT (GWETI).

Mrs Alade said GWETI is aimed at socioeconomic empowerment of women, especially those in the rural areas, in addition to addressing equity issues, through the use of ICT. “GWETI is packaged for the marginalised woman.”

They include those in rural areas, the peasants, small business owners, the physically-challenged, illiterate business women and those living in underserved communities.

“This project will be implemented across

‘This will not only prepare them for employment, it will improve their capacity to compete for jobs with fabulous rewards and imbue them with the ability to start their own businesses and be employers’

all the states with the aid of WITIN volunteers who will gather the data of these women,” she said.

Mrs Johnson challenged government at all levels, including Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to support women and girls to take up careers in ICT. Such support, she said, could be through scholarship schemes, special competitions in ICT among girls and women and employment opportunities to help empower them to live better lives and reduce poverty.

She said: “Relevant government ministries and agencies should prioritise the implementation of policies that develop human talents and the rigid skills set for the building of a vibrant and diversified ICT sector.

“Women and girls at all levels should be engaged to fully utilise and promote the full breadth of talent in the country.”

At the World Telecommunications and Information Society (WTIS) Day 2012 celebration in Geneva, Switzerland, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) called on stakeholders to promote the adoption of policies and strategies that will enhance ICT opportunities for women and girls.

As the leading specialised agency of the UN for ICTs, ITU, at the well attended event, said it looks towards its members to harness the catalytic role of ICTs in creating far-reaching opportunities for women and girls by eliminating gender disparities and empowering them to meet their goals and aspirations.

The body said ICT and related digital applications are key instruments in providing basic services and achieving the MDGs, such as empowering women, girls and the more vulnerable members of society; and ensuring environmental sustainability The body said stakeholders should pool resources to ensure that women and girls in every community across the world have full access to ICT in order to empower them with information and knowledge, to know their rights, and to seize the digital opportunities available.

ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Toure restated ITU’s determination to harnessing the full potentials of ICT for the benefit of women and girls by eliminating gender disparities and empowering them to achieve their goals and meet their aspirations.

He said: “We are focusing our efforts on women and girls, using the power of ICTs to provide new digital opportunities to end discrimination, and to empower them to achieve their rightful place as equals in the world.

“I call upon our partners, member-states, stakeholders, political leaders, policy makers, regulators, operators, industry and civil society groups to adopt policies and strategies that will promote ICT opportunities for women and girls.”

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

29

PERSONAL FINANCE

Choosing between primary market and secondary market

Investor’s Worth

A General’s war chest NE of the most instructive portfolio management books is the adaptation of Sun Tzu’s Art of War to the investment management.

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise attributed to Sun Tzu, a high ranking military general, strategist and tactician, whose thoughts have continued to shape strategic endeavours beyond the scope of the initial military usage.

With thought-provoking ideas on planning, setting objective, implementation, tactics, creativity, flexibility, maneuvering, discipline, environmental analysis, steadfastness and intelligence gathering, Art of War encompasses all that a shrewd investor needs to succeed in any market situation. It also underlines why successful military careers usually translate into successful businesses.

Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd) exemplifies the correlation between a successful military career and successful investment and business management. A former Chief of Army Staff and Minister of Defence, Danjuma has made a success of his retirement from the military and foray into the business world. Although he is reputed and widely known for his oil and maritime businesses, Danjuma is also a shrewd investor in quoted

O

equities.

One of the largest Nigerian investors in the Nigerian healthcare sector, Danjuma, through his holding company-TY Holdings Limited, holds the largest equity stake of about 24.4 per cent in May & Baker Nigeria Plc. His shareholding more than doubled the entire equities of other directors. May & Baker Nigeria, Nigeria’s second most capitalised pharmaceutical company, is owned by about 46,000 shareholders.

However, more than 85 per cent of the shareholders hold between one and 10,000 shares.

While some eight shareholders hold within the range of 10 million to 100 million shares, Danjuma stands alone as the only shareholder with more than 100 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

This substantial equity holding ensures continuous inflow of passive incomes. Out of the N98 million declared as cash dividend for the 2011 business year by May & Baker Nigeria, about N25.5 million accrued to Danjuma as the largest shareholder. With recent investments and diversification, May & Baker Nigeria is categorized as a growth stock with immense potential for capital appreciation and fundamental returns.

The willingness of Danjuma, whose personal fortune is estimated at around

T

•Danjuma

N100 billion, to assist the company with soft loans is expected to boost the performance of the company as it consolidates on recent investment and expansion.

As chairman of board of directors, Danjuma has also maintained a disciplined approach to management of the pharmaceutical company, opting for steady and sustainable growth rather than a topsy-turvy growth trend.

Besides May & Baker Nigeria, Danjuma also chairs the board of South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO), a Nigerian oil exploration company, Nigeria America Line (NAL) and COMET Shipping Agencies Nigeria Limited. Arguably Nigeria’s biggest philanthropist, Danjuma endowed his private charity, the TY Danjuma foundation, with $100 million.

Ask a Broker

HE recent Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Facebook Incorporation has brought to the fore again the need for investors to understand the peculiarities of both new issue and publicly trading shares.

While several speculative investors who had followed the bandwagon to push up pre-listing benchmark price of Facebook’s IPO were stunned by the almost immediate depreciation in the value of the company upon listing for trading, shrewd investors that had waited for the secondary market assessment of the stock had better deals at considerably lower prices than the IPO’s price.

Each marketplace has its peculiarities and a good understanding of these characteristics can greatly influence the success or otherwise of a portfolio. There are generally two entry points to any investment, through the primary or new issue market or through the secondary market. The primary market, as the name implies, is the entry point of securities, debt or equities, to the public domain. Previously unquoted companies and quoted companies and other issuers like governments issue new securities to the general investing public or select group of investors.

The secondary market is an organised formal market for trading of previously issued securities. While the monies

What is price-earnings (PE) ratio?

P

RICE-Earnings (PE) Ratio is a measurement of the most recent earnings of a company in relation to its current market values with a view to ascertaining the fairness of the pricing trend. The PE ratio is derived by dividing the closing price of the stock by the earnings per share for the period under review, usually the audited 12-month period.

For instance, the PE ratio for a company with a share price of N40 and earnings per share of N5 will be eight. Simply, fundamental analysts tend to use the PE ratio to measure the attractiveness of a stock, using the ratio as indication of the

probable period that it might take to recoup one’s investment.

Thus the lower the PE ratio, the more attractive the stock is and vice versa. However, a low or high PE ratio does not necessarily indicate the value consideration and potential of a stock. In some instances, low PE ratio may indicate higher risk while high PE ratio may indicate lower risk and better returns depending on the earnings outlook and business cycle.

So, beyond the simplistic view, PE ratio is a highly advanced measurement tool for both fundamental and techni-

cal analysts and it is better used in relation to other indices.

Besides, to ensure a more reflective measurement, many analysts undertake comparison of many PE ratios to determine the “appropriate” PE ratio.

So, beside the PE ratio based on the current price, PE ratio may be found for the highest, lowest, opening and closing market values of a stock within a period or over several periods.

With these, analyst can determine the median or mean PE as well as the range for a stock, a group of stocks or the entire markets and used these variables for stock-by-stock, sectoral and market reviews.

By Taofik Salako

from new issues revert to the issuers, monies from secondary market transactions revert to the parties to the exchange. The major distinguishing factors between the primary market and the secondary market are pricing and cost.

The issuer and the professional parties, especially the issuing house, determine the price of an issue in the primary market whereas in the secondary market, the traditional market forces of demand and supply and related variables determines the value per unit of each security. The entry point through the primary market requires no cost to the investor while both the entry and exit points in the secondary market require payments of charges and fees by the investors.

Also, in the area of allotment, the issuer and its professional advisers determine allotments under primary issue while bids and supply are electronically matched in the secondary market. In these major differences lie the advantages and disadvantages of the two entry points. Many new issues have turned to be goldmines for investors because there is tendency to undervalue previously unquoted companies.

Also, the current macroeconomic situation and industry outlook sometime necessitate under-valuation of new is-

sues. The recent recession in the financial markets has moderated the pricing of many shares and as such may play influential role in the future valuation of new issues. Companies returning to the market for new funds would definitely benchmark their offer prices against average market considerations.

In addition, the absence of entry cost makes new issues good opportunities for discerning investors.

But there are dangers in the valuation mechanism of primary issues. With the emerging sordid details of how banks and other companies manipulated their share prices to hoodwink unsuspecting investors, several new issuers have been found to engage in material misstatement and under-hand increase of their secondary market values to favour high offer prices for their impending new issues. Several so-called discounts on market prices are nothing but recent increases influenced by the issuers. Compared with valuation in mergers and acquisitions where the basis of valuation and the valuation method are extensively explained, the bases of prices of new issues are exclusive preserves of the issuers and the issuing house. So, an investor must scrutinise properly to ensure that the offer price gives best value for money.

AGM & DIVIDEND NOTICES Company

AGM Date AGM Venue

Time

Dividend (kobo) C l o s u r e

Presco

25-06-12

Dura Club, Benin, Edo State

11am

100

16-07-12

Total Nig

13-06-12

Muson Centre, Lagos

NA

700

20-04-12

Nahco

07-06-12

NA

NA

25 (1 for 5)

14-05-12

UACN

20-06-12

Golden Tulip, Lagos

150

21-05-12

AG Leventis

05-07-12

Mainland Hotel, Oyingbo, Lagos

NA

14

27-04-12

Ashakacem

28-06-12

Jewel Hall, Jekada-Fari, Gombe

NA

40

01-06-12

Dangote Flour 05-07-12

To be advised

NA

10

20-06-12

Julius Berger

21-06-12

Yar’adua Centre, Abuja

11.00am

240

04-06-12

First Alum.

07-06-12

Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja

11.00am

Nil

28-05-12

MRS Oil

10-07-12

Federal Palace Hotel, VI, Lagos

11.00am

70

15-06-12

Okomu Oil

13-06-12

To be Advised

-

400

15-05-12

11am

Ways and Means

T

HE two main concerns of every investor are the safety of investment and return on investment. Achieving both objectives is the essence of portfolio management.

But often time, achieving safety of principal investment and good return may be difficult, especially in a sluggish market. It even becomes more difficult in a recessive or declining market like has been witnessed in Nigeria in recent years. With high political risks, social insecurity, uncertain macroeconomic direction and poor infrastructures, an economy such as Nigeria’s particularly pose significant challenge in terms of ensuring safety of investment alongside a reasonably high above average return.

Notwithstanding these challenges, discerning investors and value-minded institutions and

How to earn higher return on safe deposit individuals can explore opportunities offer by high-yielding guaranteed investments, which combine the two main advantages of fixed-income securitiessafety of principal and guaranteed return, with above average return. One of the most invaluable value-adding instruments in a period of recession and economic uncertainties like now is the Certificate of Deposit (CD).

Certificate of Deposit (CD) is a saving and investment product that evidenced a deposit by an investor for a fixed period based on agreed interest. Thus CDs combine the attributes of savings accounts and investment in that they are guaranteed and virtually risk-free such as savings accounts while at the same time offering interest or coupon just

like bonds, treasury bills and other fixed-income investment products. The tenor, or period, of a CD can range from short to medium to long term. As such there can be a CD for three months, nine months, a year, two years and so on. The defining attributes are that the tenor, the accruable interest and the security of the principal must be clearly spelt out. Once these terms of issuance are accepted by the issuer and the customer and the CD is executed, it becomes an enforceable contractual obligation.

Though CDs generally have similar core attributes, each financial institution may offer additional benefits to enhance the attractiveness of the instrument. These benefits may in-

clude a variable interest rate such as index-linked or inflationlinked rates rather than the generally fixed interest rate as well as cross-trading of the CD for products and services within the issuing financial institution and related companies. Besides, CD can come in form of a negotiable or non-negotiable instrument as well as discounted or undiscounted certificate. Negotiable CDs (NCDs) are tradable like bonds, equities, etc on the secondary market. Discounted CD (DCD) is a form of CD that is issued at a price lower than the par value, the face value. A CD holder may also choose to rollover the CD upon maturity

or opt for redemption.

The Sterling Discounted Certificate of Deposit (SDCD) recently introduced by Sterling Bank Plc, Nigeria’s preeminent investment bank, offers exciting opportunities for investors to reap the many benefits of a CD and the unique benefits of a financial conglomerate represents

by Sterling Bank Group. With the SDCD, customers and noncustomers of Sterling Bank have the opportunity to earn higher returns on their investments, especially when compared to the prevailing rate on regular deposits. Besides the assurance on principal and high interest, a CD holder can use the instrument to

amass funds towards future projects as well as plan for annuity payments at retirement. In addition, the SDCD is transferable ensuring that the gains of such investment are transferred to the next of kin or identified beneficiary. SDCDs can also be used as collaterals for loans while holders can also operate their investments as trust funds for their children and dependants. Without doubt, the product clearly reinforces Sterling Bank’s commitment to customer satisfaction and convenience as it is a product that meets the customers’ need in more ways than previously envisaged by many.

Feedback/Comments: Email: taofad2000@yahoo.co.uk; SMS only: 080-2833-0861

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

30

MONEY LINK

Mainstreet, Sterling, others partner Glo on Mobile Banking

M

AINSTREET Bank Limited and five other banks have sealed up a partnership with Glo to lend greater depth to the on-going campaign for a cashless society through the provision of seamless mobile banking services to their customers.

The six banks banded with telecoms giants, Glo, to roll out the Quick Teller Mobile Banking product (QTM) last Thursday, at the corporate head office of Glo in Victoria Island, Lagos.

Speaking at the presentation of the product, the Executive Director of Glo Mr Adewale Shongowawa explained that the launch of the Quick Teller Mobile banking (QTM) product was Glo’s response to the cashless society policy of the Federal Government even though the

Stories by Akinola Ajibade

company had been working on its mobile banking solution long before the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) policy came on stream.

He said the company hopes to leverage on the combined strength of the partnering banks and its enormous network of outlets across the country to make banking services easier to access for all Glo customers who run an account with the partner banks.

Providing further insight into the nature of the partnership, Mainstreet Bank’s Executive Director, Corporate and Investment Banking, Mr Roger Woodbridge, explained that the bank consider the partnership with Glo, a veritable opportunity to push for a wider acceptance of the cashless

to customers on the Glo network.

“The QTM performs the same functions as an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) machine except dispensing cash. It operates on USSD technology, which enables it to

policy of the CBN. Woodbridge observed that just like Glo, Mainstreet Bank was a young and customer focused bank with a large branch network catering to the financial needs of the middle-to-lower class market which also forms Glo’s target market.

According to him, the bank shares a lot of complementary attributes with Glo, which the partnership would explore for a wider acceptance of the Quick Teller Mobile product in the Nigerian market.

Throwing more light on the product, Tunde Kuponiyi, Head Telebanking, Glo, explained that the QTM is an Internet based mobile platform that harnesses the advantages of the core banking applications of partner banks to deliver excellent mobile banking services

UBA pegs savings account opening at N2,000

T

HE United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has enhanced its savings account, with reduced minimum opening balance.

A statement from the bank said with a minimum of N2,000, customers can open a UBA Savings Account and enjoy high value banking.

Christened UBA Savings Account Advantage, old and new holders of UBA Savings Account, according to the statement, stand to benefit from the bank’s range of cost

GTBank’s, Ecobank’s MDs are Bankers of the Year

T

HE Managing Director, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Mr Olusegun Agbaje, and Chief Executive officer, Ecobank International Incorporated (ETI), Mr Arnold Ekpe have won the African Banker Awards.

The award, which has entered its Sixth edition, saw the two bankers winning African Banker of the year, and Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is an initiative of African Banker magazine, IC Events and Business inAfrica Events.

The duo, among other African Bankers, received the award during the African Development Bank dinner in London.

Agbaje scooped the prize for African Banker of the Year, and was

presented with his Trophy by Tim Turner, Director of the Private Sector Operations of the African Development Bank at the Frangipani Gardens, where the Awards ceremony took place.

Ekpe, one of the most well recognised faces in the African banking community, was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award and received a standing ovation from the audience.

Ecobank beat tough competition posed by six other contestants in its category to come out on top as African Bank of the Year. The Bank was given particular credit for its continued expansion throughout Middle Africa as the pan African bank. Ecobank got a strong en-

Africa’s financial sector is a major vehicle for driving the economic growth that has become the talk of the investor community around the world.

“We have honoured individuals who are prepared to take the bull by the horn, to carry out well thought out visions and who have raised the bar and in some cases taken difficult decisions to deliver on their agenda. Good examples are the Central Bank Governor of Tunisia and the Finance Minister of Guinea.

“The winners this year represent a good mix between francophone and Anglophone Africa, big and small countries.

They reflect the achievements in banking and finance all over Africa.”

dorsement when South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation officially signed the $250m investment agreement in the Group.

The Best Regional Bank category named a winner from each of the five regions of Africa: Attijariwafa Bank, Morocco for North Africa; BGFI, Gabon for Central Africa; Bank of Kigali, Rwanda for East Africa; Access Bank, Nigeria for West Africa; and BCI, Mozambique for Southern Africa – thus highlighting Africa’s diversity but strength as one continent.

On the ceremony, Omar Ben Yedder, Publisher of African Banker said: “We have recognised some superb individuals and institutions tonight.

FGN BONDS Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year 5-Year

35m 35m 35m

11.039 12.23 13.19

19-05-2014 18-05-2016 19-05-2016

7.9-10% 10-11%

Amount 30m 46.7m 50m

Rate % 10.96 9.62 12.34

Date 28-04-2011 “ 14-04-2011

GAINERS AS AT 1-6-12 SYMBOL

UPL BAGCO GLAXOSMITH BERGER JAPAULOIL STERLBANK MAYBAKER PRESTIGE HONYFLOUR NEIMETH

O/PRICE

3.80 2.00 20.00 9.10 0.61 1.09 1.35 0.50 2.02 0.58

C/PRICE

3.39 2.10 21.00 9.55 0.64 1.14 1.41 0.52 2.10 0.60

113m

NGN USD NGN GBP NGN EUR NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N) (S/N) Bureau de Change (S/N) Parallel Market

Current Before

O/PRICE 4.42 16.90 13.80 1.63 1.02 11.70 3.78 1.06 2.92 1.38

C/PRICE 4.20 16.06 13.12 1.55 0.97 11.13 3.60 1.01 2.79 1.32

CHANGE 0.22 0.84 0.68 0.08 0.05 0.57 0.18 0.05 0.13 0.06

29-2-12 27-2-12

113m

155.7

22-2-12

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

147.6000 239.4810 212.4997

149.7100 244.0123 207.9023

150.7100 245.6422 209.2910

-2.11 -2.57 -1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

152.0000

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

153.0000

154.0000

156.0000

-1.96

DISCOUNT WINDOW Feb. ’11

July ’11

Dec ’11

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

12%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate Inflation Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00% 12.10%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00% 12.10%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00% 12.6%

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days 150 Days

NSE CAP Index

27-10-11 N6.5236tr 20,607.37

Date

Rate (Previous) 4 Mar, 2012 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917 12.1250

Rate (Currency) 6, Mar, 2012 10.17% 11.46% 11.96% 12.54%

28-10-11 N6.617tr 20,903.16

% Change -1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

LOSERS AS AT 1-6-12

SYMBOL NASCON OANDO NCR GLASSURE TRANSCORP UAC-PROP FCMB AGLEVENT REDSTAREX CUTIX

Exchange Rate (N) 155.8 155.8

CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Year Start Offer

CHANGE

0.19 0.10 1.00 0.45 0.03 0.05 0.06 0.02 0.08 0.02

113m

Amount Sold ($) 150m 138m

EXHANGE RATE 6-03-12 Currency

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day 1-Year

UBA is leading the crusade in the implementation of the policy, particularly small depositors, which the new initiative meant to address.

Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($) 150m 150m 138m 138m

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

INTERBANK RATES OBB Rate Call Rate

an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card, would have opportunity to subscribe to the following eBanking platforms: U-Mobile; UMo; UBA Visa Prepaid Card; UBA Naira Debit Card; UBA DCDC. On the Cash-lite policy of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN), Divisional Head, e-Banking, UBA Plc, Dr. Yinka Adedeji, noted the bank had adopted critical measures to encourage its customers to embrace electronic channels. He added that

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM

MANAGED FUNDS

NIDF NESF

saving e-banking products and services.

Speaking on the new initiative, Head, Retail Products, UBA Plc, Olumide Osunyomi, said: “We have reduced the minimum opening balance for savings account to encourage more savers to inculcate the culture of savings, enhanced their living standards with the plethora of added high valued banking services.”

She said UBA has invested in cutting-edge technology towards delivery of seamless, efficient and cost saving e-Banking products and services. “UBA, being the largest eBanking services provider in the country, is inviting old and wouldbe customers to enjoy a new way of banking,” she said.

UBA savings account holders, among other traditional services availed by the Bank, which include

DATA BANK

Tenor

Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

work on all phones. No installation is required, no internet requirement and no resource required,” Mr Kuponiyi explained.

Offer Price

Bid Price

ARM AGGRESSIVE 9.17 KAKAWA GUARANTEED 1.00 STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE 123.93 AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND 105.00 THE LOTUS CAPITAL HALAL 0.75 BGL SAPPHIRE FUND 1.08 BGL NUBIAN FUND 0.89 NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL DEB. 1,710.94 PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND 9.42 CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST 1.39 CENTRE-POINT UNIT TRUST 1.87 STANBIC IBTC NIG EQUITY 7,690.48 THE DISCOVERY FUND 193.00 FIDELITY NIGFUND 1.67 • ARM AGGRESSIVE • KAKAWA GUARANTEED • STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE • AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND

9.08 1.00 123.81 104.34 0.73 1.08 0.88 1,703.76 8.96 1.33 1.80 7,486.02 191.08 1.62

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK Previous 04 July, 2011

Current 07, Aug, 2011

Bank

8.5000

8.5000

P/Court

8.0833

8.0833

Movement

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

31

BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL

Dollar biggest winner in May as investors drop stocks

T

HE dollar posted its biggest monthly gain since last year in May, beating bonds, stocks and commodities for the first time this year as investors sought refuge in United States assets while Europe’s sovereign crisis worsened.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc.’s Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners, climbed 5.5 per cent in May. Global fixed-income assets gained 1.1 per cent, including reinvested interest, Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes show. The MSCI AllCountry World Index of stocks lost 8.9 per cent with dividends, while the Standard & Poor’s GSCI Total Return Index of metals, fuels and agricultural products fell 13 per cent.

The dollar posted its biggest monthly gain since last year in May, beating bonds, stocks and commodities for the first time this year as investors sought refuge in U.S. assets while Europe’s sovereign cri-

sis worsened.

“The dollar’s had a fabulous month,” Camilla Sutton, chief currency strategist at Bank of Nova Scotia’s Scotia Capital unit in Toronto, said May 30 in a telephone interview. “We’re in a bout of significant risk aversion, which drives funds to the deepest capital markets in the world, the U.S., and creates a significant bid for the U.S. dollar.”

Gross domestic product worldwide may expand 2.5 per cent this year, down from 2.9 per cent in 2011, according to the median estimate of economists in separate polls by Bloomberg surveyed by Bloomberg. Yields on Treasuries due in 10 years fell to a record 1.44 percent this week and those of twoyear German bunds declined to zero.

At the same time, Spanish 10-year yields climbed to 6.7 per cent, the highest since November last year, as the nation weighs a 19 billion euro ($23.5 billion) bailout of Bankia group, its third-largest bank.

In the U.S., payrolls climbed by 69,000 last month, less than the most-pessimistic forecast in a Bloomberg News survey, Labor Department figures showed. The jobless rate rose to 8.2 per cent from 8.1 per cent. The Dollar Index fell for the first time in eight days after the employment report spurred speculation the Federal Reserve may enact more monetary easing, known as quantitative easing.

Global stocks had their biggest monthly losses since September, when Chinese manufacturing and German retail sales bolstered speculation that growth is slowing. Commodities fell the most in two years.

European elections in May altered Europe’s political balance when French President Nicolas Sarkozy was defeated by Francois Hollande, a Socialist who challenged Germany’s pro- austerity doctrine.

Greece, which failed to form a government when a party opposed to the nation’s international bailout won more seats than forecast, has

set an election this month that’s shaping up as a ballot on whether the country should remain in the euro.

There’s about a 60 per cent chance that Greece will leave the common European currency by the end of the summer, according to Michael Woolfolk, a managing director and senior currency strategist in New York at Bank of New York Mellon Corp., the world’s largest custodial bank.

“The largest fundamental is the crisis in Europe right now, with attention focused on Greece and prospects for them leaving the euro zone,” Woolfolk said on May 30 in a telephone interview.

Gross domestic product in China, whose biggest export market is Europe, will increase 8.2 per cent this year, the least since 1999, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. In the U.S., reports last month all showed a drop in consumer confidence, manufacturing

activity and orders for durable goods excluding transportation.

Last month’s gain in the Dollar Index was its biggest since surging 5.99 per cent in September.

The gauge is up 3.8 per cent this year to 83.2, its highest level since 2010. Strategists have boosted their-year end forecast for the index, to 80.2 from 76.85 in early January, according to the median estimate of nine analysts surveyed

by Bloomberg.

Central banks and investors seeking safe assets “have only one thing to buy right now,”Douglas Borthwick, head of foreign-exchange trading at Faros Trading LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, said on May 29 in an interview with Trish Regan and Adam Johnson on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.”

“They’re forced into owning the dollar,” he said. “Not because they like it or they think the dollar is going to rally, but because there’s nothing out there for them to buy.”

‘Euro area may breakup’

T

HE 17-nation euro area is in real danger of disintegrating unless policy makers revamp the bloc’s fiscal and economic ties, Economic and Monetary Commissioner Olli Rehn said.

“The way things are going and under the current structures, the euro area has a significant risk of breaking up,” Rehn said in a speech at a European Commission event in Helsinki. “We’re either headed for a deterioration of the euro area or a gradual strengthening of the European Union.”

A divergence in the sovereign yields of euro countries shows bets against the integrity of the 17-member currency bloc are growing. German two-year yields fell below zero for the first time this week while the yield on similar-maturity Spanish notes rose 11.8 basis points to 5.11 per cent.

A yield below zero means investors will receive less in repayments through maturity than the amount they paid to buy the debt.

Spain’s 10-year yield exceeded 6.5 per cent for a third day, approaching levels at which Greece, Ireland and Portugal sought bailouts after being shut out from market funding. The euro has dropped 7.3 per cent against the dollar over the past two months, nearing a two-year low this week, as investors grow more concerned Europe’s currency area will fracture.

The monetary union “has extremely tough decisions ahead and it’s important to face the truth,” Rehn said. “We must continue measures to balance public finances at the same time as we need structural reforms and actions that boost growth.”

Austerity measures are proving unpopular and choking growth in countries working to reduce deficits, including Greece, Spain and

Portugal. The monetary union’s economy will shrink 0.3 per cent this year before returning to one per cent growth in 2013, the European Commission said last month.

Euro-area unemployment reached 11 per cent in April and March, the highest on record, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. Spain, whose government is struggling to contain a banking crisis, had the bloc’s highest unemployment rate at 24.3 per cent, up from 24.1 percent in March, the report showed.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the euro is “unsustainable unless further steps are being undertaken.”

EU leaders will next consider how to manage the currency zone and assess the situation in Greece at a Brussels summit starting on June 28. Greek voters return to the polls on June 17 after the May 6 election left the country without a government.

Of the euro area’s members, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have the AAA credit rating. The other countries in the monetary union are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

Spain’s actions on balancing its public finances have been “significant” and the country may get a one-year extension on bringing its budget deficit in line with the EU’s three per cent of gross domestic product rule, Rehn said, reiterating comments he made earlier.

“If Spain is able to fix the finances of its autonomous areas, we’re ready to propose a one-year extension”of the deadline for correcting the excessive deficit, he said.

U.S. imports of Nigerian crude slide to 15-year low NITED States imports of Nigerian crude slumped to the lowest level in more than 15 years in March, according to Energy Department data.

Africa’s largest oil producer shipped 337,000 barrels a day of crude to the US, the least since December 1996, according to the data released at the wekend. That compares with an average of 768,000 barrels a day for 2011.

Imports of Nigerian crude to the East Coast, an area known as PADD1, dropped to 1.745 million barrels, down 44 per cent from February, the data showed. Shipments to the Gulf Coast,

U

known as PADD3, rose 31 per cent to 8.693 million barrels, the data show.

That’s 46 per cent less than a year earlier.

Rising production from the Eagle Ford shale formation in Texas may further damp demand for Nigeria’s crude, according to Zug, Switzerlandbased research group Petromatrix GmbH. “Those volumes will become increasingly at risk in the second half of the year as more Eagle Ford makes it way to the US Gulf,” Petromatrix Managing Director Olivier Jakob said in an e-mail.

•UNBELIEVABLE: A cross-section of Americans seeking jobs at a fair in New York.

Chesapeake oil well biggest gusher in history

C

HESAPEAKE Energy Corp.

(CHK) said it drilled the largest oil gusher in the company’s 23-year history at a “significant” discovery in the Anadarko Basin of Texas and Oklahoma.

The Thurman Horn 406H well in the Hogshooter formation produced 5,400 barrels of crude a day during its first eight days of operation, Chesapeake said in a statement.

The output was more than twice that of some of the best performing wells in the Eagle Ford shale of south Texas, which Chesapeake counts as its most valuable holding, said Michael Kelly, an analyst at Global Hunter Securities LLC in Houston.

“It’s pretty massive,” Kelly said in a telephone interview. “In the Eagle Ford or the Bakken shale, you’d be ecstatic if you got initial production anywhere close to 2,000 barrels a day, so this is really remarkable.”

The discovery will accelerate the second-largest US natural-gas supplier’s shift to more profitable crude production, Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon said in the statement.

Chesapeake shares have dropped 28 per cent this year as gas prices hit

a 10-year low and probes began of McClendon’s personal finances. Gas comprises more than 80 per cent of the Oklahoma City-based company’s output.

Chesapeake is seeking to sell $20.5 billion in assets by the end of 2013 to fill a cash-flow shortfall. The Hogshooter wells aren’t among the assets for sale, Jim Gipson, a Chesapeake spokesman, said today in a separate e-mailed statement.

The shares fell 4.6 per cent in New York after reports showed US employers created the fewest jobs in a year and Chinese manufacturing slowed, and as gas futures headed for a second weekly decline.

The Thurman Horn 406H well, which reaches a depth of 10,000 feet (3,000 metres), also pumped 4.6 million cubic feet of gas and 1,200 barrels of natural gas liquids daily.

“It’s the best oil well in the history of the company,” Gipson said.

Apache Corp. (APA) drilled two wells in the Hogshooter formation in 2010 that produced more than 2,000 barrels of oil a day. The wells were 15 miles (24 kilometres) apart, indicating there might be “meaningful potential” across a wide area, the company said at the time.

Chesapeake has 65 more

Hogshooter sites identified for drilling in the next few years. Rig costs and other drilling expenses are already factored into the capital budget, so no increase in total spending will be required, the company said.

The next step for Chesapeake is to prove it can achieve similarly high rates of production at other sites in the formation, said Manuj Nikhanj, head of energy research at Investment Technology Group Inc. (ITG) in Calgary. Other explorers such as Forest Oil Corp. (FST) have drilled promising wells at Hogshooter only to get disappointing outcomes nearby, he said.

Chesapeake’s Hogshooter results “are impressive to say the least,” Nikhanj said in an e-mailed statement. “The usual caveats around this region are that the well results are highly variable from one location to the next so repeatability is questionable.”

A second Chesapeake well in the Hogshooter formation, known as Meek 41 9H, had average daily production of 1,300 barrels of oil, 365 barrels of liquids and 1.4 million cubic feet of gas during its first 27 days of operation, the company said. Two additional wells in the formation are awaiting completion.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

32

THE CEO

‘Why waterways were concessioned’ The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is an agency charged with securing the waterways.

In this interview with OLUWAKEMI DAUDA, NIMASA Director-General Patrick Akpobolokemi, speaks on why the waterways were concessioned, the anti-piracy war and sundry issues.

• Akpobolokemi

OU have been here for over a year now, how has it been?

We came in here to get things done and we thank God that we are already achieving that. We have laid the foundation for the sustenance of our progammes. We have also sustained the programmes we inherited, such as the National Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP), and I’m confident that we will deliver on our mandate.

From the feedback reaching me, I believe everyone in the agency is doing well to promote the maritime industry.

What are the challenges and how are you resolving them?

The challenges I am facing have to do with safety on our waters. Safety is the first thing for us to tackle to be regarded as a maritime nation. When I came on board, I leveraged on a very robust Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy (NN) to create what is known as Guard Command. Another challenge is lack of operational boats. It is a major chal-

Y

lenge because the first thing I saw when I came in here was that we needed to buy boats. Everyday people are complaining and shouting about pirate attacks on our waters, but we can’t walk on water. So, if I don’t have boats, how can I patrol? In the international world, they rely on radar and satellite to fight piracy. We’ve managed to do our best without most of such equipment.

Is that the reason why the waterways were concessioned?

It was based on the several pirates’attacks on our waters that prompted us to take the advantage of the public-private partnership (PPP) initiative of the Federal Government to work with a private company, which has been having business relationship with the Federal Ministry of Transport since 2008.

Why the choice of the company?

The company, Global West Vessel Specialist Limited (GWVSL) donated five boats with which we started the pilot programme of our anti-piracy activities in the Lagos area.

The result was that the alarming piracy situ-

PHOTO: OLUWAKEMI DAUDA

ation in the area reduced to less than 80 per cent. Our success in the Lagos area encouraged the Federal Government to direct that we enter the Republic of Benin waters to help based on appeals from their President when he visited President Jonathan. On the directive of Mr President, we entered the place more than seven months ago. Before we entered there, 35 cases were reported, but since we started operating there, not one incidence of piracy has been reported.

Are the five boats enough to do the antipiracy job?

The five boats provided us by GWVSL could not go far enough into the sea and cannot cover the nation’s entire maritime domain. The need to stamp out piracy completely in Nigeria’s maritime domain, makes it safe for navigation in line with International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Maritime International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) and Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) conventions, and the need to deliver on our other

mandates, such as pollution control, as well as tackle the menace of stealing of Nigeria’s oil and other forms of illicit business activities in the nation’s waters, motivated us to expand the already successful anti-piracy project in the Lagos area to the nation’s maritime domain.

Do you have a problem in doing that?

Yes. The issue of platforms remain a problem. NIMASA does not have the funds and the Navy does not have the boats and the required electronic surveillance system.

How do you intend to resolve the challenge?

The management of the agency came up with the novel initiative of engaging a private operator who will be ready to provide the needed specifications of boats; crew, bunker and maintain them, as well as provide the required electronic surveillance system at no expense to the agency. It will make its money from an agreed sharing formula of • Continued on page 33

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

33

THE CEO •Continued from page 32

any excess revenue collected by the agency after an agreed benchmark revenue is attained.

How many companies showed interest?

About five or six. But of all the companies that the PPP initiative was discussed with, only GWVSL, which is involved in our Lagos and Benin experiment, accepted our condition at no expense to the agency.

Why the stringent condition?

It is not a stringent condition. The condition became necessary because NIMASA does not have the fund.

How much is expected to be invested by the contractor?

The contractor will invest $103 million in platforms and associated electronic surveillance systems. The company will also acquire the boats, bunker and maintain them for use by NIMASA 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

Any other responsibility?

That is the only responsibility of the contractor. His job is to make the specified boats available to NIMASA whenever we need them and at whatever place we need them.

NIMASA officials and the Navy will be on board the vessels as specified in the existing MoU between the agency and the Nigerian Navy.

Is the contractor going to carry arms and ammunition?

No. It is illegal for them to do that. It is only the Nigerian Navy that can carry arms on Nigerian waters, while NIMASA officials carry out our statutory functions.

Did the GWVSL accept that condition?

It is only this company that accepted all our conditions. The rest were only interested in supplying boats.

Who gave the approval?

It was not easy for NIMASA to get the initiative approved by the Federal Government. We were on it for several months and it passed through all necessary due processes before it was finally approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

What of written approval?

We have received the conveyance letter from the Presidency. Implementation has not commenced fully, but I assure Nigerians that by the time full implementation takes off, the problem of piracy on Nigerian waters, if not completely stamped out, will be reduced by over 90 per cent.

What is your reaction to the allegation of illegal oil bunkering on the waters?

We are still investigating. But when the full implementation of the contract starts, all forms of illicit bunkering and oil theft going on in Nigerian waters will be a thing of the past and of course the platforms will be used to enforce our entire statutory mandate. All those vessels that sneak into Nigerian waters and out will know that the game is up.

What do you think was responsible for the criticisms that trailed the award of the contract?

The NIMASA management categorised the critics of the contract into three. The first category were stakeholders and concerned Nigerians who were genuinely concerned about the safety of the Nigerian waterways, but were not duly sensitised on what the contract is all about. The second category were politicians pursuing cheap political and parochial interests, and the third were those engaged in all forms of illegal activities in the waters, who the full implementation of the contract will destroy completely their illicit businesses. To the first category, we sincerely apologise, we will continue to owe them an apology and we will continue to meet them and keep our doors open to explain fully everything about the contract.

But, it is worthy to note, like I explained earlier, that there is nothing new about the contract, it is an expansion of what we are already doing with the GWVSL in the Lagos waters and the waters of Republic of Benin in the last 18 months, and the result is there for the whole world to see. This company, since it commenced operations for us in the Benin waters, has not been paid a kobo of the money promised to it by the government, yet we have recorded 100 per cent success there. It is that success we want to take to the country’s maritime domain and remove this tag of ‘Nigeria piracy’ off our neck and remove the compulsory ‘War Area Insurance’ imposed on us.

How far have you gone with the anti-piracy war?

We have gone far and we thank God for that. Even the United Nations is aware of our anti-piracy efforts and has written that we should sustain it and extend it to cover Nigeria’s maritime domain. And if possible

‘Why waterways were concessioned’

• Akpobolokemi

‘Wrecks and abandoned ships are a problem, but it did not start today. It has a very long history. Some have been abandoned there for over 50 years and past administrations of the agency made several efforts to remove them.

Wrecks removal is capital intensive. On our part, we are at the concluding stage of removing those on our waters’

• Akpobolokemi

expand it to the entire gulf of Guinea.

What is your relationship with the stakeholders?

Our relationship with major stakeholders has been cordial. First of all, you have the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF). The

PHOTOS: OLUWAKEMI DAUDA

money has been sitting down there in the bank, and they said they want it now. What I wanted is for us to have a system where the money can be disbursed to those who will make judicious use of it and promote the shipping business.

How much is the amount now and how far do you think it can go?

The money is about $150million or more.

But the reality is that the CVFF cannot solve the problem of the maritime industry. Even if we have about $200 million in that fund, it cannot take us anywhere because it may not be able to build more than four 40,000 tonne tankers. Vessel acquisition is not a child’s play.

Why auditing the Nigerian fleet?

The essence of the audit is to know our strength and capabilities in terms of technical and numerical strength. We are still studying the report of the audit to enable us know where the indigenous ship owners need support.

What are you doing about wrecks’ removal to make the nation’s waters navigable?

One of our core functions is removing wrecks in the maritime domain. Wrecks and abandoned ships are a problem, but it did not start today. It has a very long history.

Some have been abandoned there for over 50 years and past administrations of the agency made several efforts to remove them.

Wrecks removal is capital intensive. On our part, we are at the concluding stage of removing those on our waters. The process of getting approval is long because the procurement process must be followed; also the capital required to remove them is huge. But we owe the country the responsibility of ensuring our waters are safe for navigation by removing the wrecks.

Can states or local governments remove the wrecks if they pose danger to them?

In the NIMAASA Act, removing wrecks is within the power of NIMASA. No state, local government or agency can do it. But that is not to say that NIMASA cannot partner with states or other organisations to achieve the goal. That is why we said we are ready to partner Lagos State on wrecks’ removal if approved by the Federal Government. There are many coastal states and local governments in the country; if all of them start to remove wrecks, there will be confusion. We respect the Lagos State government, we can partner with them. If the governor approaches me today for partnership on the removal of wrecks, I will work with him.

But it must be done democratically. The Minister of Transport is the only approving power for the removal of wrecks and he may not even be able to do that without getting the consent of his colleagues in the Federal Executive Council (FEC). Therefore, the Federal Government is the only approving authority.

What is delaying the seafarers’ identification (SID) number?

The delay in the document is not of NIMASA’s making. The SID thing needs to be domesticated. The last administration tried to ensure it was domesticated before the sixth National Assembly rounded off, now we are in the seventh National Assembly, we have to initiate a fresh Executive Bill to get it done and the long wait continues.

That is one of the challenges. I think there is the need for serious interaction among government agencies and the seperate arms of government for us to make progress. I strongly think there is need for cooperation, because you need to find out when you need another agency or arm of government to achieve a goal, solution. The delay caused by bureaucracy is negatively impacting on delivery of service to the people. That is why the SID has not taken off in the country three years after launch, but by the grace of God we are determined to get it done.

How far have you trained your staff since you assumed office?

Training is what we have been doing since I became the Director-General. We commenced massive targeted training of our staff last year. This year, a far bigger programme is planned. We intend to attach training to our mandate. The training we are having is targeted at raising the necessary capacity for the realisation of our statutory mandate. As a matter of fact, it has become a big deal that all our staff must be trained regardless of their position. Sometimes, I will go and be looking for somebody and they will tell me that the person, has gone for training. I think we have achieved that for the first time in the history of this agency. Training has been spread to everybody. For the past one year, we have been doing it and it is a well focused training programme. We have looked at competency and we have trained across board; so everybody is doing one course or the other.

Our training is based on the career which a staff wants to follow, and based on the professionalisation of what ones duty is.

Training has been quite beneficial and I am not exempted.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

34

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 1-6-12

Nahcoassuresinvestorsofimprovedreturns

M

ANAGING Director, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO aviance) Plc, Mr Kayode Oluwasegun-Ojo has said the company’s newly inaugurated $25 million ultramodern warehouse would improve the fortunes of the company.

Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) at the weekend, Oluwasegun-Ojo said the warehouse would not only boost the fortunes of the company but would also increase the revenue accruable to the Federal Government as the Nigerian Customs Services would have more conducive working environment to work at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Ikeja where the warehouse is located.

He noted that NAHCO aviance had gone through transformation programme which has started yielding result and transforming the face of the aviation industry.

“This project has placed NAHCO aviance Plc at the vantage position of sustaining its leadership position for the coming years.

The new warehouse has an increased capacity of ap-

By Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

proximately 21,000 square metres, an increase of over 50 per cent in storage space when compared with the old structure.

The huge facility gives our company the needed platform to develop a regional cargo hub at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport,” he said.

He added that the installation of modern cold-room equipment had increased the revenue generation capacities of the import and export warehouses.

“Crowd control and security of the warehouse have already been addressed by the installation of computerized access control system and intelligent closed circuit television (CCTV). This will reduce to the barest minimum the incidence of pilferages and missing cargoes while eliminating associated consignee claims,” he said.

He said that the company has stepped up efforts in bringing satisfying travel experience to Nigerians and the international community.

He pointed out that in the

last one year, the company has invested about N2 billion in the procurement of about 400 state-of-the-art Ground Support Equipment in addition to the N68 million export cargo screening system commissioned recently.

In his remarks, Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema, commended the efforts of NAHCO aviance and solicited the cooperation of the company in the bid to transform the Exchange.

According to him, NSE is going through transformation and t needs the co-operation of quoted companies like NAHCO aviance to succeed.

Onyema said the Exchange was introducing value added services to serve the listed companies including investors’ relations programme, independent equity research, corporate access services, and advocate services among others.

Meanwhile, the stock market traded in predominantly bearish territory for the greater part of the week as the benchmark All Share Index (ASI) dropped by 1.21 per cent to close at 21,963.87 points as against its opening index of 22,232.36 points.

Aggregate market value of all equities declined from N7.090 trillion to N 7.004 trillion. Total turnover stood at 1.301 billion shares worth N9.46 billion in 14,792.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 1-6-12

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4 , 2012

35

EQUITIES WATCH

Email: taofad2000@yahoo.co.uk

Wema Bank, Nigeria's first and oldest surviving indigenous bank, is one of the most resilient banks. But now trading at its lowest share price in recent history, the lender is still struggling to gain enough momentum for recovery, reports TAOFIK SALAKO

W

EMA Bank is trading at its nominal value of 50 kobo. The market consideration is both Wema Bank's lowest share price in recent years as well as banking industry's lowest value per share. From a high and steady price of N15 per share in January 2008, Wema Bank sloped down from a high of N14.29 to a low of 74 kobo in 2009 and finally closed the year at 93 kobo per share. In 2010 when the overall market situation indicated temporary recovery, Wema Bank trended upward from a low of 75 kobo to close the year at N1.29 per share. It had peaked at a high of N1.82 per share. But since then, it has continuously tumbled from one low to another.

In 2011, Wema Bank returned a full year return of - 55.8 per cent. It had dropped from a high of N1.75 per share to a low of 52 kobo before closing at 57 kobo per share.

With most banking stocks recovering and the overall market situation sustaining a positive return outlook so far this year, Wema Bank appeared stuck at its nominal value and lowest market consideration of 50 kobo. Its highest price so far was the 57 kobo recorded as the closing value for 2011, which automatically served as opening price on board for 2012. This implies a year-to-date return of -12.3 per cent as against average return of 5.95 per cent for the overall market.

From national to regional Besides the technical performance, Wema Bank has trimmed its operations to fit into its new status under the new banking regime. The new banking regulatory framework introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) requires banks to wholly divest from non-banking subsidiaries or form a holding company to hold their non-banking businesses. Besides, banks are denoted by the geographical spread of their operations. As such, banks could opt to operate as regional bank, national bank or international commercial bank. Wema Bank has opted for regional commercial banking license with a full focus on core banking operations. The new status implies that the bank would divest its non-core banking subsidiaries. These include Great Nigerian Insurance, Wema Capital, Wema Insurance Brokers, Wema Savings & Homes, Wema Registrars, Wise Properties, Wema Financial & Securities, and Wema Ventures.

Already, CBN has confirmed that Wema Bank has more than enough verified capital for its operations as a regional bank, an indirect confirmation of the success of Wema Bank's application for regional banking license. The apex bank had verified that Wema Bank secured about N27 billion through a combination of new equity offer, debt recoveries and sale of bad assets. The CBN verified and recognized the N7.5 billion capital raised through a special placement offer and the additional recoveries of N4 billion made by Wema Bank Plc. In addition, the CBN noted that a portion

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Will Wema Bank rediscover its value? of Wema Bank's eligible bank assets worth N21.6 billion was purchased for N15.2 billion by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

Under the new banking model, a regional bank can operate in a minimum of six and a maximum of 12 contiguous states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) but those states must be within not more than two geopolitical zones. However, a regional bank can offer the same bouquet of banking services like a national or international bank in as much as its physical operations remain within its defined region.

New strategic outlook Managing director of Wema Bank, Mr Segun Oloketuyi, in a review outlined the strategic positioning of the bank. Going forward, Wema Bank would focus on cost optimisation and continue to improve infrastructural efficiency in order to significantly improve its performance culture. "We have significantly enhanced the way we measure performance, aligning this more closely with shareholder value. We will continue to drive capital efficiency, reduce capital consumption of non-core assets and rigorously assess possible shareholder returns when evaluating our investments. We will sustain the aggressive recovery programme, which is yielding very impressive results and cost optimisation initiatives will

continue to be implemented to reduce our operating overheads," Oloketuyi said.

According to him, key changes to the bank's business processes have changed the way it interacts with and serves customers. Leveraging on technology, the bank is now better positioned to deliver continual service improvement and ensure that service quality within the organisation is monitored, measured and improved. He added that the bank believes that technology that correctly underpins and enables continual service improvement is fundamental in gaining maximum effectiveness and efficiency from its processes. "The future is bright and we count on the continued support of our customers and our shareholders to deliver value to all our stakeholders," Oloketuyi assured.

Where are the fundamentals?

But beyond the institutional restructuring, Wema Bank is still searching for fundamentals to showcase the new status and reassure investors. While nearly all banks have released their audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2011, Wema Bank is yet to present its results for the immediate past year. But for the previous years, the losing streak had left many investors cautious and wary. Wema Bank had posted net loss of N46.3 billion and N20.46 billion in 2008 and 2009 respectively. With the change of

•MD, Wema Bank, Segun Oloketuyi

the bank's year-end from March to December, the bank posted a loss of N7.53 billion by the year ended December 31, 2009. But the bank had returned to profitability in 2010 with a net profit of N17.46 billion.

The net profit was however, largely due to write-backs. But with most banks forced to undress their write-backs and make further provisions in 2011, discerning investors appeared to be apprehensive that Wema Bank's performance would mirror the overall trend in the banking industry.

Beyond the recapitalisation and repositioning of the bank, investors appear to be waiting for certainty of positive earnings to reevaluate the potential of the stock.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4 , 2012

36

DUE DILIGENCE

J

ULIUS Berger Nigeria Plc rode on the back of improved efficiency and productivity to sustain impressive growth in profitability in 2011. In spite of marginal decline in turnover, efficient cost management nearly doubled net earnings, putting the company in good stead to increase cash payouts to shareholders without undermining sustainability of future payouts.

Audited report and accounts of Julius Berger Nigeria for the year ended December 31, 2011 showed a 2.5 per cent decline in gross income but considerable decline in costs counterbalanced the slowdown in the top-line, pushing profit after tax up by about 75 per cent.

The report showed appreciable improvements in key underlying fundamentals of the construction company with lower financial leverage, improved financing structure, better returns on resources and stronger liquidity. With net earnings per share rising by 75 per cent to N4.07, the company has earmarked 20 per cent increase in cash payout to N2.40 dividend per share.

However, Julius Berger Nigeria financial leverage and liquidity positions still appeared worrisome, notwithstanding the improvements in 2011. Debts still substantially overwhelmed equity while negative working capital and current ratio of less than 1.0 time showed a vulnerable liquidity position.

Financing structure Group paid up capital remained unchanged at N600 million, consisting of 1.2 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each. Shareholders' funds meanwhile rose by 32 per cent from N7.73 billion in 2010 to N10.21 billion in 2011.

Total assets increased by 12.5 per cent to N169.4 billion as against N150.5 billion recorded in previous year. Current assets had grown by 27 per cent from N79.11 billion in 2010 to N100.29 billion. Total permanent assets had slipped from N71.4 billion to N69.07 billion. Total liabilities also rose by 11.5 per cent from N142.76 billion to N159.16 billion. Current liabilities stood at N146.65 billion in 2011, representing 11 per cent increase on N132.36 billion posted in 2010. Longterm liabilities rose by 20 per cent from N10.4 billion to N12.5 billion.

The financing position of the company improved considerably, although it remained substantially dependent on debts. The proportion of total equity funds to total assets improved from 5.1 per cent in 2010 to N6.0 per cent in 2011. Long-term liabilities/total assets ratio improved from 6.9 per cent to 7.4 per cent while current liabilities amounted to 87 per cent of total balance sheet size as against 88 per cent in 2010. Debt-toequity ratio improved from 216 per cent in 2010 to 157 per cent in 2011.

Fiscal Year Ended December 31 Nmillion Profit and Loss Statement Main Business Segment Total turnover Cost of sales Gross profit Operating expenses Interest and other incomes Finance expenses Pre-tax profit(loss) Post-tax profit (loss) Basic earnings per share(kobo) Gross dividend (Nm) Cash dividend per share (kobo) Net Assets per share (kobo) Balance Sheet Assets: Fixed assets Total long term assets Trade debtors Current assets Total assets Liabilities: Trade creditors Bank loans Current liabilities Long-term liabilities Total liabilities Equity Funds Share capital Total Equity Funds

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Julius Berger Nigeria: Building strong fundamentals

By Taofik Salako

Efficiency Julius Berger Nigeria became more efficient and productive in the immediate past year, with lower cost-to-sale ratio and higher average profit per head. Total number of employees slipped from 18,690 persons to 18,670 persons. However, total staff costs rose from N40.73 billion to N43.42 billion, indicating average cost per head of N2.33 million in 2011 as against N2.18 million in 2010. Improvement in staff remuneration impacted positively on productivity with average pre-tax profit per head increasing from N0.43 million to N0.56 million. With decline in cost of sale and tight control on operating expenses, total costs of business, excluding finance charges, dropped to 93.6 per cent of total income in 2011 as against 96 per cent in 2010.

Profitability Julius Berger Nigeria recorded appreciable improvement in profitability in 2011. Both actual profit and loss figures and underlying profitability indices showed positive outlook. Gross profit margin improved from 17.1 per cent to 20.1 per cent while average pre-tax profit margin increased to 6.1 per cent as against 4.6 per cent in 2010.

Group turnover stood at N169.41 billion in 2011 compared with N173.69 billion in 2011. Segmental analysis of the top-line showed that Julius Berger Nigeria's incomes were mainly from construction activities in Nigeria.

Turnover from the construction business of the parent company stood at N167.4 billion in 2011 as against N171.9 billion in 2010. Two other subsidiaries-Abumet Nigeria Limited and Julius Berger Services Nigeria Limited, contributed N2.01 billion in 2011 as against N1.82 billion in 2010.

Total cost of sales meanwhile dropped

by 6.0 per cent from N143.93 billion to N135.23 billion in 2011, lifting gross profit by 14.5 per cent to N34.09 billion in 2011 as against N29.76 billion.

Operating expenses was almost flat at N23.30 billion in 2011 compared with N22.95 billion in 2010. Non-core business income reduced by a quarter from N2.09 billion in 2010 to N1.56 billion in 2011. Interest expenses jumped by 120 per cent to N1.95 billion as against N885 million in previous year. With these, profit before tax rose by 30 per cent from N8.01 billion to N10.4 billion. With marginal increase of about 6.0 per cent, profit after taxes leapt to N4.88 billion in 2011, representing an increase of 74 per cent in 2010.

Consequently, earnings per share rose from N2.33 in 2010 to N4.07 in 2011. On the basis of improved earnings, the board of the company has recommended distribution of N2.88 billion as cash dividends for the 2011 business year as against N2.40 billion paid for the 2010 business year.

This translated into dividend per share of N2.40 for 2011 as against N2 for 2010. Notwithstanding the 20 per cent in cash payout, the company's dividend sustainability outlook improved considerably with a dividend cover of 1.70 times in 2011 as against 1.17 times in 2010. Net assets per share also increased by 32 per cent from N6.44 in 2010 to N8.51 2011. Besides, underlying returns to shareholders and other assets improved considerably with return on equity rising from 36 per cent to about 48 per cent.

Return on total assets also improved from 5.3 per cent to 6.1 per cent.

Liquidity The liquidity position of the company improved in the immediate past year, although the overall liquidity assessment still showed a precarious

2011 12 months

% change

2010 12 months

167,399 169,413 135,327 34,087 23,302 1,559 1,948 10,396 4,875 407 2,880 240 851

-2.6 -2.5 -6.0 14.5 1.5 -25.3 120.1 29.7 73.9 74.7 20.0 20.0 32.1

171,874 173,691 143,927 29,763 22,952 2,088 885 8,014 2,804 233 2,400 200 644

56,596 69,071 40,134 100,294 169,365

-6.5 -3.2 29.4 26.8 12.5

60,513 71,378 31,013 79,112 150,490

8,883 16,038 146,652 12,504 159,156

29.4 -4.1 10.8 20.3 11.5

6,863 16,730 132,364 10,392 142,756

600 10,209

0.0 32.0

600 7,733

position. Current ratio, which measures the relationship between current assets and relevant liabilities, improved from 0.60 time in 2010 to 0.68 time in 2011; still substantially below acceptable standard of 1.0 time. Working capital remained negative at -27 per cent of turnover in 2011 as against -31 per cent in 2010. Debtors/creditor ratio was almost flat at 451.8 per cent in 2011 compared with 451.9 per cent in 2010.

Governance and structures Julius Berger Nigeria is the leading construction company in Nigeria. Incorporated in 1970, it became a publicly quoted company in 1991 and now has 1.2 billion shares spread across some 10,000 shareholders.

There were major changes in the ownership and group structures of the company during the period under review. Bilfinger Berger SE, the majority core investor in Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, which held 49.87 per cent equity stake, sold 10 per cent of its equities to a Nigerian shareholder.

Thus Bilfinger Berger now holds 39.87 per cent equity stake while Watertown Energy Limited holds 10 per cent equity stake, the second largest by a single shareholder. Other substantial shareholders include the Lagos State, Benue State and Plateau State, which hold 5.50 per cent, 5.21 per cent and 4.16 per cent respectively through their investment companies. The reduction in shareholding of Bilfinger Berger increased shareholdings by Nigerians from 50.13 per cent to 60.13 per cent.

Julius Berger Nigeria also incorporated two wholly owned subsidiaries-Julius Berger Medical Services Limited and Prime Tech Design and Engineering Nigeria Limited, in 2011, bringing the number of sub-

Fiscal Year Ended December 31

•MD,Julius Berger Nig, Wolfgang Goetsch

sidiaries to four. The company is also in the process of acquiring a controlling majority share of the technical and logistic business and operations of Bilfinger Berger Nigeria GmbH, Wiesbaden, Germany, which would assure Julius Berger Nigeria of total control of all required services such as planning, procurement, recruitment and capacity building.

There were no major changes on the board and management of the company. Avm. Mohammed Nuruddeen Imam still chairs the board of directors while Mr Wolfgang Goetsch remains the managing director. Two non-executive directors resigned and were replaced during the period while another non-executive director was appointed.

Julius Berger Nigeria generally complies with code of corporate governance and the scope and presentation of its report were adequate.

Analyst’s opinion The performance of Julius Berger Nigeria in 2011 is commendable, especially given that the impressive bottom-line performance was driven by cost efficiency. With strategic investments in local production and aggressive positioning to tap into the local content initiative, Julius Berger Nigeria is in a good stead to further consolidate its performance.

The projects portfolio of the company remained robust with additional 11 major contracts in 2011, bringing ongoing major projects to more than 23.

Given Nigeria's infrastructural requirements and the leading position of Julius Berger Nigeria in the building and construction industry, there is reasonable basis to assume that the company would sustain its growth in the years ahead. However, there is need to reconsider the financing structure of the company to avoid financial mismatch that may erode shareholders' value and stifle long-term sustainable growth.

2011 %

2010 %

Financing structure Equity funds/Total assets Long-term liabilities/Total assets Current liabilities/Total assets Debt/Equity ratio

6.0 7.4 86.6 157.1

5.1 6.9 88.0 216.3

Profitability Gross profit margin Pre-tax profit margin Return on total assets Return on equity Dividend cover (times)

20.1 6.1 6.1 47.8 1.70

17.1 4.6 5.3 36.3 1.17

Efficiency Pre-tax profit per employee (Nm) Staff cost per employee (Nm) Cost of sales, operating exp/Turnover

0.56 2.33 93.6

0.43 2.18 96.1

Liquidity Current ratio Working capital/Turnover Debtors/Creditors

0.68 -27.4 451.8

0.60 -30.7 451.9

THE

JOBS THE NATION

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

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

37

• USAID assisted farm in Benue State

Farming can only get better Many jobs are being created through contract farming, a concept under which some manufacturing firms engage farmers to work for them. Some farmers are enjoying the best of two worlds under the arrangement, AKINOLA AJIBADE writes.

F

OR now, some farmers are enjoying the best of two worlds. They are tilling their own farms and also work for some manufacturing firms through what is known as contract farming. These companies engage farmers to produce food and cash crops for them over a period of time. The contract is usually for between two and three years and subject to renewal.

Under the deal, companies provide land, seedlings and tools for the farmers. The companies also pay the farmers for their labour. This development has minimised the risk level of farmers, and also guaranteed their jobs. The companies use agricultural produce, such as mango, cashew, pineapple, sorghum, tobacco, cocoa, among others for production.

The firms include British American Tobacco (BAT) and Nestle Nigeria Plc. BAT has acquired land for tobacco production. It acquired farmlands in Otu, Iseyin, Igbojaye and Adiko-Ayo in Oyo State, where the farmers will grow Flue-Cured Tobacco for the company.

The company also has farmlands in Zaria, Sokoto and Sabon Biru, where Light Air Cured Tobacco will be grown. Those in the east are required to grow Dark-Cured Tobacco.

Nestle Nigeria has lands in strategic areas for the cultivation of cocoa, among other produce.

With 26 seedling companies in the country, the companies conduct extensive research on seedlings to know their nature.

They also engage in contract farming by

employing farmers to grow certain crops for them. Some of the companies are Best Buy Global Resources, Honey Touch Nigeria Limited and Omoted Nigeria Limited.

Managing Director, Atiku Farm Limited Mr Atiku Abogun said contract farming has helped create jobs for many people. He said companies that entered into contract with farmers have improved their productivity, and also created job for many people. He said skilled and unskilled workers get jobs through contract farming adding that many farmers that were hitherto idle, have been employed through this means. He said more Nigerians would be employed as companies engage in contract farming to meet their production needs.

He said: “Agriculture is the main stay of the economy; contributing more than 40 per

cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

It is the major employer of labour, and boasts of the widest market. With contract farming now in place, farmers that are not well sustaining would have no option than to key into the idea for growth. When they do this, they would increase their productivity, make more money, acquire more land and bring more people into the employment net. I believe contract farming would create more job opportunities for Nigerians in the future.”

Abogun implored the government to support agriculture by providing funds to farmers. He said farmers would improve their production when banks give them loans. Abogun said the value chains • Continued on page 38

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

38

JOBS

Farming can only get better • Continued from page 37

that would be created through contract farming are enormous, when banks support the sector.

Managing Director, Best Food Farm Limited Mr Emmanuel Ijewere said contract farming has created jobs for many. He said the concept is good because it makes farmers more productive.

He said it took stakeholders five years to come up with the idea known as “contract farming,” adding that it has been working. He said another concept known as Nucleus Estate Initiative (NEI) has been developed as an alternative to contract farming, adding that NEI has the capacity to create more jobs for farmers.

Ijewere said: “Apart from contract farming, there is the NEI that is creating more employment opportunities for people. The idea is that big farmers would carry the small farmers along. They would assist small farmers to cultivate their land, provide them high yield seedlings to help them grow their crops. The small farmers, in return, will assist the bigger ones in their farms. This has resulted in huge productivity for farmers at both ends.

“When there is increase in productivity, farmers would acquire more lands and employ more

workers to meet up with their growing demands. Cases abound where farmers have employed more hands through this means.

This concept has created unending value chains, and it would continue to create jobs for skilled and unskilled workers.”

He said the concept has opened up several job opportunities for people who have shown interest in it.

Older farmers, Ijewere said, benefit more from it. He said ageing farmers do not have enough capacity, adding that the NEI would increase their productivity and earnings. He advised stakeholders to leverage on any concept introduced in the agricultural sector for growth, arguing that the sector needs innovation to survive.

A worker with Amao Farms Limited, Mr Adeniyi Oluwabunmi, said

• Minister of Agriculture, Akin Adesina

the idea has helped in creating jobs for people.

Oluwabunmi said many residents of Shaki in Oyo State have been coopted into farming through this

• Ijiewere

means. He said his company has been providing fruits for organisations that produce juice.

“We have been supplying companies that produce juice with

‘Agriculture is the main stay of the economy; contributing more than 40 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is the major employer of labour, and boasts of the widest market. With contract farming now in place, farmers that are not well sustaining would have no option than to key into the idea for growth’

enough fruits that is why they are still in business. This is going to have multiplier effects on their operations. They would increase their productivity and further employ more hands. The employment chain starts from one point, and stops at another end,” he said.

Oluwabunmi urged multinationals that produce coagulated products such as Milo, Bournvita, powder milk, among others to partner with farmers.

He said such companies need farm produce in large quantities, adding that engaging in contract farming is the only viable option for them.

CAREER MANAGEMENT

T

HE interview is one of the most important elements in the job search process. When an employer invites you to an interview, he/she is indicating an interest in bringing you on board. The interview gives both of you the opportunity to exchange enough information to determine if you are a good “fit” for each other. Think of an interview as a highly focused professional conversation. You should use the limited amount of time you have to learn about an employer’s needs and discuss the ways you can meet these needs. In many cases, you will interview at least twice before being hired for a position. Once in a brief screening interview and at least once again in a more serious meeting when you may also speak with many of your potential coworkers.

The job interview is a strategic conversation with a purpose. Your goal is to show the employer that you have the skills, background, and ability to do the job and that you can successfully fit into the organisation and its culture. The interview is also your opportunity to gather information about the job, the organisation, and future career opportunities to figure out if the position and work environment are right for you.

Most employers do not hire people based on merit alone. Personality, confidence, enthusiasm, a positive outlook, and excellent interpersonal and communication skills count heavily in the selection process.

After your cover letter and résumé, the interview is your best opportunity to wow the employer-regardless of your background and experience. To do this, use every possible strategy to develop effective interviewing skills. The best way is to prepare a selective presentation of your background, thoughtful answers to potential interview questions, well-researched questions about the organisation, and an effective strategy to market yourself. Also consider your career goals and what the available job offers so that you can discuss both of these topics with employers. Interviewing is a skill that improves and becomes easier with practice.

Check with your school career center or your local Employment Service office to see if it offers workshops and individual videotaped mock interviews for practice.

Research It is to your advantage to carefully research the job and the organisation. There are many

Making a success of job interview

By Olu Oyeniran

ways to do this. You can request printed materials from the employer, such as annual reports and job descriptions. This is an entirely appropriate request, so don’t hesitate to make it. Use your library and career center resources.

Ask colleagues, friends, and faculty about the organisation, and about any personal contacts at the organisation they might have. Look at the organisation’s home page. Knowing about the job will help you prepare a list of your qualifications so that you can show, point by point, why you are the best candidate.

Practice, practice, practice Prepare a succinct, clear answer to each of the questions in the interview questions section. Practice answering questions with a friend, or in front of a mirror. Ask your friend to give you constructive criticism on your speaking style, mannerisms, and poise.

As you practice, avoid colloquialisms, such as “like” and “you know.” Make sure you don’t script all your answers-you’ll sound as though you’re reading cue cards! It’s important to prepare yourself for talking with complete strangers.

Find out the logistics of the interview The more you know, the more focused your answers will be. Find out when the interview is scheduled, what to expect during it, and how long you will be there. Also find out if you will be talking to just one person, or to several.

Be prompt and professional Always arrive early. If you don’t know where the organisation is located, call for exact directions in advance. Leave some extra time for any traffic, parking, or unpredictable events. If you are running late, call right away and let someone know. The best time to arrive is approximately five to 10 minutes early. Give yourself the time to read your résumé one more time, to catch your breath, and to be ready for the interview.

Once you’re at the office, treat everyone you encounter with respect. Be pleasant to everyone as soon as you walk in the door.

Dress for success Wear a professional business suit. This point cannot be emphasized enough. First impressions are extremely important in the interview process. Women should avoid wearing too much jewelry or make up. Men should avoid flashy suits or wearing too much cologne. It is also important that you feel comfortable. While a suit is the standard interview attire in a business environment, if you think it is an informal environment, call before and ask. Regardless, you can never be overdressed if you are wearing a tailored suit.

Be organised Carry a portfolio notepad or at the very least a manila file folder labeled with the employer’s name. Bring extra résumés and have the names, addresses and phone numbers of references, in case the employer asks.

Also, bring a list of questions for the employer. You may refer to your list of questions to be sure you’ve gathered the information you need to make a decision. Do not be preoccupied with taking notes during the interview.

Know yourself You will make the interview process easier for the employer if you volunteer relevant information about yourself. Think about how you want to present your strengths, experiences, education, work style, skills, and goals. Be prepared to supplement all your answers with examples that support the statements you make. It is also a good idea to review your résumé with a critical eye and identify areas that an employer might see as limitations or want further information. Think about how you can answer difficult questions accurately and positively, while keeping each answer brief.

Be honest An interview gives the employer a chance to get to know you. While you do want to market yourself to the employer, answer each question with an honest response.

Be positive Never say anything negative about past experiences, employers, or courses and professors. Always think of something positive about an experience and talk about that. You should also be enthusiastic. If you are genuinely interested in the job, let the interviewer know that.

Show your interest One of the best ways to show you are interested in a job is to demonstrate that you have researched the organisation prior to the interview. You can also show interest by asking questions about the job, the organisation, and its services and products. The best way to impress an employer is to ask questions that build upon your interview discussion. This shows you are interested and paying close attention to the interviewer. It is a good idea to prepare a few questions in advance, but an insightful comment based on your conversation can make an even stronger statement. At the end of an interview, it is appropriate for you to ask when you may expect to hear from the employer.

Save discussion of salary for later Find out as much as you can before the interview about the salary levels for the position you are seeking. Do not bring up the issue of salary during the first interview. If the interviewer asks about your salary expectations, give only a general answer, such as that your expectations seem to be within, or close to their range.

After-interview notes After the interview, take time to write down the names and titles (check spelling) of all your interviewers, your impressions, remaining questions, and any information that may influence your decision to accept a position with the organisation. If you are interviewing regularly, this will help you keep employers and circumstances clearly differentiated.

Olu Oyeniran is the Lead Consultant, EkiniConsult & Associates.

Website: www.jobsearchhow.com E-mail: oluoyeniran@yahoo.com Tel 08083843230 (SMS Only).

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

39

INSURANCE

NAICOM cautions insurers on oil industry risks T HE Commissioner for Insurance Fola Daniel has urged insurance operators to avoid taking oil and gas risks that will choke their operations.

The warning followed quests by insurers to play in the oil and gas underwriting in which they have been given 70 per cent share by the Nigerian Content Act. Daniel told The Nation that the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) will continue to monitor their operations to ensure that they do not take up risks beyond their capacity.

He said most underwriters have shown enthusiasm on leveraging on the opportunities provided by the Nigerian Content Act, stressing that the Act as it relates to insurance, states that 70 per cent of all insurable under the oil and gas business must be domiciled with Nigerian insurers, adding that the industry has risen to the occasion; as it has seized on the opportunity to write more business in the sec-

Stories by Chuks Udo Okonta

tor.

He urged the operators to build their technical capacity to enable them to maximise the enormous opportunities in the sector, adding that the law empowering insurers to increase their stake is one of the best thing that has happened in recent times.

He said: “Having financial capacity is not the same as having technical capacity. This is because you need finance to build technical capacity. That people suddenly find themselves with capital of N6billion or N7billion does not mean that they know about oil and gas.

“The operators really need deliberate effort to train personnel to understand oil and gas; otherwise, they will go and take risks in which they lack the required knowledge.

That will become a blind date, which could crash and it will be inimical to the organisation and the

industry. People are eagerly building capacity and we are making good progress.

Daniel stated that five years ago, one could point to some Nigerian companies that were doing something in the area of oil and gas, but today, “we have a good number of them that are really striving to build capacity so that they can take advantage of the Nigerian Content Act as it relates to insurance.”

He said NAICOM is committed to ensuring that the Nigerian Content Act on is complied with, adding that aside the stipulated percentage given to the industry, the commission has in some situation ensured that 100 per cent of certain risks are underwritten locally.

“On the question of 70 per cent which was ceded to local operators, I think we need to be a bit careful here. The Nigerian Content Act stipulates that we should insure 70 per cent of any thing under oil and gas. But some of these businesses come in billions of dollars, so we

are looking at 70 per cent on caseby-case basis. And if you look at it on case-by-case basis, there are situations, where as a regulator, we say to the oil industry, no, this is not a case of 70 per cent. Seventy per cent is a prescribed minimum. We can do 100 per cent. So, there are situations where we can do 100 per cent absolutely, which means there is no need to cede anything abroad.

“There are situations we can take 90 per cent. Then there would be situation naturally, where because of the quantum of the value’s risks, 70 per cent would not be retainable in the country. It must be noted that despite of the law, insurance is about spread of risks. So, where it become expedient for us to take less than 70 per cent as a result of the large volume at risk, we take less than 70 per cent. This is because we must not take a value that would choke the industry. We must not accept a sum insured in a way that where there is a claim, we begin to give excuses. Insurance is moving forward and it is about making promise, but redeeming that promise is very important. So, we take objective view of each case as they come. As I have said, it is not about

70 per cent for there are several situations where we were able to take 100 per cent.”

He called on operators to be responsive to claims settlement ,adding that discharged claims should be settled immediately as prescribed by the Insurance Act 2003 and that failure to do so would attract sanctions as stipulated by section 70 (2) of the Insurance Act 2003 He said failure to settle discharged claims shall attract sanctions as stipulated by Section 70 (2) of the Insurance Act 2003, stressing that consistent failure to settle discharged claims promptly may lead to the withdrawal of the licence of the insurer as stipulated by section 8 (1) (m) of the Insurance Act 2003 and the insurer may be would up by the commission in accordance with the provisions of section8 and 32 (1) (b) of the Insurance Act 2003.

He maintained that the commission considers prompt claims settlement as the best awareness campaign tool, adding that when an insurance company pays claims promptly, then a lot of Nigerians would begin to have more confidence and people would buy more insurance products.

‘How PenCom tried to sanitise govt’s pension departments’

T

• From left: Commissioner for Insurance Fola Daniel and Deputy Commissioner, Technical, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) Ibrahim Hassan at a briefing in Uyo.

‘Insurance needs law enforcement to thrive’

I

NSURANCE practice will require the enforcement of laws for it to thrive, the Chairman Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) Olusola Ladipo-Ajayi, has said.

He told The Nation that the public would embrace insurance when there is a law compelling them to buy policies. He noted that the industry’s developmental problems stems from prompt payment of premiums by government and individuals.

Ladipo-Ajayi, also traced the industry’s problems to the high level of unethical practices by operators.

He said efforts by his administration to check unethical practice failed as unhealthy competition transverses the sector.

He said greater per cent of the industry’s premium comes from the government, adding that the private sector’s contribution was still very low. He said the pensions industry has been able to accumulate the large funds because of the law that compel the public to comply with the Pension Reform Acts.

He noted that while law enforcement will aid the industry’s growth, operators have to live to the trust reposed on them by playing according to stipulated rules.

He said most operators have decided to join the bandwagon of faulting the rule rather than supporting the association’s rule. He said the

agreement has become a problem instead of a panacea.

He said: “The market has become a problem and I have explained the frustration of the association. The most difficult thing is that everybody complains but nobody is reporting defaulters to the association.

“We are not policemen in NIA secretariat. If our members report, it will be easier for us but rather everybody goes back to join the bandwagon and the truth of it is that the market agreement is being observed in the breach of it. But at NIA, we have resolved that we take an official position of NIA on every matter. So, whoever decides to go against it is not going in accordance with NIA rules and everybody knows the NIA position.”

He said the association will not relent in its efforts to sanitise the industry, adding that the customer complaint bureau was set up to also make operators abide by the rule of a unified premium rate.

“In an effort to counter free fall of premium, we have established the customer complaint bureau.

We have resolved that we are not going to court to settle insurance cases; all the cases that are decided by the bureau, our members accepted them. Because we did not want people to fell aggrieve with the decision of the bureau that was why we took the pain to get a re-

tired Supreme Court judge to be the chairman of the bureau and that is the only way we can checkmate our people.

“We have esteemed our standard.

If we have a report of violation, when what we are preventing operators from doing happens, they will have no hiding place because they are not going to cover up anybody and that the best NIA can do for now.”

He said the major problem facing the industry is that of appreciation of its products, adding that people are yet to understand the main purpose of insurance.

HE Director-General National Pension Commission (PenCom) Muhammad Ahmad has said the Commission made frantic efforts to oversee the activities of governments’ pension departments but it faced stiff resistance by the operators.

In a statement, he said PenCom set up a committee to co-ordinate the affairs of government pension departments, but the committee did not succeed as members from the pension offices suddenly stopped attending meetings without reason.

He said: “In conjunction with the Ministry of Finance and Budget Office, we undertook an exercise in 2006, which was concluded in 2007.

The data was ready for the Police pension, civilian pension, military pension, Customs and Immigration pension, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), State Security Service, about six pension services.

“The idea then was that with that verification, we would never have any exercise to conduct again. We would have computerised the system. Along the way, the Budget Office and the National Pension Commission were frustrated. The data was never used by any pension department, they went ahead and on annual basis. They have been conducting verification. Of course, they get money because it is being appropriated for them. That’s basically the point. It is quite embarrassing, particularly with the civilian pensions department.

Except for the Head of Service we have engaged previous Heads of Service, telling them these are independent pension departments,

they are supposed to be supervised by the National Pension Commission.

“We set up a technical committee and we were having meetings and all of a sudden they stopped coming to our meetings and they stopped sending returns to us. We did a comprehensive review of all the steps that we needed to take along the line, all these were frustrated. We are hoping and praying that we will raise the issue with the Federal Ministry of Finance to streamline the process; perhaps we will have sanity in the pension departments. It is embarrassing not only to the commission but to all Nigerians.”

He noted that the commission would leverage on the state-of-theart information and communication technology to enhance its surveillance and supervisory activities on the industry. And that there is no doubt that the deployment of the Risk Management and Analysis System (RMAS) would enable PenCom to obtain direct information on different activities of the Pension Fund Operators to ensure a safe and sound pension industry.

“Similarly, the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) would assist the Commission to identify multiple registrations using biometrics of the RSA holders.

Finally, the Oracle E-business Suite application would also enhance the efficiency of the operations of the Commission. Arrangements had already commenced toward ensuring the completion and implementation of these applications this year,” he said.

Leadway supports less privileged

L

EADWAY Assurance Company Limited has lend supports to some challenged children to better their lots.

In a statement the company said the gesture is part of its 13th memorial anniversary of its founder Hassan Odukale.

It noted that Ile Aanu Olu PreSchool Unit for Physically Challenged Children, Lagos is one of the beneficiaries of its donations.

It said: “This has been the style of the memorial of the company’s founder since he passed on 13 years ago. Donations by way of drugs, foodstuff and equipment worth

thousands of Naira are presented to homes in commemoration of the anniversary.

“Sir Hassan Odukale was wellknown for his generous and philanthropic way of life and is quoted as saying circa 1996 “... as we go about our daily business activities we do not to think in terms of what we are going to gain but in terms of the services we can render”, not just to clients and stakeholders that we serve but within the community that we operate.

These ideals of philanthropy have guided the efforts of the company in its corporate social respon-

sibility initiatives which also include health, community support and education.”

It noted that during the presentation, its management enjoined public-spirited individuals; corporate organisations and well-meaning Nigerians to continue to aid special and charitable homes, as such donations would go a long way in easing the lives of and ensuring a brighter future for the children.

It said other beneficiaries are Modupe Cole Memorial Home School and the Wesley Schools for the Hearing Impaired.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

40

LABOUR NUPENG condemns evacuation of fuel tankers

T

•Mrs Da-Souza flanked by Hunsu (left) and Aremu.

Employers’ 7.5% pension contribution meagre, say textile workers

T

EXTILE workers have described as meagre their employers 7.5 per cent contribution to their pension funds.

They want it increased to 12.5 per cent.

Speaking on behalf of the workers, General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUGTWN), Comrade Isa Aremu suggested that the employers pay 12.5 per cent and the workers 2.5 per cent, contrary to the 7.5 per cent paid by each party.

He spoke at a sensitisation programme held by textile workers in collaboration with Trustfund Pension Plc, a pension fund administrator .

Aremu said the union decided to collaborate with Trustfund to know whether the workers’ employers contributed, deducted or remitted the pension funds.

Acting Head, Business Development and

Stories by Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu

Marketing of Trustfund Pensions Plc, Mr Maurice Ogar said the company has 543,850 contributors, 37, 000 beneficiaries and 10,000 retirees.

The programme was meant to enlighten workers, he said, on the procedure and requirement of benefiting from the contributory pension scheme after retirement.

On the delays in getting benefit, Ogar said multiple registrations were part of the major challenges hindering effective administration of the scheme.

He said there was also the challenge of poor compliance as some employers were not willing to allow their employees join the scheme.

“Some organisations that allowed their workers to register in the scheme fail to remit

their contributions or do not allow them to contribute,“ Ogar said.

He said some of the employees did not have evidence of contributions and lacked understanding of their statement of account.

Ogar advised workers to ensure they were consistent with their remittance so that they would be able to get their entitlements when due.

Welcoming participants, Acting Managing Director of the company,Mrs Helen Da-Souza, said 80 per cent of textile workers had registered with the company, and therefore had the right to know their operations.

“You and your families deserve peace of mind and financial security on retirement.

“Labour has to ensure that the contributions of its members are safe and secured as those of us present as workers of today are pensioners of tomorrow,“ she said.

Full deregulation is suicide mission, says NASU

N

ON-Academic Staff Union of Educational And Associated Institutions (NASU) has appealed to the Federal Government not to embrace full deregulation of the downstream oil sector without providing amenities.

NASU General Secretary, Comrade Peters Adeyemi, in an interview with The Nation, said though he understood government’s need to generate more money, it should not be done at the expense of workers, majority of whom are low income earners.

Adeyemi said his union had always been opposed to deregulation because the government has not provided the palliatives that would cushion the effect of high price of petrol.

He listed the essential amenities required before deregulation can have human face to include, functional rail system, effective mass transit system and regular power supply.

Adeyemi said the functional rail and mass transit system will reduce low income earners’ need for petrol.

“If we have a functional rail system, if

we have a functional mass transit system, if you have guaranteed regular power supply, that would make you require petrol to power your generator. If the mass transit is effective, I don’t need to drive my car every time. If the mass transit system is effective, government can do whatever it likes with the petrol. Right now, every Nigerian will need petrol to do virtually everything. The moment the price is going up, you are creating more hardship for them. Government still has a long way to go on this issue of deregulation.”

He argued that Nigerians should not suffer for petroleum products because the country is endowed with crude. He, therefore, appealed to the government not to go into full deregulation now, until it has provided the necessary things for the people. Should government however, turn deaf ears to the voice of reason, then the union would tow the line of other progressive industrial unions.

“We have always been opposed to deregulation because everything that has happened

in terms of resisting deregulation, we have been part of it. We believe that in a country, where we are endowed with this product, we must not suffer for it. We can reduce it to the non-academic thing, if I work in a factory that produces shoes, I am not supposed to be trekking bare-foot. If I am working in a big farm, I am supposed to have food and not go hungry.

“You cannot compare petrol with CocaCola, because somebody can afford not to drink Coke, but no Nigerian can afford not to use petrol. It is a very sensitive matter. It goes beyond just looking for money. That was why we told President Jonathan that he has to do more than just looking for more money. You have to consider the plight of Nigerians. I am sympathetic with the President because I have the feeling that he needed to generate more money, but you don’t do that at the expense of the people.

That’s why we say even if you want to contemplate that issue, we need to put in place a whole lot of things that would assure the people. “ He advises government against total de-

FoI Act: Group seeks stakeholders’ support

M

EDIA Rights Agenda (MRA) has called on all stakeholders to work together to ensure that the Freedom of Information(FoI) Act is effectively implemented.

This is contained in its report to mark the first anniversary of the signing of the Act into Law. In the report entitled: Year of Implementation of the FoI Act 2011: Many rivers to cross, MRA highlighted key observations from its monitoring of the implementation of the Act over the last one year and made recommendations for improved levels of

compliance with the provisions of the Act. Specifically, it called on the Presidency to prevail on the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Implementation of the Act to complete its assignment and release its roadmap on the way forward for the speedy, effective and efficient implementation of the Act. The organisation also urged the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation to exert pressure on all public institutions to comply with the provisions of the Act on filing their annual FOI reports.

Other recommendations contained in the

report include a call on public institutions to, as a matter of urgency, designate appropriate information officers to receive and process requests for information by the public as required by the Act and proactively publish information about their activities and operations in accordance with the Law. It also challenged civil society organisations and the media to play their watchdog roles of ensuring that the law works and that transparency, accountability and ultimately, good governance are entrenched in Nigeria.

HE Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) is lamenting the forceful removal of petrol tankers from the Oshodi-Apapa Express Way by the Lagos State government.

The General Secretary, Comrade Elijah Okougbo said since the oil companies are paying millions as tax to the state government, it should consider the interest of the national industry. “The Lagos State government should look beyond its nose and consider the interest of the national industry. The oil companies pay millions as tax to the state government. Towing the vehicles and detaining the drivers will not solve the problem. Let us find a solution that will contribute to the development of the country,” Okougbo said.

The union also called on the Federal Government to provide the railways with new coaches and locomotives.

Okougbo said this would help to ease the transportation of petroleum products.

The union scribe said if the railway was resuscitated with new coaches, petroleum products could be transported through it without the tanker drivers facing challenges.

“Thousands of the tankers come to Lagos to load petroleum products because the Kaduna and Warri refineries are not receiving crude oil as and when due.

“Tanker drivers have no parking space.

Capital oil and the space in Orile-Iganmu can take about 500 tankers each while parking space in MRS Oil and Gas can take only 300 tankers,” he said.

He criticised the forceful removal of petroleum tankers from the Oshodi Apapa Expressway by the Lagos State government.

Okougbo said Lagos had about 40 tank farms that could store fuel, kerosene and diesel and if the tankers were not allowed to load in Lagos, it would be difficult for those in the other parts of the country to receive petroleum products.

He urged the Federal Government to ensure that the Kaduna and Warri refineries returned to full operation, adding that if it is done, tankers would not come to Lagos to load.

NEMA trains civil servants on emergency evacuation

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HE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) last week trained some federal civil servants on emergency evacuation.

The Acting Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Alhaji Musa Kallah, said at a two-day workshop for the staff, held in Abuja that the programme was designed following persistent disaster outbreaks, especially fire, bomb scares and terror attacks. Kallah said the agency had discovered that there was a need for pro-active measures in preventing stampedes during emergency situations in offices.

The co-ordinator said the training would also help to mitigate the impact of such emergencies on workers and other stakeholders in disaster management. He added that it would help to build a culture of emergency readiness in the people due to the security challenges in the country.

Kallah said the staff sensitisation and emergency evacuation drill for public servants would be replicated across the seven states in the zone with the commencement of the programme at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Kaduna.

He said the aim of the exercise was to monitor the state of preparedness of NEMA’s critical stakeholders in emergency response.

“This would mitigate the impact of emergencies, such as fire outbreaks, bomb scare and terrorist threats, and to educate occupants of such buildings on emergency evacuation procedures, where there is none in place,” he said.

Mr Shehu Maiyaki, an Assistant Superintendent of Disaster Management, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC), said the workshop would awaken the mental alertness of civil servants on security threats.

Maiyaki said the training would also curtail the spread of disasters in public places and save lives and property.

Earlier, Mr Isiki Bams, the Federal Comptroller of Land, Housing and Urban Development in Kaduna State, called for collective efforts to deal with the security challenges .

He urged the workers to take the workshop serious as anyone could be a victim in an emergency situation.

KUYT

OTHER SPORT...OTHER SPORT...OTHER SPORT...OTHER SPORT...

43

MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi rolled out the drums in celebration of his first year in office on May 29. In this interview with journalists in his Ibadan office, he highlights his administration’s attitude to ensuring a new lease of life for the people of the Pacesetter State. Group Political Editor BOLADE OMONIJO was there.

Our challenges are daunting, not insurmountable, says Ajimobi A

GAINST the backdrop of a tough electioneering pro cess, how do you feel celebrating your first year in office as governor of Oyo State?

I do tell people that the battle for the April, 2011 elections in Oyo State was like that of the biblical David and Goliath. In terms of physical size, I was not in any way near my co-contenders. In terms of money, I was not anywhere near their accumulated war chest.

But then my most prized possessions were the people of Oyo State and the Almighty God who had promised to bring our government and party to power so as to rescue them from their forced labour. So ultimately, it was not me but those two unassailable factors that made our being here today possible.

While they relied on their ability, their money and power of coercion, we relied on the majesty of God and the immeasurable love of our people to become the occupant of Agodi Government House.

To answer the question, the last one year has not been a bed of roses. We knew that, on the surface, our state was bedeviled by crises of great proportion – that we had a leadership that had taken flight, that infrastructure had broken down, that people no longer believed in the ability of government to intervene dispassionately in their situation, that there was an immeasurable slide in the accountable disposition that governments all over the world are known by, when we dwell on comparatives in Oyo State.

Did you get the cooperation of your predecessor during the transition?

Our fear was further worsened when, as governor-elect, the then incumbent shut all doors against our transition committee from accessing the state of affairs so as to enable us prepare a pre-government blueprint of our administration. We did not envisage the level of rot that we eventually met when we assumed office.

Virtually everything had broken down. Yes, infrastructure had gone to the dogs, as Oyo State roads acquired the renown of collapsing six months after they were constructed. But we did not envisage the level of degradation that had befallen our state. In terms of finance, we were confronted with a last-minute looting of billions of our resources. The Government quarters – 240 in all – had all been sold to cronies, except about 18.

The proceeds from the sale of the quarters were hurriedly shared to some private concerns a few days to hand-over. But even the seemingly intangible – the office where we were supposed to operate from – had virtually collapsed. On the first day of my visit to the office that I was supposed to sit in and administer the state, what we saw shocked us. The rug was threadbare, cobwebs hung on the book shelf and we saw snails and rats by the Secretary’s office. These were clear signals to me and my team

•Ajimobi

that we had a lot of work to do.

And in all facets of administration of Oyo State, we were to confront a replica of the rot in the office of governor that we saw. So our first six months was spent facing the challenges of the degradation and trying to bring up Oyo State from its Ground Zero level.

You have been criticized for bringing into your cabinet members of opposition parties. What is the philosophy behind it?

I have worked round the whole place, especially in the oil industry. I have met diverse people. I am not totalitarian in my view of government and governance. I believe that I don’t have a greater share in this government than the man in Action Alliance party for instance. I am just fortunate to be administering the state at this particular time. So why should I act like a totalitarian? Yes, they were in opposing parties but they were not in an opposing state! It is still the same Oyo State. So immediately we came on board, I called all of them, nominate your people into our government but I gave a caveat: it must be your best brains.

My philosophy is, if I can make use of the best brains of Oyo State people and infuse them into my administration, who takes the ultimate glory? Is it not God, through me? So why should I not throw the door open to those who can help us develop our state via their deposit of human capital?

Being a private sector person, how has your experience impacted on Oyo State in terms of private sector participation?

Indeed, it has been yielding dividends. Because funds available to government are limited, no gov-

ernment in the developing world can go it alone. Look at the 108-km road that we are about constructing, could Oyo have done that alone from our paucity of allocation?

Look at the 150 room five star hotel that we just turned the sod last week, could a government bear the brunt alone? No. PPP arrangement is the next phase of governance now and as a private sector person, I understand the nuances and contours of it and I am implementing it in Oyo State.

What is your view on the security situation in the country, especially the Boko Haram menace?

I align myself with the recent comment of the Inspector General of Police when he paid a courtesy call on our state. We as government and administrators of this country must make sure that there is adequate provision of job to the teeming unemployed youths who roam the streets. I get really frightened at convocation ceremonies when we throw thousands of our children into unemployment market.

That was the challenge we took up at inauguration. We decided to employ 20,000 of our youths whom we fanned out into traffic management, signage and advertisement, schools, agric extension officers, etc. We have to engage our youths and that is what we are doing in Oyo State. I subscribe to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in the understanding of our security challenges and finding lasting solution to them. If the government provides an environment that is conducive for people to take care of their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter, we would have reduced the army of potential criminals and willing tools for barons of violence. As a nation, we have to do

this and this is the baseline of our approach to addressing the security challenges in Oyo State. As for the challenge of Boko Haram, we have to collectively address the questions that the emergence and activities of the group have raised about our nation. My own conviction is the neglect of our social and economic management over the decades created this army of young people who are now willing or unconscious tools in the hands of religious and/or political extremists.

What will you say, in concrete terms, you have been able to achieve as governor in the last one year?

In the area that you can call the intangible aspect of governance, I will say my administration’s greatest achievement of the last one year has been making Oyo State peaceful again. You will recall that, by the time we were coming into office, we inherited the typecast of our state being perceived in all parts of the world as a place where unprovoked and unwarranted violence takes place, almost every other day. If it was not politicians shedding their factional blood today, it would be motor park miscreants fighting for legitimacy and spatial hegemony. You will particularly recall the most audacious one when a factional leader of the state NURTW called Eleweomo was brutally murdered in a supremacy battle and some politicians within the same PDP were alleged to have had a hand in the murder by the past state government. It was so bad that it was alleged that one of the factional leaders of the touts was sleeping in the Government House and state machinery was being deployed to stoke the violence in the state.

When we came on board, we looked dispassionately at this crisis and concluded that the only missing gap was a dispassionate leadership. Even though it was alleged that one of the factional leaders of the NURTW worked for us, we decided that whether you were Auxiliary or Genuine, whether you were Tokyo or Osaka, the government of Oyo State would not abet or fan schism in the NURTW. We also showed the world that we would not spare any mastermind of violence, no matter how highly placed they may be. Our mantra of rule of law and justice is our governmental abiding principle.

What have you done to give the state a facelift?

In the area of infrastructure, our roads had totally collapsed. In the very few instances where government built roads for the people, they were built according to the low standards of the people in government. So we knew we had to set standard in infrastructural excellence. One of the first things I did as governor was to instill the can-do spirit in my people. I told them, ‘eh, you guys, you can move the world!’ How old were the people we shout their names today when they shook the world?

Check out the sage, Chief Obafemi

Awolowo. How old was he when he did all those firsts? He wasn’t even in possession of the kind of technology available to us today.

He did not have the ipad to ascertain, for instance, what component of asphalt makes a good road or where the best engineers who could build the first skyscraper in Nigeria existed. But we have all those. If I needed to do something, I could search on my laptop where the best practices of such a project exist in the whole world and I would get it in a jiffy. So I told my people that they could move the world. For a start, I told the caretaker chairmen of our 33 local governments that I would remove anyone of them who constructed a shoddy road. Because, look, let me tell you, the quality of a road can be seen in its drainage. The practice we met was the construction of state and local government roads with blocks and asphalt as thin as paper. I told them that, that aberration will not be condoned by our government. I also told them that if anyone of them constructs a road that is substandard, not only will the fellow be removed, he will be made to pay the state back. And, most fundamentally, we found out that poor quality roads are caused by the heavy graft and kick-backs that are demanded from contractors. The contractors in turn take it out in shoddy construction of roads since their profits had been spread thin by the massive graft that is demanded from the contractors.

And, what about the roads?

In the area of road construction, our government has constructed and is constructing a total of 199 roads at the moment. To me, this is not where I dreamt to be but we thank God that in spite of our several take-off limitations, these are the fruits we have at the moment.

In the same vein, we are also reconstructing from the scratch seven major bridges which collapsed because of decades of neglect in Oyo State. We have also advertised them for all to see. They are being done with billions of our people’s money. The most instructive thing about these bridges is that they are world-class. You can go and see them by yourselves.

We are also constructing the Mokola fly-over, or if you like, the overhead bridge. That road– I mean the Dugbe – Ojoo road, is one of the busiest in the South-West. It leads to the North and leads you to the eastern part of the country if you come out at the Ring Road. As busy as it is, it had almost become a traffic nuisance to commuters.

Coupled with an emerging business district that is sprouting there, it was only a matter of time before that road bursts at its seams. So immediately we came on board, we asked for tender for the construction of a fly-over there. Don’t forget, the David Jemibewon military administration of the state was the last to construct a fly-over in Oyo State in 1978 and no civilian government has done any.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

44

POLITICS

It’s time to liberate Ondo, says Ekungba

T

HE heat is on and all eyes are on Ondo State that prides it self as the Sunshine State. Come October 20, which is about 136 days from now, the people would file out to elect the governor who would pilot affairs for the next four years.

Already, the political terrain is brimming with aspirants, all jostling for the sole ticket of their varoius political parties. And one party that parades an array of brilliant, well rounded and highly successful individuals in their various fields of endeavour is the Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN), a party that is the rave of the moment in the Southwest geo-political zone.

Last Friday, one of the aspirants on the platform of the ACN, Chief Jamiu Ekungba, stormed the Corporate Headquarters of Vintage Press, publishers of The Nation newspapers, to explain both his mission and vision for the people and state post 2012.

Radiating grace and poise in the boardroom, Ekungba declared that Ondo needs a man with an uncommon focus to get the state out of what he described as the present mess in which it has found itself.

Ekungba, who exuded confidence and passion throughout a little over one and a half hours of the interaction with the paper’s editors stressed that the large number of aspirants on the platform of the ACN should not be a problem. He said that on the contrary, it has only proven a point that the party is the preferred platform for aspirants and the party of choice for the people of Ondo State.

The scion and Duke of Owo highlighted what he considered wrong with the state at present and for which reason he would want to be elected as the next governor of the state.

Waxing philosophical, Ekungba said: “Another election year is here and there is but one choice to make – honesty or deceit, tinsel or gold, baked bread or cooked stones, patchworks that cannot compensate for broken dreams or a fulfillment of the high promise that everything must become new”.

He lamented the decision made by the people of the state three years ago and vowed that the people would not repeat that mistake again whereby each and every succeeding

By Augustine Avwode

administration performed poorer than the one before it.

“Three years ago, in the battle for supremacy between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), the people of Ondo State, without knowing it, took a beating.

“A beating because what everyone thought would be an omen of a great future laid the foundation for despotism in Ondo State. A beating because what our sons and daughters had hoped would mark the beginning of the rise of a new generation broke their hope. A beating because what our women thought will propel the state to reach for the skies turned out to be a waste of time and energy, an exploitation of the legacy of Awo and the mess of a God given opportunity. A beating because that singular event ushered in what our children now described as ‘Ondo State’s age of unreason,” he claimed.

The chartered accountant cum banker while regretting the costly decision Ondo people made during the last election in 2007 called on them to remedy the wrong this time around.

“In the last gubernatorial election in Ondo State, with our open eyes, we allowed the ballot to go the wrong way. In the same election, with our hands, we placed upon our children and ourselves a burden that is not worth bearing. With joy and pride and in the hope that the king we installed will do our bidding and deliver our commands, we hurled insults at those who refrain from supporting us.

He charged the people of the state to be ready to effect a change or continue with “these suffering and frustrations”.

In his words: “These suffering and frustrations are bound to recur if we do not know what we want; this cup will surely not pass away if we allow for a perpetuation of the status quo. We need positive change. Our beloved land yearns for true lead-

•Ekungba at The Nation last Friday

ers. Now is the time to vote your way to a new future. To save the rich but repressed and oppressed state of Ondo, ACN is on a mission; a historic mission to find and produce that fellow who is capable of spurring a revival that will restore Ondo State to health and give her back her pride.

“A revival that will rekindle the dreams of our children and honour their rights to rise, a revival the will reengineer and jump-start the economy and create a breeding ground for new ventures. A revival that will bring representatives of the unions, government functionaries, corporate leaders and all stakeholders to sit down and talk about change and transformation. Not change for change sake, but change that will marshal the people against a corrupt system, change that will bring down poverty, rattle hunger and bring the people back to the forefront of government agenda”, he explained.

Asked how he hoped to bring about the change he has so eloquently espoused, Ekungba said he would work with men and women who are professionals in their right who can make things happen.

In an answer to a question, he said he was not worried by the number of aspirants on the platform of the ACN.

•Ekungba ... last Friday

Ekungba said the race in the party is not about who is the best aspirant because all of them are eminently qualified. He explained that the reason why he has refused to set up a Campaign Organisation was because he does not want to cause disaffection amongst people and within the party in the event he is not picked to fly the party’s flag.

He said his concern and prayer is that God should guide the leaders of the party aright so as to be able to pick the man who will do the party proud.

“We are all very qualified.

There is an uncommon fraternity and love among the ACN aspirants today in Ondo State. All the aspirants are better qualified than the person who is leading the state today. ACN is parading an array of the best aspirants. We have agreed that we shall abide by the decision of the party and work with whoever emerges the candidate. There is no problem with us. For me ACN needs three things to deliver that mandate.

The first, they need a candidate that has demonstrable credibility, integrity and without political baggage. The second, they need the person who has the capacity

‘There is an uncommon fraternity and love among the ACN aspirants today in Ondo State. All the aspirants are better qualified than the person who is leading the state today. ACN is parading an array of the best aspirants. We have agreed that we shall abide by the decision of the party and work with whoever emerges the candidate’

and capability to deliver. The third thing you need somebody who can match the incumbent trick for trick and words for words. I am one of the aspirants today who believe that he can match the incumbent in any aspect of the election. Our prayer is that God will guide the leaders of the party in taking the right decision”.

He also debunked insinuations that because he is less than a year in the party he may not be considered to fly the flag of the party. He insisted that he had played active part in all elections in Ondo State, particularly, the Owo axis and that he was not new to the politics of the progressives as typified by the Action Group, which his father was the founding member in Owo. Ekungba made references to the lead role he had played in several circumstances for almost three decades now in Owo as a big plus for him. He narrated various incidents that he had taken part in as the arrow head in the community and his philanthropic disposition as factors that greatly encouraged him to seek to serve his state and people.

He claimed that he was responsible for brokering peace and unity between the Olateru and Ajasin factions in the town of Owo. As for the specific things he would do, he said about agriculture, industrialisation but he said he would not make them public until he is given the mandate including ideas he intends to borrow from Lagos and Osun State. He, however, boasted that if Osun could employ 20,000 O-YES Cadets, he would replicate it in Ondo and employ 40,000 in six months.

Democracy: Task ahead still daunting, says Ekiti Rep Dr. Ifeoluwa Arowosoge, who represents Emure/Gbonyin/Ekiti East at the House of Representatives, speaks with MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE on the nation’s democratic journey, the Jonathan administration’s transformation agenda and the task of leading Nigeria to fufilling her potentials as a leading economy, among other issues.

• Arowosoge

H

OW would you describe your experience in the House in the last one year?

I am proud to be part of the Seventh National Assembly. The National Assembly is people-oriented, bearing in mind that over 100 million people are today living on less than the equivalent of one dollar per day.

There is urgent need to effectively halt our nation’s gradual descent into the state of nature characterized by continual fear, danger of violent death, solitary and poverty. Our efforts have been geared towards our

responsibilities to make laws for the peace, order and good governance as entrenched in Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

We will continue to collaborate with government at all levels on the provision of social amenities for the people through efficient oversight functions and legislative activities. The 7th National Assembly will continue to be focused, creative, purposeful and decisive to enable it attain its laudable goals, and so assist the nation to meet up to its obligations in terms of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and government’s Transformation Agenda.

How would you react to the spate of terror attacks going in the country?

It is a terrible thing that must be condemned by all and sundry. We are all Nigerians and we should be our brothers’ keepers. This type of attacks is alien to our culture. It should be condemned by all peace-loving people both Muslims and Christians alike. The increasing spate of bombing in the country

has contributed to the near collapse of the economy, particularly, in the North.

The bombing campaigns can be hinged on poverty, moral decadence, bad leadership, poor management, illiteracy, corruption, religious-extremism and importation of negative foreign values through negative exposure to technology. We must find solution to it through modern technology, advance information gathering, compulsory and qualitative education at all levels, good leadership free from corruption, and job for the unemployed youths, otherwise the country will continue to grope in the dark for a very long time. It is regrettable that after 51 years of independence, the country is yet to develop its social and material resources. With the vast resources Nigeria is endowed with, it is possible to provide free education at all levels, provide social amenities and employment for our teaming youth and other citizens, if the resources are properly harnessed.

So, what should be done?

We must encourage interfaith dialogue in other to bring about religious

peace and harmony. To ensure that the various ethnic groups in the country co-exist peacefully, government should address the loose ends of the country’s political environment and political problems besetting the nation. Political leaders should be honest and proactive in the business of governance in order to check the culture of rivalry, thuggery, hatred and bloodletting. Govt. should put in place very super high-tech security gadgets both within and at our borders so as to nip in the bud all security threat from any part of the country. Boko Haram and other militant groups must never be allowed to gain more recruits and converts. This can only be done by developing a comprehensive strategy of rooting out corruption at the highest levels of government, imputing economic development plans for the youth, respecting the rule of law and following due process in all government affairs.

Employment tame is a major challenge. How do you think the governments should the mon-

ster?

Agriculture was the mainstay of the Nation’s economy before the discovery of oil. Virtually every available land in Nigeria is very arable. The reality at the moment is that we are hardly able to feed ourselves, despite the fact that every available space is fertile and good for farming of whatever sort. A nation that once fed itself and was leading in export produce such as cotton, cocoa, oil palm and groundnut has now been relegated to the background both in the world and in Africa. About N1.3 trillion was expended on importation of wheat, rice, sugar and fish in 2011.

Government must speed up actions to ensure that our people go back to the land and create massive employment for the teeming unemployed youths who are now the foot soldiers for all criminal activities. We have passed resolutions at the plenary to re-position Agriculture and make it the biggest sector in terms of job and wealth creation. Government at all levels should take the lead in encouraging the young ones to go back into farming.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

45

MOTORING

Avensis, Optima for Car of the Year award

V

OTING has begun to determine the winner of this year’s Car of the Year award, the publisher of On Wheels magazine and convener of the Nigeria Auto Awards (TNAA), Mr Jabez Aina-Scott has disclosed.

Speaking to reporters at a briefing on the seventh edition of the awards, he said the cars earnmarked for the awards include Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Avensis, Kia Optima, Land Rover HSE and Audi A6.

Also, Volkswagen Passat CC, Honda Crosstour, Kia Optima, Toyota Avensis, Ford Taurus, Hyundai Sonata and Range Rover Evoque made the Best Designed Car of the year category.

He said some top icons in the auto franchise business have endorsed this year’s edition of the awards billed to showcase the best players and practitioners.

He said: “It’s been a harvest of confidence building in the award event as who-is-who in the industry have declared commitment to the event.”

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

He called on automobile lovers and the public to participate in voting for the car of their choices.

He added that the magazine had been giving back to the society in its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative by donating to the Spinal Cord Injury Association (SCIAN).

“In fact, our aim is to get respected and reputable institutions to put-up living quarters for the SCIAN members at their purpose built estate in Amuwo Odofin,” he said.

Also speaking, Managing Editor of the magazine Mrs Julie Chi-Nwaoha assured attendees of maximum of refreshing entertainment, fashion and dance, saying that some top artistes have been lined up for the show.

Mrs Chi-Nwaoha said organisations that have pledged their support for the success of the award include the National Automotive Council (NAC), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Consumer Protection Council (CPC).

Mr Aina-Scott presenting an award to representatives of the Spinal Cord Injury Association of Nigeria.

Firm introduces car diagnostic machine

C

From left: Chairman of occasion and former co-ordinator, Safeway Unit 14, Anthony, Julius Ozallo, Mrs Ibrahim and Ogundayo

Stakeholders identify FRSC major challenges EADINESS of road users and the inability to instil the appropriate culture in them have been identified as the major challenges facing officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

The former FRSC RS2.19 Oshodi Unit commander Mrs Kudirat Ibrahim (ACC) disclosed this during a send off for her in Lagos.

She was recently promoted as FRSC Sector Head, Administration and Human Resources, Osogbo, Osun State.

H

By Abiodun Davies

She listed non-responsiveness and deliberate violation of road rules by some road users as other problems.

She cited a commercial motor cyclist, who was fined N2, 000 for not wearing helmet, adding that he boasted that he would not comply with the use of helmets even if fined again.

The former deputy commandant, Nigeria Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC), Oshodi Brig.-Gen. Odunwa Lasbry (rtd) also

said some road users have do not imbibed the use of road signs.

While Mrs Ibrahim urged Nigerians to see road safety as everybody’s business and keyed into United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety, Lasbry canvassed the proper teaching of road signs in school.

The new commander RS.19 Oshodi Unit, Samuel Aderemi Ogundayo (ACC), who said road safety has improved in Lagos, promised to work with his officials and improve on this.

Lagos council donates speed boats JO Local Government Chairman Prince Yinka Durosinmi has donated two speed boats to aid water transportation in the area.

Some pupils in the area lost their lives when a windstorm hit their boat on the way to school early this year.

Durosinmi called for improvement in water transport in the riverine areas of the council.

The boats, he said, would help to reduce the problems teachers and pupils face in the area.

O

By Abike Adegbulehin

“We want to reduce the tension of the teachers, who are refusing their posting to the riverine schools. This will also help the

monitoring team who are assigned to those schools to work effectively,” he said.

A minute silence was held for the late pupils.

‘We want to reduce the tension of the teachers, who are refusing their posting to the riverine schools. This will also help the monitoring team who are assigned to those schools to work effectively’

HAIRMAN Leksbian Group of Companies Mr Olufemi Ogunbanjo has said owners of vehicles will have cause to smile as new technologies capable of detecting vehicles problems are available in the country.

Addressing reporters in Lagos at the weekend, he said with the new diagnosing technology,vehicle owners would be spared the trial and error approach adopted by technicians, which compound vehicle problems.

Ogunbanjo stated that the car air conditioner (AC) diagnosing machine, for instance, available at the company used could converse gas instead of being wasted when under-going repaired.

“Your car may not be working properly because of the wrong information the mechanics passed.

So, what we have brought in is capable of diagnosing the problems and will lead technicians to where the problems are,” he said.

NURTW crisis: Tokyo takes case to NBA

E

MBATTLED Chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Oyo State chapter, Alhaji Lateef Akinsola (a.k.a Tokyo) has appealed to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to prevail on the state Governor Senator Abiola Ajimobi to respect the court rulings that reinstated him.

Tokyo described the continuous snuing of the pronouncements of the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan on proscription of the union by the state government and that of National Industrial Court as a slap on the judiciary.

“The NBA, especially the Oyo State branch, must come to aid of the people who believe in the rule of law by protecting their constitu-

By Musa Odoshimokhe

He noted that the company’s new technology for oil change, which is uncommon in the country, would enable car users to overcome challenges of wrong methods in repairing vehicles, problems which often increase their burdens.

The new technology imported from Italy has the advantage of directing the technicians to the problem.

“If the car AC is having a problem, the technicians will not probably know without removing the dashboard before detecting the fault, but with this diagnosing machines, it will locate the exact spot of the problem to enable technicians to find solution,” he stated.

He said the problems car owners face when they take their vehicles abroad to enable them to properly diagnose their problems would soon be over as more vehicles workshop are embracing the technologies.

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

ency which is the judiciary, so that the sanity of the judiciary can be protected.

“Time has passed where highly place people will relegate judicial pronouncement to the background or throw it to the dustbin for it is when judicial pronouncement is respected that there will be justice,” he said.

“One should ask Governor Ajimobi and President of NURTW Alhaji Najeem Yasin whether it is possible to appoint a caretaker committee where there is a subsitting and valid court judgments.

I am appealing to my teaming supporters to be law abiding, for I am already in court to seek redress.

“The Government of Oyo State and National Union of Road Transport Union were served by NIC to put on hold the issue of appointing a caretaker committee until the substantive suit is heard but they choose to ignore court order and went ahead to pick caretaker committee for the Oyo state NURTW branch,” he added.

46

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

48

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012 continued from page 16

49

THE JOURNEY SO F AR… FAR… ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, AS OYO STATE GOVERNOR

SOCIAL SERVICES - HOUSING • Construction of a N6 Billion five-star hotel in Ibadan,in partnership with a private developer - (on-going) • Construction of Housing Estate with necessary infrastructural facilities under a PPP arrangement in Ibadan.

• Development of a Central Business District in Dugbe, Ibadan, with ultra-modern infrastructure.

ADMINISTRATION – OYO STATE COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY • • • • •

Summary of Local Governments’ Projects – New Roads LIST FROM MINISTRY OF WORKS DATA BASE 1.

Construction of Mokola flyover 2.

Bridge at Apete, Ibadan 3.

Bridge at Olomi, Ibadan

Electricity Extension at Idera Oluwa area in Ibadan North-East Local Government Area.

Construction of health centres at IdiIyalode and Aba-Ilorin in Oyo West Local Government Area.

Construction of Drainage and Culvert at Blind Centre Area of Ogbomoso Construction of health centre in Katagua Community of Ogbomoso Construction of two blocks of three classrooms each at Ilogbo and Idiyan areas in Ibarapa North Local Government Area.

• Rehabilitated Ajibode - Sasha Road- Completed and inaugurated

•

Construction of a block of three classrooms at Community Primary School, Kajorepo in Egbeda Council Area.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

• Rehabilitated Molete - Ehin Grammar Road - Completed and Inaugurated

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

Bridge at Secretariat, Bodija, Ibadan Bridge at Ayeye, Ibadan Bridge at Alaadorin, Sakutu, Oyo Bridge over River Ogbere at Babanla Sanga Bridge, Oyo Osoro River Bridge Completion of Mokola-UCH_Total Garden - Agodi Gate Road Project Construction of Temidire Motor Park Construction of Podo Motor Park.

Ogun River Bridge- Moniya Access Road to Podo Moto Garage, Ibadan Samonda – NASFAT– Poly Road Olubadan Estate Road Network, Ibadan Majerita Road, Ibadan Road Network at Monotan, Ibadan Sanyo – Oke Ode – Agbamu Road Eleyele – Ido –Eruwa Road Iseyin- Ogun River Bridge

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

50

THE JOURNEY SO F AR… FAR… ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, AS OYO STATE GOVERNOR

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

Ajaawa – Mowolowo Igboho Deeper-Oloko Ajana Junction-Laha Comm. Primary School, Kishi Alakia Interchange Exits Old SDP Secretariat Link Road Abaode-Sarumi Road Adeojo Street (Ladipo Ladapo Street), Bodija Repair of dualized Iwo-Road, Interchange Road - Leyland-Olodo Road project Completion of Mokola-UCH_Total Garden-Agodi Gate Road Project U.I – Ajibode - Alphonso Road Mobil-Oluyole-Sharp Corner-Apata Wema Bank Muslim - Mosfala – Ogbere – Foworogun Road Elebu Market – Health Centre Oluana – Ajibode Road Ajibode – Apete Estate Road Ojoo – Oritamerin Road Eruwa New Garage- Okeola-AborerinIgboora Junction Iresaapa – Iresaadu Road Phase 2 Iresaapa – Iresaadu Road Phase 3 Mowolowo – Iwo Ate Road Owode Aafin Road, Oyo Bode Ogbomoso (School of Survey) –

44.

45.

46.

48.

49.

50.

51.

52.

53.

54.

55.

56.

57.

58.

59.

60.

61.

62.

63.

64.

Adikuta Palace Road, Oyo Imini – Ijaye Road, Phase 1 Apinnite – Otun – Town Hall Road Saki Saki Town Hall – Isale Taba – Okedio Road Otu – Alaga Road Ogbooro – Saki Road Balogun Link Road Ibarapa Central Secretariat (Igboora) Idere Road.

Ogbere Idiosan- Ogbere Moradeyo Oremeji/Express Prof. Adeniyi Oshuntokun Road, Felele, Phase 1 Akingbile – Oluana Apete- Poly Estate Oki- Iwo Road Expressway Isale Wakajaye, Phase 1 Olosan Road, off Alakia – Isebo Elewuro- Onireke – Apatuku - Olodo, Phase 1 Nihort – Elenusonso – Ido Phase 1 Ibadan – New Eruwa Junction- Orita Eruwa/Lanlate Junction –Eruwa New Garage Oke Ola – Aboderin - Eruwa/Igboora Express Junction Ipeba – Ajawa Road Ogbomoso (Carlifonia)– Ibapon–Agric Fola Tyres – Durbar Stadium, Oyo 65.

Fiditi Afin Junction – General Hospital 66. Gedu Scheme Phase 1, Oyo 67. Gedu Scheme Phase 2 , Oyo 68. Okeho – Ilero Road with spur to Local

• Ultra-modern Temidire Motor park on the new Ibadan-Ife Expressway- Completed and Inaugurated

Government Secretariat , Ilero – Otu 69. Igbeti Bye Pass

by UMCA

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

51

THE JOURNEY SO F AR… FAR… ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, AS OYO STATE GOVERNOR NO

LIST OF ROAD REPAIRS / REHABILITATION IN OYO STATE LISTED BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT ..... 1 OF 6 NO

LOCAL GOVT

1.

Afijio Local Govt

i ii. iii.

v.

Akinyele

i.

ii. iii. iv.

3.

Atiba

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi.

4.

Atisbo Local Govt Tede

8.

9.

Sout East

Sogidi-Adegbodu Road, Awe Idi-Ope/Palace Road Iware Idi-Igba/Ilora Baptist Grammar School express Link Road, Ilora Okesanmi-Ilora Community Grammar School-express Link Road, Ilora Akinmoorin Grammar/Chief Tade Ipadeola Reconstruction of the dilapidated box culvert at Odo-Eran along Moniya-Iseyin road Oke Ola-Oboda Junction road linking Oyo Road Moniya Reconstruction of collapsed retaining wall and side drains behind Niser fence Ajibode Asphaltic Repatching/Overlaying of failed portions of Ajibode Road including reconstruction of 2no culverts, Ajibode Road.

Bode Ogbomoso-Adikuta- Orita Adesina - Palace Road Alaro Road Agunpopo Health Centre Road, Borobore Area Alhaji Olomi Road, Orire Sabo Commercial School Junction, Oke Mogi Basorun Link Road.

i.

Ago-Are-Ofiki Road

ii.

Saudo-Budo Mangoro Road, Ofiki.

5.

Egbeda Local Govt

i.

Onideure/Ogbere Oloba Elemu Junction

6.

North Local Govt

i ii iii

Oladunni Ayandepo Box Culvert Ile-Oke Street, Itutaba, Ibadan.

Total Garden-Yemetu-Kambi-Oje Igosun Ibadan

LIST OF ROADS i ii

Adebisi Idikan-Amunigun, -Agbeni Road Bere-Asunkuna Road, Ib.

i.

Idi Odo ( Challenge)-Felele Rd with spur to Lam Adesina Close Molete Round About -Ibadan Grammar School Gate Ibadan Grammer School Gate-Adjet/Eyin Grammer

ii. iii.

10.

Sout West

11.

Ibarapa Central Local Govt.

LIST OF ROADS

iv.

2.

LOCAL GOVT

i. ii. iii. iv.

Bisi Akande Road Lemmy Fatoke-Balarinwa Lesekese Road Aare Latosa Gege Market

i.

L. A. Primary School-Idofin Local Govt. Chalat, , Igboora Methodist Primary Sch. l – Olugbile Road, Idofin, Igboora Alh. Idere

ii. iii.

12.

Ibarapa East Local Govt.

Eruwa

i.

Express Red/Oke Ola/ Isaba Roundabout/Old Garage/Orita roundabout

13.

Ibarapa North Local Govt.

i.

Overlay of Ayete/Igangan Road In Maternity Junction Ayete General Hospital Aproach Road, Ayete Ibarapa North Local Govt, Secretarait Premises Ayete Asalu Road With Spur road to vocational centre Tapa Ayete Tapa Igangan Main Rd

ii. iii. iv. v.

14.

Ido Local Govt.

i. ii.

Baptist Grammar School, Idi Isin Rail Crossing, Gbekuba, Ibadan Nihort - Baptist Grammar School, Idi Ishin Ibadan

i. ii.

Washington Road Koso Gaa Baale Road

i. ii.

Oke Junction Iseyin/Ibadan Junction Latson Azeez Street, Off Peller Road

15.

Irepo Local Govt.

16.

Iseyin Local Govt

17.

Itesiwaju Local Govt

i. ii. iii.

Temidire Baptist Church Road, BabaOde Oke Amu Iseyin Road, Oke Amu Ibise Market Road Hospital Road Junction Komu

18.

Iwajowa Local Govt

i. ii.

Baptist Grammer School, Road Oke Afin Iganna Akireje Road, Iwere Ile

19.

Kajola Local Govt

i. ii. iii.

Calvary Baptist Church road, Ilero Imia Junction Adetona Junction Isemi Ile Eegede Asin Junction, Okeho

20.

Lagelu Local Govt.

i. ii.

Wofun Alao Akala Road Academy Amuda Ojere Road to Link Express Road Elewi Odo Road Linking Express Road, General Gas Quarters and Kolapo Ishola Estate.

iii.

7.

North

i. ii

Agodi Bus Stop/ Oke-Adu, Ode Aje Oluyoro Junction-Oke Adu Junction Road

21.

Ogbomoso North

i. ii. iii.

Masifa Road Ogbomoso Ayo Adeyemo olomi Road Ogbomoso NTC GUTS General Rd. Ogbomoso

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

52

THE JOURNEY SO F AR… FAR… ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, AS OYO STATE GOVERNOR

NO

22.

23.

Ogo Oluwa

24.

Olorunsogo

25.

Oluyole Local Govt.

26.

Ona Ara Local Govt, Akanran

27.

Oorelope Local Govt Igboho

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

LIST OF ROADS

LOCAL GOVT Ogbomoso South Local Govt

i.

MDG Hospital-Aworawo - Hon Lateju Road

ii.

Mr. Adeniran Res-Hon. Ojo King of peace road Off Lagbedu road

iii.

MGD Hospital Premises

iv.

Apostolic-Jango Market off Hon.Lateju Road

v.

Local Government Secretariat Premises

i ii

Methodist Junction-Iro road Lagbedu Orile Moleru road

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi.

Ashifau Road Igbeti Abegunde Road Igbeti Hon.. Hammed Igbeti St. Mary Catholic Gramms Road, Igbeti Oke Ibukun Road, Igbeti Oguntoye Road, Igbeti

i. (a) (b)

Orita Challenge Odo Ona Elewe Road Agbamu Oke Ode Rd, Sanyo Area

i. ii.

Paara-Ifewumi Road Junction Ogbere Oriyangi- Kehinsi Road

i.

Moraba Igbope Market Road

ii.

Okeloko Bonni Area Road

Orire Local Govt.

i.

Babasale-Adegbite-Olodan-Jagbe Road

Oyo East

i.

Anglican/Methodist Sec.Schl, Ajagba to Agboye, Oyo

ii.

Hospital road, Oyo

iii.

Mobolaje Stadium Road, Oyo

Oyo West Local Government

Saki East Local Govt Ago Amodu

Saki West Local Govt.

Saki

Surulere

RIVERS CURRENTLY UNDERGOING DREDGING IN OYO STATE

i.

Agip(Sawmill) Catholic/New express road

ii.

Maja/Opapa Road

iii.

Ori Idoo/Fatuke/Opapa Road

iv.

Omo Ade Bakery Akeetan Titun Road

i.

Akindin-UCH Road Sepeteri

ii.

Ogun Ige Igboho Road Igboora

iii.

Oke Ola Hospital Road, Oje Owode

i.

Babalaje Shopping Complex Adeniran House Saki

ii.

Farayola Rufai Part Saki

iii.

Baptist Hospital Road Ajegunle Saki

i.

Iresaapa- Sogidi-Adegbodu Road, Awe Iresaadu Road

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

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9.

10.

11.

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Oloro Steam Olode, Ibadan Ogbere River, Abonde Section Ogbere River, Babanla Section Ajibode River Orogun River Agbowo River Alaro Stream Akinde/Araromi Stream, Ibadan Molade River Iwo Road, Ibadan Omi River, Ogungbade, Ibadan Farayola Stream, Bodija, Ibadan Aoyaya River, Olodo, Ibadan Oredegbe Stream Alarerem, Ibadan Orogun Olunloyo Phase II Owode Stream, Apata, Ibadan Ogbere River Phase II, Ibadan Ogbere Abonde River, Ibadan Foworogun River Phase II, Ibadan Labalabe Stream, Dugbe, Ibadan Odo-Ona River Apata, Ibadan Ogbere River, Baloon Building-Onipepeye Section, Ibadan Omi Adio River, Ibadan Ogunpa River (Awolowo Junction Ogunpa Lake), Ibadan Ogbere River (Eru Omu Moradeyo and Tributary at Oremeji), Ibadan Daku Stream Lalupon, Ibadan Pegba Stream Olomi, Ibadan Tola Adeniyi Stream, Ashi, Ibadan Weewe Stream, Saki Ogba Stream, Iseyin Odo Edo Stream, Iseyin Ora/Laka Stream, Ogbomosho Kanjuko Stream, Igangun Tege Stream, Kishi Aborerin Stream, Eruwa Ogbogbo Stream, Igboora Alapo / Alalubosa, Oyo Isunwin Stream, Oyo Oloori River, Oyo Alaro Stream (Aba Alamu Section, Ibadan) Alagbayun – Akobo Stream, Ibadan

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NEWS ACN chieftain Adewusi mourns Oba Olashore

•Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole speaking at a rally in Ogwa, Esan West Local Government Area... at the weekend.

Edo slashes school levies

T

HE Edo State Government has slashed the levies paid by private school owners by 25 per cent.

At a weekend meeting with proprietors, Governor Adams Oshiomhole said there should be realistic assessment of personal income tax.

He said: “I believe that education is important to everyone. We should not be competing, instead we should complement each other.

“You are partners in development. If all your schools were to close down, the number of schools we would have to build would be enormous.

“Though you make profits, however, your contributions to education development is appreciated.”

The chairman of the Association of Private School Owners, Bishop Godly Opukeme, hailed the efforts of the governor in the development of the state.

State of road worrisome, says Uduaghan

D

ELTA State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has said the state of the East-West Road linking Port Harcourt in Rivers State to Warri is a major source of worry for Southsouth states.

He spoke when the the Chairman and members of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta visited him in Warri.

The governor said although the contract for the construction was awarded many years ago, work has not progressed satisfactorily.

“The East-West Road has become a source of worry and if it is not completed by 2015, it will be a big problem, “ the governor said.

Uduaghan said the Southsouth governors will laise with the presidency to facilitate the speedy release of funds for the completion of the road.

The Chairman of the Committee, James Manager, said the committee has invited the Minister of Works to explain the delay in the completion of the road.

How PDP plans to rig Edo election,

by Oshiomhole campaign group

T

HE Governor Adams Oshiomhole Campaign Organisation yesterday claimed to have uncovered plans by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig the July 14 governorship election in Edo State.

It urged voters to be more vigilant to stop the PDP. The organisation’s Director of Media and Publicity, Kassim Afegbua, said the PDP was becoming too desperate about the election.

In a statement, Afegbua said apart from importing thugs and hooligans into the state, the PDP was planning to cause political violence in Edo North and South to give the impression that elections could not

hold in those Senatorial districts.

He said: “The PDP concluded its plans at a meeting in a hotel in Jattu last week to unleash violence on the people of Edo North and Edo South to intimidate voters from coming out to vote.

“The PDP also intends to recruit thugs and hooligans into the state to cause panic and frighten voters.

“It also plans to start shooting sporadically before the day of the elections in order to scare voters from coming out.”

What the PDP plans to do, he said, was to ensure that elections do not hold in key areas so as to create unresolved political issues.

Afegbua said: “PDP has been

trying to spread a rumour that the comrade governor promised some people the governorship slot in 2016.

“Their intention is to create crisis of confidence in the Oshiomhole camp but it is too unfortunate that each time they finish their meeting, the details are easily exposed because they harbour very deceitful intentions for the polity.

“We are following their every step. We are monitoring their every move. We are not going to allow them unleash mayhem on the good people of Edo State all in the name of elections.

“We will resist any attempt to cause violence. We are also aware that they are holding

nocturnal meetings with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state.

“The fact that we are not talking does not mean that we are not conversant with what they are doing.”

Afegbua said at the appropriate time, the ACN would respond to the PDP’s evil plans.

“Instead of campaigning on the field, the PDP is busy running from pillar to post, recruiting people who will come and cause mayhem against our people.

“We are shocked that a party that plans to govern the state could be engaged in such nefarious activities all in the name of politics. Why must it force itself on the people?”

Ikimi decries invasion of councils

F

ORMER Foreign Affairs Minister Tom Ikimi has deplored last Wednesday’s violent take-over of some local government headquarters by gun-wielding youths, loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He described it as double standard which portends an ominous signal for politics in the state.

Ikimi said: “Here in Edo, the truth is that PDP has realised that it has lost the confidence of the people whom it has dehumanised in the past and whose resources had been privatised before the advent of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

“They have come to know that the ACN has brought a new lease of life into the state where the people truly lead; the ACN has brought unprecedented development in all spheres of the lives of the people of Edo State.

“Governor Adams Oshiomhole has come to be identified as a miracle worker who has found resources to do those things the PDP told our people were impossible and unattainable.

“They told our people that

the resources were not there.

Oshiomhole has redirected the resources from PDP private pockets to public use.

“Indeed, the PDP has realised it has lost the contest even before July 14. This is the real reason why it has turned itself into a nuisance to impair the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to carry out its constitutional duties.

“I hereby call on Chief Anthony Anenih to rein in his ‘dogs’ and allow peace to reign. I do this with the highest sense of responsibility and the benefit of history.

We have all subscribed to democracy as the best form of govermnent and we will settle for nothing less. There is

ample time and opportunity for all political parties in the contest to present their options and candidates to the people of Edo State who should make their choice in an unfettered atmosphere.

“I am pleased with the news now reaching me of arrangements for the highest leadership of the ACN and the PDP in the state, that is Chief Anthony Anenih and my humble self to engage in a fully televised public debate which would be a fine opportunity to educate the generality of the public about our two parties. I have accepted the invitation without any reservations”.

“I look forward to a hitchfree governorship elections in Edo State on 14th of July,

Govt to build RSUST campus From Clarice Azuatalum, Port Harcourt •Ikimi

2012. And I hope that this will be a watershed election to point Nigeria at a new generation of elections conducted freely and fairly, producing unmistakably the people’s verdict.”

Rivers Assembly criticised

B

ATTLING to keep its integrity, the Rivers State House of Assembly said it is being wrongly perceived as “Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s rubber stamp.”

The lawmakers have been criticised for the passage of the Pension Bill for governors and their deputies, in which the state would buy two houses for the officials and pay them 100 per cent of their salaries for life.

Oyo State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) chieftain, Dr. Ismail Adebayo Adewusi, has said the death of the Owaloko of Iloko-Ijesha, Oba Oladele Olashore, has created a vacuum in the country.

Adewusi described the late monarch as an irrepressible lover of the Yoruba country.

In a tribute, the former Lagos Commissioner for Finance said: “It is with a very saddened heart that I received the passage of Kabiyesi Oba Olashore to the great beyond. No doubt, Oba Olashore is to many of us an enigma, a father, a mentor, a philantrophist, a lover of his people and an irrepressible lover of the Yoruba and the unity of Nigeria.

“He has over the years contributed actively to the economic and financial policy of our nation. At the Central Bank, British Petroleum (BP), International Bank for West Africa (IBWA), First Bank Nigeria Plc, where he worked.

He was always guided by the principle of equity and good conscience. Long before he was appointed the Finance Secretary (Minister), he had been very passionate about development, especially of poverty eradication, through empowerment.

“For over six years that I had the priviledge of working directly with him at Lead Merchant Bank where I had very close interaction with him and shared many of his life philosophy. Oba Olashore was very cerebral, constantly brilliant, disciplined, principled, hardworking, fearless, blunt and above all humble.

“He was never afraid to call a spade a spade. When the administration of General Ibrahim Babangida fired him as Managing Director of First Bank for what was considered an irreconcilable difference with the government, he was merely advising them to embrace the principle of sound economic management.

“It is on record that the same government later appointed him the Finance Secretary under the Transitional Council. Because of his principled stand, he refused to participate in the contraption called the Interim National Government (ING), headed

by Chief Ernest Shonakan...”

From Clarice Azuatalum, Port Harcourt

House Committee Chairman on Information and Training Onari Brown said the wrong perception has made people not to respond to invitations to attend public hearing on the bills.

Brown said: “It’s wrong for people not to come for public hearing, only for them to wait till the bill is passed and they will begin to criticise us.”

RIVERS State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has promised to build a new campus for the State University of Science and Technology (RSUST).

The government has opened technical bid for the construction.

During the opening bid which took place at the weekend in Port Harcourt, 14 companies were present.

The government said the event marked the end of the presentation of technical bids for the new campus.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on RSUST New Campus Development, Mrs. Vivien Braide, said 61 companies expressed interest but 31 turned up for presentation.

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NEWS Ondo resources untapped, says aspirant From Damisi Ojo, Akure

G

OVERNORSHIP aspirant of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State, Mr. Olayato Aribo, has said he will establish an institutional frame work that will improve the life of residents, if he is given the party’s ticket.

He spoke in Akure, the state capital, during a parley with members of the Igbo business community.

Aribo said the human and natural resources that abound in the state have not been tapped by successive administrations.

He said successive administrations have continued to embark on projects that have no relevance in the people’s life and the state’s economy.

The ACN aspirant urged residents to reject the Labour Party (LP) government during the October 20 election, arguing that it has failed to deliver good governance as promised in 2009.

Aribo hailed the contribution of the Igbo to the state’s economy and pledged to involve them in governance, if he is elected.

He said any state that wants to develop should reject politicians that toy with the destiny of the people and support people that are willing to serve them.

The industrialist said if an ACN-led government is in place in the state, its economic potentials would be tapped for the overall development of the people.

Police arrest fake PHCN staff From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

T

HE police have arrested Mr. Tope Iluyomade in Ondo State for allegedly defrauding the people of Igburowo, Odigbo Local Government Area, of N3.6 million.

Iluyomade was alleged to have been acting as a staff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in the past two years and collecting the monthly electricity bulk bill in the ancient community.

A police source said the suspect claimed that he was working with a prominent leader of the community.

The source said in the last two years, only N730,000 was paid into the coffers of PHCN. It was gathered that as a result of Iluyomade’s failure to remit the money to PHCN, the community was cut off from the national grid.

PHCN spokesman in charge of Ondo Business District, Mr. Orghale Eduzare, said the suspect is not a staff of the company.

He said the community’s debt amounts to several millions of Naira.

Police spokesman Adeniran Aremu confirmed the suspect’s arrest.

He said the suspect would be arraigned as soon as their investigation is completed.

• Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola (middle); his wife, Alhaja Sherifat (fourth right); and members of the Istijaba Prayer Group of Nigeria during the group’s visit to the governor at the Government House in Osogbo...yesterday.

Renaming of UNILAG right, but wrongly done, says Akande T HE National Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Bisi Akande, has described the renaming of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) to Moshood Abiola University by President Goodluck Jonathan as a right thing done in a wrong way and at the wrong time.

The former governor of Osun State spoke with reporters yesterday at his IlaOrangun country home on many national issues, including the doctors’ strike in Lagos State, the regional integration agenda of the ACN, the removal of former Court of Appeal President Justice Ayo Salami and Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s performance, among others.

According to Akande, though the President’s action was meant to honour the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, who died pursuing a noble cause, the renaming of the university was done without due consultation with all stakeholders.

Akande said the Federal Government should have named the Abuja National Stadium after the political martyr, once the National Assembly passed the resolution to do it.

He said it was insensitive on the part of the Federal Government to make such an announcement when the university was preparing for the funeral of its former ViceChancellor, Prof.

Adetokunbo Sofoluwe.

Akande said UNILAG was established by law and since the country was not in the military era, President Jonathan should have consulted all stakeholders, including the university alumni, the school’s authorities, students and parents.

On the Lagos doctor’s strike, the former governor said it was wrong for the doctors to abandon their duties and the Hippocratic Oath to save lives.

He said doctors are supposed to work 365 days a year

Lawmakers to debate renaming of Varsity

M

EMBERS of the House of Representatives will today debate the alleged disregard of the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan in the renaming of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) after the late assumed winner of the June 12 presidential election, Chief M.K.O Abiola.

It was learnt that the House may invoke the provisions of the constitution to rescind the unilateral decision of President Jonathan.

Mr. Sunday Adepoju (Ido/Ibarapa East Federal Constituency) gave the hints at the weekend.

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) lawmaker described the President’s action “as illegal and a gross violation of the provisions of checks and balances enshrined in the constitution”.

He said no President, under a democratic dispensation, has the power to overturn the creation of the National Assembly without recourse to it.

Adepoju said members of the House of Representatives are determined to reverse the unpopular decision, if the President fails to retrace his steps and accept that he made a mistake by not consulting the National Assembly.

He said there are serious implications for this country if nothing is done by members of the National Assembly to reverse the president’s action.

From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

Adepoju said: “It will mean that any President will wake up and announce that he has changed the name of the country. That is the trend things will go, if we fail to check the excesses of the President.”

The lawmaker accused the President of attempting to use the name of the late Abiola to score cheap political points.

He said if the President sincerity wanted to honour the late Abiola, he would have followed due process.

Adepoju said: “If not for the sacrifice made by the late Abiola, the democracy we are all enjoying today would not have existed. He sacrificed his life for democratic rule. He was the pillar of sports in Africa and no man in the continent supported sports more than he did. So why wasn’t the National Stadium in Abuja named after him?

“When Lagos was still the federal capital, the airport there was named after the late Gen. Muritala Mohammed in recognition of his sacrifice for the country.

“The international airport in Abuja was named after the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe. I am not saying what Jonathan did was bad, but the way and manner he did it is unacceptable.

“He should realise this mistake and make corrections. If he fails to do so, the National Assembly will debate it and reverse his decision.”

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

and it was regrettable that they let their patients die while pursuing their personal interests.

The ACN chieftain said the regional integration being championed by his party would ensure rapid development in the Southwest.

He said: “First, the federating units should be according to ethnic nationality. The Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Ibibio, Tiv, Fulanis, Ijaw and many others within the country should be allowed to develop along the ethnic line in accordance with their culture and beliefs.

“It is unfortunate that the

‘If you engage Aregbesola, you will know he is educated. And an educated mind will always perform effectively, so I am not surprised by his performance.’

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has failed to recognise each ethnic nationality’s peculiarity and the benefits in-

herent in using it to develop on its own and at its pace.

“I think that is how the PDP can effectively curb corruption, poverty and the rising wave of crime in the country.”

Akande urged Nigerians as change agents to be courageous and make the Federal Government see the need for addressing the issue of a true federal structure. He said by working together, “we can achieve our desired development.”

On Justice Salami’s removal and the President’s failure to his re-instate him as recommended by the Nigeria Judicial Council (NJC), Akande alleged that the PDP is behind the jus-

tice’s travails.

Describing the development as the greatest fraud and injustice in Nigeria, he alleged that the President deliberately removed the judge when it was clear that he would not submit himself to the PDP’s wish on the Congress for Progressive Change’s (CPC’s) petition challenging his (Jonathan’s) election.

Akande lamented that by that singular act, the judiciary has been silenced ahead of the 2015 general elections.

Explaining that Aregbesola has performed brilliantly well, he said the governor met a terrible decadence which he fought for months before he could kick start his programmes.

Akande said when he was governor of the state between 1999 and 2003, he suffered the same fate when he took over from the military.

He said: “I laugh when some people say Aregbesola does not have a certificate.

Though I do not know how many certificates he has, you cannot deny the fact that the governor is educated. And there is a clear difference between having a certificate and being educated.

“If you engage Aregbesola, you will know he is educated. And an educated mind will always perform effectively, so I am not surprised by his performance.

“Between 1999 and 2003, there was rapid development until between 2003 and 2010, when Osun State started to suffer stagnation from misrule and the ineffective leadership of the PDP, but Aregbesola came and has been battling to lay a foundation for the rapid development of the state.”

On the 2015 presidential election, Akande said as a party which promotes ideas rather than individuals, ACN is ready to talk and go into alliances with aspirants who genuinely want to serve the people.

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NEWS Communal clash: Nasarawa govt imposes dusk to dawn curfew

Police, Customs officers arrested for ‘supplying’ robbers gun T

N

ASARAWA State Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura has imposed a dusk to dawn curfew on Asakiyo, the headquarters of Lafia East Local Development Area, following a bloody communal clash said to have claimed about 50 lives.

Several houses and valuables were razed on Friday night, rendering hundreds homeless when violence broke out over what The Nation learnt was the refusal of the Eggon living among the Alago to pay the levy imposed on them by their host.

The Eggon were said to have seen the imposition of the levy on their farm produce as taking unnecessary advantage of them, hence their refusal to pay and the subsequent carnage that enveloped the area.

Almakura yesterday visited the scene of the clash and appealed to residents to sheathe their swords, saying

•Almakura From Johnny Danjuma, Lafia

the government would address the violence that has rendered several people homeless.

The police spokesman, Cornelius Ocholi, who confirmed the incident, declined giving the official figure of those that died. He said “we are more concerned about bringing the situation under control and seeing that the violence does not escalate and spread to other areas.”

The state police command is said to have dispatched three units of the mobile policemen (MOPOL) and eight vehicles of the conventional police to the area to maintain law and order.

FCTA disburses N703m to six area HE Federal Capital councils Territory Administra-

T

tion (FCTA) has shared N703.55 million among its six area councils – Abaji, Abuja Municipal, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali.

The FCTA is also to adopt a reward and sanction system for area councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as part of measures to improve the level of performance and development of the territory.

The Minister of State for FCT and Chairperson of the FCT Area Councils Joint Account Allocation Committee, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, disclosed this to reporters in Abuja at the end of the committee’s meeting.

The money was part of the April 2012 revenue received from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) after its meeting of May 18.

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

The meeting was attended by the Permanent Secretary, FCTA, Anthony Ozodinobi; Director of Treasury, FCT, Alhaji Ibrahim Bomai; Secretary of the Area Councils Service Secretariat (ACSS), Mr. Yahaya Alhassan Ibrahim; chairmen of the six area councils and auditor general of the FCT Area Councils, among others.

Oloye Akinjide said N1.591 billion was received from the federation account for the FCT area councils, which was made up of Statutory Revenue Allocation of N723.22 million; Value Added Tax (N724.46 million); FCT’s 10 per cent Internally Generated Revenue (N120.29 million); and Refund by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (N23.10 million).

WO police inspectors and a Customs inspector (names withheld) are now being held by the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Louis Edet House, Force Headquarters, Abuja. They allegedly supplied arms and ammunition to armed robbers.

The arrests of the officers were effected, following the arrests of some armed robbers in Abuja, who confessed getting their arms and ammunition from the Customs official attached to the Niger State command.

The confession, our correspondent learnt, led to the arrest of the Customs inspector last Wednesday. Admitting that he committed the offence during interrogation, the Customs officer also men-

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

tioned the names of the two police inspectors attached to the armoury department of the state police command as being the suppliers of the ammunition sold to armed robbers.

On interrogation, the two policemen confessed to committing the crime in conjunction with the first suspect.

The trio were said to have since Friday been transferred to Abuja on the order of the Police High Command, for further investigation, with a view to getting to the root of the matter.

Efforts to get the commis-

T

Abdulfattah was sacked by the Court of Appeal in Ilorin, following a petition by ACN’s Abdul Kayode Aiyelabegan. A PDP’s motion in April, praying the court to review the judgment was also dismissed penultimate Monday. But he has continued to attend the House sittings.

Upholding the objection of the ACN that the PDP’s motion was an abuse of the court process, Justice Ita Mbamba of the Appeal Court held: “Applicant (PDP, Abdulfattah’s) motion of April 30 is a gross abuse of the process of court.

Apart from trying to re-litigate a matter that has been heard and concluded, and subjecting the adverse party (ACN and Aiyelabegan) to irritation and

Pa Adeolokun dies at 98

The late Adeolokun

PA Ezekiel Adewuyi Adeolokun is dead. He was 98. A Christian, he died in his sleep on May 20. He has since been buried. He is survived by wives, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, among who is Prince Temitayo Adeolokun.

armoury.”

Our source, however, said the records at the armoury showed that the arms and ammunition of the command were intact, making the police high command to direct the Force CID in Abuja to unearth the mystery behind the supply by the arrested security personnel.

“The officers referred to the vouchers with which the command took its arms and ammunition from Lagos with a view to know where the two police officers were getting arms and ammunition they were selling, because our armoury is intact,” our source further said.

EFCC asked to investigate N70b Kwara rice project

A

HUMAN rights group, Lawyers Unite against Corruption (LUC), has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the N70 billion rice project of the Kwara State Government, which was allegedly contracted to a Spanish company, Vasolar Consortium.

The convener of LUC, Mr. Ikechukwu Ikeji, alleged that they decided to raise the alarm and arouse public interest in the rice project described as a deceptive scheme deliberately conceived by the present administration to siphon public funds.

Ikeji alleged that when reporters confronted the state government about the company which it claimed would be injecting about 340 million Euros into the rice project, it dismissed the allegations as inconsequential.

He alleged that all the searches conducted on Vasolar Consortium of Spain revealed that the company, which claimed to be based in a non-rice producing country, had no local recognition as it was not known to the Spanish

By Adebisi Onanuga

Chamber of Commerce and had no experience in rice cultivation, adding that “its only known existence is through this deal with the Kwara State Government.”

Ikeji said: “This is a big surprise for a company planning to invest 340 million Euros in four years. Who are the partners in Vasolar Consortium of Spain? What are their pedigrees? What is the source of the resources they are bringing in?

“We have conducted a search at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on the name and directors of Vasolar Consortium. The name was not found both online and manually. The implication is that Vasolar Consortium does not exist in the records of CAC. Meaning, it is a non-existent company or is not registered to do business in Nigeria either by way of being incorporated or by way of exemption under Section 56 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990 (CAMA).”

The convener of the LUV

ACN tasks INEC, security agents over sacked Kwara PDP lawmaker HE Kwara State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has urged security agents at the state House of Assembly to henceforth prevent the sacked Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker, Mr. Salman Abdulfattah (Ilorin North/West Constituency), from appearing on the floor of the House.

The party also enjoined the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to “as a matter of urgency announce the date for the rerun election as ordered by the court.

It said further delay will imply that the commission is complicit in the PDP’s bid to frustrate the law.

sioner of police to comment on the matter failed, but a senior police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the development, saying as soon as the arrests were made, the Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Desire Nsirim, directed that an inventory of the armoury be conducted.

According to the source, “as soon the incident was reported and arrests were made, the commissioner of police directed the officer- incharge of operations at the command and his counterparts from the MOPOL to take the inventory of the arms and ammunition in the

annoyance, frustrating or delaying the realisation of the justice of the case, the application is a stranger to the law, and appears to be targeted at blackmailing the judgment, in the absence of any further right of appeal.”

ACN Chairman in Kwara State, Kayode Olawepo, said in a statement in Ilorin yesterday that the continued disrespect for the court ruling

threatens public peace and should be forestalled by the security agencies.

“We have written several letters to the House leadership on this matter, but they have treated the correspondence as a non-issue. This underscores their disrespect for law and the judiciary, and such attitude must be resisted by all lovers of democracy and rule of law,” he said.

challenged the government to provide incontrovertible evidence of where the company has carried out “this type of project before in any part of the world,” adding that “if there are none, it then follows that you cannot give what you don’t have. If the company is non-existent, the government is trying to place something on nothing, which to all intent and purpose is practically impossible.”

LUC raised questions on the economies of the business proposal of Vasolar Consortium, saying when the cost of land and the amount in the escrow account are added, “the total investment by the Kwara State Government is more than equal to what the consortium is purportedly bringing in.

“Hence it can be safely assumed that Vasolar is just going to use Kwara State’s money- that is if there is any actual production to be undertaken.”

Ikeji cited the case of Lagos State Government which is going to take 10 per cent equity for providing land for a green field refinery in the EPZ, explaining that “this

means whenever the project takes off and profit is being made, Lagos will be making lots of revenues through Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and profit sharing without tying down money that can be used to enhance the lives of the people.”

In the case of Kwara, he alleged that the financial returns to the government for the enourmous investment was not stated, adding, “ what is the equity of Kwara State Government in this transaction? Or is the government not expecting any form of return within a definite time frame? Is this organisation, Vasolar Consortium, not making any profit too?”

Quoting the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the rights group said while Nigeria is ranked the 19th producer of rice worldwide, Spain is not ranked at all.

The group alleged on the possibility that there is a plan to use a new generation bank involved in the project as a medium for money laundering and asked the EFCC to evaluate and investigate the exact interest of the bank in the entire transaction.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 04, 2012

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SPORT EXTRA

Lagos plane crash stops Eagles celebration in Calabar •Gaiya wants Keshi to sharpen Eagles’ attack, commends team

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ESPITE achieving a hard earned 1-0 victory against resilient visiting Namibia by the Super Eagles in the first match of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, the team and thousands of fans that watched the game could not celebrate as a result of the plane crash incident in Lagos yesterday.

Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Sports, Honourable Godfrey Giaya who watched the match live in Calaba told The NationSport that “everybody that watched the game wore gloomy faces and could not celebrate the hard earned victory by the Eagles as a result of the unfortunate plane crash incident involving Dana Airline where we had that over hundred people died in the crash.

“Ordinarily it could have been celebration galore since we heard that Kenya and Malawi played a goalless draw which made Nigeria to top the group with three points while the Kenya and Malawi have one point apiece but alas we couldn’t do that.

“Most of us went back to our hotels pondering on what happened and wondering why this should happen to our dear nation now that all are on deck to ensure our country moves forward in the comity of nations. I am a very sad man and don’t know what to say now until we hear the full details of the accident”, a sad sports administrator cum politician told The NationSport yesterday.

Gaiya, however, praised the doggedness of the Eagles for breaking down the resilient

From Segun Ogunjimi, Abuja Namibians. He believed that the three points the Eagles got against Namibia in Calabar yesterday would propel Nigeria to top the group ahead of Kenya, Malawi and Namibia.

“For the first time since 1994,

Super Eagles scored and played free flow and fluid football, today (Sunday) I saw a team that played a typical Nigerian style full of attack. We saw a team that was trying to open the defence from the wings so that the central strikers can come and do the damages against the opponent.

GULDER FIVE-A-SIDE

Tourney good for developments HEN it comes to grassroots football, Coach —Adeniyi Yinka Kelvin Adeniyi,

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an ex-international and coach of T K Football academy, one of the competing teams in the ongoing Lagos Qualifiers of the Gulder Five-A-Side football competition, should know.

A seasoned grassroots football coach and ex-international, Coach Adeniyi commended the Gulder Five-A-Side initiative, stressing that it was a good development for Nigerian national football.

Coach Adeniyi, a former Nigerian junior international, spoke with our correspondent about the competition: What’s your experience in the Gulder Five-A-Side football competition?

It is a good experience for me, I must say. It is a laudable initiative. It helps mold the grassroots players into better players for the future.

Personally, I must say that such competitions are helpful for a coach like me with teams that are participating in various football competitions. It is not only serving as preparation for our other matches es-

pecially at the eleven-A-side level, it is also great experience for the boys in their career.

Is this your first Gulder FiveA-Side tournament experience?

Yes it is. Unfortunately we haven’t been involved in the previous editions.

But I am very happy at the opportunity to participate this year What is your impression of the games generally?

Well, we are not here for the prize money, even though we will try to make it through. But it has been a very important experience for my boys. I must say I am Impressed by the level and standard of football that we have seen here. Like I said, for my boys it is an important learning curve for them to be involved in the nation’s foremost grassroots football tournament. I have seen a high level of football on display and I am really impressed. I must also add that this tourney will also aid the national team’s development.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012

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www.thenationonlineng.net

TOMORROW IN THE NATION

‘The present uproar over the change of Unilag to

MONDAY, JUNE 4 , 2012 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

MAUL is founded on nothing but empty sentiments; a frothing wave of unreason driven by culpable zero sense of history’ OLAKUNLE ABIMBOLA

VOL 7 NO 2,146

C OMMENT & D EB ATE EBA

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O matter what the story is, and will be, we shall never remember yesterday in any tomorrow as a good day. It was the day that people died in the air, at home, in the church, in the street, in the car, in a bus…

It was parlous, it was nature’s greedy moment, man’s barbarous nadir, technology’s foul mood. Which of the day’s sad news shall we not lament, or lament more? Is it the ominous story of worshippers who flew to their God precipitously by the agency of gunmen’s rat-ta-tat when they stepped out of their churches and into their cars? Is it the story of the Nigerian cargo plane that overshot its runway and cascaded down to crash a bus, killing those who never looked at the aircraft? Or was it the story a day earlier of crashes and infernos from the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, whose gloomy register still haunted us as the story of Dana air fouled everything?

Today, we shall never forget the narrative of the air crash. The plane, two minutes or so to landing, failed to fulfill the dreams of all those who had thought they were already home. The plane had probably shot out of the bouffant Lagos cloud, the pilot asked the crew to prepare for landing, and those with phones hidden in their purses and bags, reached for them.

They were waiting for landing, a ritual they thought like a coming and going that goes on forever, to echo Poet Christopher Okigbo. They would call their loved ones that they were home. The loved ones and chauffeurs would come to pick them home.

But that also was the story of the bus in Ghana. They were not travelling, but going to another part of town. So too the worshippers. They were not dreaming of going to God, but to their families, to friends, some to work, to prepare always for the heady sway of a new week.

All of them, who died expected the next rhythms of their lives: to eat, meet a friend, exchange a joke, dance, party, contend over an idea, spar a foe, sue for peace, make love. None of them expected or thought they would die. But they exhaled and expired.

The one that concentrates the mind of all these is the Dana tragedy. It is the story of the marvel of man gone awry. I have always considered the aircraft one of man’s greatest masterpieces. A thing that carries people, in defiance of our commonplace view of gravity, and car-

•The wreckage of the Dana aircraft...yesterday

‘If anything, it calls for the greatest care. Now, we can ask: why is it that more of the crashes that have happened in recent years were connected with Abuja? Do we take seriously the mechanical checks or is the Abuja thing just a coincidence?’

ries people hundreds of miles away, is no less than a miracle. When a plane takes off and lands successfully, it is a miracle. If it crashes, it is like when one luxuriates in a miracle, and it is taken from him or her.

We cannot know today why it happened. Was it a pilot’s error, or a machine

snafu, or the turbulence of cloud in what Joseph Conrad calls the “unthinking might of nature?”

We shall ask questions. Was it the fault of the airline? What kind of pilot steered the plane? Did they do the necessary routine checks before take-off? It is possible that all of this was done, and then some-

thing happens and we are left to wonder about the mystery.

Empathy is important, but how do you go through the minds of all those whose lives fizzled out in the moment when they knew the inevitable had come. What happened when they saw the abyss, the personal dimension of the apocalypse, when they knew it was probably left to them only to pray.

We shall also think of those in the IjuAgege area, those on the street, those in the homes where the plane landed and burst into flames. We shall or may never know if they were probably eating, playing pranks, watching television, sleeping, father and child catching up on weekend, village meeting...

It is the sort of tragedy that keeps a lot in the imagination. We don’t know the geography, where they were when it happened. We shall not know the psychology. Were they happy, sad, expectant, moody, frustrated, in ecstasy, in intellectual ruminations?

We shall never know the spirituality.

Were they the worshipful ones, the vain, the agnostic? By the time the story is tolda month, six months, a year from now, we would have conjectured that some or all of these are true. But that is it about death. If, as the Bible says, the dead know not anything, the living know little about the dead. That is the philosophical puzzle of the day. Death has come in its icy ferocity, burning us and freezing us simultaneously.

But we shall always contemplate the aircraft. It is man’s way of transcending himself, of challenging the limitations of nature. It calls to mind the Greek myth of Icarus.

It is the story of the one who wanted to fly on wings made by his father. He was asked not to fly too close to the sun, and when he did, he crashed. Poets, novelists, critics have turned this story around as the parable of man’s ambition. But there is nothing wrong with ambition and nothing is wrong with trying and flying.

If anything, it calls for the greatest care.

Now, we can ask: why is it that more of the crashes that have happened in recent years were connected with Abuja? Do we take seriously the mechanical checks or is the Abuja thing just a coincidence?

Whatever the case, whether it was passing in the church, the bus in Ghana, the expiration on the streets of Iju-Ishaga, or the smoky, turbulent charring of flesh in the Dana tragedy, yesterday was a Sunday of memory that banished desire.

HARDBALL

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above

SAM OMATSEYE

IN TOUCH

intouchsam@yahoo.com 08054501081(sms only) •Winner, Informed Commentary 2009& 2010 (D.A.M.E)

Death so proud

RIPPLES STAND BY ME, jonathan begs Nigerians

Needed: A moratorium on hostage rescue

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...and will you REDUCE the FUEL PRICE?

HURSDAY’S rescue effort to free German hostage Edgar Raupach was the second in recent months to go hopelessly wrong. Nigerian security forces had attempted to free the German who had been held by his captors, the Al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM), since January. The same group held the Italian Franco Lamolinara, and Briton Chris MacManus, since May last year until the failed rescue in March in the northern city of Sokoto. It is not yet known what level of co-operation exists between AQIM and the Nigerian terror group Boko Haram, or whether AQIM operates independently.

Boko Haram has repeatedly denied any involvement in hostage taking. Sadly, like the Sokoto rescue effort which led to the death of the two hostages, the Kano rescue attempt also failed.

It will be recalled that while it took about five months for Nigerian security forces to discover the hideout of the Kano kidnappers, in the case of Sokoto, it took nearly a year. Securing appropriate intelligence on hostage takers is admittedly not

an easy task. So far, too, it is not yet known what the scale of operation of AQIM in Nigeria is, especially in view of the kidnapping on May 30 of another Italian, Digi Modesto, who was, however, released on Saturday. In the case of the Ilorin kidnap, it was not immediately known whether terror groups were involved or not, or whether ransom was paid. AQIM had wanted the German hostage to be exchanged for a German Muslim woman detained on terrorism charges in Germany.

It is apparent that Nigerian security forces have not yet acquired the know-how of rescuing hostages. The spectacular failure of the Sokoto rescue effort, which involved British Special Forces, should have informed Nigeria of the need to exercise restraint in the Kano hostage case. That restraint was not observed. In both the Sokoto and Kano rescue efforts, security forces attacked the terrorists with all they had when what would have guaranteed success were stealthy methods and surprise. The Kano effort, for instance, lasted for 30 minutes, and like Sokoto, involved the deployment

of armoured tanks and overt troop movements. It is hoped this would be the last time attempts would be made to free hostages when the possibility of success is less than assured. Indeed, it is time Nigeria declared a moratorium on hostage rescue rather than continue to risk the murder of hostages by their captors. From evidence provided by security forces, the hostages in Sokoto and Kano were killed by their captors when it seemed the chances of escaping with the hostages were lost.

The country doubtless appreciates the enormous risk undertaken by Nigerian Special Forces in confronting terrorists.

But when success cannot be guaranteed, it seems pointless rushing into rescue efforts before proper evaluation of past failures had been done or better training programmes instituted to help Nigerian security forces acquire the needed expertise in such risky and delicate matters.

There is, after all, no point in acquiring a reputation as a nation of failed hostage rescuers.

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