June 08, 2015

Newspaper of the Year

NEWS Page 10

Another tanker falls in Lagos

•IPMAN to import petrol without subsidy payment •Aladetoyinbo is Akure kingmakers’ choice for Deji •Thugs attack Ekiti APC chairman Jide Awe’s sister •Female suicide bomber kills 16 in Maiduguri

•Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

VOL. 10, NO. 3239 MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

P12 P7 P8 P4

•www.thenationonlineng.net

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

•INSIDE: NIGERIA LOSES $1B DAILY TO UNTAPPED MEGAWATTS OF ELECTRICITY P26

‘Why banks won’t fund fuel import’

By Collins Nweze, Senior Finance Correspondent

B

ANKS are reluctant to fund fuel import because of the absence of a clear-cut policy statement from the Federal Government on the subsector, Skye Bank plc Managing Director Timothy Oguntayo has said According to him, banks are being cautious on their loan growth to oil marketers because no lender would want to incur losses or increase the position of its non-performing loans.

Oguntayo spoke at the weekend as part of pre-Annual General Meeting (AGM) activities of the bank which holds today in Lagos.

He said government’s reluctance in paying subsidy claims to petrol marketers has affected some of its loans in the Continued on page 4

•From left: General Overseer, The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Adejare Adeboye; his wife, Pastor Folu; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; his wife, Dolapo; Lagos State Governor Akinwumi Ambode and his wife, Bolanle; at the 7th Excel of Apapa Family of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (City of David), Lagos ... at the weekend.

PHOTO: NAN

APC to its lawmakers: stick with Lawan, Gbajabiamila Buhari, G7 leaders for talks on Boko Haram, economy

Members back party nominees From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

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HEAD of tomorrow’s proclamation of the Eighth National Assembly, the All Progressives Congress (APC), which controls majority seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives, yesterday told its members to stick with its consensus candidates on the floor.

At the weekend, the party held straw polls in Abuja where Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North) emerged as consensus candidate for Senate President. Senator George Akume was picked for Deputy Senate President.

House of Representatives member Femi Gbajabiamila (Surelere Constituency, Lagos) was nominated for speaker. Alhaji Tahir Monguno (Monguno/ Tahir Constituency, WILL THE Borno State) was picked CHIBOK GIRLS for deputy speaker.

KIDNAPPED ON APRIL 15, But the camp of Sena-

From Yusuf Alli, and Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

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LAST YEAR EVER RETURN?

Continued on page 4

•Buhari with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon (left) and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter PHOTO: STATE HOUSE Steinmeier at the cocktail reception at the Munich residence ... yesterday.

RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has arrived in Bavaria, Germany, clutching a wish-list for consideration by leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations.

The summit of the top industrialised nations started yesterday.

Top on the President’s list are Boko Haram and Nigeria’s economic crisis.

The summit is due to discuss militant threats from groups, such as Islamic State, with the Continued on page 4

•EX-CBN CHIEF SOLUDO: NO CHANGE WITHOUT NEW CONSTITUTION P2

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

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NEWS

Soludo: sustainable ch •I’m not available for public service now, says ex-CBN chief

•Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo (second left); the Guest Speaker, Ekwono Spio- Garbrah at the opening of the ninth Annual Business Law Conference tagged: “Regulators as catalysts for economic growth”at Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos...yesterday. With them is former Interim National Government (ING) Chairman Chief Ernest Shonekan.

PHOTO: BIODUN ADEYEWA

•From left: Vice President, Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce, Mrs. Theresa Ananyi; Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Okunbor; Deputy President of of the Chamber, Prince Dapo Adelegan and the Chamber's Director-General, Mrs. Joyce Akpata when officials of the Chamber visited SPDC’s Lagos Office...at the weekend.

•Former Foreign Affairs Minister Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi (left); former Education Minister & Guest of Honour, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili with President, Oxford and Cambridge Club of Nigeria, Mr. Akinfela Akoni at the May Ball ‘Highlife’ in Lagos...at the weekend.

•From left: E-Commerce Manager, Infinix Mobility Limited, Mr. Israel Ajiboye; Managing Director, Mr. Benjamine Jieng; Country Manager, Mr. Bruno Lee; Public Relations Manager, Mr. Marotta Camille and Head, Marketing, Mr. Peter Zhon at the inauguration of Infinix Zero2 phone at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos.

Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo at the weekend spoke on the economy and sundry issues of national importance including the President Muhammadu Buhariled administration. In an interview culled from Premium Times, the ex-CBN chief foresees hope and opportunities for the new government.

Y

OU promised not to keep quiet again and to ask more questions about the running of the economy after elections but you seem to have been very quiet since the elections. Can you now raise the questions?

Great to see you too! And I hope this will be a short interview please.

Two quick points: The elections have come and gone but that was the easier part. The hard part now begins. Like most Nigerians, I am happy that Nigeria made history with the election.

On your question, No; there was no need to raise further questions for the outgone administration. President Goodluck Jonathan raised the bar and set a new tone in his statesmanlike acceptance of defeat. That was noble.

Last month, the government admitted that they were borrowing since January to pay salaries. What more do you want me to say? The two articles I wrote in January and February remain living documents and raised some of the salient questions, some of which may be bold markers for the new government. Our focus should be on the future and the new government.

How is your relationship with Dr.NgoziOkonjo-Iweala now?

Why do you ask? Of course, she is and will always be my dear elder sister and Madam; someone I deeply respect. We may not always agree, especially on public policy. The public spat was unfortunate. She felt she had an obligation to defend her government but she did so in a manner that I also felt an obligation to respond in equal measure. But all that is now history. There is nothing personal.

Now without the encumbrances of government and its pressures, I look forward to our returning to the good old days in our personal relationship.

The economy is really bad; falling oil prices, dwindling revenue, debt, inflation, unemployment, collapsed naira, etc. Where does President Muhammadu Buhari start from?

I don’t envy President Buhari and his team. His government will preside over the transition to a post-oil economy, and it won’t be a tea party. If Buhari works eight hours a day, he has less than 7,500 hours left to bring about change in his first term in office or less than 9,700 if he works 12 hours a day, with three substantive annual budgets to go before the next elections. The clock is ticking already. But the Rescue, Stabilise and Transform (RST) Plan requires a 24 x 7 operation. There must be something in the President’s natal chart that keeps bringing him to govern us just when things are in shambles. But I see hope; I see opportunities. The president and his team have a historic opportunity to create a new Nigeria without oil; a Nigeria powered by competition and compassion. Fortuitously, Nigeria’s centenary was last year (2014). This year marks the beginning of the next 100 years.

President Buhari and the new crop of elected officers at all levels must lay the foundation for the next Nigeria; a re-engineered Nigeria with the structures and incentives to move from cake-sharing, or consumption, to cake-

baking, or production. Old thinking and ways of doing things won’t work.

But an attempt to drive change from Abuja will fail. It will be akin to trying to clap with one hand. A coordinated national (not federal) response is required.

On your specific question as to where President Buhari should begin, let me say that I don’t want to join the new industry in town which is ‘agenda setting’. Everyone is grabbing the microphone to ‘set agenda’. That’s ok.

I am aware that the transition committee is working hard on an agenda, and I believe that the committee is made up of eminent Nigerians. For me, let us wait for them to unveil their action plan and we would have something to comment upon or contribute to. I am aware that the African Heritage Institution (Afriheritage) is planning a session focused on the agenda after it is announced. So, I won’t join this fashion parade of the day. Not yet.

Let me be more specific. With the terrible condition of the economy, and the high expectations of Nigerians on the new government, what practical steps should Buhari take to create jobs speedily?

I told you I do not want to discuss specifics now. For sure, job creation should be the focus of the new post-oil economy. Nigeria certainly needs a job manifesto, with a target of eight – twelve million jobs over the next four years.

This is easier said than done. We are diversifying the economy by-passing the manufacturing/industrial sector to the tertiary sector (services). Creating value-adding jobs in such an economy with one of the highest rates of urbanisation in the world will task our creativity to the limit. The agenda will require a kind of coordination between the federal and state governments in a manner never seen before. Luckily the All Progressives Congress (APC) states are in majority and I hope their party will rein them in. I have read some newspaper reports that solid mineral and agriculture sectors will be the new kids on the block to mint the jobs. That won’t happen! At least not in the manner it is being romanticised about. They would have very limited impacts on job creation over the next four years, and over the long-run agricultural transformation will actually reduce jobs. The prospects of the solid mineral sector will depend on the policy framework and even legislation, the dynamics of commodity prices especially given the apparent end of the commodity super cycle, and the nature of forward and backward integration with the rest of the industrial structure. Anyway, let us wait for government’s agenda before we can comment, please.

In your previous answer you alluded to changing the structures of Nigeria. What should President Buhari do with the report of the recent national conference?

It is up to him to decide what to do with the report. A fundamental point however is that you can’t create the new Nigeria, a post-oil competitive economy without fundamentally altering the existing constitution. The current constitution and the political-governance

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

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able change won’t occurr without a new constitution

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At this critical crisis moment, perhaps what Nigeria needs is something akin to selecting the best 11 for our national football team: no one cares which state or zone they come from; everyone wants Nigeria to come home with the cup.

•Prof. Soludo

structures created by it are designed to share and consume the oil rent. A system designed for consumption cannot become efficient for production. Ours is a dysfunctional unitary-federalism, with a queer fiscal federalism and it won’t go too far. The federating units were created by the central government; it also created the local governments. Every month, both the governors and their local government chairmen are supposed to beseech Abuja to collect their allocations, each supposedly with powers to do whatever they like with the allocations. As oil stumbles, the fiscal viability of these creations is coming into question. Suddenly, states and local government areas designed to collect and spend oil money will be required to produce and create wealth to survive. We will see how the old order will give rise to the new without some creative destruction. The problem with the structure is that those who benefit most from it are required to dismantle it— the incentives are incompatible. We need to study the UAE (United Arab Emirates) model of competitive federalism - that created the incentives for Dubai and other prosperous non-oil regions to emerge. I have written a lot on this subject, and we can talk about this the whole day. The point is that the APC cannot deliver sustainable change to Nigeria if it does not go to the roots, and effect systemic change.

Tinkering at the margins will amount to papering over a cracked wall.

That reminds me of the ongoing debate about local government autonomy and joint account with the states. Shouldn’t the local governments be autonomous?

Autonomy from who? I know that it makes for our emotional satisfaction

to “deal with the state governors” and let the local government areas have ‘autonomy’- but only in the sense of getting their “allocation” directly and unhindered by state governments but with no incentive - sanctions regime that ties such grants to certain productivity and fiscal viability criteria. The mistaken belief is that such autonomy will ensure that resources get to the ‘grassroots’. It is a funny argument which proceeds from the old model of ‘sharing the cake’. We must decide whether we want a federal or a unitary system; not both at the same time.

Are the states the federating units or both states and local governments?

Funny enough, the same constitution gives the state Assemblies the power to create local governments and maintain oversight over them. At the same time, the constitution lists the local government areas created by the military as the ones to collect “allocations” from the Federation Account. I want to see examples of federal systems in the world where the local governments directly receive statutory allocations from the federal government and with statutory powers to spend as they wish without performance-based criteria attached to such receipts. The mindset is rooted in the past, but the problems are unfolding in the future.When it comes to incentives and sanctions regime for creating prosperity and accountability, our current constitution is a funny document. It is even worse for effective macroeconomic management.

The contest is on for zoning and sharing of political offices, and there are fears of marginalisation by people from the Southeast and Southsouth because of their poor support

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for President Buhari and the APC during the elections. How should Buhari assuage the fears of these zones?

You have raised many issues at the same time. First, given the peculiar manner the election was done in the two zones, it is difficult to know exactly how the people voted. There is no question that a majority of people in the two zones preferred Jonathan but we know what happened during the presidential/ National Assembly election. Prof. Attahiru Jega and INEC did a great job but we still have a very long way to go. Second, the Constitution of Nigeria creates an absurdity in the name of federal character whereby a minister must come from every state. So, states in the Southeast and Southsouth must have ministers in the federal cabinet. Third, and more substantively, I believe that the clamour for offices is simply a power game by the elite, which has only a symbolic or emotional significance to the masses.

Yes, for some reasons, people like to see someone that shares their interests or attributes in government—it has a ‘feel good’ factor. But if occupation of such office has any personal benefits, it is largely to the occupant of the office and his friends and family.

Our recent history has shown that it hardly matters where the occupant of a particular position comes from. I am not sure how the welfare of Ota/ Ogun people changed because Obasanjo was President of Nigeria, or how the man in the street of Katsina or Otuoke/Bayelsa prospered more than others simply because their sons became President. The Southeast voted massively for ‘one of their own’ in 2011 as president, and also had Secretary

to the Government of the Federation, Deputy Senate President, Deputy Speaker, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy and a coterie of other appointments.

Yet, the zone had the least capital expenditure in the five-year presidency, and there is hardly any motorable federal highway in the Southeast. For me, this bickering for sharing of positions is an elite game for their personal rather than national considerations. What the ordinary Nigerians want are institutionalised processes to guarantee their security and prosperity. They want services and don’t care who gives it to them. Our federal cabinet is nothing but a miniature United Nations (UN) whereby each minister represents his or her state but no one represents Nigeria. At this critical crisis moment, perhaps what Nigeria needs is something akin to selecting the best 11 for our national football team: no one cares which state or zone they come from; everyone wants Nigeria to come home with the cup.

Talking about positions in the government, there are rumours in town, especially on social media and even in some newspapers that you are being tipped to serve in the cabinet of the current government. Are you likely to serve in the government or am I speaking with the prospective finance minister as speculated?

Nigerians and their rumours! I am glad you said they are rumours and such rumours are normal. For sure, I wish the new government success and for the sake of Nigeria, everyone must contribute to assist President Buhari succeed. I will contribute in whatever way I can. However, everyone can’t sit in government in order to serve.

Some will be there on full-time basis, others can contribute from outside.

For me personally, and at this point in time, I am not disposed or available for full-time public service now; perhaps in the future, it could happen, but not now. For now, my hands are full with several other experiments I am involved with (especially abroad) in the private sector, charity, think-tanks, and the international community. I am part of a major initiative in Africa’s mining and solid minerals sector, and this takes me through several African countries, etc. I am having great fun exploring totally new vistas of opportunity that are central to Africa’s great leap in the 21st century. I read that President Buhari will give priority to solid minerals. We can provide free advisory services and perhaps assist to mobilise investment in the sector or in any other areas if our advice is needed. In effect, there are several ways we can assist the government to succeed but not necessarily to take up full-time appointment. No, not now!

So, who and who would you recommendto be part of the best 11 in the cabinet?

There are many eminent Nigerians who are not only bold, critical thinkers but also with high execution capacity that the president can choose from.

I wish him and his team good luck.

Do you agree with the suggestion

of the current CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, that Nigeria should sell off its oil stakes and retain say, 25 per cent only?

I won’t comment on it in detail until I read the study. From what is reported in the newspapers so far, I will surely have many questions and I have hinted the governor on this.

Some CBN staff are currently being tried for alleged fraud regarding circulation of old notes, and the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) says this has been on for years - apparently more people may have been involved. Were you able to deal with that kind of fraud when you were in charge?

First and foremost, I can’t imagine how such a fraud could be executed successfully given the architecture of controls and security at the CBN. Such would require the collusion of tens of persons from different departments and agencies, including law enforcement agencies and commercial banks.

It is very unlikely to happen without someone blowing the whistle or leakage of information. I am particularly happy therefore that it was the CBN that discovered the fraud and reported to the law enforcement agencies.

This is the important point.

Years after leaving the CBN, give us your assessment of the bank under your successors.

I still reserve my comments for now. When I was in office, I made it a policy never to comment on my predecessors, and after I left office, I also insisted on a self-imposed five-year gag order not to comment on my successor. Several times, I was under immense pressure to break it but I thank God that I kept to it. The five-year ban is now over, but it is not yet time to comment.

The National Bureau of Statistics recently came up with a revised methodology for calculating unemployment, with the claim that unemployment now stands at about six per cent.

Are you as concerned as many Nigerians who believe that claim is baseless?

Integrity of our national statistics is a very serious issue. I don’t comment on statistics without serious scrutiny.

Having not had a chance to thoroughly examine the reviewed methodology, I will not comment on its veracity or appropriateness. It is one thing to have a new methodology, it is yet another to have a comprehensive, credible labour market survey. I will need information on these two parts to make informed judgment. Already, the NBS/past government have created the baseline data for the performance evaluation of the Buhari administration in the areas of poverty and unemployment. According to them, unemployment is about six per cent and poverty is about 32 per cent. If true, then the Buhari government is challenged to beat these numbers. The government must support NBS to be independent and do its job without interference.

Osinbajo urges Nigerians to be faithful, diligent, honest

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IGERIANS must be faithful, diligent and honest in all their ways to attract favour from God and man, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday.

Osinbajo spoke at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos Island, venue of the eighth Annual Conference & Reunion of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Apapa Family, Lagos Province 20. The theme of the conference was: ‘Riding on the wings of change’.

According to the vice president, the country was in desperate need of faithful men who can be relied upon for nation building.

He said: “If you are a typist, if you are a receptionist, if you are a security man, be faithful in the little things you are doing. It is that faithfulness, it is that trustworthiness, it is that loyalty towards the things you are doing and to people you are serving that will lift us up.

“That is the change our nation needs. I trust that we, as the children of God, will be not just harbingers of that change, but will be that change. Our country is waiting for us; I trust that we are all going to be that change that the nation needs.’’

Also speaking, Lagos State Governor

Akinwummi, described the conference theme as appropriate, especially with the current situation in the country.

Ambode said: “The theme of the conference aptly sums up our expectations and collective desire as individuals; no meaningful progress can be achieved without a purpose driven change in the right direction.

“Our prime focus and concern shall be to serve diligently; as we embark on this journey, no one, irrespective of status, strength, ability or disability would be left behind.’’

He prayed that God will grant him wisdom, knowledge and understanding to enable him

steer the affairs of the state to enviable heights.

“I request of the Lord divine wisdom and knowledge like King Solomon,’’ he said.

The General Overseer of RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, who ministered at the event, prayed that the new leaders will rule with the fear of God. “Anyone who wants to ride on the wings of change must be humble, kind, patient so that everything that Nigeria has lost will be fully restored,’’ the cleric said.

The trio of Osinbajo, Ambode and Adeboye were honoured with the ‘Apostles of Change’ awards by the RCCG Apapa family.

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THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

NEWS Why banks are not funding fuel import, by Skye Bank boss Continued from page 1

•Adamawa State Governor Muhammadu Bindo (second left); his Deputy Martins Babale (left); chairman Madugu Group of Company Alhaji Musa Garba (right) assisting former Vice President Atiku Abubakar during the inauguration of Madugu Rock-view Hotel in Yola ... at the weekend.

PHOTO: NAN

downstream oil and gas sector.

On the bank’s performance in the 2014 financial year and those of its subsidiaries, he said the bank did not report any losses from such subsidiaries.

He said the bank has N5 billion in exposures to the power sector which is being serviced because the loans were syndicated.

Oguntayo said Skye Bank has engaged consultants to review the viability or otherwise of subsidiaries of the Mainstreet Bank Limited, which it acquired.

He said the bank is discussing with the consultants to determine whether to sell the Mainstreet Bank subsidiaries, or retain them. “We want to finish that next June, ahead of

Support for Lawan, Gbajabiamila swells

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UPPORT for Senator Ahmed Lawan and House of Representatives member Femi Gbajabiamila swelled yesterday ahead of tomorrow’s proclamation of the Eighth National Assembly.

Lawan is the All Progressives Congress (APC) consensus candidate for Senate President. Gbajabiamila is speaker nominee.

A group of prominent Northern Elders,Youths and civil society, under the umbrella of Concerned Northern Elders and Youths yesterday in a statement signed by its interim co-ordinator and secretary, Mohammed Idris and Mr. Joshua Inusa, cautioned against compromising credibility in the choice of National Assembly leadership.

The group also urged the lawmakers to key into President Muhammadu Buhari’s zero tolerance for corruption by voting a credible senator like Lawan for president.

“With President Buhari’s statement that he would only work with and support people of unquestionable character, it is imperative for the incoming legislators to assist the President in ensuring that only a man of integrity whose past was not in any way characterised by either allegation of corruption, impunity or any other un-

APC to its lawmakers: stick with Lawan, Gbajabiamila Continued from page 1

tor Bukola Saraki boycotted the meeting.

For the House of Representatives, the supporters of Yakubu Dogara, who is alo vying for speaker, protested. They have vowed to present their candidate on the floor of the House for the position tomorrow.

But the APC said last night it had started reaching out to its members who might be aggrieved following the primary. It requesting them to put their interest below that of the party.

National Secretary Mai Mala Buni, in a statement, also told members not to go against the party’s s decision, saying “it will be a shame” if the party, in spite of its majority, cannot pick the parliamentary leaders of its choice.

He said: “The All Progressives Congress (APC) is reaching out to all its members in the incoming eighth National Assembly who may be aggrieved after the emergence of the party’s official candidates on Saturday.”

The party said “it is natural for some members to be disappointed by the outcome of the straw poll that was conducted to select the party’s official candidates for the post: Senator Ahmed Lawan for Senate President and Hon. From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

wanted behaviour becomes President of the Senate.

“To this end, after careful review and consultation with elders, youths and a number of civil society groups in the

Femi Gbajabiamila for Speaker, House of Representatives.”

Buni added: “We must put the interest of our party above personal interests and avoid a situation whereby any other candidates, apart from those picked by the party, will emerge as Senate President and House Speaker on Tuesday. ‘’Any outstanding issues will be resolved by the party so we won’t go into Tuesday’s election with more than one candidate each for the two posts, Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives,’’ it said, adding that “it would be a shame if, despite its majority in both chambers of the National Assembly, the APC is unable to produce a Senate President and a House Speaker of its choice.”

The APC explained that its role in ensuring a common front within the party ahead of Tuesday’s election “is that of an honest broker”, saying its goal of ensuring that the party does not go into the election with more than one candidate for each post has now been achieved.

The party appealed to all aggrieved members to sheathe their swords and allow peace to reign, in the overall interest of not just the party but the entire nation.

North, we hereby resolve to endorse Senator Ahmed Lawan.”

The group also called on the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) not to compromise on Buhari’s stance against cor-

ruption by ensuring that their members tow the same line in choosing a man of impeccable character like Ahmed Lawan as President of the Senate.

The campaign group for the Femi Gbajabiamila’s as-

•Gbajabiamila

piration yesterday hailed his election in a shadow poll and applauded the overwhelming support he got across party lines.

Dickson Tarkghir (APCBenue), who spoke on behalf of the group, said they were confident of getting a sizeable number of votes from other political parties memberselect.

He debunked the assertion by the Yakubu Dogara camp that they were not adequately informed of the mock election, saying the fact that they commented on the exercise in an advertorial before the date shows they were adequately informed of the mock election.

“Definitely, they could not have made comments on an exercise they are not aware of.

It is unfortunate that some Continued on page 59

time. Are the subsidiaries profitable? If not, we may sell them,” he said.

Some of the Mainstreet Bank subsidiaries include: Mainstreet Bank Insurance Brokers Limited, Mainstreet Bank Securities Brokers Limited, Mainstreet Bank Microfinance Bank Limited and Mainstreet Bank Trustees & Asset Management Company Limited.

Others are: Mainstreet Bank Registrars, Mainstreet Bank Capital Markets, Mainstreet Bank Estate Company Limited, Mainstreet Bank Bureau De Change Limited and ANP International Finance Limited.

Oguntayo said Mainstreet bank was acquired to complement Skye Bank’s organic effort.

He said Skye Bank took a strategic decision to take part in the bidding process for the acquisition of Mainstreet Bank Limited, being one of the three bridged banks owned by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), made available for sale to interested bidders.

Skye Bank, he said, paid over N126 billion for the Mainstreet acquisition, which he believes will enable it to expand its market share, improve brand awareness, size and industry positioning.

He said Skye Bank’s expansion bid to the South South and South East will be served by the acquisition of Mainstreet, which has many branches in those geo political zones.

Skye Bank also plans to raise additional capital through the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) to boost its operations.

The bank CEO also said the bank’s exposure to the real estate segment is being studied, adding that the lender has not ‘really’ lost any money to this segment of the economy. He attributed some of the provisions done in that segment of the market to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prudential guidelines requiring that loans be provised, at certain stage, if it is non-performing.

Oguntayo said the bank is not negatively affected by the recent harmonisation of the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 31 per cent for both private and public sector deposits.

“We have a public sector deposits constituting 13 per cent of our deposits while private sector deposits is 87 per cent of our deposits,” he said.

Buhari, G7 leaders for talks on Boko Haram, economy Continued from page 1

leaders of Tunisia and Iraq, who, along with Nigeria, form part of an “outreach” group of non-G7 countries invited to the Summit.

Attending the Summit are United States President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, French President Francois Hollande, Canada’s Prime Ministers Stephen Harper and Italian Prime Ministers Matteo Renzi.

Buhari will hold bilateral talks with Merkel and Harper on the sidelines of the Outreach Programme.

He is also expected to meet Obama, Hollande and Cameron in the course of the Outreach Session and a working lunch at the Elmau Castle today.

“He is in a group of seven other Heads of State who

Borno suicide bomber kills 16

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FEMALE suicide bomber detonated an explosive on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital at the weekend, killing 16 people.

“At about 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, they brought casualties from the blast scene ...16 bodies were deposited with 24 injured,” Lawal Kawu, a paramedic at the teaching hospital in Maiduguri, told Reuters.

He said some of the injured were also in critical condition.

Zakariya Shettima, who lives nearby and arrived on the scene after the blast in the small community of Musari, said he saw blood and body parts and that it had left a crater and destroyed several shops in the market.

But the police said only four people died. Borno Police Commissioner

•Police: Four people died Aderemi Opadokun said the explosive happened along Baga/Monguno road.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri, that four persons were also injured.

“A female suicide bomber detonated an Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) strapped on her body along Baga/ Monguno highway, killing herself and two others on Saturday.

“Four persons sustained injuries during the attack,” he said.

He also confirmed an IED explosion near a military check point in Konduga Local Government Area, in which two persons were injured.

“It is true that we had a suspected IED explosion at Tungushe village in

Konduga LGA on Saturday near a military check point.

“Two persons were injured and they are now being treated at the hospital,” he said.

Opadokun advised residents to be vigilant and report strange objects to the nearest security check point for action. (NAN Boko Haram has killed thousands of people and displaced some 1.5 million in an insurgency to establish an Islamic caliphate in the northeast of Nigeria but appears to have lost most of the territory it seized to government counter-offensives this year.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which followed two weekend bombings that killed at least 30 people and also appeared to be the work of Boko Haram.

ister Haider Al-Abadi (Iraq); the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon; the Secretary-General of the OECD, Angel Gurria; the Managing Director of the IMF, Christine Largarde; the President of the World Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim; the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Guy Rider; and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.

Buhari arrived in Munich, Germany at about 3.25 p.m. local time yesterday.

He was received by the Vice Minister-President of Bavaria, Mrs. Inge Aigner. The president was accompanied Continued on page 59

were called in as guests,” said presidential spokesman Garba Shehu.

“The international community is obviously acknowl-

edging Nigeria’s significant role in global affairs, especially with the recent change in government,” Shehu added.

Also invited are: President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia), President Macky Sall (Senegal), Presi-

dent Beji Caid Essebsi (Tunisia) and Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn (Ethiopia).

There are also Prime Min-

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THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

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NEWS

What we expect from Buhari, by Nigerians in South Africa

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OME Nigerians resident in South Africa yesterday urged the Federal Government to tackle insecurity, unemployment, epileptic power supply and poverty facing the country.

The Nigerians made the call at the sidelines of the inauguration of the National Secretariat of the Nigerian Union in Pretoria, South Africa.

Prof. Dele Braimoh, a retired professor of Adult and Distance Education, University of South Africa, urged the Federal Government to tackle insecurity in the country.

‘’ Many Nigerians in the Diaspora are afraid of going home because of insecurity. I appeal to the government to win the war against Boko Haram to bring peace to the North Eastern part of the country,’’ he said.

Braimoh also said many Nigerians in the Diaspora were willing to return to contribute to the development of the country in various fields.

Senior Pastor, Jesus The Breathe of Life International Ministry, Pretoria Rev. Harold Anagu urged the Federal Government to work for the unity of the country.

‘’ We thank God for a successful election and inauguration of a new administration in Nigeria. We also want the government to ensure unity, empowerment and understanding among the people. ‘’Nigerians in South Africa want a relationship with the Buhari administration to enable us contribute to the development of the country,’’ he said.

Chairman of the Nigeria Union, NorthWest Province Chapter Mr Chikaodili Nwanedo called on the government to tackle epileptic power supply in the country.

He said inadequate power supply had taken its toll on Small and Medium Scale businesses in the country. ‘’ Nigerians also need good health care and efforts should be made to tackle poverty,’’ he said.

Chairman of the Nigerian Union, Gauteng Province Chapter Mr Mathew Okafor urged the Federal Government to tackle insurgency and improve on intelligence gathering.

Okafor, an IT specialist in Johannesburg, commended Buhari for relocating the command centre of the armed forc-

es to Maiduguri in order to effectively insurgency. ‘’ To me, this is a step in the right direction. Nigeria has a good army. We need to equip our army to make it fight the new enemy that is using guerrilla warfare. ‘’ Guerrilla w arfare is alien to us and I believe we will defeat the enemy,’’ he said.

The President of Arewa in South Africa, Mr Nimram Longbap, said Nigeria was blessed with resources to make her the leading economy in Africa. ‘’ Buhari has a track record

NIMASA champions human devt, says DG

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•From left: Past District 404B-2 Governor Lions International Chief Stella Agbogun with the District 404B-2 Governor, Chief Biodun Adediji, immediate past Lagos State Deputy Governor Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire and Chairperson, Lions Internationals Services for Children, Lion Otunba Felicia Koleoso at the 2015 Children’s Day Celebrations at LTV in conjunction with the Lions International District 404B-2 in Ikeja.

ASUU to Buhari: severe economic ties with Morocco

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HE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari and other African leaders to severe economic ties with Morocco to end the colonisation of Western Sahara.

A communiqué signed by Dr Dipo Fashina at the end of a 3-day International conference themed “Towards the Liberation of Africa’s Last Colony” organised by ASUU, condemned the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara, describing it as a crime against humanity in the 21st century.

The communiqué also urged the United Nations to hold the referendum for self-

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

determination of the people of Western Sahara in accordance with the relevant UN and OAU resolutions.

ASUU also condemned the ‘shameful’ role palyed by France at the Security Council in supporting Morocco’s hold on Western Sahara.

“The Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is the last Colony in Africa forcibly being controlled, raped and exploited by Morocco, another African country.

“Morocco has refused to allow the independence of the Western Sahara people since 1975 when it took it over short-

ly after Spain left the territory. In doing this, Morocco has refused to honour declarations of International organisations such United Nations and African Union to the effect of conducting a referendum and determining the fate of the people. Western Sahara, a mainly desert territory in Northwest Africa is the subject of a decades-long dispute between Morocco and the Polisario Front. The territory is phosphate-rich and believed to have offshore oil deposits, and most of it has been under Moroccan control since 1975. Morocco presently occupies 80percent of the territory containing ‘juicy’ resources while

leaving 20 per cent desert portion for the owners who have been exiled.”

ASUU urged African countries to use their bilateral relations and act individually and collectively to exert all forms of pressure on Morocco to end its illegal occupation of Western Sahara Republic.

It called for the establishment of Nigeria-SADR bi-national commission to reinforce cooperation between the two countries.

ASUU also wants Nigeria and other countries to break diplomatic ties with Morocco, which has distanced itself from the African Union by withdrawing its membership.

PDP hails Mark, Ekweremadu, others for successful stewardship

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HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has hailed Senator David Mark and Senator Ike Ekweremadu for the mature leadership they provided for the last National Assembly.

The party also commended the immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and his deputy, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha for their efforts in steadying the ship of the last House despite unpredicted daunting challenges.

A statement yesterday by PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said the leadership of the party noted the efforts of the last National Assembly under Mark in ensuring unity among lawmakers and leading the federal legislature to provide the

From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

much needed direction for national development.

The party also showered encomiums on Ihedioha and other PDP leaders in the last House of Representatives for their steadfastness to the party and the nation at large.

“The leadership of the PDP and members of our great party nationwide appreciate the commitment of our leaders and members in the Seventh National Assembly for their selfless contributions to the development of our nation.

“Indeed, we are pleased to underscore that in line with the undying values, tradition and manifesto of the PDP, our leaders and members in the last Senate and House of Representatives respectively, amply demonstrated that the true

essence of statesmanship lies in employing its uncommon values to the benefit of the people rather than self and for this, we are very proud of them.

“This reflects in their commitment in oversight functions as well as many landmark people-oriented legislations, especially the amendments to the 1999 constitution to further reflect the wishes and aspirations of the citizens while strengthening the unity and stability of the nation,” the party added.

The PDP also listed the passage of the Freedom of Information Act, which further guaranteed personal freedom and greater transparency in governance; amendments to the Electoral Act for credible, free and fair elections which the nation enjoys today at all

of performance and we believe he can still do it again.

The Federal Government should embark on massive road construction aimed at opening up the country such that each state would be linked to its nearest neighbour,’’ he said.

Longbap also said the Federal Government had the potential to win the war against the Boko Haram. ‘’ I appeal to other intelligence agencies in the country to sit up and assist the armed forces in intelligence gathering to overcome the insurgents,’’ he said.

HE Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi, has said the agency has championed human development.

Addressing at a town hall meeting at the weekend in Okerenkoko, Delta State, Akpobolokemi said NIMASA has developed qualified seafarers to man the ships.

The townhall meeting was organised by the Nigerian Maritime University.

He said: “As manpower training indigenisation strategy, NIMASA decided to establish the first Nigerian Maritime University and the Shipyard/Dock Yard facilities, both at Okerenkoko, Delta State. The former President Goodluck Jonathan performed the groundbreaking ceremonies of these facilities and the flag off of activities at the temporary site of the university at Kurutie, Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State. Academic Studies will begin at the temporary site in September this year. The College of Science and Technology, Okoloba, Delta State, which has resumed academic studies at its temporary site was established to serve as a demonstration school for the Maritime University.”

Nigerian Maritime University Vice Chancellor Prof. Ongoebi Etebu assured the host communities of the Federal Government’s commitment to the university and urged them to give peace a chance to enable the university begin full academic session in September.

Those at the townhall meeting included the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Prof Viola Onwuliri, a member of the Council, Mr. Leke Oyewole, the Deputy Governor of Delta Sate, Mr. Kingsley Otuaro, principal officers of the university, an ex-militant leader Mr. Government Tompolo, and community leaders.

Activists to meet Buhari over Chibok girls From Grace Obike, Abuja

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EMBERS of the #BringBackOurGirls (#BBOG) advocacy are set to meet President Muhammadu Buhari over the missin schoolgirls abducted by the Boko Haram sect 420 days ago.

The group also said it was saddened by the continuous death and suffering in the Northeast.

It urged Buhari to address the country on the moves he is making to ending insurgency and bring back the Chibok girls.

A member of the group, Aisha Yusufu, who spoke on other members’ behalf, said Nigerians gave the President their mandate because they believed in him.

She said: “The Chibok girls have been in captivity for 419 days and they do not have the liberty to decide to stop living the life of captivity that they have been caused to live. Our daughters have been living in the forest for the past 419 days and still we have not heard anything about them.

“Now the new President has been sworn in and we in the #BBOG decided to give him one week in power before writing a letter demanding to meet with him. We will send our letter to him next week and we will not be begging to be seen but we will demand to be addressed as citizens of this country.

“We are impatient and are tired of being afraid. We are tired of wondering who will be next; we expect that by now, President Buhari would have addressed the country and told us what he has been doing so far. We are tired of being kept in the dark. Nigerians need to know of the steps being taken to end this scourge of insurgency because our Chibok girls are tired of waiting.”

‘Let legislators choose their leaders’ •Ekwerenadu

levels, among scores of other important legislations passed under the PDP-led National Assembly.

It expressed satisfaction with the performance of the leadership in the last National Assembly, saying it laid “very solid foundation” upon which the nation’s legislature can always leverage for greater productivity in the interest of all.

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HE National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to allow legislators to choose their leaders in a democratic manner.

In a statement signed by NANS’ President, Tijani Usman, yesterday, NANS said the legislators should be given a free hand to decide those with impeccable credentials to lead the National Assembly.

“Nigerians are in a hurry to witness the change promised by the APC. The party should not allow itself to be entangled in issues that do not portend well for the polity.

“The party must desist from trying to have overbearing influence on the legislature, including choosing its leaders.

“Allow Senators and Members of the House of Representatives to elect their leaders in a free and transparent process.

“Agreed, the APC is the majority, but other political parties also have a say in who emerges. Therefore, let the process be devoid of interference from political parties’’, the statement said.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

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JNI warns Muslim preachers against inciting utterances

Benin chief sues police chief for ‘illegal detention’ From Osagie Otabor, Benin

prominent transporter and the Aiyobahan of Benin Kingdom in Edo State, Chief John Osamede Adun, has filed a suit against Police Commissioner Samuel Adegbuyi at a Federal High Court in Benin for alleged illegal detention.

Adun said he was detained at the Commissioner’s office for 10 hours without justification.

He is demanding N10 million, being the general and exemplary damages for the alleged infringement on his rights to personal liberty and the right to dignity of human person.

In the suit filed by his counsel, Olayiwola Afolabi, the Benin chief described the action of the police commissioner as unlawful, unconstitutional and a serious infringement on his fundamental right to personal liberty, as guaranteed in the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

Adun is asking for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondent, his agents, servants or privies from further interference with the constitutionally guaranteed rights of his liberty in respect of the issue of banning of levy collection through tickets on the road in Edo State and any other matter whatsoever connected with without probable reasonable and justifiable case.

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THE Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) has warned Muslim preachers against provocative statements during the Ramadan lectures.

Presenting a report of the 2014 Ramadan fasting in Kaduna yesterday, the JNI Secretary General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, regretted what he described as rise in cases of “uncharitable, excessive and indecorous utterances,” on the part of some preachers during Ramadan lectures.

His report was part of activities to mark the 2015 JNI

From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

annual pre-Ramadan lecture and conference, chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto who is also the JNI President-General, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar.

According to Aliyu, during the 2014 Tafsir sessions, “some preachers delved into unnecessary juristic arguments which are categorically clear and in which there is consensus.

“There were also some scholars whose sessions were

insightful and the truth is that if such utterances were to come from non-Muslims, the story would have been different now.

“The most dangerous session of Tafsir which has surfaced recently in the public domain is the Shiite Tafsir which is being aired by some radio and television stations.

“Its negative impact on the established creed of Islamic faith is gradually crawling into the Muslim community.”

The theme of the 2015 conference was tagged, “Leader-

ship and Followership: Duties and responsibilities from the Islamic perspective.”

In his lecture, one of the guest speakers, Sheikh Salihu Abubakar, of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, noted that: “once a person is appointed a leader, through ASB agreed process that is conducted in a just and fair manner, we are expected to believe that it is the Almighty Allah that has made the person the leader and it should be accepted as such without revolting against him.”

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

AKWA Ibom State transporters, under the aegis of Transport Operators Movement, yesterday condemned the 25-year lease of the state’s Transport Corporation (AKTC) to Nsik Motors.

The union’s Chairman Kingsley Akpan spoke on behalf of the members at a media briefing in Uyo, the Akwa State capital.

The union leader warned that there would be no peace in the state, if the government refused to revoke the new contract.

He said the 25-year contract was a bad arrangement between former Transport Commissioner Godwin Ntuk Udeh and top officials of Nsik Motors.

Akpan said the contract was illegal and unacceptable because other people in the Transport sector were not contacted before its decision was taken.

The union leader noted that even the stakeholders in the Transport Ministry were also not contacted when the contract was signed.

He added that it was wrong for Nsik Motors to be given another term of leasing, following the expiration of the one it had for 16 years, which expired in 2014.

Former commissioner for Transport Godwin NtukUdeh and MD, Nsik Motors, Nsikak Johnny could not be reached at the time of filing this report yesterday.

Calls made to their mobile phones were not answered.

Osayande, Ativie battle for Edo Deputy Speaker

Ayade faults waste collection contractors

From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

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ROSS River State Governor Ben Ayade at the weekend slammed two contractors handling waste dispossal in Calabar South Local Government Area.

The governor spoke after the expiration of the three-day ultimatum he gave them to either perform or be sacked.

Addressing reporters at one of the refuse dumps on Afokang Street, Ayade ordered that the contract for the evacuation of waste be split into smaller units.

The governor said the decision was prompted by the contractors’ alleged incompetence and lack of capacity to perform efficiently.

He said: “The two contractors handling the evacuation of refuse in this area are unable to deliver; they do not have the capacity to perform. It is clear that the work is beyond their scope.

The only alternative is to split it into smaller units so that they will meet the scope it takes to keep the town clean.”

Ayade described the attitude of the contractors as unacceptable.

He said: “For two contractors to handle this huge work with 18 trucks is not acceptable. All this must be brought to an end today.”

He urged the chairman of Calabar South Local Government Area, Mrs. Marjorie Asuquo, who accompanied him during the inspection, to find young businessmen from the area to handle the work.

Ayade said: “I cannot understand why the city is full of dirts while the governor’s route is always cleared. This cannot continue.”

Akwa Ibom transporters protest

•The representative of wife of former Adamawa State Governor, Hajiya Zainab Nyako (right), presenting financial assistance PHOTO: NAN to victims of Yola bomb blast, during her visit to specialist hospital in Yola...yesterday.

Navy destroys adulterated PMS in Akwa Ibom THE Nigerian Navy’s NNS Jubilee at Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, yesterday said it has set ablaze 70 synthetic drums of 300 litres each and 135 polythene bags containing 35 litres each with products suspected to be refined Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

NNS Jubilee’s Commander Commodore David Adeniran said the Navy achieved the feat during one of its operations in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area.

He warned oil thieves, pipeline vandals and sea pirates to steer clear of Akwa Ibom State.

The commander said the Navy would not relent at flushing out criminals from the nation’s territorial waters.

Commodore Adeniran frown at the rate of illegal oil bunkering in the area.

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

The commander said the Navy was committed to intensive policing of the maritime environment.

Although no arrest was made during the operation, the NNS Jubilee commander urged the public to give the Navy the necessary information that would enhance the flushing out of the perpetrators in Ikot Abasi and other parts of Akwa Ibom State.

He said: “We achieved this through the cooperation of the community. We are ever ready to combat those criminals in all ramifications, even on land, on the sea and in the creeks.

“There will be no hiding place for the criminals. Their activities sabotage the economy of this country. They should go and look for genuine businesses to do. Henceforth, we are ready for them.”

NUJ aspirant unveils six-point aganda

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PRESIDENTIAL aspirant of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Abdulwaheed Odusile, has said there is need for a special salary package for journalists.

He spoke in Sokoto yesterday while unveiling his sixpoint agenda which includes special media salary structure, eradication of quackery and sensitisation on social media.

Others are focus on professionalism with emphasis on training, retraining, certification and registration of members.

He also planned to set up of an NUJ Radio, enhanced welfare programmes and the defense of press freedom.

Chairman of the union in the state, Labaran Dundaye, who received Odusile urged the state government to revoke the N24million contract it awarded for the renovation of its Press Centre.

Dundaye said the call had become necessary as the work which commenced over a year ago was going at snail-speed.

“The contract was awarded over one year ago but the contractor is performing be-

low expectations as the work would have been completed long ago. ‘’We, therefore, want the state government to revoke the contract and re-award it to a more competent contractor or to the union to complete’’, he added.

Dundaye said that early completion of the renovation would enable the union to have a more conducive press centre for its activities.

Dundaye described Odusile as “a tested and trusted journalist as well as a committed unionist who is capa-

•Odusile ble of taking the union to greater heights.’’

AHEAD of the inauguration of the sixth Edo State House of Assembly today, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo South is divided on who to support as the Deputy Speaker.

The party’s leadership had zoned the speakership to Edo Central, with the governor in Edo North, the Majority Leader also in Edo North.

Edo South, now left with the deputy speakership, appears to be in a dilemma on who to choose between Bright Osayande, representing Ovia North East Constituency II and Elizabeth Ativie, of Uhunwode Constituency.

At the party’s leadership meeting yesterday in one of the leaders’ house, majority of the leaders from six of the seven local government areas in Edo South supported Osayande, based on his experience in the Assembly since 2007.

APC leaders from Uhunwode and others from Orhionmwon, Oredo and IkpobaOkha urged their representatives to vote for Ativie as Deputy Speaker.

An inside sources told our reporter that another elders’ meeting held yesterday at the Government House could not agree on who should be the Deputy Speaker, because the leaders of Edo South did not arrive at a decision.

Also, the Edo Political Renaissance, a social political group, has urged the leadership of the ruling APC to consider merit and loyalty to the party in choosing the Assembly’s leadership.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

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Don’t pay N20m ransom, police tell regent’s family

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HE police in Ondo State have cautioned the family of the abducted Regent of AkungbaAkoko in Akoko South West Local Government Area, Princess Oluwatoyin Omosowon, against paying the N20 million ransom demanded by her captors.

The 45-year-old regent and her aides were waylaid on Wednesday on the Owo/ Oba-Akoko/AkungbaAkoko Road on her way from Akure, where she had attended a public function at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA).

•Residents allege complicity From Damisi Ojo, Akure

The police reiterated their readiness to rescue the regent without payment of ransom by the family.

Police spokesman Wole Ogodo warned the family not to contact the abductors without informing the police. He urged the family to “carry the police along”.

His words: “The police are interested in the matter. We can only achieve success by working with the family.

“Several kidnappers had been arrested in the state.

This particular case will not be an exception. We shall not disappoint the people as the captors would be arrested.

“If the family pays any ransom without informing the police, they are not helping matters and the police will not be a party to that.”

Ogodo assured that the regent would be freed soon as the command has inten-

sified efforts to rescue her.

Residents have alleged a conspiracy theory in the abduction.

They accused some of the candidates jostling for the throne of the Alale of Akungba-Akoko of alleged complicity in her disappearance.

The Alale stool has been vacant since 2005.

Sources said the regent’s aides -a personal assistant and private security- are from her ruling house.

Both of them have been released by the kidnappers

and are helping the police with their investigations.

It was learnt that the official driver of the Adekunle Ajasin University (AAU), Akungba-Akoko, who drove the vehicle, is still in capitivity.

The Akungba Akoko Progressives Union has called on security agencies to ensure the safe release of the regent.

Its president, Dr Lawrence Ekundayo, urged the police and other security agencies to speed up their rescue efforts.

Free school bus turns three

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HE Ondo State government will celebrate the third anniversary of its Free School Bus Shuttle initiative on Friday.

The celebration coincides with the annual marking of the annulled June12, 1993 presidential election.

Commissioner for Information Kayode Akinmade said the take-off of the programme three years ago was deliberately planned as part of activities marking the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election.

•Bello

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HE wife of Oyo State Governor ,Mrs Florence Ajimobi, has said God helped her husband break the second term jinx.

Mrs. Ajimobi spoke at the Women Intercessory Network (WIN) prayer programme at the Government House Arcade, Agodi, Ibadan.

She said: “I was scared of federal might and the way they were going around using money to influence the electorate.

“I knew we couldn’t match them because Ajimobi doesn’t have the money but God was with him.

“If you remember when we had our programme in January, I stood before God and said if we win by God’s grace that I will testify.

“The road was tough and I nearly lost my faith, but I committed everything to God. “God did not allow the enemies to mock us. The governor is here to serve humanity and that is why God has given him the second term victory. “

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

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HE University of Lagos (UNILAG) Law

Class 2000 has congratulated the new Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Mr Tunji Bello, on his appointment.

A statement by the National Coordinators, Gbolahan Gbadamosi and Mrs. Oyinlola Adebayo, said: “Your diligent service since you made your entry into Lagos State public service as a commissioner of the Environment in 2003 earned you this present higher position.

“We are attesting to your sense of duty and the professional ways you performed your duty as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA).

“As commissioner for the Environment (2011-2015) you demonstrated your legal knowledge of the environmental law with the successful hosting of the International Conferences on Climate Change in line with the United Nations Resolution on the subject.

“This is the beginning of many good things to come.

Your best is yet to come.

Continue to be our ambassador. Accept our congratulations for a well deserved appointment, our dear Tunji.”

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

Osun JUSUN suspends strike

Accolades for Tunji Bello

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‘God gave my husband victory’

•Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun (left), former Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure Lekan Adegbite (right) and member representing Ifo Constituency in the House of Assembly, Kunle Oluomo, during the governor's inspection of the ongoing Sango-Ojuore road project in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area...yesterday.

Kingmakers pick Aladetoyinbo as Deji •Govt to ratify today •Deposed monarch seeks court injunction

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INGMAKERS in Akure, the Ondo State capital, led by the Lisa, High Chief James Olusoga, yesterday picked Prince Kole Aladetoyinbo as the new Deji of Akure.

It was gathered that he emerged the best of the 13 contestants from the Osupa ruling house.

At a meeting held yesterday at Asamo's palace, sources said Aladetoyinbo was the kingmakers’ unanimous choice.

He may be installed this week, following the approval of the government.

A source at the meeting said Aladetoyinbo emerged after careful observance of all traditional rites.

The Osupa ruling house had on Friday forwarded a list of nominees to the kingmakers after a meeting at the home of its Chairman, Dr. Aladejana Ogunleye.

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

The meeting was attended by officials of Akure South Local Government Area, who were there to supervise the proceedings.

The nominees included Kayode Oluwole, Adegbola Adelabu, Adegbite Kayode, Adejuyigbe Femi, Adeolu Adepoju, Aladetoyinbo Kole Patrick and Agbebi Leye.

Others were Arimoyo Ayodele, Bello Oluyemisi, Daramola Adeyemi, Ade Falodun, Ogunsuyi Oluwole and Samuel Adegboro Adebayo.

The deposed Deji, Adesina Adepoju, at the weekend sought a court injunction to restrain the kingmakers from selecting a new Deji.

Adepoju, whose name was missing on the list, hails from the Osupa ruling house.

He claimed that he was still entitled to contest for the stool, as, according to him, he was wrongly removed by the government.

Sources said the kingmakers were served with the court order last Friday.

The government dethroned Adepoju on June 10, 2010 for allegedly battering his wife, the late Mrs. Bolanle Adepoju Mrs. Adepoju, who died in 2012, said the incident that led to her husband’s banishment was exaggerated.

The development led to the installation of the late Oba Adebiyi Adesida from Ojijigogun ruling house, who was installed in 2010 as the 46th Deji of Akure.

He died on December 1, 2013. His daughter, Princess Adetutu Adesida, was installed the Regent of Akure kingdom.

Ekiti Assembly holds no hope for development, says APC HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has described the House of Assembly as a contraption

by Governor Ayodele Fayose to protect his interest.

The party noted that such selfish agenda holds no promise for the growth of the state and its political development.

A statement by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, said the membership profile of the new Assembly revealed many men and women lacking lawmakingskills.

“They were ‘selected’ to be

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lawmakers above qualified Ekiti sons and daughters to enable the governor manipulate them.

“Only a few of them are worthy of the exalted position of lawmakers.

“We all saw the intrigues that characterised the primaries that returned the new members.

“It was ballot snatching and violence. The same for the April 11 House of Assembly election.

“Fayose just selected his cronies above well-educated members and imposed them on the party.

“Most of them are miscreants and school dropouts.

We saw their first public declaration of loyalty on inauguration day, when they all prostrated for Fayose, stating he is their father.”

Olatubosun regretted that majority of the lawmakers could have been described as councillors.

“Because of their inadequacies, they will legitimise and encourage illegality and impunity because they won’t understand the nittygritty of lawmaking and independence of mind.

“We cannot compare this Fifth Assembly with the Fourth Assembly in terms of composition of members.

“The last Assembly was

composed of members who have seen it all. They are professionals, such as lawyers, medical doctors, pharmacists, architects, policy makers, public analysts and retired top civil servants.

“These are the educated people Fayose will not work with because of their courage and independence of mind.

“In their place are Fayose’s thugs and those who helped him to undermine the law.

“Ekiti people should brace up for many surprises and bizarre legislations from this Assembly,” Olatubosun said.

HE Osun State branch of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has suspended its five-month industrial action.

This followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Friday by the Head of Service, Sunday Olayinka Owoeye, on behalf of the government and the State JUSUN Chairman, Comrade O. Oseni, the body called on its members to report to work today.

According to the MoU, the practice of requiring the judiciary to process approvals through the executive arm of government would stop when there is complete financial autonomy for the judiciary.

It was also agreed that necessary fund currently covering the overhead cost and Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges (CRFC) will be released immediately and that no officer of the union would be victimised.

‘We want NDDC positions’ From Damisi Ojo, Akure

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IL producing communities in Ondo State have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that one of the key positions on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is zoned to the state.

The communities advised Buhari to ensure that only credible people are appointed to serve on the NDDC board.

A statement by its Leaders Forum at the weekend said the “decision to zone the Managing Director (MD), Executive Director Projects (EDP) and Executive Director Finance (EDFA)” to Ondo State was a welcome development.

The group’s coordinator, Rotimi Omomuwasan and Secretary Erukusi Womisan said the communities had endorsed Fadaini Steve to vie for the EDP position.

The oil communities have also recommended Oluwole Omowole as the state’s nominee on the board.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

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NEWS Lagos Assembly for inauguration •Obasa to emerge Speaker

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HE inauguration of the eighth Lagos State House of Assembly will take place today as members have finally agreed on the leadership.

The inauguration, which was earlier scheduled for last Thursday, was postponed because of members’ inability to agree on a consensus speaker-candidate.

This was finally resolved at the weekend with the endorsement of the principal officers as agreed to by the members in a meeting with Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday.

The lawmaker from

By Oziegbe Okoeki

Agege 1 constituency, Mudashiru Obasa, is tipped to emerge as speaker; he is a fourth term lawmaker.

Other principal officers are: Wasiu Ehilokun (Lagos Island 1) as Deputy Speaker; Sanai Agunbiade (Ikorodu 1) as Majority Leader; Rotimi Abiru (Shomolu 2), Chief Whip; Olumuyiwa Jimoh (Apapa 2) Deputy Majority Leader and Mrs. Omotayo Oduntan (Alimosho 2) as Deputy Whip.

With the latest development the only position left to be filled now is that of the Minority Leader, which is to be occupied by one of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member.

Thugs attack Awe’s elder sister

•Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong (left), receiving the oath paper used in swearing-in the new chairman of Langtang PHOTO: NAN North Local Government, Dan Dul in Jos.

From Odunayo Ogunmola, Ado Ekiti

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USPECTED political thugs have attacked the elder sister of the Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman Olajide Awe. Mrs. Florence Aluko was inflicted with machete cuts in Erijiyan-Ekiti in Ekiti West Local Government Area on Saturday at the farmhouse of the APC boss at Oketere/Aaye area in the community.

She is said to be on the danger list.

Sources told The Nation yesterday that the 68-yearold victim was beaten before she was cut on her face and back.

A chief in the community was alleged to have led three thugs to attack Mrs. Aluko.

Other women working on the farm with her fled.

Mrs Aluko was rescued by good Samaritans, who took her to the State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti.

It could not be immediately ascertained why she was attacked but some residents believe that the attack was politically motivated.

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PDP’s advice infantile, says Aregbesola

SUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has described as infantile the Peoples Democratic Party’s advice to the government to sell a helicopter in its fleet to pay outstanding salaries.

Osun PDP through its Director of Media and Strategy, Diran Odeyemi, in a statement yesterday advised the government to “sell an helicopter Governor Aregbesola said he procured for the state and stop frivolous trips to Cuba to have funds to offset the sevenmonth workers’ salaries arrears”.”

The party said: “What this administration told us was

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

that the helicopter was for surveillance, but we have since discovered that the chopper is only serving the travelling needs of Mr. Aregbesola and his family.

“This remains one draining pipe that must be blocked.

“We also advise the governor and his aides to stop travelling in chartered aircraft.

“If President Muhammadu Buhari could travel on commercial airlines, there is need for Governor Aregbesola to follow suit.”

But in a statement by his media aide, Semiu Okanlawon, the governor said the advice clearly shows how the PDP has become degenerated in its thinking process for its leaders to come up with the selling of a “mere helicopter” in order to pay workers’ salaries.

He said: “The PDP’s advice ought to have been dismissed and never dignified with a response but for the unsuspecting public who might be tempted to think there is any substance in the proposal.

“It is disheartening to see how PDP leaders think. They screamed ignorantly about two years ago that Osun State procured an N8 billion helicopter.

“We had asked them to find out the cost of a Boeing plane let alone a helicopter which was only leased and it was to beef up the Osun Swift Action Squad (SAS) for its aerial surveilance.

“This was clear to all in the state that the helicopter was procured as part of the Rauf Aregbesola administration’s comprehensive security measures to drive criminals far away from the state.

“So, for the PDP in its narrow and pedestrian think-

ing to tell us to sell the helicopter is a sign of intellectual laziness.”

The governor said the allegations that the helicopter is for his personal use lack any evidence.

“It is obvious the PDP, after it has reached its final bus stop , is merely looking for something to keep it relevant. “ What could be relevant in a party that never had any touch with the people? What could be relevant in a party that cannot even organise itself to give credible and virile opposition?

“It is therefore certain that allegations such as Aregbesola financing Lagos, Ekiti, and Muhammadu Buhari’s elections are not only laughable; they demonstrate the fact that the PDP cannot even be rescued from its self-inflicted tragedy. It is a party eternally rejected,” Aregbesola said.

Fayose: it’s time for governance

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KITI State Governor Ayo Fayose has said he will now concentrate on giving good governance to the people.

Fayose said he would not persecute the former All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers for their attempts to impeach him but would leave them to God. He spoke yesterday at a thanksgiving service to mark his victory and the inauguration of the Fifth House of Assembly at the Deeper Life Bible Church Campground, Ajebamidele, Ado Ekiti, the state capital.

The service was attended by newly-elected members of the National Assembly and House of Assembly, traditional rulers, political office holders, senior civil servants and politicians.

Fayose said the victory achieved is dedicated to the

From Odunayo Ogunmola, Ado Ekiti

people, who gave him unflinching support during the uncertainty that rocked the state.

He said: “This victory is dedicated to God and the good people of Ekiti State who stood by me during the trying period.

“I am not here to tell you that the battle is over. I have won the battle and all the traps sets for me.

“At a point the battle seems too much for me and I was confused but the inspirations of God keeps telling me that this battle will not consume me, there was no longer saliva in my mouth again.

“The impeachment crisis looks like The nation of Israel, a nation amidst enemies. The nation of Israel has not lost any battle but the nation of Israel is Ayo

Fayose. And he has not lost any battle.”

The wife of the governor, Feyisetan, said she had a premonition of the political crises that rocked the state.

Mrs Fayose, who was giving a testimony, recalled that God revealed to her in a dream that the state would pass through a turbulent period in March and April but with an assurance that He would not abandon them.

She said “In the dream, God told me that March and April will be stubborn. He said we should get prepared for it. But God promised to see us through and he did.”

Fayose thanked all those who supported him. The service also included prayers for the out-gone lawmakers and the new lawmakers, traditional rulers, the government, governor, deputy governor and the people.

Babcock University holds 13th convocation

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RETIRED United States of America (USA) Commanding Army General, Mark Hertling, has advocated acts of appreciation, continuous learning and belief in one’s self as attributes of leadership.

He spoke at the commencement address at the 2015 Babcock University convocation yesterday.

Hertling said: “The three

By Oluwatoyin Adeleye

things that would serve you well as you become the leaders of Nigeria and the world are saying ‘thank you’, never stop learning and believe in yourself.”

He urged the graduating students to strive to overcome challenges, which are inevitable and learn something new daily.

Gen Hertling is a member of US President, Barack Obama’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition and serves as Senior Vice-President for Global Partnering, Health Performance Strategy and Physician Leadership of Florida Hospital, USA. Former Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio was awarded an honourary doctorate degree in Global Economic Development.

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Another tanker falls in Lagos

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NOTHER tanker laden with petrol fell in front of a filling station at Oribawa bus stop on Lekki-Epe Expressway yesterday.

It spilled its cintent all over the road. No life was lost.

Immediately, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) cordonned off the area, warning residents, commuters and others to keep away from the scene to avoid fire outbreak.

Victims of last Saturday’s petrol tanker explosion, which razed 34 houses and 70 shops at Idimu, Lagos State, remained in shock yesterday.

A tanker, loaded with 33,000 litres of petrol fell, spilling its contents and wreaking havoc on the neighbourhood.

Grief-stricken, most of them stood in groups discussing

•Scene of the incident yesterday. INSET: Victims and sympathisers at the Idimu scene... yesterday.

By Dada Aladelokun

their ill fate as they beheld the charred remains of their

valuables.

They, however, rested their hope on the promise by the

state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, to assuage their agony when he visited the

•Prof Bello (middle) presenting an award Prof Muhammed. With them (from left) are Emeritus Prof Abass; Alhaji Alao and Alhaji Hafeez Timehin... yesterday PHOTO: TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO

Keep campaign promises, public officers advised

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UBLIC office holders have been urged to keep their promises and recognise their office as public trust.

A Professor of Law at Bayero University in Kano Tabiu Mohammed, and a cleric, Sheik AbdulMajeed Imran Eleha, enjoined elected officials to keep their campaign promises to avoid the wrath of God. They spoke yesterday at the Pre-Ramadan lecture of the University of Lagos Muslim Alumni (UMA) at UNILAG main auditorium, Akoka.

Speaking on Public Trust: An obligation for credible leadership, Prof Muhammad said governance is about trust and accountability, adding that negative political culture caused the nation woes in the last political dispensation.

He advised that the fight against bad leadership and governance should not be left for office holders, noting that the citizenry should engage in effective monitoring.

Muhammad asked the governed to adhere to the laws and be effective in ensuring that public officials kept their mandate.

Anyone who fails to uphold public trust, whether as

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

leaders or the led, should be punished for it, he said, asking Nigerians not to be complacent because President Buhari had a good track record.

“The leaders should recognise and popularise trustworthiness as a social value. Government should condemn betrayal of public trust and see public office as a trust. They should ensure that they set clear standards and established strong democratic institutions. The leadership must be careful of what is coming into the coffers of the state and where public fund is to be expended. Accountability and

personal probity should be guaranteed. There should be no legal immunity,” he said.

Sheik Imran admonished leaders to ensure that justice and rule of law thrive at all levels of government.

The cleric, who urged Nigerians to cooperate with the Buhari administration to ensure its success.

Earlier, UMA President Akeeb Oladokun said the lecture’s theme was carefully chosen to contribute to the national discourse on setting agenda for the federal ans state governments.

In attendance were UNILAG Vice-Chancellor Prof Rahamon Bello; Emeritus Professor Laide Abbas;

Alhaji Adetola Kazeem (SAN); All Progressives Congress (APC) National Legal Adviser, Dr Muiz Banire; a former Lagos State Independent Electoral Commissioner, Alhaji Musibau Oyefeso; wife of the late Justice Muri Okunola, Alhaja Ramdat Okunola; former UMA President Alhaji Lere Alimi; representative of Olorogun Sunny Kuku, Alhaji Lai Alabi; Prof Fatimat AbdulKareem; Complete Sports Managing Director Alhaji Mumuni Alao; former Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Alhaja Sekinat Yusuf, and Dr Khalid Adekoya; Dr Ahmad Rufai among others.

scene last Saturday.

Ambode, during the visit, promised to meet with tanker drivers today in his bid to stem petrol tanker explosion.

After the visit, Ambode said: “We don’t want this to repeat itself. We have said it before; we need to address our tanker drivers and start to enforce our traffic laws. I have directed that the union of tanker drivers and the government meet on Monday (today) morning and we must make pronouncement relating to the usage of our roads.”

The governor promised: “I commiserate with all the people here. I appeal for calm. We would do immediate relief; we would take enumeration and see in what ways we can address your pain. We would do every-

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By Ebele Boniface

25.

According to police, the suspects were arrested on May 15 by the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and handed over to the Area J Command in Ajah. They were subsequently handed over to SARS. In his defence, Bakare said he sold the gun to the men believing that they were wither hunters or vigilante.

He said: “I joined Aye Fra-

ternity in March, 2012.

They gave me a nylon bag to take to our man, Dare, but the police stopped me, searched the bag and arrested me.

Idris said it was Kelly that introduced him to the deal, while Bakare said: “I sold gun to them for N30, 000. I did not know that they were armed robbers.

I thought that they were either vigilance men or hunters.”

thing in our power to do everything to help them get back to their normal lives.”

Ambode, who was accompanied by his Deputy, Dr Idiat Adebule, expressed concerns over the spate of fallen petrol tankers in the state, noting that Saturday’s incident came a few days after that of Iyana Ipaja in which several shops and vehicles destroyed.

“This is another unfortunate incident happening within one week. It is unfortunate in the sense that we are beginning to lose a lot of our assets and property to fire,” he said.

Meanwhile, another tanker fell in front of a filling station at Lakowe on Lekki-Epe Expressway yesterday.

It spilled its cintent all over the road. No life was lost.

Man docked for Coke ‘theft’ 22-YEAR-OLD unemployed, Stanley Amoebi, has been charged before a Badagry Chief Magistrate’s Court in Lagos State for allegedly stealing a pack of coke valued at N1,000.

The accused is facing a charge of stealing.

Prosecuting Inspector Innocent Uko told the court that the accused committed the offence on June 1 at about 6.00 p.m. at Ajara Shopping Complex in Badagry.

Uko noted that the accused stole a pack of coke from the complainant, Mrs Senami Hungbo, at her shop.

“He went to the woman’s shop to buy a pack of coke, but while the woman was looking for change for him, he disappeared with another pack. The woman pursued him and he was apprehended.’’

Uko noted that the offence contravened Section 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.

Counsel to the accused, Mr Yemi Fowler, pleaded with the court to grant him bail on liberal terms.

Magistrate Abiodun Etti, granted the accused N20,000 bail.

He adjourned the case till July 3.

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Blacksmith held for selling gun to robbers 65-year-old blacksmith, Najimu Bakare, has been arrested by the police for selling a gun to armed robbers.

But the suspect said he thought the buyers were either hunters or members of a vigilance group.

The suspect is being detained by the Lagos State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

Others also being held are: Dare Ayetoba, 22; Adewale Odusote, 22, and Idris Tairu,

PHOTO: ADEOLA SOLOMON

•The suspects

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THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

CITYBEATS

CITYBEATS LINE: 09091178827

NGO seeks healthy living, good governance

•Dr Oreagba (second right) addressing the participants. With him are (from right) AbdulWasiu Bangbala; Dr AbdurRaheem; Shuaib and Ishaq Yusuf

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•The participants walking along Ikorodu Road

NON-governmental organisation, Human Concern Foundation International (HCFI) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to run a service-oriented administration.

The group made the call in Lagos last Saturday when it held a street walk tagged: “Walk for Life, Peace and Good Governance,” in conjunction with the Centre for Global Peace Initiative (CGPI) and Globacom Communications.

The walk, which covered about 10 kilometres, took off from Jibowu, Yaba on Lagos Mainland, through Maryland and back to Jibowu.

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

HCFI Executive Director, Dr Ibrahim Oreagba said researches had shown that when you walk on a regular basis, it reduces the incidence of cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and hypertension.

“Walking should be on a daily basis; sometimes you can walk from a particular point to the other rather than taking public transport or taking our vehicles. We should be familiar with it on a daily basis. We are also doing this to encourage the present government to practise good governance,” Oreagba of the Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, said.

According to him, the walk is one of the annual programmes of the foundation meant to ensure that Nigerians are fit - physically, mentally and emotionally.

Oreagba, also a Senior Research Fellow/Consultant and Coordinator, Pharmaco-vigilance in South West, said his group had been providing limited services in the area of health enlightenment campaign and medical counselling at

the grassroots where medical facilities are grossly absent or inadequate.

He said: “Our main objectives of HCFI are to improve the health status of Nigerians and equally to positively change the attitudes and practices of community residents with respect to sound health and hygiene.

“HCFI has, through the support of Nigerian pharmaceutical companies and corporate organisations, organised health programmes in Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Edo, Niger and Kwara states. We have also been to Abuja and the Republic of Benin.”

He added that if people could be doing that on their own twice or thrice a week, they would be fit physically and emotionally and guard against heart-related diseases.

He said: “If you look at the world today, many people are suffering from heart-related diseases, and obesity among others, which are actually avoidable. One of the ways we can avoid heart-related diseases is to cultivate the culture of walking; not really jogging at

this stage of our life. When we must walk, we will sweat and burn energies that are not useful, by so doing we will be physically and mentally fit.”

A senior lecturer at the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Dr Luqman AbdurRaheem, enjoined President Buhari to learn from the past mistakes and appoint like-minded Nigerians who are ready to work for development of the country. He hailed HCFI for trying to keep Nigerians fit.

The Executive Director, Zakat and Sadakat Foundation, Imam Abdullahi Shuaib, urged Nigerians to be patient and support the present administration for good governance.

Imam Abdullahi said Nigerians look forward to enjoying good dividends of democracy.

“There are a lot of leakages in Nigeria’s democratic experience in the last sixteen years and we are hoping that with this new dawn that we have witnessed last Friday, a new chapter would be opened in the Nigerian democratic experience for us as Nigerians to benefit from them,” he said.

Gowon Estate CDA sues Lagos council elective positions, but HE Gowon North over election for only the current chairman Community Devel-

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opment Association (CDA) in Mosan-Okunola Local Council Development Area of Lagos State has instituted a suit against the council to stop it from conducting election into the association’s executive committee.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suit was filed on behalf of the community by their counsel, Mr Ogidiagba Muobosa, at an Ikeja High Court.

No date has been fixed for hearing.

Joined in the suit are the council’s Executive Secretary, Head of Agriculture Department and the State Commissioner for Rural Development.

The claimants are praying the court for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants and their agents from conducting or supervising any election into the CDA’s executive committee scheduled for June 6.

They want the status quo

to be maintained pending the hearing and determination of the suit.

In a 40-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Mr Dauda Oyebanji, the CDA’s Public Relations Officer, the claimants insisted that the CDA was a creation of the Lagos State Community Development Law 2008.

Oyebanji averred that claimants had embarked on various self-help projects which included rehabilitation and maintaining of access roads within Gowon Estate in Egbeda.

According to him, the only body empowered to conduct elections into the CDA is the Community Development Council.

He said election into the executive committee was a biennial event (once in two years), adding that the tenure of the last executive expired in 2013.

Oyebanji said there was no election into the offices because it was found out that most of the executive members were not eligible to run

was eligible.

“A resolution was, therefore, passed on February 1, 2014 at the claimants’ monthly meeting that executive positions should be thrown open to all members, who indicated interest to run.

“The election into the executive positions of the claimants was held on March 1, 2014 and officials were duly elected to fill the positions as advertised,” he averred.

Oyebanji said it was, therefore, surprising that the second and third defendants issued a notice to the new executive indicating interest to conduct fresh elections on June 6.

According to him, the defendants do not have the power or right to conduct the elections or dissolve the already elected executive.

Oyebanji urged the court to grant the application in the interest of justice to avoid a possible breakdown of law and order within the community.

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NEWS Onu seeks support for govt From Tony Akowe, Abuja

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ORMER Abia State governor and All Progressives Party’s (APC’s) chieftain Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu has said the challenges facing the nation are worse than it was envis-

aged.

He asked the citizenry to be patient with the Buhari government in his quest to find solution to the country’s problems.

Addressing a delegation of APC Igbo leaders in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), when they visited him, Onu said in spite of the numerous problems in the country, the Buhari government is trying to make sure that his government takes off smoothly and avoid the mistakes of the past.

To do this, he said, required effective planning, noting that Buhari will deliver on his electoral promises and will help to make Nigeria great again by solving the problems that are bedevilling the country for a long time.

He added that unknown to the citizens, Buhari discovered that the problems confronting the country were more than what they had anticipated while eliciting the support of the citizens during the campaigns for the general elections.

“We all know that when you want to build a house, you have to build a house that can withstand all seasons, such building must have a strong foundation so that it can withstand a strong wind from blowing it off.”

Assuring that President Buhari would live up to expectations, he thanked the entourage over the role they played in wooing supporters to the APC in the 19 states of the North and the FCT. The leader of the delegation, Mrs. Evelyn Chukwu, praised the APC chieftain for his commitment and dedication to the course of democracy in the country.

They noted that the history of the APC will not complete without mention if the contribution of Dr. Onu.

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IPMAN plans to import fuel withou subsidy payment

HE Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) at the weekend said it has started discussing with foreign partners to refine crude oil abroad and import Premium Motor Sprit (petrol) and Kerosene into the country.

It added that it has no intention to claim any subsidy payment from the Federal Government through the method.

IPMAN National Secretary Danladi Pasali, who spoke to reporters in Abuja, explained that should the Federal Government approve the intervention, it would be a temporal relief arrangement pend-

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

ing the improvement of the capacity of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC’s) refineries and the construction of greenfield refining entities.

According to him, the initiative was developed by the association’s new executives to assist the present administration to reduce cost in subsidy payment at the same time meet products’ demand.

His words: “We urged the Buhari administration to support IPMAN in mobilising

our foreign partners in importing petroleum products at no cost or without subsidies payment to government. ”We have done all our mathematics that through our new model of Crude Oil SWAP arrangement; we can wet the country with petrol and kerosene and still gain from the transactions,” Pasali said.

Nigeria is currently consuming about 35 million litres of PMS. But only 30 per cent of the amount can be refined by the four local refineries at full capacities.

The IPMAN secretary said the association in the long run will construct two brand new refineries in the country with 400,000 barrel refining capacity with Blue Oil International.

He added that the association’s National President Mr. Chinedu Okoronkwo is in Lagos to monitor the distribution of the PMS to its members to stop its scarcity.

Pasali said with government’s cooperation, IPMAN members will stop fuel scarcity with their over 20,000 filling stations.

Group insists on Dogara From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

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UPPORTERS of Yakubu Dogara, an aspirant for Speaker of the Eighth House of Representatives, have vowed to press on with his nomination for the position.

The group criticised the straw election conducted by the leadership of All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday that produced erstwhile Minority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila as the candidate of the party for speaker.

Its members, under the aegis of Consolidation Group, at a news conference in Abuja yesterday, said they would go against the position of the party on the issue of a consensus candidate.

It added that it would forward a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari to call the leadership of the party to order.

Gbajabiamila had won 154 votes against Dogara’s three in the mock election.

Spokesman of the group Abudulmumin Jibrin, who was flanked by Dogara and 18 members of the group, said the mock election and its outcome was a mockery of the party and democracy.

Urging the party’s leadership to tow the path of honour and integrity, the group rejected the outcome of the exercise, which it claimed its members did not attend.

According to the group, the exercise was arranged, adding that the number allocated to Dogara was not correct because those that voted for their candidate were impostors.

Resident doctors threaten strike over unpaid wages

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HE National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has threatened to embark on nationwide strike to protest non-payment of wages of its members in eight states.

Its president, Dr. DanJumbo Prince, gave the warning yesterday while addressing reporters in Ibadan on healthcare situation at Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital (LTH).

“Some state governments are owing our members their wages; in Abia State for 12 months, Osun State for eight months, Oyo for six months, Benue State for six months, Lagos State for two months, and in Rivers, Kogi and Plateau states, they are owing them four months,” he said.

He wondered how the states expect his members to deliver safe, quality, and effective healthcare to the people in the face of the hardship facing resident doctors.

“Embarrassment has being our situation from our children schools, our landlords and even in the market with the resultant effect of no money for food and no means of transport to work,” the NARD president added.

On situation in LTH, he said:” Our members in LTH, Ogbomoso is yet to receive

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

any salary since the beginning of this year, culminating in over five months unpaid salaries.

“We therefore appeal to Governor Abiola Ajimobi, well-meaning citizens of Nigeria and human rights organisations to wade into this ugly situation in LTH, Ogbomoso, Oyo State to ensure adequate healthcare for the citizens.”

Dr. Prince gave the state governments owing his members two weeks’ ultimatum to pay up, warning that if they did not, the association will embark on a nationwide strike.

•President Muhammadu Buhari inspecting a guard of honour on his arrival in Bavaria, Germany...yesterday.

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PHOTO: STATE HOUSE

Tanker explosions killing like Boko Haram, says NLC faction

HE Joe Ajaero faction of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said the rate at which tanker explosions is taking the lives of innocent citizens is not different from the activities of the Boko Haram sect.

In a statement yesterday, the Deputy President of the NLC faction and General Secretary, Textile Workers Union, Issa Aremu, said: “Congress joins all Nigerians to condole with hundreds of victims of the recent unacceptable criminal serial tanker explosions.

“NLC, however, demands that governance preventive measures through urgent revival of domestic refineries, railway and road transportation infrastructure, enforcement of road/driving rules are the panacea to the unacceptable killing of innocent Nigerians without official declaration of war.

“Tankers’ explosions had unacceptably taken lives just as many as Boko Haram insur-

From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

gency does in recent times.

“Indeed what we have at hand were not ‘accidents’, but avoidable incidents due to lack of good governance with respect to the mismanaged petroleum downstream sub-sector.”

Aremu said the country must urgently reinvent the refineries “and put an end to shameful explosion-prone petroleum products importation”.

He added: “We must return to the era in which petroleum products were moved from refineries through protected pipelines to depots at short distances, which put less burden on drivers and no risk at all on communities.

“It is bad that we import petroleum products. However, it is worse that Nigeria moves highly inflammable products,

(which are indeed mobile bombs!), through hundreds of bad roads.

“It is a peculiar Nigerian underdevelopment that must stop with the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Rail transportation remains one of the cheapest and safest inter-city means of transportation of products and humans.

Buhari and Osibanjo presidency must hit the ground running and deepen the ongoing revival of the railways through public investment.

“The solution is not in privatising the railways. You don’t privatise what is yet to be built. President Buhari must avoid the pitfall of dogmatic privatisation that does not add value to national well-being whatsoever but enriches few individuals.

“Nigerian railway still runs

on narrow gauge with the maximum of between 25 – 35 km per hour unlike standard gauge and high speed trains in China.

Nigeria Railway requires massive injection of funds to upgrade its tracks to standard gauge and modernise the wagon and haulage facilities.

He noted that if fixed, railways can also absorb hundreds of thousands of jobs for the millions of unemployed youths under the Buhari dispensation.

“A country that proudly shares excess crude receipts among all tires of government should certainly spend this excess to fix the bad roads.

“As a matter of right, not favour or charity, NLC demands that government must urgently compensate all the victims of these avoidable carnages either in Onitsha or Lagos,” he said.

Gambari to Buhari: fix Nigeria’s broken social contract

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IGERIA’S former Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Prof. Ibrahim Gambari has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to fix the broken social contract between the rulers and the ruled in the country.

Prof. Gambari, who is the Chancellor of the Kwara State University (KWASU), spoke at the weekend in Malete, Moro Local Government area of the state at the institution’s third convocation ceremony.

The former envoy described emergence of the new government as an op-

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

portunity to deepen the nation’s democracy.

He said there was need for the administration to ensure that the change mantra that accompanied its election campaign does not remain a mere slogan.

Prof. Gambari said: “Nigeria now has a new opportunity to deepen its democracy and deliver its dividends such as quality social services, including education and health, prosperity and security of life and property. Undoubtedly,

the new President is faced with very high expectations, but these are accompanied by enormous goodwill within and outside Nigeria.

“One thing is clear however. Change must not remain a slogan. The governments that have been elected on that platform must prepare themselves to deliver on campaign promises.

“In this regard, the current socio-economic challenges such as high poverty level, huge youth unemployment, persistent power-blackout despite huge amounts of money invested, the challenge of insecurity, especially the

scourge of Boko Haram, and the perennial disconnect between the citizen and the government that has inevitably led to high levels of distrust of the leaders by the rest of the citizens must be tackled headlong.

“Indeed, the broken ‘socio-contract’ between the rulers and the ruled must be fixed. The government should as a matter of priority open and strengthen communications between government and citizens. Trust building between the government and the citizens would make the people feel carried along in the business of governance.”

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THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

19

COMMENTARY EDITORIALS

LETTER

Articulated vehicles and road mishaps

Pay up • FG should get NEPC to pay what it owes non-oil exporters

T

HE ruckus over the disbursement of Export Expansion Grant (EEG) which has pitted the Federal Government against operators in the non-oil sector merely indicates how little has changed in spite of official posturing about boosting the non-oil sector. At stake is the N125 billion worth of promissory notes – the Negotiable Duty Credit Certificates (NDCC) issued by the Ministry of Finance under the EEG scheme, but which the Federal Government has either neglected or refused to honour.

Under the scheme introduced by the immediate past administration to boost non-oil exports, beneficiaries were granted subsidies of up to 40 percent based on the value of local content. The Federal Government would later suspend the scheme in August 2013 for the reason that the EEG scheme has become unsustainable. By this time, the exporters had in all, amassed NDCC’s worth N125 billion.

Victor Iyama, President of the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN) puts the dilemma of the exporters this way: “Exporters have NDCC of over N125 billion in their hands. They have been stuck with it for several years now. Many exporters are now wondering if they have been handed a dud cheque by the Ministry of Finance”.

The response of his counterpart, Chairman of Cashew Association of Nigeria, Babatola Faseru, was one of grim resignation: “They (NDCCs) are like cheques issued by the government. If the government says that people should not issue dud cheques, then they should honour

the certificates”.

We agree with the duo. Clearly, the failure to honour the NDCC injures the credibility of the Federal Government. The issue here is not so much the Federal Government’s prerogative to review the scheme as it deems, fit but whether such can be said to vitiate outstanding commitments to holders of its credit notes.

Moreover, if the statement credited to the chief executive of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, the agency which implements the EEG scheme, that the claims were being looked into with a view to restructuring a payment system for the beneficiaries is any reassuring, it is only to the extent that the statement does not deny that the NDCCs are valid instruments. Beyond that however, mere offer of bland assurances cannot be described as good enough.

Given our understanding of how things work in the bureaucracy, such generalised statements, offer at best, cold comfort. Indeed, it could mean an interminable wait for payments that may or may not come. We think that the exporters deserve more.

We expect the NEPC to commit to specific timelines for clearing the obligations. The path of honour lies in settling those obligations without further delay.

Beyond that, one immediate question that arises is whether the EEG was actually budgeted for. If yes, what happened to the funds earmarked for it? And if no, how did the agency plan to meet the obligation to the exporters whenever they fell due? While the agency undertakes the review process, it will also do well to address these questions.

At a time of shrinking oil revenues and heightened uncertainties in global demand for oil, we expect the Federal Government to be doing all within its power to boost activities in the non-oil sector. If merely to ameliorate the impregnable odds in the Nigerian operating environment – the very factors underlying the legendary non-competitiveness of our domestic products – a more rigorous effort to curb abuse of export incentives would seem to us better strategy to help the sector and indeed the economy than outright abrogation of incentives.

We see a lot that the N125 billion can do to a sector with such proven potentials. The NEPC should find the funds to pay. If there are abuses in the process, the government should not hesitate to isolate these and deal decisively with the perpetrators. That is better than using the abuses as excuse to renege on an obligation.

‘We see a lot that the N125 billion can do to a sector with such proven potentials. The NEPC should find the funds to pay. If there are abuses in the process, the government should not hesitate to isolate these and deal decisively with the perpetrators. That is better than using the abuses as excuse to renege on an obligation’

Unhelpful quarrel • MTN and UNILAG should settle amicably their differences over the library donated by the telecoms giant

T

HE report that MTN, one of the preeminent mobile networks operating in Nigeria, has decided to withdraw the multi-million naira digital library it donated to an equally preeminent University of Lagos (UNILAG), is worrisome. Even more shocking is the trading of blames between the university and her donor, over who is responsible for the development.

For a university that lays claim to excellence and for a telecommunications company that parades itself as a leader in the industry, we are surprised that such an important contribution to learning in Nigeria, has become a subject of controversy.

Mr Akinwale Goodluck, an MTN corporate social executive, said the telecommunications company was withdrawing the facility because UNILAG has failed to keep to an agreement in the memorandum of understanding it signed in 2004. On her

‘Before taking the decision to move the facility from the university, MTN should consider the wider implications of its action, particularly the perception of the public with regards to the company’s sense of social responsibility ... Even as there is a disagreement over the state-of-the art facility, we commend MTN for the initiative in the first place’

part, the university countered that it has given MTN the go-ahead to remove the facility, as it has been unable to keep to sections of the agreement it reached with the institution. Following this disagreement, the state-of-the art digital library with the capacity to link-up the university with other centres of learning across the globe, has been under lock and key for five years.

At its commissioning in 2005, the library had 125 network computers, three laser jet printers, a VSAT-based internet connectivity, a server, 15 air conditioners and an alternative power generation source, which all ran efficiently in the first few years. With its link-up to other institutions, the university had access to varied reference books and research materials; 5,500 libraries, organisations, publishers of academic journals and scholarly works from across the world. At that commissioning, the Executive Director, MTN Foundation, Amina Oyagbola, was quoted to have said, “This library will support the assembly and creative use of up-to-date information at the click of a mouse” Considering the enormous benefits of the library, we urge the university and MTN to find a common ground for the use and maintenance of the facility. The University of Lagos which prides itself as one of the leading centres of learning in Africa cannot acquiesce to the notion that it does not give a damn about such research-supporting library; or even the more noxious comment that it lacks the capacity to maintain such a high-tech facility. While the comments that governments in Nigeria lack maintenance

culture may be true, it will be embarrassing if University of Lagos gives the impression that it has been afflicted by that reprehensible culture.

Before taking the decision to move the facility from the university, MTN should consider the wider implications of its action, particularly the perception of the public with regards to the company’s sense of social responsibility. For a company that has done so well in Nigeria, its robust balance sheet can maintain that facility for as long as it does business in Nigeria. This is not to say the university is right. At any rate, the debate over who is right or wrong is unhelpful. Even when MTN is threatening to re-locate the facility to Lagos State government, that act may not cure the backlash of such an action, since the state would rather prefer to gain its own facility, instead of being a second-hand beneficiary of one that was earmarked for another institution.

Even as there is a disagreement over the state-of-the art facility, we commend MTN for the initiative in the first place.

That type of library should no doubt represent the primary interest of any developing country like Nigeria. Considering the enormity of costs, particularly the foreign exchange component, a library that gives researchers access to costly research materials, books and academic journals from across the world, should be a prime resource for any academic institution; and in our view should be treated with pride and care.

S

IR: For obvious reasons, Lagos will continue to attract articulated vehicles and trucks because of its prime socio-economic status.

Lagos houses 22 industrial estates, 60% of nation‘s industrial and commercial ventures, 70% of national maritime cargos and consume about 50% of petroleum products in the country. Additionally, Lagos is home to about 2,000 industrial complexes, 10,000 commercial ventures and 22 industrial estates. It accounts for over 60% of Nigeria’s industrial and commercial activities; 70% of national maritime cargo freight, over 80% of international aviation traffic and over 50% of Nigeria’s energy consumption.

Also, the two seaports in Lagos account for 70 percent of the sea trade in the country while about 80percent of international air travels arrive in and depart from Lagos. Aside this, Lagos consumes about 45 percent of the petroleum products in the country.

With all these indicators, it would be difficult, for now, to banish articulated vehicles and trucks on Lagos roads. However, with the cooperation of major stakeholders in related sectors, the havoc being wrecked on lives and properties by articulated vehicles on residents in the state could be grossly reduced. For- instance, the continuous importation of locally consumed fuel in the country, arising from the inability of the federal government to fix local refineries, places serious burden on the state.

With more than 50 fuel depots in Lagos alone, at least over 3,000 trucks travel to the state on a daily basis to lift petroleum products. This situation makes it rather difficult for relevant agencies of the state to properly monitor and control activities of trucks and articulated vehicles drivers in the state.

To redress the current trend, the Federal Government would need to urgently revive the failed national refineries. Various stakeholders in the oil sector need to ingeniously look into the petroleum distributive arrangement to evolve a more scientific and less cumbersome order of distribution.

Equally, the Federal Government needs to invest massively in the infrastructure development of the transportation sector. Investment in transportation infrastructure enhances private sector activities as it lowers operational cost; enhances productivity, job and wealth creation through exchange of goods and services. Infrastructure development in the sector is, therefore, critical to achieving human capital development in the country. One vital way through which this could be done is for the Federal Government to de-emphasise road transportation and revitalize rail transportation. If this is done, it could help, in no small way, to reduce carnage on our roads. It is a cheaper, effective and less cumbersome mode of transportation. Through rails, millions of litres of fuel and, indeed, people, goods and products, could be effectively and effortlessly transported across the country.

In addition, vehicle inspectors must regularly ensure that only roadworthy vehicles are on the road. Unlatched trucks must not be allowed to ply our roads. Sales of drugs and alcoholic drinks at motor parks should be discouraged. Drivers’ unions must educate their members on safety issues while erring members must be sanctioned by relevant authorities. This is the time to stop avoidable and worthless loss of lives and properties.

•Tayo Ogunbiyi Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh • Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye •Editor, Online Lekan Otufodunrin •Managing Editor Northern Operation Yusuf Alli •Managing Editor Waheed Odusile

• Executive Director (Finance & Administration) Ade Odunewu

•Deputy Editor Lawal Ogienagbon

•Advert Manager Robinson Osirike

•Deputy Editor (News) Adeniyi Adesina

• Gen. Manager (Training and Development) Soji Omotunde •General Manager (Abuja Press) Kehinde Olowu •AGM (PH Press) Tunde Olasogba

•IT Manager Bolarinwa Meekness •Deputy Editor (Nation’s Capital) •Press Manager Yomi Odunuga Udensi Chikaodi •Group Political Editor Emmanuel Oladesu •Legal Counsel John Unachukwu •Group Business Editor Simeon Ebulu • Manager (Admin) Folake Adeoye •Group Sports Editor Ade Ojeikere •Acting Manager (sales) •Editorial Page Editor Olaribigbe Bello Sanya Oni

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

19

COMMENTARY EDITORIALS

LETTER

Articulated vehicles and road mishaps

Pay up • FG should get NEPC to pay what it owes non-oil exporters

T

HE ruckus over the disbursement of Export Expansion Grant (EEG) which has pitted the Federal Government against operators in the non-oil sector merely indicates how little has changed in spite of official posturing about boosting the non-oil sector. At stake is the N125 billion worth of promissory notes – the Negotiable Duty Credit Certificates (NDCC) issued by the Ministry of Finance under the EEG scheme, but which the Federal Government has either neglected or refused to honour.

Under the scheme introduced by the immediate past administration to boost non-oil exports, beneficiaries were granted subsidies of up to 40 percent based on the value of local content. The Federal Government would later suspend the scheme in August 2013 for the reason that the EEG scheme has become unsustainable. By this time, the exporters had in all, amassed NDCC’s worth N125 billion.

Victor Iyama, President of the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN) puts the dilemma of the exporters this way: “Exporters have NDCC of over N125 billion in their hands. They have been stuck with it for several years now. Many exporters are now wondering if they have been handed a dud cheque by the Ministry of Finance”.

The response of his counterpart, Chairman of Cashew Association of Nigeria, Babatola Faseru, was one of grim resignation: “They (NDCCs) are like cheques issued by the government. If the government says that people should not issue dud cheques, then they should honour

the certificates”.

We agree with the duo. Clearly, the failure to honour the NDCC injures the credibility of the Federal Government. The issue here is not so much the Federal Government’s prerogative to review the scheme as it deems, fit but whether such can be said to vitiate outstanding commitments to holders of its credit notes.

Moreover, if the statement credited to the chief executive of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, the agency which implements the EEG scheme, that the claims were being looked into with a view to restructuring a payment system for the beneficiaries is any reassuring, it is only to the extent that the statement does not deny that the NDCCs are valid instruments. Beyond that however, mere offer of bland assurances cannot be described as good enough.

Given our understanding of how things work in the bureaucracy, such generalised statements, offer at best, cold comfort. Indeed, it could mean an interminable wait for payments that may or may not come. We think that the exporters deserve more.

We expect the NEPC to commit to specific timelines for clearing the obligations. The path of honour lies in settling those obligations without further delay.

Beyond that, one immediate question that arises is whether the EEG was actually budgeted for. If yes, what happened to the funds earmarked for it? And if no, how did the agency plan to meet the obligation to the exporters whenever they fell due? While the agency undertakes the review process, it will also do well to address these questions.

At a time of shrinking oil revenues and heightened uncertainties in global demand for oil, we expect the Federal Government to be doing all within its power to boost activities in the non-oil sector. If merely to ameliorate the impregnable odds in the Nigerian operating environment – the very factors underlying the legendary non-competitiveness of our domestic products – a more rigorous effort to curb abuse of export incentives would seem to us better strategy to help the sector and indeed the economy than outright abrogation of incentives.

We see a lot that the N125 billion can do to a sector with such proven potentials. The NEPC should find the funds to pay. If there are abuses in the process, the government should not hesitate to isolate these and deal decisively with the perpetrators. That is better than using the abuses as excuse to renege on an obligation.

‘We see a lot that the N125 billion can do to a sector with such proven potentials. The NEPC should find the funds to pay. If there are abuses in the process, the government should not hesitate to isolate these and deal decisively with the perpetrators. That is better than using the abuses as excuse to renege on an obligation’

Unhelpful quarrel • MTN and UNILAG should settle amicably their differences over the library donated by the telecoms giant

T

HE report that MTN, one of the preeminent mobile networks operating in Nigeria, has decided to withdraw the multi-million naira digital library it donated to an equally preeminent University of Lagos (UNILAG), is worrisome. Even more shocking is the trading of blames between the university and her donor, over who is responsible for the development.

For a university that lays claim to excellence and for a telecommunications company that parades itself as a leader in the industry, we are surprised that such an important contribution to learning in Nigeria, has become a subject of controversy.

Mr Akinwale Goodluck, an MTN corporate social executive, said the telecommunications company was withdrawing the facility because UNILAG has failed to keep to an agreement in the memorandum of understanding it signed in 2004. On her

‘Before taking the decision to move the facility from the university, MTN should consider the wider implications of its action, particularly the perception of the public with regards to the company’s sense of social responsibility ... Even as there is a disagreement over the state-of-the art facility, we commend MTN for the initiative in the first place’

part, the university countered that it has given MTN the go-ahead to remove the facility, as it has been unable to keep to sections of the agreement it reached with the institution. Following this disagreement, the state-of-the art digital library with the capacity to link-up the university with other centres of learning across the globe, has been under lock and key for five years.

At its commissioning in 2005, the library had 125 network computers, three laser jet printers, a VSAT-based internet connectivity, a server, 15 air conditioners and an alternative power generation source, which all ran efficiently in the first few years. With its link-up to other institutions, the university had access to varied reference books and research materials; 5,500 libraries, organisations, publishers of academic journals and scholarly works from across the world. At that commissioning, the Executive Director, MTN Foundation, Amina Oyagbola, was quoted to have said, “This library will support the assembly and creative use of up-to-date information at the click of a mouse” Considering the enormous benefits of the library, we urge the university and MTN to find a common ground for the use and maintenance of the facility. The University of Lagos which prides itself as one of the leading centres of learning in Africa cannot acquiesce to the notion that it does not give a damn about such research-supporting library; or even the more noxious comment that it lacks the capacity to maintain such a high-tech facility. While the comments that governments in Nigeria lack maintenance

culture may be true, it will be embarrassing if University of Lagos gives the impression that it has been afflicted by that reprehensible culture.

Before taking the decision to move the facility from the university, MTN should consider the wider implications of its action, particularly the perception of the public with regards to the company’s sense of social responsibility. For a company that has done so well in Nigeria, its robust balance sheet can maintain that facility for as long as it does business in Nigeria. This is not to say the university is right. At any rate, the debate over who is right or wrong is unhelpful. Even when MTN is threatening to re-locate the facility to Lagos State government, that act may not cure the backlash of such an action, since the state would rather prefer to gain its own facility, instead of being a second-hand beneficiary of one that was earmarked for another institution.

Even as there is a disagreement over the state-of-the art facility, we commend MTN for the initiative in the first place.

That type of library should no doubt represent the primary interest of any developing country like Nigeria. Considering the enormity of costs, particularly the foreign exchange component, a library that gives researchers access to costly research materials, books and academic journals from across the world, should be a prime resource for any academic institution; and in our view should be treated with pride and care.

S

IR: For obvious reasons, Lagos will continue to attract articulated vehicles and trucks because of its prime socio-economic status.

Lagos houses 22 industrial estates, 60% of nation‘s industrial and commercial ventures, 70% of national maritime cargos and consume about 50% of petroleum products in the country. Additionally, Lagos is home to about 2,000 industrial complexes, 10,000 commercial ventures and 22 industrial estates. It accounts for over 60% of Nigeria’s industrial and commercial activities; 70% of national maritime cargo freight, over 80% of international aviation traffic and over 50% of Nigeria’s energy consumption.

Also, the two seaports in Lagos account for 70 percent of the sea trade in the country while about 80percent of international air travels arrive in and depart from Lagos. Aside this, Lagos consumes about 45 percent of the petroleum products in the country.

With all these indicators, it would be difficult, for now, to banish articulated vehicles and trucks on Lagos roads. However, with the cooperation of major stakeholders in related sectors, the havoc being wrecked on lives and properties by articulated vehicles on residents in the state could be grossly reduced. For- instance, the continuous importation of locally consumed fuel in the country, arising from the inability of the federal government to fix local refineries, places serious burden on the state.

With more than 50 fuel depots in Lagos alone, at least over 3,000 trucks travel to the state on a daily basis to lift petroleum products. This situation makes it rather difficult for relevant agencies of the state to properly monitor and control activities of trucks and articulated vehicles drivers in the state.

To redress the current trend, the Federal Government would need to urgently revive the failed national refineries. Various stakeholders in the oil sector need to ingeniously look into the petroleum distributive arrangement to evolve a more scientific and less cumbersome order of distribution.

Equally, the Federal Government needs to invest massively in the infrastructure development of the transportation sector. Investment in transportation infrastructure enhances private sector activities as it lowers operational cost; enhances productivity, job and wealth creation through exchange of goods and services. Infrastructure development in the sector is, therefore, critical to achieving human capital development in the country. One vital way through which this could be done is for the Federal Government to de-emphasise road transportation and revitalize rail transportation. If this is done, it could help, in no small way, to reduce carnage on our roads. It is a cheaper, effective and less cumbersome mode of transportation. Through rails, millions of litres of fuel and, indeed, people, goods and products, could be effectively and effortlessly transported across the country.

In addition, vehicle inspectors must regularly ensure that only roadworthy vehicles are on the road. Unlatched trucks must not be allowed to ply our roads. Sales of drugs and alcoholic drinks at motor parks should be discouraged. Drivers’ unions must educate their members on safety issues while erring members must be sanctioned by relevant authorities. This is the time to stop avoidable and worthless loss of lives and properties.

•Tayo Ogunbiyi Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh • Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye •Editor, Online Lekan Otufodunrin •Managing Editor Northern Operation Yusuf Alli •Managing Editor Waheed Odusile

• Executive Director (Finance & Administration) Ade Odunewu

•Deputy Editor Lawal Ogienagbon

•Advert Manager Robinson Osirike

•Deputy Editor (News) Adeniyi Adesina

• Gen. Manager (Training and Development) Soji Omotunde •General Manager (Abuja Press) Kehinde Olowu •AGM (PH Press) Tunde Olasogba

•IT Manager Bolarinwa Meekness •Deputy Editor (Nation’s Capital) •Press Manager Yomi Odunuga Udensi Chikaodi •Group Political Editor Emmanuel Oladesu •Legal Counsel John Unachukwu •Group Business Editor Simeon Ebulu • Manager (Admin) Folake Adeoye •Group Sports Editor Ade Ojeikere •Acting Manager (sales) •Editorial Page Editor Olaribigbe Bello Sanya Oni

20

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

CARTOON & LETTERS

S

IR: While other nations are faced with the challenges of the 21st Century,/ we are bogged down by the avarice of the elite./Every time we believe we have seen the worst from our country,/the shameless, opportunistic power grabbers take us back to a new low. - Nigeria Democratic Liberty Forum (NDLF), New York.(June,2010) With trillions of naira revenue, mostly from crude oil sales from 1999 till date, it is a crying shame that Nigeria parades some of the most disturbing dismal figures in the Human Development Index (HDI).From increasing poverty rate including helpless citizens caught in the terrible trap of extreme poverty, maternal and infant mortality rates, food insecurity to huge youth unemployment, our nation’s parlous economic situation is a criminal betrayal of what God has richly endowed us with.

For instance, poverty rate rose from 15 % as at independence in 1960, to 67.1% in 1999 and 72.2% in 2014.

The World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim, stated in April 2014 at the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings that Nigeria, with 7 % of the world’s poor ranked third in the world while India was placed at number one with 33 per cent of the world poor.

Similarly, Nigeria’s unemployment rate rose from 5.8% in 2008, 19.9% in 2009 through 21.10% in 2010 to 23.9% in 2011. Infant mortality rate total stood at 74.09 deaths/1,000 live births. And Nigeria accounts for 13 per cent of Global Maternal Deaths, GMD. Simply put, the vast resources in oil and gas, agriculture, solid minerals and breath -taking tourist attractions have come to make the politically favoured few richer while the majority wallow in grinding poverty.This insidious systemic rot has got to stop. The paradigm must shift. The political pendulum must also swing in favour of the vast majority of Nigerians.

Wealth re-distribution is a now a must. Nigeria can no longer afford a sordid economic situation

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

Let democracy be for the people that had 17,474 political office holders setting the nation’s treasury back by a whopping N1.13 trillion(naira) on yearly basis,and jerking up their emoluments at will as revealed by the Economist of London in 2010.

We can no longer sustain the huge capital flight of unpatriotic politicians who steal the nation blind only to empower foreign nationals.

For instance, in July 2004 UNIDO Report listed countries such as China, India, Singapore and Thai-

land amongst those with robust economies that reduced poverty rate from an average of 40% in 1981 to 21 % in 2001 while ours was on the upswing. In fact, the Report singled out Nigeria as the country with the worst case scenario of capital flight and advised us to borrow a new leaf from Uganda, which had a similar challenge but was able to reverse the drift.

Good enough, we now have the change mantra sweeping across the entire country, from Otuoke

tropical forest, across Abuja savannah to Daura desert fringe.

Coupled with this, the pilots of the ship of state have come on board with the proud pedigree as highly disciplined, patriotic and committed Nigerians, eager to enthrone transparency in governance.

To do so however, all hands must be on deck. The undue fixation that the federal government alone should do it all- provide the requisite solid infrastructure (stable electric power, good access roads and

rail, and potable water) as well as create jobs must be done away with. Hopefully, with the expected Constitution Amendment and implementation of the well thought out recommendations of the National Conference, true fiscal federalismshould eventually ensure that more economic resources are devolved to the states in this regard.

The hope therefore, is that the Buhari-led administration should provide the much-needed conducive environment for businesses to thrive. There must be transparency and accountability in government such that our enormous resources are channeled to make the quality of life of the average Nigerian better and safer.

• Ayo Baje, Lagos.

Saving Rivers’ model schools IR: Ever so often, even in the midst and outcry over poor leadership in Nigeria, a leader occasionally comes up with a policy or programme that stands out from the pack, offering hope, as the case may be. One of such laudable programmes I have seen in recent years is the model schools concept initiated by Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, former governor of Rivers State. As part of his desire to transform education in Rivers State, Amaechi, a few years ago, introduced what he called model school system in the state.

As enunciated by him, the model schools were to operate at no cost to the students. They were to run as mixed boarding schools where feeding and tuition would be free. For that purpose, contract for the construction of twelve model schools in the state, were awarded. They were the first of 24 model schools to be built across the state. When the idea of the model schools was first mooted and by the time it crystallized into elegant structures with well equipped classrooms and beautiful environment, the initial doubt that usually greets

S

many a government’s policies in Nigeria soon gave way to admiration.

Girls and boys of different backgrounds, even way beyond the dreams of many, now had the opportunity of attending world class schools for free.

Two years ago, I visited one of the model schools built by Amaechi’s administration called the Ambassador Nnne Furo Kurubo Model Secondary School located at Eleme local government area of the state. I visited the school as part of a team of education assessors and was happy about what I saw: an impressive, coeducational school complex, with sports facilities to boot that was, and is still being managed by Educomp Solutions Limited, an Indian company. As we learnt, the school was commissioned in 2012 by the Rivers State government and according to Shantaram Hegdekatte, Educomp’s chief executive officer; both the tuition and feeding for students of the residential school were free.

Educomp as a company emphasizes the use of digital tools (computer) and software, rather than chalk and blackboard, as teaching materials.

That visit led me to keep a tab on the model schools concept in Rivers State and that was how I got to know that, of the 12 schools so far constructed, only one of them, which is Ambassador Nnne Furo Kurubo Model Secondary School, had been utilized for the purpose for which they were set up. All others, despite having been completed, lie fallow.

Sources say it has to do with paucity of fund.

With Amaechi’s exit, what then becomes of the model schools programme? Should Rivers State students, who wish to enjoy top class education then wait for the days whenthe revenue profile of the state will improve to know whether what obtains at Ambassador Nnne Furo Kurubo Model Secondary School, will reach them? And given that a new governor of a different party, who appears not share in Amaechi’s laudable vision, is there a way out of the situation?

Although the Amaechi administration conceived the model schools to be free, but given the apparent financial challenge of the moment, I think one of the best options available to

the incoming administration both as a way to recoup money so far spent in building the schools and increase the revenue of the state, is to concession them to private investors to manage. What this means is that private investors would be at liberty to operate the schools on their own terms, including charging fees provided they make returns to government.

Education, like everybody knows, is expensive. The free tuition and feeding at Nnne Furo Kurubo Model Secondary School is free only to the beneficiaries; it isn’t so for the government, which bears the cost.

While many desire free things, mainly because of the money they would save as a result, there are many others who wouldn’t mind paying for it so long as the quality is good.

There are countless private schools around the country, and despite the outcry by some about cost, it hasn’t stopped them from flourishing, or even the numbers from increasing.

• Pedro Uwalaka Port Harcourt.

21

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

COMMENTS

A

LITTLE after the present Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike accused his predecessor, the immediate past governor, Rotimi Amaechi of looting and vandalising properties in the Rivers State Government House by taking away items like bullet proof doors, carpets, cars, furniture, curtains and windows, a container of controversial narrations and analysis has emerged with Amaechi’s response that ‘the current governor is trying to intimidate, threaten and blackmail officials of his then administration, including civil servants into making false, phony and bogus claims of alleged corruption and corrupt practices against him and his wife, Judith’.

Indeed, Amaechi’s detailed response has now made it difficult to sieve the truth from a big basket of allegations by Nyesom Wike. An understanding of how politics is practiced in Nigerian would suggest that what Wike has done with accusations of looting of furniture and cars at the Rivers Government House is nothing far from the usual strategy of distraction that is observed every time an incumbent governor hands over to an opposing party. As such, Wike’s disclosures are not strange, however what is different from the customary allegations is that this time round, it is not money that is being talked about but basic domestic items which ordinarily should have their inventory well documented in the office of the Permanent Secretary that serves as the chief accounting officer of the Government House.

To claim that Amaechi looted the Rivers State Government House is very premature as confirming such allegations is far beyond using doctored images to portray a scattered house as vandalized in the presence of some selected journalists.

Ordinarily, if Governor Wike meant well, good logic would have informed him to seek an inventory of what items were there in Amaechi’s stay in office and what he left behind at his exit from office. The simple question that has been raised is, did Wike know what was in Amaechi’s former bedroom to have been able to reach a conclusion of looting? Otherwise, Wike’s claims are best thrown into the dustbin and regarded as weak ploy to score cheap points. Indeed, until a proper and transparent inventory analysis is professionally conducted, it will be difficult to regard Wike as serious. Certainly, from every reasonable analysis, what Wike has done in his first day on duty as governor, shows that he is acting out a script which suggest that his main purpose in politics is to fight dirty rather than focus on the right measures that will advance the condition of the governed.

Ordinarily, one would have thought that Wike as a trained lawyer would have known the essence of well articulated evidence when presenting a case. The pictures of scattered chairs and tables cannot sufficiently serve as proof that an accused is responsible for looting except where there exist documentary evidence from security cameras and or uncompromised individuals to buttress such. On the issue of vandalised kitchen cabinets, I think if a man of Amaechi’s status really meant to cause discomfort for his successor, the seeming destruction of property should not start and end in a kitchen of a house he literally renovated to an edifice status. Perhaps, if Amaechi had capacity for evil acts, he would have started the so-called vandalisation from the foundation than go to an irrelevant portion of the mansion. That Wike never mentioned any colossal damage to the said Govern-

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HERE is nothing more difficult to carry out, not more doubtful of success, not more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order and only lukewarm defenders in all those, who would profit by the new order. This lukewarmness arises, partly from incredibility of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new, until they have actually experienced it.

It is in this perception that the Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola found himself when he came on the scene in Osun State; when its progress was at the lowest ebb, in fact, inert. But the Ijesa-born politician, was determined to go the whole hog and make Osun State an Eldorado, no matter what. Only an administration with the heart of steel and grim resolve could accomplish such feat.

Setting out to achieve his avowed goals expectedly met with resistance from those, who profited by the old order of doing things in Osun State. It was themselves first and the larger populace last. To the glory of God, Ogbeni Aregbesola has opened up Osun to certain level of socioeconomic development. In the course of his first term in office, far-reaching infrastructural facilities were put in place to international standard with frugality. Roads, hitherto considered unpassable and difficult to rehabilitate, saw the magic wands of Aregbesola and residents of such areas heaved a sigh of relief.

For the first four years of Aregbesola in the saddle, workers’ salaries and pensions were paid as and when due and his government was regarded as worker-friendly.

Even certain percentages of the workers’ salaries were

‘What Governor Aregbesola needs to do in Osun State, right now is to re-order his priorities and make human capacity development, the centre-stage of his administration, while continuing to plug all loopholes that are areas of wastage to the government, even if those who profited by such old order are not happy’

Amaechi vs Wike: Between facts and fiction

By Phrank Shaibu ment House rightly suggests that he is just obsessed with trying to get unnecessary attention on an issue that he could even be accused of simulating or masterminding.

Granted that anyone that has held or is holding a government office deserves public scrutiny; but when such inquiry translates to blatant absurdity and half-truths as demonstrated

by Wike, then the reasons behind such must be investigated thoroughly to ensure that this is neither an intent to divert attention, weak attempt to discredit another person nor design to deplete the treasury of the state.

Consequently, any objective analyst should appreciate that the media outing by Wike is obviously a tragic error because what he attempted to portray on alleged looting could have been left for the journalists to confirm from witnesses present at the time of the alleged vandalisation or could it have been possible that as at the time he resumed office, the entire security personnel at the Government House had fled and the security camera gadgets destroyed?

Wike’s claims are appalling especially coming from a lawyer and he really needs to be reminded that as a legal professional, he should have taken the proper step to assemble credible evidence before considering a visit with pressmen. Indeed, the churning out of this unconfirmed story in major newspapers is also huge minus for the press as it has exposed the embarrassing fact that in Nigeria, investigative journalism is almost dead or highly compromised. For anyone to use Wike’s lies and misinformation, it simply suggests a willingness to stray from the truth in preference for reporting a stream of fabrications. The big story for any journalist wanting a real scoop might be: who opened the premises for Wike and what did they see there, a vandalized house or not?

For ease of recall, anyone that has given some reasonable attention to politics of Rivers State would agree that there is a wide gulf in the relationship between Amaechi and Wike, hitherto described as two close friends before they went separate ways in the wake of 2015 general elections. Be that as it may, Wike from all reasonable logic, has acted dishonestly and appears to be venturing into dangerous political path scarcely towed in Nigeria. Granted that on many occasions, we know politicians to be economical with the truth, at other times we know them to stretch lies against the opposing camp, nevertheless, the disclosures made by Wike against Amaechi share great semblance with willful and purposeful lying. Indeed, it will be good for Wike to be challenged by the public on these allegations not necessarily for the purpose of advancing any political party’s interest but for advancing both morality and integrity of Nigeria’s democracy.

Wike’s stream of mistruths cannot reap him any political awards or help win his case at the tribunal. Rather, these ostracized falsehoods will only thrust him further into un-

healthy controversy. As such, now that a large section of the press has debunked his false claims, the honourable thing for him to do is to concede the truth for the restoration of personal honour and integrity. Otherwise, the blatant lies Wike has tried to spread must be confronted and exposed because any political office holder ought to distance himself from such especially in any modern society which abhors lies and largely associates leaders with such traits of lying with incompetence.

Wike’s attempt to engage lying as a useful political strategy clearly portrays him as a man that may be clueless on how to manage the affairs of Rivers State. The simple question to ask here, is why should he claim that he would need about four months to fix the vandalized items whereas some people can even build a house in less than four months? In fact, it is only a person that is dumb that will accept what Wike says without questions. Wike lack of truthfulness is not only huge indictment of the character of person the PDP has selected to rule Rivers State but that his party has weak vetting process which encourages men of questionable character and dishonesty to be in office.

Wike’s Rivers State PDP has a long history of attempting to smear the APC at any opportunity. For anyone still unaware, the smear campaign was launched by Wike when it became obvious that Amaechi had settled for another candidate as his successor as Governor from the APC. For the average peace loving person, this dirty politics should have been over but Wike’s recent expressed dishonesty is a real tragedy in the making. That is the truth, and it is time the Rivers people knew this and the consequences ahead.

• Shaibu,a Public Communication Consultant,writes from Abuja.

‘One would have thought that Wike as a trained lawyer would have known the essence of well articulated evidence when presenting a case. The pictures of scattered chairs and tables cannot sufficiently serve as proof that an accused is responsible for looting except where there exist documentary evidence from security cameras and or uncompromised individuals to buttress such.

Aregbesola beyond reproach

By Olumide Lawal paid as 13th month bonus. But now, that the world is witnessing economic recession, Governor Aregbesola should device a means, and a solid one too, whereby payment of workers’ salaries and pension would not suffer unduly.

It is said that a labourer’s wages should be paid before his or her sweat dries up.

Here is an ‘unusual’ governor, who like the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, of blessed memory, do not lay claim to monopoly of wisdom. Like other South-West APC governors, he is steadily transforming the state to the applause of the citizenry.

Aregbesola, should continue firing from all cylinders, to take Osun State to the Promised Land. There should be no looking back, even where detractors are busy putting one hurdle or the other on his way. Such is the price to pay for leadership, though it could be a bitter pill to swallow.

I am quite convinced, that with the new administration of Muhammed Buhari, Osun, with pragmatism and political wizardry of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, will partake of the largesse that would accrue to states. Osun State’s progress, some narrow-minded people alleged, was retarded in the last four years because of Ogbeni Aregbesola’s “unrepentant antagonistic postures” toward former President Goodluck Jonathan. Whatever that means! But now, that APC is in control, Governor Aregbesola should curry the favour of the Federal Government and attract federal projects to Osun in quantum.

And if need be, the governor should re-appraise the ongoing Gbongan-Akoda, Osogbo-Ilaodo roads under construction, and do the necessary things with the Federal Ministry of Works or hand over such projects to the Federal Government, using his excellent relationship with President Buhari for the good of the people of Osun State.

If Governor Aregbesola, spends four terms in office, he cannot finish the development projects in Osun State. He should tread softly, try his best and leave the rest for others.

What Governor Aregbesola needs to do in Osun State, right now is to re-order his priorities and make human capacity development, the centre-stage of his administration, while continuing to plug all loopholes that are areas of wastage to the government, even if those who profited by such old order are not happy. He should not care a hoot about their grouse, which are unjustifiable.

Once again, let us engage in politics of love, affection and development in Osun State. We should continue to wish our leaders well and pray for them as a demonstration of our obedience to Biblical and Koranic injunctions.

We should not behave like that man in Ekiti State, who pointedly wished our then Presidential candidate dead.

May God forgive him and indeed, those who orchestrated evil machination against the Governor’s son – Kabiru, whose services are needed in his own little ways to the development of Osun as a bonafide citizen.

To accelerate the state internally generated revenue, Governor Aregbesola should embark on aggressive property tax collection, to boost the state’s revenue. Despite the economic down-turn, gigantic and imposing structures, homes to the nouveau riche, are springing up at Osogbo GRA and other locations in the state capital and other choice areas of the state. If those involved could have so much to erect such structures, they should spare the state something substantial as property tax. After all, such locations in GRA enjoy the best of road network and electricity supply, as they are on dedicated lines from whatever you call it. Are the numerous ‘five star’ hotels that now litter Osun State paying up the correct taxes to the government, Ogbeni Aregbesola?

Osun shall certainly excel and be a model for other states to emulate. It should be many steps ahead of others. We all have our patriotic roles to play. We are ready to do that, if the governor provides a level playing ground to do so. He should not give room to those who will tell him only those things that are sweet to his ears. They cry Hosanna today, crucify him tomorrow.

• Lawal, a public affairs analyst, write from Ede, Osun State.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

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COMMENTS

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GUN State governor, Ibikunle Amosun struck the right chord last week when he lent his weight to the agitation for local government autonomy in the country. That was not all. He equally had pricking words for those of his colleagues opposed to it.

Hear him: “I support local government autonomy. The autonomy issue is in my own interest. Some governors said that granting autonomy to local governments will not favour them. Those governors that the autonomy thing will not favour are those governors that deduct from local government funds”.

He has said it all. Apparently drawing from President Buhari’s inaugural speech in which he promised to ensure probity and accountability at all tiers of government, Amosun touched the heart of the matter when he fingered duplicity as the leitmotif for some of his colleagues’ opposition to autonomy.

Now one of theirs has spoken so forthrightly on the issue, we can now fathom why the local governments in many states have proved incapable of rising up to their statutory duties.

In that speech, Buhari had said that though there are constitutional limits to the powers of the three tiers of government, he would not close his eyes to what is happening at the states and local governments especially with the operations of the Joint Account.

This has been interpreted by many as an indication that the era of state governors unduly dipping their hands into the funds of the local governments will soon be over.

That will be a great relief. No doubt, the joint account system has been variously abused.

Instead of the process ensuring that funds meant for the local governments are deployed for meaningful development, some of the governors have turned round to appropriate them for purposes other than that for which they were meant for.

What we have seen since the return of democracy in 1999, is a situation in which the state governors appropriate these funds and

Emeka OMEIHE 08112662675 email: EmekaOmeihe@yahoo.com

Amosun and LG autonomy only remit to the local councils any amount it pleased them. This has left the local governments increasingly incapable of discharging their statutory functions.

Not unexpectedly, agitations have arisen regarding the desirability of the joint account system in the face of the interferences and withholding of funds meant for the development of the local governments. That has also been the basis for the raging demands for local government autonomy. Not only do the state governments through the powers conferred on the state assemblies by Section (7) of the constitution incapacitate the effective operations of the councils, some have gone ahead to reduce their tenure to enable them take charge of the funds accruing from the federation account.

The first set of elected local government officials in 1999 were supposed to serve for three years. Since then, state assemblies, goaded by the governors have reduced such tenure, some of them to one year. Even then, local government elections are rarely held and when it pleases them to do so, it is at the whims and caprices of the state governments.

What has been in vogue is the aberration called transition committees- a subterfuge for handpicking local government functionaries who do the bidding of the governors. This is

‘If the immaturity of the local governments being bandied is referenced upon the quality of leadership at that level, the governors are solely to blame. They are to blame for handpicking surrogates and all manner of stooges to stand for elections that have been predetermined by the so-called state independent electoral commissions’

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HERE is a lot of talk about “inclusive capitalism” and “inclusive growth” these days. That’s all well and good but in addition to these, what we need is an “inclusive government”. A government that includes capable, honest citizens based on merit irrespective of gender.

There is a positive correlation between gender equality and economic growth. Countries that do not treat women as second class citizens are more likely to prosper in a sustainable manner, and this is true regardless of the prevailing ideology or religion of that region. Rwanda and Dubai are two classic examples. Both places rank high in comparative regional gender equality surveys and both have experienced an upward trend in economic prowess and social development over the last 10 years and 40 years respectively. In the book, Flashes of Thought, the ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, says of his government: “Our job is to provide an environment that unlocks women’s potential–one that protects their dignity and femininity, helps them create the necessary balance in their lives, and values their talents and potential. Given this environment, I am confident that women will perform nothing short of miracles.” To that end, 70 per cent of university graduates in his country are women. Eighty five per cent of his personal team are women, 65 per cent of their government employees are women and 30 per cent of the leadership positions are held by women.

Closer to home, let’s look at Rwanda. Since the genocide ended over 10 years ago, women have generally made up more than 50 per cent of their parliamentarians. Currently, approximately 63 per cent of their members of parliament are female. During that time, Rwanda has experienced year-on-year GDP growth.

Their GDP per capita, their Gross National Income per capita, their Agricultural Production Rate and Food Production Rate have all increased steady over those years.

Is this a coincidence? I think not. I once heard someone say that women are the greatest causalities of war and he might be right. This being the case, by putting capable women in leadership positions, we have a government that is less likely to make decisions that would lead to civil unrest or war. Prosperity fosters in times of peace. The absence of confusion and an orderly society foster progress. Thus one could probably argue that the more women we have in leadership positions, the more likely we are to have an orderly and prosperous country.

In her essay, The Economics of Exclusion, University of Oxford Business Professor, Linda Scott, illustrates in monetary terms the national benefits of adequately including women in leadership and the hidden, indirect costs of excluding them: “Taking account of the benefits of including women should encompass not just the growth possibilities, but the bigger economic impact lies in avoiding the costs associated with exclusion, such

so despite the fact that the constitution guarantees a local government system by democratically elected local government councils.

Questions have been raised as to the desirability of retaining the local governments as the third tier of government in the face of the refusal of some governors to have in place democratically elected councils. Constant interference with local government funds by governors has also been an issue. The continued relevance of the joint account system given that its operations have been at cross purposes with the spirits guiding the delineation of the councils as the third tier of government has also come under serious challenge. All these are clear indications that our local government system is sick and therefore in urgent need of a dose of therapy both on a short and long terms.

Those opposed to the independence of the local government base their arguments on some warped, unverifiable and tenuous grounds. They allege among others, immaturity of the local governments and their leadership to be left unchecked by the state governments. They also cite aspects of the constitution that empowers the state government through the state assemblies to regulate operations at that level.

The issue of immaturity is neither here nor there. At best, such a sweeping conclusion is nothing but a figment of educated guess. Sadly, empiricism places very low value on matters of educated guess.

The conclusion runs into bigger problem if it conveys the impression that state governors are better managers of funds and their mentoring is required for effective deployment of local government funds. This

suggestion pales into insignificance when weighed against the monumental corruption that goes on at the state levels.

Just last week, the EFCC rolled out a list of governors who served between 1999 and 2007 that are currently facing prosecution. It also reeled out some of the properties so far recovered from some of them. Both the number of former governors under trial, the quantum of property and money involved put a lie to any claim that they are better managers of public funds. There is therefore no justifiable reason why they should be allowed to continue appropriating local government funds to help themselves. The spirit of the joint account system has been abused and bastardized by some state governors for selfserving reasons. That has been the basis for their continued opposition to local government autonomy. That is the point Amosun has put very succinctly and he spoke the minds of many.

Moreover, the local government system has been recognized as the fastest vehicle to convey development to the grassroots. This is especially so, as the boundaries of the 774 local governments coincide with the boundaries of this country. Thus, any development strategy that effectively targets that level of government with a high degree of success, would ipso facto translate to the development of the entire country.

That underscores the importance of the local government system. It is for the same reason that more discerning and enterprising states have gone further to create local government development centres. It would therefore smack of a huge contradiction for state governors that have gone ahead to create development centres because of their capacity to quicken development, to now turn around and oppose local government autonomy. That was the background from which Amosun was speaking.

If the immaturity of the local governments being bandied is referenced upon the quality of leadership at that level, the governors are solely to blame. They are to blame for handpicking surrogates and all manner of stooges to stand for elections that have been predetermined by the so-called state independent electoral commissions. They are to blame for not allowing real elections to take place at that level. So if the competences of the elected or appointed local government officials are in doubt, the governors should take the blame. They cannot turn around and hide under some of the monsters they created to fault the capacity and ability of that system to function optimally.

The change we want to see

By Olubunmi Aboderin as...hunger, violence and disease.”

In some of her other works, Scott compares the Women’s Economic Opportunity data compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the National Competitiveness Index created by the World Economic Forum. Her findings show that “a country making concerted efforts to protect, support, educate, and place its women would be making similar decisions across the board to maximise its other resources.”

There are examples of gifted leaders all over the world who happen to be female such as Valerie Amos, Michaelle Jean, Ursula Burns and Condoleezza Rice. We also have our fair share of such assets here in Nigeria and in deciding who should form part of the leadership team that moves this country forward, let those who are gifted with skill, scruples, stamina and a solid track record prevail.

Overlooking women for positions in leadership would be akin to a self-inflicted, gender-based, brain drain. Speaking of a brain drain, Valerie Amos is originally from Guyana and Michaelle Jean was born in Haiti. Both women are doing wonders on behalf of their adoptive countries, the United Kingdom and Canada respectively. If the right environment had existed in their countries of birth, they probably would not have left and perhaps they’d be doing these wonders as emissaries of their birth countries rather than as representatives of their adoptive countries. Let us create the right environment here in Nigeria so that capable women (and men) don’t have to leave the shores of their country to find a place where their intellectual talents can be maximised and appreciated.

Who or what is a leader?

It is said that a leader is someone who improves the lives of those around him or her. People like Adepeju Jaiyeoba, the lawyer working to reduce infant and maternal mortality rates by providing kits to pregnant women in rural areas, or Mosunmola Umoru, the female farmer who empowers other farmers by helping them find a viable market for their produce.

Similarly, it is said that a leader is anyone who can serve people and make them happy. For example, Enitan Kuku who discovers Nigerian fine artists and helps them sell their artwork in the international market, or Fisayo Olowu who runs a designated learning place for children under the age of 10 living in an impoverished shanty town, or Yewande Olofinro who goes to hospital wards to help those who can’t pay their medical bills.

I also read somewhere that a leader is someone capable of creating positive change, whether at a micro level within his or her family or at a macro level serving the entire nation. People such as Ijeoma Idika-Chima, a young lady who galvanises other young people to vote, or Amina Ahmed who despite incredible odds is possibly one of Nigeria’s youngest female magistrates, or Temitayo Etomi, a manager in the Lagos State Civil Service, doing notable work in her state government.

It should be a priority of new administration headed by President Muhammadu Buhari, to uphold the spirit and letter of our National Gender Policy. Let us “provide an enabling environment for women to achieve their highest potential.” That environment would be one that protects them from violence, one that does not force them to compromise their principles and one that includes them on the basis of competence.

The positive change that we would like to see from the new administration is the significant inclusion of clever, capable, conscientious and compassionate women in the leadership.

Let us realise the benefits inherent in our greatest natural resource. We can create an environment that enables women to succeed or sets them up to fail. By choosing the former, the whole nation, male and female, young and old, will also move forward.

• Ms Aboderin, a member of the Institute of Directors, writes from Ogun State.

‘The positive change that we would like to see from the new administration is the significant inclusion of clever, capable, conscientious and compassionate women in the leadership. Let us realise the benefits inherent in our greatest natural resource. We can create an environment that enables women to succeed or sets them up to fail. By choosing the former, the whole nation, male and female, young and old, will also move forward’

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THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

THE CEO

ISSUES

National grid system not good enough for power sector - P. 37

Power outages take toll on businesses, economy - P. 29 News Brief

Govt urged to approve modular refineries

Nigeria loses $1b daily to untapped electricity NIGERIA loses an average of $1billion daily to every untapped megawatt of electricity, the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Mayok Engineering Works Limited, Chief Abayomi Awodipe, has said.

–Page 27

By Akinola Ajibade

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‘Local expertise can fix economy’ NIGERIANS have the expertise to fix the problems besetting the country, the Factory Manager, Nestle Foods, Rakesh Verma, has said.

–Page 27

N8b scam: GIABA writes CBN, EFCC THE Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) at the weekend said it had written to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to update it on the alleged N8 billion currency scam involving 22 bankers.

–Page 30

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil Cocoa

$54/barrel $2,686.35/metric ton

Coffee

¢132.70/pound

Cotton

¢95.17pound

Gold

$1,396.9/troy

Sugar

$163/lb RATES

Inflation

8.4%

Treasury Bills 10.58%(91d) Maximum lending 30% Prime lending

15.87%

Savings rate

3%

91-day NTB

15%

Time Deposit

5.49%

MPR

13%

Foreign Reserve

$34.5b

•Prime Minister, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Mr. Hailemariam Desalegne cutting the tape to inaugurate the 2.5million metric tonnes per year capacity Dangote Cement plant in the Mugher District of Ethiopia ... at the weekend. With him are (left): President of Oromia National Regional State, Ato Muktar Kedir; Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

CBN’s incentives to lenders for sustainable banking coming

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HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is work ing on a set of incentives to encourage banks to imbibe sustainable banking practices.

Special Adviser to the CBN Governor on Sustainable Banking, Dr Aisha Mahmood, said at the weekend that the apex bank was exploring the option to allow for sustainable banking practices in the country in line with global best practices.

Mahmood, who spoke during the bank’s World Environment Day and tree planting celebration in Abuja, however, did not specify what incentives the CBN was

From Nduka Chiejina (Asst. Editor), Abuja

working on but she said the CBN “wants to incentivise banks that do well in sustainable banking principles”.

However, she said banks have been warned not to lend money to clients that engage in unsustainable practices.

On their part, deposit money banks, she noted, were expected to report to the CBN their sustainable banking principles, since these banks came in voluntarily to the sustainable banking principle initiative, but once they have joined, they are expected to comply

with the principles.

She said the CBN was doing a lot to promote resource/energy efficiency by being connected to the national grid, thereby minimising the use of generators on its properties; uses energy efficient bulbs; has directed all staff of the bank to shut down office appliances after a certain period; and encourages staff to switch off appliances when leaving the office for a short period of time.

In addition, she said the apex bank has included in its recent budget a lift management system as part of the bank’s efforts to be environmentally and socially re-

sponsible.

Speaking at the ceremony, the CBN Governor Mr. Godwin Emefiele urged workers of the bank to imbibe the culture of preserving the ecosystem through sustainable practices not just within the office environment but in all surroundings.

The CBN, he said, has adopted sustainable banking principles to protect the environment and human rights and that the CBN was already internalising social and environmental aspects of sustainable actions, and leading by example as well as monitoring compliance among stakeholders.

UNCTAD, World Bank, IMF mull lending rules

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ORRIED by the spate of mounting debts, especially in developing countries, the United Nations Conference On Trade and Development (UNCTAD), an organ of the United Nations Organisation (UNO), in conjunction with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has initiated guidelines to stem the tide and ensure adherence to agreed rules.

The draft version of the measures, which were put together by the World Body in mid last year, known as ‘Guidelines On Responsible Sovereign Lending and Borrowing,’ are being circulated to specialised bodies and the

• Measure to check debts

By Simeon Ebulu

legal authorities involved in Debt Management matters for reviews and necessary inputs.

Sources at The World Bank’s Economic Policy and Debt Department (PRMED) and Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network (PREM), told The Nation that there is considerable concern that the debt trap, has snowballed from a Third World and Developing nations’ syndrome, to a global nemesis.

The officials, who asked that their identity, be veiled

as they are not authorised to comment on the issues on which there are ongoing consultations,” said the United Nations, The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have expressed concern over ‘External Debt Sustainability and Development’ and have drawn attention to the consequences of excessive borrowing of developing and transition countries, as well as the high levels of sovereign debts which it acknowledged have “become a major concern in many developed countries as well. Recognising the costliness of

debt crises and the desire for increased stability within the international financial system, the Institutions, have “ called for rule-based procedures for sovereign debts, including an early warning system mechanism for debt restructuring,” as well as a greater transparency in sovereign debt transactions.

The Nation learnt that officials at the UN and its allies in The World Bank Group and the IMF, are learning too late that many debt seeking nations, especially in the Developing World, are merely latching more on the low and near zero interest rates that attend to these • Continued on page 26

HE Federal Govern ment should fast-track the approval of modular refineries to encourage local production of the petroleum products and reduce scarcity, the Chief Executive Officer, Abuja Power Station, Jameel Jammal, has said.

According to him, the development became necessary to reduce importation of refined petroleum products such as Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), diesel and kerosene, adding that the government is wasting a lot of money on payment of subsidies to oil marketers.

Jammal, who spoke with our reporter, said the Federal Government is burdened with subsidy arrears of over N200 billion because of importation.

He said, any attempt by the government to allow modular refineries to operate would increase local production and further engender competition in the industry.

He explained that modular refineries are smaller in size, produce small crude and easy to manage, adding that modular refineries are operating in developed economies such as United States, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and others.

He urged the government to approve firms that demonstrate a reasonable level of commitment and capacity, adding the idea would ensure that only the best people operate modular refineries in Nigeria.

According to him, there are modular refineries that have the capacity to produce between one million barrels of crude to two million barrels a day, stressing that his company has a modular refinery that would produce 2.5million barrels daily.

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has reduced the application fees for owning modular refineries from $1million to $500,000 to enable more people to operate modular refineries.

Also, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff. Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to encourage local production of petroleum products, deregulate the industry and gradually remove the subsidy.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

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BUSINESS NEWS Intel’s ‘She Will Connect’ to empower women in ICT

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• From left: Head of Government Affairs, West Africa Area, British American Tobacco (BATN), Odiri Erewa-Maggison; Head of Legal and External Affairs, Freddy Messanvi; Area Head of Corporate Affairs, Oluwaseyi Ashade; and Head of Litigation and Regulation, Sola Dosunmu during a media parley in Lagos

Nigeria loses $1b daily to untapped megawatts of electricity

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IGERIA loses an aver age of $1billion daily to every untapped megawatt of electricity, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mayok Engineering Works Limited, Chief Abayomi Awodipe, has said.

According to him, Nigeria needs between 15,000megawwatt (Mw) and 20,000Mv of electricity and that the country has not been able to exceed 4,000Mw supply, adding that for every IMw the nation fails to generate, it loses $1 billion daily.

He said: “By this year, the country is supposed to be generating 20,000Mw, of which 10,000Mw would be sent to the grid and the other 10,000Mw as embedded power. Even if it is 80 per cent of the installed capacity is available, that is 18,000Mw and 10,000Mw is wheeled to the grid with Lagos taking about 40 per cent. In fact, you will see the difference in activities when Lagos is given 1000Mw. But now, Ikeja Elec-

• Loses 37% to grid transmission

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

tric in Lagos collects less than 300Mw. For us to be there in terms of adequate power supply, there must be political and technocratic will.

“Talking about revenue loss, I must tell you that Nigeria loses a lot of money.

America generates 750,000Mw every day, South Africa about 70,000Mw, and Nigeria’s hit a peak of 4000Mw and has been dropping ever since. What does that mean? For every 1Mw we fail to generate, we lose $1 billion per day.”

According to him, the country also loses 37 per cent of its power generation to grid transmission system adopted by the Federal Government. Currently, every megawatt of power generated is wheeled to the transmission centre in Oshogbo for allocation to different parts of the coun-

try resulting in loss of significant volume of power.

He told The Nation that the adoption of embedded power system will save the country these losses, adding that in the process of transmitting the power to areas that are far-away from the source of generation, huge losses are recorded.

He advocated embedded power system where generation from every power plant is dedicated to areas close to the plant with focus on load centres such as Lagos State while grid supply will be for areas that don’t have power stations.

He noted that he doesn’t support the wheeling of power to transmission centre before such power is allocated to various parts of the country because it encourages waste.

He said: “Embedded power is generation meant

to serve a particular area.

It is a dedicated power plant to serve not the country or a large area but a dedicated area and to serve many purposes. The most important thing is that it must be off-grid. The power generated mustn’t go to Osogbo first before it gets distributed. We lose 37 per cent of the power anytime we do that. If you remove Egbin Power plant from the grid and let it serve Lagos or Southwest, you will see the improvement in power supply. Take Afam Power off the national grid, let it serve Southeast, you will see the improvement.

These are part of the risk government needs to take.

“We want government to bring people that practically have lived electricity in their lives, to think and bring government’s aspiration for steady power supply to fruition in order to help this nation because without power we cannot do much.”

Local expertise can fix economy, says Nestle chief N IGERIANS have the expertise to fix the problems besetting the country, the Factory Manager, Nestle Foods, Rakesh Verma, has said.

He said this belief in the competence of Nigerians is responsible for why the company has many Nigerians in top management positions in the company and its factory.

He said: “Look at us here, we are just three expatriates in this factory; the rest are Nigerians; it is a reflection of our belief that it is only Nigerians that can fix Nigeria; we are only supporting because we won’t be here forever.”

Verma, while conducting The Nation round the factory in commemoration this year’s World Environment Day celebration, said Nestle has taken deliberate steps to ensure that it does not negatively impact on its operat-

By Muyiwa Lucas

ing environment.

Explaining the process of achieving this, he revealed that since 2012, the firm has reduced by 5, 000 tons, the volume of carbon dioxide emission from its factory into environment. This, he said, has been achieved through a N4 billion investment in its trigeneration power plant.

The power plant, with a generation capacity of 7.5 megawatts, is 92 per cent powered by gas, and eight per cent by diesel, with a 74 per cent efficiency rate above the conventional diesel plant rate of 42 per cent. Explaining the choice of this model, Verma said it was because carbon emission from a gas plant is much lower than that from

a diesel plant. Besides, the firm’s investment in modern water discharge from its factory into the environment is paying off. For instance, its total water withdrawal decreased from 2.14million cube in 2013 to 1.7million cube in 2014, while total production volume increased from 252,017tonnesin 2013 to 259, 407 tonnes in 2014. Its water treatment before discharge to the environment is also commendable because it is treated to an acceptable 6-9 PH level.

“We invest in technology to ensure that our emission to the environment is minimal; it is part of our environmental sustainability effort. We ensure that the water discharged from our factory to the environment

is suitable for aquatic life,” Verma said.

But that is not all. With the investment in gas plant, Nestlehas been able to reduce its fctory operational cost drastically. A breakdown of its operational cost shows that, while other firms are complaining of huge cost incurred on buying diesel, the cost of energy in its operations is a paltry 1.28 per cent.

Verma confirmed this much when he said: “Energy is not the biggest cost we incur in our business process, but that of raw materials.

This is because Nigeria has a huge gas reserve and gas is relatively cheap in the country.”

The Nestle factory in Agbara, is the third largest in the company’s factories located in different parts of the world.

OMEN in low and middle income countries are still at a disadvantage of accessing and affording modern technology, experts have said.

They said women in these countries have lower access to the internet.

According to reports, 25 per cent fewer women are online in developing countries and this translates that in about 10 persons, only three women are online or have access to technology.

To bridge this gap, Intel West Africa, a leading Information Communication Technology (ICT) company specialised in developing training curriculums, organised an empowerment programme, ‘She Will Connect’, which is aimed at increasing women’s accessibility and affordability of technology to improve everyday life.

The annual programme, which has started already, will run till the end of the year.

At a capacity building workshop for women journalists in Lagos, Country Manager, Mr. Olubunmi Ekundare, said Intel is dedicated to bringing about positive change in the African girl child. He said ‘She Will Connect’ is a global effort aimed at empowering women because women contribute directly to the country’s Gross

By Oyebola Owolabi

Domestic Product (GDP).

“Here at Intel, we believe and I am sure we all agree that smart girls are an equivalent of a smart world.

What we seek is to encourage you to do your best in school and seize the opportunity to build a world where youths are inspired to be advocates for change,” Ekundare said.

Its Corporate Affairs Manager, Babatunde Akinola, said the programme aims to close the gender gap in digital literacy. He reiterated Intel’s commitment towards providing technical resources and expertise to deliver digital literacy training, online peer networks and gender relevant content to empower girls and women in Nigeria.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), Mrs. Omobolanle Ogunmola, represented by the Director of Education, Mrs. Yetunde Akin-Taylor, said the Lagos State government is at the forefront of women empowerment. She said the state has 21 functional skill acquisition centres which train women on different skills.

Ogunmola noted that ‘She Will Connect’ has benefited over 6,000 women.

Group urges transparency in agric spending

T

HE Vice President, Ag riculture, Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON) Mr Stephen Oladipupo has urged the government to ensure accountability in spending on projects in the agriculture sector if it is to succeed in the war to reduce hunger.

He noted that well-meant programmes have run into serious problems because there were no credible mechanisms to track inputs and establish accurate data.

While it is imperative the government rise to the challenge of hunger, he warned against allowing government departments to collect monies from donors in the names of promoting agriculture when actual fact, such monies are transferred to private coffers instead of the projects which the monies were allocated for.

With the vibrancy

brought into governance by the new administration, Oladipupo noted that the government needs to share knowledge and engage with stakeholders, in particular, the private sector to ensure that funds meant for agriculture actually generate economic returns and further the development agenda to reduce hunger.

He stressed that one of the main challenges in the agric sector is verifying claims of government agencies, especially where there are no measurable milestones or indicators of performance.

With high hope of change expected from the Bush’s administration, Oladipupo said there is need for every political and financial incentives to promote agriculture as evaluation of past performance still fall behind the promises.

UNCTAD, World Bank, IMF mull lending rules • Continued on page 26 multilateral loans, as well as their long-repayment periods as the incentives for obtaining the credit, and not so much the projects they are intended to execute.

“That is probably the allure of many governments in the Third World in piling up loans-upon-loans without accounting for the projects the loans were supposed to address,” one official said, stating that the long-term nature of the pay-back period, “sometime extending to over 30years leaves the borrowers unperturbed, as they would have left office at the time of the debt’s maturity.”

The Nation learnt that other reports in the purview of the international lending institutions, are replete with cases, of loans obtained by government officials, including Nigeria, in which projects for which loans have been fully drawn cannot be located.

An official in a government Debt Department, said in some instances, loans are negotiated and obtained ever before the projects they will be plowed into are conceived.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it would take global enforcement of these upcoming rules for Nigeria’s unbridled appetite for foreign loans to be checked.

27

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

BUSINESS AFRICA

Technology Distributors mulls African expansión

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N indigenous firm and subsidiary of Zinox Group, Technology Distributors said it plans to make further forays into the subSaharan Africa' market with strategies that deliver quality products to growing the entire information communication technology (ICT) eco-system.

The tech firm unveiled its plans for the continent during its annual retreat to usher in the new financial year in its premises.

In a statement, it said the retreat which provided an opportunity for the company to take stock of its performance and growth indices for the last financial year was a huge success, with significant performance figures declared showing an upward trajectory, while putting the company on a sound footing to take a larger share of the market in the new financial year.

According to the statement, TD which marked its 16th anniversary said its mainstream business saw a healthy return in its sales revenue, the other arms of the business also put in a strong showing in the just-

A

By Lucas Ajanaku

ended financial year, with TD Solutions impressive book balance complementing TD Mobile's predominance in the smartphone sector -indicative of the latter's growing presence in the market and newly signed partnerships with smartphone brands such as Lenovo, Techno, Infinix, Injoo, Wiko, Yezz and others.

In addition to the ambition of taking a larger share of the market in the financial year, the retreat witnessed the unveiling of strategies targeted at ensuring better value delivery to solution providers, resellers and end-users while building a more rewarding relationship with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and enterprise partners.

Its Managing Director,Mrs. Chioma Chimere, said: "We have come a long way especially as the pioneer in the field. Sixteen years of sound industry experience and excellent operations are just a few factors which sets TD apart in the

market place.

This is why this new financial year is a key one for us. Our main focus this year is to position the business more strategically as the market leader in the field.

"Apart from empowering more start-ups in the field, the run rate business and our relationships with partners, OEMs and solutions providers will be key. Internally, we

signed a partnership deal with global data storage and IT giants EMC in a strategic alliance which is expected to further extend the frontiers of access to cutting edge technology for end-users in the contemporary business environment while positively enhancing the profile of technology distribution and penetration on the continent.

‘Free MTN airtime to celebrate Buhari’

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HE Chief Executive Officer, Media Perspective, Taiwo Oyedele has said the partnership of the firm with others to give MTN subscribers free airtime is to celebrate the swearing in of Muhammadu Buhari as the new president of the country.

He said the gesture will allow MTN customers to talk for 30 minutes on the network after making threeminute calls which must have been paid for, adding that this is coming at a time of falling oil prices which has affected the per capita disposable

By Lucas Ajanaku

incomes of most Nigerians.

"We have decided to subsidise call rates for MTN customers in the country. MTN is not paying for this service.

We have only partnered with MTN on the Good Morning Nigeria initiative.

It is not going to degrade the integrity of MTN's network because the company has over the years, invested so much money to make the best in the country.

"The initiative begins from between 5-8am. This is not peak period, so it is

not going to affect the integrity of calls coming and going out of the network," he said, adding that it was designed to cushion the effects of the hard times.

Speaking further, he said it is not an MTN promo, arguing that partners such as Coca Cola, Mansard, ARM, Jumia and Samsung are footing the bill for the initiative. He said all an MTN subscriber needed to do is to type GMNI- and send to 131 for its activation.

"Our ultimate goal is to bring value to all Nigerians who are customers of MTN," he added.

NAC trains 144 auto technicians

BOUT 144 auto technicians at the weekend in Lagos graduated from a two-week training programme on maintenance and tyre repairs organised by the National Automotive Council (NAC).

Its Director-General, Mr Aminu Jalal said the training was meant to close the skill gap of auto mechanics in the repair of modern generation vehicles in the country.

Jalal, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the DG,Mr Abubakar Dalhat, said it was discovered from a skill gap analysis conducted in the country that majority of the mechanics in Nigeria lack the relevant knowledge about vehicle electrical and electronic components repair.

"Technology in the auto sector advances continually and at a very fast pace. Most cars on our roads today are built with a lot of electronically controlled systems.

"The only way to meet up with this advancement is training and re-training and the council will continue to partner with all stakeholders to en-

By Toba Agboola

sure our mechanics keep up to date."

Jalal said that the gap necessitated the commencement of various retraining programmes for auto mechanics since 2006 till date.

He said the training was also to reduce the number of road accidents in the country which the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) attributes to wrong choice, use and repair of tyres.

The DG said the training would enable participants repair, maintain tyres adequately and advice their clients on the proper purchase and use of tyres.

According to him, the programme was to enhance capacity building in line with the approved National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP).

Dean of School of Engineering, Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), Ikorodu, Mr Muiz Ashaolu, said the training would assist auto technicians to be abreast with latest trends in the world.

•From left: CTO, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), Mr. James Agada; CEO, Mr. Austin Okere; MD GIMAC, Mr. Valentin Mbozo'o, and Head Applications, Mr. Valentine Essimbi Jean Valentin, during Groupement Interbancaire Monétique de l'Afrique Centrale (GIMAC) working visit to CWG's corporate head office, Lekki, Lagos.

MAN urges economic diversification

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RITISH American Tobacco Nigeria, BATN, has been praised by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, for promoting high quality standards in its operating environment which is consistent with international standards.

The MAN President, Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs, gave the commendation during a visit by delegation from the association to British American Tobacco factory in Ibadan, recently.

Dr. Jacobs observed that one of the major responsibilities of MAN is to provide its members with the means of formulating and communicating general policies with respect to industrial, labour and technical matters.

By Muyiwa Lucas

"I commend BATN for operating in an environment that is consistent with global standards. As part of our processes, it is essential for us to ensure that our members' operating systems are consistent with the provisions of MAN, one of which is the promotion of an enabling environment for industrial development, growth and prosperity of the society," said Dr Jacobs.

Speaking on the call for the suspension of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) for manufacturing companies, Dr Jacobs said the EEG is a very important initiative that supports the government's diversification of the economy.

"The only way the manufacturing companies can be encouraged to drive the diversification of the economy is when they are provided with unique incentives, which in this case could be given in form of Export Expansion Grant," he said.

Dr Jacob praised the players in the manufacturing sector for their resilience, despite various challenges such as poor power.

He also urged them to rise above the prevalent challenges, knowing that there is hope that the situation will improve.

Managing Director, BATN, Mr. Chris McAllister, said the company has contributed immensely to Nigeria's economic growth and development.

ICS hosts human resources roundtable

I

have also done a rigorous review of our entire operations for better output in the new financial year.

We have recruited more capable hands in key areas of the business and also diversified the TD Solutions arm into the Volume and Value segments as part of our strategies to take control of the market place."

About three weeks ago, the firm

NTEGRATED Corporate Serv ices ((ICS) Limited, a business support solutions firm, has hosted human resources (HR) professionals and business leaders to a breakfast meeting tagged ‘ICS HR Roundtable’.

The event was one to teach the participants on the need to gather data and utilise metrics for analytics to aid strategic decisions.

Participants were also given the privilege to witness a demonstration of the dash board and practical guides on how to measure important and relevant metrics in human resources to

By Olatunde Odebiyi

drive business strategy and achieve business objectives.

The theme of the event was ‘’Enhancing HR Metrics to Drive Business Performance’’, it was held at Protea Hotel.

Its Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Mr Femi Olatide said the event was inspired by the passion to provide a platform to foster knowledge sharing and expand business network amongst HR and business leaders. He added that it was designed to meet the needs of HR profession-

als and business leaders following their quest to have a point of convergence to discuss current and emerging HR trends, challenges and best global practices as key strategic business leaders.

He said the programme was part of the company’s initiative to give back to her stakeholders as it marks its 20th anniversary.

One of the guest facilitator, Dr Joel Omeike spoke on the topic; “Enhancing HR metrics to drive business performance”, while Mr Ayodeji Folarin, another guest facilitator spoke on; “Dash board demonstration”.

Micro Station opens Ibadan outlet IN line with its commitment to deepening access to affordable and cuttingedge mobile devices, Micro Station Limited, a leading telecoms and mobile devices retailing firm in the country, has opened its Ibadan retail outlet.

The new state-of-the-art retail outlet offers a one-stop shop where Nigerians can meet all their telecommunications and computing needs.

Before now, existing Micro Station outlets in Victoria Island, Otigba Street in Computer Village, Awolowo Way in Ikeja, Oshogbo; Ikorodu, Mushin and Sango-Otta, as well as at the Kodesho Road, Ikeja have continued to serve the company's growing customers in the area of access to affordable, stylish and demand-meeting devices.

Speaking on the development in Lagos, the company's Managing Director, Mrs. Tinuola Coutroupis, said this was in line with the company's vision to constantly deliver affordable mobile devices to Nigerians.

"This latest branch was open for business early in May, on Iwo Road, Baba Onilu Bus Stop, Ibadan. We deemed it necessary to site this branch in Ibadan to be able to service our numerous customers from that part of the country," she explained.

She also said that the target audience for the new outlet cuts across mobile device users of all levels, considering the economic and socio-cultural nature of the people of Ibadan and its environs in the South Western Nigeria.

In a related development, Micro Station said it is commencing a customer loyalty programme by the beginning of the third quarter to reward its customers with rebates, freebies and other mind-blowing gifts.

Head, Retail Businesses and Services, Micro Station, Mr. Emmanuel Ekuma, said the loyalty scheme, powered by Interswitch Nigeria, is first of its kind in the industry.

According to him, the reward scheme, which seeks to continually appreciate the company's numerous customers for their loyalty and patronage over the years, requires a simple process for customers to key into and avail themselves of the benefits in the loyalty scheme.

Explaining how it works, Ekuma said: "Our customers, who visit any of our outlets across the country, spend as little as N4, 000 and earn a hundred points by so doing. They stand to win fantastic gifts from 300 points and beyond. Upon attaining 1,500 points, they stand to enjoy a discount of 2.5 per cent for life.

"In addition, our customers can enjoy one per cent discount on every purchase valued at N25, 000 and above. This is part of the measure we are taking towards ensuring our corporate social responsibility by rewarding our customers whilst making them have pleasurable shopping experiences."

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

28

SPECIAL REPORT

Rethinking local operatorship of Nigeria’s oil acreage after NPDC’s legacy of failures With the huge success recorded by Seplat Petroleum Development Company , a 100 per cent Nigerian company that acquired Shell’s divested oil blocks in oil mining leases (OMLs) 4, 38, 41, it has become imperative to transfer the operatorship of OMLs 30, 34, 40, 42 to the Nigerian independents that bought Shell’s shares in the assets if the Federal Government will achieve its aspirations in oil and gas production and reserves increase, writes AKINOLA AJIBADE

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ECENTLY, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) informed the nation that the oil reserve had dwindled from the 37 billion barrels it was two years ago, to 35 billion barrels. As it is, 90 percent of Nigeria’s revenues come from oil, even though its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is still less than 38 per cent. The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company’s (NPDC), the exploration and production arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC ), has not helped matters in increasing the reserves as its daily oil production continues to reduce. The development implies that NPDC produces far less than expected from the several acreages it operates including the Shell divested assets.

Evidently, something is wrong.

Going back to 2012, when Shell sold its 30 per cent stakes, and 15 per cent stakes of its partners, Agip (Eni) and Total in Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 30, 34, 40 and 42 to Nigerian Independents; Heritage Oil, ND Western Limited, ElandStarcrest and Neconde Energy respectively, it was all like arrival of a new era for indigenous companies, the oil and gas industry, and the country. The overall anticipation was that, these companies will increase production and boost reserves from the different oil blocks they acquired, which in turn will add value to the economy, contribute to the manufacturing sector and enhance Local Content programme.

However, NPDC’s control of these OMLs left these projections unattained. The intended partnership between NPDC and local players was meant to boost production, and not reduce it. As it appears, most of the acreages being ‘operated by the NPDC are presently underutilised due to bureaucracies.

Clearly, the intent of government in creatiing opportunities for local operators and adding value to

the nation through the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010, is being endangered with NPDC’s actions, and it may not be in the nation’s interest at this time.

For instance, the decrease in production from OML 42, has made it obvious that the NPDC partnership with its Joint Venture (JV) partners may not have yielded as much success. Aside that, the production levels have not been optimal, the unethical display to retain control, without taking cognisanse of its effect on the country, call for examination.

NPDC’s staff strike to protest the recent transfer of operatorship of OML 42 to Neconde Energy, came with the accusation that the Nigerian company is incompetent to act as operator of the oil block. The striking workers of NPDC had said the company has wielded its numerous ‘years of experience in the sector, therefore, it should remain as an operator of the divested acreages, while the local companies remain as Joint Venture (JV) partners. It is important to note that while the local companies which bought the acreages from Shell may not have the number of years NPDC is banding around, it is noteworthy that these companies have in their individual capacities, made impact in the oil and gas industry. This is the reason they came together to form a consortium. In essence, their coming together would create better competition for the industry and result in increased production.

Ordinarily, with NPDC’s many years of work experience, and its understanding of how the oil industry works, the subsidiary should not be traducing the creation of consortia as inconsequential. It is not uncommon in the oil and gas industry, globally and locally for companies to come together, bringing their strengths to attain synergy on a project or some subject matter. In essence, Neconde is not a ‘group of

inexperienced people coming together to form a company solely for profit motive, rather, it signposts tested and established firms uniting to get the best from a venture. Neconde for instance, like the other companies that bought Shell’s stakes, is an incorporated Nigerian independent, which partnered with some European firms as financiers. The consortium consists of Nestoil, which has proven itself in the engineering service sector, Polish-based Kulczyk Oil Ventures Inc, as well as Folawiyo Energy.

While, the Nigerian companies do not necessarily have the requisite years of experience that NPDC has, they have nonetheless proven to be more efficient. It is imperative that they get an opportunity to operate the acreages, take up the responsibility of improving production, and make technical decision as they lead in funding, to achieve an expansion in oil production just like the indigenous company Seplat has shown.

Seplat, a Nigerian company, has become a point of reference to the efficiency of local players that operate their OMLs. The company escaped the partnership contraption with NPDC and that is the reason it excelled.

At the acquisition of OMLs 4, 38 and 41, the assets were producing 30,000 bopd but now Seplat has increased the production to 70,000 bopd.

The story is different for OML 42 which is operated by NPDC. There is no success story to share. Actually, when the Sales Purchase Agreement was concluded between Shell and Neconde in 2011, when Shell was the operator, the output from OML 42 was 15, 000 bopd but by April 2013, two years after, the production decreased to 13, 241bopd.

From all indication, NPDC’s aggressive dismissal of Neconde as a resourceful operator, shows it is time to deal with the subsidiary’s continued perpetuation, and unwillingness to give up its preemptive operatorship to local operators in the business. Further-

more, operatorship of the assets by the local companies will have positive impact on the industry because they will ensure expansion of technical expertise, and increase production using Seplat’s case. This shows that with adequate liberty, the local companies are capable of making great impact.

Again, NPDC should know there is no point brandishing “years of experience” if the result achieved so far has shown only redundancy and slowness. In this new age of oil exploration, with improving technology, there is a great need for dynamism and a high-level of financial and technical commitment, both of which NPDC may not be able to offer completely at this time.

Presently, NPDC is a company enmeshed in bureaucratic issues, and its concern is genuinely not for national interest, as its productivity continues to dwindle. For one, it does not have access to money it generates, and there is the lingering issue of poor spending which gives room to the subsidiary continually running out of supplies during operation, and leaving its performance perpetually below standard. Viewing its inadequacies, it is rather unreasonable that NPDC would conduct a strike that reduces power supply and upset the nation’s economic growth at large, to effect a rather selfish interest.

On the Local Content Policy in the oil and gas industry, the Nigerian Content Development Act of 2010 was created to open up opportunities for indigenous participation in the industry in order to add value to the nation, by promoting a transfer of technology and skills to Nigerian workforce in the industry.

The importance of the policy is borne from the fact that Nigeria’s development as a nation is hinged on industrialisation. And with oil and gas being the highest source of our revenue, it is imperative that a lot of focus is given to the localisation policy. It is expected that ownership of assets and development of local capacities will increase em-

• GMD NNPC, Dr Joseph Dawha

ployment opportunities and open up the production of local goods. In the past, significant proportion of this amount was paid to foreign contractors for services like fabrication and engineering procurement. The result of this action is capital flight that offers Nigeria’s industrial base rather little.

One valid fact is that the Local Content policy is important in the development of Nigerian small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and opening up of opportunitis for Nigerians in areas such as fabrication and transportation; procurement, control systems and ICT; design and engineering; and consultancy, while stimulating growth in the banking and insurance industries. Local Content development will definitely stimulate manufacturing, which is key to the growth of any economy. When this advantage is added to Nigeria’s population of 170 million, we should expect to get a requisite industrial revolution.

It is evident that NPDC’s tantrums is slowing down the possibilities achievable through the Local Content and undermining the performance of prospective local operators like Neconde. With the recent crisis of production, which essentially was caused by NPDC, it is important for the new government to rethink local operatorship of Nigeria’s oil acreages by independents against state control. This is a time when the country needs a leap into a decade of revolutionary industrialisation, and it is important that those in the private sector who are braving the tide against rife corrupt practices and waste in the industry are not frustrated by the likes of NPDC.

EMPOWERMENT CLINIC

Plying the precise path to the peak

By Goke Ilesanmi

good idea you conceive and believe in as an individual or organisation, you definitely can achieve.

• Ilesanmi

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HATEVER is worth doing at all is worth doing well.

Therefore, it is imperative to aspire to be at the peak of your career or business. That is, the highest level. To achieve this feat, you must have the mentality that the sky is the beginning not the limit of your potential for personal or corporate success because you are capable of reaching farther into the success moon and stars through exceptional commitment, outstanding performance and/or distinction. Your ambition is attainable because whatever

Great ideas and self-motivation To be able to ply your way to the peak, you must have great ideas and prepare. Great ideas are the main asset you need to succeed because all accomplishments begin with an idea. It is noteworthy, however, that creative and innovative ideas are in short supply, and so are people who can turn them into reality. Self-motivation is another tonic necessary for getting to the topmost level. The purpose of motivation is to get specific actions, and the willingness to act on your ideas is as important as the ideas themselves.

Distinction To get to the peak, you also need to be thirsty for excellence. To achieve excellence, you must aspire to be ahead of your peers. You must be sitting when they are sleeping; standing when they are sitting; outstanding when they are standing;

standing out when they are outstanding. Even when some of them try to stand out, you ensure you become the standard with which their stand-out is being gauged. Despite your achievements, you must not rest on your laurels because of the danger of complacency to the ability to successfully race to the peak of your success. Never settle for an average life especially that God wants to launch you past the middle to the top.

Vision statement and success name Vision statements that articulate leadership aspiration and personal or corporate names suggestive of success or wealth are also capable of challenging people and organisations to spring past the middle rungs of the success ladder to the peak. For instance, if your corporate vision statement reads, “To be the pacesetter in the ABC industry”, you will be motivated to work extra-hard to be the leader. Also names that indicate outstanding success make individuals or corporate organisations work hard to avoid being mocked for failing to live up to the meaning of such

names. If your name is Arowolo (“I have sufficient money”) for instance, you will naturally be compelled to work hard and live the life of affluence that matches such a name. Peak-success names chosen by organisations like First Bank, Zenith Bank, Globacom, etc., largely challenge them to perform well.

Recent experience I was invited to the Lagos School Prefects’ Leadership Summit recently as a keynote speaker to discuss the theme of “Getting to the Leadership Peak in School and Society”. To arrest attention and ensure effective participation of the audience largely made up of school pupils, I asked this question, “What is the meaning of peak?” Then one of them confidently stood up and said, “Peak means Peak Milk.”

Expectedly, most people laughed.

But I urged them not to make jest of him because even many old people still ask you to give them “Daily Times” when they want to say “Newspaper” while many still use the word “Indomie” for any type of noodles. I said if we considered

the boy’s age and how FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria PLC’s flagship brand, Peak Milk has maintained nutritional peak performance that matches its name in the 60 years of the firm’s operations in Nigeria now, the audience would not blame him. I added that names like Buhari, Jonathan, Kanu, Okocha, etc., sound like exclusive names of some specific people alone because of their peak achievements, even though other people equally bear these names. We will continue next week.

PS: For those making inquiries about our Public Speaking, Business Presentation and Professional Writing Skills programme, please visit the website indicated on this page for details.

GOKE ILESANMI, Managing Consultant/CEO of Gokmar Communication Consulting, is an International Platinum Columnist, Professional Public Speaker/MC, Communication Specialist, Motivational Speaker and Career Management Coach. He is also a Book Reviewer, Biographer and Editorial Consultant.

Tel: 08055068773; 08187499425 Email: gokeiles2010@gmail.com W e b s i t e : www.gokeilesanmi.com

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

29

ISSUES There is little to cheer about the increase in the electricity supply announced by power generating companies (GENCOs). The gap between generation, which is around 3,000megawatts and consumers’ demand remains too wide, thus hurting both the formal and informal sectors of the economy, writes AKINOLA AJIBADE.

• Power equipment

Power outages take toll on businesses, economy T

HAT the nation's power sector is still on its knees is an understatement.

This is because the sector has defied all efforts and interventions by the government to address it.

Although a glimmer of hope came for electricity consumers with the privatisation of the power sector, the recent drop in power generation to about 1,327 megawatts (Mw), may have eroded any hope of respite soon.

While there was cheery news of an increase in power generation to over 3, 000Mw, last week, consumers seem unperturbed because of the epileptic voyage electricity has been on in the country.

Nigerians have not failed to express their frustrations, pains and anger over the situation. For instance, 50-year-old David Omozuapo, is sad the sector is in a critical condition, resulting in its inability to provide enough electricity to meet the needs of about170 million people in the country.

He said irregular power supply is not only a common feature in the country, but that the outages have negative financial,

material and physiological effects on individuals and businesses. Omozuapo, an employee of Classy Frozen Foods Limited in Egbeda, a suburb of Lagos, said it has been pretty difficult and painful coping with the power situation in the country, adding that the issue is having serious effects on businesses.

Recounting his experience, he said the impact of poor electricity supply is beginning to take a toll on his company, which has resorted to running generators the whole day to stay in

‘

business. "My company buys four drums of diesels for its two Perkins brand of generators.

A drum costs N32,000, while four drums cost N128,000. In a month, we spend N4million on diesels to power the equipment in our cold room in Egbeda, and this translates to N12million when one considers the cost of fuelling generators in the other three cold rooms under our care," he said.

Omozuapo, who hails from Agenebode, in Edo State, said his firm enjoys four hours of

It is sad to hear that an occupant of a three-bedroom apartment was charged N500,000 for some months because she does not have a meter. This was done in the name of estimated billing. How on earth can one explain that? A residential apartment? That is ridiculous but that is the sad situation we find ourselves even under the so-called private investors

’

electricity a day, which, according to him, was barely enough to meet its needs. He said the company battles with wastes, despite using generators to compliment the supply from the grid.

"The power, we derive from generators is not enough to meet the capacity of the equipment used in our cold room. There are eight compressors in our coal room, in addition to other electrical devices installed within our company.The inability to get enough energy for these equipment has resulted in the loss of several cartons of frozen foods such as fish, turkey and chickens running into millions of naira. The perishable products get spoilt once there is no power supply. For instance, a carton of chicken goes for N9, 000 and when nine cartons get spoilt, the company loses N90, 000. Cases abound where between 90 and 100 cartons of frozen foods get spoilt in a day," he said.

Prior to this period, the company, he said, was losing an average of 30, 40, or 50 cartons of chickens to power outage. "But as the electricity supply worsens, more cartons were being lost by the company. Besides is the frustration experienced by customers when there is no light to freeze the foods we are sell. Based on this, the losses incurred, as a result of the epileptic power supply are huge and unquantifiable," he said. He said about N2 million is being spent to repair his company's generators over the last six months due to the fact that the generators are digitalised.

Aside Omozuapo, more Nigerians bemoan the state of the nation's electricity • Continued on page 30

30

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

ISSUES

• Nebo

• Amadi

Power outages take toll on businesses, economy

•Continued from page 29

sector. One of them is Friday Adewunmi, who operates a barbing salon in Bariga, Lagos.

According to him, the effects of poor power supply have been terrible on him. Business, he said, has been bad and running at a loss as he uses generator daily and every week.

As a small scale business operator, he said he spends an average of N1, 000 daily to fuel his generator. This development, according to him, has made him to increase his cost of services to consumers. The business environment, he said, has been challenging and his colleagues in the barbing business, a development, which he said requires application some measures for them to survive.

He said: "As a matter of fact, barbing saloon operators have resolved to increase charges as the need arises. In fact, the Barbing Saloon Association of Nigeria (BSAN) has directed its members to charge uniform price or risked sanctions. The directive was issued to operators at the National, Zonal and State levels to ensure compliance. A team was set up to monitor erring operators with a view to ensure discipline and compliance. The reason behind the introduction of these measures was to enable operators survive the harsh economic climate. The group believes that there is no way barbing saloon operators can survive if they do not factor the cost of fuel into the cost of production in line with the prevailing economic parameters such as high inflationary rates, high cost of living, and others.''

He is not alone in his thought, a fashion designer, who identified himself as Segun David said he has been having problems meeting the demands of his customers because of irregular power supply. He said he could not carry out embroidery work, and other designs, due to power problems.

He said fashioning designing is an area that requires good skills, and use of electronic sewing materials, adding that companies like Vivid Imagination Limited, which happen to be his neighbour at Obanikoro, Lagos are at advantage because of the kind of equipment it uses.

He said he has resorted to using bigger generators to work in order not to disappoint customers. This, he said, made him to spend a lot of money to fuel the generator in order to remain in business.

"I cannot recollect the number of customers lost to power outage. Many after experiencing disappointment one or two times abandon me for another fashion designer. I have pleaded severally, but they have refused to come back.

Hardly can one see any tailor or fashion designer that has not experience this problem.

Power is a major problem affecting both formal and informal operators in the country, '' he said.

Also affected are people working in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector. Operators in this sector require constant access to power to achieve a reasonable level of productivity. Given the fact that many ICT companies use equipment such as Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) and others to save energy and work for a while in the event that there is a power failure, they are equally lamenting the problems in the sector.

Bunmi Olabiyi, a cybercafe operator, said she spends N3,000 to fuel her 5000-litre generator daily. She said there is a limit to which UPS and other energy saving equipment can be put to use, arguing that people need stable power to surf the internet well.

"In my neighborhood, virtually all the operators of cybercafe use generators the whole day to stave off competition. Nobody cares about the cost of fueling generators because they are looking for customers. Is either you provide

•Abiodun-Ajifowobaje, Chief Executive Officer, Ikeja Electric

enabling environment for customers to come to your shop or lose them,'' she said.

Also, Olanike Akinwumi, a registered nurse with Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, said many people go through psychological problems following the usage of generators in their homes. She said many people are suffering from insomnia, or sleeplessness, due to the noises emanating from generators.

"Some generators make noise such that people are not be able to sleep. More worrisome is the fact that some people use old generators, a development which suggests that they need to spend a lot of money to repair them. Even at that, they find it difficult to reduce the noise of level of such generators. Any man who is unable to sleep for days is prone to danger. This could result in low productivity, memory loss, and death. Based on this, people should be sensitised on ways of avoiding smokes from generators,” she said.

While not expressing happiness over the state of the power sector, Bunmi urged users of electricity, especially business owners to try and get generators, among providing other alternative sources of energy, stressing that the government appears not ready to fix the sector.

In the words of Barrister Ponle Olurotimi, the problems in the power sector are complex and defy solution. Olurotimi, a Lagos-based lawyer, said an average Nigerian uses generators a lot because power is not regular. She said people must bear the cost of using generators, irrespective of the size they use at homes and offices. She said generators are used, by people, in homes, offices, churches and other religious centres, adding that fumes from generators are deadly.

Experts have described deaths caused by inhaling the poisonous fumes from generation as asphyxiaties, which according to Wilikedia, is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. They said many people have died from generators fumes, a fact which corroborated the assertion of former Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo that millions of generators coming to Nigeria yearly have done more harm than good since they produce fumes that have resulted in the death of many.

"We call the deaths asphyxia deaths, because it resulted from lack of oxygen. It is like when you are choked through strangulation. But this time around (it is the case of generator fumes).

Strangulation, which is the inability to breath in oxygen is similar to what happen with asphyxiation or death caused by generation fumes; where oxygen is depleted and there is more of carbon monoxide," says Dr John Adanike of Zion Hospital, Ikotun, Lagos. He

said one way of knowing that asphyxiation or inhaling of fumes is the cause of somebody's death is when a cherry red colour is noticed on his organ.

Also, Dr Ibitayo Oyeniyi of Holy Cross Hospital in Ibadan, Oyo State said fumes from generators are deadly and should be avoided by people.

"The fume is a silent killer because you can't smell, taste or see it most of the time. It just keeps accumulating in the system, especially through the lungs. It causes havoc when it enters into the blood stream, until the person becomes unconscious. It is an instant killer, when the concentration is high as it affects haemoglobin in the red blood cell and so forms carboxyhaemoglobin.This replaces the oxygen and prevents the blood from carrying out its functions, including transporting oxygen around the body. That leads to death. In the past few years, an average of five million people were reportedly died of smokes and related causes by the World Health Organisation (WHO),'' he said.

He added: "There is the need for people to be educated properly to know what to do, especially in places where fumes are being generated for a long period of time. People should be made to understand they do not need to move closer to where generators are sited.

Proximity to generators is bad because the tendency of inhaling smokes is high.''

Apart from these are issues relating to high tariff, and shortage of meters. The issues have generated controversy in the sector, resulting in the trading of blames between electricity consumers and the government/power firms.

The former Chief Executive Officer, Neimeth International Pharmaceutical Plc, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, said the health hazards caused by the use of generators are huge, adding that the Federal Government was responsible for the pollution in the country.

"In industrial clusters such as Ikeja, Ota, and others depend only on generators for operations. Though some companies partnered together to own Independent Power Plants (IPPs), generator is still common. The smokes from the industrial generators are heavy, and deadly. People in areas where such generators are used are in danger. They may not know the implications of the smokes they are inhaling until they fall sick. While members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) say they are providing alternative sources of energy in order to continue to stay in business, they are indirectly contributing to the death of many people through the smokes coming out of their generators, he said.

While this lasted, consumers are accusing the government of imposing huge tariffs on them without guaranteeing stable power.

‘

The power, we derive from generators is not enough to meet the capacity of the equipment used in our cold room. There are eight compressors in our coal room in addition to other electrical devices installed within our company. The inability to get enough energy for these equipment has resulted in the loss of several cartons of frozen foods such as fish, turke and chicken running into millions of naira

’

One of them is Chief Ade-Owas Owabumuwa, who is the Chairman, Amuwo Odofin Estates, Lagos. He said electricity consumers are going through difficult times, urging government to do something about their plight.

He said many residents in the estate do not have meters, adding that they pay huge bills monthly. He said his people are tired of hearing promises from the management of Ikeja Electric that they would be given meters soon.

He said one of his neighbours who lives in a three-bedroom apartment was charged N500,000.

He said: “It is sad to hear that an occupant of a three-bedroom apartment was charged N500,000 for some months because she does not have a meter. This was done in the name of estimated billing. How on earth can one explain that? A residential apartment? That is ridiculous but that is the sad situation we find ourselves even under the so-called private investors.''

However, the government said it is doing all it could to provide appropriate tariff and improve power supply. Nebo had said the government was following due process on issues of fixing of tarrifs, metering of houses, generation and distribution, and transmission of electricity, among others.

According to him, appropriate pricing regime was used, by the government, to determine the tarrifs individual and corporate consumer pay, adding that the government is not short-changing consumers as alleged in some quarters.

He said the government has commissioned many power plants, and transmission substations to improve electricity supply in Nigeria, adding that power is going to improve with time. He said Ayobo-Ipaja transmission sub-stations was one of the projects inaugurated by the government to improve power supply.

The former minister said ministry was working towards ensuring the attainment of constant electricity in 2015, despite the unique challenges ahead, adding that despite the unique challenges ahead, the government is going to improve power supply.

"We are not saying constant power supply by June this year that is an error. We are saying there will be improved power supply. If you were getting eight hours and you now get 10 hours or 12 it is improved; if you were getting 16 hours and you get 18 hours and 22, it is an improvement.That is what we are shouting for.

But the ultimate uninterrupted power supply, which the Federal Government promised has to come much later,'' he added.

Also, the Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr Sam Amadi, said the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) is the most acceptable method of fixing tariffs, adding that the Commission does things in line with the provisions of MYTO. "In December 2014 when NERC unfolded plans to embark on upward review of tariffs for individuals and corporate organisations in 2015, it does so in line with the provisions of the MYTO. Regarding the issue of tariffs, the Commission has been trying to be fair with the consumers; only that the consumers are not ready to pay their bills as and when due. Apart from the fixed charge of N750 which consumers are expected to pay for using the government facilities like poles, and others, the Commission has never been fair to consumers on issues bordering on payment of tariffs.''

Corroborating Amadi was the Managing Director, Jehata Nigeria Limited, Jameel jammal, who said the issue of tarrifs and irregular power supply is a problem to consumers.

Jammel, whose company owns Abuja Power Station, Abaji, said infrastructural deficit in the sector is a problem the government should address to improve power supply.

Corroborating Amadi was Mrs Bola Ojurongbe, the Manager in charge of consumers, of Ikeja Electric, who said the power distribution companies (DISCOs) are putting in place measures to ensure metering of houses under their jurisdictions. She said her company is planning to roll out meters in large quantities to enable more people have metres and pay less bills.

She said customers have protested several times that they are paying estimated bills because they do not have meters adding that efforts are being made to address the problems.

She said Ikeja Electric is working to ensure proper metering of buildings under its jurisdiction, provide meters to people among other measures that would alleviate the suffering of consumers. Though stakeholders such as the government, DISCOs, GENCOs, and others are working together to improve supply.The question is: How soon will the goals be achieved.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

31

MONEYLINK

N8b currency scam: GIABA writes CBN, EFCC for details

T

HE Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) at the weekend said it had written to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to update it on the alleged N8 billion currency scam involving 22 bankers.

Six CBN officials and 16 others from Zenith Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank, Wema Bank, Access Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Skye Bank, Eco Bank and Sterling Bank are facing trial for the alleged fraud.

The suspects, the EFCC alleged, stole and recirculated defaced and mutilated currencies and are facing

Stories by Collins Nweze

trial.

Head, GIABA Office Nigeria, Timothy Melaye told The Nation that alleged fraud has dented the CBN image, and that of the country, which is a signatory to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

“Nigeria is a member of FATF, and as a member, should be above board in matters regarding fraud, money laundering and illegitimate transactions,” he said.

The FATF is the global standard setting body for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).

In its efforts to enforce greater compliance with acceptable Inter-

national Standards, the FATF, in collaboration with FATF Styled-Regional Bodies (FSRBs) undertake targeted review of countries/jurisdictions identified with strategic AML/CFT deficiencies with a view to protecting the international financial system from Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF) risks arising from such deficiencies.

The FATF had in October, 2013 removed Nigeria from the list of countries identified as jurisdictions with significant deficiencies in their Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes.

The global anti-money laundering body gave its countenance to

Nigeria’s significant progress in improving its AML/CFT regime and noted that the country had established the legal and regulatory framework to meet its commitments in its Action Plan regarding the strategic deficiencies that the FATF evaluators had identified previously.

It called for more effective international cooperation including exchange of information between competent authorities, conduct of joint investigations, and tracing, freezing and confiscation of illegal assets is enjoined.

Melaye also said GIABA has been supporting the EFCC in fight against corruption. He advised the Federal Government to increase

FirstBank supports LEAP Africa CEO Forum

F

IRSTBANK is supporting and participating in the LEAP Africa 10th CEO Forum holding this week in Lagos. This year’s conference, with the theme: Staying Ahead: Maximising Profits and Mitigating Risks, is a platform for interaction, knowledge sharing and partnerships between Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and leading private and public sector firms with cutting-edge solutions.

The bank’s role is another intervention to boost capacity and foster the growth and development of small and medium scale businesses in Nigeria. The forum would expose business owners to the importance of succession planning, instituting effective systems, structures and ethical leadership within their organisations to ensure long term sustainability.

As part of its commitment to nation building and economic development, FirstBank launched the SMEConnect engagement programme in 2013 geared towards

building the capacity of SMEs to deliver business goals and contribute more significantly to national development.

The Bank’s SME Seminar Series, themed: We can help with that, is part of this engagement, with focus on providing practical help on relevant challenges faced by small

businesses such as capacity building, business plan writing, marketing products and services, as well as accessing bank loans and documentation, amongst other curriculum.

The bank’s Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, said

said SMEs are a critical aspect of the nation’s economy and holds the key to sustainable development and our long term survival as a nation. “FirstBank is committed to nation building, and the SME market is one of our strategic platforms to stimulate economic development”, she stated.

Ecobank Rapid Transfer wins award

E

COBANK Rapid Transfer has been named the winner of the Best Remittance Product in Africa Award at The Asian Banker’s second Annual Middle East and Africa Awards held in Dubai at the weekend.

The Asian Banker provides information for the financial services industry in the form of publications, online materials such as e-newsletters, research, and conventions, and other industry gatherings. It is regarded as one of the Asian region’s leading consultancies in financial

services research, benchmarking and intelligence.

Manager, Middle East & Africa, The Asian Banker, Farrah Brake, said the award identifies emerging best practices and outstanding achievements in retail financial services in the region. She stated that winners were selected after rigorous research.

Executive Director, South South/ South East, Ecobank Nigeria, Kingsley Umadia, said the award was well deserved, as Ecobank has taken remittance business to

higher level on the continent. “As a bank, we are proud to offer the best in remittance product on the continent. We will continue to strive to remain the best and surpass customers’ expectations at all times.”

He explained that Rapid Transfer, one of Ecobank’s Remittance products has achieved tremendous success in the African financial landscape. “This product is facilitating economic integration in the region by making available more accurate statistical data for realistic inter-regional policy decisions”.

funding for EFCC as such would help it in the ongoing fight against graft. “The EFCC is getting the needed support from GIABA and we want the Nigeria government to provide the necessary support for the body do carry out its work more efficiently,” he said.

Interbank lending flat at 8.25%

T

HE interbank lending rate was flat at 8.25 per cent on Friday, unchanged from a week ago, after the effect of a liquidity boost from maturing Treasury bills outweighed Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cash withdrawals, dealers said.

The apex bank withdrew about N39 billion from the banking system to meet a weekly cash reserve requirement and also sold N181.89 billion worth of open market (OMO) bills on Thursday to mop up liquidity.

However, the bank injected N161.9 billion to pay off matured open market (OMO) bills, into an interbank market which had a credit balance of over 200 billion naira, dealers said. “The market is very liquid in spite of Thursday’s cash outflows,” one dealer told Reuters.

Though liquidity is expected to drop this week as the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which sells its dollar oil proceeds to the banking system in exchange for naira, withdraws its deposit to the central bank, he added.

The secured open buy back was unchanged at eight per cent, compared with the benchmark rate of 13 per cent, while the overnight placement was also flat 8.5 per cent.

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS AFRINVEST W. A. EQUITY FUND ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH BGL NUBIAN FUND BGL SAPPHIRE FUND CANARY GROWTH FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CORAL INCOME FUND FBN FIXED INCOME FUND FBN HERITAGE FUND FBN MONEY MARKET FUND FIDELITY NIG FUND • UBA BALANCED FUND • UBA BOND FUND • UBA EQUITY FUND • UBA MONEY MARKET FUND

134.82 37,497.04 9.17 1.12 1.19 0.63 1.39 1,815.11 1,816.89 1,077.44 109.82 1.1978 1.3117 0.7319 1.1349

134.01 37,497.04 9.08 1.12 1.19 0.62 1.33 1,815.11 1,816.89 1,076.79 109.25 1.1912 0.7203 0.7203 1.1349

SYMBOL

O/PRICE

C/PRICE

CHANGE

NEIMETH TRANSCORP AIRSERVICE WEMABANK FO ZENITHBANK OANDO PRESCO FIDSON CUSTODYINS SKYEBANK

1.22 2.70 2.23 0.98 154.00 19.25 17.28 33.50 3.37 3.90 2.53

1.28 2.83 2.33 1.02 159.85 19.97 17.87 34.50 3.47 4.00 2.59

4.92 4.81 4.48 4.08 3.80 3.74 3.41 2.99 2.97 2.56 2.37

LOSERS AS AT 04-06-15

VONO CILEASING NASCON ETERNA RTBRISCOE STERLNBANK UBCAP WAPIC ABCTRANS DIAMONDBNK WAPCO

O/PRICE 1.84 0.73 7.30 2.76 0.78 2.09 1.44 0.52 0.57 4.47 99.40

C/PRICE 1.75 0.70 7.00 2.65 0.75 2.03 1.40 0.51 0.56 4.44 99.00

Inflation:April

8.5%

Monetary Policy Rate

13.0%

Foreign Reserves

CHANGE -4.89 -4.11 -4.11 -3.99 -3.85 -2.87 -2.78 -1.92 -1.72 -0.07 -0.40

FOREX RATES (NairaVs Dollar) May 28, 2015 Interbank ($/N)

199.00

$1

Black Market ($/N)

215.00

$1

$28.2b

London Inter-bank Offered Rates (LIBOR) Oil Price (Bonny Light/b)

$67.91

Money Supply (M2)

GAINERS AS AT 04-06-15

SYMBOL

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

N16.42 trillion.

Credit to private Sector (CPS)

N17.2 trillion

Primary Lending Rate (PLR)

Tenor

16.5%

12-02-15 Rate (%) Rate (%) 13-02-15

Overnight (O/N)

14.683

76.583

1M

15.033

15.977

3M

15.809

17.177

6M

16.493

17.908

Transaction Dates 03/02/2015 3/12/2014 1/12/2014

Amount Offered in ($) 500m 400m 350m

Amount Sold in ($) 499.93m 399.97m 349.96m

Tenor 1 Month 2 Months 3 Months 6 Months 12 Months

May 27

May 28

Rate)%

Rate (%)

0.1735 0.2147 0.2615 0.3841 0.6709

0.1715 0.2108 0.2626 0.3857 0.6744

Nigerian Stock Market Indices 27 May Statistics 5 May All Share Index 34,649.3 29,383.93 Mkt Cap (NGN’bn) 11.8 9,804.36 Deals 3,385 3,714 Volume (mn) 564,28 377,75 Value (NGN’mn) 6,087.80 6,568.66 GOVT. SECURITIES YIELD – SECONDARY MARKET

Tenor

Feb. 13, 2015

Rates

T-bills - 91

12.44

T-bills - 182

13.85

T-bills - 364

13.92

Bond - 3yrs

15.92

Bond - 5yrs

17.22

Bond - 7yrs

16.59

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

32

EQUITIES

Oando gets N49b equity funds as shareholders pick rights

O

ANDO Plc achieved almost full subscription and successfully raised about N48.7 billion from its recent rights issue, according to the listing document on the rights issue.

Shareholders picked up about 2.95 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N16.50 per share, indicating a subscription level of 99.8 per cent for the adjusted rights issue.

The listing of the supplementary shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) increased Oando’s outstanding shares from 9.08 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to 12.03 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, pushing up Oando as the most capitalised oil and gas company.

Oando had initially offered to raise the N48.8 billion from existing shareholders through a rights issue of 2.217 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N22 per share. But it was pressured to reduce the offer price and increased the volume of shares on offer for the rights issue as the downtrend at the stock market kept the market price below the initial rights’ price. Another company, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, which also launched equity issue during the period, was also forced by

By Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

the declining market condition to review its offer price downward.

Trading documents at the Exchange showed that some of the rights’ shares were traded on the Exchange.

Rights’ shares are usually pre-allotted to shareholders in the register of the company at a particular period.

But investors who are not pre-qualified for the rights issue can buy the renounced rights shares at the Exchange. Also, pre-qualified shareholders can demand for additional shares through their rights’ offer acceptance form.

In similar issuance, Oando had in 2013 raised about N55.2 billion from a rights issue, slightly above the initial target of N54.6 billion.

Oando has been deleveraging its balance sheet after the 2014 successful acquisition of the ConocoPhillips’ Nigerian oil and gas assets. The transaction was funded by a combination of equity and debts.

Oando Energy Resources (OER), the exploration and production subsidiary of Oando, recently announced a $238 million prepayment of certain loan facilities, which it utilized

for the $1.5 billion acquisition of the ConocoPhillips Nigerian oil and gas business in July, 2014. The company had realized $234 million by resetting its crude oil hedge floor price from an average of $95.35 per barrel to $65.00 per barrel on 10,615 bbls/ day for the next 18 months and another 1,553 bbls/day for a further 18 months until January 2019. The company planned to pay an additional $4 million from its cash reserves.

The $238 million loan pre-payment, substantially reduced the company’s total debt for the acquisition of ConocoPhillips Nigeria (COPN) from $900 million to $615 million. The company noted that through astute management of its balance sheet, it has managed to reduce its debt by 30 percent in the space of seven months post the acquisition of COPN and also save $65 million in interest payments over the remaining term of the loan.

“We think Oando is a valued stock for the future based on our analysis.

We also think the company’s growth plans are laudable. The only major concern is the issue of its debt exposure and its impact on profitability going forward. However as stated earlier, the hedging strategy seems

to have paid off as it has eased the debt burden somewhat,” Sewa Wusu, head of research and investment advisory at Sterling Capital Markets, said.

According to him, Oando has very bright prospects, once the huge debt burden is over, the company would begin to enjoy significant benefits from all the acquired assets with increased capacity to support growth momentum in terms of earnings.

The COPN acquisition had seen Oando moving from producing circa 5,000 boepd to circa 53,100 boped.

Through a combination of organic growth and mergers and acquisitions the company has indicated that it is looking at producing 100,000 boped by 2019.

Oando is yet to release its full-year audited report and accounts for the 2014 business year. Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Oando for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2014 showed that while turnover dropped by 12.5 per cent, the group drew on improved input and marketing costs to grow gross profit and operating profit by 70.4 per cent and 97.3 per cent respectively. Net profit after tax rose by 75.7 per cent.

‘Why we want to acquire more shares in Unilever’

U

NILEVER Overseas Holdings, the United kingdombased foreign core investor in Unilever Nigeria, is seeking to increase its majority equity stake in the Nigerian subsidiary from 50 per cent to 75 per cent because of the long-term strategic importance of Unilever Nigeria to the global conglomerate.

In a transaction initially valued at about N43 billion or £144.5 million, Unilever Overseas Holdings is seeking to increase its equity stake in the Nigerian company from 50.04 per cent up to a maximum of 75 per cent by buying additional shares from minority shareholders. The tender offer seeks to acquire about 942.42 million ordinary shares in Unilever Nigeria at a price of N45.50 per share in cash.

In a statement signed by Richard Hazell, Director, Unilever Overseas Holdings B.V, Unilever said it was making the additional share acquisition as part of long-term strategic plan by the conglomerate as it believes that Nigeria offers significant

•N43b tender offer closes Wednesday growth potential.

“The Unilever Group has had a major presence in Nigeria for many years and continues to believe that the country offers significant growth potential. This makes Nigeria a strategic long term investment priority for Unilever Overseas. Globally, the Unilever Group is focused on investing in the foods, household and personal care categories and the long heritage and great brands of Unilever Nigeria in these categories in Nigeria make it attractive for Unilever Overseas to increase its holding in Unilever Nigeria, whilst maintaining its stock exchange listing,” Unilever stated in the statement enclosed in the tender offer.

The global conglomerate stated that it has no current intention to delist Unilever Nigeria from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) noting that even with the free float requirement of the NSE, which requires a minimum of 20 per cent of

the issued share capital of a public listed company to be held in the hands of the general public, the tender offer will not impact on the ability of Unilever Nigeria to remain listed on the NSE. Unilever Overseas also does not intend making any changes to the board of directors or management of Unilever Nigeria as a consequence of the offer and the offer will not have any direct impact for employees, according to the statement.

The global conglomerate said it would continue to conduct dealings between the Unilever Group and Unilever Nigeria at arm’s length basis and Unilever Group will remain under no obligation to conduct its operations in Nigeria exclusively through Unilever Nigeria, subject to existing contractual commitments.

The statement however pointed out that the implementation of the tender offer will presumably result

in a reduction of the free float of the ordinary shares and as such, dealings in ordinary shares following implementation of the tender offer will be lower than the date on which the acceptance period commences.

“Accordingly, it is possible that purchase and sell orders relating to ordinary shares will become more difficult to execute. In addition, the possible reduction in liquidity of the ordinary shares could lead to significant price fluctuations of ordinary shares that are available for trading in the future,” Unilever stated.

Acceptance list for the ongoing tender offer closes this Wednesday.

Regulatory reports indicated that the tender offer will close on June 10, while the settlement of consideration will be sometimes in August, 2015 after necessary approvals by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). It is unclear whether the parties to the offer will seek for extension of the acceptance period.

Group turnover stood at N338.11 billion in third quarter 2014 compared with N386.25 billion in corresponding period of 2013. Gross profit meanwhile rose from N70.4 billion in 2013 to N79.60 billion in 2014.

Operating profit also nearly doubled at N36.25 billion in 2014 as against N18.37 billion in 2013. Profit before tax rose marginally from N9.76 billion in third quarter 2013 to N10.18 billion in third quarter 2014.

With tax gain of N523.4 million, group net profit rose to N10.70 billion in 2014 as against N6.09 billion in comparable period of 2013. Earnings per share meanwhile improved from 93 kobo to N1.26.

Stakeholders review capital markets’ integration

S

TAKEHOLDERS in the West African capital markets will tomorrow review the ongoing efforts at integrating the regional markets at the 11th Annual PEARL Public Lecture in Lagos.

This year’s lecture will dwell on “Integrating West African Capital Markets: Issues, Challenges & Prospects”. The lecture will be delivered

by Dr. Adu Anane Antwi, Director General, Ghana’s Securities & Exchange Commission. Director General of the Securities & Exchange Commission, Nigeria, Mr. Mounir Gwarzo is expected as Special Guest of Honour at the Lecture.

The event will be chaired by past president, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Bashorun Jaiye Randle, Chairman, J.K Randle Professional Services while experts in the capital market including Mr. Bola Onadele, Managing Director, FMDQ OTC Plc; Ms. Daisy Ekineh, Chief Operating Officer, Global Mandate Consulting Ltd and Mr. Henry Boyo, Managing Director, Abel Sell Nigeria Ltd will be lead discussants.

In a statement, Mr. Olalekan Adekoya, Secretary, Board of Governors, PEARL Awards Nigeria, said the annual lecture, which was instituted in 2005, provides a forum for seasoned experts and technocrats from the public and private sectors to brainstorm on contemporary and emergent issues in capital market development.

Hayat Kimya targets 30% of Nigerian market •Plans for a new factory in Nigeria

H

AYAT Kimya, world’s fifth largest diaper manufacturer, plans to make Nigeria the production hub of its West and Central Africa operations and grow its operations substantially within the next three years to cover about 30 per cent market share in Nigeria.

Hayat Kimya, a subsidiary of Hayat Holdings, has strong global operations in Europe with $3 billion revenue and $4 billion assets. Headquartered in Turkey, Hayat Kimya manufactures in Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, Iran, Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia Herzegovina and Russia.

Chief executive officer, Hayat Kimya, Mr. Avni Kiðýlý, said the company saw great potential in the Nigerian market as the key to the West African markets, especially with Nigeria’s dynamic young population.

“We are committed to bringing high quality hygiene and home care products to the Nigerian market, and would like our distributors to be a key part of that vision. We will make Nigeria the production hub for West and Central Africa, and support the Nigerian economy by providing employment opportunities,” Kiðýlý said.

According to him, Hayat Kimya plans to start production in Nigeria in the next five years and it will bring its global experience and hallmarks of success and good business operations to invest in the Nigerian market.

“In every market that Hayat Kimya operates, we ensure that our distinctive operating ethos is felt. We invest highly in our brands, quality assurance, qualified human resource talent, and the best business partners.

This way, we accomplish our aim to make our brands market leaders even at tough, volatile economic and political times,” Kiðýlý.

Hayat Kimya officially unveiled its Molfix diaper brand in Lagos recently. The unveiling of the Molfix baby diaper brand took place during the sales meeting and gala dinner in Lagos for distributors across the country.

Kiðýlý said Hayat Kimya’s investment in the Nigerian market will make the company a key player in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector and this is expected to improve the balance of trade in Nigeria’s favour by increasing the goods and services available for exportation.

•Mr. Bilal Yýlmaz, Sales Director, Hayat Kimya Nigeria (left) and Chief Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, Iyaloja of Lagos, at the unveiling of the Molfix brand of Hayat Kimya at Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Hayat Kimya is Turkey’s 57th largest exporter of goods, and was ranked the 62nd largest business in the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce top 500 list. With its investments in tissue production, the company has also become the 7th largest manufacturer in Europe.

Hayat Kimya is rapidly turning into a global enterprise with more than 14.000 people employed world-

wide. The Hayat Kimya brands include Bingo, Molfix, Molped, Papia, Familia, Focus, Teno, Joly, and Evony in home care, tissue and hygiene categories.

Operating in six countries with systems that comply with European standards, Hayat Kimya reaches consumers through an export network spanning 101 countries. The company produces detergents, hygienic

pads and tissue at its Ýzmit factory.

Home-care and hygienic products are manufactured at the Algeria Hayat DHC factory, hygienic products and tissue at the Iran Pars Hayat Healthcare Products Sehami Has factory, hygienic products at the Egyptian Hayat Hygienic Products S.A.E. factory, and cellulose and wrapping paper at the Bosnia-Herzegovina Natron HAYAT DOO factory.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

33

MOTORING

540,000 Mazdas added to Takata air-bag recall • Six killed, 100 injured so far M AZDA is recalling nearly 540,000 older cars and pickup trucks in the United States (US) and Canada, adding to the growing list of models under recall for air bags that potentially can explode with too much force.

The Japanese automaker said in documents posted Friday by U.S. and Canadian safety regulators that it is recalling nearly 503,000 cars to

Stories by Tajudeen Adebanjo

fix driver’s air bags and 35,000 small pickup trucks to fix passenger air bags.

Affected models with potentially faulty driver’s air bags are the 20032008 Mazda 6, 2006 to 2007 MazdaSpeed 6 and the 2004 to 2008 RX-8. The company also is recalling

2004-2006 B-Series pickup trucks to replace passenger side inflators.

Some of the vehicles are part of a previous recall. Last year, Mazda recalled about 330,000 cars in the U.S. to fix driver’s air bags.

The vehicles are equipped with air bag inflators made by Takata Corporation of Japan that can explode with too much force, spewing shrap-

nel into the passenger compartment.

Six people have been killed and more than 100 injured because of the problem.

Last month, Takata and the U.S. government agreed to double the number of inflators it recalled to 33.8 million. The increase made it the largest auto recall in U.S. history, according to the agency. Eleven affected automakers are gradually announcing makes and models affected

by the expansion.

The best way to tell if one’s car or truck is being recalled is to key in the vehicle identification number at https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/.

The number is stamped on the driver’s side of the dashboard near the windshield and also is on many state registration cards. Automakers are still posting recall information by number. So it’s wise to keep checking periodically.

Hyundai Motors, Access Bank partner on auto finance

H

YUNDAI Motors Nigeria Limited in collaboration with the Access Bank Group have inaugurated yet another compelling vehicle finance scheme that could help prospecting customers to procure affordably priced brand new Hyundai vehicles and commence payment after 90 days.

Tagged ‘Buy now, pay later’, the initiative is to encourage patrons to buy functional tech savvy and environmentally-friendly Hyundai vehicles instead of used cars otherwise known as tokunbo railroaded into the country from Europe.

Both institutions inked this declaration at a brief ceremony in Lagos, where Access Bank and Hyundai Motors Nigeria enumerated the benefits of the scheme that would enable customers take possession of the vehicle upon contribution of 10 per cent equity only.

Access Bank Plc Executive Director Personal Banking Victor Etuokwu who made this remark

•Etuokwu (left) shaking hands with Singh. With them is Group Head, Strategic Brand Management, Access Bank PLC Amaechi Okobi after signing the MoU.

after signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) said: “We have brought together two Ni-

geria most powerful brands, Access Bank - a tier one banking group and Hyundai Motors Ni-

geria, a member of Stallion Group and a foremost automobile dealerships to give Nigerians opportunity to own brand new cars at affordable rates via a liberalised process.”

Etuokwu said the Access Bank/ Hyundai Motors auto finance is unlike others designed for individual patrons and employees who earn a living to buy choice Hyundai vehicles without necessarily committing their life time savings.

He listed other benefits of the scheme which can also be accessed by fleet operators and institutions as: unrestricted admittance to select Hyundai range; discounted pricing with unprecedented low and fixed interest rate throughout the tenor; waiver of commitment fee; three months moratorium for principal and interest payment; free vehicle registration and free service for one year or 20, 000km.

The Access Bank director said these significant incentives are intended to encourage patrons to buy functional brand new vehicles

such as Korean engineered Hyundai cars and shun tokunbo, imports’ adding that “the cost of managing used vehicles are far too exorbitant.”

Also adding that buying a brand new car isn’t luxury, Etuokwu said: “It is only a part of your tool to work efficiently.”

Hyundai Motors Nigeria Limited Managing Director Parvir Singh said: “We will continue to invest in new marketing initiatives that can endear Hyundai vehicles to customers and help them drive responsibly, and of course, we are convinced this programme will attract perceptive customers and subsequently raise our market share.”

Singh, who enjoined customers to take advantage of this marketing adjunct, said: “You can be part of this bonanza by simply walking into any Hyundai Motors Nigeria Limited accredited dealership in Nigeria to get a profoma invoice for your choice car and a deal is struck with Access Bank PLC thereafter,” he said.

Coscharis Motors wins Jaguar Landrover award

J

AGUAR Land Rover sub-Sahara Africa (JLR SSA) has given award to Coscharis Motors, during its Importer of the Year Awards Night in Mauritius.

According to Richard Gouverneur, Managing Director of JLR SA and SSA; the objective of the awards, is to recognise the excellent work being done by the Jaguar Land Rover Sub Sahara Africa partners to drive sales in the African markets.

Coscharis Motors was recognised for its world-class representation of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands, and was presented with the prestigious “Importer of the Year” award for Jaguar. This award epitomises the company’s excellent service in growing the Jaguar brand. Other

awards won included, Sales Achievement Award for Land Rover; individual achievements for Excellence Learner of the Year (by Tanimowo Sunday); Sales Recognition Award (by Odesa Henry) and a prize as the Technician of the Year - 1st Runner Up (by Agana Timothy).

Coscharis Motors President Dr Cosmas Maduka dedicated the award and other awards won by the company to the committed service of the Coscharis JLR team.

Maduka said: “This achievement is feasible given the team’s commitment to selfless sales, brand management and service deliveries ensuring that customers get value for their money.

Aside the team’s dedication to value delivery, I also want to greatly appreciate and dedicate

•Dr Maduka holding the plaque. With him are officials of Jaguar Land Rover and Coscharis

the awards to our ever loyal customers who have, ultimately, made this honour from our partners possible.”

These awards take into consid-

eration the dealers’ combined scores in a number of areas including sales volumes, brand management as well as sales of parts and accessories for Jaguar

and Land Rover models. Dealer satisfaction ratings also played a role, with consumer feedback on service levels being used as a scoring mechanism.

Nigeria, not yet ripe for speed limiters

T

HIS article is a follow – up to the letter which I dropped for the Corps Marshal/Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety Commission urging the Corps to consider some salient issues before enforcing the use of speed limiters in Nigeria to avoid a case of putting the cart before the horse.

Without doubt, speed is the single biggest factor contributing to road accidents and fatalities. Over 50per cent of fatal accidents are caused by excessive and inappropriate speed.

Speed limiter is a modern technology which is in use in several countries. For example in the United States of America and Canada, speed limiters (also known as governor) are set between 177km/h – 188km/h for Cars, 181km/h – 241km/h for V8 models and 100km/h-120km/h for Trucks and Articulated vehicles.

Speed limiters boost safety when the traffic flow is very light and the roads are good but accident rate in-

creases when the traffic is heavy or when the roads are bad. How many roads are light without traffic buildup and how many roads are good to the level of justifying the use of speed limiters in Nigeria as in the other countries currently using the device?

How good is our security system on the roads? How effective also is our traffic monitoring system on the highways and local roads in Nigeria?

What happens when a driver encounters a situation where he or she needs to speed up to maneuver around a dangerous situation.

See below a research report: • Hit by a car at 60km/h, 9 out of 10 pedestrians will be killed.

• Hit by a car at 50km/h, 5 out of 10 pedestrians will be killed.

• Hit by a car at 30km/h, 1 out of 10 pedestrians will be killed.

A critical look at the above research report reveals that with the speed limit of cars set at 100km/h the rate

of accidents and fatalities will not reduce significantly because majority of the accidents recorded in Nigeria occurred when the vehicles travelled below 100km/h because of the bad roads, alcohol and drug addiction, distraction, fatigue, stress, road rage or aggression, inadequate Driver education, dangerous overtaking and several other factors. Hence the high rate of accidents on the bad roads as well as the intra – city roads. The rate of violation of traffic rules and regulationsand accidents is very high on intra – city roads which makes the presence of FRSC Officers on all grades roadsmuch more important now.

This step will create more job opportunities as many more people will be employed into FRSC and the resultant effects will surely be in favour of the Federal, State and Local Governments and Nigerians as a whole.

The Challenges 1. Are the speed limiting devices available and in adequate quantities in every part of Nigeria?

2. Do we have enough technicians to install the devices nationwide, even in the rural areas?

3. Do we have adequate maintenance Technicians?

4. Is the price of the device reasonably affordable? I believe the current price of N45, 000.00 is on the high side.

5. Are all the devices tamper-proof?

6. How deep is the enlightenment on the policy among the vehicle Owners and Drivers?

7. Overspeeding is relative and it depends on: a. Knowledge and skills of drivers b. Condition of the road c. Condition and characteristics of the vehicle.

Jide Owatunmise Registrar /Chief Executive, Professional Driving and Safety Academy

d. Environmental factors e. Physical and mental condition of the driver f. The traffic g. The load h. Visibility i. Condition of the vehicle tyres.

•To be continued next week

34

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

THE NATION

BUSINESS BRANDS & MARKETING

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

Dentsu Aegis Network partners Media Fuse Nigeria A leading marketing outfit, Dentsu Aegis Network, quoted on the London and Tokyo Stock Exchanges, is set to boost the media sector through major investments in Media Fuse Nigeria Limited, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

W

HEN everyone thought the era of affiliation in the marketing communication industry was fast becoming a fading fad, a major investment announced in Nigeria last week has proved this wrong.

Dentsu Aegis Network, a global marketing conglomerate quoted on both London and Tokyo Stock Exchange and a media agency, Media Fuse Nigeria, established by Mr. Emeka Okeke, have entered into a deal to deepen its global expansion drive.

The partnership is an eye on emerging market-leader in the African market, especially Nigeria where the population of consumers is irresistible, plus an economic growth predicted about seven percent yearly and the digital and media landscape increasing by an es-

timated 15 per cent in 2014 alone.

With acquisition sprees across Africa by Dentsu, Media Fuse will now operate as Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network, joining the strong network of Dentsu Aegis Network brands such as Carat, iProspect, Isobar, Posterscope and Vizeum in sub-saharan Africa.

According to Okeke, the joint venture conforms to the new reform by Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) on foreign investment in Nigeria, saying Media Fuse has a majority stake in the business ownership configuration.

He said Media Fuse was incorporated in 2013 and launched its services in the market in January the following year.

“The agency is registered as an indigenous national media agency

• Okeke

having obtained a national operating licence from APCON. The agency broke its first campaign in

February 2014 with the launch of the Swedish online classified ads service-tradestable.com having won the business in a keenly contested media pitch. As the agency continues its drive to deliver compelling services in the marketing communications industry, its operations received a boost with the keen interest shown in the business by global player Dentsu Aegis Network resulting in acquisition of equity interest in the business in July 2014 and subsequent change of name of the company to Media Fuse Dentsu Network Limited,” he said.

He said further that the merger marks the dawn of new era in marketing communications in Nigeria with a young indigenous media agency getting the attention of a global network in foreign direct investment with full access to tools, capacity building, specialist agencies offerings in digital marketing, digital performance, Out-Of-Home (OOH) specialist offerings in strategy and planning as well as convergence planning through the flagship power brands of Carat, Vizeum, Isobar, I-Prospect and Postercope.

Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network will be led by Okeke, who has worked in some West African countries, such as Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, Cote d’ Ivoire, Sierra-Leone, Gambia and Liberia.

Emeka and his team of 25 are bringing to the table a market known for reputation, a passion for the industry and a vision to grow clients’ brands and through the deal with Dentsu Aegis Network.

Established associations between Media Fuse and the Carat-Adams

LASACO Properties launches biggest board

• The Orijin drum.

Guinness unveils Africa’s largest drum

G

UINNESS Nigeria Plc has unveiled the largest drum whose measurement was put at 22ftx25ft by team comprising Alexander Forbes actuaries and Billings Cost &Associates.

The drum called “Orijinal” drum, according to the team, is the largest ever built in Africa.

Though is meant to activate Guinness Orijin brand, the brand owner said at an event in Lagos, that the Orijinal drum, a cultural icon, is an extension of the Orijin ideology of celebrating the African culture.

The brand recently received the endorsement of some monarchs as the drink for Africans. The drum located at the National Art Theatre, Iganmu Lagos, distinctly stands at a vantage point.

The Portfolio Director, Larger and RTD, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Ms. Eyitemi Taire, said: “The largest African drum is another landmark in our journey as a business and eulogising Orijin as the original drink for Africans.

“A drum announces the presence of the royals and the revered; it represents everything African. It is the single identifier that cuts across all African cultures. It represents the vibrancy, energy, uniqueness, and interconnecti-

affiliates in Ghana and Senegal, as well as relationships with key Dentsu Aegis Network global clients, highlights the immediate strengths and opportunities of the new partnership.

Though the global network will contend with its global competitors, such as WPP, Publicis, Omnicom Group’s OMD whose affiliates in Nigeria advert agencies are leaders in various market categories, such as advertising, public relations, experiential marketing, outdoor and media independent businesses but the Chief Executive Officer Dentsu Aegis Network Sub-Saharan Africa, Mr. Dawn Rowlands, said the network was ready to compete for business considering that it’s a global market leader in digital marketing.

“Our plan is to invest in a way that we invest. There is a push from our clients to invest in emerging market, especially Nigeria. We see that digital marketing will be 80 to 90 per cent of our business in the new market. We see opportunities in Nigeria to challenge for business. We want to collaborate with the media and our partners that we have chosen the right agency. We are here to challenge for business.

In digital leadership rating in the world, we are the leader with 43.8 per cent rating, followed by Publicis with 38 per cent, WPP 35 Percent and Havas 26 per cent,” he said.

Meanwhile, before the merger was consummated, Media Fuse parades blue-chip media accounts such as Procter & Gamble West Africa (English and Francophone), MasterCard, Adidas, Philips, Old Mutual and tradestable.com.

vity of Africans which perfectly reflects the essentials of the brand’s originality.”

She continued: “We recognise the value of our culture and will do everything possible to keep our heritage. Orijin connects with our people at this level just in the same way a drum connects. Where ever there is a drum there is celebration. And wherever there is celebration, you can be sure there is Orijin, the drink of tradition.

“This drum we justunveiled is a representative of both traditional and modern cultures that abide in Africa. We have high hopes that this drum will stand as an inspiration to Orijin lovers nationwide.We are proud of our achievement here today. The drum is clearly the largest and that underscores the ingenuity of Africans.’’

The Ojora of Ijora of Lagos, Oba Abdulfatai Ojora, who was represented by Chief Joseph Ogunmola, praised Guinness for producing Orijin.

On the drum, Chief Ogunmola said: “The drum represents our vibrancy as Africans. It is an important part of our cultural heritage.

This largest drum in Africa is a great innovation from Guinness Nigeria and we thank them for

showcasing and taking our culture to the next level”.

Reassuring consumers of quality, Taire said the production of Orijin attests to Guinness Nigeria’s leadership position in innovations in the alcoholic beverage industry.

“The company’s track record on product innovation in the past eight years has been very impressive. The advent of Orijin into the market is a result of thought leadership by Guinness Nigeria. As a company, we are continually looking for new ways to satisfy our consumers and Orijin is another attestation to this resolve.

We have been in the forefront of innovation, particularly now with the largest drum in Africa.

We encourage all our consumers to enjoy their Orijin responsibly always, she added.

The event was spiced with performances from Orijin brand ambassador Reminisce, Hip hop artiste Faze and R n B crooner Kola Soul.

Aduni and the NERFITITI also gave the audience the folklore with her melodious voice.

Orijin is a blend of African fruits and herbs flavours mixed with alcohol to give a refreshing bitter sweet taste.

L

ASACO Properties has launched the biggest Bill board in Nigeria and West Africa, the company’s Managing Director, Olumide Jayeiola, has said.

Speaking during the unveiling of the multi billion naira billboard located at the brink of the Third Mainland Bridge at Iyana Oworo, Lagos, he said the billboard will bring huge investment into the country.

Jayeiola said the billboard which was brought in from China ranks as number three in the world and described it as an advertiser’s dream.

He noted that coming from investors’ perspectives, LASACO Properties is a real estate and investment company which is not limited to properties alone.

According to him, it encompasses any venture, businesses that will bring investment return.

He, however, noted the risk and challenges encountered in bringing the board into the country.

He said while the Nigerian Customs posed the major problem, power was also a challenge.

He said: “Nigerian Customs was one of the problems we had in bringing it in. If Nigerian investor will go all the way to bring in investment and it is the Nigerian

government that is killing the business, then that is not so good for the country.

“The fees we were to pay were skyrocketed by the Customs and there was the problem of power to make the board function but at the end, we surmounted all the problems”.

He stressed that the company want to create a niche in the advertising world.

Managing Director, LASACO Insurance, Olusola Ladipo-Ajayi said the board sits strategically on a peninsula of the Lagoon.

Ladipo-Ajayi on his part, explained that the board is a joint venture between LASACO Properties and Media Views.

He said the board is sitting in front of the big board which carries Airtel advert. “The advert was put there 12 years ago but has become small now with the entry of this new mega board.

Throughout the period of 12 years, there was no idle time on it.

“The board has become a landmark used to describe traffic by radio presenters for inland mainland and island on the Third mainland bridge. We assisted them at that time by introducing them to Ibile Holdings which is our majority shareholder,” he added.

35

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

THE NATION

BUSINESS JOBS

Life coaching is one of the emerging careers with exciting opportunities. Some Nigerians are embracing this new line of engagement which assist people to set up their businesses and achieve personal goals, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

Life coaching: Emerging job creator LIFE is complex for both individuals and organisations. Currently, most companies are tightening their belts. The result: Jobs are being cut, workloads getting heavier, responsibilities more expansive and the pressure daunting. Many business leaders see these problems, yet they are helpless.

The search for solutions led to the creation of a Life Coaching job. A life coach empowers others by helping them make, meet and exceed their goals in both their personal and professional lives. Life coaching has become a huge success because it has helped turn people’s lives around.

Individuals and corporate leaders seek the support of life coaches to bring fresh breath to personal challenges to enhance decision-making skills, create greater inter-personal effectiveness and increase confidence.

The Programme Director, Proten United Kingdom Limited, Opy Onas, said the growth in the professional coaching in-

dustry is an indication that coaching is an effective solution to the struggles plaguing many companies and individuals. A graduate of Computing with Business Management at Kingston University, United Kingdom (UK), Onas has worked with individuals, small businesses, large corporate and government organisations. He is the author of the international best-seller titled: ‘Turn Your Passion Into Your Profession’.

He said coaching has become a big industry which attracts and develops talents, thereby becoming a critical challenge. Increasingly, coaching programmes are becoming part of many organisations’talentdevelopment plans. Organisations seek professionals who can provide coaching services to help boost productivity and employee satisfaction.

Since he started his organisation in the UK, Onas has offered coaching programmes for leadership development, productivity and performance improvement. He offers personal coaching sessions and several classroom opportunities. He has seen enhanced

teamwork and improved productivity.

These improvements are consistent with the benefits of coaching.

At the heart of coaching, he noted, is a creative and thought-provoking process that supports individuals to confidently pursue new ideas and alternative solutions with greater resilience in the face of growing complexity and uncertainty. He explained that there are increasing demands for highly skilled coaches who have operated at the top of organisations. He said the business environment in Nigeria is troubling and challenging and coaching is a useful tool to deal with them.

As a business coach, he partners with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential.There is unrest by many employees and leaders as they wrestle with fears around job insecurity and increased workplace pressures to perform at higher levels than ever before.

As a result, many people are turning to these professionals for help in managing their

lives and building a more successful future. Onas said being a life coach is one of the most rewarding jobs. When you are a life coach, not only are you helping an incredible number of people, you are also helping yourself in the process.

The Chief Executive, Business Impact Limited, Olalatunde Samson, is a player in the coaching industry. He started coaching at a more reasonable price while making a very comfortable living.

For him, a career outlook for certified life coaching is very favourable as more Nigerians are turning to life coaches to make positive changes.

A certified coach, Samson helps people to make meaningful and long-lasting change. For him, the need for certified life coaches is expected to continue rising in the near future.

Like any skill set, the more one practises the better one becomes. As coaching skills decay, one needs to use them.

•Continued on page 36

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THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

JOBS

Life coaching: Emerging job creator •Continued from page 35

The sector is growing with many life coaches coming from many diverse backgrounds.

To succeed, one has to be able to build trusted personal connection that supports, demonstrates, and explains how individuals can achieve their goals. These also require application of proven psychological tools, and positive feedback techniques, that can turn ordinary citizens into extraordinary individuals, and put them in touch with their authentic selves.

New techniques and innovations are being discovered and refined. Since the last five years, life coaching has been evolving and expanding with new techniques which a lot of Nigerians have acquired. These include skills in personal development, self-help, development and discovery, motivation and achievement psychology, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), human behaviour modification, business and corporate coaching, relationship science, and student and scholar mentoring.

To qualify as a life coach, one needs to complete some certification courses. Some experts coach a client for an hour, as part of a programme or package of coaching. Certified life coaches work in a various jobs. Many corporations and agencies are hiring certified life coaches to work with employees to reduce work stress and help them to be more successful in their careers.

• Samson

• Onas

Certified life coaches also work as academic counsellors, health and wellness experts, and in other areas. There are retirement coaches, career coaches, and even family coaches. Some certified life coaches even work as a motivational speakers or authors.

The trend is for high-potential employees to be coached or mentored, rather than just those deemed to be underperforming and in need of help – and despite tough economic times, it is on the rise.

For experts, effective life coaching requires

the coach to possess certain core competencies. These include active listening, strong verbal communication skills, genuine concern, creativity, problem-solving, goal setting and progress management. A variety of life coaching training programmes require that applicants be graduates. Among the various certifications are the Associate Certified Coach (ACC), Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and Master Certified Coach (MCC). Certification commonly requires a combination of training, coaching experience, examination and reference letters from qualified coaches. Continuing education enables life coaches to enhance their professional growth and development. It is also a requirement for certification renewal.

A degree is not required by many employers, though it makes it easier for trained life coaches to get a satisfying and high-paying career.

However, all certified life coaches must undergo additional training in life coaching. As with many careers, getting more training and more supervised time working with clients will prepare one better for working successfully in the field. More training and experience also lead to higher pay in most cases. One thing that all certified life coaches have in common is that they spend their days inspiring clients to change their lives. In life coaching, you need alot of personal experience in your specialist subjects and organisations.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

CWG appoints Okere Vice Chairman

• Okere

M

R. Austin Okere has been ap pointed as the Vice Chairman of Compu-

ter Warehouse Group (CWG). He will combine the post with his duties as the Chief Executive Officer of the company. The appointment takes immediate effect.

An entrepreneur with over two decades’ experience in Information Technology (IT) industry, Okere is also an Entrepreneur-inResidence at the Columbia Business School (CBS), New York, and a member of the World Economic Forum Business Council on

•Ayodeji, Onyia are ED and VP Global Growth Companies, Board of National Competiveness Council of Nigeria, ICT Advisory Board to Minister of Communication Technology, and the Initiative for Global Development (IGD), a Washington-based nonprofit organisation that drives poverty reduction by catalysing business growth and investment in the developing world.

His wealth of knowl-

edge in IT and entrepreneurial development will contribute enormously to the continuous growth of the company.

Mr. Kunle Ayodeji has been appointed an Executive Director of CWG. He will oversee the operations and finance functions of the company.

Ayodeji brings on board over 15 years’ experience in banking, financial

growth.

consulting and private equity management.

Prior to joining CWG, Ayodeji was an Investment Principal with Aureos Capital and later an Associate Director with the Abraaj Group.

He also worked with KPMG Professional Services before joining Aureos Capital.

His expertise in finance and strategy will play a crucial role in strengthening the company’s

Mr. Okey Onyia is the new Vice President, Sales for CWG. He has more than 15 years’ experience in the industry. He was on the Senior Sales Management in some leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in Nigeria. They include Hewlett Packard (HP) Nigeria and Oracle Corporation.

He will be responsible for delivering on the company’s revenue targets to drive it towards profitable growth.

CAREER MANAGEMENT

Putting more energy behind your job hunting “M Y job hunt is stuck in the mud. I know I need to fix it, but I’m feeling overwhelmed and I’ve got no energy left. I’ve tried everything and nothing seems to work.”

Does this sound like you or what you feel now?

The simple truth is Hunting for a job can be tiring, demoralising and frustrating for people who have internalised their inability to find work as a sign of personal failure. Confidence and self-image suffer. Not to mention the economic embarrassment. As that happens, it becomes increasingly difficult to present the optimistic, energetic “can do” persona that employers seek.

We all hear the longer you are out of work, the harder it is to get work. One of the reasons for this is that employers are looking for you, Mr/Ms. Jobhunter not to be jaded, tired, and “down.” And, they fear that the longer you are out of work, the more likely it is you won’t have the vim and vigour they seek.

How can you put more energy to your flagging job hunting campaign?

There are things you can do to

By Olu Oyeniran

energise your job hunt. Below are my suggestions. This list is hardly exhaustive, but it’s a good start:

Remember getting a job is a job Treat it with the same sense of professionalism that you would bring to any employment. Show up on time every day. And, at the end of the day, don’t feel guilty about packing the work up, and transitioning to “personal” or “family” mode. As with any job, it’s important to maintain a healthy work/life balance.

Recognise and confront your self-imposed roadblocks Are you frozen in place by fear of possible future failure? Many people have experienced so much rejection that they are afraid to have any more piled on. Such feelings are real, and they need to be acknowledged.

Sometimes inaction can be psychological defence mechanism. It’s important, however, to understand

that inaction is a certain road to the status quo. Try to move forward every day – even if you only do one or two small “baby step” things that can help to build up your self-confidence.

Break out of your isolation Figure out who are the members of your support system – your family, friends, other job hunters you meet at networking groups, members of your church or synagogue and so on. Talk to them regularly. Tell them what you’ve been up to, what seems to be working, and what seems to be frustrating you.

Make them part of your team. Ask for their feedback and advice. Help them to help you by creating a context of “us” instead of “me.” And of course: seek a good job hunting coach who can understand and relate to you, and provide both guidance and the occasional “kick in the pants” when it’s called for.

Balance your job hunting activities You can’t be everywhere, all the

time. Strive to create a balance over the course of a week or two in a cycle. If you think of your search for work as a job hunt, then imagine each tool or tactic as one arrow in your quiver. You need a variety of arrows including: informational interviewing; attending professional meetings and seminars; social networking utilising LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter; writing your blog, and so on.

However, important online activity has become, remember that social networks are but the means to the end of building personal relationships. Nurture your relationships both in the real and virtual worlds.

Stay focused and use your time wisely People who work out of their homes often say that one of the biggest challenges they face is managing their time. It’s easy to be distracted by kids, pets, housework, TV, internet, computer games, and so much else! Organise your day and week in advance. Create an hourly schedule and stick to it by setting alarms on your computer calendar or wherever they will best be seen and heard.

Practise, practise, and practise some more Rehearse your elevator speech out loud and prepare answers to interview questions that you can anticipate. For example, don’t allow yourself to be flummoxed by opening queries like, ”Tell me about yourself.” Did you know Larry Bird, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, shot 1,000 baskets every day! He was great because he understood the need for constant repetition and skill building.

Maintain your mental and physical health Eat healthy. Exercise at least three times each week. If it’s been a while since you exercised with any regularity, start slow and gradually build yourself back up. Get those endorphins flowing and you will look better, have more energy, and feel better about yourself.

•Oyeniran is Lead Consultant, EkiniConsult & Associates. He can be reached on Jobsearchhow.com.ng Tel 08083843230 (SMS Only).

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

37

THE CEO What are the solutions to Nigeria’s power sector headaches? The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mayok Engineering Works Limited, Chief Abayomi Awodipe, says the national grid system of power distribution and generation needs to be reviewed. He says President Muhammadu Buhari must ensure that all the power stations in the country produce at 80 per cent installed capacity. Awodipe, who has represented American power giant, General Electric, in many countries installing turbines, building power plants and personnel, stresses the need to appoint experts to direct the affairs of the power sector. EMEKA UGWUANYI met him.

National grid system not good enough for power sector W HAT do you think is the problem with Nigeria’s power sector?

The problem of Nigeria’s power sector is multifarious. We don’t plan for the future. We plan only for today. What has happened in the last few years or since the Canadians left? The Canadians that I met when I came with General Electric did the planning for the power sector and we had no shortfall. When they merged the original power sector with NEPA (National Electric Power Authority), the Canadian consultants were here and were able to direct the power sector into the future. But since the Canadians left and Nigerians took over, we have not been planning; we are only maintaining what we have as of today and when the problems come, we do catch-up game. I think that is the problem we have and we are still playing the catch-up game today.

We are not planning for the fuel that powers the generators; we don’t plan maintenance for those generators and we are not building enough power plants to catch up with the demands of the people. I think that is our problem.

Thermal plants account for 70 per cent of Nigeria’s power supply source and there is gross inadequate gas supply to fuel these plants. What is the way out?

It may interest you to know that we have enough gas to power these plants for the next 40 years. Our gas reserves can last us for at least another 40 years. But we are yet to develop the gas industry in such a way to meet our demand. We sell gas to other countries through liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Why don’t we take care of our problems first before serving other nations? And if they have sold these power plants to private people, they can go to the international market and buy gas, it is available. The suggestion that we don’t have gas is not acceptable to me. What is tenable to me is to see how we can marry the gas industry with our military or security and protect it from vandalism, so that it can get to the power plants.

Currently, we have installed capacity of over 24,000 megawatts (Mw) from the thermal plants and only 50 per cent of that is working. We have over 10,000Mw to distribute to the country. What is stopping them? Has anybody asked that question? The last time we produced the document together, we had installed capacity of 24,000Mw and more power stations are being built under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP). Why can’t we look at what we can do about gas? I also argued about the distribution network.

Why can’t we regionalise it? Why can’t we have the power plants closer to the load centres? What are the load centres? Lagos is number one. It absorbs at least 50 per cent of all the power generation. Why can’t we move the power plants closer to Lagos and other 10 load centres that I have identified?

There is nothing big in ensuring steady power supply. It is obvious that we are now generating about 2000Mw, what is the problem? Why are the machines idle? Even during General Abacha’s regime who was a hard dictator, we were generating over 4000Mw and we didn’t have issues. So, we have to ask the new government to make sure that every station produces 80 per cent of installed capacity and anything short of that, the management should be queried.

The Power Ministry has always blamed poor power supply on pipeline vandalism.

Do you agree with this claim?

Vandalism is a local problem. I have said several times that if the communities where the pipelines run through are engaged to protect the pipes or installations and you pay them stipends, they will do the job.

There are people who make their living from vandalism. How many of them have been caught? Have we actually caught any of them? You put aluminum pipes on our express roads, it is commissioned, and in six months, all those aluminum are gone. Has anybody been arrested and punished? The same thing applies to aluminum cables. All

• Awodipe

our cables are aluminum, the towers are aluminum, and people take and use them to fabricate something else that are saleable that make money for them. Has anybody been caught? Don’t they know where those things are taken to? This is a security issue.

The security people have to help the power industry to solve. I agree there is vandalism but it is not an excuse.

So, you don’t subscribe to the use of Joint Task Force in securing the pipeline?

I don’t. I think it is a community issue. If you are running pipe through my village and you tell the head of the village that nothing must happen to it, they will make sure nothing happens to it.

Why can’t the country localise the manufacture of turbines instead of depending on importation?

I have tackled this issue before. As I told

you, I worked with GE and installed many turbines in many countries. GE is a multinational company and they look at your country each time they come. They have been here three times. They came here first with me in the 70s and early 80s and they left.

Why we came at that time was that they wanted to put transformer, turbine workshop but due to some bureaucracies and corruption in government, they were not able to do it. They left but I didn’t go. I stayed in Nigeria as a Nigerian with a decision to continue to maintain whatever we had then. We had 18 turbines during my time, 15 in Ughelli and three in Ijora. But GE doesn’t localise their products. If you have enough turbines in your country, they will build a workshop and bring the experts to maintain them, which they are doing now in Nigeria. It is a welcome development because we will prob-

‘The most important thing is that it must be off-grid. The power generated mustn’t go to Osogbo first before it gets distributed. We lose 37 per cent of the power anytime we do that. Why don’t we do the best thing, remove Egbin Power plant from the grid and let Egbin serve Lagos or Southwest, you will see the improvement in power supply. Take Afam Power off the national grid, let it serve Southeast, you will see the improvement’

ably have about 100 units of GE turbines in the country. So, with that, it ensures maintenance by Nigerians or by a business concern led by a GE but for sure, they will not come and head that place with a Nigerian. First, they will bring an American or British trained in their system to come and manage it. May be after that, they begin to look at components that we can do here such as motor control centre and panels. There is nowhere in the world where GE allows the main turbine to be built. It is built in the United States because that is their core technology but other things such as coils can be built here. However, it depends on the country. If the country is stabilised politically, economically and corruption is minimal, I think GE can do that. They have done it in Japan and Britain. In fact, in China, GE manufactures some parts of these turbines.

You are part of the team that built Delta 11, 111, & 1V power plants and Ijora power plants. Are you contemplating assembling some members of your team to further assist the country in its quest for attaining sustainable power sector problems?

I have actually started putting up a team to do this through a maintenance programme.

Anything you want to do in Nigeria, people in government, especially the engineers, have to cooperate with you. If you don’t get their cooperation, you are going nowhere because they think they can do it themselves.

If you are a Nigerian, they ask you what you are coming there to do that they cannot do.

That is the issue here. There are well-meaning Nigerians that have encouraged me to stay behind instead of going back to the United States, people like Engrs Paul Okaro and J.O. S. Ogundipe. I trained a lot of NEPA workers when I was in and out of GE and most of them are good technicians on turbines. We have good hands, it is the administration. It is about allowing the technical people to fail. They failed in Japan and they improved on it, the same thing in China.

Previously, people refer to things made in China as inferior but today, they have excelled. It is the mentality of our administrators of not allowing Nigerians to try things on their own. We have a lot of brilliant Nigerians that can maintain the turbines and other equipment. Ijora power plant for example, many things are there since 10-15 years ago and they are not working. But Nigerians, they will do it because the people that will work on it have the knowledge to do it. In Ughelli today, we have few units there, out of the 900Mw installed, may be only 400Mw is available. Why can’t it be given to Nigerians to fix instead of capitalising on reasons that are not tenable? I’m happy it has been privatised. The company that bought it must do something quickly to bring its output to at least 80 per cent. As I said earlier, at least 80 per cent of installed capacity of any power station must be available within the next one year if this country will have enough power. Gas can be provided through either in and out of Nigeria to power these turbines.

Have you made proposal to the government, identifying and detailing the problems of the power sector and proferring solutions?

Yes and no. But I don’t want to indict anybody. Every administration that comes in this country, I have always written a proposal. I have prepared the one I want to give to the new government on the way forward in the power sector. I gave one to Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Umaru Yar’Adua, and Olusegun Obasanjo’s administrations. I still have the copies. Directly or indirectly, there has always been a write-up from me.

Whenever I see the situation of the power sector, I always write a book on the way forward and get it through to somebody in government. When President Muhammadu Buhari won, I was happy. I wrote one but I wouldn’t have written another one if •Continued on page 38

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

38

THE CEO

National grid system not good enough for power sector •Continued from page 37

Jonathan had won because he had one that I gave to him personally. I was lucky to know him through some members of his family and I presented one to him. But, unfortunately, the closest I came to the government was when I was made a special adviser to the former Minister of State for Power, Mr. Darius Dickson Ishaku but as soon as they removed him, I left. Everything in Nigeria’s power sector was government-oriented but now that we have privatised, I think they have their third parties, though I have not really looked at the private companies. At my age, I don’t really want to unduly interfere because they will think you are looking for job and I don’t want to be doing that. But if anybody recognises anything about these power plants by asking who is the foundation of this project in Nigeria, it would be made known that it is me. I built Ijora and Ughelli. If there are things to maintain or change, the technology is still in my head. I can walk to any of these plants and say the things that should be done to make them operational. What I think Buhari should do to this document I will present to him is to implement the recommendations and see the change it would bring to the power sector.

You built Ijora power plant and over the years, the power station has not been working. You know the energy demand of Lagos State. So, what can be done to bring it back on stream?

The power plant has not worked in 10 years. I know one of the turbines has been cannibalised. Therefore, instead of the 50Mw, it has only 40Mw inbuilt capacity now. Those machines were built to improve the power system in Lagos area and to also be used as synchronous condenser (a power factor improvement mechanism meant to improve your voltage and reduce your losses). In Nigeria, we lose about one-third of our generated power to technical losses and the way to reduce it is to bring your power factor as close as possible to 0.8 but if you go below, your voltage will be decreasing and you have what is called brown light and you don’t get the correct voltage as well. But since I have not entered that place, I believe the first problem was the fuel because it was commissioned on diesel (automotive gas oil). At the time we commissioned it, diesel was sold at N9 per litre and that was in 1979.

We commissioned the first unit on June 23, 1999 and other two units were commissioned a month after. The problem with Ijora then was that the cost of diesel went up. Diesel was sold at N9 per litre and it later went up to N30, and to N80, and the management of NEPA then said it was too expensive to run. So they were only warming it but I don’t know the condition now.

At that particular time, I recommended converting it to gas. Unless there is opportunity for me to inspect or get a report on the units of the station but I have a better idea, Ijora as a station can be modified or upgraded to a big power plant to serve Lagos. It can be upgraded to 500Mw. There is space, the power station is empty. You can demolish it. There is a 132kv line there that can evacuate the power. As I said in the document on way forward for the power sector, which I will present to President Buhari, we should begin to do embedded power plant in such a way that we can have regional grid network. Lagos can have 500Mw right there in Ijora and can be powered with natural gas. Whether there is gas there or not, we can bring gas to the power station in barges. We only need to look at the technical things and the financial implications but first of all, there must be a political will to put in Ijora because there is waste land there and there must be a political will to turn that place into a power plant within Lagos. This is an investment that can be done on public-private partnership (PPP), the Federal Government can fund it. As soon as we can have a power plant in that place, Lagos is taken care of – between 500Mw and 1000Mw. You can put units there. There are combined cycles of 300Mw and you can put four or five there, that is 1500Mw. There are many combinations but it takes a lot of private initiative, open mind and high risk to do this. And unless that is available, we will continue to have what we have. If the new government will implement a page drawing I made on this, I think we will be on our way to a stable system.

Embedded power is said to be small ca-

• Awodipe

‘We lose about one-third of our generated power to technical losses and the way to reduce it is to bring your power factor as close as possible to 0.8, but if you go below, your voltage will be decreasing and you have what is called brown light and you don’t get the correct voltage as well’ pacity generation plants of about 1-20Mw that are supplied outside the grid. So, how can 500Mw be embedded power?

Embedded power is generation meant to serve a particular area. It is a dedicated power plant to serve not the country or a large area but a dedicated area and to serve many purposes. There is a customer who wanted to put 122Mw plant in Ota, Ogun State and we went as far as getting the government to give us land and that is where the project died. As soon as we begin to ask the government to give us certain things, the project died. There must be willingness and openness of the government to allow businessmen to take the risk.

The government doesn’t take risk and of course, there is political interest in all these things. Embedded is the same thing as dedicated. The most important is that it must be off-grid. The power generated mustn’t go to Osogbo first before it gets distributed. We lose 37 per cent of the power anytime we do that. Why don’t we do the best thing, remove Egbin Power plant from the grid and let Egbin serve Lagos or Southwest, you will see the improvement in power supply. Take Afam Power off the national grid, let it serve Southeast, you will see the improvement.

These are part of the risks the government needs to take and somebody must be in the government that knows the sector and its workings inside out and not political appointment of someone who has never seen a power plant as a minister of power.

The minister will only listen to civil servants who you tell to do this and they will be doing another thing. I can walk on the street and tell you a lot of errors in the electricity network. We want the government to bring people that practically have lived these things in their lives, to think and bring the government’s aspiration for steady power supply to fruition in order to help this nation because without power we cannot do much. Yes, there is corruption in power sector. They can document

paper and claim they have done a job and they are paid and they are gone but how many contractors have been held for not doing a job awarded? For me, your chief executive officer must go to jail. When I was in GE, they tell you don’t go out to mess us up. There is code of conduct, you go and do my job, they give you $10 million and you come back, you must give detailed analysis of how you spent that money. Besides, the job is done within a short time and you come back to the office, you are compensated with leave and small money to go on vacation, among others.

Do you recommend that kind of code of conduct from the Federal Government for all the contractors that handle government’s projects?

Exactly. There must be code of conduct. Many contractors have come here and left us without doing the job, including the power sector.

How many contractors are handling NIPP projects? How many have finished? I was the chairman of abandoned power equipment at the ports. We recovered 400 containers of power equipment. For eight months, I was busy running to and fro the ports and delivering NIPP transformers and materials with the army, so they can finish these projects. How many contractors went to the ports? They only tell you the Customs didn’t allow them in. It was when the Minster, Mr. Ishaku and the Permanent Secretary, Dere Awosika, got to know about this, we had to go to the ports and discovered that we had over 400 containers full of power materials and equipment. We brought all of them out and began to use the Army to deliver them. You can see small transformers installed in Lagos to improve distribution were part of the abandoned materials.

They were gift from World Bank.

Why were such important equipment abandoned for that long?

It was bureaucracy. I took a great risk by telling the Customs to release the equipment to us. I took an undertaking that the equipment would be installed. It was part of the

impunity that you experiece where there is no code of conduct. If a project is given to you to do within a short time, and you walk away from it due to lack of payment, it is a bad procedure. We should be doing contract in such a way that payment is not a condition.

We must have our money to an extent because not all projects are prepaid by advanced countries. I was in Saudi Arabia when they were doing gas lift project, water in a desert and GE was to install 18 turbines within six months. GE unleashed us there and within six months, we installed those 18 turbines.

Nobody talked about money during the project because everybody kept to the contract, 30 per cent today, 30 per cent tomorrow and so on. Why do we promise a situation and we don’t fulfill? If you love this country, you will not divert the money into something else. The contract must be secured so that the contractor must have confidence and we put a code of conduct of performance. Performance in this country is just sign and you go. Look at many projects they said were completed; go and look at the performance, they will sign and you go and look at the project, it is not done. Also, I have a grouse about consultancy. Why do we have consultants on all projects when we have brilliant Nigerians? The so-called consultants just go and photocopy reports on previous projects and bring back to us and charge so much.

Why can’t we replicate the same drawings in Ughelli in other places? Why do we get consultants for that? So many things need to be corrected in this country when it comes to contracts. The system, the people that are running contracts need to be enlightened. Unfortunately, we go to the university to bring people who have not seen the practicality of projects. We need to bring people that have seen projects in and out to run our projects and power sector especially. What I see in power sector, we have a long way to go. A project that is supposed to take one year, takes three years here and nobody is saying anything. The NIPP is supposed to be completed in one year. I installed Ijora in nine months when I was head of GE. From the day we got the contract to the day we finished the job was nine months. We have seen so many contract delays on the excuse that they were not paid and so on. But all these happen because there is no code of conduct.

Poor power supply has affected Nigeria’s industrialisation, revenue generation and capacity building in-country, what do you think the country loses in terms of revenue every year due to this challenge?

In the study I did with some reputable engineers in the then NEPA in 1999 when we transited to civilian government, we were able to draw a table of what should be done, the site, machines, among others that would give the country 20,000Mw by 2015 of which 10,000Mw would be sent to the grid and the other 10,000Mw as embedded power. Even if we use theory, 80 per cent of the installed capacity must be available, that means that even if the 18,000Mw is available and 10,000Mw is wheeled to the grid with Lagos taking about 40 per cent, Lagos will be selfsufficient. In fact, you see the difference in activities when Lagos is given 1000Mw. But now Ikeja Electric in Lagos collects less than 300Mw. For instance in our estate (Magodo Phase 1) here, we have 30MVA installed transformer, which means we must get 20-25Mw but we don’t get 2Mw. Check the capacity of all the transformers installed and you know how much power you need. In our estate of 4000 houses, we have installed transformer of 30MVA, we don’t get 2MW, which 3MVA. So, we get only 10 per cent of our installed capacity. For us to be there in terms of adequate power supply, there must be the political will and technocrats’ will because technocrats in civil service must also be willing to do the right thing but how many of them have been punished for not performing?

When the month ends, they get their salaries. Now that the power sector has been privatised, I have reservation because privatisation means results. But, are we getting results? If we are not getting results, who will be blamed? All these are the questions the new government must ask.

On revenue loss, I must tell you that Nigeria loses a lot of money.America generates 750,000Mw every day, South Africa about 70,000Mw. But Nigeria only hit a peak of 4000Mw and that has been dropping ever since. What does that mean? For every 1 Mw we fail to generate, we lose $1 billion per day. If you have 1 Mw, multiply it with N8 per kilowatt/hour, you see how much money you will get.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

39

Taxation Presumptive tax: equalizing the distribution of tax burden (1)

T

AXATION of the informal sector, particularly persons and businesses that are not properly structured or are unable to keep proper and detailed records of their business transactions, is a topical and challenging issue not only in Nigeria, but also in most developing countries. Almost every country in the world has at one time or the other been faced with the challenge of how to bring such businesses into the tax net.

The Nigeria tax system consists of three taxing levels - the federal, state and local governments each with a large pool of taxpayers and potential taxpayers operating in the informal sector but not captured in the tax net. There is therefore, a great need to widen the tax net i.e. bring in more taxpayers into the tax net, and the key to achieving this is the simplification of compliance and ensuring that taxpayers are treated fairly and equally.

In dealing with the peculiar tax challenges in the informal sector, some countries leveraged on the experiences of others, while others decided to fashion out specific strategies. The Nigerian Government through the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has opted to adopt a hybrid by developing a workable tax regime customized to suit the local circumstances - The Presumptive Tax Regime. The regime will be fully operational when the Presumptive Tax regulation is gazetted.

The presumptive tax regulation is based on the provisions of Section 6 of the Personal Income Tax Act, 2011 (as amended). A new sub-section 6 was added to Section 36 of the law. Specifically, the new sub-section states that: ‘’where for all practical purposes the income of the taxpayer cannot be ascertained or records are not kept in such a manner as would enable proper assessment of income, then such a taxpayer shall be assessed on such terms and conditions as would be prescribed by the Minister (of Finance) in regulations by order of gazette under a presumptive tax regime’’.

The presumptive method of taxation is understood to be effective in reducing tax avoidance as well as equalizing the distribution of the tax burden. It will grow the tax base across the three tiers of government and improve tax collection from non-oil tax revenue. A successful implementation of a presumptive tax regime will create an improved and easy access to the large pool of taxpayers in the informal sector.

Already operational in some developing economies like Ghana, Zimbabwe and a few others, the proposed regime is administered based on presumed, not actual, income of the taxpayer in a structured way that ensures fairness. It seeks to remove the challenges confronting the revenue agencies in their efforts to achieve a more effective administration of taxes for individual and corporate entities in the sector.

The term presumptive taxation covers a number of procedures under which the ‘desired’ base for taxation (direct or indirect) is not itself measured but is inferred from some simple indicators which are more easily measured than the base itself.

Presumptive income taxation is employed primarily in economies where ‘hard-to-tax’ taxpayers comprise the majority of the population and administrative resources are scarce. In these countries, most taxpayers lack the financial transparency that allows for effective taxation by the government. The result is that governments estimate or presume the appropriate income on which taxes should be levied.

In developed countries, the transition from presumptive to actual income-based taxation paralleled the shift from agricultural to industrial economies. Economic advancements replaced self-employment in farming and small-scale trade

• Acting Executive Chairman, FIRS, Samuel Ogungbesan

By Embuka Anna

with concentrated employment in fewer and larger entities such as governments and large corporations. Whereas tax liability was formerly derived from indices such as estimated crop yield of agricultural lands, it gradually became a factor of actual income received from salary and wages.

Movements towards more ‘modern’ forms of tax administration emerged as businesses became more sophisticated and financial transparency increased. As accounting practices became more prevalent, self-assessment of tax liability and withholding tax at source inevitably followed.

However, in developing countries, presumptive taxation may still be the most appropriate method of tax administration for specific groups of taxpayers. The economic transition from agriculture to industry has not occurred to the same degree as in industrialized nations. Nonetheless, most tax laws are written as if they had, assuming the tax is assessed on well-defined measures of income and well documented in transparent accounting records. The reality is that most taxpayers do not possess the administrative resources to maintain accurate books or navigate complex tax codes. As a result, tax evasion is rampant and authorities exert considerable effort locating and taxing small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Presumptive taxation techniques may be employed for a variety of reasons. It could be for reasons of simplification, particularly in relation to the compliance burden on taxpayers with very low turnover (and the corresponding administrative burden of auditing such taxpayers). Another reason is to combat tax avoidance or evasion (which works only if the indicators on which the presumption is based are more difficult to hide than those forming the basis for accounting records). Third, by providing objective indicators for tax assessment, presumptive methods may lead to a more equitable distribution of the tax burden, when normal accounts-based methods are unreliable because of problems of taxpayer compliance or administrative corruption.

Presumptive methods can be rebuttable or irrefutable. Rebuttable methods include administrative approaches to reconstructing the taxpayer’s income, and may or may not be specifically described in the statute. If the taxpayer disagrees with the result reached, the taxpayer can appeal by proving that his or her actual income, calculated under the normal tax accounting rules, was less than that calculated under the presumptive method.

Rebuttable presumptions can encourage taxpayers to keep proper accounts, because they subject taxpayers to a possibly higher tax burden in the absence of such accounts. Also, presumptions that serve as minimum taxes may be justified by a combination of reasons (revenue need, fairness concerns, and political or technical difficulty in addressing certain problems directly as opposed to doing so through a minimum tax).

By contrast, irrefutable presumptive assessments are usually specified in the statute or in delegated legislation because they are legally binding. They must be defined precisely. Depending on the situation, irrefutable presumptions might be subject to legal challenge as unconstitutional. In some countries, the constitutional court (or Supreme Court) has been quite active in applying the principle of equality in taxation. Whilst in some other countries, tax law provisions that are seen as denying equal access to justice are particularly vulnerable to constitutional challenge.

Presumptive taxation can be used for any tax that is normally based on accounting records—income tax, turnover tax, and value added tax (VAT) or sales tax—although it is most commonly used for the income tax. A number of different types of presumptive methods exist in different countries.

Presumptive taxation is undoubtedly a ‘winwin’ technique given that it is an optimal method of curbing widespread non-compliance without employing excessive government resources because it addresses the concerns of both the taxpayer and the tax authority. Presumptive taxation provides taxpayers with a simplified option for tax compliance without requiring full financial transparency.

Without a doubt, SMEs employ the majority of taxpayers in any developing country. Yet, many SMEs remain in the informal sector because they lack sufficient resources, administrative infrastructure and accounting sophistication to comply with government tax regulations. The result is that many employers are ineligible to receive the benefits the formal sector offers, which inescapably compromises their financial viability.

Small businesses are aware of the advantages that legitimate enterprises enjoy, and most would be willing to pay taxes but for the complex bureaucracy involved.

Presumptive taxation addresses these concerns by offering a streamlined method for moving from the informal to formal sector. Income is no longer assessed from accounting records but from indicators such as the value of a farmer’s land, gross turnover of the SME, or signs of individual wealth.

This approach to estimating income on which tax is levied removes the administrative burden of financial transparency traditionally required for compliance.

Tax administrations are quite mindful of the burden which tax compliance places on individuals and businesses. However, non-compliance amounts to a lack of funds for the public works and social service programs that are central to national development. As a result, authorities spend a disproportionate amount of time tracking down non-compliant SMEs. Thus, governments often introduce presumptive taxation as a retributionfree method for providing incentives to citizens and businesses thereby bringing them into the tax net and increasing the country’s tax base.

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MONDAY JUNE 8, 2015

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has broken the second term jinx. In this report, BISI OLADELE, who covered the swearing-in at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan, the state capital, gives an insight into the governor’s plans for the Pacesetter State in the next four years

My plan for second term, by Ajimobi R

ESIDENTS of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, particularly those living around Liberty Road, will not forget Friday May 29 in a hurry. A carnival-like atmosphere pervaded the area, as a procession of dignitaries, politicians, supporters, ordinary folks, traders, beggars, itinerary drummers, entertainers and security operatives took over the streets. Guests and supporters parked their vehicles up to one kilometre away from the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium (formerly Liberty Stadium), venue of the swearing in ceremony for the Governor Abiola Ajimobi and his deputy. Only few vehicles were allowed to drive to the venue.

There was congestion around the main gate to the venue, as pedestrians struggled to gain entrance into the main bowl of the stadium.

Pandemonium was almost let loose when Governor Ajimobi drove in. People struggled to catch the glimpse of the man a former Deputy Governor, Chief Iyiola Oladokun, described as “a man of history”. Ajimobi happens to be the first governor to win a second term in the state.

When the ceremony got underway, they were not disappointed. They listened to the governor with rapt attention, as he eulogized them for their support and also laid bare his plans for them for in the next four years.

After taking the oath of office with his deputy, Chief Moses Adeyemo, he assured everyone that he would be fair to all residents of the state, irrespective of their political leanings. He added that his victory for second term humbled him.

In a long address laced with rhetorical fervour, Ajimobi emphasized: “One thing I assure you all is that, I will be the governor of all; the governor of my friends and foes. I will offer all my shoulders to lean on in time of your sorrow and my palm for a ‘high-five’ in your moments of exciting happiness. I will care for the vulnerable in our state, protect those afflicted by existential hazards and misfortune and bring smiles to the faces of those hit by the harsh sun of the time.”

The inauguration ceremony was, however, low-keyed, reflecting the economic situation in the country. Ajimobi, who arrived at the stadium in company of his family members around 11:36 am, took his oath of office at exactly 12:33 pm. The oath was administered by the state’s Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Ladipo Abimbola.

While expressing his gratitude to God and to the electorates for giving him the opportunity to be the first governor to take the oath twice, Ajimobi said his victory was a call to re dedicate himself to the good people of the state. His words: “I am eternally grateful that you rose above the massive hate and smear campaigns designed to demonize our huge sacrifices and achievements of the past four years. You cared not for the tale that no governor was ever re-elected in our state. You would not allow that past history to determine your approaching future. You chose not to succumb to fear or fable. You voted as your conscience and beliefs led you. You used your votes to break the alleged jinx that hovered over our politics.

“We clearly heard you when you said that, like every human being created by the Most High God, our human limitations as individuals and as an administration were inconsequential, placed side by side our monumental commitment and passion to make a difference in Oyo State. We heard you clearly.

“Since 1976 when our state was created, seven of us have stood before you to take the governorship oath; 26 in all have administered our state, either as the defunct Western Region or its eventual reincarnation as Oyo State. The Almighty, in His wondrous ways, ably assisted by the audacity of your votes,

• Governor Ajimobi, accompanied by his wife, Florence, taking the Oath of Office before Chief Jusitce Oladapo Abimbola

has made me the only of those numerous men to take the governorship oath a second time.”

Thereafter, he rolled out a six-point agenda for his second term, in line with the manifesto of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governor laid bare his plan to consolidate on his achievements in six cardinal areas. These are: peace and security, transparent governance, infrastructural development, quality education and healthcare, financial reengineering and agriculture.

He said: “The policy thrust of the government from 2015-2019 shall be guided by the manifesto of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), as well as our personal desire to leave imperishable legacies that will carve out immortality for us as individuals and government. We will productively utilize our learning curves of the first four years to transform Oyo State into a place of pride. The cardinal thrust of our administration from today till May 29, 2019 shall be: Consolidation of peace and security in the state; deepening inclusive and transparent governance; widening the scope of infrastructure development and upgrade of the 2015 Urban Renewal Initiatives; Human Capital Development founded on quality education, skill acquisition and healthcare delivery; reengineering of our socio-economic infrastructure for economic emancipation and progress, with a goal to repositioning the finance of the

state; and revitalization and development of agriculture and agro-allied industry for value addition.

“In a bid to achieve these, we will make human capital development the cornerstone of our policies. Indeed, every of our cardinal programmes shall be founded on a solid superstructure that is fixated on human capital.

Thus, none of the programmes shall be executed without firmly prefixing within them the quest to better the lives of our people.

“We will take seriously the upgrade of schools to functional, modern models of learning. Their physical infrastructure will be ensured and our commitment to the mental development of our children, as well as upgrade of their teachers, will be irrevocable.

We will rededicate ourselves to a healthcare programme that is premised on qualitative health for a greater number of people.

“Our urban renewal initiative will be consciously primed on the need to create employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed people in the state, as well as capitalize on the need to ensure a surging traffic of investors keen on platforming on the transformation of the state into an urban metropolis. Our urban renewal programme will be founded on a waste-to-wealth initiative that will utilize waste for generation of electricity and exploit its urea by-product “With the realization of the paucity of funds from the federal purse, we will re-engineer

urban renewal initiative will be consciously primed on the ‘ Ourneed to create employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed people in the state, as well as capitalize on the need to ensure a surging traffic of investors keen on platforming on the transformation of the state into an urban metropolis

’

our finances and economy towards the financing of our lofty milestone projects. We will in this wise restructure our finance to improve the economic viability of the state and reduce our dependence on federal allocation without which we, at present, cannot meet our financial obligations, not in the least payment of salaries and wages.

“In all these, the widely tested and effective Public Private Partnership will be explored in bringing development to our people. We will utilize the effectiveness of the tripod of purposeful political leadership, unalloyed commitment to a peaceful Oyo State and exploration of the God-endowed arable lands at our disposal for the realization of our goals.”

Despite the low-keyed nature of the ceremony, dignitaries and residents of the state from all walks of life trooped out in large number to witness the historic event.

Dignitaries present at the ceremony include: the Deputy Governor of Osun State, Mrs Titilayo Laoye-Tomori; the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III; the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Samuel Odulana, who was represented by High Chief Tajudeen Ajibola; Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Abdul-Ganiyu Ajinase Ologunebi; legal luminary, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN) and industrialists Chief Bode Amoo and Chief Kola Daisi.

Others are; Oyo State Head of Service, Mr. Soji Eniade; Chief Adebayo Akande, Archbishop Alaba Job; Pastor Samuel Abiara; Bishop Taiwo Adelakun; Chief Imam of Ibadanland, Sheik Abdul-Ganiyu Agbotomokekere; former military administrator of the state, Col. Ahmed Usman; heads of security agencies in the state, politicians, artisans teachers, civil servants and the masses.

As usual, traders enjoyed good business around the stadium on the day.

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This is for post-election purposes when annoying ‘citizens who actually get upset about their inability to vote, gather to peacefully protest the announced results

POLITICS

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Moniker Williams, an election observer, who monitored the recent governorship poll Akwa Ibom State, examines the danger of election rigging to democracy.

The art of election rigging F

ROM the governorship elections that took place on April 11, 2015, it was obvious there was a systemic ploy to ensure incredible results were achieved. With a massive win of 996,071 votes out of 1,122, 836 votes cast(representing a 90% win) one can only admire such phenomenal results. When such great strides are achieved, it is important to study the model used and adopt key lessons in the interest of national development.

10 key rigging strategies: 1. Make sure people can’t voteIt’s so simple, but it really is pure genius. Across the 31 LGA’s, there were records of missing election materials, especially the result sheets. As eager citizens arrive, you can either stop them from getting accredited by making sure no PVC card reader arrives at the polling unit or in some cases allow them to get accredited but no stamp to thumb print the election sheet. Better still,you can have the ad hoc staff show that result sheets are missing to really discourage citizens. This will make people feel thatwaking up early to exercise their fundamental human right is a complete waste of time as a lack of result sheet shows how their votes will definitelyNOT count.

2. Compromise the Resident Electoral Officer(REC) This falls in line with best practice of the top-down approach in a system where decision-making is highly centralized. This provides an overall and clear direction for all tiers of the electoral hierarchy from the Electoral Officers to the Ad-hoc Staff to ensure a seamless execution of the plan for a successful election.

3. Abduct over-zealous ad-hoc staffThis is for those who will insist on doing their duty or due to a gap in communication from the Supervising Presiding Officer (SPO) may not have received the order of the day.

So, to avert any confusion, simply abduct the young ad-hoc staff before they arrive at their assigned polling units. It saves from the drama of snatching ballot boxes in front of crowds as you can intervene just in time while you leave citizens waiting aimlessly at the polling unit.

Also, it’s just a few hours, as they will be released just in time to submit their election materials in tact at the collation center while they wait to receive their appreciation envelope for the night. It is very important that both the top-down and bottom-up approach is deployed for optimal performance and best results delivered. Using the top-down approach provides focus, direction and performance conditions, but if used in isolation can be ineffective.

Such a system with several moving parts must provide some level of independent thinking to allow for quick responses when things don’t go as planned. For instance, we observed a level of ingenuity, such as the few places where election results sheets where not missing, fake result sheets were made available. This shows the creativity some electoral officials displayed. This also creates

a medley of problems, which makes election reportage of actual events overwhelming and implausible.

4. Use violence where necessaryThe use of violence in one area can have a ripple effect that will reverberate across the entireState, thanks to the use of mobile phones and social media. This is great as one does not have to use a huge amount of force as seen in prior elections but just enough to remind people of how being democratic can land you in the gutter with dismembered body parts. In this election we saw a more organized approach using white buses with decent looking thugs who came to cart awayballot boxes.

They shot in the air using guns several times to disperse the crowd of eager citizens willing to vote. Unfortunately the violence did result in a few people being killed but it is important to note it appeared it was used more as a deterrent than a direct use of force against the Akwa Ibom people. In a country ridden with insecurity from a terrorist group in the North, 8 people getting killed and over 30 cases of severely injured people will definitely not get any media attention.

5. Control the mediaTo achieve absolute success you cannot afford for the media to be let loose in the State, they tend to have a mind of their own, desirous of reporting real happenings in real time.

Ensure this freelance approach to the media is not condoned. They must be told to stay away and for those in the State they must be controlled. In a case where the brown appreciative envelope does not suffice, you have touse coercion by threatening to burn down their houses with their family in it. Of course, that should temper down any bright ideas on election reportage and ensure they are where the main actors of the State are to cover a seamless process of accreditation and voting in the 30% of the State that seemed to vote. This will of course be a stark difference from what International observers and some local observers will report but fortunately no one has a wide reach like the local media. Those observer reports are really just for those academics that aspire to be a resource for election monitoring in developing countries.

6. Compromise some observersAgain maintaining balance is key.

There is no ‘ need for the manual labour of counting and deciding how many votes will be rendered invalid to guarantee the predetermined winner

’

• An empty polling unit at Offot 1 with no Election staff

•Williams

mal news from miscreants on social media as the main security agent has spoken and his word is bond.

•Voters take to their heels as thugs carted away ballot boxes at a polling unit in NsitUbium

•Torn ballot papers at Offot, Uyo

It would be a shame to have such a flawless plan of robbing people of their right to vote by leaving observers to wander around freely reporting a very different reality you have worked so hard to create. In this case, invite them to your house for lunch, welcome them very warmly to the State House and ensure you have discussions of how greatly you have performed and how ecstatic the Akwa Ibom people are to vote 100% for continuity. Do let them know that you are a product of democracy and you will continue to ensure these dividends flow even after you’re gone as governor. Again thank them for their good works and don’t forget the brown appreciative envelope, this time dollars must be the currency usedas some observers are sophisticated. This ensures they have a great time in Akwa Ibom and for some male observers they can now afford to experience the ‘ladies of the night’ in their hotel rooms as they return with a fist of full of dollars. As they report, you’ll be pleased to see them use the buzzwords such as ‘peaceful’ and ‘perfect’ to describe the successful election.

7. Strategic use of security forcesEnsure you have heavy security presence in your opponents strong areas. As much as 22 policemen were present in one polling unit in EniongOffot and none were present in other “less” threatening areas where violence erupted. This anomaly will secure the plan inareas easily controlled. While on the other hand, keep any opposition and their thugs from running amuck as they witness their grand plans to vote or

cause their own brand of trouble thwarted before their very eyes. Also you’ll need to ensure the security forces across all levels are on your side. This is for post-election purposes when annoying citizens who actually get upset about their inability to vote, gather to peacefully protest the announced results. You must ensure that none of such revolutionary activities are tolerated. For the few bold citizens that are undeterred by the violence they heard or witnessed during the election process you must make sure as soon they gather, you disperse them. Release fire trucks, helicopter and army tankers to display an unrelenting show of force for those who will try to prove a point about their right to vote.

8. Compromise heads of security forcesAgain, it is not enough to use the top down approach only with the electoral staff, it must be used for the security forces as well in combination with the bottom-up approach.

Remember it is the combination of both that delivers effective results.

You must positively influence the commissioner of police so that every time he gets on the news to discuss the elections he uses buzz words such as ‘peaceful’ and ‘perfect’ to describe the elections. When asked how about the pockets of violence being reported, he’ll react in a super confident way to play down such reports and make lackluster statements such as ‘there’s no violence, but I’ll look into it’. He’ll stick to the narrative of perfect elections like white on rice. This will null infor-

9. Announce results as fast as you canIn this case; you have to seek balance again because it’s a bit tricky.

You can’t afford to announce too early, as it will cause eyebrows to be raised so make sure you are not the first or second State to announce results but ensure you are top seven. At least a good 12 hours after elections is usually a good time to announce the pre-written results.

Since you have achieved rule number one by stopping 70% of the citizens from voting, you can skip the arduous task of actually collating results from Ward level to LGA level to State level. There is no need for the manual labour of counting and deciding how many votes will be rendered invalid to guarantee the pre-determined winner. The pregenerated computer results is what you’ll have the REC write on the result sheet to be announced by the Returning Officer usually a Professor assigned from INEC who also plays his role of announcing results ‘as is’ without any questions.

10. Media appearancesIt is important to select key state actors from Government House, House of Assembly, former and current National Assembly Members and NGO organizations (heavily linked to these state actors)as media emissaries. You’ll need to ensure all media emissaries sing the same song of how the state has always voted one way and will always vote that way forever and ever. You also need to make sure all emissaries use the same buzzwords ‘peaceful’ and ‘perfect’ election. They cannot deviate from the script or attempt to sound realistic by admitting to any reports of slight violence or election fraud.

They must not generalize or relate to the fact that Nigerian elections are far from perfect. They must keep their realism to themselves.

Finally, these media emissaries need to dismiss anycounter narrative from the public as the agents of the opposition parties. It is befitting to label the opposition parties as sore losers who failed miserably in their collective bid to even garner 10% of the votes in the State.

Remember to thank the Akwa Ibom people for their steadfastness in delivering incredible election results giving the winner a landslide victory that is enviable by national and global standards. When pictures of protest emerge, tell the audience that those images are imaginary and the real march was a victory march around the State celebrating this glorious win.

The above steps are how to win an election Akwa-Ibom Style, real democracy from the great doctrine of Akpabiosm. Hope this serves as a useful guide in winning elections and nation building.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

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SHOWBIZ

Presidential gala: Viewers decry Akpororo’s show

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S events marking the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari, penultimate Friday, continue to occupy discourse on the social media, the most berated episode in the live broadcast events was the choice of comedian Akpororo, as a performer during the Presidential Gala.

Akpororo, who was considered by many as too petite for a ceremony of that magnitude, played into the hands of critics when, he made a series of dry and infantile jokes.

That the jokes sounded unbefitting of the crowd further infuriated viewers. “Such a national disgrace,” said one Matthew Okechukwu, on Facebook.

“Did you watch the Presidential Gala Night yesterday?” A commentator asked his colleagues on a Black Berry group chat. “I keep wondering what informed the choice of Akpororo as comedian on such an occasion,” replied Sulaiman Baba, an Abuja resident who noted that talks about the poor performance by Akporo be-

came a subject in a barber’s shop where he had a haircut the next day. “The guy was not only a bore but a disgrace,” Baba said.

With a long trend of comments that followed, there was no asking what Akpororo did wrong. It was certain he didn’t get it right with that kind of audience.

For others, the class of people at the Gala, it appears is not just the issue, when placed against the ‘annoying’ jokes. “I have always said it that he is not a comedian,” said one Femi Junaid who added: “If he claims to be a comedian, then, his muse probably went to Otueke with Jonathan. He lacked depth and creativity last night.

However, it appears the artiste has a Business Manager that makes things happen, considering that he was also used in an Airtel commercial, which many find impressive.

“What were the organisers thinking about when they picked him among the several talents around?” said Jude Alabi who praised the scintillating performances of Bongos Ikwue, Korede Bello and DJ Cuppy among others.

“I am simply disappointed at the organisers-even if he had any connection with them. He was off track; he didn’t take into consideration the audience, the milieu etc,” he noted.

The event was co-anchored by veteran actress, Joke Silva, who herself was slightly fidgety - obviously because it is not her turf.

Silva, whose husband and fellow actor, Olu Jacobs also attended the Gala, struggled gain confidence as a co-anchor, but managed to pull it off.

Other anchors and performers who put up a good show include Ahmed Isa of the Berekete fame, one of the most popular on-air presenters in Abuja, Dj Cuppy and Korede Bello who literally stole the show, and was given a second slot, despite the limited time allotted the event.

His song, Godwin, which was echoed by the crowd, sounded like a celebration of Buhari’s victory, while Bongos Ikwue evoked old memories with the rendition of his popular number, Cockcrow at Dawn.

Earlier in the day, at the Eagle’s

• Akpororo

Square, popular Fuji artiste and APC member, K1 The Ultimate, played at intervals of the handing-

over ceremonies. Other performers at Eagle’s Square were P-Square and Faze.

Nollywood Week ends in Paris

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• Uche Jombo

Uche Jombo is a mom!

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TS celebration time at the Rodriguez home, as Nollywood actress, scriptwriter, and producer, Uche Jumbo-Rodriguez put to bed last Thursday, May 28, in the United States of America. The baby, a boy, is named Matthew, and is the first child of the star actress and her Puerto Rican spouse.

The Abiriba, Abia state-born Uche got married three years ago to a Puerto Rican-American, and is now based in Dallas, Texas, United States. Amidst rumours that she had lost her pregnancy, Uche travelled out of the country in May 2014 to have her baby. In her

By Jane Kolade

missive to her fans, she said, “To be happy, sometimes we just have to forget what is gone, appreciate what still remains and look forward to the good that’s coming next.”

Fortunately, she took in again and today, she has a lovely baby boy to show for her past pains. In her Instagram post, Jumbo says, “Baby Matthew is here! Just one look at him and the world is alright with me! Yeah it’s a lovely day!

Thank you Jesus! Thank you ALL for your prayers! We are grateful and thankful for this gift of life.”

How Rhythm OAP was murdered in cold blood

By Jane Kolade

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• Iphie

T was a sad day at the Rhythm 93.7 station and the global listening audience, last Tuesday, when the station’s on-air personality, Iphie Aggrey-Fynn, was murdered in cold blood.

Aggrey-Fynn was reportedly shot dead along Aba-Port Harcourt expressway, on her way back to Port Harcourt from Aba, where she had gone to pay her parents a visit.

Reports say the bus she was travelling in was attacked by armed robbers.

The late Iphie presented Rhythm and Soul and Ladies First on Rhythm 93.7 FM, Port Harcourt, and also hosted The Afternoon Drive, The Dance Party, Gospel vibes and The Morning Drive.

OLLYWOOD is definitely becoming a veritable exportable commodity, as Nollywood Week, a film festival to celebrate the Nigerian film industry ended in Paris yesterday.

The four-day event took place at Cinema l’Arlequin, showcasing some of the best works from the Nigerian motion picture industry, the second biggest video industry in the world, after India’s Bollywood.

The festival opened on Thursday with Jimmy goes to Nollywood, a documentary that follows Jimmy JeanLouis to the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) where the viewer gets a colorful and rich panorama at the heart of this new approach to filmmaking.

During the festival, other movies which got attention included A mile from home, Dazzling mirage, Love or something like that, Ojuju, Thy will be done, October 1, Last three digits and Gone too far.

The festival closed yesterday

By Joe Agbro Jr

with Dry, a movie by Stephenie Okereke-Linus.

All the movies screened had En-

glish and French translations.

Some Nigerian thespians such as Kunle Afolayan, Tunde Kelani and Lala Akindoju were in Paris for the fiesta.

• Kemi with Afolayan

Tantalizers fetes Nigerian Idol finalists

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HE Adetokunbo Ademola Street outlet of Tantalizers Plc was agog penultimate Sunday, when the eatery hosted the final three contestants in the Nigerian Idol reality show.

It was the second time the quickservice restaurant would host the contestants in an interactive session. Tantalizers is the official food partner of the Nigerian Idol project.

The contestants – Dolu, K-Peace and Nex2 – arrived at the outlet in company of Optima Media Group

By Wale Ajetunmobi

(OMG) officials at 3pm, and were received by ecstatic staff and customers of the eatery.

At the event, Tantalizers’ Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Gbolahan Labinjo, praised the contestants for their musical talents, which he described as exceptional. He said the eatery partnered with OMG and Nigerian Idol Project on the initiative to help the youth project their talents, thereby reducing

Davido graduates from Babcock University

By Joe Agbro Jr

M

USIC star David Adedeji Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, graduated yesterday from the Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State.

Davido who was the only graduating student in department of Music and Creative Arts came out with a Second Class Upper Credit. He attended the event which held at the university stadium with his millionaire dad, Dr. Adedeji Adeleke.

At the mention of his name, the graduating students cheered the international music star. His father was also given an honourary mention for his achievements in determination and parental support.

When his dad was called out to be honoured, Davido, showed love to him by giving him a hug.

Rather than sit with other graduating students, the HKN boss sat on the high table with the university and other VIPs. Having bagged his degree, this latest development gives the artiste a new springboard to further pursue his music career.

crime.

He said: “Tantalizers decided to partner with OMG because of its belief in the youth and their enormous capability in carving a niche for themselves through their talents. We do this as Corporate Social Responsibility to the environment we do business.”

The contestants were treated to exciting activities, including dancing, musical entertainment, and photo session with fans and admirers.

• Davido

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NEWS Yobe to conduct council poll with card reader From Duku JOEL, Damaturu

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HE local government elections in Yobe State, coming up later in the year, will be conducted with the use of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC’s) Card Reader (CR), the Chairman of Yobe State Independent Electoral Commission (YBSIEC), Mohammed Jauro Abdu, has said.

Abdu, who spoke with The Nation in Damaturu at the weekend, noted that his commission decided to take a cue from INEC to use the card reader due to the credibility the technology brought in the last general elections.

“I believe the use of the card reader

by INEC in the last general elections has brought a lot of credibility to the electoral process. We are therefore poised to replicate this in our local government elections coming up before the end of this year.

“I feel Yobe should take advantage of this good technology and set the pace by being the first state to conduct a local government election with the INEC card readers. Don’t ask me if we are going to procure our own card readers. No. We have already concluded arrangement with INEC,” he said.

PDP knocks APC over Buhari’s regional tours From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

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HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of double standard and insincerity over the recent tours of Chad and Niger Republic by President Muhammadu Buhari for cooperation on the Boko Haram insurgency.

Faulting the tours, the party observed that the APC had criticised former President Goodluck Jonathan for similarly co-opting Chad and Niger in the military offensive against the sect.

A statement yesterday by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, faulted the commendation being showered on Buhari for seeking military assistance from Nigeria’s neighbours.

“In the days ahead, Nigerians should expect further unmasking of APC’s double standard and blackmail upon which they rode to power,” the statement said.

The PDP also condemned the APC for allegedly attacking well-meaning Nigerians for daring to offer constructive criticisms to President Buhari, following loss of tempo in the fight against insurgency since he took office.

The PDP lamented that since the APC took over power at the centre, there has been no clear sign of seriousness and direction, “but confusion, selfish infighting and hysteria for positions of power while the nation drifts”.

It noted that the situation was unhealthy for democracy and national development.

‘Kano to strengthen rapport with Fed Govt’ From Kolade Adeyemi Kano

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ANO State government would work with the Federal Government to develop the state, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has said.

The governor, who spoke yesterday at the inauguration of a 10–man committee on abandoned and ongoing Federal Government projects, said: “In a democracy, the level of competition is high. It is those persistent in knocking at the doors of the Federal Government that will derive benefit for their people.”

He said Kano needed to maximise relationship with the Federal Government since the leadership at the centre had changed, stressing that since Kano gave President Muhammadu Buhari the highest votes in the March 28 election, the state had a reason to ask for more federal presence.

The Corps Marshal/Chief Executive Officer, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi (middle) at the inauguration of a borehole donated by the Ogun State Special Marshals and Partnerships to the Sector’s Command, Abeokuta. With him are Deputy Corps Marshal (MVA), Charles Theophilus (second left), Sector Commander, Adegoke Adetunji (second right), Lagos and Ogun SMP, Mr Toyin Kadiku (left), Ogun State Coordinator, Elder Emmanuel Fagbenro and assistant Coordinator Elder Wale Bolarinwa.

Why we passed PIB, by ex-House Minority Whip

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HE leadership of the immediate past Seventh Assembly of the House of Representatives passed the Petroleum Industry Bill to ensure reform in the oil and gas sector.

Minority Whip of the House Samson Osagie said this in a chat with reporters at the Benin airport, the Edo State Capital at the weekend after his arrival from Abuja.

He said the country depends on oil and gas as its major revenue earner, adding that there was need for the outgoing legislators to

From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

demonstrate their support for the present administration in its determination to reform the sector for national growth.

Osagie said the last-minute move was borne out of the desire to give boost to the sector by taking into account that Nigeria is a mono economy.

He hoped that members of the Eighth National Assembly would take a cue from where the past lawmakers stopped.

His words: “What we did was a demonstration of our commitment to ensure transparency in the running of our oil and gas sector to ensure that the petroleum sector is sanitised for the greater advantage of the Nigerian people.

“As you can see, we rounded up with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). That was borne out of the desire of the House of Representatives to ensure a reform in the oil and gas sector because you know oil and gas remains the mainstay of our economy.

Tinubu becomes Agbekoya’s life patron

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ORMER Lagos State Governor and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has been appointed the life patron of Agbekoya Farmers Society.

Tinubu’s investiture has been slated for Friday at the Olumo Rock Tourist Complex Multipurpose Hall, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

The APC leader will be the third

By Seun Akioye

life patron of the organisation since it was founded in1938.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Chief Olatunji Bandele, Tinubu will be stepping into the shoes of the late Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Abas Aleshinloye, who became the first life patron in 1957 and the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the second life patron.

The statement reads: “The Yoruba great son and leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is now stepping into the shoes of our former life patron and the Premier of the defunct Western Region, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was the second Life Patron, and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is now the third Life Patron of Agbekoya since the Society was founded in 1938.”

Group faults Mark over National Assembly’s budget

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TRANSPARENCY and budget awareness group, BudgIT, has described as false the statement created to the outgoing Senate President, David Mark, that the budget of the National Assembly is open and transparent.

Mark had said last Monday at a retreat organised for the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) National Assembly members-elect in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, that the budget of the National Assembly was not a secret.

But BudgIT, in a statement, said every release of the National Assembly budget in the last five years only presented a single, total figure, without stating how much of taxpayers’ funds went into the personnel cost of assembly’s members.

It faulted the position of the Senate President, saying it was at odds with transparency norms of any democratic nation.

The group said Mark was under an “erroneous” impression that a single blanket figure is sufficiently transparent enough.

“The Overwhelming desire of Nigerians is not Senator Mark’s definition of transparency, but a full, lineby-line declaration of expenditure, available to citizens across every literacy class as evidenced by our #OpenNASS campaign.”

The group said while it is clear that

By Seun Akioye

the National Assembly has N150 billion allocated to it every year in the last four years, there has been very little of details to show how the funds have been disbursed.

“Since 2011, a sum of N37.5bn on a quarterly basis was given to the National Assembly without any refunds or detail of expenses. This does not follow international practices in the United Kingdom (UK) or the United States (U.S.), where all expense sheets of parliamentarians are available added that it had also sent a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to the Clerk of the National Assembly requesting detailed breakdown of budget of N600 billion between 2011 to 2014, which was refused by its Legal Services Department, claiming the information is “personal, third party related and protected under Sections 14 and 15 of the Freedom of Information Act.” This development, the group noted, necessitated its court action against the National Assembly and called for an immediate end to secrecy regarding the budget of the lawmakers. “ We hereby ask Senator Mark to stop being economical with the truth and accept that he presided over a National Assembly that spent N600 billion with no records of accountabil-

“Our economy is largely dependent on oil and that is why we say that Nigeria is a mono economy.

So, we need reform in that sector and conscious of that fact we said that the least we would do is to ensure the passage of that Bill, even though the Senate have not done their own. The next assembly will take it up from there.”

The APC lawmaker lauded people of Orhionwmon/ Uhunmwode federal constituency in Edo State and Nigerians for the opportunity they gave him to serve the country.

Sultan distributes bags of rice From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

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HE Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Jamatul Nasir Islam (JNI), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, yesterday launched the distribution of relief materials.

They included 18,000 bags of rice, to Internally- Displaced Persons (IDPs), from Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Kaduna, Kano, Gombe and Bauchi states.

The Sultan said the materials, which also included 250 tins of vegetable oil, were to alleviate the sufferings of the IDPs. He said the items were not to be sold by the beneficiaries, stressing that they were meant to assist them in their trying moments.

Badeh: I’m an IDP too •Mark

ity and worse still a NASS with no willingness to start becoming accountable to the same Nigerians Senator Mark purports to serve.

“For the umpteenth time, BudgIT demands a full breakdown of the NASS budget, so we can make it available to the public. The current vagueness of the NASS budget emboldens us to dispute Marks’s spurious claim that lawmakers have made sacrifices by cutting their budget from N150 billion to N115 billion; because there are no documents in the public domain to prove this.

“We insist that the NASS does not need more than N80 billion to run its operations and therefore challenge Senator Mark to open his books and allow Nigerians to be the judge of a situation where the lawmakers who spend N600 billion in four years amid widespread socio-economic turmoil can still claim to be making sacrifices.”

From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

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HE Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex S. Badeh, said yesterday that he is also a victim of the insurgency and an Internally-Displaced Person (IDP), following attacks by the Boko Haram.

Speaking in Kaduna at a church service and inauguration of the Nigerian Air Force Protestant Church, Kaduna, the defence chief said he was not spared in the attacks by the sect, as his house was torched in Adamawa.

He said enough was enough for the group and that the Boko Haram insurgency must end.

Badeh urged Nigerians to pray for their success in the fight against the militia.

The Chaplain, Rev. (Wing Commander) Yunana G. Gada, assured that the church would support the military in prayers.

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NEWS

Pains, gains of

•Speakership Aspirant, Yakubu Dogara (left), Deputy Speakership Aspirant, Lasun Yusuf (right) and spokesperson of Consolidation Group, Abdulmumin Jibril during a press briefing by the group to go ahead and nominate their candidates on the floor of the house of Representatives despite the All Progressives Congress’s (APC’s) candidature of Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker in Abuja... yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Fayese .

The belief that government has no business running commercial ventures gave rise to PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP). In the aviation sector, where the problem of decaying facilities stares all in the face, the PPP has shown that there is no pain without gain and that if the country keeps to the terms of concession, Nigerians will be the ultimate winner, writes OLUKOREDE YISHAU

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•From left: Chief Imam of Ibadanland, Alhaji Abdul-Ganiyu Agbotomokekere; Guest Lecturer, Prof. Muftau Abdur Rahman; Chairman of the ocassion, Chief Lateef Fegbemi And Chairman Ibadan Muslim Community, Alhaji Mustafa Oyero at the 5th Annual Pre-ramadan Lecture for Good Governance in Ibadan...yesterday.

•NEMA Camps Coordinator Alhaji Sa'ad Bello (left), presenting drugs to the Chief Medical Director of Yola Specialists Hospital, Dr Bala Saidu, to assist in the treatment of injured bomb blast victims which recently occured in Adamawa State...yesterday.

•From left: Grand Knight, KSM Maryland Sub-council, Bernard Nkwo, Metropolitan Grand Knight, Lagos Metropolitan Council, Charles Mbelede, Deputy Metropolitan Grand Knight, William Adebisi,and Metropolitan Chancellor,James Famure, all of Knight of St. Mulumba, Lagos Metropolitan Council during the Council's Annual Pro-life Rally in Lagos.

O one is sure how it will end.

The battle has been on for years. From one court to the other, AIC Limited, owned by former presidential aspirant and business mogul Chief Harry Akande, has tried to get an order that will enable it start work on a five-star hotel near the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

The deal centres around a parcel of land awarded to Messrs AIC under the administration of former military Head of State, the late Gen. Sani Abacha. Almost two decades after its exit, the administration’s transparency and accountability records are still being questioned and public funds stolen by the military ruler are still being returned by foreign governments.

The deal was sealed on February 17, 1998. AIC won a 50-year concession to build a hotel on an 11.654-hectare land near the MMIA. The late Gen. Abacha died before the company could start work on the site and when former President Olusegun Obasanjo took over, his administration reviewed many of the contracts awarded by the late dictator. It claimed to have found a lot of discrepancies.

This affected the AIC project. The concession was cancelled, compelling the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), in May 2002, to write AIC/ Hilton to vacate the land citing irregularities in the concession process and concerns about the proposed height of the hotel.

Citing the airport’s master plan, FAAN said the land earmark for the firm was meant for the expansion of the international terminal and apron in the .

AIC, in a court document, said it was mobilising workers to site when FAAN served it a quit notice. The development triggered a legal tussle, in which Justice Regina Nwodo, of the Federal High Court, granted an injunction on February 18, 2002, restraining FAAN from disturbing AIC on the land, pending the determination of the dispute to an arbitrator.

Since then, it has been in and out of the arbitration tribunal and the courts.

On January 13, 2013, hell almost broke out on the land as FAAN alleged that AIC attempted to take possession of the land, an allegation the company denied.

A statement by FAAN reads: “On January 13, 2013, AIC Limited, in an unprecedented act of brigandage by a private investor on government property, forcefully took possession of part of MMA’s land with the help of armed policemen and hired thugs, thereby causing a security breach at the airport.

Again, on January 24, 2013, thugs hired by the company physically as-

•MMA2, Ikeja, Lagos

saulted top officials of FAAN, who went to inspect the site of the incident of January 14, causing bodily harm to some of them.”

The AIC’s case, pending before the Court of Appeal, followed a June 19, 2013, ruling of the Federal High Court in Lagos, favouring FAAN. The AIC filed two different cases at the Federal High Court on the dispute and FAAN filed one at the same court, following the decision of the arbitration tribunal, headed by the late Justice Kayode Eso. The tribunal asked FAAN to pay $48, 124, 000 as damages to AIC on June 1, 2010.

Justice Ibrahim Buba held that the tribunal went outside its jurisdiction in rendering the final award between the parties. He set aside the decision.

FAAN said that by the judgment, the parcel of land in question has become free for massive infrastructural development under the aerotropolis project. But the AIC insisted FAAN misread the judgment.

The project has remained unimplemented. Unlike the AIC Limited deal, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) has in the last eight years operated the MMA2, Ikeja.

The airport, which is under the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement, has come a long way. At the weekend, it marked its eighth anniversary. Some weeks back, the airport added another feather to its cap with the inauguration of the Common User Passenger Processing System (CUPPS) and other technology innovations which enable passengers have the best of travel experience.

BASL’s Chief Executive Christophe Penninck said MMA2 was the only airport terminal in Nigeria to “have solely installed the latest version of a computer system that enables passengers and terminal users as a whole to experience a fast, secure, safe and customer-friendly way to board a flight”.

With the innovations, e-check in, automatic e-gates and a full Baggage Reconciliation System, which Nigerians only enjoy abroad, have been domecticated. But a lot went into achieving this feat.

Penninck said: “To the layman, this system might seem as easy and simple as an electronic till you’ll commonly find at a supermarket. The product is stored in the system at a price; the barcode reference is scanned to add it on the bill and the customer gets the ‘manifest’ at the end for payment.

“Unfortunately, this is not as easy.

From the first idea of installing this system till today, it took the relentless efforts of our board, management team, various departments in BASL, the airlines, the ground handling companies and the system providers in the past 18 months to achieve what we are inaugurating today.

“We at BASL didn’t want to do

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NEWS

ns of concession deals in aviation sector

•Chidoka, flanked by Babalakin (left) and Penninck, using a self-service check-in kiosk at the inauguration of the CUPPS at the MMA2, Lagos.

things halfway. We could have just installed a new system on the existing computers, original check-in desks, and limit ourselves to a basic check-in system.

“Based on extensive research of what best system is available abroad, we selected RESA to be our system provider. The system we’re inaugurating today is the same as installed in major international airports like Charles De Gaulle, Bangkok International; the brand new airport terminal in Mauritius and over 200 airports worldwide.”

The airport had to change all the check-in counters and scales. It also increased their number from 31 to 45.

The design and manufacturing was done by the same company servicing Amsterdam Schiphol and many other major international airports. The computers at the check-in desks were also changed and each computer is connected to a brand new boarding pass printer and a new baggage tag printer.

Also, each airline has a ticket barcode scanner to call up the ticket immediately and without any keyboard input to accelerate the check-in process.

For passengers traveling without bags, the airport installed four selfcheck-in kiosks. The BASL has also increased the security features at MMA2 by installing e-gates before the security screening point, making it virtually impossible for an unauthorised person to enter the boarding zone.

Also, each gate is now equipped with a boarding pass scanner and a brand new manifest printers.

Interestingly, a technology known as PAXTRACK has been installed and with this, the airport can, among others, analyse the peak periods and thus better placed to plan. This facility also makes it easy to locate a passenger within the terminal and enable the boarding agent to have a better ontime performance The installation of a full BRS makes MMA2 the only terminal in Nigeria to offer an automated baggage reconciliation system as prescribed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

“We’re the only airport terminal in Nigeria that is providing baggage tags and boarding passes and the equipment was installed by our team and the system is owned by the airport,” Penninck said:

Not a tea party It was not all bed of roses in the past for BASL. Its chairman Dr. Wale Babalakin gave an insight at the inauguration of the new facilities.

He said: “It has been seven years of great difficulty, but we must commend the minister of Aviation for his vision; for his steadfastness and for his attitude to saying the truth. When I heard

over the radio that MMA2 was voted as the best terminal in Nigeria, I was taken aback. My first reaction was that I hope this will not cost him his job.

But he was sincere to himself and he was sincere to Nigerians. So, I continued to make the case that you should listen to him, to his analysis, to his depth of thought, his theory, which he captured with the acronym – MMI, which are Measurement, Monitoring and Improvement. This is a product of a very deep mind.

“It is my belief that there is nothing called local aviation. Aviation is international. There is nothing called Nigerian aviation. Any time you say Nigerian aviation or Nigerian tendencies, we diminish ourselves. We must seek to comply with international standards and if we wish to make a good impression, we must exceed those standards.

The minister has shown me here that if you appoint as minister of Aviation somebody with international perspective, someone who is considerably knowledgeable, and who is upright in his ways, aviation will go very far. I hope this is noted by those in position of authority.

“I make bold to say today that if you combine an intellectual leadership in governance with the phenomenal private sector, you will grow the infrastructure of this country beyond the imagination of the people.

“My belief is that money should follow strategy. Strategy should not follow money. It is not the best. MMA2 symbolises how money has followed strategy and not the other way. I won’t take your time, but we must commend everyone for coming and waiting patiently for the event; and we are very much impressed that the minister has told the industry in clear terms that please, if you cannot overtake MMA2, follow diligently for the benefit of all Nigerians.

And I know we will get there.”

Technology transfer One major benefit of concession in the aviation sector is technology transfer. For the new facilities to be installed and operated successfully, BASL workers were sent abroad for training.

Some of the manufacturers also came to Lagos to train both BASL staff and

others. “We’ve trained about 300 airport staff (airlines, ground handling and BASL). That was just for this project,” Penninck said.

About 200 of the airport’s security staff have just obtained ICAO Certificate in Aviation Security.

The importance of technology For immediate past Aviation Minister Osita Chidoka, aside technology transfer, there are other benefits of the new facilities at the MMA2.

He said: “If we can improve the people, make our processes transparent, and back same up with requisite technology, then, we will have a worldclass organisation.

“Part of the challenge is what brought us here today. I asked the Chairman of Bi-Courtney how many passengers have passed through this terminal and he said it is roughly about 1.2 million passengers every year.

Now, the ministry of aviation does not know whether this is 100, 000 people travelling ten times; or 500,000 people travelling twice. But with what they have installed today – the passenger tracking system, at least, we will know in MMA2 the unique passengers and how many times they travel in a year.”

Chidoka explained that with technology, the controversy over aviation statistics would be a thing of the past.

His words: “Again, since I resumed office as the minister of Aviation, there has been a controversy. FAAN says there are 10 million passengers going through Nigerian airports, the airlines say it is not true, that it can’t be correct.

The question now is who carries the passengers? If MMA2 has 1.2 million passengers a year, which is where the bulk of local airlines operate from, minus Arik and Air Peace, I wonder where the other passengers went through?

Something as simple as knowing the data of air passengers across the airports is shrouded in mystery.

“Technology is going to make it possible for us to be able to say things with more clarity. Therefore what we have seen today with the launch of the CUPPS is a step in the right direction; and that it is coming from the airport Nigerians have voted as the best in the country.”

Concessionaires and battles Like Babalakin said, the last seven years have been difficult. Part of the difficulty is proper interpretation of the concession agreement. For instance, Bi-Courtney has had to do battles with FAAN over the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), which it said, should belong to it by virtue of its concession agreement.

Another concessionaire which fell out of favour with FAAN is Maevis Nigeria. The firm entered into a concessionary agreement with FAAN on October 31, 2007 for the supply of Airport Operations Management System (AOMS) to the MMIA, Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) and Port Harcourt International Airport.

The contract was to last for 10 years and renewable every five years, subject to satisfactory performance.

Five years into the agreement, FAAN terminated the agreement on February 24, 2011, saying it had lost N17 billion due to Maevis’ alleged incompetence and replaced the firm with Societe International Telecommunication Aeronautiques (SITA).

SITA, an international communications and IT company which specialises in providing data information and airport operations management systems (AOMS) for both airlines and airports in several countries worldwide, operates in some other African airports in Cairo, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Nairobi and Morocco.

Maevis sought refuge in the court, where it accused FAAN of forcefully chasing its men out of the airports. It said it had committed over N5 billion into the project. Justice Buba last year asked SITA to pay Maevis N5 billion.

He also invalidated SITA’s contract with FAAN.

Concessionaires having it good Emanpop Limited, Things Remembered, ASL, Blue Lodge, NAHCO, SAHCOL, Gabfon, Double 4, Caverton, OAS, Evergreen, Dominion and Executive Jets are other concessionaires operating in the aviation sector and they have all demonstrated that once gov-

‘

I make bold to say today that if you combine an intellectual leadership in governance with the phenomenal private sector, you will grow the infrastructure of this country beyond the imagination of the people

‘

ernment plays its part, all will go well.

Decaying airport facilities One of the sectors the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration focused on is aviation. Through its remodeling project, many airports across the country were given face-lifts. But the truth remains that despite these efforts, the problem of decaying facilities still bedevil the airports.

With the success story of MMA 2 and other concessionaires in the aviation sector, there may be a lot of sense in Hillary Clinton’s words that “you cannot have development in today’s world without partnering with the private sector.”

And like Chidoka said: “I think MMA2 has offered the template about how government should go about the issue of the operations of airports in the country. Feelers from the stakeholders in the industry, including pilots, grand handlers among others also gave it to MMA2.”

He added: “This technology is wholly welcome, and MMA2 is putting us into it and we want to believe that the improvement in passengers experience in MMA2, the continuous quest for improvement, the continuous quest for excellence is sustained. This continuous improvement is something I would like other managers of airports in Nigeria to begin to mimic. If they cannot truly capture it – all they need to do is just “copy and paste” since the template is already there.

“So, it is my very good pleasure to congratulate the management of BiCourtney and MMA2 in that you have continued to be worthy partners in the aviation sector. What you have done today is a major boost in the nation’s aviation industry. It has once again promoted the concept which I have termed – World Aviation, which literally means whether you suffer any problem in any of the airports – Lagos Airport, Enugu Airport e.t.c., it affects, impacts the whole aviation sector. Whether it is fuel scarcity or whatever, the impact is all over, it affects the passengers, the pilots, the airlines’ sales drop, and everyone gets affected.

“So aviation is a marriage; I must say it’s like a Catholic marriage that you cannot divorce one for the other. That is why the world aviation vision is safety across board, security in all our terminals, and making sure that customer service is at its highest best to increase the number of those who consume aviation services in order to increase revenues for airports, for airport authority, for the regulators and for the nation’s economy.

“This is, indeed, one more step in the aviation industry to make the airport customer-friendly. What MMA2 has done today, is to show that what passengers and other airport users see in Dubai, Paris, UK, US can eminently be replicated here in Nigeria.”

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ENUE State government is to revive and upgrade the Agricultural Training Centre, Mbatie in Buruku Local Government.

Governor Samuel Ortom, who spoke during a visit to the institution, decried the dilapidation of structures and the small student population.

He said the training centre had a potential to contribute to the development of the agricultural sector, adding that he would seek foreign assistance to revive the school.

Ortom urged the Ter Buruku, Chief David Afaityo and other monarchs to ensure the institution’s land was not encroached upon, assuring that the immediate community would be the greatest beneficiary when activities resumed at the centre.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Isaac Shaapera, acknowledged the resolve of the Ortom administration to revive the institution. He expressed confidence in the ability of the governor to succeed despite lean resources.

Chief Afaityo said the indigenes were grateful to Governor Ortom for his intention

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From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

to revive the training centre.

The Principal, Mr. Daniel Pila, said the institution, which was established in 1955, had challenges, particularly in infrastructure and student population, adding that at the moment, only the fish and grass cutter farms were operational.

The governor noted that his administration resolved to develop agriculture as an employment generating sector, which would also ensure maximum food production for local consumption and export.

He spoke when he visited Akperan Orshi College of Agriculture, Yandev. Ortom said the institution, when repositioned, would serve as a resource centre for mechanised farming and improve crop production.

He assured that the government would address the challenges facing the institution as soon as the economy of the state improved.

The governor, who addressed workers and students, said they had a challenge to contribute to the realisation of the agenda of his administration in the agriculture sector.

Ortom reinstates monarch

ENUE State Governor Samuel Ortom has ordered the reinstatement of the deposed Ter Nagi, Chief Daniel Abomtse, with benefits.

A statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Targema Takema, said Ortom also directed the Tiv Area Traditional Council to revert to the status quo prior to the deposition order.

He said the governor gave the directive after the receipt and consideration of the report of the five-member committee set up to review the deposition order issued against the traditional ruler, which recommended that the deposition order was not approved by the

House of Assembly, as required by Section 29 of the Benue Chiefs Appointment and Deposition Law of 2015.

The committee also submitted that Chief Abomtse was not given the opportunity to respond to the allegations levelled against him by his accusers, which warranted the deposition order, adding that the deposition did not follow due process in accordance with the law.

Speaking in a telephone interview, Abomtse thanked the governor for ensuring that the rule of law prevailed, adding that he was looking forward to a cordial working relationship with the present administration to ensure that there was peace in his domain and the state.

Kogi Assembly crisis deepens T HE Sulaiman Baba Ali (SBA) Campaign Organisation, under the umbrella of Team SBA, has urged the Kogi State government to find a solution to the crisis in the legislative and executive arms of government.

The newly-inaugurated Assembly has been in leadership crisis, which resulted in the walkout by 11 All Progressives Congress (APC)

members, who disowned the leadership led by the Speaker, Momoh Jimoh Lawal.

The aggrieved members accused the state government of creating a rift, following its involvement in the composition of the House leadership.

The SBA campaign organisation, through its spokesman, Alhaji Mohammed Abdullahi, berated the government for not allowing

due process to take place.

Abdullahi said he wondered why the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government, which had the majority members in the House, would involve itself in the selection of leaders.

“The PDP government is still living in the past when the governor or party leadership would single-handedly select Assembly leaders without the input of the

lawmakers.

“It is a different ball game now. The PDP has 14 members and the APC, 11.

So there will be no room to manipulate the House,” he added.

The APC lawmakers have extended their 24-hour ultimatum till today for the state government to steer clear of the Assembly’s activities or face a parallel House.

Zakzaky urges Buhari to reconstitute Army

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HE Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, popularly called ‘Shitte Group’, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to reconstitute and reorient the army.

He said Buhari should not

From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

expect a good result by using a disoriented military to solve crisis.

Sheikh Zakzaky spoke at the weekend at the annual parade ceremony of the Is-

lamic Movement Volunteer Guards (Khurras), attended by thousands of people at the Zaria Polo ground.

He said the military lacked the courtesy and standard human relations in dealing with the people, adding that the only thing

it specialised in was to kill unarmed citizens in which it took pride.

Zakzaky said the present government should not expect a good result by using such a disoriented military to settle dispute or solve crisis.

Our people won’t listen to excuses, says El-Rufai

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ADUNA State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai at the weekend swore-in four appointees.

He urged them to do their best for the development of the state, saying the people would not listen to excuses if the All Progressives Congress (APC) government failed to deliver after four years.

El-Rufai said his administration had no time to play, “therefore we have to swing

From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

into action to unite and develop Kaduna.”

The governor named the appointees ahead of his inauguration on May 29.

They are Secretary to the State Government, Malam Balarabe Abbas Lawal; Principal Private Secretary, Malam Salisu Suleiman; Deputy Chief of Staff incharge of Legislative Affairs, Bala Yunusa and his

Special Assistant, Media, Samuel Aruwan.

After administering the oath of allegiance and the oath of office on the appointees, El-Rufai urged them to be dedicated to their duties.

He said: “We are here for a serious business that requires dedication, commitment and sacrifice to achieve positive results.

The people of Kaduna State have given us a four-year mandate to deliver and they will not entertain stories.

They expect us to work hard and achieve results. So we must do this.

“There is no room for excuses. We have no time to waste, neither do we have time to play. We have a duty to work hard for the development, unity and progress of the state.”

Responding on behalf of the appointees, Lawal thanked the governor and assured him of their commitment to the duties assigned to them.

Accountants advised on integrity

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HE Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Lagos State chapter, Elder Israel Akinadewo, has urged accountants to be honest.

He said: “We are expected to be people of integrity and should not involve in shady deals capable of denting our image, thus dragging the image of our noble profession in the mud.”

Akinadewo, who spoke in Lagos at the 6th induction of the Forensic Accounting Certification Training Programme of the Audit, Investigations and Forensic Accounting Faculty-cum-4th induction for the IFRS Certification Training Programme of the Financial Reporting Faculty, said it was sad that corruption had eaten deep into the fabrics of the society.

He said Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, an accountant, would sustain the dividends of democracy put in place by the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN. Akinadewo said accountants are good managers and

By Tokunbo Ogunsami

administrators. He added that Ambode would turn the state into a mega city “within a short time.”

The CAN Secretary, who is an Apostle of the Motailatu Cherubim and Seraphim Church, hailed President Muhammadu Buhari, describing him as a man of integrity, who would set the country on the right path.

He said: “When Buhari was the military head of state, he launched a war against indiscipline and entrenched the culture of queuing in public.

I’m sure that now that he has returned as a civilian president, Nigerians will have cause to smile because he will ensure good governance.”

The President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Mr. Chidi Onyeukwu Ajaegbu, decried the high level of corruption in the country, enjoining members to embrace integrity and objectivity., He advised accountants in public and private sectors to rise up to the challenges in the profession and reform the country, saying they should not allow themselves to be tempted by the perks of office.

•Former Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda (left), handing over to Governor Mohammed Abdullaji Abubakar at the Government House, Bauchi, on May 29.

Yuguda: Abubakar can’t quash my decision

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ORMER Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda said yesterday that his successor, Governor Mohammed Abubakar, had no right to challenge or change any of the decisions he took as a governor.

He told the people to call Abubakar to order “because he has no right to harass anybody over land allocation or any decision taken by me when I was the governor.”

Yuguda denied allegations that his administration left a debt of N125billion.

He was elected governor in 2007 on the platform of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), but he later defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and ruled till May 29.

From Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi

Abubakar challenged some of Yuguda’s decisions and revoked his allocation of land and auctioning of government vehicles.

The Secretary to the Transition Committee, Dr. Aliyu Tilde, in a statement in Bauchi, yesterday alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) government “inherited over N125billion debt from the Yuguda administration.”

But Yuguda, in a telephone interview with our reporter in Bauchi, said: “The governor should be called to order because he has no right to upturn my decision. They don’t have a right to change anything or harass anybody in

the state.”

He went on: “Any public servant that has worked under me and I handed anything to him and I signed and approved it, that approval is legal and Abubakar has no right to reverse it. Also, anything I allocated to any individual, group or association, which remains legal, Mohammed Abubakar does not have any right to reverse my decision.

“If Abubakar thinks he can reverse what I have done, he has made a mistake because I had a right as an executive governor elected by my people to take such decisions on their behalf. So, any person aggrieved should go to court because such is not done in a government administra-

tion.”

Commenting on the over N125billion debt, Yuguda said the loans he handed over to Abubakar were not up to N80 billion, including the loan he inherited from Governor Ahmadu Muazu and the foreign loans that would be serviced for 40 years.

“While I was in office, we paid salaries, provided water, security and education.

We built an international airport, a specialist hospital, among others. When I came into government in 2007, I did not only meet an empty treasury, but I met an overdraft of N8billion, which I inherited from Muazu, but I did not make a noise about it. I did not complain, I started work as a governor.”

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NEWS Gunshots as APGA, PDP win Bayelsa run-off poll

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•First Sarauniyan of Dass Emirate Council, Amb. Comfort Ene Attah, riding a horse during her turbarning at Dass Local PHOTO: NAN Government Area of Bauchi State…yesterday

HE candidates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday won the Brass Constituency II and Ogbia Constituency II seats in the House of Assembly’s run-off elections in Bayelsa State.

It was gathered that the elections were characterised by sporadic shooting by suspected hired thugs.

The elections were also said to have been marred by allegations of electoral materials hijack and voter apathy.

The apathy was attributed to the sporadic gunshots, which allegedly continued without reactions from hundreds of security personnel deployed in the areas.

It was gathered that the Brass Constituency II election witnessed a large turnout of voters with the APGA candidate, Alfred Watson, defeat-

Concerns in Bayelsa over upsurge in kidnapping

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HERE are concerns in Bayelsa State over increasing cases of kidnapping, especially in the coastal areas.

Erepamo, a brother to the President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Mr. Udens Eradiri, is the latest victim.

The abductors of the younger Eradiri was said to have demanded N20 million ransom from their victim’s family.

Eradiri was reportedly kidnapped on Friday at Famgbe, a coastal community in Yenagoa Local Government Area.

His assailants were said to have accosted him on a commercial tricycle and whisked him away to an unknown place.

It was learnt that the kidnappers took him to a creek in Lokpogbene, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

The IYC leader, who confirmed the incident, said the abductors demanded N20 million ransom.

But he insisted that no money would be paid by his family to rescue his brother.

He asked the kidnappers to release the younger Eradiri

•Adductors of IYC leader’s brother demand N20m •Jonathan’s cousins released after N15m ransom •Dickson sets up task force ey, they demanded more and From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

and look for legal means of livelihood.

According to him, as a youth leader, he will not glorify the illegal business of abduction.

Udens Eradiri said IYC members had been contacted to locate the kidnappers and free his brother.

The IYC leader said the matter had been reported to the police.

It was also learnt that the three female cousins of former President Goodluck Jonathan, who were kidnapped at Akempli, were released on Friday.

Police spokesman Asinim Butswat confirmed the development.

He said three women were kidnapped on the day of the incident, and not two, as previously reported.

It was reported that only Patience Egbeni and Kate Eni, former President Jonathan’s cousins, were kidnapped by

the gunmen.

But Butswat said it was later discovered that another woman, identified as Edith Ekine, was among the victims.

Six gunmen in military uniform abducted the victims on May 20 at their provisions stores on the riverbank of Akempli, Ogbia Local Government Area.

The bandits stormed Akempli at 8.30am and seized the women.

The gunmen, after five days, established contacts with their families, demanding N50 million ransom.

Butswat said they were released at Abua Waterfront in Abua-Odua Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Though he said no ransom was paid, a security source said over N15 million was paid to release the victims.

The source, who spoke in confidence, added: “Fifteen million naira ransom was initially paid to the kidnappers.

But after collecting the mon-

kept the women. I don’t know whether or not more money was given to them.

But they were set free on Friday at N11:30pm.”

The source alerted to a “notorious forest” in the state, where most kidnapped victims were kept.

He said the forest, at Nembe Local Government Area, is called Edumanon National Forest, Nembe.

The source added: “This forest is a haven for kidnappers. Almost everybody abducted in the state is taken to the forest first. Kidnapped expatriates are kept there.

Sometimes, kidnapped victims die and they are buried there.

“Even Jonathan’s cousins, who were kidnapped at Akempli, were first camped there before they were moved to Rivers State. We are calling on the government to do something about this forest. It is like the dreaded Sambisa Forest in the Northeast.”

Worried by the rate of kid-

Boko Haram victims’ camp in Edo

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VER 900 victims of Boko Haram in the Northeast were shown to reporters yesterday in Benin, the Edo State capital.

They were among the thousands of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who escaped from the insurgents.

The camp is tucked in a forest in Edo South Senatorial District.

There was a request that its identity be kept secret, for security reasons.

The camp is run by a faithbased group, International Christian Centre for Missions.

A visit to the camp at the weekend showed that some of the IDPs included children as young as four months and others in their teens.

There were also those in their 20s; a few others were adults.

Managers of the camp, who

From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

spoke in confidence, said the facility is for the needy, adding that it had been providing food and shelter for the IDPs since 2013.

The camp occupies a large expanse of land and has several blocks of rooms and halls, most of which are made of wood. They serve as classrooms and bedrooms for the IDPs. The refugees include men, women and children whose families were killed and homes burnt by the insurgents.

The camp’s Overseer Solomon Folorunsho took reporters round the camp yesterday.

He said: “There is no public power supply here. So, this place is powered by generators for its light and water.

“With the over 900 victims coming to join the existing 400 indigent persons in the camp, facilities have been overstretched, especially food.”

It was learnt that about six bags of rice are needed daily for a meal and four bags of garri for a meal.

Folorunsho said the IDPs were brought to the facility from Borno and Adamawa states, through Jos, the Plateau State capital.

The overseer said the camp depended on donations from faith-based organisations, institutions and individuals.

He said: “This centre is a place for mission work and discipleship. It also cares for children from different parts of the country, especially those in need. We ýhave been in existence since 1992, catering for children from different villages, especially those have been abused,

oppressed and orphaned.

“We had about 400 children before we saw the need for children in the Northeast, whose parents were killed.

“Some of them ran to the mountains where they ate sand, stones and leaves. There were some who started dying of malnutrition and diseases. Some of them ran to Cameroon.

“I started getting phone calls that those of us from the South here should rescue those children as they were just wandering about the streets. That was what prompted us to set up a committee of pastors who located the children and brought them together to verify their identity.”

Folorunsho said the Edo State Government was informed of the situation at the camp three months ago through the Ministry of Women Affairs.

napping and other criminalities in the creeks, Governor Seriake Dickson, at the weekend, inaugurated the Local Government Chairmen/Coordinators for the Bayelsa State Waterways Security Patrol Task Force.

Members of the task force include local government chairmen.

They are: Bello Bina, of Brass Local Government Area; Lucky Asanakpo, of Sagbama; Tolu Amatu, of Ekeremor and Soubre Appah, of Yenagoa.

Others are: Ken Ogbise, of Kolokuma/Opokuma; West Alaibo, of Nembe; Azibola Elabha, of Ogbia and Timiondi Agoke, of Southern Ijaw.

The governor urged them to feed security agencies with community-based intelligence on criminal activities.

He advised them to liaise with community leaders on how to gather information on criminal acts, such as sea piracy, crude oil theft, kidnapping and illegal refineries.

Dickson noted that there had been an upsurge in security breaches in the last two months, especially in the East and Central senatorial districts.

The governor said an effective synergy between the task force and security agencies would bring about sanity on the waterways.

He added that the chairmen would work under the direct supervision of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters.

Dickson said: “You will recall that when we came on board, we took measures to ensure that our state and even our waterways became relatively safe.

“But in the last one or two months, we have been having some instances of security breaches by way of kidnapping, particularly in Brass, occasionally in the Central senatorial district as well.

“Security agencies are up to their task, but we feel that a committee like this, comprising of people who know the waterways and some of the players on the creeks should be put together to give timely information to the security agencies...”

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

ing the candidates of the ruling PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC) with 849 votes.

The result declared by the Returning Officer and a lecturer in the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), Perekere Bertola, showed that of the 2,805 accredited voters, the APGA candidate scored 849, the APC 476 and PDP 380.

Some APGA members claimed that attempts by suspected PDP supporters to allegedly disrupt the process and declare the election inconclusive were thwarted by angry youths.

At Ogbia Constituency II, it was learnt that the turnout of voters was poor and materials were allegedly hijacked by armed men and policemen.

APC leaders in Ogbia alleged that officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) called their candidate, Mr. Tonye Okio, at midnight to witness the counting of votes against the provision of the Electoral Act. But Okio said the election was marred by intimidation.

He said: “Over 500 policemen held the venues under siege. Soldiers stayed away from voting venues, armed policemen were led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and a ‘Supol’ suspected to have been deployed in the state.”

Probe of Rivers, Akwa Ibom RECs normal, says APC chair •REC: I’m being blackmailed From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

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HE Rivers State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, has said the probe of the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Rivers, Dame Gesila Khan and her Akwa Ibom State counterpart, Austin Okojie, which was ordered by Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase, was the right step in the right direction.

He noted that investigating and prosecuting the two RECs for alleged misdeeds in the March 28 and April 11 general elections would serve as a deterrent to others.

Ikanya spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, through his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media and Public Affairs, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze. The party chairman described the probe as a bold step, which would sanitise the electoral process and cleanse the “shame” that electoral malpractice had brought to the nation’s renascent democracy.

Dame Khan, in a telephone interview, said she was innocent of the allegations against her.

The REC alleged that APC leaders were blackmailing her.

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NEWS Journalists tasked on professionalism From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

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MO State Deputy Governor Prince Eze Madumere has urged journalists to adhere to the ethics of the profession in the discharge of their duties.

He said the role of the media in building a virile and sustainable democracy cannot be overlooked, adding that journalists, through objective criticisms, can guarantee good governance.

Madumere, who spoke at an interactive session with members of the Correspondents’ Chapel, regretted that most journalists had jettisoned professional ethics in their bid to settle personal scores.

“When journalists do their jobs professionally, it helps to build a better and informed society.

When they criticise government objectively, it helps the government to review its policies and programme to address the people’s needs.

“I challenge media practitioners in the state to revive the practice of investigative journalism.

This practice is missing today but it is the best form of journalism because it ensures that the truth about a matter is reported instead of emotions,” Madumere said.

Chapel chairman Attan Agbakuru appealed to government to provide an enabling atmosphere for journalists to carry out their legitimate duties.

Woman bathes neighbour with hot water From Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

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ISS Oluchukwu Nwali, 25, of Amaeka Community in Ezza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State was at the weekend bathed with hot water by her neighbor, Mrs. Chigozie Ugama.

Nwali was injured and was rushed to a private hospital at Onuoji Echara.

Narrating her ordeal, Nwali said the trouble began after she had a misunderstanding with Ugama. She reported the matter to the latter’s husband who promised to look into the complaint later.

“As I finished complaining to the husband, I did not know she had prepared hot water. And when I stepped outside, she bathed me with the water.

“You can see the injuries she inflicted on me. I am here for now and hoping to raise money for treatment in a better hospital,” Nwali said.

She called on the government and goodspirited individuals to assist her in getting medical attention in a better hospital.

The police have arrested Mrs. Chigozie Ugama.

Police spokesman DSP Chris Anyanwu confirmed the incident.

Buhari urged to diversify economy, tackle corruption

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HE Diocese of Badagry, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to diversify the economy to reduce dependence on oil.

It said the new administration must tackle corruption ‘as a matter of urgency’, urging the National Assembly to give priority to a speedy passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law ‘to help us solve various issues emanating from the

By Precious Igbonwelundu

petroleum sector’.

In a communiqué issued at the second session of its fourth synod held at the Cathedral Church of St. Thomas, Badagry and signed by the Lord Bishop, Rev. Babatunde Adeyemi; Chancellor, Justice S.O Hunponu-Wusu and Lay Secretary Mrs. O. A. Akinliba, the synod observed that “the state of the economy is very poor and

recommended a diversification to other sources of revenue such as agriculture and solid minerals. Over-dependence on crude oil should be discouraged as any fall in price affects the economy”.

The church said private companies should be encouraged to build additional refineries while existing ones should be privatised to help fight fuel scarcity.

On electricity, the synod said: “Power generation should be improved on by

Kidnapped Abia PDP chieftain freed From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

A •Buhari

harnessing other sources such as solar, coal, wind, etc. Prepaid meters should be installed in homes to ensure that users pay only for what they consume”.

•From left: Mr. Jimoh, Mr. Penninck, Miss Shotade, Ms. Awoniyi and Okpocha at the presentation...at the weekend.

23-year old wins Bi-Courtney’s online competition

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23-year old undergraduate, Miss Gbemi Shotade, has won an online competition, MMA2KIARACE, which closed in Lagos at the weekend with an impressive ceremony at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2).

The instagram-driven competition was sponsored

by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, operator of MMA2 and co-sponsored by Kia Motors. Supporting brands include, Pepsi, Levi’s,

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Microsoft, T.M. Lewin, Swatch, DANA AIR, KFC and Le Meridien.

Over 2,000 people from different parts of the country and overseas took part in the month-long competition, which kicked-off on May 7.

The top 20 participants took part in the grand finale.

Some of the other 300 participants, who won gifts at various stages of the competition, were present to redeem their gifts.

The finalists competed in four tasks, including apti-

tude test and a lucky draw and Shotade, a 200 level student of Business Administration at the University of Lagos emerged winner of the Kia Rio grand prize.

The first and second runners-up won a getaway weekend for two in an Executive Suite and an Executive Double Room respectively at the Le Meridien Ibom Hotel, Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, with free return tickets courtesy DANA AIR. The third and fourth runners-up won Pepsi-branded

fridges. The final 10 contestants also won a Nokia Lumia phone each, courtesy of Microsoft.

The presentation of the grand prize was done by the Chief Executive Officer of BASL, Mr. Christophe Penninck, assisted by the Chief Operating Officer, Ms. Adebisi Awoniyi, Head of Marketing, Kia Motors, Mr. Olawale Jimoh and DANA’s brand ambassador, Mr. Bright Okpocha (aka Basket mouth).

41 inmates regain freedom in Anambra

HE Anambra State Chief Judge, Justice Peter Umeadi, at the weekend, freed 41 inmates of Awka prisons, ending his three-day prisons goal delivery.

Before now, he released 13 inmates of Onitsha prisons, released another five on bail and freed one at Ekwulobia prisons in Aguata.

•CJ completes prison tour From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

Umeadi’s goal delivery exercise to Anambra prisons began on June 1 in Onitsha and June 3 in Aguata.

“This is but a tip of the iceberg; it is symbolic and to show how vigilant we will

be in looking at small issues that pertain to the liberty of individuals. Be assured that this will go a long way in establishing justice.

“We are doing better and now that the new prison at Nnewi has taken off, it has shown its effect. Before now,

the Onitsha prison had over 1,000 inmates but it has since dropped to about 757 inmates; this is to show you the new prison’s effect.

“Since we started the reform of the judicial sector, we have stopped trading blames.

What we do now is to come together and make sure that things work as it should,” Umeadi said.

Identify your relations, Anambra govt tells victims’ families

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HE Anambra State Government has called on families whose relations got missing in the Onitsha tanker fire melee to visit the hospitals for identification of some of the victims.

A fuel tanker crashed into a building at a motor park at Upper Iweka, Onitsha, caught fire and killed about 70 persons. Many were injured.

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

A statement by the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mrs. Uju Nwogu and her Health counterpart, Dr. Joe Akabuike, urged the families to visit the Onitsha General Hospital mortuary to identify the bodies.

It said there were still some unidentified bodies de-

posited at the hospital mortuary.

The statement reads: “The Anambra State Government hereby calls on families whose members have been missing since Sunday, May 31 to visit the Onitsha General Hospital mortuary to ascertain if such persons are among the victims of the petrol tanker fire accident.

“Government is informing the public that there are

still some unidentified corpses, deposited at the Onitsha General Hospital mortuary and families looking for their loved ones are advised to visit the Onitsha General Hospital mortuary for inspection of the unidentified corpses and collect them for burial.

“Government once again commiserates with the victims’ families and prays God to give them the fortitude to bear the unfortunate loss”.

CHIEFTAIN of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State, Mr. Israel Mark, who was kidnapped last week by unidentified gunmen has been released.

Mark was kidnapped last Monday near his residence on Ozumba Street, Aba, while returning from work.

A source who pleaded for anonymity said the PDP chieftain was dropped at an undisclosed location in Osisioma, some kilometers away from the commercial city.

In a related development, Police officers from Ndiegoro Division last week foiled the attempted kidnap of an Aba based lawyer, Emeka Uwakolam.

It was gathered that the abductors whisked the lawyer away in his Mercedes ML 320 but were double-crossed by a police patrol at the Ndiegoro jurisdiction.

Police spokesman Ezekiel Onyeke, confirming the incident said the police engaged the hoodlums in a cross fire and overpowered them. The hoodlums however pushed their victim out of the car and escaped.

Onyeke said persons hit by stray bullet were recuperating in an undisclosed hospital in Aba, adding that Uwakolam’s car had been recovered from where it was abandoned at Abayi Community Hall.

He added that a Honda Element with blood stains was recovered.

Arrest killers of tourist, community urges police From Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

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TAKEHOLDERS of Abaomege Community, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, have condemned the killing of a French tourist, Nagnan Denis, in the area. They described the killing as wicked and barbaric, even as they urged security agents to arrest the perpetrators.

In a communiqué by Zaccues Ifeuwabundidi, Chief Charles Igwe and Mr. Gregory Onwe, issued at the end of their emergency meeting, the stakeholders lamented that the incident had damaged the peace in the community.

They said the incident stained Ebonyi State globally and called on the government to strengthen security to checkmate hoodlums.

The stakeholders, who promised to assist the security agents in their investigations, urged the police to stop unnecessary arrests to douse tension in the community.

Unknown gunmen last Tuesday killed Nagnan Denis in Ozara forest and left his wife injured.

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NEWS

Buhari, G7 leaders for talks on Boko Haram, economy Continued from page 4

by Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima, former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, former Army Chief Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Paul B. Lolo.

Last night the head of the Bavarian regional government hosted Buhari and the others to dinner.

Apart from Boko Haram and general insecurity, other issues on the wish list, which Buhari took along after consultations with members of his think-tank, include: economic reform, especially

support on agriculture, SMEs and job creation; Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in power supply and mass transit; electoral reforms ; collaboration on anti-corruption, including the strengthening of anti-graft agencies, good governance, including commitment to democracy, accountability and transparency; development assistance and peace in the sub-region.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Certainly, Boko Haram insurgency is one of the top issues on the wish-list of the President to the session of G-7. It is one of the reasons why Governor Kashim Shettima, is on the delegation to Germany.

“This will cover intelligence sharing on Boko Haram and ISIS on how to curtail terrorism in the subregion. We also need sophisticated surveillance and preventive equipment to fight the scourge.

Buhari wants to put an end to arms and military hardware embargo on Nigeria by some G-7 nations, especially the United States.

“There is no point pretending, terrorism is trying to have roots in the sub-region and we need international collaboration to check the spread.”

The source added: “Without energy, no country can develop. So, President Buhari

is seeking Foreign Direct Investment in power supply, mass transit and others to make life comfortable for Nigerians.

“The focus borders on the diversification of the nation’s sources of power supply. We are not tapping solar and wind energy. Most of our investments in power are on hydro-electricity.

“Therefore, Nigeria needs the support of the World Bank for interventions on SMEs and agriculture to promote mass job creation.”

Obama and Merkel held talks yesterday before the summit.

Russia is the target of European Union and US sanc-

•Former President Goodluck Jonathan at the Heathrow Airport in London ... yesterday. With him is Mr Chinedu Ozordi PHOTO: CHINEDU OZORDI/TWITTER and his family.

tions over its role in support of Ukrainian rebels.

Russia has been excluded from what was previously known as the G8, since the annexation of Crimea last year.

The West accuses Russia of sending military forces into eastern Ukraine to help the rebels - a charge echoed by analysts. Moscow denies this, saying any Russian soldiers there are volunteers.

As he arrived in the Bavarian Alps, Obama said G7 leaders would discuss “standing up to Russian aggression” in Ukraine.

The White House issued a statement after Mr Obama’s talks with Mrs Merkel, saying: “The duration of sanctions should be clearly linked to Russia’s full implementation of the Minsk agreements and respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty.”

Germany, Britain and the US want an agreement to offer support to any EU member state tempted to withdraw backing for the sanctions on Moscow, which are hurting the Russian economy.

Last September’s Minsk accord, involving Russia, proRussian rebels and the Ukrainian government, included the establishment of a 30km (19-mile) buffer zone between the two sides.

But fighting has intensified in recent weeks. In the latest incident, two Ukrainian coastguards were injured when a blast ripped through their patrol boat in the port of Mariupol, though the exact circumstances remain unclear.

The European Union’s President of the Council of Ministers, Donald Tusk, signalled a toughening of sanctions in a statement at the G7.

“If anyone wants to start a debate about changing the sanctions regime, the discussion could only be about strengthening it.”

Cameron said he was hopeful that there would be a

united front to ensure that sanctions were “rolled over” despite admitting that “sanctions are having an impact on all of us”.

EU sanctions are due to expire at the end of July.

UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond echoed concerns about wider Russian military pressure in an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.

But, when asked if the US should redeploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe, Mr Hammond said the West had a “delicate act to perform”.

“We’ve got to send a clear signal to Russia that we will not allow them to transgress our red lines. At the same time we have to recognise that the Russians do have a sense of being surrounded and under attack, and we don’t want to make unnecessary provocations.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Russia was not a threat and had “other things to worry about”.

He told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera: “Only an insane person and only in a dream can imagine that Russia would suddenly attack Nato.”

Mr Obama was greeted in the town of Kruen by Germany’s Chancellor Merkel.

The two leaders then sat down to a traditional Bavarian meal of sausages and beer in the sunshine.

Greece’s debt crisis and how to tackle global warming was also on the agenda.

Ahead of the G7 gathering, thousands of protesters marched in the nearby town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, sparking sporadic clashes with police.

Several marchers were taken to hospital with injuries, but the violence was minor compared to some previous summits.

Security is being provided by 17,000 police officers.

Support for Lawan, Gbajabiamila swells Continued from page 1

members sought for intervention of the party before their election into the national assembly but suddenly realised that the unbiased intervention of the party in the mock election is inappropriate.

Definitely these are not agents of change.

“The Party gave memberselect the platform to elect a popular candidate that would represent the party in the House and we are glad that in the end of that exercise, it was res ipsa loquitur.

Had Hon. Dogara won the mock election we would have all queued behind him now but as a mark of discipline and respect for the party we are all behind Hon. Gbajabiamila.”

He said the Gbajabiamila camp had reached out to friends in other political parties “and we are thankful by their popular response. We also agree that the next speaker of the eighth House of Representatives would emerge on the floor of the House on Tuesday and definitely members across party lines would place merit first because this is the era of change we have been waiting for. We shall meet on Tues-

day.”

Ali Madaki (APC-Kano) noted that three of Dogara’s supporters participated in the mock election and did not walk out as claimed by Dogara’s supporters.

On Gbajabiamila’s dual citizenship, he explained that the Nigerian Constitution supports dual citizenship and that there was a Supreme Court ruling on the same issue.

Also yesterday the caucuses of the Northeast and Northwest in the House of Representatives identified the Gbajabiamila’s candidacy as most suitable for the position of Speaker.

Ninety five per cent of the 126 returning and new members have reiterated their support for Gbajabiamila, who triumphed in the straw election conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the weekend.

The two cuscuses also described the legal action against the candidacy of Gbajabiamila as a sign of desperation on the part of a contender that believed the era of business as usual is not over yet.

The caucuses’ position was predicated on merit, fairness, quality leadership and re-

ward for commitment to the cause of APC, it was learnt.

According to a chieftain of the APC and member-elect from Jigawa State (Northwest), Sani Zoro, it would be an act of injustice and politically incorrect to shove aside the contributions of Gbajabiamila to the sustenance of the independence of the House and deepening of democracy in the country at large.

Zoro said the position of the group has the blessing of former and new governors and party leaders from the two zones.

He said Mohammad Monguno and Alhassan Doguwa were equally endorsed as Deputy Speaker and House Majority Leader.

He said: “I make bold to say that except something untoward happens, it is the ticket of Gbajabiamila/Monguno that will triumph.

“Fairness dictates that we look at the contributions of the two top contenders and make informed decision on the best candidate for the leadership of the House.

“Gbajabiamila led the opposition creditably for eight years during which he saw to the expansion of the party in the House to the extent that

the minority party became the majority, even before the General election.

“He provided quality and opposition which every Nigerian can attest to, in addition to marshaling the APC caucus creditably through the eight years. In an era where almost all opposition were defecting to the ruling party, Gbajabiamila never faltered.

“Secondly, let us look at the contribution of the two to the victory of the party in he last election. In Bauchi, it was only Dogara that won while others lost, even in the Senate.

“On the other hand, Gbajabiamila delivered en bloc his constituency on all fronts and zone to the party, needless to say that the Southwest contributed the third largest bloc vote to APC. “The APC presidential candidate scored the lowest, about 3,000 votes in Dogara’s constituency while PDP scored highest with over 11,000 votes. APC governorship candidate also lost in that territory, including two Assembly seats and the Senate, “Dogara is the only one that won in his territory.

“The implication of this is

why would the party reward an environment that is hostile to the party, while we have an option of a friendly region? It is only logical that the one that performed best should be rewarded.

“The workability of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act is a major project of Gbajabiamila/Monguno team that would be vigorously worked on because we believe that it is in sync with the principle and projections of Mr President’s determination to fight corruption”.

He also noted that the legal actions against Gbajabiamila would amount to nothing, saying, “As for the legal action, we see them as mercenaries used by other contenders to drag Nigeria backward from the gains of the revolutionary election that we had because so many barriers were raised to truncate it.

“It is a cowardly act, it is our opinion that if they are sure of their capability, why not engage Gbajabiamila on issues rather than mudslinging. The issues they are raising have been adequately dealt with, even on the floor of the House.

“This is one unfortunate incidence that will boomerang on them, they did it to

President Buhari and we all knew how Nigerians reacted”.

Alhassan Doguwa, a returning member from Kano, who is also on the same ticket as Majority Leader, said it was expedient that the sacrifices Gbajabiamila made over the years in entrenching a progressive 7th House be rewarded.

According to him, in entrenching a progressive seventh House, Gbajabiamila turned down deputy speakership just to provide quality leadership for the opposition.

“Our stand is to have an independent and quality House that can deliver to Nigerians dividends of democracy. We will not compromise merit on the basis that VP is from the Southwest.

“For us in the Northwest and Northeast, it is payback time for the good Femi Gbajabiamila did for our region in the 7th Assembly. He merits it from whatever point of view we are looking at it from.

“We are speaking from position of knowledge and authority, Gbajabiamila will become the Speaker of the eighth Assembly,” Doguwa added.

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THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

FOREIGN NEWS

• G7 leaders meet in Brussels to discuss energy and economy ... Yesterday

PHOTO: AFP

Mourning ceremonies for China ship dead as toll hits 431

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EREMONIES have been held to remember the hundreds of people who died in Monday’s Chinese cruise ship disaster.

On Sunday the death toll rose to 431, with only 11 still missing as rescuers continue to sweep the Yangtze river.

Earlier, state television showed officials and rescuers bowing their heads towards

the ship as nearby vessels sounded their horns.

More than 1,400 family members were expected to gather near the river for their own remembrance ceremonies.

The ship, the Eastern Star, capsized in a storm on Monday and was turned upright in an operation on Friday.

Sunday marks the seventh

day since the ship went down, the traditional Chinese date at which to mourn the dead.

Just 14 of the 456 passengers and crew are known to have survived, among them is the ship’s captain.

The tragedy looks set to be China’s worst shipping disaster in more than 60 years of Communist rule.

Distraught relatives remembered family members who perished Rescuers took part in the ceremonies On Friday, hooks were welded onto the four-storey ship and a net stretched around the entire structure in order to lift it by crane.

Most of the bodies retrieved were inside the vessel. Following the ship’s rais-

Violence ahead of Mexico mid-term elections

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HERE has been further violence around Mexico as the country prepares for this weekend’s mid-term elections.

A radical teachers’ union attacked the offices of five political parties in Chiapas state in the south of the country.

Meanwhile in Guerrero state, explosive devices were thrown into a conservative party’s office.

A number of candidates and numerous campaign workers have also been killed in drug-related violence.

On Sunday, Mexican voters will choose Congress-

men, governors and mayors.

Teachers in Guerrero state have vowed to block voting on Sunday demanding better pay and a suspension of new education reforms. Graffiti outside offices of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Chiapas state reads “Assassins - there are 43 missing” , referring to the students who disappeared in Guerrero state last year.

Correspondents say it has been some of the worst political violence in Mexico’s history.

The biggest concerns for electoral officers have been Guerrero and Oaxaca,

where tens of thousands of ballots were burnt by protesters.

They took furniture and papers from the ruling PRI party offices in the city of Oaxaca and burnt them outside.

Others set fire to political pamphlets in front of PRI headquarters in Guerrero.

Teacher training students from Guerrero protested near the Secretary of the Interior building in Mexico city Despite the unrest, electoral officials say the elections will go ahead on Sunday.

It is the first major test for

• Explosions rocked part of Chiapas city in Mexico in round up to this week’s election

President Enrique Pena Nieto who has been trying to fulfil his 2012 election promise to bring peace to Mexico after years of drug cartel violence.

Opinion polls show his Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and its allies are expected to retain their majority in Congress despite concerns over their track record on security.

This year, millions of Mexicans held marches across the country for months to protest against the government’s response to the disappearance of 43 student teachers in the town of Iguala in Guerrero state last year.

PHOTO: BBC

ing, the death toll jumped by 200 people.

Rescuers are now sweeping a 1,300 km stretch of the river that extends from Jianli, Hubei Province where the ship capsized, to the port city of Shanghai.

At the time of the disaster, Chinese officials promised there would be “no coverup” as to the cause of the di-

saster.

Family members have been provided with accommodation and medical services while Vice Premier Mai Kai met with some of the relatives.

Despite this, many of the grieving protested at the site of the crash, frustrated by the government’s lack of information.

Obama in Germany, seeks to get Europe behind him on Ukraine

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RESIDENT Barack Obama and other world leaders were huddling in a remote Bavarian castle Sunday, debating a way forward in Ukraine after economic sanctions failed to stop Russia’s advances in the eastern part of that country.

The meeting of the G7 in Germany comes a year after the grouping of major world powers forced Russia from its ranks.

Ensconced in the Schloss Elmau hotel high in the southern German Alps, Obama was expected to urge his European counterparts to extend sanctions on Russia, which have weakened the ruble and caused some discontent among the Russian population, administration officials said.

Obama said Sunday that “Russian aggression” in Ukraine was at the top of the G7 agenda, along with bolstering trade, addressing climate change and combating violent extremists.

During a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the White House said the leaders “agreed that the duration of sanctions should be clearly linked to Russia’s full implementation of the Minsk agreements,” a short-lived ceasefire in the Ukraine crisis reached in March. Since that agreement, there have been multiple violations, including advances by heavy weaponry.

Those violations led leaders again to bar Russia from their gathering this year.

Speaking Sunday, European Council President Donald Tusk said that “all of us

would prefer to have Russia around the G7 table” but that that Russia wouldn’t be invited “as long as it behaves aggressively toward Ukraine and other countries.”

Earlier Sunday, Obama made a friendly stop in Krün, an Alpine village where lederhosen and dirndls abounded. He hailed U.S.-German ties, calling the two nations “inseparable” and praising Merkel for her leadership.

Later, Obama removed his suit jacket and joined locals for pretzels, sausages and tall glasses of German beer.

Obama must persuade his European counterparts to extend the Russian sanctions, even as the White House admits those measures have done little to slow the campaign of Russian-backed separatists along the border with Ukraine, where thousands have died since the conflict began last year.

Moscow denies allegations it is sending Russian troops and military hardware over the border, or arming the separatists.

Obama must also shore up support among U.S. allies for his strategy against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq, where the fall of Ramadi has prompted new calls for ramped-up assistance to the Iraqi military and Sunni fighters in Anbar province.

Obama planned to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Germany on Monday. Al-Abadi was expected to press the United States for more equipment he says is desperately needed to combat ISIS advances.

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

61

FOREIGN NEWS

Migrant crisis: Warships rescue thousands off Libya coast

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HIPS from across Europe have been assisting with the rescue mission European warships and coast guard vessels have rescued more than 2,000 migrants off the coast of Libya.

The Malta-based, Migrant Offshore Aid Station, said it co-ordinated the operation along with Italian, Irish and German ships.

Italy’s coastguard could not confirm the numbers, but said it was trying to help around a dozen other vessels.

HMS Bulwark, a British Royal Navy ship, is also making its way towards Libya to assist with the situ-

ation.

The Bulwark has already saved almost 1,800 people over the past month.

Italian navy ship Driade rescued 560 of the migrants on Saturday, including women and children, while the Irish vessel LE Eithne picked up 310 people.

The numbers of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean in the hope of reaching Europe, has increased by more than 10% in the first five months of 2015.

Italy’s government predicts a total of 200,000 will arrive on its shores this year, up from 170,000 in 2014.

• Ships from across Europe have been assisting with the rescue mission

India, Bangladesh sign historic territory swap deal

B

ANGLADESH and India have signed a historic agreement to simplify their border by exchanging more than 150 enclaves of land.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi ratified the deal with his counterpart Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka.

Thousands of Bangladeshis inhabit more than 50 enclaves in India, while Indians live in around 100 areas within Bangladesh.

The countries will now swap territories and residents can choose where to live.

“We have resolved a question that has lingered since independence. Our two nations now have a settled boundary,” Mr Modi said at a press conference.

“We are not just neighbours, but nations bound by the threads of history, religion, culture, language and kinship - as well

as a passion for cricket.”

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali described the agreement as “a historic milestone in the relationship between the two neighbouring countries”.

Mr Modi (left) was greeted on his arrival in Dhaka by Sheikh Hasina Mr Modi paid homage to those who died in Bangladesh’s war of independence from Pakistan Mr Modi and Sheikh Hasina have also agreed to inaugurate a bus service that will link the Indian cities of Kolkata (Calcutta), Agartala, Guwahati and Shillong with Dhaka.

The agreement is significant because it is the first step

by Bangladesh to allow road transit to India, a long-running Indian demand which it hopes will eventually enable it to have better access to its north-eastern states.

Foreign Ministry officials in India have described

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh as one of his most significant since taking office a year ago.

That’s because of the historic Land Border Agreement that is to be signed between the two countries.

More than 50,000 people currently live in tiny enclaves - citizens of one country but located in the other.

Under the agreement, both sides will swap the enclaves enabling their citizens to finally reside in their own countries.

It’s a dispute that dates back to colonial times and has been a contentious issue since. Relations between Bangladesh and India have improved under the government of Sheikh Hasina, and Mr Modi has also made it a priority for his foreign policy.

The border issues go back to colonial times Both leaders have welcomed the en-

clave agreement The enclaves along the 4,000km border are a legacy of colonial times - the Brit-

T

•Awards over $1m to victims’ families From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja impact. Six suspects had been identified by an independent commission of inquiry set up by the Burkinabe authorities, but only former President Compaoré’s chief bodyguard, Warrant Officer, Marcel Kafando, was charged, but was later cleared of all charges.

In 2006, the Burkinabe justice system closed the file on the case, claiming lack of evidence, a development that prompted the family of Zongo and the Burkinabe Human Rights League (BHRL) to jointly approach the ACHPR in 2011 in a suit marked: 013/2011.

They were represented by three lawyers led by the Chairman of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Chidi Odinkalu. Others include Senegalese lawyer, Ibrahima Kane ýand leading Burkinabe lawyer, Sankara Benewende.

In its judgment last Friday, an 11-member panel of the court, ordered the Burkinabe government to pay moral damages of CFA 25 million to each of the victims’ spouses, CFA 15 million to each of their children and CFA 10 million to each of their mothers (estimated over $1million).

The Burkina Faso government was also to pay the lawyers engaged by the applicant about $5,000.

The court, based in Arusha, Tanzania, also ordered the Burkinabe government to take over the investigations in order to probe, prosecute and try those found responsible.

It further ordered the government to, within six months from the date of the judgment, publish a summary of the judgment in French (the country’s official language), as prepared by the clerk of the court, once in the official gazette and once in a widely circulating daily national newspaper and on the government’s official website for a year.ý The court further ordered Burkina Faso to “submit, within a period of six months, a report on the state of implementation of all decisions taken in the present judgment.”

The ACHPR had, in an initial decision on March 28, 2014, ruled that the Burkinabe government “failed in its obligations” by not bringing to justice the killers of Zongo and three others. It held that journalists have a right to practice their profession without intimidation or threat to life.

two nations for decades.

Inhabitants are in effect stateless and lack access to public services.

• Mr Modi (left) met Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (right) in her office on Saturday

17 years after, African Court orders Burkina Faso to reopen murdered journalists’ case HE African Court for Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), the continent’s highest court on human rights issues, has ordered the government of Burkina Faso to reopen investigations into the murder of an investigative journalist, Norbert Zongo and his three companions and prosecute the perpetrators.

Zongo, who was the publisher and editor of the weeklyL’Indépendant,inBurkinaFaso, was killed in 1998 along with his brother, Ernest Zongo, his driver, Ablasse Nikiema and another journalist, Blaise Ilboudo.

Their bullet-riddled, burnt remains were later discovered on December 13, 1998 in a badly burnt car near Sapouy, about 100 kilometres from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.

At the time of their death, Zongo was working on a story about how David Ouedraogo, driver and domestic employee of Francois (younger brother to then Burkina Faso’s President, Blaise Campaoré) was tortured and killed in 1998 for allegedly stealing vast sums of money from his employer’s home.

Zongo’s death sparked a scandal and major mass demonstrations in Burkina Faso and left an international

ish departed India before the border was properly demarcated - and have been a contentious issue between the

The court held that the failure of a government to apprehend and punish those responsible for the intimidation or the assassination of journalists could affect free expression, violate journalists’ human rights and endangered truth.

While holding that what Burkina Faso did was, in effect, a cover up, which violates the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the court also found the government in violation of the Revised Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which required it to protect freedom of expression and the practice of the vocation of journalism.

The 11-man panel include Justices Augustino Ramadhani (President), Elsie Thompson (Vice-President), Gerard Niyungeko, Fatsah Ouguergouz, Duncan Tambala, Sylvain Ore, El-Hadji Guisse, Ben Kioko, Rafaa Ben Achour, Solomy Bossa and Angelo Matusse.

ACHPR, it was learnt, possesses the powers to order a state to make appropriate measures to end violations of human rights and or pay compensation or financial reparations, where rights violation is established. It was further learnt that its judgments are not subject to appeal.

Turkey ruling AKP 'loses majority' in surprise result

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URKEY's governing AK party is on course to lose its parliamentary majority, early projections suggest.

They also suggest the proKurdish HDP is set to cross the 10% threshold, securing seats for the first time.

With 90% of the vote counted, the AKP had 42% of the vote, according to Turkish TV stations.

If confirmed, the result would end the AKP's 13-year single-party rule, and upset President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's plans to boost his office's powers.

President Erdogan, who first came to power as prime minister in 2003, has been seeking a two-thirds majority to turn Turkey into a presidential republic.

The AKP has polled worse than it ever feared and lost its majority. President Erdogan will be unable to change the constitution and extend his powers.

What a contrast with the HDP! It gambled to run as a single party for the first time, hoping to cross the 10% threshold - and it paid off, gaining a significant voice for the Kurdish minority on the national stage.

It succeeded by appealing beyond the Kurds, drawing in leftists and staunch Erdogan opponents with its message of equality, gay rights and environmental concerns.

This could be the start of a new political era here; a major

setback for a president who has polarised this nation.

In a volatile Middle East, Turkey matters greatly - and so the path it takes, the nature of its democracy and the leaders it produces, all have implications far beyond its borders.

Sunday's election has produced an extraordinary result and represents a major change in Turkish politics, the BBC's Mark Lowen says.

The party that once seemed unstoppable for 13 years under Mr Erdogan may now struggle to form a government.

Our correspondent says that there is now a subdued and glum atmosphere at the Justice and Development Party (AKP) headquarters in contrast to a sense of jubilation among HDP supporters at news that their party had crossed the threshold to enter parliament for the first time.

"This was a victory of democracy over political corruption... of peace over war," HDP deputy Sirri Sureyya Onder said.

The HDP's leader ruled out a coalition with the AKP on Sunday, pointing out that the election results had put an end to discussions about a presidential system.

"The discussion of executive presidency and dictatorship have come to an end in Turkey with these elections," Selahattin Demirtas told a news conference in Istanbul.

62

THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

NATION SPORT

CHAMPION LEAGUE... CHAMPION LEAGUE... CHAMPION LEAGUE...

Fans' treatment upsets Barca

Pogba bemoans penalty call

J

AUL Pogba lambasted referee Cuneyt Cakir after the Turkish official turned

down Juventus' appeals for what could have proved a crucial penalty in the 3-1 UEFA Champions League final defeat to Barcelona.

Ivan Rakitic got Barca off to a flying start in Berlin on Saturday and, although former Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata pulled one back nine minutes into the second half, Luis Suarez and then a late Neymar goal wrapped things up for the Liga champions.

Pogba felt things could have been different, however, had he been awarded a spot-kick when he appeared to be hauled to the ground by Dani Alves just a few moments before Suarez's goal.

"I should have had a penalty,"

B

ARCELONA have complained to UEFA about delays and poor facilities provided by German authorities in Berlin for fans flying back to Spain in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Barca supporters celebrating their side's 3-1 win over Juventus in the Champions League final were left angry by their treatment at the Berlin Exhibition Centre, a normally unused terminal at Schoenefeld airport, which was assigned by UEFA for the arrival and departure of charter flights.

The Spanish club have complained that "minimum services expected at an airport" were not provided and that disabled

people were particularly affected.

Barca released a statement on Sunday that read: "Barcelona have filed a formal complaint to UEFA claiming that the Berlin authorities have breached

conditions set out for members and club fans leaving the German capital this morning."

More than 5,000 fans were leaving from the terminal at Schoenefeld airport and the club complained that only four

buses were provided to take them to their planes, causing long delays.

Barca also said the PA system in the terminal did not work and that food prices were "outrageous".

Neymar dismisses critics, revels in UCL victory

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EYMAR took a swipe at his critics after Barcelona's UEFA Champions League triumph, declaring "there's nothing more they can say about me".

The Brazilian forward was involved in the build-up to Ivan Rakitic's opening goal for Barca in Berlin, and he scored his team's third with the last kick

of the game, clinching the Catalan club's 3-1 victory over Juventus.

But after being criticised for showing off in the closing stages of Barcelona's Copa del Rey win last week and enduring speculation about his transfer from Santos to Camp Nou throughout the season - a case that remains in the Spanish courts, Neymar was resolute after Saturday's final.

"I'm very happy to be a part of this story. Now I think there's nothing to pin on me, there's nothing more they can say about me," he said, according to Marca.

Having previously won the

Copa Libertadores with Brazilian club Santos in 2011, Neymar targeted even more continental success with Barcelona.

"I'm not stopping there," he said.

When asked about his tears during Barca's celebrations, Neymar added: "I saw that my friends were there. The tears came when I took it all in, everything I dreamed about with my son, the effort, the effort of my family...I've experienced many marvellous moments but this is surely the high point of my career.

"This is my biggest match. This day will undoubtedly live on in history."

Maldini: 'No Juve regrets'

P

•Neymar

he told Sky Sport Italia. "I think the referee made some mistakes, but that's football. We can't do anything about it. We have to learn from this."

Despite being critical of the role Cakir played in Europe's biggest club match, Pogba acknowledged that Barcelona were the better team on the day and were worth their triumph, securing the second treble in the club's history.

"We tried our best and Barcelona were better than us congratulations to them," he added. "We believed we could do it and when we scored we thought we could win the game.

"When they scored the second our heads were a bit down, but we tried and tried again and they scored at the end."

AOLO Maldini believes Juventus “should have no regrets” about their Champions League Final with Barcelona.

The Bianconeri were beaten 3-1 in Berlin, though the final result was harsh.

“Juventus should have no regrets and really could not have done more,” Maldini told Sky Sport Italia.

“They put in a great performance. There was suffering at the stat, mainly due to the experience and quality of the Barcelona players, but Juve proved themselves to be a real team.

“They were able to get the game back on track, but when you have that much quality against you, it only takes a moment for the breakthrough.

“Leo Messi is the best player in the world and the only one who could come close to Diego Armando Maradona for all he’s done over the years. From what I’ve seen, he has perhaps overcome Maradona.

“Neymar and Luis Suarez are phenomenal and their statistics speak for themselves. Barcelona

•Maldini have already made history and with this squad are destined to shatter every record.”

At the final whistle it was veteran Andrea Pirlo – Maldini’s former Milan teammate – who seemed the most upset.

“It was a shame, but he probably realised this was his last chance to win the Champions League again. He is a great champion and from today a new adventure begins.”

Luis Enrique coy on Barca future

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ARCELONA coach Luis Enrique has refused to commit himself to the club for next season despite Champions League glory.

Luis Suarez scored the decisive goal as Barcelona beat Juventus 3-1 to emulate the same treble the club had managed in 2009.

In recent weeks Luis Enrique has steadfastly refused to say he will stay at the Nou Camp and again would not do so despite the Champions League success.

As recently as January, there were suggestions he was facing the sack after Barcelona went through a tricky patch.

Asked if he knew whether he would be in charge next season he said: "No, the truth is I don't, but I'm happy at the moment.

My challenge is to enjoy the moment and enjoy a good summer.

"The time will come when decisions have to be made. It has been a difficult year, a year of transition but I have to thank all the people who trusted me and thought I was the best person to lead Barcelona with my staff.

"I have zero interest in the people who criticised me. We have had six defeats and four draws in 60 matches, one of the best seasons we have ever had at Barcelona.

"Without a doubt the best club

in Europe has been Barcelona over the last 10 years."

Andres Iniesta, man-of-thematch in the final, said he hoped Luis Enrique would remain.

He said: "He's our coach and our leader and I hope he will continue with us next year - he has not said anything to the contrary. It has been a spectacular season in every sense of the word and this has been a spectacular day for all of us."

•Enrique

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THE NATION MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015

SPORT EXTRA OPERATION CRUSH CHAD

AFN Golden League holds in Anambra on Thursday

Rabiu Ibrahim vows A to prove worth A

S Trencin, Slovakia attacking midfielder Rabiu Ibrahim has promised to propel the Eagles to victory in the first qualifying match of the 2017 Africa Nations Cup against Chad in Kaduna on Saturday.

Ibrahim whose style of play has been compared to midfield maestro and former Eagles’ Captain Austin Jay Jay Okocha said he has no hiding place come Saturday because he owes Nigerians the duty of performing well if fielded against Chad.

He said now that Coach

Eagles replace injured Ukoh

From Segun Ogunjimi, Abuja Stephen Keshi has given him the chance to prove his worth in the team, he is ready to grab it with full hands and help the national team beat the visiting Chadians on Saturday.

“Firstly I want to say that I am very happy to be invited to the national team. I sincerely count myself very lucky to be selected among thousands of very talented Nigerian football players in the country. I am indebted to the Chief Coach for finding me worthy of a call up. I can only repay him by putting up a splen-

did performance against Chad if I eventually make the team that will slug it out against the Chadian National team on Saturday in Kaduna.

“I sincerely and humbly want to redeem myself because I am not new to soccer-loving Nigerians. But they have not seen me for a while now. I will do my best during the match to make them belieive tconfidence they had in my football ability before this time, is still intact. I won’t disappoint them in Kaduna.

“I am enjoying the bonding and togetherness among the invited players including both the senior players and the newly invited

players like me too. They are great guys and are full of qualities. The spirit in camp is very high so Nigerians should expect nothing less than victory in Saturday’s match.

“I cannot say we will beat Chad 3-0 or 2-0 what is matter is victory and the three points at stake. If I do have the chance to score I will but if it is the assist I can make I will do that but that depends on if the Boss puts me in the team that will play that day because he is the Boss and he is the team selector”, Ibrahim that plays like former Eagles striker Okocha disclosed.

RESULTS International - Friendly Rwanda 0 - 0 Kenya Mali 2 - 2 Libya Niger 2 - 1 Gabon Kenya 2 - 0 South Sudan Ireland 0 - 0 England Rwanda 2 - 0 Tanzania Russia 4 - 2 Belarus Serbia 4 - 1 Azerbaijan Croatia 4 - 0 Gibraltar Mauritania 1 - 0 Senegal World Cup U-20 Brazil 3 - 0 North Korea Hungary 0 - 2 Nigeria Women's World Cup Norway 4 - 0 Thailand Spain - Liga Adelante Albacete 0 - 1 R. Santander Girona 1 - 1 Lugo Las Palmas 3 - 2 Alaves Leganes 2 - 2 Zaragoza Mirandes 2 - 0 Mallorca Ponferradina 1 - 1 Alcorcon

Athletes would also be required to obtain identity cards, which shall act as their license for competing in the season.

Nesiama said “as determined by the League Organising Committee, transport subsidy and, in some cases, accommodation subsidy as well, where accommodation is not provided, shall be provided for the top 4 finishers in each of the Golden League events. All participating athletes shall compete in their State or Club uniform especially in the relays.’’

He also said doping control procedures shall be carried out in accordance with IAAF anti-doping regulations. ‘’in line with the IAAF antidoping code, all athletes in the AFN top-20 list shall henceforth complete and submit their athletes’ whereabouts information to the AFN Secretariat every quarter. Failing which, the IAAF prescribed sanctions shall be applied.

States/clubs are to ensure their athletes’ compliance with this directive to avoid incurring doping violations.’’ He said.

Athletes list gains of CCSF taekwondo workshop

W

S

WITZERLAND-BASED midfielder Steven Ukoh has been ruled out of Nigeria’s AFCON 2017 qualifier against Chad in Kaduna due to a knee injury and he has been replaced by Warri Wolves’ ace Stanley Dimgba.

Ukoh, who has featured for Holland at U-16, U-17, U-18, U19 and U-20 levels, has won four full caps for Nigeria.

Former Plateau United and Kwara United star Dimgba was a substitute for his team Saturday in a CAF Confederation Cup playoff second leg match against AC Leopard of Congo.

In the meantime, Guangzhou R&F of China striker Aaron Samuel Olanare has finally joined the Super Eagles’ training camp ahead of the qualifier against Chad fixed for June 13.

The former Valeranga of Norway forward arrived the Abuja camp of the team Sunday morning as the last player to hit camp to complete the 15 foreign-based pros called up for the game by coach Stephen Keshi.

He was in action for his Chinese club on Friday when they were held to a goalless draw at home by Beijing Guoan.

The former 3SC player has scored two goals for his Chinese Super League team this season.

The 21-year-old striker has also scored two goals in six appearances for Nigeria.

NAMBRA State, the athletics friendly state that gave Nigeria great athletes like Innocent Egbunike and Mary Onyali will host the first leg of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria Golden League at Rojeeny Stadium, Oba, on Thursday.

The Golden League is a competition for home based athletes to keep them in top shape before the AFN/CRS All Nigeria Athletics Championships which serves as trials for the Beijing 2015 IAAF World Championships and Congo 2015 All Africa Games.

The nation’s best athletes are expected to be at Rojeeny to compete for various cash prizes at the one day meet.

Meanwhile, AFN Technical Director Omatseye Nesiama has appealed to all states/clubs interested in participating in AFN organized activities in 2015 to register with the AFN Secretariat with immediate effect.

They are to pay the affiliation fees before the commencement of the League or any of the AFN organised competition for the year 2015.

• Ukoh (left) in action for Nigeria

Enyeama: We won't play under pressure

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UPER Eagles’ captain Vincent Enyeama has insisted that they won't be playing under pressure when they face Chad's Le Sao next Saturday in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

The Super Eagles started the qualifying series for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations with a home loss to Congo, but Enyeama says they won't be distracted by that when the qualifiers start.

"I'm not thinking of what happened last year because it is gone now," Enyeama told News24 Nigeria.

"Ivory Coast have won that Africa Cup of Nations so we can't be thinking of that now and if we're not thinking of that, there's no way we'll be playing under pressure.

"We don't have to play under pressure because there's no need for that and I can tell you that

• Enyeama

we won't be playing under any pressure," he said.

The 32-year old will skipper Nigeria when they file out at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium on June 13, and says he and his teammates will be ready for the

Chadians.

"We will be ready for them. We have been training hard and the boys are very much in shape.

"It's going to be a very tough game but we will be ready," he posited.

Eagles donate to orphanage

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INCENT Enyeama, the captain and goalkeeper of the Super Eagles said the team would continue to support the less privileged in the society, especially those in orphanages.

Enyeama made the promise in Abuja when the team donated some food items, toiletries and cash for the upkeep of orphans of the Divine Wounds of Jesus Christ orphanage, Kubwa.

The Eagles’ captain said the team was motivated to donate the items to ensure that the orphans were well taken care of.

He noted that the education of the kids was important to the team as that was the foundation of their success as footballers.

"We are here to support this kids and your course. We just got to know about it and we said we want to be part of it."

"Personally on behalf of this team, my share of the bonus for the match against Chad will be paid into the orphanage account

for education of the kids, to encourage them to push on."

"From time to time, we will continue to assist them in whatever way we can; this is our little token and appreciation from God for the work you are doing," Enyeama said.

Kingsley Ojo, a Junior Secondary School one student of the orphanage who spoke on behalf of others, commended the players for their kind gesture.

"I want to thank you for the privilege to come and visit you; I want to thank you for welcoming us."

"May the good Lord continue to bless you and strengthen you; you will never lack."

"As you accept us in this place, may the good Lord accept you and your families in the mighty name of Jesus," Ojo said.

Charles Ikezemuoka, Director of the home told the media that the money donated by the players would be judiciously used in the education of the children.

ITH the conclusion of the 5th Chika Chukwumerije Sports Foundation (CCSF) taekwondo workshop, the 40 participants that featured in the three-day event believe the training exercise has enriched their knowledge of the sport.

The three-day workshop which was the fifth edition was well attended by taekwondo experts across the country including some board members of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF).

From Dickson Adoga of Benue State, attending the camp has afforded him the opportunity to increase his confidence as understand the new techniques in the sport.

“The workshop is an avenue for me to train myself to become a champion because I gained a lot of experience and I learnt new techniques of taekwondo. For me I feel CCSF is an avenue to become a champion like Chika Chukwumerije, who is using his time and resources to nurture champions for the country,” Adoga said.

Also, Kehinde Olawoyin of Oyo State said the exercise has widen his knowledge on the sport as well as make to realize that he must take his education serious while competing as an athlete.

Olawoyin said: “It is an opportunity to learn things and develop on the ones you already know. First of all, I learnt how to become a team player. I learnt how to combine sports and edu-

By Olalekan Okusan cation, and also planning an event. I feel CCSF is still the best NGO that caters for my teammates and I. Programmes like this are not easy and it takes a good heart to organize one.”

For 19 year-old University of Lagos undergraduate, Nurudeen Hassan, the training has procided him a platform to relate with other athletes across the country.

“It is a huge stepping stone for my career in taekwondo. The endurance training, poomsae and fitness training will come a long way in me. CCSF is a very good platform for athletes but I would love it to be extended to other states. I see that they are updated on taekwondo information, equipment and technology which I have never used before,” Hassan revealed.

For 13 year-old Bukola Ogunnusi, the efforts of CCSF must be supported as their programmes would surely help to unearth talents and give the right orientation for athletes.

“It is a big deal to me attending the workshop because I interacted with people from all walks of life, and I learnt a lot of taekwondo skills from national coaches and grandmasters. Aside this, a lot of things like my basic poomsae, and lot of kicks that I never knew existed were leant. I feel that CCSF is a great team and their efforts with the programme would build a lot of champions for Nigeria,” Ogunnusi said.

• Participants at the Chika Chukwumerije Sports Foundation (CCSF) taekwondo workshop

MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

TODAY IN THE NATION ‘If the immaturity of the local governments being bandied is referenced upon the quality of leadership at that level, the governors are solely to blame. They are to blame for handpicking surrogates and all manner of stooges to stand for elections that have been predetermined by the so-called state independent electoral commissions’ EMEKA OMEIHE

VOL 10 NO 3239

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

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E strode into the hall to the cheerful buzz of editors. After the hoopla and acrimony of the polls, Lagos was serene with hope. The task of the new governor was to articulate what he wanted to do.

No, he was quick to note, he was not going to address us on his plans. They are all public knowledge, enunciated during the barnstorming and debate of the election season. That night was for the bonhomie of conversation. Over meals and drinks, he could hear from the gate keepers of news and commentary their sense of the city, of what the people yearned for.

He, too, would unveil the entrails of his minds.

Very quickly, the quiet evening eased into intellectual repartee. Jokes came as jibes, jibes as jokes. Introspections burned out of fiery lips. Questions rippled in the air. Suggestions laced insights. In certain moments, it reminded me of what I read about salons of Enlightenment Europe where some of the great ideas were birthed.

But that night did not soar that high, it just had intimations of it. At least, as it referred to Lagos State, the oasis of Nigeria.

The man in the middle was Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. With his beige agbada and cap now illumined with a smile, now shaded with a somewhat beatific mien, he knew quite early that the editors were pregnant with curiosity.

What was he going to do about Apapa and its congestions? Lekki is a new suburb out of control with its traffic snarl? What the hell is the story about Lagos’ over N400 billion debt? What about the Ikorodu and the Mile 12 roads and Ayobo and the Fourth Mainland Bridge?

The governor understood that the fulcrum of the night’s obsession was how to move in Lagos. To move Lagos ahead, the residents have to move well. This harked back to my first-ever conversation with him over a year ago. His passion then was transportation. His thoughts chimed in with the concerns of the editors.

Once he spoke, he wrapped up the audience in the methodical cadence of his speech.

Never mellifluous but never boring, he spoke like a man working towards a mathematical solution. The accountant in him was in rhythm. Whether he spoke about the financing of Lagos in which he clarified that the debt was a mere three per cent of the state’s mammoth money and it was to be paid in between 25 and 30 years, or about the train project inherited from the Fashola administration, he was focused on the dynamic of a city on the move.

He spoke with the mastery of figure and place. His about three decades of work in various parts of Lagos shone through. He spent most of those years in local govern-

RIPPLES

SAM OMATSEYE

IN TOUCH

intouchnation@gmail.com 08054501081(sms only) Twitter: @samomatseye

•Winner, Informed Commentary (DAME)

Eagle and earthworm ‘

He spoke with the mastery of figure and place. His about three decades of work in various parts of Lagos shone through. He spent most of those years in local governments. Whether on Mushin, or Badagry or Ajegunle, he spoke not with professorial abstraction, but with the familiarity of a yeoman

•Governor Ambode

ments. Whether on Mushin, or Badagry or Ajegunle, he spoke not with professorial abstraction, but with the familiarity of a yeoman. Remember Maracanã Stadium?

Not the fable of Brazil, but the athletic audacity of Ajegunle that named a playground after the South American landmark.

He referred to it when an editor spoke about a yet uncompleted stadium in another part of town. He said he had just discussed it in an earlier meeting, in which he laid out plans to rev up community sports in the city of Lagos.

He had touted his immersion in the interstices of Lagos as his special resume for governorship. He showed that with superfine lucidity, in answer to every question.

It was as though he had spent his entire life preparing for the job.

So, what about the traffic situation. “We are going to have a traffic summit in Lagos

HARDBALL

ANYONE INVOLVED IN SUBSIDY SCAM SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO BOOK–EX-GOV

D

“...In fact, they are ARMED ROBBERS in disguise”

’

soon,” he announced, indicating that he had anticipated the worry about how Lagosians move. He also articulated some ideas roiling his mind in specific areas. Should we continue with roundabouts on the Lekki corridor, or introduce American style intersections? Although he admits erecting flyovers could ease vehicular flow, it will take some time to accomplish. His eyes were focused on quick wins first.

On Apapa, an APC government in the centre could lead to better collaboration to decongest traffic while also focusing on the need to develop the other ports. He would leverage that virtue to revamp that economic hub. All developments seem to move towards the island. Reversing that trend is one of the virtues of the rail project, he said.

The cost to complete it is, however, humongous, but it is a task that beckons. So, he noted the advantages. The journey from

ID you ever hear of a cooking device known as clean cookstove?

Would you recognise one if someone handed it to you? Did you ever have a problem about how to cook your meals?

Do you think handing stove to people – whether cookstove or crooked ones, should ever be a matter for the Federal Executive Council, FEC, where the president of a country sits to consider urgent matters of grave national importance?

It is because of matters like this that Hardball is eternally and wholesomely cynical about the President Goodluck Jonathan era and thinks it is the most pathetic regime that ever happened here.

Please let us consider the clean cookstove saga and tell me thereafter if Jona cynicism is not a most healthful emotion to sustain.

Late last year, at the onset of the current economic recession when Madam Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was telling us about belt-tightening, FEC announced to a bewildered nation one of those Wednesdays that it had awarded a contract for the purchase and distribution of 750,000

What’s this clean crooked stove? clean cookstoves. Contract sum: N9.2 billion. Ha, just like that, where is this stove thing coming from all of a sudden? And all this money – about one tenth of some African country’s budget - just for some stove?

The entire stove narrative is as incongruous as the Jonathan administration was an absurdity. Environment is among the single most important issue elsewhere; here it is honey pot for politicians and civil servants. All the funds for preserving our world here are simply debased and designated as ‘free fund’ and then vaporised by people in authority who need it most to import bigger autos (‘machines’) to further debase the environment. It’s suicidal irony. So the clean cookstove is one such ironies of Nigeria’s environment.

Why would the Federal Government get into the mire of purchasing stoves for

Mile 2 to CMS is about 20 minutes, including about four stops. That means businesses can erupt along the way with improved property value, and development can move to other areas, such as Ikorodu and Ipaja.

Another deep sea port also awaits in Badagry with its promise of tourism. All these will take attention away from the island.

As people move, so they dream. Life is nothing without movement. “There is no such thing as perpetual tranquility of mind while we live here,” noted Thomas Hobbes, the philosopher of the human id. He said further that “life itself is but motion.”

The whole purpose of movement is to stay still, so that we move again. When we leave home, it is because we want to stay at work, at that party, at that friend’s home, at the birthday, at that funeral. But eventually, as the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard notes, we want to go home. All literature from Soyinka’s The Road to Kerouac’s On the Road to Conrad’s Lord Jim to Eliot’s The Journey of the Magi, man’s chief aim is rest, an irony for a restless creature.

The night left out some key discussions about health care and education, especially about Lagos as a melting pot, given the firestorm generated about lagoon and peaceful coexistence. It reflected either satisfaction with Ambode’s inaugural speech about building a rainbow coalition for all, or a sense that it was just a political distraction from a peaceful city.

Governor Ambode told senior civil servants that he was not going to reinvent the wheel, but to oil it. As he simplified his mission to the editors, his dream is to make life easier and Lagosians happier.

He is going to ride on the foundation set by the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu administration and built on by Fashola’s. As Seneca famously noted, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” With his clinical mind and ample experience, Lagos seems to have rolled into the hands of an able manager.

Governor Ambode has the advantages of both the eagle and earthworm. As the eagle, he has been at the top tier of administration as the accountant-general of the state.

He has walked through the portals of the world’s best schools from Harvard to Pennsylvania. As the earthworm, he has wallowed in the labyrinth of the people. He has worked and lived in Mushin, Ipaja, Ajegunle, etc. So, he has smelled the rose and touched the offal. He has the palate of the palace and poor. He has hugged kings and swaddled orphans.

It’s time to turn these gifts into assets for Lagos. A man fondly called AA, Governor Ambode has an A-plus mind and has the potential to be Nigeria’s alpha governor, both in Alphabet and in Acts (AA). As the Nike add urges, just do it.

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above rural Nigerians? What would some of these people do with these stoves when they have not earned salary for months?

How would a mere 750,000 units of stove help our vast country and large population? Why is each unit of stove sold for N4,000 in the open market ordered at N12,000 by the Federal Government? Why did the former president approve for us to import stoves we can manufacture here? Kenya is said to have set up an industrial complex to manufacture millions of even better such stoves for only N1 billion? Why are the contractors supplying gas stoves instead of clean cook stoves?

Questions are too numerous. And we ask finally, why was it the pastime of the Jonathan government to do things that always left a trail of embarrassing questions?

Finally, what is the out-gone Minister of Environment, Mama Lawrencia LarabaMallam, doing plodding about in this unclean, crooked stove mess? If we must play in the muck of graft, we allowed to apply some commonsense; a little bit of method makes madness palatable, they say.

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Editor Daily:08111813080, Marketing: 01-8155547 . Abuja Office: Plot 5, Nanka Close AMAC Commercial Complex, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja. Tel: 07028105302. Port Harcourt Office: 12/14, Njemanze Street, Mile 1, Diobu, PH. 08023595790 WEBSITE: www.thenationonlineng.net E-mail: info@thenationonlineng.net ISSN: 115-5302 Editor: GBENGA OMOTOSO