The Nation May 24 2011

Nigeria’s truly national newspaper

Police detain ACN candidate in Abuja NEWS – Page 9

•Party hires SANs to push Onoja’s case

Governors to seek more cash for states

NEWS

Page 6

•New chair Amaechi to lead campaign http://www.thenationonlineng.net

VOL. 6, NO. 1769 TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

Govt to spend N830m on Jonathan’s inauguration 15 world NIGERIA’S BIGGEST PARTY leaders confirm THE SHOW: President’s inauguration on May 29 Between N830million and N1billion COST: attendance 40 Heads of States invited; about 10 to GUESTS: From Vincent Ikuomola and Franca Chigbo, Abuja

N

IGERIA is set for its biggest – and most expensive – party in recent times.

The ceremony: inauguration of the President. The cost: between N830 million and N1 billion.

Yayale Ahmed, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) told reporters yesterday in Abuja that N1.3 billion was initially earmarked for the May 29 ceremony.

“The actual cost is N830 million, to be specific. Our initial budget was N1.3 billion; it was reduced to N830 million. Now, it may reach the figure of N1bn plus or minus, but no more. I will want you to follow it up after the event,” he said.

There should be no security fears, Yayale said, adding that “all necessary measures” have been taken to ensure that all is well.

Yayale, with whom were other members of the Inauguration Committee, including the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, and Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation Abubakar Sadik, promised adequate security in all the 26 states where inaugurations will take place.

“Right from the venues, from incoming

15 have confirmed attendance

EVENTS: •Presidential interaction with the business community •Presidential session with youths in Lagos •Dinner for Corporate Nigeria at the State House, Lagos •Exhibition and unveiling of President’s portrait, Abuja •Inaugural lecture at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs •First Lady’s Banquet for women at the State House •Jumat prayer at National Mosque, Abuja •Children’s march past, Children’s Parliament session and activities for less-priviledged by the First Lady •Football Match: Kano Pillars FC vs Enyimba FC of Aba •Thanksgiving at the National Christian Worship Centre •Musicial/Cultural/Firework display on Saturday •Presidential inauguration at the Eagle Square, Abuja

Waivers bonanza for companies •President to chair Economic Team

O

RGANISATIONS willing to create jobs and help develop the economy will get special government waivers, President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday.

They are also to benefit from incentives and subsidies the government will create.

The President broke the news at a meeting with the Nigerian Business Community at the Eko Hotel and Suites on Victoria Island in Lagos.

In an address that was an inkling to his economic programme, Jonathan said he would personally chair the Economic Team after taking a fresh oath of office on Sun-

By Toba Agboola, Staff Reporter

day.

He said: “This is necessary because in the next three months we should be able to tell Nigerians our plans and how we intend to actualise them.”

He said more attention would be paid to oil and gas, agriculture and food products.

The President called on the Organised Private Sector (OPS) to partner with the government to actualise the country’s economic transformation.

He said the government Continued on page 2

Continued on page 2

Obasanjo tips six for minister From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has kept many godfathers at bay to take charge of building the cabinet, The Nation learnt yesterday.

In fact, according to sources, none of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s nominees has been shortlisted.

But the President is said to be personally discussing with a former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to drive his Economic Team.

Obasanjo is believed to have recommended six candidates.

Although the names of the candidates were kept under wraps, Obasanjo’s list is Continued on page 2

•President Goodluck Jonathan (second right), UN Secretary General Mr, Ban Ki Moon (third right) and (from left) Minister of Education, Prof.

Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, Special Adviser to the President on Millennium Development Goals {MDGs} Hajiya Amina Az-Zubair, Kaduna State Governor Patrick Yakowa, Foreign Affairs Minister Odein Ajumogobia and others during the official visit of the UN Secretary General to the Presidential PHOTO: AKIN OLADOKUN Villa, Abuja ... yesterday.

•MARITIME P17 •SPORTS P23 •PROPERTY P25 •ENERGY P37 •AVIATION P43

2

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

NEWS

•The Chairman of Northern Governors’ Forum, Governor Muazu Aliyu Babangida cutting the tape to commission the Post-Office flyover bridge in Ilorin, Kwara State capital ... yesterday. With him are the Chairman Governors’ Forum, Dr Bukola Saraki of Kwara (fourth from left), and Governors Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Danjuma Goje (Gombe), Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto), Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Kwara Governor-elect Abdulfatah Ahmed and others. Story on page 8.

Obasanjo tips six for ministerial appointment Continued from page 1

not limited to the Southwest.

A highly-placed source, who spoke in confidence, said: “It is true that the exPresident submitted some names, but the candidates are yet to make the list.

“The President is still studying the list and security reports on the nominees. The clearance is being done in batches and the exercise has reached a final phase.

“I think no one can say categorically if any of the nominees of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo will make it eventually.

“But the President has not drawn the curtains on the exercise.”

It was learnt that the slot for Ogun State may go to a professional, as part of the

“healing and reconciliation” process. The state’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been brought to its knees by internal wrangling.

The source said: “If you are in the President’s shoes, what will you do about the situation in Ogun State?

“Mr. President was passionate about Ogun and begged all the stakeholders to sink their differences and bend to accommodate one another so that the PDP can win the state. They all failed.

And if you now choose a minister from any of the warring groups, will you not be deepening the crisis that still needs to be resolved?”

Responding to a question, the source added: “All I know is that this time around, godfathers and socalled influential leaders are

having it tough in imposing ministers.

“The President has kept the godfathers, including some governors, at bay to be his own man and get the best for the country.

“Since the appointment of ministers is at his discretion, the President has taken time to choose his team without pressure from godfathers.

He wants Nigerians to hold him accountable for his achievements and shortcomings.

“It may interest you that in some states, nominees forwarded by governors did not make the Ministerial list.

“If the President condones imposition of candidates and allows godfathers to have their way, this country will not move forward.

“Take the case of an Am-

bassador who resigned to come and contest and when the Ambassador failed, they started mounting pressure on the President to make the Ambassador a minister.

“The President’s position is that the Ambassador took a risk as a party man and should be ready to bear the burden of the risk.”

On the likely return of the Managing Director of the World Bank, Mrs. OkonjoIweala, to the cabinet, the top source said: “She is an asset and that is why the President is personally reaching out to her to join the team.

“It is a personal initiative of the President and not at the prompting of anybody. It is left to the ex-Minister of Finance to accept or reject the clarion call to serve Nigeria again.”

Waivers bonanza for companies Continued from page 1

•Obasanjo

Govt to spend N830m on Jonathan’s inauguration Continued from page 1

roads to Abuja, because we are celebrating in 26 states of the federation, security measures are being put in place, the details of which, for known security reasons, are not disclosed even to me as the chairman.”

The National Security Adviser is heading the Security Committee.

On the number of heads of states expected at the ceremony, Yayale said “so far, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed about 10 to 15 but we invited about 40.

We are working on a figure of not more than 20 but the confirmation is about 10 to 15 not more than 15 so far but you know the confirmation will keep coming as the time approaches. So, we are making plans for 15 to 20.”

Responding to a question on the preparedness of the

committee to avoid the Uganda situation where foreign leaders were pelted in protest during President Yoweri Museveni’s inauguration, Yayale said Museveni was invited, but no controversial leader would be invited.

He said: “Musevni may come. We are expecting him.

We are not going to invite any controversial personality on the day of the inauguration so as to forestall that kind of thing .

“If you are naming your child, you expect also that the wives of your friends should also come for your ceremony unless there is something.”

The chairman, however, declined to elaborate on “controversy”, saying “controversy is because it is controversial”.

The inauguration committee was formed in

March. It comprises 14 subcommittees specifically assigned with responsibilities to achieve a seamless preparation.

Said Yayale: “The programme of activities for the inauguration of the new president represents a symbolic celebration of the deepening of democracy as exemplified by the recently concluded elections. As democracy is consolidated and becomes better internalised, it will generate the enabling environment for talents not only to blossom but put into a positive and productive uses thereby growing the economy and releasing the nation from stranglehold of poverty.”

The news briefing according to Yayale, marked the beginning of the major activities lined up for the inauguration.

The President had an interac-

tive session with the business community in Lagos yesterday.

Other activities lined up include a presidential special session with youths in Lagos today, and a dinner for corporate Nigeria at the State House Marina. An exhibition and unveiling of Mr. President’s Portrait at Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja will come up tomorrow.

There will an inaugural lecture by a distinguished scholar at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Conference Hall, Abuja on Thursday.

The First Lady’s Banquet for women at the Banquet Hall, State House is also on Thursday.

The activities would be seasoned with a Juma’at Prayer and special supplication for peace, unity and progress of Nigeria on Friday. There will be a special

children’s day on Friday. It will feature a children march past, a special session of the Children’s Parliament and activities organised for the lesspriviledged children, hosted by First Lady Patience Jonathan.

Also on Saturday, there will be a football match between Kano Pillar FC and Enyinmba FC of Aba at the National Stadium Abuja, this would be followed by a thanks giving service to be attended by the president at the National Christian Worship Centre Abuja by 4pm on same day. There would also be a musical/ cultural and firework display on the evening of Saturday. All these activities would be capped with the actual swearing-in ceremony of the president on Sunday, at the Eagle Square, in Abuja.

would do everything to discourage importation of products that Nigeria can produce locally.

Dr Jonathan said the government would take every measure to encourage local manufacturers.

He is looking at a situation whereby the country will be self sufficient in different areas.

“My thinking and plan is that in the next four years, Nigeria has no business importing some of the goods that can be produced locally, such as rice, cement and so on.

“I urge you to please be ready to partner with the government as we transform this country. I also want you to partner with us to address the infrastructural problem,” Jonathan said.

He said the government would decide on certain policies that will help the economy, adding that the key players must be ready to bear the pain.

The President said instead of criticising government policies, “this is the time to think and plan for the future”.

President of the Manufacturers of Nigeria (MAN) Mr Kola Jamodu said Nigeria relied too much on importation.

He called for a change and urged the government to address power problems.

Jamodu said manufacturers have submitted a 98page blueprint to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. He urged the President to look into it.

Jamodu assured the President that the OPS would support the government.

Commonwealth observers: President shouldn’t appoint INEC chief

E

•Prof. Jega

LECTION riggers should be punished and the President should have no role in appointing the head of the electoral agency, election observers have advised.

The Commonwealth Observer Group (COG), which rated the primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party and others for the just-concluded general elections as undemocratic, demanded the immediate trial of electoral

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

offences suspects by a tribunal.

But the Group is seeking a new template which will not empower the President to have direct involvement in the appointment of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, National Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).

The COG’s positions are

contained in its Report on National Assembly and Presidential Elections, which was presented to INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega in London.

The 65-page report, obtained by The Nation, faulted the primaries of most of the political parties, especially the PDP. The report reads: “There have been complaints about the conduct of National, State Assembly and Governorship

primaries across all political parties and notably that of the ruling PDP. “Concerns have been raised that in choosing their candidates, political parties themselves did not adhere to the tenets of democracy.

“Some of the major complaints include the following: Imposition of candidates by elite and senior factions of parties; substitution of candidates who won the party primaries with other names in

the final list of nominees submitted to INEC; and incidents of violence.

“A serious consequence of the fall-out from some party primaries is that aggrieved candidates have sought redress in the courts.

“There were allegations too that some politicians were using the courts to further their own political ambitions with the worrisome result Continued on page 3

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

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THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

NEWS

Akingbola urges court to stop EFCC from arraigning him

Northern Senators meet over Mark, disputed Order •Adeyemi asks new Senators to keep off Senate Presidency

•Asks Farida Waziri to resign

E

CONOMIC and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s bid to arraign former Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank Plc, Dr Erastus Akingbola for allegedly stealing N47.15billlion from the bank has been stalled again.

This time, Akingbola asked a Lagos State High Court, Ikeja to restrain the agency from arraigning him on fresh charges, and to order his release from its custody.

In an application through his counsel, Chief Felix Fagbohungbe (SAN), Akingbola also sought an order of the court declining jurisdiction to entertain the case.

In addition, he prayed for an order dismissing the charges brought against him on the ground that the EFCC had no statutory powers under the Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2007 to prosecute the matter.

Akingbola said the charges filed against him and two others by the EFCC was done in bad faith and amounted to an abuse of court process.

Fagbohungbe said the fresh application had been served on the EFCC. He withdrew an earlier application dated May 10, 2011 in which they urged the court to stay proceedings.

The counsel told the court that Justice Charles Achibong of the Federal High Court had last Wednesday

‘Our clients have been under EFCC custody for the past three weeks, illegally and unconstitutionally. We are asking this court to order them to comply with the judgment of the Federal High Court’

By Joseph Jibueze

ordered the EFCC to release the accused immediately.

Fagbohungbe said the EFCC had no option but to release them, adding that EFCC Chairman, Mrs Farida Waziri ought to resign for allegedly refusing to obey a court order.

His words: “That order that our clients must be released forthwith is an absolute order. For the EFCC to keep holding them in their custody is contemptuous of court.

“If a court of competent jurisdiction has adjudged EFCC to be in contempt, then Farida Waziri ought to have resigned by now because EFCC by its action is putting the judiciary under siege.”

Fagbohungbe asked the court to

make an interim order releasing the accused from EFCC custody pending the determination of the issues raised in the application.

“Our clients have been under EFCC custody for the past three weeks, illegally and unconstitutionally. We are asking this court to order them to comply with the judgment of the Federal High Court,” he added.

But EFCC lead counsel, Mr Kola Awodein (SAN) asked the court to grant the prosecution a short adjournment to respond in writing to Akingbola’s application.

Awodein objected to the oral application made by the defence for the release of the accused. He said the EFCC had filed an appeal against the order of the Federal High Court.

The trial judge, Justice Habib Abiru, expressed dismay over the slow pace of the case and cautioned parties against delay tactics.

The judge said: “I want this matter to have a clear direction. I cannot grant such an ex-parte order for their release without hearing from the prosecution. It will be presumptuous of me to assume that they are in contempt as you have alleged without hearing from them.”

He adjourned till May 31 to enable the prosecution respond in writing to Akingbola’s application.

Akingbola and an associate, Dada

From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

A

S the June 7 for the inauguration of the 7th National Assembly approaches, North-

•Akingbola

were charged before Justice Habeeb Abiru on 29 counts bothering on theft.

The EFCC had alleged that Akingbola conspired with his wife, Anthonia (now at large) and General Manager of Tropics Securities Limited, Bayo Dada to steal over N47.1 billion belonging to Intercontinental Bank Plc whilst he was the Chief Executive Officer.

The anti-graft agency had made two previous attempts to arraign the accused persons, but they proved futile due to the applications filed by their counsels.

Commonwealth observers: President shouldn’t appoint INEC chief Continued from page 2

that until a very late stage, there was a significant number of court injunctions obstructing INEC from producing final lists of candidates for the National and State Assembly and gubernatorial elections in the case of certain parties.

“As it turned out, the court challenges played a part in the omission of some party symbols from ballot papers in a number of contests for the Senate and House of Representatives, resulting in the postponement of those elections from 2 to 9 April 2011.”

The Group sought a new template to prevent the President from direct involvement in the appointment of INEC Chairman, National Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).

The report added: “It is important that appointment mechanism for the Chairman, Commissioners and Resi-

dent Electoral Commissioners is inclusive and ensures broad political and public confidence.

“To reiterate the recommendation of from the 2007 COG, there are many different models to achieve this but direct appointment of National Commissioners and RECs by the President should be avoided, unless the shortlist had been provided by a more inclusive, representative body.

“At the very least, direct appointment by a President who may be a contestant in the poll or otherwise an interested party can raise the spectre of undue political influence over the appointed officials.”

It also demanded the immediate and timely trial of all those arrested for electoral offences by a designated tribunal.

“There must be an end to the culture of impunity for those committing electoral offences. Prosecution of offences needs to be effective and

timely, ensuring that serious breaches of the Electoral Act are appropriately dealt with.

“The creation of a dedicated body capable of handling such matters in an independent and professional manner would be helpful.”

The Group made some recommendations to INEC in its preparation for the 2015 polls.

The recommendations are as follows: •Overall, INEC needs to improve on its organisational capacity. INEC must ensure that materials for the election are printed and delivered in good time to enable the timely delivery across the country. Further, INEC must ensure that the delivery of sensitive materials to and within states, and the deployment of staff on polling day, is done to provide for the timely opening of polling stations; •It would be worthy reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of the Modified Open Ballot System. A

•Oyo State Justices of Peace (JP) taking the oath of office in Ibadan... yesterday

drawback of a two-stage accreditation and voting process is its complexity and its impact on turnout.

Aspects of the current system are time consuming and create confusion among the voters; •INEC needs a more effective communication system so that central and state level officers can communicate with lower level staff, and polling staff can seek clarification or advice as required; •There remain shortcomings with the voter registration based on the number of people with voter cards but missing from the voter register.

This needs to be urgently addressed; and •There needs to be stricter safeguards against underage voting.

There needs to be stricter measures during the voter registration to prevent their registration in the first place. But in polling places there could also be more effective measures to address the problem.

PHOTO: NAN

ern Senators are going to meet today over Senate Presidency’s second term ticket for Chief David Mark and disputed Order 97(f) which empowers only high-ranking Senators to be made principal officers of the Senate.

There was tension yesterday over the meeting following alleged plot by some Senators-elect from the North-East against Mark and the new order.

But, the Vice-Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, Senator Smart Adeyemi, said there is no going back on the adoption of Mark for second term in office as Senate President and Order 97(f).

Investigation by The Nation revealed that pro-Mark Senators have been prevailing on their colleagues from the Northeast to respect the party’s decision which is supporting the retention of the office in the Northcentral.

When contacted, Senator Smart Adeyemi said there is no going back on the adoption of Mark and the controversial Order.

Adeyemi said: “The new Senators-elect should forget about vying for the office of the Senate President with Mark because the party has zoned it to the Northcentral.

“Whoever is bankrolling antiMark project is deceiving himself.

We will stick to the Order and enforce party discipline on zoning.

“There is no need for anybody to be humiliated. If you want to make a name, do so through contributions on the floor of the Senate not by drawing controversy on a settled matter.”

Drama as Akala struggles to meet Jonathan at airport

By Kelvin Osa- Okunbor

A

MILD drama played out at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos yesterday.

The embattled Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, struggled in between service chiefs and other dignitaries to see President Goodluck Jonathan, who was on his way to meet with the business community in Lagos.

Alao-Akala’s attempt to see the President came amidst insinuations in some quarters that his name might have been dropped from the ministerial list.

The governor, who came into the Lounge about noon, spent about three-and a half hours , in what looked like his last-minute attempt to know his fate from Jonathan.

The President arrived at the presidential lounge at about 3.35 pm in a presidential aircraft and was received by the governor, Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro and service chiefs.

Jonathan shook hands with the service chiefs and other dignitaries and was ushered into a waiting chopper.

Alao-Akala, who was dressed in sky blue guinea brocade attire rushed in between the dignitaries and service chiefs to see the President.

As he got near the President, he slowed down and walked towards the chopper.

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

4

NEWS INDUCTION/RETREAT FOR ACN HOUSES OF ASSEMBLY MEMBERS-ELECT IN LAGOS

•The lawmakers-elect

• Asiwaju Tinubu at the induction in Lagos....yesterday

•Alhaji Mohammed

• Oshun

• Dr. Ayo Teriba, presented a paper

who

•Chief Akande (left) and Senator Shaibu

How ACN lawmakers can make a difference, by Akande, Tinubu

A

CTION Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday listed the criteria for effective performance for its House of Assembly members-elect in nine states of the federation.

The party asked them to brace up for the battle for fiscal federalism, shun the love of money and resist likely coercion to blindly support constitution amendment of which they lack adequate knowledge and input.

Its National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande, his deputy, Alhaji Bos Mustapha and National Leader Senator Bola Tinubu emphasised that devotion to the implementation of the party manifestos and programmes would cast them in the mould of progressive politicians.

They also urged them to work harmoniously with the executive arm of government without jeopardising the principle of separation of powers and checks and balances.

The party leaders addressed the lawmakers-elect at a oneday retreat organised for them in Lagos ahead of their inauguration next month.

At the retreat, which held at Tulip Hotel, Amuwo-Odofin, Chairman, Otunba Dele Ajomale, his deputy, Pa Abiodun Sunmola, Third Republic Chief Whip of the House of Representatives Olawale Oshun, National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Layiwola Mohammed, National Legal Adviser

•’Speakers should not be coerced to support constitutional amendment’

By Emmanuel Oladesu Deputy Political Editor

Dr Muiz Banire, Senator Lawan Shuaib, Primate Charles Odugbesi, Southwest Zonal Secretary Ayo Afolabi, and Mr Sola Abayomi.

Tinubu, who drew a line between wealth and good name said the new lawmakers could only choose between the pursuit of money or greatness in politics.

He added: “If you go into politics for personal gain, your career will be shortlived. They will only incorporate you into a corrupt tendency that will short-change the country”.

Akande, former governor of Osun State, also drew the attention of the newly elected legislators to the doctrine of party supremacy, which he said, was non-negotiable.

Quoting from one of the famous speeches of the late Obafemi Awolowo, he said: “No one, however highly placed is above the party, or the discipline and sanctions which the party might impose”.

Tinubu, former governor of Lagos, enjoined the new legislators to learn lessons from the patriotism of the Lagos State House of Assembly, which had cooperated with the executive organ for 12 years, thereby ensuring more than 80 per cent of

budgetary implementation.

Mustapha, who observed that the legislature had become the most demonised arm of government, stressed that this uncharitable characterisation of the law making body was premised on the functions and actions of the legislature.

He said the pursuit of personal well-being by the lawmakers, as shown by their fat salaries, allowances and transactions, has often triggered suspicion by local constituents, who are dazed by their sudden transformation from poverty to riches.

Mustapha said: “Your life changes immediately you get to the House and the people would be wondering. You are the strongest arm of government. Without you, the executive cannot function. You should provide effective leadership and avoid raising privileges above principle”.

The deputy chairman said the mishandling of the budget process in the House has also led to unnecessary delay in passing the appropriation for presidential assent to the detriment of the people.

Mustapha also alluded to the constituency project controversy, which he observed, has dented the image of the parliamentarians nationwide.

He added: “You have a re-

sponsibility for making law for the good order. You must find a way of influencing the executive to site projects in your constituency without directly getting involved’.

Akande, whose speech was entitled ‘Party supremacy’, described the legislature as an arm of government, whose existence as a watch-dog, is critical to the effective performance of executive functions.

He gave insight into the use of ‘parliamentary whips’ by a political party in democracy as a form of control over the executive organ, whose head was elected on the party’s platform.

Akande recalled that when such parliamentary whips were applied on Fashola Administration in 2009 and 2010, the governor perceived them as opportunities for learning governance, while the “uninitiated political youths and followers, particularly the media, saw them as the manifestation of political crisis between Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) and his leader, Asiwaju Tinubu.

The national chairman stressed the importance of “party system” and “party supremacy”, pointing out that ACN legislators must reflect on party ideology and accept the platform as a channel of control over its elect-

ed leaders.

Akande urged the lawmakers to pay attention to their obligations, especially the payment of party dues and participation in party activities.

He also reflected on the party’s mode of selection of elected officers, saying that political parties have gravitated towards the adoption of party’s internal nomination process to ensure cohesion, instead of the familiar primaries and their negative impacts on party unity.

Akande warned that the thirst for the American mode of nomination should be moderated by the realisation that it cannot be easily achieved in Nigeria without fraud and violence because public literacy is abysmally low.

He urged the participants to “deliberate on why political parties in Nigeria should be regimented by legislation into a uniform candidate nomination approaches now euphemistically being christened as internal democracy”.

Tinubu, whose paper was entitled; ‘Legislation for effective governance’, requested for a minute of silence in honour of victims of electoral violence who had passed on. A legislator-elect, Pastor Eze Iyamu, prayed for the repose of their souls.

The former governor alerted the lawmakers to the new voting trend in the country, submitting that “parties and candidates can only retain political power by fulfilling their social contract to the satisfaction of the majority of the people”.

He urged them to rise to the challenge of providing superlative governance in states controlled by ACN and other states where the party is the opposition party.

Stressing that public office cannot be a tea party, Tinubu said: “For the members of our party, politics must be first and foremost be for the purpose of offering selfless service to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of our people’.

The National Leader also said that, as progressive politicians, the legislators-elect must place premium on poverty alleviation, rapid economic growth and equitable prosperity for all.

To do that, he said the ACN governments must pursue progressive programmes, including affordable and qualitative education, health, infrastructural renewal, micro credit for skill acquisition and empowerment, free legal services for the indigent, rule of law and true federalism.

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

5

NEWS

Tribunal approves analysis of Oyo Oyo nurses begin indefinite strike North senatorial voting materials T From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

T

HE Oyo State Election Petitions Tribunal yesterday granted the request of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) senatorial candidate in Oyo North, Dr. Wale Okediran, to invite forensic and handwriting experts to analyse ballot papers and other materials used for the election.

Okediran is challenging the victory of Mr. Hosea Agboola of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The three-man tribunal, headed by Justice Chukwuemeka Nwizu, granted the application filed by the petitioner’s counsel,

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), for the inspection and analysis of the materials to determine the claim that the election was rigged in Agboola’s favour.

Other members of the tribunal are Justices Alasa Omolaye-Ajileye and Muhammad Alkali.

Okediran is challenging the results in 10 of the 13 local governments that make up the district.

They are Ogbomoso North, Ogbomoso South, Saki East, Saki West, Iwajowa, Olorunsogo, Itesiwaju, Oriire, Olorunsogo and Irepodun lo-

cal governments.

Besides ballot papers, the experts will be allowed to make photocopies and analyse forms EC8A, EC8B, EC25B, EC40A, EC40B and EC40C. The tribunal also granted Agboola permission to bring his handwriting and forensic experts to witness the analysis as requested by his counsel, Mr. Yusuf Ali (SAN).

The second respondent, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was absent at the hearing.

Speaking with reporters after the proceedings,

Okediran said he was in court to seek justice, alleging that the election was not free and fair in the affected local governments.

He said he had enough facts to prove that the election was fraught with irregularities.

But Agboola said Okediran challenged the election in the councils where he lost, adding that his victory would be re-affirmed by the tribunal.

Agboola was, until his election, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

He defeated Okediran with 133,143 to 94,896 votes.

HE National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives in Oyo State will today begin an indefinite strike.

They are demanding the full payment of the Consolidated Health Salary Scale (CONHESS), among other things.

The nurses said they would embark on conventional duties between 8am and 4pm and shun night duties and emergencies.

Chairman of the Association Alhaji Teslim Olawuwo told reporters yesterday in Ibadan, the state capital, that they decided to go on strike because the government refused to honour the outcome of their negotiation last year.

He also complained that their teaching allowance was scrapped.

Olawuwo said: “The hospital’s management board, without due consultation with us, removed our teaching allowance. We went to our banks, only to discover that the money was short of the teaching allowance.

“Secondly, nurses were brought down by two grade levels, a situation we find difficult to understand because it was never negotiated.

“Although there was a circular on the grade level conversion, it can only be applicable if the salary is paid 100 per cent, but only 70 per cent was paid.

“Thirdly, the government deducted three months arrears of tax from the salary of nurses without regard to the hardship that will follow, if such deduction was made from one month’s salary. This was done with impunity to dehumanise the nurses.”

Cleric seeks more compensation for ‘NYSC 10’ HE General Evange-

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•Lagos State Head of Service Mr. Adesegun Ogunlewe (right) during a press briefing in commemoration of Governor Babatunde Fashola’s Fourth Anniversary at Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja. With him are Permanent Secretary, Pensions Service Office, Mr. Lateef Abari (middle) and the Permanent Secretary, Teachers’ Establishments and Pension’s Office, Mrs PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES Bola Sadipe...yesterday

Don’t crown Alepata, Alaafin urges Akala

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HE Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi 111, has asked outgoing Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala to stop the plan to give a beaded crown to the Alepata of Igboho in Oorelope local government.

Alao-Akala is preparing to crown the Alepata, Oba Johnson Oyeyiola, today.

Oba Adeyemi, in a letter yesterday, said his objection to the exercise was to avoid further crisis in the town, especially in the Alepata ruling house.

He said Oba Oyeyiola was removed from office by a court in 2003.

The Alaafin also cited a letter from the Ministry of Local Government, signed by the then Permanent Secretary, Mr. Ademola Oyadeyi, directing Oorelope local government to stop recognising Oyeyiola as an Oba and the payment of his stipends.

The letter reads: “When I heard that Your Excellency was preparing to elevate the same Alepata, I had to call your attention to some moral and constitutional burdens which such action portends, should you go ahead with it.

“My resolve to write this letter is premised on your words to me that it is not in

•Governor: it’s not illegal your character to disobey court rulings.

“This is an opportunity for you to put into practice that postulation.

“In 2003, while you were the deputy governor, and by responsibility put in charge of chieftaincies among other duties by your former boss, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, the issue of Alepata’s chieftaincy must have come to your table.

“In a letter dated September 10, 2003, ref. GB141/13/ 4 Vol. 11/602, signed by Ademola Oyadeyi, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, the Commissioner approved the stoppage of stipends to Oyeyiola.

“The letter also directed Oyeyiola to stop parading himself as the Alepata of Igboho, because a court of competent jurisdiction had set aside his appointment.

“The matter had then returned to court and in Suit No. HSK/11/2003, Justice M.O Yusuf, on February 2, 2007, maintained that Oyeyiola could not parade himself as an Oba, urging the family to begin afresh the process of nominating a candidate to the vacant stool.

“Again, when attempts were made to promote some Obas across the state by the Council of Obas and Chiefs in 2008, and the Alepata’s chieftaincy was listed among those to be considered, counsel to the plaintiff in the Alepata Chieftaincy, Bola Rasaq Gold, wrote a letter to me as the Permanent Chairman of the Council, stating that while the family would not oppose the promotion of Alepata’s chieftaincy, it would amount to contempt of court to confer the said promotion on Oyeyiola, whom a court had removed as Oba as at the time the exercise was to be carried out.”

Oba Adeyemi said the Alepata Chieftaincy was a creation of the Alaafin, who also determines who would be appointed.

He said he did not understand why Alao-Akala would take it upon himself to crown an Oba who is not a paramount ruler as provided for in the Chiefs’ Law of Oyo State.

Oba Adeyemi alleged that the shielding of Oyeyiola from vacating the stool by Alao-Akala since 2007 had already created bad blood in the ruling house, while the elevation of the same

man would be a slap on the judiciary.

He said the mixing of politics with traditional council administration had caused crisis in many towns since the return of democracy in 1999.

Oba Adeyemi said the aftermath of the exercise would do no one any good and advised Alao-Akala to allow wisdom to prevail in the use of his executive power in the last few days of his administration.

Alao-Akala said he was not doing anything illegal.

His media aide, Mr. Dotun Oyelade, said: “With due respect to the Alaafin of Oyo, the statement credited to him, accusing the state government of contravening the law over the crowning of the Alepata of Igboho is wrong.

“The process is that the Oyo State Traditional Council would make recommendations for the approval of the State Executive Council and that was what happened in this case.

“A dozen recommendations were made for traditional rulers across the state to wear beaded crowns and this was assented to by the State Executive.

“It is really a local affair whenever an individual council decides to effect such a ceremony.”

list of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Dr. Samuel Abiara, has urged the Federal Government to do more for the families of the corps members killed in post election violence in Bauchi State.

He praised the government for the N5 million compensation given to each of the bereaved families and urged it to give them monthly allowances for the next 10 years.

The cleric said the deceased were future leaders who could have made more than N5 million in their life time if they had not been killed.

From Gbenga Aderanti

He also urged the government to fish out their killers.

Dr. Abiara said: “Government should also look into the policy of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) posting and change certain things, particularly the deployment of graduates outside their states of origin.”

He congratulated President Goodluck Jonathan and other elected political officers in last month’s elections, urging them to fulfill their electioneering promises.

Dr. Abiara said the church would next month begin special prayers for the country’s peace and stability.

Lagos Assembly resumes plenary today

By Oziegbe Okoeki

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HE Lagos State House of Assembly will resume plenary today after a long break.

The Sixth Assembly will be dissolved next Tuesday.

The legislators will, in the remaining days, attend to pending bills, reports and committee assignments.

Prominent among these bills are: Coroner’sl; Tenancy and Freedom of Information (FoI).

The Assembly has passed about 50 bills into laws and 153 resolutions since its inception on June 4, 2007.

The outgoing lawmakers and those newly-elected will begin an induction tomorrow at Eko Tourist Beach Resort, Akodo.

Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji is expected to declare the ceremony open.

LAUTECH Hospital CMD warns against govt interference HE Chief Medical Director of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, Prof. Kola Obisesan, has warned against undue interference by the owner states.

Speaking with reporters in Ogbomoso shortly after the inauguration of the hospital, Obisesan said: “Government should give us free hand to perform optimally; otherwise, this place will be paralysed by workers’ unionism.”

He said the inadequacy of facilities was a major problem in the health sector and praised Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala for equipping the hospital.

Obisesan said: “It is fully equipped with state-of-the-

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‘It is my hope that, soon, open heart surgery will be done in the hospital.’

From Bode Durojaiye, Ogbomoso

art equipment, such as MRI, CT Scan, Dialysis Machine, Doppler, Ecno-Cardiograph X-ray, Ultra Sound, special theatre table and laboratory equipment, among others.

“It is my hope that, soon, open heart surgery will be done in the hospital.”

He said the hospital has professional staff and is ready to give quality service to patients.

6

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

NEWS

Governors push for more cash from Federation Account

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OVERNORS are demanding more cash for states and local governments – in the spirit of true federalism. They have resolved to push aggressively for a new Revenue Allocation formula, which will reduce what goes to the Federal Government.

To achieve this, they have decided to engage President Goodluck Jonathan, the National Assembly and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

The Federal Government receives 52 per cent of the revenue accruing to the federa-

Akiolu to install Ojon Friday THE Oba of Lagos, Oba Riliwanu Akiolu I, will on Friday install the Ojon-elect, Chief Nurudeen Olanrewaju Olubiyi-Agoro.

A statement by the Chairman and Secretary of the Ojon Chieftaincy Family of Lagos, Alhaji Adisa Ashimiyu Shadeko and Mr Tajudeen Agoro, said the ceremony will hold at Iga Iduganran, the Oba’s palace.

The Ojon-elect was born on January 13, 1957.

He attended Birch Freeman High School, Surulere, Lagos.

He worked with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) before setting up his private firm. He is married to Alhaja Hamudalatu Olayemi Olubiyi-Agoro and has four children.

Oyo nurses begin indefinite strike From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

OYO State government nurses have said they will begin an indefinite strike today to press home their demand for the payment of the Consolidated Health Salary Scale.

The nurses, under the aegis of the state council of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, criticised the government for reneging on the agreement it reached with them.

They said they would embark on only conventional duties between 8am and 4pm and shun night duties and emergencies during the strike period.

Addressing reporters yesterday in Ibadan, the state capital, its state Chairman Alhaji Teslim Olawuwo said the association was calling its members from their duty posts to express their anger with the government which refused to honor the outcome of their negotiation last year.

He said the union, in conjunction with other health workers, negotiated with the government on the payment of the Consolidated Health Salary Scale.

The negotiations, he added, started in August, last year.

Olawuwo said though the negotiation was concluded and the circular issued, the problems arising from the implementation of the table on the CONHESS was the issue.

•Amaechi emerges new chair From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

tion account. The 35 states get 26.72 per cent and the 774 local governments take 20.60 per cent.

But, the popular thinking is that the central government does not have the kind of huge responsibilities that states have.

The governors’ position was declared yesterday by Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki after a meeting of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) in Ilorin, the state cap-

ital.

A committee led by Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola was raised by the governors to propose a review of the revenue formula. The committee recommended that the Federal Government should tale only 35 per cent of the revenue; the states 42 per cent and the Local Governments 23 per cent.

Yesterday the governors according to Saraki, accepted the recommendations of the Fashola panel with slight amendments.

The NGF is now led by Rivers Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who was unanimously adopted by the 18 of the 36 governors who attended yesterday’s meeting. Amaechi is to serve a two-year term, which begins on May 29.

Saraki said it would be the responsibility of the new leadership to push for the position of the governors on revenue allocation.

According to the Kwara State Governor, the motion to adopt Amaechi as chair was moved by Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Silva. It was seconded by Gombe State Governor Danjuma Goje and

Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda at the meeting held at the Kwara State Government House.

He said the forum agreed to designate the chairman to negotiate with the leadership of the National Assembly on the revenue allocation formula and “engage with the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMAFC), the President as well as the media”.

He said the NGF praised its members for the successful induction for newly elected and re-elected governors and the launch of the state’s peer review mechanism. Anambra

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Code of Conduct Bureau screens Akala’s, aides’ assets

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EW days to the May 29 handover date, the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) yesterday said it had begun the verification of the assets of outgoing Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala.

Others on the CCB verification list are: Deputy Governor Alhaji Taofeek Arapaja; Secretary to the State Government, Chief Olayiwola Olakojo; commissioners and special advisers.

A federal commissioner of the bureau, Dr. Ademola Adebo, said the verification would come in two stages.

The officers would first meet with the bureau and lay out their assets; the second stage would involve going out to do actual veri-

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

fication of the assets as claimed.

Adebo said the CCB had been repositioned to prevent public officials from enriching themselves with government funds at the expense of the masses and tax payers.

He said the bureau would later move to other states in the Southwest for a similar exercise.

Adebo said: “The CCB is the only anti-corruption agency with constitutional mandate to receive, verify and carry out comprehensive investigation of the particulars of declarations and enforce compliance with the code of conduct for public officers listed in the consti-

tution.

“Where a public officer fails to comply or breach any aspect of the codes, Code of Conduct bureau can prosecute such defaulter.

“A conviction can lead to removal from office, forfeiture of property acquired in breach of the law, a ban from holding public office for at least 10 years, or any other punishment as may be decided by the judge.”

According to him, the Income and Assets Declaration System is one of the statutory tools the CCB used to fight corruption.

He said the bureau’s work would be more effective when members of the public and the media supplied information to track malfea-

U

said: “Whatever the complaints or allegations have been received should be thoroughly and transparently processed through the judicial system. This is very much important. But what is important is that there needs to be some firm belief among the people that democracy and all its principles come from ballot boxes, not from violence on the streets. This is what we have to educate the people about.”

Regretting the violence that trailed the April polls in some parts of the country, the UN chief expressed con-

dolences fro the dead and canvassed intensive civic education by relevant authorities to acquaint Nigerians with fundamental procedures and principles of democracy. He told Jega: “I know that there is cultural unity, but national unity is important for your country.

Notice that you have the largest population in Africa.

Even though the size is not the biggest; but in terms of population, you have the largest in Africa.”

He expressed “full support” for INEC under Jega’s leadership, saying the UN

Police disrupt Ondo PDP faction’s inauguration From Damisi Ojo, Akure

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HE Police yesterday disrupted the inauguration of a factional executive of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State.

The inauguration, which was to begin at 10am at the Solton Hotel, Akure, could not hold as the Police barricaded the entrance the hotel.

Members of the faction had announced the dissolution of the Dr Tayo Dairo-led state executive and suspended Dr Olusegun Agagu from the party.

Armed policemen, who said they were acting on an “order from the above”, prevented the newly appointed members of the committee and others from entering the venue.

Pleas by the factional leaders that they did not need a Police permit for the meeting fell on the deaf ears.

When the Police did not allow them to hold the inauguration, the aggrieved PDP members moved to another hotel.

123456789012345 123456789012345 123456789012345 123456789012345 123456789012345 123456789012345 123456789012345 123456789012345 123456789012345 123456789012345 123456789012345 Ekiti doctors 123456789012345 123456789012345 123456789012345 end strike 123456789012345 From Sulaiman 123456789012345 Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti 123456789012345 HE Ekiti State chapter 123456789012345 123456789012345 of the National Associ•Alao-Akala sance among public office holders.

Adebo said: “Corruption in Nigeria has become a rampaging Tsunami, destroying infrastructures; denying us good education and health facilities.

“It is of utmost importance that we come together in a concerted effort to combat it.”

April polls offer hope for Africa, says Ki-Moon UNITED Nations (UN) Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon has said Nigeria’s democracy offered bright hope for the rest of Africa.

He described last month’s elections as largely credible and commendable, urging parties that had issues with the elections to address them through the judicial system.

Speaking at a private meeting on Sunday with the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof.

Attahiru Jega, Mr. Ki-Moon

and Edo states have been slated to pioneer the peer review process, he said.

Amaechi said he would “consolidate on the achievements of the last chairman”, describing his appointment as a challenge.

He said the states were asking for more funds from the federation account to enable them reduce poverty and ensure a productive economy. He added that efforts would be made by the forum to build a united Nigeria, saying that “when we have a united nation, crises arising from election results would be resolved through the judiciary”.

was eager to work with the commission to promote participatory democracy in Nigeria.

In his response, Jega reassured that INEC is committed to creating a sustainable basis for genuine democracy in the country. He acknowledged the many challenges that confronted the Commission during the recent polls, even he said that the electoral body did its best in the circumstance to deliver elections that were far more credible than what the country had experienced before.

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ation of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners (NAGGMPD) has ended the strike they started yesterday.

In a telephone interaction with reporters in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, its Chairman and Secretary, Dr. Gbenga Olowolafe and Dr. James Ogunseye, said the decision followed the government’s reduction of the tax on its members since January.

The union expressed its appreciation to the Acting Governor, Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka for the motherly intervention which has saved the situation, adding that the contribution of the Commissioner for Health and the Permanent secretary, Ministry of Health was also timely and commendable.

Olowolafe said: “We hereby call on all our members to suspend the strike with immediate effect and return to duty as from today. We appeal to members not to delay on this.”

The doctors embarked on the strike yesterday to protest what they called government’s refusal to reduce the outrageous tax it compelled members of the association to pay since January.

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

7

NEWS

Killer-police sergeant to die by hanging D O policemen get punished for extrajudicial activities?

Mr. Justice Rowland Amaize of the Benin High Court answered this question in the affirmative yesterday.

He sentenced Sergent Kalejaiye Ola to death by hanging for the murder of Paul Erimafa on June 23, 2003 .

Justice Amaize held that Ola’s defence of accidental discharge was not tenable because the act was premeditated.

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

The accused, he said, initially reported a case of robbery against the deceased but investigation proved that the alleged robbery was a lie.

He said there were contradictions in Ola’s extra-judicial statement and oral tes-

timony in court.

“It is the view of the court that there was no justification for the convict to have shot and killed the deceased, who was harmless at the time of the incident,” he said.

Justice Amaize said evidence from the doctor, who performed post-mortem, showed damaged bladder

and profused bleeding, which led to Erimafa’s death.

He noted that evidence from one of the expert prosecution witnesses on the handling of arms and ammunition showed that the AK 47 rifle was not in place when the incident occured.

Justice Amaize said the ev-

idence of another prosecution witness present at the scene was not challenged.

He said the evidence of a witness called by Ola was questionable as there was no summons on the witness to testify in court.

Justice Amaize said the prosecution proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.

JTF: arms mop-up is for security reasons From Isaac Ombe, Yenagoa

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HE Joint Task Force (JTF) in Bayelsa has cleared the air on arms submission by exmilitants in the state.

The command said the exercise was aimed at mopping up arms for security and amnesty purposes.

The Sector Commander, Col. M A Lasisi, said: “All arms brought to the sector headquarters should be accepted for security and amnesty purposes.”

Its spokesman, Francis Achukwu, also commented on the possession of arms by some youths who were arrested by the police.

The youths told the police that the arms were being taken to the JTF Sector Command for submission in compliance with Federal Government directives.

But the police did not believe the youths’ claims.

The JTF authorities, however, confirmed that the arms were being brought to the command when the youths were arrested.

Achukwu said: “Those boys actually came to report that they were coming to turn in their arms. I did direct them to do so.”

NLC praises Amaechi

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HE President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Abdulwaheed Omar, has described Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as a good leader.

Omar spoke in Port Harcourt, the state capital, after inspecting some projects.

He said the quality of infrastructure provided by the present administration is a healthy development.

His words: “I am highly impressed being a teacher, with this kind of facilities being provided by the government for its children, I think this is something I will want to call on all governors to emulate, because with this kind of facilities in our public schools, the private institutions will compete to survive.

“When I was told about all these projects by my state Chairman, I really wanted to come and see it by myself, and my visit to the schools today, which was graciously granted by the governor, has satisfied that my desire and as a teacher, I am highly impressed.”

•Delta State Deputy Governor Amos Utuama (centre) at a meeting with members of the railway committee in Asaba…yesterday.

With him from left are: Commissioner for Special Duties (Direct Labour Agency) Ngozi Okolie; his counterpart in the Ministry of Lands,Surveys and Urban Development Fred Majemite; Julius Berger’s Project Manager(Udu-Itakpe Rail-line) Claudio Teagno and President-General, Union of Udu Communities Steve Sokoh.

Drama as Ogboru’s counsel interrupts proceeding

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HERE was a mild drama yesterday at the Delta State Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Asaba.

Counsel to Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) governorship candidate Great Ogboru, Mr. Nichols Ichekor, interrupted proceedings in order to get the tribunal to list his client’s case on the January 6 rerun for hearing.

Tribunal chairman Justice Ayo Abisoye was addressing lawyers when Ichekor interrupted her.

An Appeal Court sitting in Benin, Edo State, ordered a rerun on January 6 after it nullified Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s 2007 victory at the polls.

Ichekor complained of the tardy manner the rerun petition has dragged, urging the tribunal to fix it for hearing.

His words: “Although pleadings have been exchanged, nothing has happened. We are not satisfied with the returns made.

“It took us a month to serve the petition. The tribunal should look at the petition and give a hearing date.”

Ichekor said upon enquiry as to the cause of delay, the tribunal Secretary told him: “No directive for the petition to be listed has been given.”

Replying, Justice Abisoye said the tribunal was con-

Edo Speaker, others file petitions From Osagie Otabor, Benin

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HE Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Bright Omokhodion and seven other have filed petitions at the Election Petitions Tribunal.

Omokhodion, a candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), lost to Monday Ehiguiwa Ehiaghala of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

ACN candidates, who filed petitions are Stephen Idenhenre, who lost to Kingsley Ehigiamusoe (PDP); Emankhu Isibor, who lost to Patrick Iluobe and Christopher Ebosele, who lost to Emmanuel Okoduwa.

The PDP candidates are Sunday Erhengbo, who lost to Patrick Osayimwen, Johnbull Asemota, who lost to Elisabeth Ativie. Labour Party (LP) candidate for Estako West 1, Phillip Oshiomah Sede filed a petition against the election of Majority Leader Phillip Shuaibu.

The petitioners are seeking the nullification of the elections, arguing that their opponents did not score majority of lawful votes cast.

In his petition, Omokhodion said it was wrong for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare his opponent winner of the election.

Omokhodion said the election was invalid because of corrupt practices and non – compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act 2010.

urge the tribunal not to make any pronouncement on the matter.”

Also, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Victor Otiemewo, said the matter could not be entertained at the tribunal because it was not listed on its programme of activities.

Justice Abisoye, yesterday, warned litigants against attempting to influence members of the tribunal.

“We implore all litigants not to attempt to influence or compromise the tribunal by any means. Please, justice is not for sale.”

She warned counsel to conduct their cases in an expeditious manner as the tribunal was time-bound; stressing that frivolous applications and unnecessary adjournments will not be condoned.

•Tribunal chair warns litigants From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

strained to act because it was set up to try petitions arising from the last governorship election and not the rerun poll.

She advised Ichekor to petition the President of the Court of Appeal.

A representative of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Charles Adjuya, urged the tribunal not to make any pronouncements on the matter.

He said: “I sympathise with sentiments passed by colleague. I do not think it is right for this matter to be mentioned to the tribunal. I

T

THE Secretary of an Akwa Ibom professional group, the Community Ambassadors, Mbuiotidem Affia, has urged students to support Governor Godswill Akpabio.

Affia spoke when the National Association of Akwa Ibom Students (NAKIS), Lagos Chapter, visited his office.

The students thanked him for sponsoring them to the state to participate in the last elections.

Affia said: This is not the first time I’m doing something for the state. During my undergraduate days, we registered with the school authority as the National Union of South-south students.

“I was the pioneer president, during our convention at the University of Port Harcourt, I was elected the National President, and a new name was adopted, the Union of Niger of Delta Students (UNDS).

“We joined forces with the Niger Delta leaders to campaign for the election of a President from Niger Delta.

“President Goodluck Jonathan’s victory is the fruit of the struggle.”

Jonathan hailed over Gelegele Seaport From Osagie Otabor, Benin

THREE House of Representatives members-elect, Isaac Osahon; Samson Osagie and Rasaq Belo-Osagie have commended President Goodluck Jonathfor approving the beginning of work at the Gelegele Seaport in Edo State.

Gelegele Seaport in Ovia Northeast Local Government was the route through which the British invaded the Benin Empire.

It had been abandoned.

The trio said economic and business activities of the people would now be enhanced.

Belo-Osagie said: “Edo State is on the verge of economic freedom as that project will boost the economy of the state.

Rasaq said the seaport would open a new chapter in the state when completed.

Osahon said other amenities would be provided.

‘Appoint ministers outside PDP’ From Shola O’Neil, Warri

•Ogboru

PDP sweeps Rivers council polls THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won 21 local governments, where elections took place, in Rivers State.

There was no election in Degema Local Government because the officials’ tenure expires in November. Election did not take place in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni because of a court case.

The results of the councillorship election were still being collated as at press time.

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), through its Acting Publicity Secretary, Jerry Needam, however, declared that the elections would never stand, in view of the suit filed by

Students urged to support Akpabio

From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

the party which was ignored.

The party said having filed the suit, for non-compliance with electoral laws, it decided to boycott the elections.

The whereabouts of the kidnapped ACN chairmanship candidate in Asari-Toru Local Government, Soibibo Horsfall, still remain unknown.

He was kidnapped around 8am on Saturday, in Central Group, Ward 13 of Asari-Toru (Kalabari/Ijaw) Local Government.

The Commissioner of Police, Suleiman Abba, said efforts are on to rescue Horsfall.

THE President of Izon-Ebe Oil Producing Communities Forum, Chief Favour Izoukumor, has advised President Goodluck Jonathan to look beyond the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in appointing ministers.

He said Jonathan should form a unity government that would encompass all parties and interests.

Izoukumor said the circumstance of Jonathan’s election warranted a government of national unity, stressing that Nigerians voted for him irrespective of ethnic or party considerations.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

NEWS Task force arrests four suspected cattle thieves

IBBU dismisses lecturer From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

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HE management of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBU), Lapai, Niger State, has dismissed a female lecturer, Mrs Asabe Garba, for allegedly falsifying her certificates.

Mrs Garba, a lecturer in the Mass Communication Department, was reportedly found with a fake certificate during a recent certificate verification.

It was gathered that Mrs Garba, who is a wife to a lecturer in the same university, had been using the suspected forged certificate for almost two years.

The management reportedly discovered that although she is a graduated in English Language from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State, she neither applied for nor participated in any Master’s degree programme, showing that the Master’s degree she presented was fake.

It was gathered that the institution Mrs Garba claimed to have obtained her master’s degree from insisted that the certificate has the matriculation number of another student in the Geography Department.

‘PDP responsible for post-election violence’ From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

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HE Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) yesterday the post-election violence in Kaduna State and other parts of the North was instigated by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members who lost at the polls.

The losers, it said, engaged one another in a free-for-all that degenerated into the mayhem.

CPC’s Kaduna State Chairman, Alhaji Ahmadu Yaro, said the party had secured bail for about 600 suspects who were arrested and charged to court in connection with the violence.

Yaro said CPC was making efforts to secure bail for others still in detention, adding that those arrested during the crisis were not necessarily CPC members.

T

• Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko (third right) with the Vice-Chancellor, Adekunle Ajasin University (AAU), Akungba, Prof Olufemi Mimiko (left); National Chairman, Labour Party (LP), Chief Dan Nwanyanwu (second left); Speaker, Ondo Stateprogramme for the state legislators-elect organised by the government with the university in Igbara-Oke...yesterday.

N3b missing from Kano Pensions W Fund, committee alleges HERE is the N3,099,383,704.73 deducted from Kano State workers salary under Contributory Pensions Scheme (CPS).

The transition committee constituted by the Governor-elect, Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso, said yesterday that the money is not in the government’s coffers.

A statement by Kwankwaso’s spokesman Mallam Jaafar Jaafar said the cash was not remitted to the Pension Trust Fund PTF. The committee also discovered that the pension funds deducted from the workers’ pay were not remitted since September, last year.

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

It said the missing money did not reflect the cash balance in the state’s account.

The statement said: “Obviously, there is deduction from their salaries, but there is no corresponding remittance into the pension fund.”

The committee said it discovered that 1,495 pensioners “failed to turn up” after verification and the defeat of the ruling All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in the April 26 governorship election.

It said: “This is a clear in-

dication that some unscrupulous government officials created the ghost pensioners in the state.”

The statement said the discovery was made from the official documents obtained from the PTF and the Office of the AccountantGeneral, Alhaji Danjuma Garko. “(Ibahim) Shekarau’s government has been beating its chest for paying attention to workers’ welfare, despite the fact that they are secretly fleecing them. This is a clear negation of their claims,” the statement al-

Police recover bomb at Damaturu INEC office

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HE Anti-Bomb Squad of the Yobe State Police Command yesterday in Damaturu, the capital, recovered an unexploded bomb at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office.

It made the discovery few hours before the presentation of certificate of return to Governor Ibrahim Gaidam at the premises.

Though the matter was being kept under wraps, The Nation gathered that the

From Duku Joel, Damaturu

bomb was discovered by the anti-bomb squad attached to the Governor’s Office.

The Police had combed the area ahead of the governor’s arrival to avert possible security breach.

It was gathered that the bomb was found near the parking lot of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Malam Sadiq Abubakar.

A Police source, who

pleaded anonymity, described the bomb as a “live unexploded ordnance” which explodes if landed on a hard surface.

The source said: “We suspect that the bomb did not explode because it is more active if it is landed on a hard surface. But that place (where the bomb was discovered) is sandy; it was difficult for it to explode.”

It was gathered that the bomb must have been there for quite some time because

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

In an emotion-laden speech, Shekarau urged the Federal Government not to abandon the project but to ensure it attracts air passenger traffic to the airport to boost the state economy.

He said: “It is significant that Kano State today now has completed a domestic terminal of international standard. This I consider as a parting gift, coming barely a few days that I am leaving office. I have looked forward to this for several years, including the eight-

year tenure of Olusegun Obasanjo and our late brother Umaru Yar’Adua, with whom I often raised the issue.

“Any time I raised the issue, they gave the assurance that never came to pass. But today, thank God that the promise has come to pass. It has become a reality. I want to register my gratitude to Dr Jonathan through this airport that will return Kano to its glory as the centre of commerce.”

Vice-President Namandi Sambo said the government was committed to reposi-

it was covered with so much dust.

On the possible target, the source said it was difficult to ascertain, adding that, it could have been the REC because the bomb was dropped near his parking lot.

The Police spokeman, Abdukadir Song an assistant superintendent denied any recovery of bomb saying: “It was just a bomb filament that was discovered at that place not a bomb”.

Aliyu inaugurates Ilorin flyover

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IGER State Governor Babangida Aliyu yesterday inaugurated a flyover at Ilorin General Post Office in Kwara State.

The project is the first of its kind in the North Central zone.

Aliyu was in Ilorin, capital, for the valedictory meeting of the Nigeria Governors ’Forum in honour of its outgoing Chairman, Governor Bukola Saraki.

Aliyu said the project was Saraki’s beautiful parting gift.

The flyover, completed early this year, is one of the projects executed by the Saraki administration in its eight-year tenure.

Aliyu said Saraki’s eightyear tenure was a testimony of good stewardship, urging the residents to show their gratitude to him for serving them well.

He advised the governorelect, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, to ensure the sustenance of Saraki’s legacies, by doing more for the residents.

NLC plans to suspend eight ORKERS’ umbrella unions today body, the Nigeria

New airport terminal my parting gift, says Shekarau K

ANO State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau yesterday described the commissioning of the new domestic terminal of the Mallam Aminu Kano Airport, as his parting gift.

He expressed happiness that President Goodluck Jonathan made the project reality after he failed to get two former presidents to help out.

Shekarau said he sought to fast track the competition of the terminal under former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and the late President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, but only realised it under Jonathan.

leged.

The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Media and Public Relations, Mallam Sule Ya’u Sule, dismissed the allegation as untrue.

He accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of resorting to media propaganda.

Sule said: “I wouldn’t want to react to this allegation and I don’t want to join issues with anybody for now because from all indications, it appears the PDP in Kano State has embarked on massive media propaganda.”

HE Plateau State Special Task Force (STF) on Jos crisis, “Operation Safe Haven”, has paraded four suspects for alleged cattle theft.

The suspects were said to be armed with locally made weapons which they allegedly used in stealing the cows in Kukawa village, Garga District, Kanam local government.

STF’s Media Officer Captain Charles Ekeocha led the team that paraded the suspects before reporters at the task force’s headquarters in Jos, the state capital.

Ekeocha said: “The four suspects were found with one dane gun, a double barrel pistol, cutlasses, amulets and assorted charms.”

He gave the suspects’ names as Abdul Garuba, Abdulrahman Tukur, Jibrin Mallam and Ibrahim Abdul.

Ekeocha said: “Two weeks ago in Gyangyan area of the same Kanam local government, some people rustled about 10 cows, but the villagers successfully repelled them and eight of the cows were recovered.

W

•Shekarau

tioning the aviation sector through facility and infrastructure upgrade.

He urged the private sector to participate in the development of the sector.

Labour Congress (NLC), may suspend eight affiliate unions at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting holding in Abuja today.

They were accused of challenging the NLC leadership over the forced leave of its General Secretary, John Odah.

But unions with information on the planned sanction have vowed not to attend the NEC meeting.

The National Administrative Council (NAC) had met after a report on the ongoing crisis in the congress.

A source at the NAC told The Nation that the NAC questioned NLC President Abdulwaheed Omar over the al-

By Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu

leged conversion of the leave, which he reportedly admitted he approved.

It was gathered that the NAC resolved that “ill-health and 12 years accumulated leave”raised against Odah must be dropped because it lacked facts.

The source said Omar had convinced the NAC to suspend the eight unions that challenged it over the issue, especially as they were withholding their check-off dues.

It was gathered that the NLC was broke because many of the affiliates, including the eight unions that had not been remitting their check-off because of the crisis.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

NEWS

Police detain Benue ACN governorship candidate in Abuja A

CTION Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate at the April 26 governoship election in Benue State, Prof Torkuma Ugba has been arrested and detained at the Police Force Headquarters, in Abuja.

He was arrested at about 6pm after honouring police invitation.

Ugba was being detained for allegedly inciting disturbance in the state.

Other ACN leaders invited for questioning with Ugba were allowed to go home and “come back tomorrow (today).”

The Force Public Relations Officer, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Olusola Amore confirmed the development to our correspondent last night.

According to Amore, Ugba

•Party hires three SANs, forensic experts to defend Onoja From John Ofikhenua, Sanni Ologun, (Abuja) and Uja Emmanuel, Markudi

is believed to have incited the disturbance which led to the attack on some leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

Responding to a question, Amore said: “I am confirming that he is the only person detained. Others were asked to go and come back tomorrow (today).

“He was detained for inciting disturbance. There was robbery somewhere, he turned the story to be that the governor was the one sending people to go and attack

people. As a result of that, they started attacking some PDP stalwarts. So he was the one who incited the disturbance.”

Ugba contested the governorship election in Benue state on the platform of the ACN which was won by the incumbent governor of the state and candidate of the PDP, Gabriel Suswam.

But the party has hired the services of three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) and other lawyers defend its Benue South Senatorial candidate, Gen. Lawrence Onoja to dislodge Senate President David Mark from the tribunal, it was learnt yesterday.

Besides, plans are underway to engage the services of forensic experts to prove how the Senate President rigged the April 9 election.

Onoja, who made the disclosure to journalists in Abuja yesterday noted that evidence abounds for him to send Mark packing.

He announced that the lawyers who are already sorting out the documents are almost through with documents from the nine Local Government Areas.

His words: “I am very confident because my lawyers at this initial stage is chief

Dubenu. He is an Ibo boy and he is leading with about three others. They are now sorting out the documents and they are almost finished in all the local government. They have almost finished and once they do that. We have been assigned three SANS by ACN and Charles Edosowen from Edo and Yusuf Alli from Kwara. They said he is one of the best.

“And of course you know we are going to arrange to bring forensic experts and forensic experts are going to go through all the boxes and they will find out that most of the ballot papers were thump printed by one person. In some cases they were using toes and in some cases they were using palm kernel to thump print. We have witnesses. This is why we are in the tribunal.

Police arrest seven over attack on LUTH SEVEN persons have been arrested in connection with an alleged destruction of properties of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba.

Mr. Samuel Jinadu, the Lagos State Police Command spokesman, told reporters yesterday that the suspects were arrested for attacking the hospital and damaging some of its properties.

Jinadu explained that some unidentified gunmen had last week Tuesday engaged each other in a shootout along Temple St. in Bariga, during which four persons were hit by stray bullets.

He said: “The four victims were rushed to LUTH where doctors on duty struggled to save their lives but two of the victims were confirmed dead.

“The relations of the deceased became enraged and therefore attacked the hospital and damaged some of the its properties.’’

Maritime Academy to become varsity THE Federal Ministry of Transport has completed all processes to transform the Maritime Academy of Nigeria in Oron, Akwa Ibom State to a maritime university, it was learnt yesterday.

The ministry said in a statement that the acquisition of additional hectares of land as recommended by National University Commission (NUC) had been achieved.

The statement said that the Minister of Transport, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, made the assertion at the passing-out parade and graduation ceremony of the cadet and students of the academy in Oron at the weekend.

It reads: “The Academy has overtime been able to develop and acquire equipment and structures to make it an emerging centre of excellence in maritime training in the sub-region.

“Besides, the academy has presidential jetty equipped with state-of-the art facilities and a stimulator complex with ICT centre.”

NDLEA chief warns drug traffickers

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

C

HAIRMAN and Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Ahmadu Giade yesterday urged traffickers to shun the illicit trade.

He asked them to be ready for the consequences if they didn’t heed his advice.

The NDLEA boss gave the warning following last weekend’s arrest of a student and importer at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos while attempting to unlawfully export narcotics out of the country.

Giade said: “Drug traffickers must eschew the criminal act that damages the image of the country. The student was in a better position to know that drug trafficking attracts capital punishment in Malaysia. It is clearly stated in his visa.

“Besides, the serious implications of drug trafficking on his career should have restrained him from the criminal act. We shall continue to arrest and prosecute anyone that indulges in drug trafficking”.

The NDLEA Airport Commander, Alhaji Hamza Umar gave the names of the suspects’ as Agunenye Chinagorom Capito, 29 (student) and Eze Chika Augustine, 41 (an auto parts importer based in Japan).

Jonathan, National Assembly urged to avert ASUU strike

P

•Ugba with other party leaders at the Force Headquarters, Abuja... yesterday

Jonathan bemoans exclusion of Africa from UN Security Council

P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday bemoaned the exclusion of the African continent from the United Nations (UN) permanent membership of the Security Council, describing the situation as unfair and untenable.

Jonathan spoke when he received UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon yesterday at the Presidential Lodge, Abuja.

He said: “Specifically, the expansion of the Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories is necessary.

“A situation where Africa is totally excluded from the

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

permanent membership of the Council is unfair and untenable. “ Mr. Secretary-General, given the realities of today’s world, a comprehensive reform of the United Nations system is imperative at this time. “ It is therefore my hope that the UN system will support Nigeria’s quest for permanent membership of the UN Security Council,” he said.

President Jonathan also said the country has not shifted from its aspiration when it joined the UN, which is to

promote international peace and security.”

He also said that over the years, Nigeria has left no doubt as to her unwavering commitment to the ideals of the UN. Jonathan also expressed satisfaction with Nigeria’s cooperation with the UN Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF).

He revealed that the country has “ put forward proposals for technical assistance for improved capacity and we are working with the Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) on the establishment of a focal point on coun-

ter-terrorism within ECOWAS,” he said.

He informed his guests that the country is “ in the final processes of passing a Bill to Provide for Measures to Combat Terrorism and a Money Laundering Bill, all aimed at giving impetus to the country’s committed fight against international terrorism.

Jonathan stressed the need “for the international community to remain engaged in Cote d’Ivoire especially with respect to the urgent work of reconstruction; and the challenges of disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation.

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has been asked to prevail on the National Assembly to pass into law the bill on the 2009 agreement between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

A group, Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA), is pushing for passage of the bill before the end of the current legislative calendar next week.

In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko and National Director in charge of Media Affairs, Ms. Zainab Yusuf, the group charged the Senate President, David Mark and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, to ensure that the bill is passed and signed by the President before the expiration of the current Sixth Session of the National Assembly.

The group reminded the Federal Government of the threat the last ASUU strike posed to national security.

It said the teachers had waited enough for the passage of the bill.

Sambo inaugurates Domestic Wing at Kano Airport

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ICE President Namadi Sambo has reiterated the Federal government’s commitment towards reversing infrastructural decay in the nation’s airports to modern international aviation standard.

Sambo stated this in Kano yesterday, while inaugurating the Domestic Terminal Building and the foundation laying of the new Internation-

From Kolade Adeyemi and Kelvin Osa-Okunbor, Kano

al Terminal Building at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA).

“We have resolved to reposition the economy by introducing positive initiatives to reverse the infrastructural decay in our airports across the country as in the aviation industry, we have opted to ad-

dress infrastructural decay and ensure facility upgrade among others,” he said.

Sambo explained that the Federal Government has selected the civil aviation sector as one of the beneficiaries of its special funding option in view of its critical importance in driving the economy of the nation positively.

The vice president pointed out that in view of the stra-

tegic importance of the aviation sector its in transportation and the improvement of the image of the nation, the Federal Government has decided to reverse the infrastructural decay and replace it with modern aviation technology, comparable to what is obtainable around the world.

While enumerating the various projects being carried

out in other airports across the country, the vice president reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to reposition the aviation industry as a leading driving force for economic growth.

He challenged private investors to take advantage of the infrastructure provided by the Federal Government at the Kano airport to enhance the economic fortunes of the area.

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

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Lawyers stall Presidential Election Petition hearing

CBN: We didn’t tell banks not grant loans to Reps

By Collins Nweze

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disowned from a media reports alleging that it directed banks not to grant loans to the House of Representatives.

The apex bank said such reports are unfounded as it is not its business to direct banks on who to be given loans to. It said the CBN had not at any time given such orders to banks.

CBN Spokesman Mohammed Abdullahi said bank managements should decide who to lend to depending on perceived risks or credit rating of such individual customers rather than a directive from the apex banks.

“CBN in reference to reports in some papers that the CBN has directed banks not to grant loan to the House of Reps, it is not the business of CBN to direct banks on who to be given loans or not. It is the business of management of the banks to decide based on their risk assessment of individual customer,” Abdullahi said.

He added :”If such directives were to be given by the CBN, it would have been through a circular and to the best of my knowledge, no such circular has been issued.”

The House has been boiling since the news broke that its leadership obtained a N10 billion loan from a bank as a result of which members’ final entitlements are unpaid.

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HE Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting was stalled yesterday owing to a disagreement among the Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN’s) on the service of a counteraffidavit by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

The party is challenging the validity of the 2011 Presidential Election poll before the five-man panel of Justices chaired by the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami.

CPC is asking the tribunal to set aside the presidential election and organise a fresh election between it and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 20 states.

President Goodluck Jonathan was the PDP candidate in the poll. Gen. Muhamadu Buhari (rtd) was the candidate of the CPC. The respondents are the INEC, its National Chairman (Prof. Attahiru Jega), President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice-President Namadi Sambo, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The opposition party is alleging non-compliance with the Electoral Act and irregularities in Lagos, Bayelsa, Kaduna, Sokoto, Nasarawa ,Kwara, Adamawa, Abia,

•Appeal Court sues for maturity From Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja

Akwa-Ibom, Enugu and Cross River.

Others are Rivers, Ebonyi, Bayelsa, Delta, Imo Anambra, Benue, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).The party wants the tribunal to hold that Jonathan and his running mate, Namadi Sambo were not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election.

At the hearing yesterday, counsel to the CPC, Ebun Shofunde (SAN) informed the panel of his pending four applications before the court.

He also attempted to move fresh motion seeking to compel the Independent Na tional Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow him access to the election materials so as to analyse and send it to forensic experts for investigation.

But counsel to the respondents said they were yet to be served.

Sofunde insisted that all the counsel were served in the open court by one of his lawyers.

INEC’s counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) clarified the issue.

He said: “I would not say I

was served, the young man just came to me and said this is for you, this is for you sir….I will take it as advanced copy.

In his own submission, counsel to Jonathan, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) said: “We have not been served. My lord what we were served this morning is a different motion, an independent motion.

But PDP’s counsel, Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN) admitted being served. He, however, said he was yet to read it because he was served in the court.

Miffed by the slow pace of the tribunal, the panel appealed to the senior lawyers to concede on some of the issues in order to make progress in the interest of justice.

A member of the panel said: “You know this thing has a time limit, therefore it is important that counsel should come”.

The tribunal later stood the matter down for about two hours, ordering all the senior counsel to come for a short meeting in chambers on how to resolve the impasse.

When the panel re-conveyed at 1:00 pm, Shofunde (SAN) informed the Justices that all the counsel had met and agreed on how to resolve the eight pending applications without encroaching on the time for the main motion.

He prayed the panel for adjournment till 10am today in order for the counsel to conclude the matter.

Apart from the motion to inspect the electoral materials, the CPC has other three applications.

The respondents, on the other hand, have four pending applications.

In the fresh motion, CPC is praying for an order of the court directing the commission to seal all the Direct Data Capturing Machines (DDC Machine), ballot papers and ballot boxes used in the election so as to preserve same for forensic test in the course of the petition to be filed shortly.

The applicant also wants an order directing INEC and Jega to produce for inspection and permit it to take copies of the documents/ materials/ballot papers used in the election as shown in the schedule to the motion.

Reinstatement of Okereke–Onyuike: SEC appeals judgment • ‘Judgement is in order’

By Eric Ikhilae

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HE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has appealed the judgment reinstating Prof. Ndi Okereke-Onyuike as the Director General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

SEC, in a notice of appeal filed at the Court of Appeal, Lagos, is contending that the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, erred in law when he assumed jurisdiction over, and determined the case.

But Senator Ganiyu Solomon yesterday said the court ruling is in order.

Solomon, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market, said the court ruling vindicates his committee’s position that the SEC acted illegally.

The Federal High Court last Friday ordered the reinstatement of Okereke-Onyuike who was sacked on August 5,2010

by SEC over allegations of misconduct.

Solomon advocated for the repositioning of SEC. He urged the presidency to overhaul the organisation to prevent serious financial crisis.

He said no court of sound competence would “uphold illegality and trample on due process.”

He said: “Not only was the Judge straight to the point in his judgment, his words were in tune with our description of the highhanded and irrational dispositions of the leadership that SEC represented in the last 18 months. Whatever their reservations about Okereke- Onyuike does not justify the fact that her removal was a clear contravention of the rules guiding the operations of SEC,” he said.

The Senator said SEC had been indicted about three to four times by different courts on similar grounds of contravening its own rules.

“If as a regulator you are being indicted at such frequency for alleged regulatory conventions, it simply calls to question your capacity and competence to regulate the market.”

Izunaso to join APGA

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ENATOR Osita Izunaso of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may be on his way to joining the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) where he hopes to have a shot at the Senate in 2015.

Izunaso, who was defeated

by Hope Uzodinma for the Imo West seat, allegedly financed APGA during the

governorship election.

He allegedly directed his campaign directors to work for APGA, confirming speculations of his intention to join APGA. He also congratulated the Imo Governor- elect and APGA governorship candidate Owelle Rochas Okorocha shortly after he was declared winner of the election.

Lagos holds valedictory session for exco members

By Miriam Ndikanwu

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EMBERS of Lagos State Executive Council yesterday held a valedictory session at the Executive Council Chamber, Alausa, Ikeja, thanking Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) for allowing them to discharge their duties without rancour in the past four years.

They converged at about 9am and broke the session to enable Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) to attend to another important forum outside the state.

When they reconvened at 3pm, some of the council members addressed reporters, saying they had a unique opportunity to serve a unique state.

Mr Jide Sanwo-Olu, the Commissioner for Establishments, Pensions and Training, described the Fashola administration as a brand that everybody wanted to identify with.

He said: “The Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions has become the threshold for reference point by other states when it comes to pensions administration and welfare for workers and pensioners.

“Serving the state under Fashola would be a unique privilege and opportunity one would cherish for long.

Despite the tedious challenges, we have been able to keep the responsibilities and duties he gave us and we cherish it.”

Dr. Kadiri Hamzat , the Commissioner for Science and Technology , said the job was difficult and challenging, adding that the members stuck, despite the odds, because of the joy they derived from serving the people.

Ministry, UNESCO mark World Culture Day today

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HE Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation in collaboration with the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) will be joining the rest of the world today to mark the 2011 World Day for Cultural Diversity, Dialogue and Development, otherwise known as World Culture Day. Chairman of the Organising Committee, Ralph Wilcox, said the event will take place at the main auditorium of Women Development Centre, Abuja, at 10am.

Other activities scheduled for the event include, a lecture by Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Benin (UNIBEN), Prof. Austin Asagba; exhibition of art, craft, artifacts, publications by the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization(CBAAC), National Gallery of Art, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, National Institute for Cultural Orientation(NICO), National Council for Arts and Culture, among others.

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

11

NEWS

N6.5b aviation scam: EFCC accuses Borishade’s aide of delaying trial

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HE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has frowned at the “time-wasting attitude” of Mr. Tunde Dairo, a Personal Assistant to a former Minister of Aviation, Prof Babalola Borishade, in the suit instituted against him at a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja.

The anti-graft agency said that such attitude amounted to crude attempt to frustrate prosecution. Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, counsel to Dairo had at the court session yesterday presented a letter notifying the court of an interlocutory appeal entered in the Court of Appeal, challenging the ruling of the court on the admissibility of evidences against the accused and asking for an adjournment of the case to a further date.

Responding, the EFCC counsel, Sebastine Hon, also

By Nneka Nwaneri

a senior advocate, said that it was wrong for the third accused to write such a letter which was brought on the adjourned date without being at the court to defend it.

He argued: “We are not satisfied with this development. It is not right for a counsel to sit in his office and write a letter which he knows needed some reply and he is not even here.” He urged the court to discountenance with the letter and proceed with the case. Hon was represented in court by Daniel Penda.

The trial judge, Justice Sadiq Umar, agreed with the EFCC counsel and said that the propriety of Awomolo’s letter was questionable. He, therefore, reserved further comment on the letter till today, for Awomolo to address

the court and also for the prosecution counsel to argue his case.

However, counsel to Borishade , Afe Babalola, SAN, who also received the letter urged the court to consider the merit of its content as according to him, all processes had been filed at the appellate court . His position was also taken by Chidi Ezenwafor, counsel to Roland Iyayi, while R. Okotie-Eboh counsel to the 4th and 5th accused, George Eider and Avsatel Communications Ltd opted to be neutral. Justice Umar subsequently adjourned the case till today.

Diaro, Borishade and three others are standing trial for allegedly taking bribes and forging documents relating to a N6.5 billion aviation contracts. They were arraigned on a 15-count amended charge on November 19, 2009.

CPC’ll champion scrapping of joint account, MEMBER of the Conamong local governsays Rep-elect locations gress for Progressive ments by governors, describ-

A

Change (CPC) newly elected to the House of Representatives from Katsina State, Babangida Ibrahim, has promised to lead the crusade against joint account.

He said the system was illegally imported into the financial management of local government administration.

Ibrahim, who spoke to The

From Isah Idris, Katsina

Nation in katsina after receiving his Certificate of Return, promised to ensure the scrapping of the joint account shortly after the inauguration of the House.

According to him, the account was introduced for the purpose of sharing federal al-

ing the motive behind it as corrupt, illegal and unconstitutional.

Ibrahim said that the third tier of government should be allowed to operate an independent accounts to make the council administrative head free to implement projects and run an effective administration that is prudent and accountable to the people.

1/2 page Advert

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THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

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TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

For one year now, Kaduna State Governor Patrick Yakowa has been in the saddle. But the state boiled over with rage after the recent presidential poll that swept through some northern states. TONY AKOWE examines this and other challenges before him as he prepares to begin a new tenure.

Yakowa and the challenges ahead I

T’S just like yesterday. The news filtered across the nation that the then Kaduna State governor, Mohammed Namadi Sambo, an architect, had been nominated as the country’s Vice President. It followed the elevation of the former occupant of the office to the position of President.

No one anticipated it. That singular act changed the face of politics in Kaduna. It automatically handed the baton of governorship of the state to Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, who was then Deputy Governor.

Again, it was a divine elevation which confirmed the old adage that God gives power to whom He so desires and at the right time. Before May 2010, Yakowa had contested the governorship with Sambo and many others including Senator Isaiah Balat, the late Garba Ali Madaki, Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi, Shuaibu Idris Mikati and Haruna Saeed Kajuru for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket in the 2007 elections.

He was the serving Deputy Governor, a position he also divinely rose to following the death of the former occupant of the office, Engr. Stephen Shekeri. He lost the ticket to Sambo who was to pick him later as his running mate. It was gathered that he was not the initial choice of Sambo as running mate, but every southern Kaduna man who was approached were said to have turned down the offer, owing the feeling that the then Governor, Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi betrayed them. It was learnt that Yakowa had to be prevailed upon to accept the position he was about to vacate. But unknown to him and many others, God was preparing ground for him to eventually become the head.

As deputy governor, he was disparaged by many, even commissioners that were supposed to be under him. But he held on and even when there were rumours that Sambo planned to drop him mid-way, he was never deterred, but carried out his assigned responsibility with total diligence.

However, what many did not know then was that Yakowa was destined for something greater and so, when he was elevated, it did not come as a surprise to those who knew his loyalty and dedication to duty.

At his inauguration, he immediately reassured all those who thought that he would implement a “southern Kaduna agenda” that he would be a governor for all. “Please note that I am not a Christian governor. I am a governor for all irrespective of religious and tribal affiliations,” he had said.

Ever-humble, Yakowa had said: “I do not consider myself worthy to take up this job, but I do believe that in His infinite mercy, our God qualifies those He appoints and beyond the historic significance of what has just taken place, I do not consider this heavy burden of being your governor an achievement but a metaphor for understanding the fact that with God, indeed, all things are possible. The greatness of the people does not lie “in what we do, but in how much we try to build on what those who have served before us have done. Government is a continuous exercise. Though I’m your governor, I consider this merely an office. At heart, you are my fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, friends and my neighbours.

“I open my heart to you and offer you by friendship. I invite you all the good citizens of our beloved state to please join me to make Kaduna a united family. Together, we can make it happen. In this regard, there will no break in transmission in the areas of the 11-point agenda enunciated by my worthy and insightful predecessor. With prayers and support, we will ensure that Kaduna State regains its glory.

We shall be committed to ensuring that no citizen of this state feels threatened or discriminated against on ground of his or her status in life, gender, class, faith or disability.

Your security will remain our investment. I enjoin you to please continue to pray for our beloved state in particular and our country in general. If Kashim Ibrahim House were a classroom, I should feel grateful to God that today, I can proudly call myself a very senior student having entered in 2005. I intend to use my little experience to ensure that the foundation of peace which my predecessors and I laid is sustained. We shall make peace, built on justice our primary goal. I promise that we shall do all that is within our powers to ensure that no citizen is threatened by fear ... I will be resolute in pursuing all that will unite our people. We shall pursue with vigour those areas that we can deliver on in the period of time that God has given to us”.

One year after, has Yakowa been able to achieve what he planned to achieve? Many are quick to point out that the governor took immediate steps to ensure that he fulfilled his promises. Before coming into office, popular Islamic scholar, Dr. Abubakar Gumi was detained in Saudi Arabia; the northern governors could not ensure his freedom.

Yakowa, it was, who led a delegation which included the Emir of Zazzau, Dr. Shehu Idris to the presidency to seek its intervention which eventually paved the way for the scholar’s release. He also set up feeding centres during the

• Yakowa

Ramadan period and gave out food items to people during the Sallah celebration, in addition to subsidizing the last Hajj for citizens of the state.

For several years, residents of the metropolis, especially those in the southern part suffered hardship when going and returning from work owing to heavy traffic jam on the main bridge linking the city centre to other parts of the area and thus, there had been a clamour for the construction of a new bridge to reduce the man hour lost in the jams. While Namadi’s government promised to construct the bridge, the Yakowa government made good the promise when he awarded its contract with those of adjoining roads with a 16 months completion period. He also awarded contract for the construction of the Kafanchan campus of the state University as well as the civil servant housing scheme in the Kaduna new city. The Nation discovered that the 500 houses in Kaduna are currently at an advanced stage of completion.

While some of them have been completed and ready to be occupied by civil servants, others are almost completed while some others are still at their foundation stage. It was gathered that 300 of such houses are being built in Zaria while another 200 are being built in Kafanchan. Funding for the multi billion naira Zaria water project has been going on steadily and as at the last visit, the work was at an advanced state of completion with the management of the Kaduna state water Board expressing optimism that if things continued the way they were, the project will be completed on schedule by September 2011.

There is no gainsaying the fact that Yakowa has achieved quite a lot within the last one year. But there has also been inaction in some other areas. His critics believe that he has

‘At the moment, the people of the Central Senatorial zone of the state are feeling neglected in his government and how he takes care of their interest is of great concern to political watchers in the state. At the moment, all government position is concentrated in the north and southern senatorial zones of the state, leaving the central with nothing to hold on to’

been rather slow in responding to the yearnings of the people in terms of provision of amenities. A tour of the suburbs of the metropolis revealed a sorrow state of roads in those areas. Some of the roads are in terrible situations such that one wonders whether these settlements are actually part of the metropolis. The security situation in the state has been of concern to many in recent times and there are those who believe that morale is becoming low within the state special security outfit, Operation Yaki owing to a slash in their allowances. But Commissioner for Information, Saidu Adamu dismissed this claim, saying there was no time the governor ordered a cut in the allowances of men of the outfit. He argued that the government is committed to ensuring the welfare of men of the outfit and has therefore not cut their allowances and had no plans to do so.

However, recent post-election violence in the state after the presidential poll has become a big task in his hands as he prepares to take the oath of office as the democratically elected governor on May 29. How he goes about building bridges of unity across the state in the coming months will go a long way in determining his success or failure.

At the moment, the people of the Central Senatorial zone of the state are feeling neglected in his government and how he takes care of their interest is of great concern to political watchers in the state. At the moment, all government position is concentrated in the north and southern senatorial zones of the state, leaving the central with nothing to hold on to. As at the time of this report, it was not clear what the power sharing arrangement in the state will be, but the central zone are insisting on producing the Speaker of the State Assembly and the Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

Though it was not clear what is in the mind of the governor on this, feelers from government circles have it that the Central zone may produce the Speaker of the state Assembly in view of the fact that the positions of governor and deputy governor are current being occupied by the southern and northern senatorial districts respectively.

However, Yakowa is appreciative of the support of his people in the last one year. The governor said through his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Reuben Buhari, that the support and cooperation of the people of the state led to the success so far recorded by his government.

Hear him: “The last one year has been challenging in the history of Kaduna State. However, the people’s support has been quite tremendous, leading to the successful conduct of the 2011 general election.” He noted his dedicated provision of amenities to the people of our dear state with a promise to increase the tempo in the coming new administration.

The Special Adviser noted that “the governor also noted the invested time and energy in ensuring the completion of the Zaria water project to provide potable water to the people of Zaria and environ. The government, he said has also paid much attention to the welfare of workers in the state as well as security of lives and property across the state as stated on May 20, 2010 during his inauguration. The governor’s aide also expressed his commitment to offering people-oriented leadership for its citizens and communities, including projects that have direct bearing on the people’s welfare.

“As we march into the next phase in the life of this administration, His Excellency wishes to assure the people of the state that it will continue the implementation of a wide range of projects and will dedicate attention to the provision of fertilizers to our teeming farmers and ensure affordable housing for the people of the state. Work is already ongoing in the civil servant housing scheme at the Millennium city and the 300 bed specialist hospital is near completion. Work has also commenced on the Kafanchan campus of the State University and the fourth Kaduna Bridge and other access roads within the state,” Buhari said.

Despite the post-election violence that engulfed state, the governor according to Buhari, is doing everything possible to bring to book, those responsible for the violence and ensure that those displaced are reunited with their loved ones. “As we prepare for the inauguration of the new government in the state, His Excellency wishes to reiterate his call on members of the opposition as well as all those who either won or lost in the last general elections to join hands with the government to develop the state. We should put behind us the election fever and work together to develop the state so that those who elected us will have something to be proud of. Members of the legislature and the Judiciary should also join hands with the government in ensuring that the state enjoys fast development which our people envisaged when they went to the poll to elect us,” Yakowa’s aide said further. Whether or not such promises will remain empty will be seen in a matter of time.

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

14

POLITICS Joe Igbokwe is the Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Lagos State. In this interview with MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE, he explains the party’s growing influence across the country and how it has set a template for good governance through the states under its control.

‘ACN will win more states in 2015’ H

OW would you describe the overwhelming victory of your party in Lagos State in recent elections?

I will attribute it to hard work, commitment, sound democratic ideals including having the credentials for good governance. This is because we presented solid credentials to the electorate and is what could be likened to what the Hausa people refer to as “seeing is believing.” It was therefore not difficult for us to sweep the polls not only in Lagos State but Ekiti, Osun and Edo State. Above all, some of the characters you see in ACN have always been there for long. I am talking about the 1993 struggle during the June 12 crisis.

These are progressives, people who believe in the rule of law. Nigerians believe in us and have always accepted us, and our leaders as hero of democracy. Governor Dr Kayode Fayemi and Engr Rauf Aregbesola are heroes of democracy. Dr Fayemi was the chairman of Kudirat Radio International; Aregbesola and Ayo Opadokun were in detention; now, it is payback time.

You mean those variables did the magic?

Yes, the combination of these factors is what brought about the changes that you are observing in the political landscape in the South West - the overwhelming support.

We have never disappointed the people; we have not got to where we want to be because the federal is our target. While we are making progress here, preparing in the South West, the central government is retrogressing in terms of the administration of people-oriented programmes. So, our goal is how to get the centre. If what you are seeing in Lagos and Edo is anything to go by, there is no reason you should not vote ACN at the national level so that we can transform the country.

But you have not been able to achieve much electoral success in other parts of the country…

People used to say the ACN is a Yoruba party but now they cannot say so, we have made serious inroad into the Nigerian political landscape. We are not only confined to the South West, we are in the South East, South South, Middle-Belt and even in the North. It’s just that they still rig elections. let

• Igbokwe

me tell you that People Democratic Party (PDP) could not have won Akwa Ibom and Benue State inclusive. If you conduct election in Anambra State today, no other party will win apart from the ACN. We have not come to terms with what happened in the North, South-South and South-East, during the presidential election. But, I want to say it was not possible to rig in the South West because we have an army of activists all over the places. What happened is a case-study for university professors. In the process, a lot of mistakes were made; I want to say that you cannot use what happened during 2011 elections to judge the capacity of the party (ACN). What we are telling Professor Attahiru Jega is to start preparing for 2015 election. We are going to guard our votes and what we want to do in the next four years is to show leadership as a template to transform this country. The problem is not money, weather or soil, but man that does not have the capacity to do something. At the national level, they don’t have men with developmental ideas. This

‘We have never disappointed the people; we have not got to where we want to be because the federal is our target.

While we are making progress here, preparing in the South West, the central government is retrogressing in terms of the administration of peopleoriented programmes. So, our goal is how to get the centre. If what you are seeing in Lagos and Edo is anything to go by, there is no reason you should not vote ACN at the national level so that we can transform the country’ nation has earned more money from 1999 to date than what the nation had earned from 1960 to 1999, yet, we cannot account for it.

So, if you give a fool money, he won’t know what to do with it.

Now that you are going to be pushing for true federalism in the House, do have the capacity to sail through?

With the power of superior argument, you can achieve that. If you put some arguments down especially when you are honest about them, when they are fair to all concerned, people will listen to you.

We are telling these people that in the 1940s and 50s, we had 14 provinces in north and 21 in the whole of south. The 14 provinces in the north have yielded 19 states while the 21 in the south yielded 17 states.

So, think about it, the structure is not okay. It has gone into the hands of those who don’t manage it properly. The same 14 provinces have yielded about 400 local governments and the 21 provinces have yielded over 300 local governments. So, money goes down like that. You should equally check

•Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mrs Ranti Odutola (right), Permanent Secretary, Lagos Television, Mr Lekan Ogunbanwo (second right), Director, Information Production, Mr Tayo Lawal (second left) and the Senior Special Assistant (Media) to the Governor, Mr Hakeem Bello (lett) during the 2011 Ministerial press briefing to commemorate the fourth year of the administration of Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos recently.

whether these local governments are really in existence. The federal is keeping 52 per cent of money.

This is not our idea of real fiscal federalism. The money going into the Federal Government hands cannot be accounted for because they don’t know what to do with it. These are the things that will be trashed out.

How can the people measure your party’s standard of progressivism?

A progressive is a person that works for social justice, equity and fair play; democracy and human rights. He believes that politics must be played with principles. He believes also that power must go with responsibility, that if you are asking for power, you should be able to prove that you will deliver.

People are asking for power to transform their societies. There are three classes of leaders; those that will come and leave their society the way they met it. Another group will come and drag it from that position backwards, while the third will transform their societies. The progressives will take a bush and turns into society while others will turn society into bush. We don’t just answer but act the progressives that we claim to be. We believe that society decays when good men do not rule. In fact, it is said that the hottest part of the hell would be reserved for those who maintain neutrality in time of great moral crises. These are the ideals, the things that we believe in and we have been consistent over the years. That is why Lagos, as the centre of civilisation, has always had progressives in governance. No conservative will find itself in Alausa; it is not possible except you have shown sufficient leadership quality.

Your party primaries were said to have created division, how has

this affected it?

Anything we do is done with honesty. I read a book which says no honest seeking project goes without a reward. We have been very honest with ourselves and have been consistent. We have not deceived our followers. ACN is a vibrant political party full of men of ideas. In a particular constituency, you may have over 30 coming for a position and all of them eminently qualified but only one person will go. We have to take one for others to wait for their turns.

Some people will agree and some will not and will even threaten to go to another party, but we are not moved by such threats because we have been fair in our dealing with them. We rather work harder to consolidate on whatever we have and articulate genuine programmes for the people.

But how well has the party addressed the problems?

The party leadership has been transparent in dealing with internal issues. We’ve are consulting and engaging minds and networking. Let me tell you, Bourdillon is alive 24 hours, the political headquarters. You need to be at the ‘University of Bourdillon’, the place has been existing since 1999. If you have not visited that place you are not in the equation. Let me tell you, only a political fool will ignore the giant in Bourdillon; he is respected beyond the shores of Nigeria – in places like Senegal, Ghana even up to the United States. Some people sit in their houses and imagine a lot things and I will advise them to go and visit Bourdillon and sit down and watch. You don’t need to say anything but see the crème of people that visits there. We plot, programme and engage minds when people are sleeping, God support those who don’t sleep for the sake of humanity.

Ogun Rep-elect promises better representation

A

CTION Congress of Ni geria (ACN) House of Rep resentatives member-elect from Ogun State, Hon Abiodun Balogun, has pledged commitment to party manifesto when he commences work at the lower chamber of the National Assembly.

Balogun who strongly believes that the ACN manifesto as a people-oriented agenda would address the socio-economic challenges of the Ijebu North/Ijebu East/ Ogun Waterside Federal Constituency that have for long eluded them.

While commending the people for their overwhelming support for the ACN, he lauded the performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the conduct of the elections, stressing that the electoral umpire had proved critics wrong by conducting an acceptable election.

Balogun who made the remarks in a chat with The Nation observed that the people of the constituency will not be disappointed as ACN places priority on people’s welfare than mundane issues.

He said: “I want to assure my people that we will work harder to make sure that we deliver on the promises made. We shall seek good legislations and follow

•Balogun

By Musa Odoshimokhe

them to the letter because that is the only way the impact of democracy can be felt in the lives of the people.”

He added: “INEC is soldering on; one could even observe that unlike in the past when the issuance of Certificate of Return used to pass through hectic process, the reverse is now the case as it could now be obtained with ease. ‘Let me say all is well that ends well. I have got to Abuja to receive mine without stress.”

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THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

Oil firm dollar sales supports naira

T

HE naira was broadly flat against the dollar on the interbank market yesterday even as demand for the greenback outstripped supply at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) bi-weekly forex auction, traders said.

The naira closed at N156.71 to the dollar at the interbank yesterday, fractionally higher than the N156.70 a dollar close last Friday, helped by dollar sales by some energy firms.

Traders said Nigeria’s Agip Oil Company and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) sold dollars last week and yesterday, which provided support for the naira.

The CBN sold $400 million at N153.38 to the dollar at its auction, short of the $452.31 million demanded, but higher than $300 million sold at 153.21 to the dollar at its auction last Wednesday.

“The dollar sales by the two energy companies helped cushion the pressure on the market, while expectations that more multinationals would be selling dollars in the coming days also provided needed support,” one dealer said.

Dealers said though demand for the dollar remained strong, they are confident that the banking watchdog is able to support the local currency with its regular increase in dollar supply at its auction.

“We anticipate further appreciation of the naira in the week as some energy firms begin their monthly dollar sales cycle,” another dealer said.

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$115.9/barrel Cocoa - $2,856/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢78.07.pound Gold -$1,161/troy ounce Rubber - ¢146.37/pound MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE JSE NYSE LSE

-N8.1 trillion -Z5.112trillion -$10.84 trillion -£61.67 trillion

RATES Inflation -11.3% Treasury Bills -2.64% Normal lending -24% Prime lending -18% Savings rate -3% 91-day NTB -6.99% Time Deposit - 6% MPR -7.50% Foreign Reserve -$33.86bn FOREX CFA 0.281 • 216.9 £ 248.4 $ 153.05 ¥ 1.5652 SDR 245.85 RIYAL 39.3

I think the most important CEO task is defining the course that the business will take over the next five or so years. You have to have the ability to see what the business environment might be like a long way out, not just over the coming months. You need to be able to both set a broad direction, and also to take particular decisions along the way that make that broad direction unfold correctly.

- Chris Corrigan

UBA launches mobile money

Nigeria committed to achieving MDGs by 2015 U P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to achieving the eight Millennum Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

He also assured that his administration will continue to provide the appropriate policy base and requisite investments needed to attain the goals.

Consequently, he said a pledge of $500,000 was made by the government for the next three years as part of the country’s commitment to women’s issues.

The pledge, it was learnt, was part of the $40 billion

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

mobilised by the International community to tackle maternal and infant mortality.

Jonathan spoke yesterday when he received in audience Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon at the State House, Abuja.

Ban Ki-Moon is in Nigeria on a two-day official visit.

The UN Secretary-General, who is visiting Nigeria for the first time, spoke on the possibility of the country to attain the MDGs. He said: “With a strong political leadership by President

Jonathan and supported by international community and full participation of the civil societies the MDG target by 2015 can be met”.

Ban Ki-Moon, who spoke to newsmen after meeting with president Jonathan, also said he is reaching out to world leaders to assist in this wise.

He also said the major focus of his discussion with the country leadership was on how maternal mortality and child mortality rate could be reduced.

He also said this is in line with the general assembly global strategy for women and children’s health adopted

last year, “We have to prevent all these women and children from dying from preventable diseases.”

He also commended the efforts of the government towards improving health care in the country including the passage of health care bill by the National Assembly.

The country, he said “will be good examples to many countries in the African continent and I highly commend such leadership and vision to have this health care bill passed by the National Assembly and this is again very important initiative by the government.”

•From left: Chip Pitts, Professor of CSR, Stanford University, US; Bekeme Masade, Executive Director, CSR-in-Action, and Gerard Amangoua, Executive Director, NEPAD Business Group, Ivory Coast, at the recently concluded first ever United Nations Global Compact local network meeting for members in Copenhagen, Denmark.

NITED Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, through its associated company, AfriPay Ltd., has commenced national roll out of its Money Mobile services, called U-Mo Mobile Money, in partnership with Telecommunication companies.

The collaboration, according to a statement from UBA, has already been concluded with Glo while relationship with other telecommunications companies is in the works.

The roll-out of the services follows the successful test-run of UBA’s Mobile Money Transfer services, which started last January.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had licensed 16 firms to provide mobile money banking among, which UBA/Afripay was one of the successful applicants.

Chief Executive Officer, AfriPay Limited., said the introduction of Mobile Banking Service, U-Mo, is another way UBA plans to bring banking to most Nigerians, especially the semi-banked and un-banked population.

Commenting on UBA’s foray in the mobile payment world, Adedeji said: “About four years ago, UBA identified mobile channels and has since been developing the mobile money capability as a critical path to delivering retail banking at lower cost and to drive financial inclusion.”

He added: ”In the industry today, UBA has one of the best Information Technology, risk management framework and capability to deploy mobile banking across its operations in Nigeria and the rest of Africa.”

SacOil probe of share-price manipulation

CBN may keep interest rate at 7.5% S

T

HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will probably keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged today to help stimulate lending, economists surveyed by Bloomberg said.

But experts at Standard Chartered Bank have called for further tightening of the policy to save the naira, which has continued to depreciate against the US dollar.

CBN governor Lamido Sanusi, according to Bloomberg, will leave the rate at 7.5 per cent. He is due to announce the decision in a televised press conference starting soon after 2 p.m. today.

The banking watchdog on March 22 raised its key interest rate for the second time this year, lifting it one percentage point, as it struggles to stabilise the naira and help bring inflation down below 10 per cent. Sanusi indicated in an interview on May 4 that further rate increases may be limited.

“The monetary policy council will want to wait for the

•Experts seek further tightening

By Collins Nweze

effects of the previous hike to be fully absorbed before adjusting rates again,” a Londonbased analyst at CSL Stockbrokers Limited, Alan Cameron, said on May 20 in an e-mailed response to questions.

The rate increase in March was the biggest in four years and left the key rate at the highest in almost two years.

“We frontloaded a lot of the increase that people thought we’d do gradually over the year,” Sanusi said on May 4.

The inflation rate fell to 11.3 per cent in April from 12.8 per cent the month before, the statistics office said on May 18.

The CBN is unlikely to lower rates while pressure remains on the naira to weaken. Demand for foreign exchange increased in the run up to last month’s elections and remains high.

The apex bank sold all of the foreign currency sought by lenders for the first time in

five auctions on May 16, fending off pressure that sent the nation’s currency to its lowest interbank rate in 21 months.

The CBN sold $499.8 million at the auction, the fourth largest amount in two years.

Dollars were sold for between N153.05 and N153.25, compared with N156.7 on the interbank market on May 19.

“Amid limited evidence of a turnaround in foreign exchange reserves and delays in key structural reforms, there appears to be little evidence of the post-election unwinding of long dollar positioning we had been looking for,” a London- based analyst at Standard Bank Group Limited, Samir Gadio, said in an e-mailed note on May 20.

The CBN has been defending the naira, keeping it within a range of between three per cent above or below N150 per dollar, in a bid to curb inflation.

Meanwhile, despite infla-

tion declining to a revised 11.3 per cent y/y in April, from 12.8 per cent in March, Standard Chartered Bank Regional Head of Research, Razia Khan, said she expects the CBN to maintain its tightening policy at its MPC meeting. “Unlike the 100bps move we saw at the last meeting, however, we expect a more moderate 50bps hike, taking the MPR to eight per cent.

“Although plans to revise the expansionary 2011 fiscal budget are likely to be passed before the end of this parliament on May 29, most likely reducing spending from highly elevated pre-election levels, the share of recurrent expenditure in the overall spending mix is likely to remain elevated. Moreover, with Nigeria’s minimum wage having been raised substantially just prior to the election, there is concern over how some state governments will cope with public-sector salary wage bills in the absence of higher FAAC allocations – the monthly statutory allocation of oil earnings.

ACOIL Holdings Ltd., an oil and natural gas explorer has dropped a plan to sell stock to selected investors and said it started a probe into movements in its securities amid concern about possible share-price manipulation.

While demand for the share sale was “substantial,” SacOil stopped the placing due to concerns it would dilute existing investors, recent moves in its shares and stock market volatility, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement yesterday. It has also raised concerns with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange about possible short-selling of its securities.

SacOil dropped as much as 22 cents, or 17 per cent, its biggest intraday decline since October 15, to 1.05 rand. It was trading at 1.24 rand as of 9:55 a.m. in Johannesburg, extending losses over the past three days to 16 per cent, its longest losing streak since May 6.

The company’s major shareholders have assured SacOil: “They continue to support the company and have not been divesting their interests in SacOil,” it said. Chief Executive Officer Robin Vela said on April 12 that SacOil plans to raise as much as $100 million to accelerate the development of its projects in Nigeria.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

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

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

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Arik Aero Arik Aero

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

LAGOS – KADUNA Aero 08.00 Chanchangi 10.00 Arik 10.00 Arik 15.10

Farinu noted that NAICOM has developed a framework to ensure that illicit funds are not kept in the industry.

He said: “The basic aim of any antimoney laundering and combating financing of terrorism region is to protect the economy and insurance industry from criminal and illicit funds.

This inter-alia is achieved by raising awareness among the various stakeholders about the menace.”

Head Compliance, Nigeria Financial Intelligent Unit (NFIU), Mr Giwa Sechap, said the insurance industry is lagging behind as regard compliance to the money laundering Act. He added that no insurance company has

ever reported any suspicious transaction to the NFIU. He said most of the customers’ transaction reports filed by insurers are incomplete, thereby making it difficult for the NFIU to ascertain the identification of the reported customers.

Sechap said insurance firms have weak customer identification system, which is contrary to the law on money laundering.

“To deter or prevent the criminals from perpetrating the crime of money laundering and terrorism financing, reporting institutions must apply effectively anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism measures in their systems while regulators ensure effective supervision,” he said.

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By Chuks Udo Okonta

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HE National Insurance Com mission (NAICOM) has com menced a campaign to educate insurers and brokers on how to checkmate the menace of money laundering and terrorism financing.

Acting Director Inspectorate, NAICOM, Mr Emmanuel Farinu, disclosed this at the ‘2011 Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Workshop for Complaint Officers and Heads of Internal Audits of Insurance Entities in Nigeria.’ organised by NAICOM in Lagos.

He said the decision to educated the operators on the menace of money laundering was informed by the need to protect the insurance industry from criminal and illicit funds.

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

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NAICOM moves against money laundering T

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

•From left: General Secretary, Indigenous Shipowners Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Captain Niyi Labinjo; Acting Director General, ISAN, Mr. Adedayo Adetona; Chairman, ISAN, Chief Isaac Jolapamo; and Executive Council Member, ISAN, Chief Eze Collins, during ISAN 2011 Second Quarter General Meeting held in Lagos

ISAN set for fleet technical audit

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HE Indigenous Shipowners Association of Nigeria (ISAN) said that a technical audit will soon be carried out on all vessels owned by its members in a bid to ensure that the fleet are fully engaged by the industry.

Chairman of ISAN, Chief Isaac Jolapamo, who disclosed this during the association’s 2011 Second Quarter General Meeting, said that the decision by ISAN to audit its fleet is to strengthen its case in accessing the ship repair fund.

Jolapamo stated that the nation’s ship repair industry will benefit greatly from the plan, because, it will help to develop the skills necessary for ship building.

He also disclosed that ISAN will

now be involved in ship recycling process in the country, noting that the process of disposing off ships beyond economic repair in the country is not in the best interest of ISAN members.

He said, ISAN will soon be investing in ship recycling facility to facilitate a profitable acquisition of these vessels because prices paid for scrap vessels are below international prices.

The ISAN boss further noted that to ensure profitable ship ownership in the country, the association has set up three strategic group, which, are the Economic and Business Development, Government and Industry Relations and Policy and Technical Development groups.

Jolapamo said that the groups will maximise existing legislation and

regulations for ISAN’s economic interest, develop and manage the association’s relationship with government and major stakeholders, with a view to ensuring synergy in all areas of the maritime industry as well as ensuring that Nigerian ship owners are not disadvantaged on account of technical standard both from national and international aspects.

The groups, which will report to the Executive Council of ISAN, according to the ISAN chief, have their objectives to include development of indigenous maritime industry, putting in place a sustainable progress for the employment of ISAN vessel, improvement of industrial confidences and maintaining Nigeria’s profile as a credible maritime nation.

‘Fed Govt has transformed Maritime Academy ’

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HE Federal Ministry of Transport says it has completed all processes to transform the Maritime Academy of Nigeria in Oron to a maritime university.

The ministry said in a statement yesterday that the acquisition of additional hectares of land, as recommended by National University Commission (NUC), had been achieved.

The statement said that the Minister of Transport, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, made the assertion at the passing-out parade and graduation ceremony of the cadet and students of the academy in Oron at the weekend.

“The Academy has overtime been able to develop and acquire equip-

ment and structures to make it an emerging centre of excellence in maritime training in the sub-region.

“Besides, the academy has Presidential jetty equipped with stateof-the art facilities and a stimulator complex with ICT centre.

“It has a language laboratory, maritime engineering workshop and basic mandatory course centre, which is supported by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited,” the statement quoted Suleiman as saying.

The minister said that this commitment was part of the Federal Government’s efforts to raise the standard of maritime learning in the country.

“We are equally determined to develop more academies in the country in order to address the rising skill gap in our maritime industry,’’ he said.

The minister said that the governing council of the academy had worked tirelessly to transform it into an institution that Nigerians would be proud of.

He advised the academy to use the equipment provided to reposition the academy as the nation’s premier maritime university.

Suleiman commended the government of Akwa-Ibom for paying the N330 million compensation to the Eyo-Abasi community for the acquisition of the additional 31 hectares.

EITI lauds Nigeria on compliance From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

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HE Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has congratulated the Nigerian Government over her recent designation as “EITI Compliant” by the global body.

In a letter to the President, Goodluck Jonathan, the Chair of EITI, Ms Clare Short, commended the government for its commitment to the EITI process through the support for NEITI and decision to embrace transparency in the management of revenues from the extractive sector.

EITI Director of Communications, Orji Ogbonaya Orji disclosed those in a statement yesterday.

The EITI Board also, according to him, commended the Nigerian MultiStakeholder Working Group (NSWG) and the Secretariat of NEITI for its strong collaboration and effective oversight of EITI implementation, especially in the past few months, which led to its attainment of Compliant Status in the global EITI. Short noted that of the 35 countries that are implementing the EITI, Nigeria is the largest country to achieve this milestone. According to her: “Nigeria is demonstrating that revenue transparency and a firm commitment to multi-stakeholders dialogue can play a key role in combating the resource-curse that is prevalent in so many resource-rich countries”.

EITI welcomed the government of Nigeria’s commitment to further strengthen implementation by incorporating the revenues from the Joint Development Zone with Sao Tome and Principe. The world body advises Nigeria through NEITI to expand its operation to the solid mineral sector and revitalise the inter-Ministerial Task Team to address issues of remediation.

RMRDC plans plastic recycling plant HE Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) plans to set up a plastic recycling plant in Kogi, its Director-General, Prof. Peter Onwualu, said yesterday in Abuja.

Onwualu made this disclosure when technical partners for the project from Nelson Group, Germany and Nigeria’s Klenswep General Ltd., visited him.

He said the plan was to enable the RMRDC to fulfill its mandate of sourcing raw materials for use locally. ``In the area of waste recycling; in line with the mandate to promote the development of raw materials for the industries and in its efforts to solve the problem of waste recycling in Nigeria, Council has initiated a number of programs and projects. ``One of such efforts is the collaboration with Klenswep to set up a plastic waste recycling plant, which was initially slated for the FCT. ``The role of the Council in this collaboration is to offer assistance in the area of feasibility, equipment sourcing and linkage to sources of finance.’’

Klenswep is an indigenous company that is in the business of waste management and recycling.

Onwualu said that the Council had earlier set up a plastic waste assessment programme to determine the amount of plastic waste available in some states in the northern part of the country.

He said the RMRDC had also promoted plastic recycling to provide raw materials for the industry and promote local sourcing of thermoplastics.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

MARITIME

Maritime experts seek deep sea port T

HE former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mallam Bello Ibrahim Gwandu, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to develop a Greenfield deep sea port.

Such a sea port with a draught of 35 metres, can only be located in a new town.

The Apapa and Tin Can ports have a draught of 12 metres each and large vessel cannot berth there.

A deep sea port of draught of not less than 35 metres, he said, would guarantee the country the regional hub status, which by the volume of her cargo traffic, gives her the right to the status.

Gwandu said Nigeria needs at least one deep sea port that can berth a Super Panamax Vessel. He said the country also needs new and better designed deep sea port facilities in line with increased cargo traffic locally and internationally. A deep sea facility that can load and offload finished refined liquid, powder and containerised cargo.

Bigger ships, he said, move cargo more efficiently, than smaller vessels, so the economies of scale make it imperative that shippers will buy new bigger vessels and these will have to dock somewhere.

The former NPA boss also advised the Federal Government to adopt the best approach in developing the nation’s sea ports.

Private sector business economics and not soicio-political factors, he said, should determine where ports are located and how they are managed.

Speaking at the public lecture and unveiling of the Nigerian Ports Today journal in Lagos last week, Gwandu, who was the Managing Director of NPA between 1999 and November 2001, said Greenfield port development is necessary because the nation’s sea ports are becoming old and the facilities need to be replaced “The country, with her vibrant population and maritime trade, needs more properly and strategically positioned seaports,” he said.

He said the vessel turn around time for ships berthing in the ports, have remained dismal. He urged the Federal Government to build

Stories by Oluwakemi Dauda, Maritime Correspondent

more efficient ports Nigeria, he said, has existing port that could not be integrated into an intermodal system for the country and the sub-region.

Out of a total of 100 plus seaport developments being executed across the world , he said, approximately 60 to 75 per cent are deep sea ports or terminals, while the remaining are mostly inland water way ports and jetties.

As the largest importer and exporter of cargo in the sub-region, he said, one of the country’s deep sea ports should become a hub for West and Central Africa.

Gwandu said port development trends in the last decade across the world, suggests that privatisation and commercialisation of port activities are the most far reaching and effective strategies employed to achieve the ultimate objective of providing ports with sufficient managerial and financial flexibility to meet current and future needs of port users, “The Federal Government, having identified maritime transportation as one of the key sectors of the economy, should embark on policy measures that will encourage Greenfield Port Development.

This will impact positively in the overall cargo handling capacity of the ports, thus increase the country’s GDP. Other points for consideration are: “To promote the use of bi-lateral agreements from the private sector as a vehicle for infrastructure development and Nigeria achieving the regional hub status and to assist willing investors where necessary to access loans locally and internationally to finance this type of developments,” he said.

He said the country, needs a Public Private Partnership (PPP), approach to manage the ports. One of he advantages of PPP, he said, include the removal of responsibility of funding from government, permits competition, and private sector managerial best practice would be applied, Some of the areas he said PPP can work include urban development (new towns), independent

L-R: Minister of Transport, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, former MD NPA and Chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur; MD NPA, Omar Suleiman, Malam Gwandu and a member of the Board of NPA, Nene Lanvan at the event in Lagos.

PHOTO: OLUWAKEMI DAUDA

power plants, infrastructure development and port development The Nigerian port sector reforms of 2006, he said, is a good example of a successful PPP in port operations and port development.

“The reform process started with the adoption of the landlord model, where the public sector is responsible for the regulation and port planning, remaining the owner of the land on which the port is built as well as developing the physical infrastructure.

The private sector is responsible for development, terminal operation, equipment and manpower Delivering his paper, entitled Greenfield Port Development, Which Approach? he gave a brief history of the nation’s sea port development, operations and suggested the best approach to sea port development, stating the successes and challenges that have affected the process.

Cargo handling in and out of the three protectorates in the country then, he said, was done as an adhoc operation which involved the

use of shallow draft long boats to transship goods from the cargo ships to make shift jetties on the nation’s waterways.

The reason, he said, was that they were the pioneer adventurers, who wanted to make quick profit from the new virgin sources of manpower and raw materials, at the beginning of the industrial revolution in Europe.

The limits of their adventure on port operations, he said, were adhoc, inefficient and the revenue went solely to private hands.

Going down memory lane, the former Managing Director, said the first purpose built port in the country was inaugurated in the 19th century by the administration of Lord Lugard as part of an intermodal system along with the Nigerian Railways.

The reason for that, he said, was to enable the colonial powers and proxies such as the Royal Niger Company, African Timber Company to move raw materials in bulk quantities to Europe for consumption and their new industry.

But new technology, Gwandu

said, made most of the ports obsolete. Bigger Marine cargo vessels with deeper drafts, he said, have increased the maintenance cost of the present ports, hence placing a finite ceiling on the amount of cargo handled by this first generation ports.

Drafts of vessels had increased, hence the need for deeper channels. The mechanisation of port operations, made it imperative that purpose built facilities be built.

The development of the second generation of modern ports in the country, he said, commenced towards the end of the Civil War, when the Federal Government realised that cargo handled by the ports had gone from 1.4 million tonnes to six million tonnes a year. As a result of this congestion, the Federal Military Government, he said, accorded high priority to development in her third National Development plan of 1975-1980, which resulted in the construction of ultra modern ports and port facilities in the country.

Board urges govt to cancel temporary import licence

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HE Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Ernest Nwapa, has urged the Federal Government to cancel Temporary Import Licence (TIL) for ships.

Speaking at a one-day seminar on seafarers training by Transocean Nigeria Limited in Lagos, Nwapa said TIL deprives the country of substantial revenue from duty sources.

Under TIL, foreign ship owners are allowed, under the temporary importation laws, to bring vessels into the country with a temporary import permit, which comes with negligible levy yearly, as against 13 per cent duty on vessels imported by indigenous ship owners.

“Temporary import licence is something the government will need to review. We need proper

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HE Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM), has set up a committee to mark the maiden edition of the United Nations’ Day of the seafarers.

This is in line with the decision reached at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Convention in Manila in June 2010 that June 25 of each year be set aside

guidelines for the maritime sector.

We feel temporary import permit should not be permitted because everybody is now hiding under that to deprive the government of good revenue. Even the Nigerian operators are now operating under temporary import licence.

People think we don’t have fund to buy vessels. It is not true, pro-

vided the government provides enabling environment.

“With the local content fund, the NIMASA fund and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), we can guarantee fund for capacity building,” he assured.

The executive scribe, therefore, urged indigenous ship owners to form a united front in their push

for involvement in inland and coastal shipping business, if they expect success in their agitation.

He urged them to come together under one umbrella for them to be taken as a serious group of business people.

According to him, there are too many groups fighting for a common purpose without coordination.

Nigerian ship owners had recently asked the Federal Government to abrogate the Temporary Import Licence on vessels for a flat rate of two per cent for indigenous and foreign operators.

The move, according to them, would help create a level playing field for all operators in the maritime sector.

NIMASA spends N162m to hire generator

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HE Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) spent about N162 million to hire a generator for three years. The agency has been spending N150,000 daily renting generator in the past three years, the Director-General, Patrick

Akpobolokemi, has said.

But Akpobolokemi said he has stopped the scandal.

Speaking with reporters in Lagos, he said a cabal at the agency hired the generator based on the dismal public power supply profile to enrich their pockets.

Akpobolokemi said he approved the purchase of a 2000 KVA generator which has since been supplied and installed.

The NIMASA boss noted that many people see NIMASA as a cash cow which they bleed without restraint, thus making it difficult for

Stakeholders mark Seamen’s Day by member nations to recognise the unique contributions made by seafarers across the world to international seaborne trade and to the civil society in particular.

The stakeholders’ standing committee on the Seafarers’ Day has a master mariner and principal partner of African Events Consult, Captain Solomon Omoteso, as

Chairman.

Omoteso disclosed that several activities have been lined up to mark the day, which will be witnessed by key dignitaries including the Ministers of Transport, Labour and Education as well as the Chief Executives of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nige-

rian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT) and the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) Oron.

Several other stakeholders drawn from the public and private sectors as well as the Chief of Na-

the agency to fulfil its statutory responsibilities..

He warned those who have been feeding fat from the lapses in the nonimplementation of the Cabotage Act since 2003, to have a re- think, as he assured that NIMASA would ensure implementation of the Act.

val Staff are also expected at events marking the day.

Omoteso said the theme for the maiden UN Day of the Seafarers celebration is Go to sea, a lifetime opportunity.

He disclosed that 400 seafarers, cadets and veterans are expected to participate in a march pass scheduled to take place on June 25 at Onikan Stadium, Lagos.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

MARITIME

‘Give training of seafarers priority’

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TAKEHOLDERS in the maritime industry have urged the Federal Government and the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to evolve a programme that would address the dearth of seafarers.

They also urged the government to give priority to the training of jobless youths to become qualified seafarers.

The geometric increase in the number of jobless youths, the stakeholders said, is becoming intimidating and urged President Goodluck Jonathan to find a lasting solution to the embarrassing problem.

Based on the enormous challenges facing the sector, the stakeholders urged the president to put in place all the necessary structures and arrangements that would encourage the youths to develop a career at sea.

Addressing stakeholders at a seminar organised by the management of Emsul Venture and Logistics in Lagos last week, the Managing Director, Sea Enterprise and one of the stakeholders, Mr Sesan Alebiosu, said training of seafarers should be given priority and be extended to marine pilots, maritime administration and port administration.

Alebiosu also called on the management of NIMASA to chart a new course for the maritime industry through adequate seafarers training.

He observed that many youths and the graduates in particular were into crime to survive due to lack of jobs.

He stressed the need to train

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• A cargo ship Stories by Oluwakemi Dauda, Maritime Correspondent

the youths to occupy the vacancies in the seafaring sector.

According to him, the profession is suffering from shortage of qualified personnel worldwide.

Alebiosu advised other stakeholders to join hands with the government to move the sector forward.

He said the three tiers of government should collaborate to ensure adequate training opportunities for seafarers within and outside the country.

Alebiosu said he was happy with the decision of the Manila Conference, in June last year which adopted major revisions to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch keeping for Seafarers (STCW Convention) and its associated Code, to make June 25 of each year the annual “Day of the Seafarer”, a

day, he said, was set aside to remind mostly, developing countries such as Nigeria on the need for manpower development.

He said there are about 1.5 million seafarers in the world and the country needs to wake up from her slumber to contribute her own quota.

Last year, he said, NIMASA sent 61 cadets to Arnet University in India for a seafarers training programme.

The cadets, he said, were jointly sponsored by NIMASA, Niger and Kaduna state governments. Kaduna State sponsored 31, Niger State had 25. He urged other state governments to emulate them.

Other states, Alebiosu said, need to embrace the Nigeria Seafarers Development programme in the interest of their people and the jobless youths.

Another speaker, a maritime lawyer and university lecturer, Mr Dipo Alaka , said the government needs to

evolve a programme that would address the dearth of seafarers.

Alaka said NIMASA had achieved remarkable progress in seafarer training.

He also advised the Federal Government to restructure the ports along specialised imports.

He said by such an arrangement, Apapa port could handle containers, while Tin-Can Island port would handle general cargoes and Calabar port would handle other bulk cargoes.

Alaka said if the government adopts the arrangement, importers would have no alternative than to patronise the specialised ports and bring their cargoes through such a port.

According to him, there was the urgent need to respond to private sector demand for an institution capable of training young men and women in maritime trades up to international standards.

Lagos on Friday, the spokesman of the group who does not want his name in print, said IOMVOPA would see to the full implementation of the cabotage Act and the Local Content Act. He said the short-term contract being awarded to the development of local ship owners was inadequate, saying foreign vessels owners have been enjoying longterm contract on the same job specification, which they both bidded for.

The Federal Government, he said, should ensure that long-term contract is given to local ship owners, because the ratio of three to two years contract was not enough to keep their vessels on constant navigation.

The association, he said, would also work with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Adminis-

tration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to carry out a census of rigs, FPSO and offshore base and yards to determine the number of vessels actually offering services in the country.

While promising to collaborate with government agencies at the port, the group, the source said, is aimed at getting necessary information on the nation’s flagged vessels and the number of them securing contracts from multinational companies working in the country.

“There is a group known as Nigerian Content Development in NNPC now. The group regulates bid process and ensures that local providers are providing the services.

Several offshore agencies are also involved due to overlap in functions. Therefore, we would seek representation in

the process of bids, to ensure the law is fair and the terms of service do not willingly or unwillingly eliminate our members from participating “Currently, 50 per cent of the local providers are being owed monies by the multinational companies; those that are not scared to ruffle feathers are in different stages of arbitration and while the other half are facing bankruptcy or foreclosure. While this happens, the foreign vessels owners are able to armtwist the multinationals to ensure they get whatever they need, and also to keep our vessel out of the operations.

“This is the time we should see ourselves as the rightful person to transport these cargoes. We are not going to beg for our right. We cannot be seen as a stranger in our own our country,” the spokesman said.

Customs seizes containers worth N71m

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•Area Comptroller, FOU Zone “A’, Victor Dimka

NPA magazine in town Stories by Oluwakemi Dauda, Maritime Correspondent

Indigenous shipping association splits HIS is not the best of times for the leadership of the Indigenous Shipowners Association of Nigeria (ISAN), as some of its key members said they were set to split the association into two by forming another association to be known as Indigenous Offshore Marine Vessel Owners and Providers Association (IOMVOPA).

Members of the group decried the absence of qualified local seafarers. The country, they said, has little or no experience in Deep Offshore Marine Operations, as it relates to seafarers.

The association, The Nation was told, is being formed to get a representation in the process of bids and ensure fair legal terms in the award of contracts by the contracts awarding firms in the industry.

Speaking with The Nation in

Maritime Watch

HE Federal Operation Unit (FOU), Zone ‘A’ of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), has seized three containers worth over N71 million.

The containers were suspected to be brought into the country from the creeks.

Speaking with The Nation on behalf of his Comptroller in his office, the Public Relations Officer of the Command, Mr Nwobodo Andy, said the three 40 foot containers were laden with used tyres, furniture, pirated

Compact Discs (CDs), used clothes, used shoes and other prohibited items.

The estimated Duty Paid Value of the goods in the container, the image maker said, is N71,132,300.

Other seizures which their values were yet to be ascertained included a bus laden with 180 cartons of plastic plates concealed with pineapples.

The bus was intercepted at Agbara exit about five days ago.

Other seizure included a

lorry laden with 500 cartons of body cream, 188 cartons of soaps, 22 cartons of body spray, 20 cartons of biscuits with other items. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the loads.

Andy also said a 50kg bag of weed suspected to be Indian hemp was intercepted by officers and men of the command at Ajilete along Idi-Iroko Road.

The street value was yet to be ascertained by the command as at the time of filling this report.

The re-branded International Journal of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) was launched in Lagos last week.

The launching of the 56 pages coloured quarterly magazine was witnessed by senior government officials, royal fathers, representatives of security agencies at the ports, terminal operators, eminent industry players, stakeholders, port users and maritime reporters.

The former Managing Director of NPA and President, African Business Roundtable, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, was the chairman of the occasion.

The event also featured two guest lecturers. The first lecture, entitled: The pains and gains of port reforms in Nigeria, was delivered by former Managing Director, NPA, Chief Adebayo Sarumi, while the second lecture which is on Greenfield in ports development: Which approach?, was delivered by another former chief executive officer of the authority, Malam Bello Gwandu.

Speaking, the Managing Director of NPA, Omar Suleiman said the magazine is a reflection of the new orientation of the NPA. According to him, Nigerian Ports Today is a quarterly publication of NPA and a dependable and most credible corporate compendium in the maritime and allied sector of the economy.

“This is an epoch making event and a memorable occasion as it reflects the determination and will of the NPA to provide a platform in which we would hear ourselves out and give outsiders the opportunity to place a mirror before us as a reflection of ourselves, to see how ugly we look in terms of service and enable us, when appropriate, to shower encomiums on ourselves for doing well.,” he said.

APMT gives scholarship The Management of the APM Terminals Apapa Limited has given scholarship to 50 Engineering and Technology undergraduates of some state and federal universities. It also gave 10 others place, in the company for their industrial training.

The students would, thereafter, be given full academic year scholarship at their respective institutions.

Managing Director of the company, Mr. Dallas Hampton, said the scholarship and industrial training programme was instituted as part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

He said the scheme will afford beneficiaries the opportunity to acquire world class training and development within the APM Terminals.

Meanwhile, the company has provided computers for students of Randle Secondary School, Apapa, which it renovated at the cost of over N10 million.

Hampton, who expressed joy that his company was making impact on the lives of ordinary Nigerians, said: “APM Terminals will continue to work to improve the local, social and economic conditions in and around its operational sites and where the company’s presence is most closely felt.”

“Proactive participation in the health, safety and education opportunities of local communities in which we live and work is an essential part of our core company values, and a guiding factor in the way we do business around the world. These principles are integrated into our global key performance structure,” the APM Terminals boss said.

APM Terminals is one of the world’s largest companies offering the global community an integrated global terminal network of 50 operating container facilities in 34 countries on five continents, including Africa.

APM Terminals won the concession of the Apapa Container Terminal in 2006 and has since committed enormous sum to upgrading it to a world class port facility.

Nigeria faces sanction Available information reveals that the only agency recognised by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), to carry out maritime safety and security administration in Nigeria is the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

Sources at the IMO said the country faces the risk of being sanctioned if the Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security (PICOMSS), which ought to be an ad-hoc arrangement to ensure the implementation of a new order is institutionalised to carry out activities relating to maritime safety and security in Nigeria, since the country is a signatory to the Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS) Convention.

It would be recalled that PICOMSS was an ad-hoc committee set up by the government of the then, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States of America.

The IMO after, the attack, had adopted the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code to protect maritime infrastructure from similar attack worldwide.

The global maritime regulatory body had set July 1, 2004, as deadline for the IMO member-states to comply with the new maritime security arrangement. To meet up with the deadline, the Federal Government set up PICOMSS to coordinate all efforts towards compliance.

However, having completed its assignment, PICOMSS failed to wind up and has been allegedly drawing funds from the organisations that initially financed its operations.

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

19

EDITORIAL/OPINION COMMENT

EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

Towards May 29

Economy and power (2) •Two critical areas Jonathan must not ignore S President Goodluck Jonathan gets set to work after inauguration on May 29, two critical areas – the economy and the power sector – aptly described as the nation’s Archilles’ heel – should stand tall among other priorities seeking his attention. While the two have come to define the nation’s underachievement, including its current abysmal standing in the world, the linkages between them can only be ignored at the nation’s peril.

What Nigerians expect is a dramatic shift from the failed promises of endless reforms and ambitious programmes of the past that have brought nothing but pains and more pains, even as the promises of harvests have remained elusive.

Time to see concrete gains.

To start with, it is obvious that no appreciable turnaround of the economy can be achieved without a dramatic turnaround in the power sector. Much has been

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‘What Nigerians expect is a dramatic shift from the failed promises of endless reforms and ambitious programmes of the past that have brought nothing but pains and more pains, even as the promises of harvests have remained elusive. Time to see concrete gains’

said about the years of under-investment in power as being responsible for the current mess in which the economy is hobbled on all fronts. But then, it is also true that the sector has recorded unprecedented injection of cash in the last decade. The truth, unfortunately, is that the massive cash injection- some record $16 billion – has not translated into any appreciable improvement in the delivery of electric power to homes and factories.

As the administration takes off May 29, it has its work cut out: fast-tracking the completion of all on-going projects should come as top priority. Next is to push – with greater vigour – the programme of liberalisastion of the sector.

Why is the latter compelling? Simple: we do not see the government shouldering the burden of the estimated $10 billion annual spend for the next 10 years; this is the amount needed to raise power output to 40,000MW. Only a partnership with the private sector can deliver the magic.

In this, the Jonathan administration is at least lucky that important foundations have been laid. Most critical of this is the Power Sector Reform Act 2005 – an enactment that supplies the legislative basis for the sector’s liberalisation. So is the power sector roadmap launched by the President, last year. What remains is for the administration to go on with the specific targets set out in the roadmap against their timelines. What is required is will, discipline and tenacity to forge ahead, knowing that Nigerians will not brook further excuses.

As for the economy, the 2010 Human Development Index (HDI) should help

the administration frame its approach to containing the crises. With a life-expectancy of 48.4 years and per capita income of $2,156, Nigeria ranks 142 out of 169 countries. She trails behind African countries like Togo, Benin Republic, Ghana and even Cameroun. More revealing is the percentage of Nigerians living in abject poverty – put at 64 percent.

Contrast this with the outlandish claim of the economy’s impressive growth record in excess of seven percent last year; it is a confounding paradox of growth in an environment of worsening poverty. Government may have done well to focus on growth statistics which suggest that things are looking up; it is time to dwell on the Main Street.

There can be no denying that the economy is still far from being out of the woods. Stagflation – a brew of inflation and recession best describes the current situation. Growth, in the absence of job creation is at best spurious, non-inclusive.

Manufacturing has failed to lift. Unemployment remains unbearably high.

Presently, a record 4.5 million Nigerians enter the job market annually. With capacity utilisation of manufacturing continually dwindling, only a negligible fraction stands any chance of getting hired.

Investing in infrastructure should constitute the key priority area. That should help drive the cost of doing business down. Getting the banks back on their feet should also help business. The government should focus on areas that would engender wealth creation. Attention should also be paid to the issue of inclusive growth.

The strategy should be one of getting Nigerians back to work.

Bankole’s glorious mess •What a way to end a tenure!

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PEAKER of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, is yet again in the midst of another scandal. His tenure since he succeeded Patricia Etteh has been dogged by controversy after controversy, usually allegations of financial scam.

The latest in the series of alleged financial scandals is that the Speaker unilaterally obtained N10 billion loan from a commercial bank without the knowledge or approval of members of the House.

The Speaker, who was a pitiable sight when he was grilled over the loan by his colleagues admitted that he took the loan in three installments. He said he used N6.5 billion of the amount to run the House, N1.5 billion to pay a debt being owed the Senate and another N2.5 billion for other exigencies.

Bankole’s tenure as Speaker should be thoroughly investigated. We are surprised that in spite of the many allegations of corruption and abuse of office that have trailed his tenure, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has not deemed it fit to investigate him. We are particularly worried because there is the suspicion that the money was borrowed to settle some of the members who had sustained the Speaker in office, especially after he was faced with allegation of embezzling over N9 billion last year.

It would be interesting if it is confirmed that this is the way the country’s legislature has been operating over the years.

The investigation should help to reveal the two principal officers that Bankole

said were aware of the loan, their roles and whether due process was followed in obtaining the facility. We are also interested in what could have made it possible for a bank to have given such a loan to the House in a country where banks are reluctant to give money to manufacturers for productive purposes.

However, without prejudice to the findings of the anti-graft agency, we hasten to say that there is an urgent need to review whatever procedure that makes it easy for a principal officer of the House (or in concert with a few others) to obtain loan facility that runs into billions of naira without the knowledge or approval of the House, if such exists. If so, it might have been put in place on the assumption that those who would take such vital decisions would be responsible enough to realise the enormity of the responsibility imposed on them by virtue of the offices.

However, events since the return to civil rule in 1999, especially in the National Assembly, have proved that such expectation is misplaced.

We are disappointed by the many allegations of fraud that have been the lot of the Speaker since he took over that office in 2007. We recall the N2.3 billion car scam arising from the purchase of 407 Peugeot cars for the House of Representatives sometime in 2008. We also recall that of the N9 billion capital budget of the House for the 2008 and 2009 sessions. And now a N10 billion loan facility that we cannot say precisely what it was spent on or whether it was obtained through due process.

Bankole’s tenure is particularly saddening because many Nigerians had invested so much hope that his era would witness positive changes in the House as opposed to the frivolities of the past. And this hope cannot be said to have been misplaced: Bankole is relatively young, and so was expected to bring a generational change to bear positively on law-making in the House. Secondly, he has good education from some of the best schools in the world.

Unfortunately, all of these do not seem to have reflected in his leadership of the House of Representatives. It is sad that his era will be remembered, not for the positive changes he has brought to bear in the National Assembly but by the many allegations of fraud and for presiding over a House spectacularly notorious for frivolities and profligacy.

‘Bankole is relatively young, and so was expected to bring a generational change to bear positively on law-making in the House. Secondly, he has good education from some of the best schools in the world.

Unfortunately, all of these do not seem to have reflected in his leadership of the House of Representatives’

Libya deadline poses a dilemma for Obama

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RIDAY MARKS the 60th day in which the United States has been involved in the U.N.-sanctioned military operation in Libya. The two-month anniversary confronts the Obama administration with a difficult question: Will it obey the law — specifically the War Powers Resolution?

That act, passed in 1973 in response to the Vietnam War, allows the president to commit troops to hostilities without congressional authorization for 60 days. Once he has reached that milestone, the president must get congressional approval or suspend operations.

The act allows one 30-day extension but only to ensure the safe and orderly withdrawal of military forces.

We supported President Obama’s decision to join allies from NATO to prevent the potential massacre of thousands at the hands of Libyan strongman Moammar Gaddafi; that mission clearly has not yet been accomplished and would probably be set back should the United States pull out. We have also long harbored doubts about the wisdom of the War Powers Resolution, threatening as it does to permit Congress to infringe on the president’s constitutional authority to command and direct military operations. This tension is palpable, but ignoring the War Powers Resolution — or offering disingenuous arguments about why it does not apply — is not the answer.

An assertion that congressional approval is unnecessary because NATO — and not the United States — is waging the Libyan conflict is not persuasive and ignores the fact that NATO weapons and personnel are supplied and directed by member countries, including the United States. Arguments that the United States is no longer involved in hostilities also fall short.

As recently as late April, the United States conducted military strikes using drones. “The president has said where we have unique capabilities, he is willing to use those,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said at the time — and rightly so. Even if the administration is now only supplying intelligence and other support, that is part of war fighting — and the uncertainties of conflict may again require more kinetic (to use a recently favored euphemism) military involvement.

The administration seems not even to have tried to secure Congress’s buy-in before the Friday deadline. Rather than dodge compliance, the president should seek congressional authorization next week, once both chambers are back in session. As the Supreme Court has noted, the president’s powers are at their highest when he acts in concert with Congress. In this case, Mr. Obama’s flexibility in taking appropriate action in Libya would be enhanced by securing Congress’s endorsement.

Should Congress refuse, the president has another, although less palatable, option. If he believes that continued involvement is vital to U.S. security and to protecting Libyan innocents, he should inform Congress and the public about his intention of going forward with the campaign, openly challenge the constitutionality of the War Powers Resolution and work toward its repeal or amendment. We sympathize with his dilemma, but ignoring the law of the land is not an acceptable way out.

– Washington Post

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THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

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EDITORIAL/OPINION

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IR: I get amazed each time I come across sensational write-ups on Nigerian politicians by analysts. The most recent was the piece on Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan (The Nation, Tuesday, May 17, 2011, page 14).

Here was a problem of the inhouse journalist Austine Avwode dabbling into a project without going into it with an unbiased mind: he totally misinformed the reading public with his praise singing of the Chief of Staff.

One is compelled to ask if the writer took the pains to reach Afenmai land (Edo North Senatorial District) from where Chief Mike Oghiadomhe hails to sample opinions about his political relationship with the people across political party lines. I would humbly cue Chief Oghiadomhe to give the Assistant Editor a balanced brief on the relationship between him and retired Admiral Mike Okhai Akhigbe, an illustrious son of Fugar town where he also hails from. He should also brief him on his relationship with the royal fathers of the entire Edo North.

As rightly said, Governor Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole is fully on ground in Edo State because he runs a developmental and progressive format of governance wherein the constituents have been seeing what they wouldn’t have dreamt of seeing during the over 10 years of redundant governance by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo state. Avwode’s piece, was at best, a laundry dress up for the Chief of Staff.

Being popular is a figurative definition; one could be popular amongst a click within a defined followership. When elders of a community faced with some inexplicable attitudes of their sons and daughters on the high levels of the society exchange glances without utterances, such glances speak volumes.

Specifically, the magic wand that effected the positive outcome in the presidential election generally in Edo state and in Edo North, Oghaidomhe home base cannot be credited to him.

EDITOR’S MAIL BAG

Playing politics with Re: how Jonathan proved bookmakers wrong in Edo our health 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

Perhaps, Comrade Governor Oshiomhole may want to play the tape back at the appropriate moment what really happened as regards the presidential election in Edo State. The references made by Austine Avwode to Chief Oghiadomhe’s popularity is misplaced.

Journalism is a tempting calling; practitioners should endeavour to uphold its ethics by unfolding a balanced write-up on any issue like the one by the Assistant Editor. I wouldn’t know how many times he had been to Fugar town to sample the peoples’ stances on the popularity of Oghiadomhe.

There are moments for memoirs to be unveiled: for now, the political scene in Edo state is quite clear, the people are seeing action by the government on ground. Those

pocket winnings of the PDP in Edo Central can’t change the scale. That evidence is weightless. I believe Avwode has access to the results from the various wards and he should visit his newspaper library to check up the results from wards of the Chief of Staff.

The sleeping dogs should be allowed to rest: the presidential election victory in Edo state cannot be ascribed to one man because a lot of water passed under the bridge.

The circumstances that surrounded the presidential election in Edo State were challenging to the entire citizenry. The situation had crossed party politics and the clique that effected the magic outcome was far far above Chief Mike Oghiadomhe.

At the next coming elections in Edo State, there would certainly be

no reason whatsoever for such a situation to arise.

Oghiadomhe knows his score card when he was the Deputy Governor of Edo state for two terms: one of his scores is the Auchi Chemical Fertilizer Company built by the Igbinedion PDP government. It was directly under the Chief of Staff’s supervision. Till he left office, the company didn’t produce a sachet of fertilizer. The then controlled PDP state House of Assembly set up the Hon. Frank Okiye Panel to find out what happened. Did he give evidence? That was a product of the virus-ridden political party.

Wherein lies his popularity, especially in his home constituency?

• Usman Abudah Benin City.

The way forward for NYSC IR: Since the establishment of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme in 1973 by then General Yakubu Gowon, it has not been reviewed by the government. In the past few years, many corps members have lost their previous lives in course of serving their fatherland. The need has come to review the scheme in the light of the objectives of national cohesion, integration, unity and stability.

Many believe that scrapping the NYSC scheme is the only way to curb the unjust and incessant killings of members in the northern region. Some have said that participants should be deployed to their states of origin only. It is sad that the failures of security agencies led to the killing of the corpers.

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It is undeniable that the NYSC scheme has enabled the nation’s youths to appreciate the ethnic and cultural diversity of the country, thereby significantly helping them re-think their prejudices and promoting their understanding.

It is also unfortunate that the unity of the nation has been put to strain by leaders who believe that only section of this country should remain in power till kingdom come. Of course, the situation persists because government has not been able to bring perpetrators of murders and mayhem to book.

Many parents are now discouraging their children from going to serve in the north.

The NYSC scheme is certainly beneficial; many youths have been given automatic employment

based on their performance in their respective assignments. The paramilitary training has helped the youths to inculcate the virtues of self-reliance and discipline including the joy of service to one’s fatherland.

The federal government should review the scheme rather than allow it to die or lose focus. The protection of NYSC members must be the priority of the local, state and federal governments. The director general NYSC must do his best to protect its members. The scheme should not be scrapped. What the nation need is peace. No country grows without enabling peace, growth and development.

• Godday Odidi Lagos.

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IR: Recently, the media was awash with the news of the ban of Amalar and some other anti-malaria drugs composed of sulfadioxine – pyrimethamine (sp}.

This threw the pharmaceutical circles and the general public into panic. Few days later, the World Health Organization (WHO) came out to dispel it and further denied the claim that it was banned. The information officer, Dr Ola Soyinka claimed that his boss, to which the initial ban claim was attributed, was quoted out of context.

I think we have not heard the last of this matter. This matter should not be swept under the carpet. Nigerians should not be taken for fools. Health matter is a serious issue. Nobody should play with our collective health.

Let NAFDAC which professes to safeguard the health of the nation come out and say that these drugs are safe for Nigerians use. We should not forget that multinational companies do play lots of politics especially with developing countries.

Few years ago, our local radio stations were filled with this advert of a particular birth control called’ Intrauterine Device’ (IUD).Meanwhile, it had been banned in the United Kingdom because it causes cancer of the cervix. Yet, the multinational companies could still market it Nigeria.

A stitch in time saves nine.

• Labake S Chionye Maitama, Abuja.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

EDITORIAL/OPINION

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O the Nigerian media, just as to the coach in professional football, you are as good as your last win. In Nigerian public life, as seen through the eyes of the media, you are as good as your last assignment.

If you triumph, the media toasts you to high heavens. If in the next Olakunle second you falter, the same media Abimbola lordbeek@yahoo.com, 08054504169 (Sms only, please) would demonise you as it had lionised you. That is the plebeian in the Nigerian media, which sits ill with its trumpeted patrician sophistication.

That is the fate of Attahiru Jega, professor of political science, former national president of the Acadamic Staff of UnBut in “Let Jega be” (April 5), Republican Ripples held firm, ion of Universities (ASUU), former vice-chancellor of the though with a caveat: “So, for now, let Jega be” the final Bayero University Kano (BUK) and at president, chairman of paragraph of that piece appealed. “But he must rise from the the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). ashes of Saturday’s disappointment to conduct an election When Prof. Attahiru faltered on April 2, cancelling the Nahailed by all. That is the very minimum requirement, if he tional Assembly polls as polling just started in some centres must restore his honour; and regain Nigerians’ confidence.” nationwide, the media went for his jugular, and trumpeted a And so, the man did – such a glorious contrast from The not altogether illegitimate charge of incompetence.

Man Died, a powerful if terse title of Nobel Laureate, Prof.

Jega wanted tomes of money, the media yelled, he was Wole Soyinka’s prison-detention memoirs; but even a more given. He wanted an eternity of time, he was granted – both powerful metaphor for Nigeria’s relay of otherwise honfor the voter registration exercise and for the all-important ourable men and women who promptly make their peace polls. Yet, each time he was called upon to perform, he with dishonour, the moment they encounter the dirt of Nialways came up short, mouthing some annoying excuses in geria’s public space. The man of honour dies in them, and logistics and allied problems. they live happily ever after in odium, to parody the saying The most hare-brained of the holy rage even called on in the tales!

President Goodluck Jonathan to immediately fire Prof. Jega.

Such has been the profile of the relay of Nigeria’s electoral It is tribute to plebeian thinking that the question as to what chiefs (eleven, so far), with the possible exceptions of Prof. happened next did not seem to cross the minds of such advoHumphrey Nwosu (who conducted the landmark but uncates – and strictly, it was unnecessary! consummated 12 June 1993 presidential election, which His firing would, of course, have been chaos – firing the Basorun Moshood Abiola won but which Gen. Ibrahim electoral chief in the virtual heat of polling, with mutual Babangida annulled), and the late Justice Ephraim Akpata distrust running ultra-high, the electoral agency itself being (who conducted the return-to-civil-rule poll of 1999, which a bastion of structural demons, given the extent the Nigewas no landmark but was no trash either). rian political power elite would go to corral power.

The worst possible example of these stumbled electoral chiefs is Prof. Maurice Iwu, who conducted the non-election of 2007, regarded as the worst in Nigerian history but nevertheless was unfazed. Indeed, the man in Iwu died for merrily coasting on, in the face of glaring electoral fraud!

But was the man in Jega any awake and kicking against electoral turpitude? The jury is still out, especially since declared losers, unsatisfied with the conduct of the polls, are rolling out petitions to challenge the wins of declared victors, starting with Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s challenge of President Jonathan’s thumping win.

Still, it is an open secret that no matter the final judicial

epublican ipples

Ode to Jega

‘Prof. Jega unleashed his own professorial and academic tribe as gutsy agents of electoral change. Any professor or academic worth his name and academic laurels was on duty as returning officer’

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OME May 29, 2011, Nigeria will witness the inauguration of another four-year term of office for the federal and several state governments as well as their relevant legislatures. Quite a number of the dramatis personae are incumbents and some others new [fresh?], but the critical concern within and outside the country lies in the value-added quality of these men and women of power.

This concern is justified against the background of leadership failures in Nigeria over the years at all tiers of governance. Even with 50 years of independence, abundant resources as well as trillions of naira in revenue, the generality of the political class has remained not only blatantly venal, but disdainful of public opinion and sensibilities. Such has been the experience that the slur “Nigerian factor” is unashamedly used to describe all that is corrupt, mediocre, immoral and hopeless.

The long-suffering majority of Nigerians have never had it so bad!

Be that as it may, the Good Lord has always ensured that those who trust in Him will not succumb or give up on quality leadership for our fatherland. One of the critical manifestations of divine Intervention is the elevation of Peter Obi into the mainstream of Nigerian politics and governance.

Peter Obi’s roots, formal education, exposure and foray into politics speak volumes of Providence — a man of faith, integrity, knowledge, vision and courage; a real patriot.

Coming from a humble and disciplined background, his training and career chart have been focused. The menu was not with the proverbial ‘silver spoon’ or of the pauper’s measure, but an enriched mix of sound moral principles and broad perspectives on societal realities. With a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and sharp entrepreneurial instincts, he ventured into business with tremendous outcomes. The young man was soon to take on strategic roles in commerce and industry; serving on the Management Boards of several Blue Chip organizations.

Not one to be complacent and laid-back, this man of vision also made effort to keep abreast of the dynamics of business management and best practices. Hence, he underwent intensive executive programmes locally and internationally.

As has been severally documented, the trials and tribulations of Peter Obi in his campaign to become governor, the denial and recovery of his mandate, the impeachment saga, the treachery and the general conspiracy would easily have discouraged even the most stout-hearted. Undaunted because he had a divine mission, he triumphed.

After a tumultuous but fulfilling first term, he contested and won a second term as governor. The clear difference this time around was that the Lord sent the enemies of Anambra State elsewhere. Such was the outcome that his closest rivals were among the initial responses in congratu-

verdict on the 2011 polls, it is clear it was a huge improvement on the disastrous 2007 exercise. But that “huge improvement” might not really amount to much: if the 2007 polls were incurably bad, a “huge improvement” on “incurable badness” does not necessarily translate to anything stellar.

Still, statistics show that electoral petitions have dropped this year, the lowest since 2003, even though still far higher than 1999, with ten election petitions. According to the lead story of This Day on Saturday May 21, the 400 petitions so far filed this year are less than a third of the 1, 250 filed after the Iwu (s)elections of 2007; and 160 lower than the 560 filed in 2003 when, with the desperation of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s hankering for second term, the crisis of electoral illegitimacy, in the current republic, began in earnest. Also, only two petitions have been filed against Jonathan’s presidential win, as against six in 2007.

Though a CODER source disputed the This Day figures (he gave the number for 2007 as 1, 700; and 2003’s as 506), that the 2011 elections had far higher levels of acceptability than the two elections that preceded it in 2003 and 2007 is hardly news.

It is remarkable nonetheless; given the nadir that Iwu’s electoral misconduct in 2007 had driven the polity.

Still, the real news is that Prof. Jega unleashed his own professorial and academic tribe as gutsy agents of electoral change. Any professor or academic worth his name and academic laurels was on duty as returning officer; just as young Turks, in the persons of brave National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, took charge at polling centres. Unfortunately, many of them were felled in senseless killings after the presidential election. The Nigerian academic, as force of positive change, never had it so good!

Still, Jega’s is at best the triumph of the good man over a bad system. The INEC chair’s motive would appear very pure. More importantly, he was able to motivate his professorial comrades to buy into his agenda of transparent conduct of voting.

But if allegations of hideous thumb-printing of ballot papers between the polling zone and the collation centres are forensically proven, it could well be clear to all that the 2011 polls were not as clean as people think, even if Jega must be commended for trying to forge the normally sooty exercise in his own squeaky clean image.

That is why everything must be done to strengthen electoral legislation to take care of the loose end. That is imperative if every vote must count. Without far stronger institutional support for credible polls, Jega’s brave effort may well end as Pyrrhic victory.

Peter Obi and national development

By Onukwugha Osuji

lating him and pledging their support.

In under a decade of active involvement in the polity, Obi has stamped the imprints of due process, rule of law and committed service in Nigerian governance. Unlike several other political office holders, he had a clear programme of action for the meaningful development of the State. With the unique Anambra Integrated Development Strategy [ANIDS] dovetailed with the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs], his administration has successfully aimed at many targets and scored several direct development hits.

The attainments of his administration to date have been variously published on different print and electronic platforms.

From various sectors and segments of the polity, economy and society at large — within and outside the country — recognition has come for the people’s governor.

The performance of the Obi administration has attracted commendations from the federal government, which in the recent past was his sworn adversary on account of his membership of a different political party. Governor Peter Obi is increasingly active at quite a number of National Consultative fora. These include such strategic assignments as chairman, South East Governors’ Forum, Chairman, South EastSouth South Governors’ Forum, and Vice-Chairman, Nigerian Governors’ Forum.

As chairman of the South East Governors Forum, he has provided effective leadership and projected the essence of the body in the pursuit of the zone’s developmental priorities within the framework of the Nigerian Polity. Outcomes from his leadership include multi-billion naira federal interventions to variously combat ecological challenges across the zone, boost air and land transportation, expand potable water supply, among others. Today, the forum is no longer just a platform for partisan expressions, but a springboard for the common good. Such has been the attainments that Obi’s colleagues unanimously renewed his tenure. His election as vice-chairman, Nigerian Governors Forum is even more telling and a clear indication of his growing relevance in the national scheme of things. His elevation to the leadership of this highly-influential body – dominated by two other political parties — speaks volumes of his stature in the political economy of Africa’s largest democracy.

Internationally, Nigeria’s development partners, donor agencies and trans-national enterprises alike have also acknowledged Peter Obi and demonstrated practical support for his administration’s programme of action. These include The World Bank [whose Vice-President, Africa Region is an indigene of Anambra State], UNDP, UNICEF, WHO as well

as a host of other donor countries and corporate bodies.

In the same vein, various professional technical bodies and organizations have commended the governor for his developmental initiatives in the critical value-added areas of transparency and accountability, agriculture, ICT, education, health, manufacturing, infrastructure and rural development. Clearly, these are not run-of-the-mill sponsored sycophancy that has been the hallmark of most Nigerian public office holders over the years!

Obi’s increasingly rising profile has been a matter of course; and not some contrived propping for the cameras. He has progressively attained these heights with unusual humility, grace and courage. Like a breath of fresh air, the emergence of this young man in governance has given leadership watchers hope that all is not lost; that Nigeria might yet see men and women of integrity and clear purpose in the management of public affairs. On a good conscience, such commendations cannot be accorded to many persons in Nigerian public office today.

Peter Obi belongs to the genre of leaders this country needs; a person with a track record of concrete achievements and value-added inputs to societal development - at the micro and macro levels. He is destined for greater roles in the management of public affairs as the country grapples with the developmental challenges of the 21st Century. We can now realistically look forward to a drastic reduction of greedy venality and the enthronement of a political economy of ascetic nation building.

•Osuji writes from Lagos

‘Peter Obi belongs to the genre of leaders this country needs; a person with a track record of concrete achievements and value-added inputs to societal development - at the micro and macro levels. He is destined for greater roles in the management of public affairs as the country grapples with the developmental challenges of the 21st Century.’

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

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EDITORIAL/OPINION

N a matter of days from now, the 6th session of the House of Representatives would come to a close and the 360 members would return to their homes to take stock of their stewardship. After four years at the lower house of the National Assembly, only 100 of these ‘Honourables’ would be returning to the House in the next few weeks when the 7th session is expected to be proclaimed/inaugurated. The rest have either been rejected by their parties at the primaries or lost to the opposition at the April 9 National Assembly elections.

The House which started with Honourable Patricia Olubunmi Etteh as Speaker at inception is ending with Honourable Dimeji Sabur Bankole at the helm. He was elected November 1, 2007 following the resignation of Etteh over allegations of corruption, an issue that also reared its head throughout Bankole’s tenure and which is threatening to overshadow the legislative achievements of this ‘6th House’.

I’ve had cause to write about this House of Representatives in the past and I deliberately ignored their politics because nobody, save the members themselves, can claim to understand what and who these 360 hotheads represent, especially when it comes to fighting for their pockets. As I write, some members are up in arms against Speaker Bankole for allegedly approving N10billion loan for the House without the approval of the members. But those who know are saying that these latter-day saints are only fighting to get their severance allowance and nothing more.

This House and indeed the entire National Assembly, is not different from the previous ones in this respect, but once and if their personal interest is taken care of, the members could churn out fine pieces of legislation and discharge other legislative duties creditably. This to a large extent has been achieved by this 6th House of Representatives. Why did I say so?

Putting all the troubles and politics of this House aside, members have been able to move this democracy forward and strengthen it with some landmark legislations. Take for example the National Assembly Budget and Research Office

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IGERIANS– home and abroad – heaved a sigh of relief when the curtains were drawn on the April 2011 elections. Tensions ran high; apprehension was thick in the air: Will the elections go the way of those before it or will President Goodluck Jonathan and the new INEC deliver on their promises of credible polls? Will the leopard of the country’s politicians change its spots?

The initial hiccup suffered by the elections was all many needed to scream “here we go again!” Today, Nigerians walk tall as a result of the successful conduct of the April 2011 general elections. An overwhelming majority of the people are happy and satisfied that the elections were free, fair, and credible and that, for once in many decades, their votes were allowed to count.

Notwithstanding the fact that the result of the presidential election is being contested in court as well as other scattered cases of disillusionment here and there, the preponderance of opinion is that the country has cause to celebrate. We can safely say that Nigerians have spoken – and they did so without any ambiguity. President Goodluck Jonathan won with votes that nearly doubled those of his nearest rival; he was warmly accepted all over the six geo-political zones of the country, meeting and surpassing the constitutional provision of winning 25% of the votes cast in

‘Election debacles have always been our bane: It truncated the First Republic, eventually leading into a 30-month civil war.

Although we managed to come off it in one piece, echoes and scars of that war as well as cries and allegations of marginalisation remain with us to this day. ‘

Lest we forget (NABRO) bill passed by the House. The Office is fashioned after the United States’ Congressional Budget Office (CBO) which was set up by an Act of Congress in 1974 to help the two Houses of US Congress in their legislative duties as far as the federal budget is concerned. It was set up mainly to provide “objective, nonpartisan and timely analyses to aid in economic and budgetary decisions on the wide array of programmes covered by the federal budget and; (provide) the information and estimates required for the congressional budget process”. The NABRO, if properly set up, staffed (with economists and public policy analysts as in the US) and funded, should provide unbiased up to date information and analyses to the National Assembly on all aspects of federal government’s budget and assist the legislators during the process of passing the appropriation bill. In spite of their long years of experience in democracy, the Americans only recently (1974) passed the CBO bill, so the House of Representatives here deserve kudos for doing this within just a decade or so of our democracy.

Allied to NABRO is a bill on Government Accountability and Audit Office which is in the works. The body is also fashioned after the US Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Often called the “investigative arm of Congress or Congressional Watchdog”, GAO is an independent nonpartisan agency that works for congress. It investigates how the federal government spends the taxpayer dollars.

Considering also that budgetary matters especially faithful implementation of federal budgets and the less than transparent

way public funds are being deployed, have been the bane of the federal government for years, bodies such as NABRO and GAAO could help the National Assembly monitor federal budget performance and how our money is being spent. Needless to say this could also help block leakages and cut corruption.

The various new committees in the House have also shown how responsive and dynamic the House leadership is. For quite some time Nigerians have been complaining about the country not taking advantage of the large pool of human and material resources available to her from amongst Nigerians in the Diaspora, especially professionals. The House response was the setting up of a committee on Diaspora matters. A bill is also in the works on a National Diaspora Commission. This committee has no doubt been at the forefront of matters concerning Nigerians abroad, especially those facing unfair treatment in foreign land, as in the recent Libyan for example. Such other committees as the ones on climate change and donor agencies have also been created in response contemporary public issues.

Like him or hate him, these are some of the achievements of this House of Representatives under Bankole’s watch. Most members of the out going house are not likely or don’t have much to complain about constituency project as records show that more of such projects in all the 360 federal constituencies have found their way into successive federal budgets in the last three years or so and bound for implementation.

Jonathan: legacy of credible polls

By Bolanle Bolawole

two-thirds of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Jonathan’s endorsement by the Nigerian people was a rainbow coalition of the country’s tribes and tongues, religions and races; a delight to behold and the clearest attestation to our emergence as citizens making informed decisions not conditioned by sectarian and primordial reasoning but by the manifest good of the nation as a whole.

The international community also is celebrating Nigeria as a result of the April\May, 2011 elections. Hitherto always quick to look for excuses to pillory and denigrate us as a people and country, the Western media this time admitted that the elections met the standard of international best practices.

Election debacles have always been our bane: It truncated the First Republic, eventually leading into a 30-month civil war. Although we managed to come off it in one piece, echoes and scars of that war as well as cries and allegations of marginalisation remain with us to this day.

When the military handed over power to civilians in 1979, it was disputes over the results of elections, first in 1979 and again in 1983, that led to the return of the military to power. The annulment of the June 12, 1993 elections, adjudged the freest and fairest in the country’s history, not only led to civil strife and agitations against military rule, it also almost tore the country apart. The country and its leaders were treated as pariah in the comity of nations, ostracised from associating in international forums and visited with indignities. The 1999 election that once again ushered in civil rule was contested all the way to the Supreme Court, on the allegation that it was marred by irregularities. The government suffered legitimacy problem in the eyes of a significant section of the populace and had to look over its shoulders throughout the long period of litigation. The two elections supervised by that government itself have been described as some of the worst in the country’s history; the first retained it in office

while the second enabled it to hand over power to a preferred successor. An element of the 2003 election was the tsunami that uprooted the opposition party in the South-west and handed over the entire zone, with the exception of Lagos State, to the ruling party.

This was to be repeated in 2007 but longdrawn contests in court wrestled Edo, Ekiti, and Osun states from the PDP and handed them over to the Action Congress of Nigeria.

A weighty condemnation of the conduct of that election, however, was the forthright admission by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua that the election that brought him to power had flaws. Yar’Adua’s demise provided an opportunity for a successor intent on maintaining the tradition of manipulated elections to jettison the vision for credible polls and vote for business as usual; not so Jonathan. On his assumption of office, one of the first promises he made was to carry the process of the amendment of the electoral laws to its logical conclusion with a view to guaranteeing the integrity of future elections in the country.

Again, ever before he made up his mind to contest the last elections, President Jonathan made repeated pledges – at home and abroad – to conduct credible polls and when, eventually, he decided to throw his bowler hat in the ring, he remained upbeat in his promise of free and fair elections. He thereafter took steps which gave the citizens the confidence to enthusiastically embrace the project. Without the people’s support, there would have been no credible polls. It would have been a Herculean task for INEC to conduct credible polls if Jonathan as a sitting President was bent on retaining office by any means.

Jonathan chose the option of working really hard to win free and fair; he publicly warned his aides and supporters not to rig the election for him; he told everyone his ambition was not worth any one’s life; and warned that anyone caught breaking the electoral law would face the full weight of the law. Jonathan traversed the entire country meeting the people, building alliances and selling his vision.

These are routine things that ordinarily should attract no praise, yes, but in a country where the right things are not always done, every effort made or step taken towards a better society should be applauded and attention drawn to it to serve as encouragement to others.

Today we talk of Professor Attahiru Jega and his INEC in superlative terms because of the conduct of the last general elections considered relatively free and fair. Elsewhere especially in better societies, that would attract no praise as it is taken for granted. But here we have to raise our glass in celebration.

In spite of the seemingly endless battles that the leadership of this house has had to fight with some forces within and outside the green chamber and its achievements in the last three and half years or so notwithstanding, one major act of Hon. Dimeji Bankole that Nigerians would remember for years to come was his prompt acceptance of the outcome of April 9 election into his Abeokuta south federal constituency where he lost to the candidate of the opposition. He not only accepted the result as the wishes of the people, but also congratulated the winner. This was a rare gesture in Nigeria and it opened the way for other defeated politicians in the south west to follow suit. For a young man, this is unprecedented and clearly unexpected and it bodes well for our democracy AND NOW NUHU RIBADU Breaking his silence for the first time after his loss in the April 16 presidential election, candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, not only restated his commitment to the Nigeria Project aimed at a better Nigerian society, but also thanked Nigerians especially his party for the opportunity. He also had kind words for his running mate, Fola Adeola and his family. I am greatly relieved and happy that this young man, a member of my generation is not despairing and has refused to listen to the enemies of a united Nigeria who are blaming his loss on one particular ethnic group or another. I see his loss as Nigerians probably not being ready for him yet. The future for him is bright. Nuhu don’t quit.

Remember, quitters don’t win.

He campaigned in all the 36 states of the country, visiting some many times over.

The appointment of Prof. Attahiru Jega, a former respected National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), to replace Prof. Maurice Iwu as INEC boss shot up people’s confidence in Jonathan’s pledge to conduct credible polls. The credibility that Jega brought to the INEC job was massive and he has retained that credibility up till now. Jega’s INEC was fully supported with all the logistics it demanded to conduct free and fair elections: the INEC boss was given the free hand to operate; he got all the funds he requested for; the electoral laws were amended again and again at his behest to aid INEC’s seamless operations; the other agencies of government he needed for support, such as the NYSC and security agencies, not only gave him support but also complied with his directives.

The independence of INEC to act and take decisions impacted positively on its operations as it encouraged the citizenry to repose confidence in the electoral umpire. INEC’s decision to compile a new voters’ register was one such decision. The modified secret ballot system adopted for the election, the counting, announcement, and pasting of election results at each polling centre all worked to ensure the transparency of the polls. Witness how Jega defused the Ngige\ Akunyili tension in Anambra State such that justice was done and peace was allowed to reign! So also the supplementary election in Imo that led to the ouster of the incumbent governor who had since congratulated the winner!

We must admit that we have never had it so good. Peace reigns even in those states hitherto classified as flashpoints such as Plateau, Bayelsa, and Delta, to mention but a few. The violence that broke out in some states after the Presidential elections are already being investigated; it is important to get to the root of the dastardly act, fish out the perpetrators, and mete appropriate punishment on them.

To conclude, the last elections have been described by many as standing closely to the highly revered pan-Nigeria June 12, 1993 elections. I agree entirely with that comparison.

•BOLAWOLE, Former Editor of The Punch, is a Member of the Publicity Sub-Committee, 2011 Presidential inauguration ceremonies committee

Don’t compare me Ancelotti departs with with Yekini —Ehiosun 7.5m euros pay-off Pg. 41

Pg. 24

Nation Tuesday, May 24, 2011

FREE COPY

PAGE 23

•Owello •Ujah

•Etuhu •Kaita

•Ideye

Five Stars Siasia snubbed O UR top five stars who didn't get the nod from Siasia: Dickson Etuhu, Solomon Owello, Sani Kaita, Anthony Ujah and Brown Ideye.

Solomon Owello (IK Start/Norway) Nigeria continue to struggle for a central midfielder or playmaker even when this former Niger Tornadoes star has continued to post consistent five-star performances in Norway. Kalu Uche or the Obis, Mikel and Joel, are not your traditional No.10 in the mould of Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha, while Owello, who underwent trials at the great Manchester United, has shown in Europe he only needs a chance to fill in the vacuum left by ‘Jay Jay’.Anthony Ujah

(Lillestrom/Norway) The former FC Abuja striker has continued to bang in the goals with reckless abandon in Norway – eight goals in eight appearances - and yet he is yet to get on the radar of the Eagles at a time not even Osaze Odemwingie could lay full claim for the striker’s shirt in the national team.

Last season, this 20-year-old striker was only a whisker away from a high-profile move to Spanish club Real Mallorca after his impressive tally of 14 goals.

Clubmate Nosa Igiebor has taken his own chance with the Olympic team to get noticed by Siasia. Now is the turn of the

more prolific Ujah.

Dickson Etuhu (Fulham/England) Injury ruled out Etuhu from Siasia’s first call-ups but now that he is fit and even adding some goals to his game, it appears the Eagles coach does not really rate him to bring him back into the fold.

Even though Siasia has made it very clear he is all about attacking football, he also needs to add some steel and graft in the middle and Mikel Obi does not provide that.

S a n i K a i t a ( G e r m i n a l Beerschot/Belgium) Another ball-winning midfielder, whose commitment to the national cause has

never been in doubt. Probably Siasia has yet to forgive and forget Kaita’s one moment of madness against Greece at the World Cup even when the whole world has moved on. Brown Ideye (Sochaux/France) The former Ocean Boys striker has netted 16 goals and still counting for a team more familiar with battling against relegation, but who will as a result of his goals will feature in next season’s Europa League.

If Victor Anichebe with his mostly cameo roles for Everton this term could make Siasia’s squad for the matches against Argentina and Ethiopia, it is most baffling Ideye was not considered.

Culled from MTNonline.com

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

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NATION SPORT

NATION SPORT LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS

Blatter promises FIFA NOC parleys with partners reforms if re-elected T

SEPP BLATTER has promised a reform of FIFA if he is re-elected and intends to present proposals next week to deal with allegations of corruption and ticket touting by senior officials within the governing body.

Blatter has not revealed details of the plan he will put to the organisation's congress, but has made clear that his proposals will aim to improve FIFA's reputation.

He told reporters: "Handling the past will be presented to the Congress. We have to make sure that immediately after the election that we rebuild the image of FIFA. "We need to reinforce the judicial bodies and we shall find a solution how to handle the past in order that

we can stop forever in the future all these damaging things about corruption.

"These bodies should be more independent and this is a question I will bring to the Congress, that the Congress should elect the members of these committees or at least the chairmen of the three committees - the ethics, disciplinary and appeal committees."

The 75-year-old also revealed he was offered a bribe when he was the organisation's secretary general but handed it back.

"I received once an envelope, when I was secretary general and in this envelope there was an amount of money" added Blatter.

HE Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) will this week concretise its ties with partners in the London 2012 Olympic project.

Specifically, from 12 noon today, the NOC President, Engineer Sani Ndanusa and scribe, Tunde Popoola will be meeting with various stakeholders who are promoting London 2012 activities.

A release by the Public Relations Officer of the NOC, Tony Ubani said that some of these organisations include ATR–Zeep Travels, Bank of

Industries among other agencies working on the Nigeria/Africa House at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The NOC top shots will be inaugurating of the NCAS Planning Committee while, they will also inaugurate the new Rugby Board.

The inauguration of the new Rugby board will bring to a close a long drawn dispute among the Nigerian rugby fraternity which arose from the concession of the sport to Racing Rugby Club of Lagos.

Maigari hails Goje over new Gombe Stadium T

HE spanking new Gombe Township Stadium, Pantami which was commissioned with a colourful ceremony on Sunday has drawn the praise of President of Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Aminu Maigari.

Speaking on Monday, the NFF

Ancelotti departs with 7.5m euros pay-off

CHELSEA have given themselves seven weeks to find a new manager after sacking Carlo Ancelotti and handing him a 7.5 euros (£6.5) million pay-off, Goal.com can reveal.

The club, who are scouring the world for their sixth boss in four years, are confident the new man will be in place by the time of their first pre-season friendly on July 9.

Marco van Basten has emerged as the leading candidate to succeed Ancelotti, although there is also believed to be strong support within Stamford Bridge for Porto’s Andre Villas-Boas.

Harry Redknapp was the favourite with a number of bookmakers on Sunday evening but the Tottenham manager is believed to be a long-shot for the vacant post.

One man who is unlikely to be the next Stamford Bridge manager is Guus

Hiddink, who has told owner Roman Abramovich that he is not interested in being a club manager again.

Nevertheless, the Turkey manager is believed to be the key figure in the senior management shake-up at Chelsea. The club also have vacancies in the sporting director and chief scout positions following the departures of Frank Arnesen and Lee Congleton to SV Hamburg.

As revealed by Goal.com in April, Hiddink has been approached by Chelsea to be their new sporting director and will make his decision on whether to accept the offer in the wake of Turkey’s Euro 2012 qualifier away to Belgium on June 3.

Cross River set for 22nd All Nigeria Athletics Championships

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HE Cross River State Government of Liyel Imoke is set to host this year’s 22nd All Nigeria NNPC/MPN Track and Field Championships, just as it pledged it will do, last year.

Sports buff and Deputy Governor of the state. His Excellency Barrister Effiok Cobham said in Calabar on Saturday that the State is ready to host the annual competition which is the premier event on AFN’s calendar in

Other Sports...Other Sports...Other Sports...Other Sports...Other Sports...Other...Sports

Djokovic off to a flyer in France SECOND SEED Novak Djokovic breezed into the French Open second round with a defeat of Dutchman Thiemo De Bakker.

Paris – Second seed Novak Djokovic breezed into the French Open second round with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 defeat of Dutchman Thiemo De Bakker on Monday, extending his unbeaten start to the season to 38 matches.

The in-form Serbian, a semi-finalist here in 2007 and 2008, is on course to depose Rafael Nadal as world No 1 and is also closing in on John McEnroe's unbeaten season start record of 42 consecutive matches.

Djokovic will play either French wild card Benoit Paire or Romania's Victor Hanescu for a place in the last 32.

“It's my favourite Grand Slam, even though I haven't won it yet,” said Djokovic.

“I've been playing really well on clay.

I've won three (claycourt) tournaments (Belgrade, Madrid and Rome) in the last few weeks, so I'm trying to build on that confidence.”

Wearing strapping below his right knee, Djokovic broke De Bakker's serve at the first attempt and then broke again to take the first set with an inside-out

forehand winner that left the off-balance De Bakker rooted to the spot.

The world number 71 offered belated resistance in the second set, falling 5-0 down before holding serve and then bringing up a break point that he looked to have converted with a flashing forehand return.

•Djokovic

Township Stadium, Pantami was commissioned at a colourful ceremony that had Governor Muhammad Danjuma Goje and the Hon. Minister/Chairman, National Sports Commission, Professor Taoheed Adedoja in attendance.

A string of invitational relays (athletics) and a football match between the National U-23 team, Dream Team and the Gombe United FC formed the highpoints of the occasion.

The Dream Team, preparing for an international friendly match in Costa Rica next week and a litany of qualifying matches next month, won the tie 1-0 through a goal by Dolphin FC midfielder Ayo Saka.

Also at the occasion were former Super Eagles skipper Daniel Amokachi and Super Eagles’ midfielder Sani Kaita, as well as a good number of football administrators and enthusiasts.

Imoke takes sports to next level T

•Umar Aliyu, Tournament Manager, Speedwell Ngoka (GH - Commercial Banking Division, North), Access Bank Plc and Ochuko Angela Ege, PSFR Specialist, UNICEF at the Access Bank Emir of Katsina Charity Shield Polo Championship Pre-Tournament Press Conference held at the Ocean view Restaurant, Victoria Island, Lagos on Monday, May 23, 2011

•Ancelotti

President was of the opinion that a revolution in football development would have started anew across the federation if each of the 36 States of the country can embark on the construction of similar infrastructure.

“We have to commend the Gombe State government for this feat, and also congratulate the good people of that State.

What His Excellency, Governor Danjuma Goje has done is a legacy like no other.

“The Nigeria Football Federation would embark on a campaign to sensitize the Chief Executives of other States of the Federation to do something like that. It is true that courtesy of hosting two global tournaments in the past 12 years, we have a number of standard facilities. But if we can have more of the type that the Gombe State government has just put up, it would be wonderful”, Maigari said.

On Sunday, the 12,000-capacity Gombe

the country.

“We have finalised all discussions with the AFN and this week, the MOU will be signed to guarantee a hitch free hosting of the championship in Calabar for the second year running” he said.

It will be recalled that last year, His Excellency the executive governor of the State Senator Liyel Imoke had promised that the State will host the championship for the next five years.

“We want Cross River to be the destination as far as Athletics is concerned in this country. And with the ambitious programme that we have concerning the development of sports especially track and field, this championship may just be the catalyst

we need to fast track our programme” he said amidst thunderous applause.

President of AFN Solomon Ogba expressed appreciation over the Cross River State participation saying he knew he could always count on His Excellency to deliver on his promises. “ With this hosting I will be able to increase the prize monies which is presently not befitting of foreign athletes, and improve the quality of accommodation and transportation” he said.

This year’s competition which holds at the U.J Esuene Stadium, Calabar, from June 23-26 will also serve as selection trials for the world Championship and All Africa Games.

Woods slides to 12th in Essien wants Africa to stand world rankings •Westwood remains at No. 1 TIGER WOODS has fallen to 12th in the world rankings, dropping out of the top 10 for the first time in 14 years.

Woods is out with left knee and Achilles injuries. He has not won a tournament since the Australian Masters 18 months ago. He dropped four places in the new rankings published Monday.

Lee Westwood of England remains at No. 1, with Charl Schwartzel of South Africa taking Woods’ place in the top 10.

Second-ranked Luke Donald missed his chance to overtake compatriot Westwood and become No. 1 after losing in the final of the World Match Play Championship to Ian Poulter on Sunday.

The last time Woods was ranked outside the top 10 was April 1997, before he won the Masters for the first of his 14 majors.

A

FTER a disappointing season with Chelsea, Michael Essien turns his sights to a charity initiative, aimed at promoting and raising the awareness of peace in Africa.

On Wednesday, May 25, the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra would host an Africa XI and World XI match organised by Essien, an Africa Union Peace Ambassador.

The charity game is to help promote peace in Africa and forms part of the Ghana international's commitment to raising the awareness of peace on the continent using football.

The continent continues to be riddled by conflicts but Essien hopes that through football, the number one sport in Africa, an impact can be made in bringing out lasting peace.

"Football is a very big thing in Africa, people love football, so it's always good to deliver the message through football. Hopefully, this game will help to bring peace in Africa because if you look at what has happened in Ivory Coast and Libya,

up for peace

it's not good. It's time for Africa to stand up and make peace with each other, stop the fighting, put the guns down and love each other," Essien said.

Funds raised from the game will be used to enhance peace initiatives across Africa.

According to Essien: “the whole idea is to create awareness and to promote peace in Africa, as you can see what is happening in some African countries.”

“Hopefully through football we can spread the message across and I think Africans love football and it is easier to use football to spread the message,” he said.

An array of world stars are expected to play a part in the game with Ashley Cole and Florent Malouda featuring for the World XI while the Africa team is set to include Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto'o of Internazionale, and Manchester City's Touré brothers, Kolo and Yaya.

HE Cross River State Government says, it will accord greater impetus to boxing and other sports in its “Catchthem-young sports development programme” as efforts will be made to sponsor identified athletes abroad to acquire exposure and competence.

Governor Liyel Imoke disclosed this in Calabar shortly after watching the finals of the Second Inter-states Friendly Amateur Boxing Challenge held at the U.J. Esuene Stadium.

Imoke, who expressed optimism that champions, will emerge from the exercise, reaffirmed government’s strong commitment to groom young talents to national and international stardom He announced that an indoor training hall will be provided as soon as the programme takes-off in earnest and encouraged talented youths in Cross River State to participate in the programme which holds great promise for the future sports development of the state and country.

The Governor urged sports officials to ensure effective training of athletes

3rd Channels Kids Cup enters second round

C

OMMAND children whip St. Jude 9-0.

The much anticipated Channels Kids Cup got underway yesterday at the Campos square In Lagos.

Command children school demolished St. Jude 9-0.Ibadan International school fell 1-3 to Agindingbi primary school. St Stephen primary school defeated Ifako international school 3-0 while St Michael school mauled Lagos progressive 6-0.

St. Bernadette,Totland,Olumole and Ire Akari school all walked over their opponents.

Meanwhile,Actions resume today with 2009 champions,UNILAG staff school,Akoka confront Command children school,ikeja. Defending champions,Ladi Lak,Bariga trade tackles with Agindingbi primary school,Ikeja.Maryland primary school lock horns with St Stephen primary school. in the other games,Straitegate school vs St.Bernadette school,Issacville,Ketu vs Totland,Ikorodu.Dr. Soyemi memorial,Festac Town vs St. Michael school,Ojo.Mimofera vs Olumole primary school,Amuwo Odofin.Santa Maria,Mushin vs Ire Akari,Isolo.

From Kunle Johnson, Calabar and congratulated the participants in the boxing challenge while assuring all round support in the task of achieving predetermined goals in that regard.

Speaking earlier, the Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Chief Raymond Obeten, lauded the Imoke initiative which he described as the bedrock of his Ministry’s programme on sports development.

Obeten, who expressed confidence that the exercise will yield expected results, explained that five States were expected at the boxing tournament out of which three participated.

The contest featured fly and feather weights competition as well as demonstration bouts, one of which resulted in technical knock-out (TKO) Certificates of participation and trophies were later presented to the athletes by the Deputy Governor Mr. Effiok Cobham while Governor Liyel Imoke also made presentations to another category of male and female winners as well as had rewarding handshakes with all participants.

41

Don't compare me with Yekini –Ehiosun

W

ARRI WOLVES all-action striker Ekigho Ehiosun has taken Nigerian football by storm this season with goals for both club and country.

The recently qualified petroleum engineer, who will celebrate his 21st birthday next month, made a goal-scoring debut for the Super Eagles in a friendly against Sierra Leone in Lagos in February.

It was a classic goal poacher’s goal as he pounced on a through ball delivered by fellow debutant Joel Obi just moments after coming off the subs’ bench.

‘Ehis’ has also fired four goals for the country’s Olympic team and was on target for the Eagles ‘B’ team four times at the recent WAFU Nations Cup hosted by Nigeria.

Ekigho, you must be delighted to be picked for next month’s top games against Argentina and Ethiopia?

I was so, so happy that I was included in the team. I thank Almighty God for propelling me thus far in my career. I sincerely thank the chief coach, Samson Siasia, for believing in me. I thank coach (Simon) Kalika and the rest of Eagles technical crew for encouraging and guiding me also. I also thank my team mates for the love and brotherly love among us. I promise to do all my best and continue to work extra hard to justify my inclusion in the team.

Before the Nations Cup qualifier in Ethiopia, the Eagles will host Argentina in a friendly in Abuja?

The friendly would be a good preparation for the important Nations Cup qualifier against Ethiopia. I am sure we will do our best as a team to try and win and make Nigerians happy.

I would also make this appeal as a part of the team to tell the fans to be patient with us when the goals are not coming or whenever we are trying to do our best in the game and we are initially finding it difficult to break the Argentines. Their patience and support would definitely propel us to win the match on our own soil.

You are already being compared to the legendary Rashidi Yekini?

It is not right for anybody to compare me with a legend like Rashidi Yekini who had represented this country in no small way. He has done great things for this country, while I am just beginning.

I have been hearing his exploits since I was very young.

So, I want to be known as Ekhigo Ehiosun, not Rashidi Yekini, because the vacuum he has left behind is very difficult to fill.

Yekini is a player to look up to but I just want to be my real self and nothing more. What I set before me is to work extra hard every day to ensure I become a prolific scorer that my coaches can always rely on.

I am working hard and trying to listen

to my coaches and also learn from my seniors in the Super Eagles so that I could be a complete striker everybody would be proud of.

Let nobody compare me with one of my idols, Yekini. I hope to achieve what he has achieved or even more in the nearest future.

So, are you under pressure any time you play for Nigeria?

I love playing football. He has become part of me and I just try to enjoy myself and do my best on the field, so I don’t feel any pressure playing for my country or club. But I am always very happy any time I score goals.

Everybody expected the Eagles ‘B’ team to win the WAFU Cup only for Togo to upset you?

Honestly, I don’t know what happened or what went wrong in that match. We did our best as a team but we were not lucky enough to emerge champions.

I was so confident that we would win because we were very ready to win. But that day everything just went wrong. I couldn't say what went wrong, so also my colleagues. I had thought that I would win my first trophy as an Eagles player but man proposes, God disposes.

We lost to hard luck. Luck was not just on our side. When luck fails you, you will do everything and it won't work.

Our coaches did everything humanly possible for us to win the cup.

Let us leave that behind us now and face the Argentina friendly and especially the Africa Nations Cup qualifier away in Ethiopia. If we win these two games, I am very sure Nigerians would forget the WAFU Cup loss.

How would you describe the last three months of your career?

Even if I were to surrender my whole body, it wouldn’t be enough to thank God for what he has done in my life and most especially my career. On and off the field God has done wonders in my life and words are not enough to appreciate what He has done for me.

In my life generally I need to thank Him from the bottom of my heart and to the depth of my soul.

On the back of such great form, you must be on your way to playing in Europe.

I am currently enjoying my football with Warri Wolves. If something good comes my way, you people will know, but not until then.

Did your parents support you when you started out kicking the ball as a kid?

I would say I enjoyed my daddy’s support from the beginning. He has been so supportive as regards my playing football. But my mum has always been against it. She feared my getting injured and any time I come back home with injuries after playing football, she always said ‘didn’t I tell you?’ My mum always screamed and complained then.

People were telling my mum then this your child has been playing football right from when he was in your womb but she did not listen. But my dad has been there for me then. He used to say leave him, let him play his football.

But right now my mum is now my biggest fan. She is so supportive now and encourages me a lot. She always asks me if I have a match so that she can come there to watch me play. My entire family has been so supportive too.

•Ehiosun

Abidal: Man United ‘ll struggle Mourinho calls for fair play next against Messi season

BARCELONA defender Eric Abidal has warned Manchester United they will have a tough time trying to stop Lionel Messi in Saturday's Champions League final at Wembley.

Abidal has been on the road to recovery following an operation on his

•Abidal

liver in which a tumour was removed.

He has been progressing well, but it's not known as to whether he will start in London. The 31-year-old wants to feature as he missed the Rome final two years ago with a suspension.

"It's our little secret. If I answer that question, it will give it away to every other team," he told Uefa.com when asked what it takes to stop Messi.

"The problem with Leo is that no one knows what he will do. He is from another planet. He can do anything, he's proved that despite his age.

"He still has many more years to come, and I hope he wins the Ballon d'Or more than anyone else as he is so talented. We saw it against Real Madrid in the Champions League – at 1-0 he dribbled past four players to score. It's incredible."

The Frenchman went on to reminisce about the 2009 final at the Olimpico, saying: "That game was massive. We wanted to deliver a big performance and we did. That's why we always come back to the motto, 'More than a club'," he added.

REAL MADRID coach Jose Mourinho has launched a fresh attack on his side's fierce rivals Barcelona and has called for more fair play in La Liga and Europe next season.

Mourinho has refused to speak to the press ever since Uefa handed the Portuguese a five-match European ban for his comments following the recent Champions League semi-final against the Catalan club.

The 48-year-old took the opportunity today to send a message to the Madrid fans - and to Uefa - with a statement released today on the club's official website.

"I have a simple wish: that is for us to recover principles that shouldn't be forgotten by anyone and that some football professionals and institutions have forgotten at times this season, and which should be the foundations of a sport like ours."

And he added, partly in reference to Uefa's decision to take no action against Barca's Sergio Busquets for an alleged racist remark made to Madrid's Marcelo: "To speak of fair play, respect for your adversary and showing a red card to racism should not be words; they should

be deeds.

"I hope that next season we can recover those fundamental principles for our sport."

Mourinho also thanked Madrid's fans for their support this term.

"The season has ended and I want to thank the fans of Real Madrid for all the affection and support offered to the team and the coaching staff.

•Mourinho

25

PROPERTY

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.com

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

email:- property@thenationonlineng.net

President Goodluck Jonathan has given cement manufacturers 30 days to bring down prices. Nigerians are waiting to see what happens next, reports OKWY IROEGBU.

FIVE-YEAR CEMENT PRICE 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

N1, 300 N1, 350 N1, 600 N1, 800 N2, 500

•Bags of Cement

Will producers crash cement price?

W

HEN the price of cement started shooting up, no body ever thought that it would hit the all-time high of between N2,500 and N2,600 per bag in Lagos and some other parts of the country. The price just kept creeping up until it crossed over N2,000, to the consternation of many. Would-be house-owners bemoaned as the price kept rising. Some were forced to stop work on their buildings and they resorted to praying to God to bring the price down.

It has never been this bad. In the past, cement price rose but it never soared beyond N1,500 and N1,600 as it did last year. Even at that, people still complained. So, when the price rose to over N2,000 this year, their reaction was not unexpected. They cried out to the authorities to check the trend before it got out of hand.

Last week Monday, President Goodluck Jonathan hearkened to their cry, even though it was not the first time, the government would be intervening to ensure that cement price is reduced. The President gave cement producers 30-days to crash the price, which, he observed, was beyond what the average Nigerian could pay.

The rise in cement prices has been a recurring decimal of sorts in the last 12 years. In 2007, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua ordered the re-opening of Ibeto Cement Factory in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, which had been shut down by former President Olusegun Obasanjo because the firm purportedly failed to meet the deadline to start local production. The then chairman of the re-opened company, Chief Cletus Ibeto, pledged to flood the market with quality cement in 40 days, saying it would result in the crash of the

•LAWMA begins waste •Lagos Environment Ministry evacuation from riverine areas reclaims 75 open spaces - PAGE 26

- PAGE 27

price. It never came to be. Last year, the Minister of Industry, Chief Jubril Martins-Kuye, promised that cement prices would come down, but it shot to an all-time high this year.

In 1975, the government under Gen Yakubu Gowon embarked on massive importation of cement with a view to crashing the price. The ports were jammed with imported cement and local production effort was annihilated but it still did not do the magic. Jonathan’s directive, many fear, may go the way of his predecessors if adequate measures are not taken to enforce it.

Past chairman, Nigeria Institute of Building (NIOB), Kunle Awobodu, said the directive would lead to a boom in construction if cement manufacturers achieve the feat within •CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

•NCF, NBC seeks strict im-

plementation of forestry law

- PAGE 28

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

26

PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT

LAWMA begins waste evacuation from riverine areas

T

HE Lagos Waste Manage ment Authority (LAWMA) has intensified its marine waste collection in the riverine areas of Lekki and Badagry to ensure the areas are clean at all times.

The Managing Director of LAWMA, Ola Oresanya stated this in his office while discussing the activities of his organisation in the sustenance of the environment.

He said his organisation discovered over 20 black spots of waste dumps along the shore lines in a report they monitored.

The report, according to him, revealed the black spots were as a result of the commercial activities of sand miners, local fishermen and other business operations that take place in the area daily.

Warning on the dangers of indiscriminate dumping of refuse along the shore lines, he said it would not only affect the water quality, disrupt the commercial marine activities and navigation by security agents, but will also create negative impacts on tourism and general aesthetics of the state.

The LAWMA Marine waste evacuation project, which started last year with Lagos Island, is now extended to other areas due to the successes recorded.

On the importance of disposal operation, Oresanya, said it is designed to complement the effort of

•Continued from Page 25

the 30-day period. However, he raised doubt as to the possibility of actualising the presidential mandate.

He argued that one can only reduce what he has excess capacity for, saying that the timeline given is short because of factors involved in achieving the directive, such as haulage, power generation and insufficient production capacity.

He said the president may just be playing to the gallery by following the natural trend in construction where there is usually a slow-down around June due to the rains.

Awobodu said: “ There is a possibility that the president is armed with some vital information on the take-off date of new cement manufacturing plants and the possibility of expanded capacity which would translate to reduced prices and wanted to cash in on it. ” He regretted that many developers suspended their projects because of the high cost of cement, while the cement firms have not been able to meet the needs of clients.

He warned of the dangers of having a repeat experience of this alltime high price of cement and asked that the government employs every strategy to check it.

•LAWMA Street sweepers at an event Stories by Okwy Iroegbu, Asst Editor

the agency in maintaining a cleaner environment. The areas covered include Ipakodo in Ikorodu, Iddo, Snake Island and Oworonsoki.

While reiterating that the clean up activities, especially on the shore line is a continuous exercise, he said the advocacy team would equally step up enlightenment in the area to educate the people on proper waste management and the

health implication of indiscriminate dumping of waste.

Speaking further, he charged residents of the area to obtain waste containers for the storage of their waste for effective management of their waste adding that the Private

Sector Operator (PSP) assigned to the area would ensure regular waste evacuation from the areas.

He called on residents to imbibe the culture of cleanliness by ensuring that their surroundings are dirt free.

Will producers crash cement price?

An engineer and facility management expert, Afolabi Adedeji, said: “On the surface, the presidential statement may appear good, but its implementation is another thing.”

He warned that if by some kind of fiat the government achieves a price reduction temporarily without factoring the necessary input, the result may be the creation of a black market.

He advised on the need for a medium to long-term view and the provision of necessary infrastructure and an enabling environment for manufacturers to thrive.

Adedeji warned that cement price reduction may not be the panacea to the national housing crisis. He urged the government to explore alternate sources of building materials as done in the United States, where people build with timber and aluminuim with less emphasis on concrete and cement.

The facility manager also tasked the government on job creation and the raising of entrepreneurs, noting that if people had money in their pockets, buying cement at the going rate would not be much of an issue.

The Chairman, Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), Lagos Chapter, Toyin Ayinde, said

if cement prices are reduced by executive fiat, it means something is wrong with our system, which may mean that there is sufficient stock hidden somewhere.

He observed that power generation is a major issue in cement manufacturing as diesel price has gone up astronomically from N85 a litre to N170 currently.

He warned that if Jonathan is not doing something serious on revitalising the power sector, the statement credited to him may, at best, just be a political statement.

He said: “A more realistic option will be the breaking of monopoly

‘We are doing all we can to try and bring down the cost of transportation but we will do it in such a way that it will not affect other transporters because we also need them in the business to survive’

which evidently is a major issue in the cement sector and the issuance of licences to importers of the product or to those with capacity to rebag bulk cement.”

According to him, if the feat is achieved within the specified time it will translate to a boom in the sector as cement is a major component in building and it will also afford developers the opportunity to accelerate their abandoned projects.

APBN President, Mr. Joseph Ajanlekoko, who is also a quantity surveyor, said the 30 days directive would be a temporary relief to the current high construction cost.

He said: “ The long term solution, is to put in place a more structured platform for sustainability of a friendlier price control regime through the following approach: a systemic removal of the monopolistic tendencies through the approval and establishment of mini cement plants throughout the federation as is done in India to crash price.

Secondly, the adoption of alternative use of other materials for construction while imbibing rationale and cost effective design.

Earlier, Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote said the major problems the industry are

facing the supply of Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) and loss of 6, 000 trucks by his group recently, adding that the recent post election crisis in the North, which caused a shutdown of production for weeks, was partly responsible for the hike in price.

He said, "We are doing all we can to try and bring down the cost of transportation but we will do it in such a way that it will not affect other transporters because we also need them in the business to survive."

The chairman of BUA Group, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu noted that some of the challenges that caused increase in cement prices were being addressed some of which included the closure of Kaduna Refinery and cement companies based in the North which were closed as a result of the post election crisis.

He conceded that the President has agreed to look into the possibility of the manufacturers getting direct allocation of the essential raw materials like diesel from the NNPC. Chairman of Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN), Mr Joseph Makoju, confirmed that his group and the President agreed to address the causes of the product scarcity and its concomitant high cost and arrived at a possible solution to meet the presidential guidelines.

‘Lagos Urban, Regional Planning law will firm up control in sector’

T

HE signing into law of the La gos Urban and Regional Plan ning law is to firm up regulations on Building Control to ensure quality of building and willful compliance with physical planning and building control regulations in the state, Commissioner of Physical Planning & Urban Development, Mr Francisco Abosede.

He stated this in a media parley recently.

Abosede maintained that the state’s success in planned urban development and slum renewal is a result of the introduction, management and strict application of master plans and model city plans which has the capacity to create a planned

environment and healthier condition of living.

He said that the ministry has delivered several city plans such as Ikeja Model city plan, Victoria Island/Ikoyi model city plan, Alimosho model city plan, Lekki comprehensive land use and infrastructure master plan, Badagry model and mainland city plans among others.

On urban development, Abosede stated that the state has recorded phenomenal growth and progress in its urban development efforts which include the relocation of Oko Baba saw millers through a PPP arrangement and the redevelopment of Tejuosho model market. Others

are the ECOWAS market in Badagry where illegal occupants have been served notices of removal of illegal structure. He also revealed that the government is committed to the movement of the Computer Village from Ikeja to Oke-odo in Alimosho Local Government Area.

The success of the ministry is also demonstrated in the final draft of report of Issa Williams Urban Renewal master plan, Lagos Island East Plan and the redevelopment of the old Broad Street Prison facility into what is known today as Freedom Park, he added.

On development matters, the commissioner said: “The ministry intensified efforts in the processing of lay-

out plans on private and government land, preparation of development guide on excised areas as well as monitoring of private layout development.

“We also ensured the correct alignment and delivery of right of way of roads under construction, rehabilitation and expansion.”

On development permits, Abosede said his ministry is geared towards delivering the objectives of the current administration reforms in the state on speedy issuance of the document to the public being the only ministry responsible for its management and issuance.

He disclosed that out of 12,804 building permit applications, a 5,204

applications are still undergoing processing for approval.

He encouraged the public to obey relevant town planning rules and regulations to avoid costly compliance charges and pledged that the ministry will continuously ensure that it factors all necessary inputs to reduce delays associated with obtaining building permit approvals.

Speaking on urban regeneration efforts of the ministry, he said they engaged in the intensification of state policies on urban renewal through identification of relevant areas with the result that currently several parts of the state have been renewed or are undergoing renewal such as Olaleye Iponri housing estate.

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

27

PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT

L

AGOS State has appointed six consultants to support its ef forts in land regularisation and title to land.

The move has yielded N11 billion for the government as at February 28, 2011, representing proceeds from Governor’s Consent Charges, Permanent Secretary in the Lands Bureau,Hakeem Muri-Okunola, has said.

He said the Bureau achieved the feat as a result of the radical transformation and introduction of 30day consent policy of the state government which encouraged more applications from people.

He said that during the period, 24,765 applications were received, while 8,926 were approved.

In the same period, Okunola said the government also paid over a billion naira as compensation to the communities and families

Lagos appoints six consultants on land Stories by Okwy Iroegbu Asst. Editor

whose lands were acquired for public interest.

Muri-Okunola also assured that the budgetary provision for compensation in the current year is adequate to accommodate all the financial liability for the payment.

He advised all agencies that may require land for public projects to notify the Bureau early enough before its budget proposal is made to the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget to enable it make the provision in its budget.

On excision and resettlement of towns and villages, the Permanent

Secretary said the current policy of government is geared towards the preservation of traditional villages and settlements.

He regretted that requests for excision had been processed sometimes through the New Towns Development Authority and the ministry of Justice, where it is the statutory responsibility of Land Services Directorate. He stressed that this has caused a lot of confusion in the past though it has been corrected.

On grant of land under the Private Developers Scheme, he said the governor has lifted the embargo, adding that 82 applicants have been given approval for allocation. He frowned at the spate of purchase of government acquired

land and the erection of buildings on such land without approved development plans.

Okunola also revealed that the government created a recertification unit under the directorate of land regularisation to receive, vet and upload applications for recertification from members of the public while a section of it will process and print the recertified C of Os. He pointed out that the government is working tenaciously to discourage unapproved development which has led to incessant collapse of building. He said: “It is the Bureau’s strategic intent to build an effective and efficient land administration in the state that will offer

‘It is the Bureau’s strategic intent to build an effective and efficient land administration in the state that will offer comprehensive services to the people of the state, enhance the mega city project and expand the frontiers in ICT compliance’ comprehensive services to the people of the state, enhance the mega city project and expand the frontiers in ICT compliance.”

Lagos Environment Ministry reclaims 75 open spaces

O

VER 75 open spaces have been reclaimed and beau tified with effigy of prominent and notable Nigerians adorning the nook and crannies of the state, says Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Muiz Banire.

He said some of the commissioned projects include Muri Okunola Park, Victoria Island; MKO Abiola Park, Ojota; Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota; Ayodele Awojobi Park, Onike Iwaya; Herbert Macaulay in Yaba; Beko Ransome Kuti Park, Anthony Oke; Kernel Street Recreational park, Surulere, and the Mini sports complex at Oworonshoki interchange with monuments of other notable Nigerians such as Chief Alao Aka Bashorun and Alhaja Abibat Mogaji under construction.

Banire said the aim of the projects is to bring back the lost glory and beauty of the days of old when public facilities not only served as recreational and relaxation spots for Lagosians but also as memorial spots planted with various ornamental trees, shrubs, green lawns and flowers.

The commissioner said: “A fascinating aspect of the greening and beautification project is that several indigenous landscape construction companies including 4,882 gardeners and related professionals.

It has also served as a rehabilitation programme for some boys and girls as most of those working on these sites were once written off as irredeemable area boys and girls who were of nol value to society,” he said.

On climate change, he said the

•Dr. Muiz Adeyemi Banire, Commissioner for the Environment (2nd right); Mr Muyideen Akinsanya, Perm. Sec. (Office of Drainage Services), Ministry of the Env. (right); Mrs. Titi Anibaba, Perm. Sec (Office of Environmental Serv.), Ministry of the Env.(left) and Mr. Ranti Odutola, Perm. Sec., PHOTO: OKWY IROEGBU Ministry of Information and Strategy (2nd left).

state with its peculiar topography and a population of over 18 million inhabitants with high carbon footprints as the commercial and industrial nerve centre of the nation had a lot to fear on the impacts of global warming.

He recalled experts warning at the first climate change summit in the state, that unless urgent steps are taken to correct the errors in the environment, a large part of the state will be lost to ocean surge in the next 90 years.

He said armed with this information and convinced of the realities and the vulnerability of the state steps were taken to put in place policies and programmes geared towards its mitigation.

Some of the stepss according to him, is the school advocacy programme, which incorporated 518 branches where children are taught the rudiments of climate change and its mitigation

through the maintenance of high level of sanitation and the encouragement of good sanitary habits among pupils. Others are tree planting and the procurement of Big John Transplanter Spades used in relocation of trees from the right-of-way to different locations to salvage the green areas in the state to avoid deforestation.

On the success rate of the exercise, he revealed that since the inception of the tree transplanting exercise, over 65 trees had been successfully transplanted with 100 per cent survival rate. On

waste management, Banire said the ministry has initiated a research study on waste characterisation for the state with a view to determining the constituents of the waste stream generated which will eventually assist in long term planning and budgeting for the state waste management programme.

Responding to a question on highway sanitation control, he said in a bid to rid the presidential routes and major highways of vegetal nuisance and wastes of all sorts, this aspect is managed by six consultants who are

‘When full operation begins the nylon waste recycling plant is expected to recycle about 250 tonnes per month. This will go a long way in tackling plastic/nylon waste menace in the state. In addition, thousands of jobless youths will be engaged directly or indirectly by exchange of these wastes for cash’

handling different zones such as Victoria Island, Ikoyi, tollgate to Festac, Ojota to Costain, Herbert Macaulay Way to Adekunle Junction and Ikeja.

He said the sector employs 1,500 operatives kitted with personal protective equipment and necessary tools working across the six operational zones within the State. He also revealed that the state has established a plastic/nylon industry to take care of the non-biodegradable nylon wastes on the roads and drainage channels.

He said: “When full operation begins the nylon waste recycling plant is expected to recycle about 250 tonnes per month. This will go a long way in tackling plastic/nylon waste menace in the state. In addition, thousands of jobless youths will be engaged directly or indirectly by exchange of these wastes for cash.”

Concessionaire makes case for implementation of Highway Code

M

ANAGING Director, Lekki Concession Company (LCC), Mr Opuiyo Oforiokuma has tasked the government to ensure that people who are allowed to ply our roads are those who have proper accreditation to handle vehicles.

He called for a situation where people will be made to acquire their licences formally. This according to him, is a sure way to avoid carnage on our roads.

He stated this during in an interview with The Nation in his office last week, urging that the highway codes needs to be given more attention in schools to inculcate good driving habits from an early age and to discourage irresponsibility on our roads.

He said: “In the United Kingdom you must do a mandatory eye test before you do a vehicle test and also at a certain time you go for revalidation this also goes for the United States.

But here unfortunately they ac-

quire licence even when they have not gone through any kind of test and drive without the slightest knowledge about highway codes endangering the lives of other road users.”

The LCC boss said the nation can only achieve the UNDP projection of 50 per cent to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Oforiokuma said his company places strict emphasis on safety on the Lekki toll road above every other consideration which has been demonstrated by the construction of bus lay bys, putting facilities in place to care for stranded road users, 24 hours communication on the road, ambulance service and skilled mechanics.

He argued that since over 90 per cent of movement in the country is on land, it then makes good sense to ensure that the roads and cars we drive are in good condition. Attesting to how the company

has contributed to the reduction of road accidents on the axis.

He said: “In 2010 the road witnessed 746 accidents with 21 fatalities while in the first quarter of this year, it witnessed a reduction to 216 which is a significant drop as a result of improved infrastructure and awareness.”

He said from their findings over the period, 40 per cent of the accidents involved single vehicle accident caused by under the influence of alcohol or mechanical fault, 45 per cent on recklessness while 11 per cent is caused by Okada riders.

According to him the road has a daily traffic of 80,000 vehicles and 20, 000 Okada with 55 per cent accident occurring in the day and 45 per cent at night.

Asked if he will subscribe to the banning of Okada, he responded that he knows that there is a subsisting law on Okada on the highways and it is left for the government to deal with the issue.

•Opuiyo of Oriokuma and Charles Omevbore last week in LCC Corporate PHOTO: OKWY IROEGBU Office, Lekki

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

28

PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT Building Issues

How your roof colour reveals your inner self

T

•KAI Marshals at the workshop.

PHOTO: OKWY IROEGBU

KAI to be repositioned, integrated into Lagos Public Service

K

ICK Against Indiscipline (KAI), a paramilitary outfit of the Lagos State Government, is set to be re engineered, repositioned and integrated into the state public service, Commissioner of Environment Dr. Muiz Banire.

He stated this during a one-day workshop and re-orientation programme for KAI Brigade personnel last week. He said the idea of the training for the KAI marshals is to ensure professional courtesy and personal effectiveness.

Banire said the training will also redirect the marshals to the policy of government establishing the brigade and ways to achieve set targets.

Banire, who was represented by the Director, Monitoring & Compliance Mr Lekan Ogunjimi, said they have had drawbacks and successes but are bent on working on the success.

He confessed that some of the marshals have a lot to learn in their personal conduct and relationship with the public and frowned at a situation where the public is treated with con-

tempt and high handedness without following due process. The new KAI, he said, will apply civility in their operations and treat the public with a lot of respect.

On the new scheme of service for the marshals, he said: “ There will be career projection, the idea is to replicate what we did for LATSMA so that there can be career growth for the marshals. We will re-introduce them to the public, address the negative impression of the public and re-order their operations.”

NCF, NBC seeks strict implementation of forestry law

N

IGERIA Conservation Foundation (NCF) and Nigeria Bottling Company (NBC) have called on the government to ensure the strict implementation of the nation’s forestry laws to check the decimation of the forest reserves and abuse of wood logging.

Council member of the foundation and an environmental activist, Mr Desmond Majekodunmi, stated this last Friday at a pre-event programme to mark the World Environment Day (WED) held at Meadow Hall, Lekki, Lagos.

The event charecterised by presentation from over 18 schools on the Lekki/Ajah axis based on this year’s WED theme Forest for people, forest for green growth, was organised to get children involved early on environmental issues.

Majekodunmi said: “The idea of the programme is to encourage children on issues relating to the environment and to raise awareness with

Stories by Okwy Iroegbu Asst. Editor

their parents and the society at large.

They need to know that our lives depend on the proper management of the forest and its preservation to check the harsh effects of deforestation and climate change.”

He observed that forest is referred to as the ‘lung of the earth’, and regretted that the nation has lost more than half of its forest population due to unchecked and irresponsible logging.

He said: “We lost a lot more of our forest partly due to ignorance, irresponsible governance and corruption in the forestry ministries of different states to the extent that foreigners come in to log woods without check.

“NCF is, therefore, using this opportunity to call for the strict implementation of the forestry laws to ensure a sustainable environment in the nation.”

Earlier in her welcome address NCF Director of Finance and Administration, Ambassador Adeyombo Oyesola, said she was delighted that the efforts of the Foundation over the years has not been in vain judging from the enthusiasm exhibited by the students.

She said NCF has continually promoted environmental education among Nigerians, especially the youth and that the World Environment Day (WED) has continuously provided the platform for them to reach over 250 schools in Lagos over the years.

She said the competition among the schools dubbed Flora and fauna fancy dress competition is one of the strategic events by NCF and NBC to reach the youths on environment issues, which showcase a costume parade illustrating an object or elements of the environment with specific reference to this year’s theme.

HERE used to be a straight

By Okwy Iroegbu, Asst Editor jacket and conservative view about roof colours beleads the troops to war and a fore the popularity of aluminum warning of danger up ahead. Red roofing sheets that debuted with is the symbol of courage and sacmulti-coloured designs. This led rifice, life and death. It is Cupid to some serious imaginative deon one end and the Devil on the signs by architects and builders. other, red roses are a symbol of Though some people just folone's undying love. The aggreslowed the flow and trend of the sion associated with red is of multi-coloured roofing without calmed by the cheerfulness of yela second thought others did it low. Yellow is bright and beautipainstakingly taking the totality ful and energy in its purest form. of their being into consideration.

It is the sun that shines bringing It has indeed been discovered life to the world around us. It is that colours can certainly go on clarity and awareness. to portray a whole lot about peoIt is a cheerful colour and a beaple. con of light amid the darkness.

It can let the opposite person Yellow is the colour that is cheerknow about your character traits ful and effervescent. It shows the and personality. If you love to opt person as someone who is joyful for bright colours then you are and merry. It brings about a great certainly an extrovert and love to deal of difference in one’s wardby the cynosure of all eyes. On robe. At the same time, yellow has the other hand people who opt for subtle and light a different side to it shades are more of too, that of the ragan introvert. Look ‘It is a cheering sun. Therefore, into your wardshould be careful colour and one robe and see what ful when one wears colours you preyellow. a beacon of dominantly tend to White for inlight amid the stance choose without acis the colour tually realising it that symbolises pudarkness.

Yelthat will help you rity of heart. It deunderstand your low is the colpicts a personality inner self better if that is down to our that is you are in doubt. earth and simple.

When asked Orange is a comcheerful and what your favourbination of both red effervescent.

It ite colour is, some and yellow. While people answer imit is a warm colour, shows the permediately while it doesn't shout the others hesitate. My son as someway red does. favourite colour is one who is yellow, but there is We will never little yellow in my truly understand joyful and home or in the our reaction to one merry’ clothes I wear. colour or another, Colours are combut a better understanding of the symbolism beplicated. We respond to them on a subconscious and emotional hind the colour will bring us one level. The response to a colour is step closer.

Brown is the colour that is most often varies depending on the seen in closets after black. It is the culture and the circumstances.

When I think of green, I think of colour that showcases a persongreen grass and ecology it also ality who you can count upon. represents wealth and money and The person who wears brown shows that they are trustworthy the coming of spring.

Green represents life to me, and and one can lay their trust on red is both excitement and cau- them. After these three predomition. A green light gives us the nant colours are peach and pink.

They give the person wearing it a go-ahead.

Green is a symbol of spring and calm and composed look. You the renewal of life. After a long, will love the way it makes you feel.

Blue is the colour that shows cold winter the gardens and the landscape comes to life in every greatness and a great force. You hue of green imaginable. If we re- can wear blue to show your true cycle and care about the nature inner self. It is a colour that is linked with royalty and a deeper around us, we're living green.

It is also a soothing colour. Hos- meaning to life. Blue is a cool pital rooms are often painted colour. It is peaceful and tranquil, green for its calming effect on like a quiet lake at dusk. It is stapatients and their anxious visi- bility and harmony.

Blue is loyalty and trust. It is the tors.

In the Middle Ages, brides of- water.

It can represent security or send ten wore green on their wedding a shiver down your spine. day as a symbol of fertility.

Burgundy is the colour of life The colour red evokes extreme emotions in everyone. It is a pas- and passion. The person who sionate colour that can lead to wears burgundy is able to show violence and warfare, or the flush his true self. Burgundy is the colour that is linked with nobles and of love that transcends time.

It is power, the banner that aristocrats.

‘Burgundy is the colour of life and passion. The person who wears burgundy is able to show his true self. Burgundy is the coloor that is linked with nobles and aristocrats’ •Students of Dowen College Lekki at the event.

PHOTO: OKWY IROEGBU

•Contributions, questions? e-mail: quichi3cities@yahoo.com

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TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

E-mail:- law@thenationonlineng.net

The election petition tribunals have their work cut out for them. They have timelines within which they must conclude their assignments. Gone are the days when it took them years to do their job. To some lawyers, the timelines are unconstitutional; others believe they will ensure that riggers and mandate usurpers, if any, do not spend too long in office and reap where they did not sow. JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU and JOSEPH JIBUEZE write.

•Chief Justice of Nigeria, Aloysius Katsina-Alu

•President of the Court of Appeal Isa Ayo Salami

All eyes on election tribunals W

ILL the Election Petition Tribunals conclude their work within the time specified by law? There are mixed reactions as to the tribunals’ ability to conclude their work within the specified timeframe.

The new Electoral Act requires that election petitions must be filed within 21 days after declaration of results. A respondent

must file his memorandum of appearance within seven days. Then he must file his reply to the petition not later than 48 days.

The law provides that an election petition must be concluded within 180 days and an appeal concluded within 90 days.

During the trial, the petitioner must present his case within 14 days. The respondent must also present his case

I didn’t walk out on any judge, says Daudu – P.30

within 14 days. They have 10 days within which to submit written addresses.

Five days are set aside for reply to the written address, and another five days given to file further reply if any. The law provides that hearing should be everyday of the week without break except when humanly impossible. Hearing could even be on Saturdays and Sundays. All these

Can law libraries survive digital age?

– P.33

are geared towards concluding the cases within 180 days.

Section 134(1) of the Electoral Act stipulates: (1) An election petition shall be filed within 21 days after the date of the declaration of results of the elections; (2) An election tribunal shall deliver its judg•Continued on page 31

Law as tool for sustaining economic reforms

- P.36

30

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

FROM THE COURT

‘I didn’t walk out on any judge’ Following the controversies trailing the way he left the court room last Wednesday, President of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Joseph Bodunrin Daudu (SAN) addressed a group of journalists, saying, among other things, that he did not walk out contemptously on the court. JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU was there

W

HAT is your reaction to the report that you walked out on a judge?

The truth is that it was my first appearance before Justice Charles Archibong. I was leading another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Konyinsola Ajayi who has a PHD in Law, a very senior lawyer and other lawyers.

About two or three weeks ago, the same judge had granted an interim relief that Erastus Akingbola, former Group Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank Plc, should be released forthwith by the Economic and Financial Crimes’ Commission (EFCC).

This was based on an application that was still pending for the enforcement of their fundamental rights that has as its substantive prayer, the release of Akingbola. So, by granting an interim relief, you have already dealt with the substantive relief before you.

But, is that the correct proceedure?

Lawyers know that you don’t do that.

But it is still the decision until it is set aside so, we appealed. We appealed to the Court of Appeal that the interim relief was in error and should be set aside.

We also then applied for a stay of proceedings and a stay of execution of that order.

Now the law is this, when you appeal, it does not operate as a stay of execution, but when you apply for stay of execution, you ignite the judicial power of that court to decide whether or not to stay its own proceedings or not.

While that is pending, the Supreme Court has said the status quo must be maintained. So, the status quo lawfully, was that the stay of proceedings prevented us from determining whether the motion will be granted or not. Because if he is released, that means that we have killed our own motion with our own hands so, we appreciated that.

What happened on the said day?

When we came to the court, what his (Akingbola’s) lawyer, Chief Felix Fagbohungbe (SAN) did was to apply for an adjournment, saying he needed to respond to more papers and to the papers that we have passed.

I was asked by the judge if I was opposing the application for adjournment and I said no, but that we too have responses to make to his (Akingbola’s lawyer’s) own papers, which will then make the motion for stay of execution of proceedings to be ripe before that court.

The court then jumped into the arena and asked, why the court’s orders were not being obeyed? Chief Fagbohungbe said they are in the hands of the EFCC. When he (the judge) now asked and said Mr Daudu why are you still holding the man that I have released? I now told him that it is because you (the judge) are to decide whether to stay execution or not, and he being an experienced judge, knew that once you have a stay of execution of course, it tied our hands. We cannot move until he dispenses it.

Immediately, he said, the motion for stay of proceedings is dismissed.

What was your reaction?

First of all, that is an insult to me as a lawyer of over 30 years standing and a Senior Advocate of 15 years standing. To dismiss the application of any lawyer who is even one year at the bar without hearing him is an insult.

The essence of every judge is to give fair hearing and follow due process. He did not follow due process in dismissing my

• Daudu

application and I have urged the National Judicial Council, (NJC) to treat it as a serious misconduct. I have petitioned the NJC on that matter.

In fact, he would have heard me that day and dismissed the motion the following day. But to tell me that our stay of proceedings application is dismissed without hearing me is the greatest insult you give to any lawyer in the judicial process.

As soon as he said that, I still maintained my cool. I said, but my lord, you have not heard us. And he said I have dismissed it because it is incompetent. I said, but you have not heard me to decide whether it is incompetent or not. For you to be a court you need to behave like a court; you must hear everybody.

So, I thought the insult was getting too much and the purpose of my being there was taken away. He simply ignored me and said “Chief Fagbohungbe can you move that application that will enable me to release your client.”

So, take this and link it to the original business before him, which was an adjournment, for which we had no objection. He had descended into the arena to begin to do a case for a Senior Advocate.

At what point did you eventually leave the court?

At that point I rose and said my lord, I do not think I have any business being here again, do I have your leave to stop seeing further participation in the proceedings?

Those were my exact words. And he said, you are granted leave. You may go, have a nice day. And I said have a lovely day my lord. As we were going out, if it wasn’t right, the Senior Advocate would not have followed me. The other lawyers would not have followed.

They would just continue in appearance and say Mr Daudu has gone out in annoyance. But we all left the court because we had no more business there. You don’t have any business with a court that will not hear you and rule in a reasonable manner. So, we went out, while we were at the door, he said the EFCC and their lawyers are in contempt. He didn’t call my name.

He didn’t call any of the lawyers’ name.

EFCC has many senior lawyers representing it. We then bowed to him and left.

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

31

LAW COVER CONT’D

All eyes on election tribunals •Continued from page 29

ment in writing within 180 days from the date of the filing of the petition; (3) An appeal from a decision of an election tribunal or court shall be heard and disposed of within 60 days from the date of the delivery of judgment of the tribunal; (4) The court in all appeals from election tribunals may adopt the practice of first giving its decision and reserving the reasons thereto for the decision to a later date.

Before now, election cases had dragged.

For instance, Anambra State Governor Peter Obi spent about three years pursuing his mandate. There are many other instances. During the pendency of the cases, those who stole the mandate were accused of prosecuting their petitions with state funds and illegally enjoying the fruits of office.

Others who had similar experience before reclaiming their mandate are Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State; Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) and Rauf Aregbesola (Osun). They spent between eight and 36 months in court.

The new timelines are seen as capable of substantially speeding up the time it takes to resolve election matters. It will discourage frivolous petitions.

Under the new law, people cannot run to the tribunal just for being merely dissatisfied with an election. The Electoral Act, in Section 138, states: (1) An election may be questioned on any of the following grounds, that is to say: (a) That, a person whose election is questioned was, at the time of the election, not qualified to contest the election; (b) That the election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices or non-compliance with the provisions of this Act; (c) That the respondent was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election; or (d) That the petitioner or its candidate was validly nominated but was unlawfully excluded from the election.

The Act further provides for accelerated hearing of petitions. Section 142 says: Without prejudice to the provisions of section 294 subsection (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, an election petition and an appeal arising therefrom under this Act shall be given accelerated hearing and shall have precedence over all other cases or matters before the Tribunal or Court.

The law also provides that only the parties and the candidates have locus standi (legal right) to challenge the outcome of elections.

But opinions are divided on the timelines. Will they work? Mr Yusuf Ali (SAN) said the time is adequate for tribunals to conclude adjudication.

“Any preliminary objection will now be taken as part of the main case and not to be taken in piecemeal like before. I think one should applaud this; it is a clever device of sorts.”

Mrs. Justice Offia (SAN) said realities would be the ultimate determining factor.

“The previous Electoral Act did not make provision for time schedule, and this made matters relating to elections go on and on, but now everybody is looking at the timetable and trying to meet with it.

“These things make sense because litigation must have an end. People who have won an election should confidently sit and face the challenges of governance and not be distracted by election petitions.

“I still add that, despite what is written in law, we have to match this with realities on ground, and that is to say, does INEC have the capacity to meet with the demands?”

Mr Gabriel Okafor (SAN) said it is not right to limit a judicial officer to when he must finish his work.

“It infringes on the doctrine of fair hearing. There is even a case that went to the Supreme Court under the same law. The Supreme Court says it is unconstitutional.

“You cannot limit a judicial officer to when he must finish his work irrespective of the type of case, the number of witnesses, the number of documents and

•Jega

• Ali

•Ofuokwu

•Igbokwe

‘I expect that they will resist every attempt by anybody, no matter how highly placed, to bribe them or pervert justice. I hope they will show that they have learnt from the ugly incidence of the past, knowing that history, posterity and God would judge their acts and decisions’

so on. In law, it (timeframe) is unconstitutional.”

To former Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Umuahia, Amanze Chikwendu Chioma, the idea of timelines for the conclusion of election disputes is unconstitutional even though it could help put sanity in the system.

He said: “However, strictly speaking, it is not right to limit a judicial officer when he must finish his work. It infringes on the doctrine of fair hearing. The Supreme Court says it is unconstitutional. You cannot limit a judicial officer when he must finish his work.”

Executive Director, Human Rights Alliance, Mr Ken Atsuwete, said it is impossible to work within the timelines.

“If the electoral tribunals are pressured to give judgment in no time, it is clear that the rights of litigants will be infringed upon. It means they will not be given sufficient time to present their cases. They will not be heard within the time they have to declare their dispute to the tribunal and that means there will be gross miscarriage of justice.”

He added: “Twenty-one days is too short for petitioners to gather materials for evidence. That is why a lot of them have been going to court, asking for extension of time within which they will be allowed to work with the INEC to gather the materials they would need as evidence.

“Looking at the time in the law now, I foresee a situation where a lot of people will come back, complaining that they have not been given the opportunity to be

heard and present their cases the way that they should have been done; and that they have not attained justice. I expect that in a couple of months from now.”

In the opinion of Mr James Ezike, a constitutional lawyer, adhering to the timeframe can only be possible if there are not many cases and if the available ones are not very complex. However, he said the tribunals have the right to extend the time.

“The issue of timeframe is procedural, and for anything procedural, time cane be extended. The court can extend the time; we have had so many situations in our law

where the courts extended the timeframe for cases.”

Some lawyers said meeting the timeline requires resilience and commitment on the part of the tribunal members, as well as possible further amendment of the Practice Direction issued by the President of the Court of Appeal, in order to remove bottlenecks and unnecessary technicalities that lawyers may apply to frustrate the process.

They also urged panel members to be firm, while parties need to cooperate with the tribunal.

Some lawyers also spoke on their expectations of the tribunals. Mr Mike Igbokwe said: “I don’t have fears but my expectations are that the tribunals will be strong, fair and courageous in deciding the election petitions that come before them; that they would bear in mind that the judicial arm of government having played a vital role in defending and sustaining our nascent democracy, Nigerians look up to them to continue in that task of nation building, and to decide petitions justly in line with their judicial oaths, constitution and law without fear or favour.

“I expect that they will resist every attempt by anybody, no matter how highly placed, to bribe them or interfere with or pervert the course or cause of justice. I hope they will show that they have learnt good lessons from the ugly incidence and controversies of the past, knowing that history, posterity and God would judge their acts and decisions.

“I expect that they should use this as an opportunity to redeem the image of the judiciary which had been battered in recent times. I pray that God would give them the grace and wisdom to do justice and right in election petitions.”

Mr Ike Ofuokwu said he has no fears that the tribunals would do a great job.

“I have no fear whatsoever other than for the tribunal members to be mindful of the tricks and desperation of the politicians. But I expect INEC to appreciate the fact that they are umpires and not the litigants.

“They should therefore make all materials used during the election available without delays and give full cooperation and support to the tribunals who in turn should uphold and maintain the integrity of the judiciary at whatsoever cost.”

My Jonathan Iyieke described the work before the election tribunals as “a test to be judged by their conscience and almighty God.” He added: “A judge who sits to do justice must be seen to be just as he is being judged by the public. Prof. Attahiru Jega has done his own but it is now for the tribunals to look into the materials placed before them on the basis of which the contests hinge and make findings that are just and equitable to all parties.” Iyieke said he was confident the tribunals would surpass the expectations of Nigerians this time.

Constitutional lawyer and human rights rights activist, Mr Theophilus Akanwa said: “We have in the past especially after the 2007 elections seen the election tribunals pass judgments. Hope was restored and justice was the order of the day. Election riggers were booted out of the office disgracefully, although they should have been brought to book for electoral fraud.

“Although the 2011 elections were adjudged fair, there were complaints of rigging. I do not have any doubt whatsoever in the ability of the election tribunals to dispense justice like they have always done. Rather, I expect them to do more.

“I encourage INEC to release all materials needed for the purposes of petitions in order to consolidate its successes and fair play.”

LEGAL DIARY Institute holds Diaspora Scholars Lecture The Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) will hold its 2011 Diaspora Scholars Lecture on Tuesday, June 7, 2011 Venue: NIALS Unilag Campus, Akoka, Lagos Time: 4 p.m.

Theme: ‘Global Human Rights Law and its exceptions’ Guest Speaker: Professor Obiora Okafor, Osgood Hall Law School, York University, Canada.

Attendance: Free

NBA holds NEC meeting The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) holds her quarterly National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

Date: June 8 – 9 Venue: Int’l Conference Centre, Abuja.

A statement from the National Members Officer, Mr Sule Usman, says NEC members would collect their materials and branch accommodation arrangements from the office of the welfare officer from 2 p.m at the conference venue.

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

32

NATIONAL BAR LAW AND PUBLIC POWER

with gabriel AMALU email:gabrielamalu1@yahoo.com

• From left: Lagos Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Olasupo Shasore (SAN); General Secretary, NBA, Olumuyiwa Akinboro; NBA President, Joseph Daudu (SAN) and Chairman SBL, Yemi Candide Johnson (SAN) at the stakeholders’ meeting

•From left: Pioneer chairman and ‘father’ of SBL, George Etomi; former chairman of SBL, Mrs Mfon Usoro and a participant at the meeting

•Some members of SBL at the meeting

Stakeholders chart course for NBA-SBL

S

TAKEHOLDERS last week took steps to move the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Business Law (SBL) forward.

During a stakeholders meeting, which was held at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Mr Joseph Bodunrin Daudu (SAN), described the Section on Business Law (SBL) as the future of lawyers association.

He made this statement to calm frayed nerves and correct misconceptions arising from the disbandment of the section and reconstitution of its council members.

Daudu thanked every body present at the meeting and noted that the meeting was convened to discuss the future not only of SBL, but also of the NBA. He acknowledged the quality and resourcefulness of everybody who attended the meeting and noted that

By John Austin Unachukwu

whatever his administration did in the past was done in the strict interest of the Bar and that there has been no intention of the NBA to dislodge the SBL. He expressed confidence in the past leadership of the section and urged the new council members to start from where the previous administration of the section stopped.

The NBA, NEC had at its last meeting in Awka, Anambra State passed a resolution for the dissolution of the Mfon Usoro led administration of the section and a reconstitution of its council members.

Consequently a new council under the chairmanship of Yemi Candidde Johnson (SAN) was reconstituted and charged with the responsibility of steering the ship of the association welcoming participants at the stakeholders meeting, Candide Johnson (SAN)

thanked all present at the meeting and noted that everybody is proud of the SBL. He noted that the meeting was basically called to address legal and orgnaisational issues that were critical for the growth and development of the SBL. He noted that the method of creating its leadership, method of organising its finances are also critical for the growth of the section.

The pioneer chairman and “Father” of SBL, George Etomi urged the meeting to be more specific in its discussion and regretted that the meeting did not take place earlier, which should have assisted the leadership of the Bar to avoid some of the mixed feelings currently witnessed in the section.

The meeting examined the various challenges before the section and urged its leadership to prepare and present a blue print of its programmes.

Funding an extravagant lifestyle

M

ANY Nigerians dream of living large, put differently, they like to live extravagantly. Luckily for Nigeria’s elected officials, they are provided the means to actualise their dreams.

In a particular instance, members of the House of Representatives, were gifted a whooping N10 billion the past year to actualise such lifestyle, if we are to believe the press on the outgoing Speaker Dimeji Bankole. As for the ordinary Nigerians, they labour hard to live at less than $1 a day; that is about N156, according to statistics from international agencies.

The Representatives are 360 persons plus their protégés, their wives or husbands, concubines or maids, especially maids that acquiesce to a master’s privileged extravagance. On the other hand, other Nigerians are about 140 million persons less the privileged politicians, and other members of the upper castes. If you are myopic, you will be locked in arithmetical intemperance to find out how much each honourable member got from the N10 billion budgeted for an extravagant lifestyle.

But you need not employ your calculators, as there is a ready made example. His name is Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a French national and a politician; and until recently the Head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). As the privileged leader of the third-world feared international monetary institution, carousing life in a $3,000 per night New York hotel was an earned privilege. It is a life befitting only a grade one member of our National Assembly, particularly one that only a ranking Senator or member should aspire to. There, new members must wait for their turn, since we are in a turn by turn democracy.

Never mind that the IMF kingpin had to bite the dust, because a maid had the audacity to question his master’s well deserved extravagance.

Indeed, l had wondered what was a maid doing in a master’s bedroom instead of a mistress’s, or did Strauss Kahn pass off as a madam to have a maid, instead of a male servant waiting on him, as he emerges fresh from his $3,000 a night bathroom? But I digress. What has really touched me so far in the unfolding saga, is how the officials of the IMF literally burn off the dollars they skin off the back of the poor of the poorest in the underdeveloped worlds.

Strauss Kahn’s extravagant life style seems to clearly justify the SAP riots of the 90s; as the French man has shown that the stringent conditions that IMF almost always prescribes for its patients are not any thing near what they practice. From the current expose, the fees and penalties extracted from their bleeding third world patients, such as Nigeria, substantially go to fund an extravagant life style for the first world superstars. Thankfully many nations are beginning to kick against the so called tradition that only a European can head the monetary agency. As many fear, similar institutions are hegemony agencies, set up to perpetuate European and American dominance.

Here in Nigeria, the politicians and the privileged class, fund their extravagant life styles from the oil wealth of the Niger Delta. Big airplanes, mansions, cars, women, parties and life styles are made possible from the commonwealth. They steal now in billions. With the kind of itchy fingers that hitherto private and public persons held high in the society now has, it may soon become iconic to be on trial for stealing billions of naira. What with the difficulty in securing a conviction, and the clearly remorseless attitude of the prisoners.

I had watched the demeanor of Dominique Strauss-Kahn and had juxtaposed it with that of our politicians and the bank chiefs, who are on trial for various financial crimes. While the former was looking strafed, and was under a watch list for suicide, our own prisoners look ebullient, and only slightly inconvenienced and distracted by a public nuisance they see in the EFCC. By their conduct, the agency is merely disturbing their assured match to a secure tomorrow. While under public pressure Strauss-Kahn has resigned, here under public pressure, our politicians hire praise singers and ethnic chauvinists to shame their critics.

Whenever it pleases God to let Strauss Kahn off the hook, he must head to France for thanksgiving. If he does not know how to thank God in dance and praises, for a worthy life being lived, he should call for a tutorial from Uncle Bode. What he needs to do is to inform the French electorate that it was the rascally President of their country, the sly Sakozy, who set him up, to stop him from challenging him at the next election.

Though he willingly resigned to clear his name, he can still set up a challenge in court, claiming that he resigned under duress, and that his mandate was surreptitiously stolen. Should the French courts be savvy, he can obtain an ex parte injunction, for the status quo ante, prior to his resignation to be maintained.

If the calls by respected Nigerians are heeded, many of the departing members of the National Assembly and defeated Governors may be warming up for that famous school of life, as our politicians like to call their prison experience. Unfortunately while they pass through that school, the school does not pass through them. They are also averse to distance learning programme. Like the ill-fated fly, they mistake the shutting of the coffin to be a gift of providence for an extravagant opportunity to live a secluded extravagant life style. In the face of the exposed lifestyle of an IMF official, may God save Nigeria from the double jeopardy of the wasteful life style of our politicians, and the undertaker waiting in the wings at the IMF headquarters?

33

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

LEGAL OPINION

Books have their shortcomings. They are costly to produce, ship and store; they are static and soon grow stale; they are inflexible. But a piece of technology, such as a CD-ROM, can hold the contents of many law reports and text books. So, how relevant is a law library in the digital age? Will law librarians become redundant? These were issues raised at the maiden valedictory lecture of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) in Lagos. JOSEPH JIBUEZE reports.

Can law libraries survive digital age?

L IBRARIANSHIP is one of the earliest professions that evolved with the discovery of writing and paper.

Like other professions, it also has its areas of specialisation. Of such areas is law librarianship. Law thrives extensively on information, and legal research is at the heart of good law practice. The indispensability of a law library to effective practice of law has been universally acknowledged.

According to the retiring founding librarian, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Chief Theophilus Olakunle Dada, the law library is central to, and is in fact the laboratory for, the legal profession. He was delivering the institute’s maiden valedictory lecture organised in his honour, entitled: Law Librarianship and Legal Research in the Digital Age. Dada, a lawyer and library scientist, quoted the late Justice Anthony Ekundayo who said: “What is anyone looking for in the legal profession anyway, if he does not intend keeping a good library? A lawyer is better off without a wig and gown. He may still make a living as a solicitor, legal executive or as an advocate appearing before those courts that carry on happily without robes. But with no library he would be sharing the fate of a blind man holding a driver’s licence.”

To Dada, the concept of service is the pivot upon which librarianship is hinged.

It, therefore, stands to reason to consider the provision of services as one of the most important professional responsibilities of a law librarian.

He said: “The law librarian, in the discharge of his responsibilities, should be a master of his collection. He should possess adequate knowledge of the basic legal sources and the salient components of his collection to be able to foster autonomy and confidence, both of which are essential attributes of a given profession.”

Dada said law librarianship is a more demanding and most technical aspect of librarianship, mainly because law is not static and varies from culture to culture.

There is, therefore, the need for the practitioner to always keep abreast of not only the trends in the nation’s laws, but also the various changes and modifications in the international spheres.

He called for more roles for the professional law librarian. “A professional law librarian has a major responsibility not only to teach but also conduct researches aimed at breaking new grounds in his area of interest.

“Law librarians in the schools of law and legal research institutes would be shirking one of their primary assignments if they are not part of the teaching and research considerations of such outfits. Law librarians should be accorded due status as coordinate colleagues.

“Librarians in the various legal institutions should be able to teach such subjects as the Use of the Library, Research and Legal Bibliography, Reading Guidance and Counseling, Legal Research and Legal Writing, and other legal and nonlegal subjects in which they might be interested.

“They should also, as a matter of routine, lead staff seminars, organise conferences and give instructions in their professed areas of academic competence. This is in addition to their traditional roles of offering reference services and performing technical services. “ Dada said for a professional law librarian to be able to teach and conduct re-

search, he must be academically qualified and have a good subject background, preferably in law. “Even then, higher degrees at the masters and doctoral levels would be more apposite in the circumstance,” he added.

To him, there must not be any discrepancy or imbalance in the status and quality of education between a lecturer and a librarian. Both have to be on equal footing with none operating from a position of disability qualification-wise. The law librarian should also be able to publish.

“The products of research are better appreciated when published. Since a law librarian is able to teach and conduct research, he should publish such findings, especially professional ones, for the benefit of mankind,” Dada said.

On the difficulty in attracting lawyers into librarianship, he suggested that there should be a course in law librarianship in which students can graduate as in any other discipline. The course content, he said, would essentially be law with a perfect blending of courses in library science.

What should make up a standard legal collection? Dada said: “Selection of major law reports, journals and legal materials from developing countries, Commonwealth jurisdictions, the United States and other parts of the world; some non-legal materials that have bearing on legal research, as well as reference materials including theses and dissertations.

“There is a general book famine, especially in the area of legal literature in Africa in particular. About 80 per cent of the monographs, law reports and periodicals required for legal education and the administration of justice are of foreign origin. There is the major problem of insufficient funding.

“Furthermore, not many teachers of law have the flair or inclination for publishing the results of their research for obvious reasons of lack of opportunity and facilities for publishing. The general consequence is a global decrease in library acquisition processes,” Dada said.

The NIALS librarian urged library professionals to place greater emphasis on the writing of high quality scholarship publications, broad involvement in academic planning and institutional governance, collaborating with the research staff as expert intermediaries in the research process, and being involved in the education programme of bibliographic compilations and instructions.

“There is no doubt that as keepers of mankind’s collective mind and memory, stimulators of thought, linkers of concepts or amplifiers of ideas, law librarians would be needed in Nigeria more than

• Chief Dada

• Azinge

ever as we move towards the 21st century.

“There would be new demands for larger collections of specialised materials to cope with the expanding needs. The practitioners of law librarianship shall then assume new roles which would offer greater challenges to their professional training and subject specialisation. They would also be compensated by improved status, enhanced image and of course, better salaries.”

On areas of improvement, especially in NIALS library, Dada said the time for trial and error of e-library packages has passed, adding that there should be physical, intellectual and psychological re-orientation of the workforce.

He said with the advent of the much heralded digital age, it is trite to assume that nothing short of an electronically propelled library would be suitable for such a collection as NIALS’, established to spearhead legal research.

“The collection should be a national research collection for law that is rich and current in the Laws of Nigeria, Africa, Europe, United States, Asian and Commonwealth jurisdictions.

“The legal collection of the digital age should possess adequate computing services and highly networked personal computers providing Internet access.

Wireless and cable connections to the Internet should also be available for laptop users. The NIALS website should be accessible to every researcher who does not have to be in or travel to Lagos or Abuja to use the collection,” Dada said.

He said NIALS might have fared better if it had been allowed to grow and blos-

som under the National Universities Commission (NUC) where it was originally conceived to be.

“This lapse, it is believed, has been the root cause of the funding problem which has been identified as the ‘Achilles Heel’ and the persisting challenge of the institute.

“This opinion is formed against the known fact that similar research institutes such as the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (London) have no such bureaucratic supervisory overlords. The placing of the institute under the Federal Ministry of Justice as a parastatal has not been too beneficial in the circumstance.

“Let the truth be told that the nature of the institute’s mandate and responsibilities are not amenable to ministerial and/ or bureaucratic regulatory processes as they presently are,” Dada said.

According to Dada, law libraries in Nigeria have been affected by nose-dive of the national economy, the rapid rate at which law books become outdated, as well as internal constraints.

To explore alternative sources of funds, Dada said law libraries should be able to market their services to the clientele, commercialise their printing and bindery services, establish library bookshops, engage in reprographic services, take consultancy services on library related subjects and attract foreign aids.

Chairman of the event, retired National Librarian, Mrs O. O. Omolayole, advocated that NIALS library should be designated a legal depository for all law publications emanating from Nigeria.

She said the library should lead other law libraries into the digital age, as the application of technology would enhance its capacity and service delivery.

“Digitisation of rare materials must commence to avoid irreparable damage. The public catalogue of the library should be converted to electronic format so that its wide clientele could be served.

“The electronic milieu will make the library more effective in every way if it must meet the aspirations of its founders. Application of information and communication technologies to the processes of the institute’s library is an imperative. It opens a whole new vista of opportunities,” she said.

NIALS Director-General, Prof. Epiphany Azinge, described Dada as an icon and a librarian of librarians. He said Dada has “sustained the image of the institute library as the best in Africa.”

‘Digitisation of rare materials must commence to avoid irreparable damage. The public catalogue of the library should be converted to electronic format so that its wide clientele could be served.“The electronic milieu will make the library more effective in every way if it must meet the aspirations of its founders. Application of information and communication technologies to the processes of the institute’s library is an imperative. It opens a whole new vista of opportunities’

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

34

LAW & SOCIETY WORKSHOP ON EMPOWERING THE FAMILY FOR PEACE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BY INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF WOMEN LAWYERS (FIDA) AT YAR’ADUA CENTRE, ABUJA 36

•Chairman of the ocassion Dr P. K. Njoku and Regional Vice President (FIDA) Mrs Roseline Nwosu

•Former Deputy Governor Anambra State, Stella Odife and Country Vice President (FIDA) Mrs Ezinne Okoroafor

•Chief B. A. Nwosu and Mrs Mercy Agbamuche

•From left: Mrs Olivia Agbor, Mrs Ozioma Izuora and Eugenia Abu

•Dr Uche Oranika (Guest Speaker)

•Chairperson FIDA, Abuja, Mrs Iyabode Ogun

•Former Publicity Secretary, FIDA, Abuja, Laura Ajoiyi (left) and Chioma Uwaize

•Col Bello Fadile (rtd) and Mrs Chibuzo Nwosu

•Mr Che Oyinatumba Ashimole and his wife Janet

•From left: Mr Ahmed Akhabue, Robert Bridget and Nwabueze Anthonia •Mrs Pollium Larai Bature and Mr Ismaila Baba

PHOTOS: JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU

35

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

LAW & SOCIETY CONFERENCE OF EXPERTS ON PROMOTING THE USE OF PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION AS A TOOL FOR DEMOCRATISATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF RULE OF LAW BY (WABA) IN COLLABORATION WITH (OSIWA)AT NEW CHELSEA HOTEL, ABUJA 36

•General Secretary, WABA, Wale Fapohunda

•NBA President, Joseph Bodunrin Daudu (SAN) (left) and Pius Oteh

•Former President WABA Femi Falana

•From left: Chino Obiagwu, Justice C.C. Nweze (JCA) and Godwin Odo

•Second Vice Preseident NBA, Justy Erhabor (left) and First Vice President, Blessing Ukiri

•Justice C.C. Nweze (JCA) and National Publicity Secretary NBA Emeka Obegolu

•From left: Tobi Shoniyi, Stanley Ibeh and Third Vice President, NBA, Ikpeze Ogugua

•Mr Jude Udoh Iloh and Saka Zimezi

•From left: Former NBA Vice President, Ikeazor Akariwe; Mrs Ranti Daudu and Prof Akinseye George

•Former Publicity Secretary, NBA, Abdulraheed Muritala and Welfare Secretary, NBA, Sule Usman

•From left: Lanre Suraj, Ahmed Akhabue and Nana Asatewa Atadzinu PHOTOS: JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

36

LAW & SOCIETY

•From left: Ademulegun Ms Onagoruwa and Usman ... at the event

•From left: Osaro Eghobamien, Managing Partner, Perchstone and Graeys, Lawal Pedro, Solicitor-General, Lagos State and Etigwe Uwa (all Senior Advocates of Nigeria)

Law as tool for sustaining economic reforms S

INCE the reestablishment of democracy in 1999, succeeding administrations have made efforts to resuscitation the nation’s economy retarded by years of inadequate planning and inconsistency in policy formulation and implementation.

They have evolved and applied several reform policies in this regard. But the malady which is the inability of succeeding administrations to build on their predecessor’s policy initiatives by sustaining such inherited ideas still persists. This practice, incidentally has mainly encumbered the success of past economic reform programmes, The post-1999 government headed by General Olusegun Obasanjo initiated some reforms which were implemented to a certain extent until its tenure expired. But the succeeding Umaru Yar’Adua administration, despite being from the same party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), effected major surgical operations on the economic reform agenda of his predecessor. It discarded and replaced it with a seven-point agenda.

On assuming office in 2007 the Yar’Adua government halted the National Integrated Power Project, the privatisation of the PortHarcourt and Kaduna refineries; reversed import duty waivers, revoked the sale of the Nigerian Iron Ore Mining Company and the privatisation of the Delta Steel Company and NITEL/MTEL among others.

Although the incumbent administration has not exhibited a major departure from the economic standpoint of its predecessor, the challenge remains how to reverse this culture of inconsistency in policy planning and ensure sustained reforms implementation, particularly in time of political transition.

This problem engaged experts who gathered in Lagos at the fifth annual law series organised by Perchstone and Graeys (a law firm). Speakers, after a thorough examination of the problem, emphasised the need to ensure continuity in policy planning and implementation. This, they said, would serve to build public confidence in government policies and enhance investors’ interest and trust in the economy.

To them, to achieve an era of predictability in government policy direction requires the co-existence of a strong legal framework and a dependable dispute resolution mechanism in an atmosphere govern by the principles of Rule of Law. This to them, would not only eliminate the culture of arbitrariness, it would ensure that investment and other business related disputes are resolved promptly by independent institutions not immune to interference from the state and its agents.

Speakers included Minister of National Planning, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman; Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mrs Bolanle Onagoruwa, Group Managing Director, Skye Bank Plc, Mr kehinde Durosinmi-Etti and retired Justice Pius Aderemi of the Supreme Court.

Others include retired Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Abdullahi Mustapha; a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Sir Alfred Eghobamien and Justice Habeeb

By Eric Ikhilae

Abiru of the Lagos High Court.

Usman blamed lack of planning and inconsistency in policy formulation for the nation’s inability to attain economic growth 50 years after independence despite its huge growth potentials. He said though the nation started well at independence, it lost course midway, mainly as a result of political instability occasioned by incessant military incursion into political administration.

This development, Usman said, resulted in increased inefficiency in public service, deterioration and near collapse of most infrastructure, breakdown of rule of law, tolerance for greed and corruption, regression in economic fundamentals, rise in poverty and unemployment; capital flight, negative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and decline in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

He identified key areas that must be addressed by the reform agenda to be adopted by the incumbent government to revive the economy, most of which he said, is the need to strengthen existing security agencies and ensure the enthronement of law by upholding the principles of Rule of Law always.

Usman identified other areas to include the intensification of the war against corruption, expansion of investment in critical infrastructure and fostering of private sector powered non-oil growth to help build the foundation for economic diversification.

Also, he added, is the need for investment in human capital development to enhance national competitiveness; entrenching merit as fundamental principle and core value.

Ms Onagoruwa noted that the philosophy behind government’s reform agenda, particularly in relation to privatization, was to ensure that the state exists solely to provide enabling environment for investments to thrive by enacting appropriate legislation, regulate business conducts to prevent corporate abuses and impose taxes.

The success of this agenda, she observed, is dependent among others, on the existence of enabling and robust laws, and strong political will. She said appropriate policies, legislation and regulation that support and protect investments were fundamental to private sector participation in any country’s reform programme.

Ms Onagoruwa stressed that the law helps in the implementation of the reforms in times

•Sir Eghobamien and Justice Abiru

of political transition because it guides the process and the participants. She observed that the non-enactment of some critical laws required to drive the on-going reforms could jeopardize government’s aspiration for a revamped economy.

She identified some important pending bills to include the Gas Bill, Petroleum Industry Reform Bill, Ports Harbour Authorities Bill, Nigerian Railway Bill, National Transport Commission Bill, Inland Waterways Bill and the Federal Competition Commission Bill.

Durosinmi-Etti, who was represented by his bank’s Executive Director, Commercial Banking and Public Sector, Gbenga Ademulegun urged the government to create enduring institutions and laws capable of reducing policy abandonment and insulating the investment environment from political transition shocks.

Steps to be taken in the areas of legislation, he advised, are the enactment of stronger laws to prevent the abuse of official authority, and other legislations with stringent

‘We must bear in mind that the fact that though the National Assembly is constitutionally empowered to establish such courts by virtue of Section 6 (4) (a) of the Constitution, the courts so established will be subordinate in terms of jurisdiction to the High Court and as such, an inferior court which is subject to the supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court’

clauses that make modification rigorous. The existence of these laws along side consistent democracy, he asserted, would positively reflect on the investment climate, encourage reforms and stabilise the economy.

Justice Mustapha suggested the modification of some existing laws, change of attitude on the part of members of the Bar and Bench and the strengthening of the court system as a way of sustaining reforms in times of political transition.

He observed that delay in case management results mostly from the attitude of lawyers and the too liberal right of appeal, particularly interlocutory appeals as enshrined in the Constitution. He suggested a modification to reflect the intention of the provision of Section 40 of the Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC) Act. “To be very effective, the provision should be entrenched in the Constitution and be given a wider scope,” he said. He said although he was not averse to the call for special courts to adjudicate on specific disputes, he was of the view that it would not prevent delay.

“We must bear in mind that the fact that though the National Assembly is constitutionally empowered to establish such courts by virtue of Section 6 (4) (a) of the Constitution, the courts so established will be subordinate in terms of jurisdiction to the High Court and as such, an inferior court which is subject to the supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court,” he said.

Justice Mustapha, who spoke on: The role of the Bar and Bench in times of political transition, urged lawyers and judges to ensure integrity, honesty and transparency in the judicial system, particularly in relation to election petitions. This, he said, would help build the nation’s democracy, sustain its various reforms in this time of political transition.

37

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

ENERGY THE NATION

E-mail:- energy@thenationonlineng.net

IPMAN assures on fuel supply in Delta

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HE Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Ni geria (IPMAN) has assured that the petrol scarcity being experienced in Delta State will soon be over.

The IPMAN Chairman, Delta State, Chief Akpos Edafewvotu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Warri, Delta State that the problem was due to a fire incident at the NNPC depot.

Edafewvotu said that loading of petrol at the facility had resumed fully. Fire had gutted the loading bay of the depot on May 9, and badly destroyed one of the three units.

The incident disrupted the lifting of petroleum products at the depot for four days as the affected parts of the facility were being repaired.

The IPMAN chief said although loading had resumed since May 13, the backlog in dis-

tribution caused by the disruption created scarcity of product at filling stations, leading to queues.

Edafewvotu, however, gave assurance that the situation would normalise in a few days as 363,000 litres, representing 11 truck loads had been added to the daily petrol allocation to Delta to cover the shortfall.

“I can assure the people that in a few days, petrol will be available in all stations. Kerosene and diesel, which had been unavailable and thus, expensive, would also be available,” he added.

He noted that the depot management, in conjunction with those of the Warri Refinery, had worked out modalities to ensure that products would be available and supplied to filling stations in the state and appealed to residents to be patient and avoid panic buying.

•From left: Austen Oniwon, Group Managing Director, NNPC and Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, Minister of Petroleum Resources, at the interactive session with journalists in Lagos at the weekend.

Why fuel importation will continue, by NNPC chief •Exonerates Zenon as sole AGO importer T HE Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Austen Oniwon, has explained why the Federal Government would not stop importation of fuel, especially premium motor spirit (PMS) or petrol in the near future.

Oniwon, who spoke in Lagos when major operators of the petroleum ministry had an interactive session with members of the media, said the refineries lack the ca-

Stories by Emeka Ugwuanyi, Assistant Editor (Energy)

pacity to meet the petroleum products needs of the country.

The four refineries have a combined installed refining capacity of 445,000 barrels of crude per day but in over a decade, it is either they are dysfunctional or working at very sub-optimal levels resulting in undue dependence on importation.

Oniwon said national demand for fuel particularly gasoline (petrol) is so high that even if the four refineries work at full installed capacities and refine 445,000 barrels of crude per day, the country would still have to import additional 12 million litres of PMS to augment in-country production.

He said given the present state of the refineries, which are hampered by age, they operate at 60 per cent installed capacities except Warri Refinery, which operates at 63 per cent installed, government imports more that the 12 million litres per

INSIDE •NIPCO declares N516m dividends for shareholders •••Page 38

•Gas group to boost govt’s industrialisation initiative •••Page 39

day to meet demand.

On the issue of Zenon Oil owned

by Chief Femi Otedola being the sole importer of automotive gas oil (AGO) or diesel into the country, Oniwon said the AGO market is fully deregulated and anyone can import the product explaining that Zenon happens to be dominant player in that area.

He said that government didn’t make him a sole importer noting that as a result of the operational levels of the refineries, government depend more on locally refined AGO and left importation to other players. Government, he said, intervenes only when there is need by importing additional cargoes to ease scarcity.

He said: “There is an imbalance between the products availability and products need of Nigerians.

Products consumption in Nigeria especially gasoline (PMS) is very high while other products are not consumed in the same quantity. If today we run all the refineries at

Oil price records marginal increase on weak demand

•Kerosene consumers groan as cost increases

O

IL price rose slightly to near $99 a barrel at the weekend in Asia as traders considered the global

•••Page 40

economy would weaken this summer and undermine crude demand.

According to Associated Press,

OIL PRICES MAY 13-20

Light Crude

Source: Rigzone.com

full capacity, we will still be short by about 12 million litres of PMS. But because of the age of the refineries, the amount of PMS that need to be imported is even more as the refineries are not working at installed capacity. As of today each of the refineries is running at 60 per cent apart from Warri Refinery which is running at 63 per cent installed capacity. Therefore, we have to import a bit more of the products to meet the demand of the nation.”

On diesel, he said: “Now AGO is fully deregulated, so anyone can import but we (NNPC) because our refineries are running, we concentrate more on producing from the refineries primarily and allow other players to bring in what they want but when we notice any shortfall, we augment by bringing in additional cargoes. We are not giving it just to only one player but it happened that when it (AGO) was liberalized one player became more dominant and that is why every-

body seems to think that diesel importation is only being done by one player. He is just dominant in that area but NNPC even contribute more into the diesel market today from the refineries.

“It is not that the government has just surrendered it to one person as a monopoly to bring in AGO. The availability of AGO is such that when users of low pour fuel oil (LPFO) change to consume AGO and the market is not elastic, of course, there will be scarcity and most of its effect will go to the industries and other people. But we in NNPC what we have done to cushion the effect is to give those transporters that are really complaining, that is, those people that use diesel to fuel their trucks especially the petroleum tankers to give them AGO at ex-depot price, which is much lower than the pump price to help them reduce the total cost of running their vehicles. But we are only doing this one as an intervention pending when the downstream market will be fully deregulated.”

Brent Crude

benchmark crude for June delivery was up 47 cents to $98.91 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for July delivery was up 21 cents to $111.63 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Crude has bounced around in the upper - $90s most of last week as investors eye a volatile US dollar and mixed signs about the strength of the US economy and oil demand.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) had said Thursday that higher fuel costs threaten to slow the global economic recovery as crude jumped to near $115 earlier

this month from $84 in February.

Japan said its economy slipped into recession last quarter after gross domestic product fell an annualised 2.3 per cent in the January-toMarch period.

“The fundamentals for commodity prices are starting to weaken as the world economy slows and supply recovers from recent shocks,” Capital Economics said in a report.

In other Nymex trading in June contracts, heating oil rose 0.3 cent to $2.90 a gallon and gasoline dropped 2.3 cents to $2.90 a gallon. Natural gas futures slid 0.2 cent to $4.09 per 1,000 cubic feet.

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

38

ENERGY

NIPCO declares N516m dividends for shareholders T HE board of the Nigerian Independent Marketing Company (NIPCO) Plc has approved N516,088,000 as dividends for its shareholders.

The chairman of NIPCO, Chief Bestman Anekwe, who disclosed this in his address during the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Abuja, said the directors also proposed a dividend of N2.75k per ordinary share held by any shareholder.

He said the dividends declaration was in line with investment strategy and business policy tradition of the company.

Anekwe said NIPCO’s profit after tax (PAT) rose from N1.723 billion in 2009 to N1.859 billion in 2010, which was as a result of the

Stories by Emeka Ugwuanyi, Assistant Editor (Energy)

massive dispense of products about 1.2 billion of litres of petroleum products to customers.

He said the company also recorded profit before tax (PBT) of N2.216 billion in 2010 as against N2.057 billion in 2009, adding that turnover, grew by 10 per cent, from N47.91 billion in 2009 to N56.355 billion in 2010.

He said in spite of the harsh operating environment in 2010 financial year, the company was able to improve on its dividend payment from N422.2 million in 2009 to N516.088 million in 2010, representing a dividend yield of 275 kobo and 250 kobo respectively.

He, however, commended the Federal Government for embarking on the reforms in the nation‘s oil and gas industry enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which is before the National Assembly.

Anekwe said the reform process is expected to lead to full deregulation of the downstream sector of the industry and would in no small measure create a level playing ground for all stakeholders and subsequently improve returns on investments in the hydrocarbon resources.

Anekwe also explained that despite the numerous challenges in the 2010 financial year, the uncommon marketing strategies and purposeful management prudence,

coupled with the enormous support of the workforce contributed immensely to the moderate performance of the company during the period.

He also expressed delight over the improved relationship of NIPCO with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries, such as the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC).

He noted that, notwithstanding, the improved product allocation from PPMC, the company had put in place measures to augment supplies through direct importation of deregulated products on a regular basis in 2011.

He noted that the future of NIPCO

this year and beyond was very bright, but added that the plethora of challenges plaguing the sector needed to be addressed squarely in the overall interest of all stakeholders.

Anekwe said: “Our focus in this new dispensation is to build a formidable petroleum company that will fit better into the energy reforms of the government while delivering greater value to both our customers and the shareholders.

“The company was working out a conducive environment that would facilitate acquisition of more retail outlets across the country to further promote its brand and offer excellent service delivery to its clientele.”

Siemens clinches •100m substation contract

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•From left: Dapo Oshinusi, Managing Director, Mansfield Energy; Mrs. Adobi Nwapa, and her husband, Ernest Nwapa, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board, at the Offshore Technology Conference held recently in Houston, Texas.

Shell to begin construction of largest floating LNG project

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HELL Plc has decided to begin the construction of the world’s largest floating LNG project – the Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) project in Australia, which is 100 per cent owned by Shell.

In a statement, the company said: “The Board of Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) has taken the final investment decision on the Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Project in Australia (100 percent Shell), building the world’s first FLNG facility.

Moored far out to sea, some 200 kilometres from the nearest land in Australia, the FLNG facility will produce gas from offshore fields, and liquefy it onboard by cooling.

“The decision means that Shell is now ready to start detailed design and construction of what will be the world’s largest floating offshore facility, in a ship yard in South Korea.

“From bow to stern, Shell’s FLNG facility will be 488 metres long, and will be the largest floating offshore facility in the world – longer than four soccer fields laid end to end. When fully equipped and with its storage tanks full, it will weigh around 600,000 tonnes – roughly six times as much as the largest aircraft carrier.

Some 260,000 tonnes of that weight will consist of steel – around five times more than was used to build the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

“Our innovative FLNG technology will allow us to develop offshore gas fields that otherwise would be too costly to develop,” said Malcolm Brinded, Shell’s Executive Director, Upstream International. “Our deci-

sion to go ahead with this project is a true breakthrough for the LNG industry, giving it a significant boost to help meet the world’s growing demand for the cleanest-burning fossil fuel.”

Brinded continued: “FLNG technology is an exciting innovation, complementary to onshore LNG, which can help accelerate the development of gas resources”.

The facility has been designed to withstand the severest cyclones those of Category 5. Ocean-going LNG carriers will offload liquefied gas, chilled to minus 162 Celsius and shrunk in volume by 600 times, and other products, directly from the facility out at sea for delivery to markets worldwide. Until now, the liquefaction of offshore gas has always involved piping the gas to a landbased plant.

Shell has progressed the Prelude FLNG project at a rapid pace, with first production of LNG expected some 10 years after the gas was discovered.

The FLNG facility will tap around three trillion cubic feet equivalent of resources contained in the Prelude gas field. Shell discovered the Prelude gas field in 2007.

Some 110,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of expected production from Prelude should underpin at least 5.3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquids, comprising 3.6 mtpa of LNG, 1.3 mtpa of condensate and 0.4 mtpa of liquefied petroleum gas. The FLNG facility will stay permanently moored at the Prelude gas field for

IEMENS Energy has received an order to build a new turnkey 400-kv substation in Abu Dhabi.

The Head of Siemens Corporate Communications Unit in Lagos, Mr. Olusegun Akinlabi, in a statement, said the order for the 400/132-kv substation is worth over AED500 million (approximately EUR100 million), and was signed with the utility Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) and the transmission grid operator Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company (Transco).

Akinlabi noted that the station will be installed in the Mahawi area of Abu Dhabi. “Once completed in 2013, the substation will help to enhance the grid to meet the increased power demand in the emirate,” he said.

After completion, the substation will be the main source of power supply for major development projects in Mussafah, Mohamed bin Zayed City, Mahawi, Watbha, Khalifa City, Old Airport and Capital District.

The new installation will also allow Transco to reconfigure existing 400-kv and 132-kv overhead line circuits to improve system reliability. Due to the growing energy demand in the emirate, Siemens in spring already had received the order to build the Shuweihat S3 combined cycle power plant with a rating of 1,600 megawatts (MW), which is set to be operational in 2014.

For the countries on the Arabian Gulf, infrastructure expansion has top priority in order to be able to meet the power demand of the rapidly growing population and expanding industry.

The solutions offered by Siemens for the new turnkey substation will consist of 400-kv GIS switchgear 8DQ1, 132-kV switchgear 8DN8 enhanced version and 33-kv switchgear 8DB10. Included are 500-MVA and 120-MVA power transformers, control and protection systems, civil work and erection and inauguration of the switchgear.

IEA makes rare formal plea to oil producers

T

•Pickard

25 years, and in later development phases should produce from other fields in the area where Shell has an interest.

Ann Pickard, Country Chair of Shell in Australia, said: “This will be a game changer for the energy industry. We will be deploying this revolutionary technology first in Australian waters, where it will add another dimension to Australia’s already vibrant gas industry.”

The Prelude FLNG project will be the first Australian upstream project in which Shell is the operator. Australia is one of Shell’s key growth provinces, and Shell’s upstream investment in Australia should reach some $30 billion over the next five years, including the Prelude and Gorgon projects, and on-going exploration and feasibility studies in the country.

HE International Energy Agency (IEA) has urged oil producers to take action to protect the economy and welcomed commitments to raise output, members of the agency said in a statement at a regular two-day governing board meeting.

It was an unusual move for the Paris-based energy advising arm of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which has a policy not to comment on oil producers’ policies.

Reuters said: “The governing board urges action from producers that will help avoid the negative global economic consequences which a further sharp market tightening could cause, and welcomes commitments to increase supply,” the members said in a statement.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which meets in Vienna on June 8, has held its official output targets steady even as prices surged above $120 a barrel, saying supply was sufficient. In its latest monthly report

on May 11, OPEC said the sharp price drop on May 5 and 6 was no great surprise.

The IEA said oil prices remained at high levels despite a near 10-per cent correction since the start of the month.

This was driven by fundamentals, geopolitical uncertainty and future expectations, the statement said.

“The IEA governing board expressed serious concern that there are growing signs that the rise in oil prices since September is affecting the economic recovery,” the statement said.

As global demand for oil increases seasonally from May to August, IEA members said there was a clear and urgent need for additional supplies to be made to refiners.

The IEA added it stood ready to work with producers as well as consumer countries which are not members.

“In this constructive spirit, we are prepared to consider using all tools that are at the disposal of IEA member countries,” the members added in the statement.

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

39

ENERGY

Group to boost govt’s industrialisation initiative T

HE Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) has vowed to rein force the actualisation of the Federal Government’s gas industrialisation policy.

The President of NGA, Chima Ibeneche, an engineer, made the pledge when he led other officers of the association on a visit to the Managing Director of Total Exploration and Production (E&P) Limited, Guy Maurice.

The association’s Publicity Secretary, Mr. Johnson Ebere Duru, an engineer, said in a statement that the NGA is proving itself an attractive entity and voice for the gas industry as its President, Chima Ibeneche, who is also the Managing Director of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited is set to reinforce the Federal Government’s “Gas Revolution,” an initiative targeted at us-

ing the gas that was once flared for export and to revive the ailing industrial and power sector of the economy.

“Ibeneche, who took over the Nigerian Gas Association presidency last year, recently led a team of NGA council members to visit the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Total Exploration & Production Nigeria in Lagos where he enjoined its corporate members, which Total E&P Nigeria, is one to quicken action on the future of Nigeria’s gas sector development in response to the present government’s aspirations.

The NGA president also intimated Maurice on the programmes of NGA as a key stakeholder in the gas sector and to solicit the support of Total E&P top management for the programmes.

“Indeed, it has long been the

goal of the government to diversify the country’s mainstay - oil and gas sector, and turn it into a base for the industrial development while positioning itself to be a major player in the global gas industry,” he said.

Duru said, since 1999, the Nigerian Gas Association has rallied some of the industry’s most remarkable minds, to discuss, debate and gain insights needed to make gas pay in Nigeria. More than 120 leadership experts, including captains of industry, ministers, academics ,researchers and international experts have conducted presentations to NGA conferences and forums to review current and future gas structures, innovations, policy and infrastructural improvement and project expansion including management. However, Nigeria still has to overcome key challenges, includ-

•Ibeneche

•Maurice

ing delays in the passage of key gas legislation by the National Assembly and funding.

According to Ibeneche, the obvious challenges highlighted above are there, what is required is for the

investors and those interested in the sustainability of the gas industry to continue to be engaged, focused and committed to the full implementation of agreed industry deliverables.

Schneider inaugurates Energy University

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CHNEIDER Electric, the global specialist in energy management, has established its first Energy University.

The university is a free, vendorneutral, online educational community that provides the fundamentals needed to implement successful energy efficient solutions scaling various applications.

The courses are designed to support anyone involved in the decisionmaking, management, planning, design, or construction of a space impacted by energy industry; providing expertise to address efficiency issues and apply simple, safe, reliable and cost effective measures.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Marcel Hochet, Country President, Schneider Electric Nigeria said: “As the leader in energy management, Schneider Electric believes that there is a significant opportunity for sustainable energy savings that is not addressed by industry and consumers today.

“People and organisations are interested in saving energy and reducing their energy costs, they just don’t know how. Through Energy University, we expect to enable anyone to better understand and act on these opportunities to do more with less.

“Energy University will reduce complexity and raise awareness by providing global users easy access to practical education on all aspects of energy management.”

The Communications Manager, Schneider Electric Nigeria, Anne Ezeh, said: “Awareness, knowledge and education are the key to helping companies and users discover the significant energy savings that are possible today.

“Energy University’s primary mission is to provide users with free ex-

pert knowledge of various topics to enable them implement energy-efficient solutions in every facet of their lives- work, home, business or industry.”

Energy University offers courses which are product-agnostic and focus on the critical concepts and best practices necessary to achieve a high degree of energy management. Academic experts from all areas of Schneider Electric assist in the development and creation of the courses.

As the demand for new technologies and knowledge increases, Energy University will be incorporating additional courses to the programme.

Currently, more than 40 courses are offered including Active Energy Efficiency using speed control; Demand response and the Smart Grid; Distributed generation; Energy Audits; Energy Efficiency Fundamentals; Energy Efficiency units and concepts; The Economics of Energy Efficiency; Data Center Efficiency: Reducing Electrical Power Consumption; Lighting Basics for Energy Efficient Applications; and Power Factor correction and Harmonics.

Each course can typically be completed in less than one hour and the added ease of an online platform makes learning convenient and accessible from any internet-ready computer. The self-paced learning experience is enhanced by an accompanying quiz for success measurement and preparation for the certification examination. The certification verifies that a user has a comprehensive understanding of energy management and is able to independently handle situations related to energy awareness, problem solving and solutions design. Energy University is available on-demand via www.myenergyuniversity.com.

Iraq ranks world’s third largest oil reserves holder

I

RAQ’S oil minister Hussein alShahristani claimed that the country has now become the third largest oil reserves holder with 200 billion barrels.

According to the minister, Iraq’s oil reserves were largely increased from an earlier estimate of 115 billion barrels but it remains 13th in oil production, said Commodity Online.

Iraq is currently exporting at a rate of 2.6 million barrels per day and aims to hit three million barrels per day by the end of the year.

Analysts said decades of sanc-

tions, terrorist attacks and the ravages of war have left the country under-producing.

In 2003-09, there were more than 600 attacks on Iraq’s oil infrastructure. These cost the country more than $12 billion in damage and lost export revenue.

More than half of Iraq’s oil is exported through its southern ports, which have been struggling to recover from neglect and the ravages of war. Iraq only has one deep water port, Umm Qasr, capable of dealing with super-tankers.

•From left: Otunba Funso Lawal, Vice Chairman Petroleum Club; Dr Ernest Azudialu, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nestoil Group and Mrs. Nnenna Obiejesi, Executive Director (Legal) Nestoil Group, during the 20th anniversary dinner of the company at St Regis Hotel Houston, Texas (US) recently.

OPEC identifies importance skill acquisition

T

HE Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has identified the importance of skilled new generations for the oil and gas industry.

The organisation emphasised the importance of skills acquisition by the new generation stressing the extent of the vision, the expertise, the application and the dedication that is required to ensure the future well-being of the oil industry.

“It is a formidable challenge.

An enduring challenge. There are no quick fixes. And yet, at the same time, no stone should be left unturned.

OPEC has long recognised this.

Our latest World Oil Outlook (WOO) reminds us of the impact of the recent financial crisis and the economic downturn on jobs: “This has been particularly apparent in industries that require significant numbers of skilled personnel for long-term projects, such as the petroleum industry.

“Alongside the current global economic climate, the human resource challenges include the large-scale downsising that led

to a lack of recruitment into the energy sector during the 1980s and 1990s. At this time, many universities cut back drastically on the number of people taking energy disciplines because the industry did not need graduates in such numbers. In recent years, there has also been a dramatic expansion in the service and emerging knowledge economies, which has led to fierce competition for talent.”

The oil industry must see people as long-term assets. “This means making the industry more attractive to prospective graduates and employees from across the world and broadening the ways and means available to keep talented people in the industry,” WOO stresses.

OPEC has been holding its 11th Multi-Disciplinary Training Course (MTDC) in Vienna. The internal course is designed to provide participants from member countries with a broad overview of the Secretariat’s activities, as well as deepen their tech-

nical understanding of the oil industry, particularly with regard to the market.

“We hope that, after the training course, you will be better able to participate in energy discussions and in the development of national energy policies,” the organisation told the participants. The participants are expected to “develop a good network” with those from other member countries, that is, dialogue and cooperation, another hallmark of OPEC’s legacy.

The activities of the MDTC constitute only a tiny fraction of the training that takes place continually within our member countries, and are part of broaderbased efforts to attract fresh new talent to the industry and, equally importantly, keep it there.

All in all, it is the responsibility of all parties to ensure that the industry functions well in the future and can handle the many challenges facing it for decades to come, and a well-trained, committed workforce is central to this, the organisation added.

40

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

ENERGY

Kerosene consumers groan as cost increases Effect of the high cost of kerosene is still biting hard. Consumers of the commodity relate their experiences. The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke had recently issued a marching order to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to ensure proper monitoring of the price of the product and make sure it is sold at regulated price. Will the order change the current trend? BIDEMI BAKARE and SOLA ADETIBA went to town to feel the pulse of consumers.

K

EROSENE is the commonest form of fuel used by the majority of Nigerians, especially the low income earners and those living in the rural areas, which constitute about 60 per cent of the populace.

Some of the middle income earners also depend on it because they are scared of using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) also called cooking gas. Therefore, whenever demand for the commodity exceeds supply, there would be undue rise in price, which consequently creates undue wealth for the sellers.

The Presidency and Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke had last week ordered relevant bodies that can check the cost to bring it down as soon as possible.

Alison-Madueke at the forum held in Lagos, appealed to the Director of Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to apply the highest control mechanism to ensure that the price of kerosene comes down.

But the fear is that compliance with

the directive might not be total as it was learnt that filling stations sell to those who operate surface tanks and sell at between N800 and N900 a gallon.

Our reporters discovered that despite the directive issued by the minister, the price of kerosene has not come down.

The Nation’s investigation in Lagos revealed that the price of the product still ranges between N120 and N145 per litre at the filling stations depending on the location.

Specifically, a large percentage of the filling stations visited in Lagos were out of stock, while some of the filling stations that had kerosene sold for N120 per litre and above.

Investigation also revealed that consumers are still groaning over the high price of the commodity, lamenting that there were still some challenges responsible for the high price, which they could explain.

The development makes some of the consumers furious as exhibited

when our reporters spoke with them.

They urged the Federal Government to take drastic steps in cushioning the effect as it is taking a toll on them, especially those with very low income. They appealed to the government to make the commodity affordable for them, especially when there are no cheaper alternatives for them that live in the city.

Indeed, the selling price of kerosene has not been stable over the years but worsened in the last 10 months, when the price refused to come down. Some of the marketers said the situation is beyond them.

The marketers said they fix the prices they sell in accordance with the way they bought the commodity.

A senior official at one of the Oando filling stations confided in The Nation that the present scarcity has made the station to be out of stock for a very long time.

He explained that the station has been lacking kerosene for some time now, adding that the major

challenge is the roadside sellers.

“Our major challenge is that the roadside sellers are now fond of mixing kerosene, which makes the product dangerous for cooking,” he said.

Emphasising on the scarcity of the product, he also enjoined the Federal Government to do something about it.

A member of staff of one of the Mobil filling stations admitted that the price of kerosene is still very high. “It is very sad that Nigeria still imports kerosene despite the abundant oil resources the country is endowed with,” he said.

He noted that the product is still scarce and the government should ensure the availability of the product in all filling stations so that people can have access to it.

At most filling stations in Ayobo area of Lagos the product goes for as high as N120 as against the old price of N50 per litre. A surface tank seller, who identified herself as Madam Eunice, told The Nation that the high cost of the product has

prompted her to also increase the price she sells to retailers. She said she now sells a gallon of the product for N800, a development she claimed has worsened sales as consumers resort to buying charcoal and firewood.

A food vendor, Mrs. Wura Akintude also said she has had to increase the price of her food adding that her customers have been complaining, which has reduced sales significantly.

According to information obtained from the website of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), the open market price of kerosene as at February this year was N143.48 per litre. The breakdown showed that landing cost was N130.28 with additional distribution margins of N13.20, which is shared as follows: retailers N4.60, transporters N2.75, dealers N1.75, bridging fund and marine transport average (MTA) N3.95 and admin charge N0.15 reflecting a subsidy of N93.48 per litre.

Price of crude at $100/bbl has come to stay, says expert

A

COMBINATION of factors, both geopolitical and economic, will keep the price of oil near $100 for the foreseeable future with the potential of dramatic upward spikes, University of Houston professor Michael Economides said at the Houston Energy Summit recently.

Economides, bestselling author of “The Colour of Oil” and consultant to companies and governments on six continents, was the keynote speaker at the event at the Wortham Centre, part of the Houston Business Journal’s four-day Celebrate Enterprise conference and forum.

Dayton Business Journal quoted him as saying: “$100 oil is here to stay,” Economides said. “If Algeria goes the way of Libya, it will be $140. If Saudi Arabia does, $200. If Israel attacks Iran, it will go to $300.”

Economides offered several key theses in his keynote speech on the global energy industry from which he said all further assessments must be based: • The world economy will continue to rely on hydrocarbons just as heavily as it does today and as it has for the last 40 years. Solar and

•An oil platform

Energy prices

Domestic prices of petroleum products

Energy & Oil Prices OIL ($/bbl)

Companies

PMS

AGO

DPK

Conoil

65.00

85.00

60.00

AP

65.00

85.00

50.00

Total

65.00

85.00

65.00

Oando

65.00

85.00

65.00

Mobil

65.00

85.00

65.00

Texaco

65.00

85.00

65.00

INDIGENOUS

Nymex Crude Future Dated Brent Spot WTI Cushing Spot OIL (¢/gal)

PRICE*

CHANGE

% CHANGE

TIME

100.10 112.78 99.49

1.17 1.00 1.05

1.18% 0.89% 1.07%

05/20 05/20 05/20

CHANGE

% CHANGE

TIME

291.83 0.98

2.36 0.82% 0.33% 05/20

05/20

PRICE* Nymex Heating Oil Future Nymex RBOB Gasoline Future 293.58 NATURAL GAS ($/MMBtu) PRICE* Nymex Henry Hub Future 4.23 Henry Hub Spot 4.05 New York City Gate Spot 4.33 ELECTRICITY ($/megawatt hour) PRICE*

Energy

65.00

85.00

65.00

Fagbems

65.00

85.00

60.00

Nipco

65.00

85.00

55.00

CHANGE

% CHANGE

TIME

0.14 -0.04 -0.07

3.32% 05/20 -0.98% -1.59%

05/20 05/20

CHANGE

% CHANGE

TIME

Mid-Columbia, firm on-peak, spot 23.64 7.80 49.24% 05/20 Palo Verde, firm on-peak, spot 35.03 2.28 6.96% 05/20 BLOOMBERG, FIRM ON-PEAK, DAY AHEAD SPOT/ERCOT HOUSTON 46.00 1.88 4.26% 05/20 Bloomberg Oil Buyers Guide subscriber Source: Bloomberg.com

wind will never be economically viable without subsidies.

• China’s increasingly voracious appetite for energy will create a “choke point,” and will define the energy industry for decades to come. It has already overtaken the US in fossil fuel use and will continue to devour more each year.

• The “axis of energy militancy” that includes Russia, Venezuela and Iran will continue to hold nonproducing or low-producing nations hostage. Economides described Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez as a “basket case” and “a Castro wannabe without the charisma,” while Putin “has Sovietized the Russian energy industry.”

• US shale gas and oil production will transform the domestic industry.

After rising in recent weeks, gas prices have begun to recede.

The average price at the pump was $3.85 per gallon in Dayton, down 22 cents from the previous week, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report. In early May, some local stations were charging customers as high as $4.26 per gallon.

Economists say high oil and gas prices impact more than just prices at the pump, and can hit everything from transportation to exports and even consumer spending. The Dayton region has long been a hub for trucking companies because of its central Midwest location and the intersection of Interstates 75 and 70.

Higher prices also can impact companies such as Best Buy Co. and Apple Inc., which is trying to build and ship more of its new iPad 2 mobile tablets and white iPhones.

The oil spike also has hurt airlines, with many carriers that fly out of Dayton International Airport raising prices for airfares as much as 30 per cent in recent months.

AMR Corp.’s American Airlines unit and Delta Airlines Inc. have announced reductions to flight schedules as a result of higher jet fuel costs.

The higher oil prices have helped boost profit and stock prices for oil firms such as Chevron and BP Plc.

SLIDING TACKLE

"It is an insult to the coaching personnel of both teams because if you talk about sell out and with this winning, we should be about fifteen points behind and we actually want to go for the championship as well, then it doesn't really make sense",

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

42

NIGERIA PREMIER LEAGUE...NIGERIA PREMIER LEAGUE...

Coach Imama Amapakabo of Sharks FC of Port-Harcourt playing down match-fixing rumour each time his team plays Dolphins FC

Imama backs coaches over match-fixing

We lost to poor A officiating—Amoo S

HOOTING Stars Sports Club (3SC) coach Fatai Amoo is crying day light robbery over the 4-1 humiliation of his wards by Bukola Babes in the week 23 premier league game at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa stadium, Bauchi on Sunday.

Amoo who rated referee Eze from Anambra state zero in the handling of the game told SuperSport.com that although his

goalkeeper committed lots of blunder in the bashing of the Oluyole Warriors, the referee did not help matters.

3SC consolatory goal came in the 24th minute off the foot of Taofeek Adepoju.

“We lost to poor officiating, officiating was very bad, the worst I have seen in the premier league. The referee, Eze from Anambra state awarded a dubious penalty to Bukola Babes

in the third minute of the game, that penalty gave them courage and actually weakened my team.

“Although we had problem of poor performance, my goalkeeper committed lots of blunder which I see as human error coupled with the heavy down pour, the referee made everything worst for us even showing red card to one of my players who just approached him to lay some complaint

bordering on his handling of the game.

“Bukola scored their first goal in the third minute, we equalized in the 24th minute before they went ahead to make it two ending first half at 2-1. We came back and conceded two more goal, good goals but that early penalty unsettled us.”

3SC who recorded 1-0 win over Zamfara during the mid-week game taking their points haul to 28 but not yet off the danger zone, Amoo hinted will be taking their frustration on Kano Pillars in the week 24 game due for the MKO Abiola stadium, Abeokuta, Ogun state.

“The struggle for survival continues, we will be receiving Kano Pillars in our next match at the Abeokuta, we hope to win the game so as to brighten our position on the league table, we will not give up, the race is still wide open,” he enthused.

FTER losing by a lone goal to league leaders and sister club, Dolphins FC in the week 23 return-leg encounter played at the Liberation stadium on Sunday, coach Imama Amapakabo got disgusted with match-fixing accusation each time Sharks and Dolphins meet in a premier league encounter.

Speaking after the game, the former safe-hands said, it is an insult to the coaching personnel of the clubs.

"It is an insult to the coaching personnel of both teams because if you talk about sell out and with this winning, we should be about fifteen points behind and we actually want to go for the championship as well, then it doesn't really make sense", he said The coach said he came to the encounter very much determined to grab a point but was disappointed because of the various degrees of injury sustained by his players.

"We came in here hoping to get good result and unfortunately we could not get the result we wanted and its most especially because am battling with players' injury at the moment. "We actually

From Florence Nkem Israel, Port Harcourt. came hoping to get a point butmy players are injured and you could see it that we exhausted our changes before the end of the first-half."

Giving kudos to his midseason signing and secondchoice goalie, Mustapha, Imama felt the keeper to live upto expectation.

"He is part of the squad, that is why we brought him and he is appreciating, he has been able to prove a point, he is part of the family and kudos to him, I hope is able to keep up the performance".

Despite dropping one step on the log due to the loss, the coach is still very sure of a continental ticket.

"We have a good chance of going to the continent.

Dolphins played very well in the first round and ended with about forty two points or thereabout, so its possible and that is what am trying to drum into the ears of my players that they should see it possible, four games into the second round and its still anybody's game", he concluded.

Dolphins still on course— Eguma

I

TS four games into the second round and the darling club of the Garden City, Dolphins is still seated on top of the log despite the heavy bashing from the Aba millionaires in week twenty.

After climbing to the 50th point on Sunday when they beat Sharks FC by a lone goal, Stanley Egumah, team manager says its a good result and that they are still on course.

"Seven points after four games is good", he said. "Its not easy and the league is very tough and still very young in the second round and no match is an easy match so we try our possible best to gather points both home and away, we are still on track".

While still faced with much strong opponents in the secondround, Egumah said he will not be deterred by the names saying

•Gbolahan Salami

From Florence Nkem Israel, Port Harcourt. that Dolphins is also a big name to contend with.

"We have tough matches but then we are not looking at the names. We have to play the game till the season is over.

"We have respect for all the big

teams like Kano Pillars, Rangers, Enyimba, Heartland and the rest of them but we are prepared equally because Dolphins is a big team and we are proving that.

"We are not relenting. We will still work very hard to take all those teams as they come", he said.

•Eguma

F R E N C H O P E N ...F R E N C H O P E N ...F R E N C H O P E N ...F R E N C H O P E N ...F R E N C H O P E N ...F R E N C H O P E N ...

Schiavone sails through Federer cruises past Lopez DEFENDING women's champion Francesca Schiavone wasted little time in reaching round two of this year's French Open with a thumping 6-2 6-0 victory over American teenager Melanie Oudin.

The Italian, whose victory against Samantha Stosur in the final 12 months ago was arguably the high point of a patchy season in women's tennis, needed only an hour and two minutes to confirm she will again be a big threat on the red clay.

Oudin was tipped as the next big star of American tennis when she burst onto the scene in 2009, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon and the quarter-finals at the

US Open, but she has failed to build on that.

The 19-year-old, who prefers hard courts, has won only seven of her 24 matches this season and simply could not cope with Schiavone's intelligent placement and variety of spins and slices.

•Francesca

ROGER Federer cruised past Spain's Feliciano Lopez at the French Open on Monday in a gentle reminder that there is more to Roland Garros this year than Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Federer, the record 16-time Grand Slam title-winner and 2009 Roland Garros champion, clinched a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) firstround win, his ninth victory in nine outings against the stylish left-hander.

The world number three, playing at his lowest seeding in eight years at a Grand Slam, is taking part in his 46th consecutive Grand Slam tournament.

He had won all his previous eight matches against Lopez but would have been wary of an

opponent who had a match point in their last encounter at the Madrid Masters second round earlier this month.

However, he was in little danger on Monday, cruising to victory against a player who has now lost eight times in the first round in 11 Paris visits.

•Federer

Tennis ball switch grabs focus at French

NO one went quite so far as to blame a Day 1 loss at the French Open on — or credit a victory to — the different tennis balls being used this year at the claycourt Grand Slam tournament.

The balls are harder, most agreed. They're fluffier, a few thought. They're better, some suggested, for players such as Rafael Nadal, who use a lot of spin. They're faster, at least at first, then tend to slow after a few games. They'll help powerful servers.

Any of those elements could affect matches, players said, and possibly their health.

"In the locker room, a lot of the girls... (are) coming in with a lot of shoulder issues. They say the balls are pretty hard," the highest-ranked American woman entered in the

tournament, Bethanie MattekSands, said Sunday after coming back to beat Arantxa Parra Santonja 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

"I think it kind of translates to they're going fast through the air," said Mattek-Sands, who was 36th in the most recent rankings. "I don't mind that. I actually like it if it's fast-paced."

Under a five-year contract that begins in 2011, the French Open is moving to Babolat balls from Dunlop. It's not every day that a Grand Slam tournament changes its ball brand. Or even every century. Wimbledon, for example, has used Slazenger since 1902. The U.S. Open has used Wilson since the late 1970s.

The Australian Open switched to Wilson in 2006.

43

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

AVIATION

Nigeria may lose safety rating, says NAAPE boss • NCAA understaffed

T

HE National President of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Isaac Balami, has said Nigeria may lose its Category One safety rating by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (USFAA).

Balami, told reporters that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), does not have sufficient personnel to keep the system running.

The NAAPE boss also spoke on the inability of the NCAA to certify some airports in the country, noting that this is not good enough for safety in aviation.

Balami said: “Of utmost concern right now is the fact that Nigeria runs the risk of losing the FAA Category One status. It may be withdrawn principally because the key aviation personnel at NCAA who spearheaded this lofty achievement on behalf of the country are approaching retirement, without proper succession plans in place to replace them.”

He noted that training is very important and where training is zero,

Stories by Kelvin Osa-Okunbor Aviation Correspondent

safety is hampered. “With these challenges facing the Nigerian aviation industry, there is a growing unanimous call by core aviation professionals on President Goodluck Jonathan to put a round peg in a round hole when the Minister of Aviation is being appointed.

“Another sad case is that Aeronautical Communication, which is an integral part of the TRACON project, has not been activated.

This would have made the dispatching of flight plans automated and help in reducing delays. The equipment is on ground and needs to be activated and put into the right use.”

He said the people who staff the Aeronautical Information Service Unit of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) were all recruited in the 80s, meaning that very soon the staff there would be on their way out on retirement, and there is no succes-

sion plan on ground. This, he said, is dangerous and a threat to air safety.

“It is also very pathetic that, after 50 years of independence, no airport has been licensed by the apex regulatory body, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

While scanners are not functioning in some airports, others do not have scanners at all. People are forced to rely on manual search, which in most cases cannot be as thorough as scanning machines.

The Maiduguri Airport is among those facing this critical challenge.

“The Instrument Landing System, (ILS) of the Runway 22 of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, is not working properly. It gives wrong signals and direction, which is dangerous to air safety. The VHF Communication at the Abuja Airport is epileptic and calls are not audible.

Messages are not properly relayed and so aircraft depend on each other to relay messages.

“Apart from the fact that the lighting of the Runway 18 Left of the Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, has not been fixed by succeeding Ministers of Aviation since 2006, there

is no ILS in one direction. There should be ILS in opposite directions to allow aircraft to take off and land on both sides in the event of a high speed tail wind,” he said.

Besides, he noted, there is a developing pothole on lane four on Runway 18 Right, which can affect the landing gear of an aircraft if it runs into it, a threat to safety.

The water hydrants in all the airports are not functional because of inadequate maintenance.”

Balami also explained: “Deploying non-professionals to lead the Federal Ministry of Aviation has been one of the major problems facing this critical sector of the economy since 1999 when the country successfully returned to civilian rule.

“From 1999 till date, no core aviation professional has been appointed to man the Federal Ministry of Aviation. Because the Federal Minister sets the overall tone for the aviation industry, it is very crucial to insist that an aviator is best positioned to help the government to transform the fortunes of civil aviation in the country today.

“This opinion seems to have gained unanimous support among the nation’s serving and retired pilots and aircraft engineers, as

well as other well-informed stakeholders in the industry.

“Just as we rationally expect a medical person to run the ministry of health, or a legal person to run the ministry of justice, so should the Federal Government appoint a core professional to manage the aviation industry.

“It is believed in some circles that only a core professional, who understands the nitty-gritty of flying airplanes or maintaining them, can provide the required leadership at the national ministerial level. Anything less than this, amounts to short-changing our country as far as developing the indigenous aviation sector is concerned.

“It is widely believed in knowledgeable circles, for instance, that deploying a non-professional as an aviation minister, who then requires tutelage on basic aviation matters, has seriously retarded the development of the sector as well as decreased its productivity.

“A professional will address priority areas and concentrate on safety, infrastructure and training, without being dwarfed by political jobbers whose stock-in-trade is usually to look for one government contract or the other,” he said.

Jonathan urged to curb ministers’ excesses

U

• Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Fidelis Akuabata Njeze; Perm Sec. Ministry of Aviation, Ms. Ann Ene-Atta, Director General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Dr. Harold Demuren; Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) Mr. Ibrahim Auyo and others during an inspection of Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) Mobile Satellite by the Minister of Aviation held at Air Safety House, Murtala Muhammed InternaPHOTO: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE. tional Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

NIONS and aviation stakeholders have called on President Goodluck Jonathan to stop his ministers from sacking chief executives of parastatals and agencies.

Such sacks, they claimed, are meant to cover the ministers’ misdeeds.

President of National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Mohammed Safiyanu, urged ministers planning the sack of parastatal chiefs not to destabilise the industries as their action may be politically motivated.

Safiyanu said: “If it is not politically motivated, fine and if it’s politically motivated it going to destabilise the industry now and they should be very careful in taking such decisions.”

The NAUTE president advised President Jonathan to withhold anything that will have to do with changes of any chief executive of agencies now adding, that it should be left in the hands of the new ministers to carry out little changes.

Safiyanu, who threw his weight behind the appointment of an expert to man the aviation ministry,

said it was long over due as it will bring in good changes and developments in the industry.

“You cannot just bring anybody that is not a medical expert to over see the health sector or bring a novice to handle the finance ministry. Aviation is very sensitive and it has to do with human beings and we have to have somebody who will have a very good understanding for us to have better development and progress with an expert,” he said.

For the part of Alhaji Mohammed Tukur, assistant general secretary, Airline Operators of Nigeria, the move was uncalled for and there was no reason whatsoever for any minister who was about to leave to start changing heads of pararstatls.

According to Alhaji Tukur, it will be a suicide mission to carry out such changes. “I don’t think there is any reason why the parastatal chiefs should be asked to leave. It is like a suicide mission, some ministers will sack them because they want to cover up their dirty deals and President Jonathan should not allow them to do that.”

Air Nigeria unveils plans for Central, West Africa markets

A

FTER a successful run in its first year, Air Nigeria is set ting its gaze in dominating the airline business in West and Central Africa.

Rendering its first year stewardship in Lagos, the airline said it acquired six aircraft to service domestic and regional routes; opened five additional routes; attained a debt-free status and received the airline of the year award in 2010.

Its Media Relations Office (MRO), Sam Ogbogoro, said the airline, which was known as Virgin Nigeria, was acquired by the NICON Group and rechristened Air Nigeria.

He said airline plans to conquer the Central and West Africa market through further enhancement

of the knowledge and skills of employees; re-commencement of long haul operations; deeper assessment of the business towards implementing requirements for attaining profitability and establishment of strategic partnerships and development of a five-year strategy with the objective of positioning the airline ahead of competition.

Air Nigeria, he said, has reiterated its commitment to continually meet obligations to its workforce across all cadres. Air Nigeria is set to embark on a recruitment drive to fill vacancies that currently exists in addition to retaining the present workforce. The airline, therefore, has no plans of laying-off any member of staff even as there is an ongoing assessment of skills and com-

petencies of the workforce towards ensuring that well-trained personnel are in positions of authority.

He said: “It is also imperative to note that despite the global challenges affecting the aviation industry Air Nigeria is in a strong financial position. This is evident in the timely payment of salaries and other benefits to members of staff as well as meeting obligations to other suppliers and vendors.

“Air Nigeria has also initiated purchase partnership negotiations with fuel marketers to mitigate flight disruptions. The outcome of these discussions will further boost schedule integrity and improve on time performance in the coming weeks.

“The airline continues to employ global best practices in its day-to-

day flight operations, maintenance and management of its fleet with its pool of well trained and qualified engineers and professional manpower supported by expertise from Lufthansa Technik, who provide the technical support that ensures that safety is not compromised.

Air Nigeria takes safety seriously and it operates in line with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations as well as International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards, Ogbogoro said.”

Air Nigeria is one of the fastest growing airlines in West Africa and is at the forefront of offering innovative and customer friendly products in the aviation industry such as its recently introduced mobile ticketing service known as

MY AIRMOBILE. In recognition of its outstanding contributions towards development of the Nigerian aviation industry, Air Nigeria clinched the “Airline of the Year 2010” at the Nigeria Aviation Awards (NIGAV), From its operational base at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, Air Nigeria currently operates to Benin City, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kano, Sokoto and Enugu on the domestic routes while it also operates to Brazzaville, Accra, Douala, Dakar, Monrovia, Cotonou, Banjul, Libreville and Abidjan with further plans to extend services to more African destinations, Europe, Asia and America.

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AVIATION

NAMA warns against professional negligence T HE Airspace Manage ment Agency (NAMA) will no longer tolerate any lapses by professionals in the discharge their duties, its Managing Director, Alhaji Ibrahim Auyo, has said.

Auyo, who spoke during this year’s Aeronautical Information Services annual convention, said they were expected to be of the highest quality and integrity as pilots and other users depended on the information they release to them.

According to Auyo, represented by his Director of Operations, Alhaji Abdulrasaq Raheem, NAMA is working closely with all concerned to fashion out efficient and effective modes of communication within the available resources to acquire modern equipment to transform the system.

The NAMA boss assured that the scheme of service for AIS has been sent to the appropriate authorities for final approval and emphasised the need for continuous training of AIS personnel as embedded in the AIS automation contract which is on going.

He urged them to reflect on their achievements in the

Stories by Kelvin OsaOkunbor Aviation Correspondent

• Auyo

past 10 years of the existence of the agency and the prospect for the future, especially with the transition from the ground-based to satellitebased navigation.

He noted that AIS will soon become one of the most valuable and important enabling services, adding that their level of competence will be determined by the knowledge they acquire on current developments in the area of

their functions.

The National President of Aeronautical Information Services Association of Nigeria (AISAN), Mr. Paul Igene, said efforts were in top gear to get members of AISAN licensed by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to ensure full professionalism and self development and improved standards in the aviation sector.

Igene said licensing became necessary to ensure that members improved on their knowledge to meet the everchanging developments in the industry.

Igene announced that the Federal Government has given approval for the establishment of an AIS directorate in the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) in compliance with international practice, adding that in a few weeks details would be unfolded.

He said the scheme of service for AIS has become purely professional adding that it was no longer meant for mediocre and further announced that fund has been approved by the federal

government for the purchase of the AIS automation to commence with its first phase before the end of the year.

According to Mr Igene, the AIS automation which ought to have terminated this year has been extended to 2013.

While commending the management of NAMA in the training and retraining of his members and the management’s promise to remove stagnation, Mr. Igene disclosed that the body needed about 400 staff nationwide in compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s rule which states that members can only work for six hours to avoid fatigue.

He explained that they were being stressed to work more than the stipulated hours as a result of inadequate staff and called for the engagement of more staff nationwide and to introduce new professional allowances for clothing and radiation.

Mr. Igene commended the management of NAMA under the leadership of Alhaji Ibrahim Auyo for improving on navigational aids to ensure safety and staff welfare since he came on board.

Briefs Airport Co-operatives gets micro finance bank LICENCE for the operation of a micro finance bank in the aviation sector has been presented to the Airport and Safety Multipurpose Co-operatives Society Limited.

Its President, Mr Yusuf Lawal, who disclosed this to journalists at the airport in Lagos, said the society has met the necessary requirements to run the micro finance bank.

Lawal noted that, with the backing and supervisory role of the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, the institution will be taking a giant stride.

He explained that the co-operatives society has been in existence for many years.

“We have actually been registered to run a micro finance bank. We have our licence already, and we have what it takes to run it. In fact it is a multipurpose society so with the supervision of the ministry of agric and co-operatives it will take us to a greater height and I have believe for it.”

On the activities of the co-operative in the past one year, Lawal said it has been a success story with the disbursement of over N100 million monthly as loans to about 100 members of the body, adding that there was no room for defaulters as such loans were deducted from sources.

“We give about N100 toN110 million monthly, we give out loan to an average of 100 people and we do this monthly. I can tell you that there is no room for defaulters because it has to be recovered from the salaries of the workers. So, there is no room for defaulters. We take it from their salaries,” Lawal disclosed.

He expressed delight that members have become landlords and landladies through the acquisition of some plots of land for them from the government.

Lawal, however, regretted that the greatest challenge that facing the body was non remittance of membership dues on time by some of the agencies which has affected its operations in the past one year. He expressed the hope that it will soon be overcome.

“We are actually having tough time in terms of getting

Boeing 777 production rate reaches seven per month WORKERS rolled out the first Boeing 777 at the seven-permonth rate in early May. Boeing said it rolled out the first 777 to be produced since it raised the production rate for the type from five to seven per month. The aircraft, a 777F, will be delivered to FedEx Express in June. Boeing plans a further increase to 8.3 airplanes a month beginning in the first quarter of 2013.

“This rate increase reflects the strong demand,” said Boeing 777 VP and GM Larry Loftis. “It continues to be the clear leader in the 300-400 passenger seat market.”

The rate previously reached the seven-per-month mark in July 1997-Feb. 1998, Aug. 1998-Oct. 1999 and Nov. 2006May 2010. Boeing said it “incorporated lessons learned” from the previous increases and, this time around, reduced production flow from 52 to 49 days from start to finish.

“Days of flow were removed in wing spar, service-ready wing and final body join areas,” said Boeing. “The flow reduction is attributed to increased productivity in those areas.” Loftis added, “We are experiencing some of the all-time-best metrics.”

South African Airways to rev up African expansion plans

• An Emirate aircraft

Emirates Airline makes N231.3b profit

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HE Emirates Group made $1.6 billion, which is about N246.7 billion net profit last year, despite a challenging business climate.

The 2010-11 Annual Report of the Emirates Group - comprising Emirates Airline, dnata and their subsidiary companies – was released in Dubai last week at a news conference hosted by its Chairman/Chief Executive, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

“This year’s record results represent our drive to push the boundaries of aviation, questioning the norms and advocating for open and fair competition. Despite unforeseen challenges in the form of political instability and shocking natural disasters we have managed, through sheer determination, nimbleness and quick thinking, to produce our best ever result,” said Sheikh

Ahmed.

In the face of many challenges, both political and environmental, the Group’s revenue increased by 26.4 per cent reaching a remarkable new level at $15.6 billion, which is about N2.4 trillion. Strong revenue has been the main driver for the Group’s record financial performance. The Group’s cash balance rose substantially to hit a record high at ($4.4 billion), about N678.6 billion.

The Group’s exceptional performance this year owes much to its dexterity and ability to adapt to changing market conditions quickly.

In the first six months Emirates was able to capitalise on strong market demand thanks to its superior network and world-class product.

With political instability across parts of the world coming to the fore in the second half of the year, Emir-

ates was able to swiftly adjust flight schedules, redeploying aircraft to balance the network and optimise revenue. The airline’s notable ability to drive revenue, in the midst of an unstable business environment enabled it to partially shield itself against a dramatic increase in fuel prices in the second half of the year.

During the year dnata forged forward with its international expansion through its proven strategy of acquisition, taking ownership of Alpha Flight Group Ltd, a leading caterer with operations in 61 airports globally. By being open to new business opportunities and continually seeking growth dnata has now become the world’s fourth largest air services provider.

“A clear indication of our strength, this year’s financial result represents the tire-

less work of our 57,000 strong workforces. Operating without subsidy and through a well thought out business model we have, as a team, been able to confront adversity on many levels,” added Sheikh Ahmed.

Customers’ continued preference for Emirates’ products has helped achieve sharp sales growth, record return for the financial year and the airline’s highest ever passenger numbers.

“Emirates continues to dismiss the perceived limitations of the aviation industry, advocating for an open skies environment that stimulates competition, an undeniable positive for the customer. The customer is at the heart of our operations, evident in the 31.4 million passengers that flew with us throughout the financial year, an increase of 14.5 per cent or four million passengers on last year.”

SOUTH African Airways (SAA) would introduce new flights to Abuja in Nigeria, Madagascar, the Republic of Congo and Burundi, in its drive to rev up its African expansion plans, while also growing in South America, Asia and India.

Siza Mzimela, the chief executive of the national carrier disclosed at the airline’s annual breakfast at the just concluded 32nd Tourism Indaba in Durban, South Africa, that the continental expansion plans would not only focus on organic growth but also assisting with improvement of aviation infrastructure.

“We are beginning to see open skies and we want to understand how this will impact on us and also the opportunities it will bring. But also important is opening up Africa for Africa that has been lacking.

“The focus on the continent is important,” said Mzimela.

She stressed that SAA would not introduce all the new routes at the same time and the airline would be guided by bilateral agreements between South Africa and the various destination countries.

Nigeria was one of the key markets that SAA had identified and it had recently opened a lounge there, adding that there were other plans to improve the product offering to the West African country.

Theunis Potgieter, the General Manager for Commercial at SAA, said the carrier would offer two to three flights a week to Abuja using a smaller aircraft.

According to Mzimela, the airline would look for agreement with other airlines through the Star Alliance network to achieve its continental and global expansion.

She lamented that all the opportunities that abound in Africa are hampered by the inherent obstacles on the continent and said there was a lot that needed to be done to make the region competitive.

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

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HEALTH THE NATION

E-mail:- health@thenationonlineng.net

WHO certifies artesunate as best drug for malaria W HAT is the best drug to treat malaria?

Artesunate, say experts after an AQUAMAT - Artesunate versus Quinine in the treatment of severe falciparum malaria in African children’s study in nine African countries.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) organised research showed the efficacy of artesunate to save more children’s lives than quinine.

The research was centred on children because they are more prone to malaria than adults.

In line with the research, the experts have recommended artesunate as the first line drug in malaria treatment.

Consultant Paediatrician, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Dr Olugbenga Mokuolu and Research Fellow, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Studies, Dr Rasaq Olaosebikan, participated in the research.

Mokuolu said the collaborative study carried out in nine African countries: Uganda, Nigeria, Gambia, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Kenya, and Tanzania showed that artesunate was better than quinine because of its capability to reduce deaths by 20 per cent.

Mokuolu, who was among the trialists of the study group, disclosed this at the Zolon

Stories by Wale Adepoju Health Round Table (HEART), held in Lagos for health care practitioners.

Mokuolu, in his paper entitled, Current concepts in management of malaria: reversing mortality, said malaria is a burden on Africa and other developing countries, adding that the best treatment to combat it is needed.

Malaria, he said, is responsible for one in four deaths of children, adding that 50 per cent of Nigeria’s 140 million population will have clinical episode of malaria in a year.

Urging stakeholders and physicians to embrace the switch, Olaosebikan said, it was the biggest trial ever in severe malaria in African children.

The recommendation, he said, was in line with the recently reviewed World Health Organisation (WHO) treatment guideline, which reflects the change of treatment of severe falciparum malaria in children.

“The WHO has specified that it is essential that effective, parenteral (or rectal) antimalaria treatment in full doses is given promptly in severe malaria,” he added Mokuolu identified the cinchona alkaloids (quinine and quinidine) and the artemisnin

derivates (artesunate, artemether and artemotil) as the two classes of medicines available for the parenteral treatment of severe malaria. “Parenteral chloroquine is no longer recommended for the treatment of severe malaria, because of widespread resistance. Intramuscular sulfadoxinepyrinmethamine is also not recommended,” he said.

Olaosebikan said artesunate has been demonstrated to be a very highly efficacious drug. “WHO is making efforts to make sure those countries would recognise this and deploy the drug as rapidly as possible, he added.

This new finding, he said, was already being distributed to all WHO affiliated countries. “It came out about two months ago and we are expecting that international policies are already embracing it, as the statement has already been issued. People can start deploying it since it already reflects in WHO. All we need is the fund because they are a little expensive than quinine. If you to think about life that is saved, then you can’t quantify life.”

Mokuolu said: “Mind you, what we are saying is that for us to reduce mortality of

• Mokuolu malaria, there are different strategies. One is to prevent people from getting malaria.

Secondly, prevent it from being severe.

Three, those who have the severe, we are to prevent it from resulting in death.

“The standard practice is to diagnose before treatment and that is the responsibility that we now have. If we are going to modify that, then that situation will be taken as it arises,” he said.

Olaosebikan said artesunate is being recommended at that third level where the patient is closest to death and it is the fastest means of being able to rescue people from dying, adding that if deployed, 200, 000 lives would be saved yearly worldwide.

Group urges support for midwifery

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COALITION group has urged the Federal Government to give priority to the recruitment, training, retention and deployment of midwives and other health workers in the country.

The group, which comprises the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood Nigeria, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Save the Children and the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), said this would show the government’s commitment to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Every woman, every child strategy and the global drive to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5.

The group spoke at the commemoration of the International Day of the Midwives in Lagos organised by the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood.

According to UNFPA Executive Director, Prof Babatunde Osotimehin, represented by Head Programme Adviser, Reproductive Health and Rights Unit, UNFPA, Dr Salma Anas-Kolo, said 1, 000 women die daily and 5,500 newborns die in the first week of life for lack of adequate medical care.

He said no more than one in three women in developing countries give birth alone or with only relatives to oversee what is one of the most dangerous passages they would ever undergo.

“In some of the poorest countries, as few as 13 per cent of all deliveries are assisted by a midwife or a health worker with midwifery skills,” he added.

Osotimehin said the current global shortage of some 350,000 professional midwives means that women and their newborns die from complications that could have been easily prevented by a health worker with the right skills, equipment and support.

He described midwives as unsung heroes of maternal and newborn health.

“UNFPA together with over 20 partners, will release the first ever state of the world’s midwifery report next month. We will scale up joint investing in midwives programme, with the intentional confederation for midwives to cover 30 countries,” he said.

Osotimehin added that UNFPA would join midwives at the Triennial Midwives Congress in Durban, South Africa next month to discuss human resources for health and the way forward.

•A cross section of midwives and stakeholders at the commemoration of the International Day of the Midwives in Lagos organised by the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood.

Second Vice President and Chairperson, Midwives Commission, NANNM, Mrs Margare Olubunmi Akinsola, said no mother, no matter where she lives, should have to risk her life or that of her unborn baby by going through child birth without expert care.

She said: “Over 39 per cent of Nigerian women are giving birth without skilled birth attendants. As a result more than 50,000 women lose their lives needlessly in pregnancy and childbirth and nearly one million newborn babies and children die as a result of lack of basic health care.”

This, she said, shows that Nigeria continues to bear the burden of high maternal and child mortality and the ratio is not decreasing rapidly enough to reach the MDG targets.

Akinsola said the critical investment needed is in getting skilled health workers

within reach of every mother and child and ensuring the health system is able to deliver basic and emergency care.

Midwives and other health workers, she said, are the backbone of health care because they save lives. Without them, hundreds of thousands of mothers and children will continue to die with no one to assist at birth, provide prompt interventions, including provision of immunisation and guidance on how to stay healthy and prevent diseases.

“We joined thousands of midwives and their supporters across the world to draw attention to the global need for more midwives and global inequalities in maternal and newborn child health. The action of the government now can ensure there is a midwife and health worker within reach of every mother and child,” she said.

She urged the government to develop and

implement fully-costed national maternal, newborn and child health plans with actionable targets and timetables to expand and strengthen the health workforce and improve routine data collection. “These plans should set goals for the education and training, legislation and regulation, recruitment, retention and employment and association for midwives and other health workers,” she added.

Akinsola enjoined the government to target inequality and finance the removal of barriers to health care from women, newborns and children, including the removal of user fees. “The government should ensure that poor and marginalised women and children are able to access health care by tackling the underlying causes of inequality through community engagement with national health systems,” she said.

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HEALTH Lagos unveils plan to protect health facilities

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AGOS State has opted for preventive maintenance of its public health facilities to realise the benefits of its investments, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris has said.

Idris spoke at a press briefing commemorating the fourth year in office of the Fashola administration.

He said the policy entailed the execution of maintenance contracts as soon as the facilities are delivered thereby creating employment opportunities for skilled and unskilled personnel.

The Commissioner pointed out that the state government has continued to invest in and deliver high quality human and environmentally friendly infrastructure in the health sector relevant to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) based on the positive correlation between infrastructural and economic development.

“To enhance the efficiency of the health workforce as well as increase the scope and quality of services delivered at the health facilities, infrastructural upgrade that involves the revamping of health and related infrastructure through phased rehabilitation, equipping and or upgrading of existing health facilities and the construction of new ones at all levels are being embarked upon. The level of infrastructural upgrade would hopefully attract Nigerian health professionals in the Diaspora who left the country as a result of frustration,” Idris affirmed.

Idris explained that many projects are being implemented with the objective of enabling Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH)/Lagos State College of Medicine (LASUCOM) achieve her goal of being in the forefront of contemporary and efficient tertiary health care delivery with respect to her statutory functions of research, training and clinical service delivery.

He listed some of the projects as including office block for the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, LASUCOM to provide

•From left: Dr. Idris; Special Adviser to the Governor on Health , Toyin Amzat and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Femi Olugbile at the briefing.

PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

64 decent and befitting office accommodation for professorial staff and other consultants; the three-storey students’ hostel, LASUCOM to provide befitting accommodation and additional recreational facilities for 178 medical students of the College of Medicine; and the installation of an oxygen generating plant at LASUTH which puts the hospital

in a unique position of being able to produce oxygen for her internal consumption, a situation that places the hospital in a position to boost her revenue base by making medical oxygen available to other public and private health facilities at competitive prices.

According to the Commissioner, other on-going projects that will enable LASUTH achieve her goal of being in the forefront of contemporary and efficient tertiary health care delivery include the

new Critical Care Unit at LASUTH; the three storey cardiac and renal centre at Gbagada; the 80-bed Trauma and Burns Centre at Gbagada; the renovation and extension of Ayinke House, LASUTH; installation of equipment for specialty care (pachymeter, CVF machine, orthopaedic and maxillofacial surgery, neurosurgery microscope and accessories, ENT suite etc); and the installation of a digital X-ray machine at LASUTH.

Global Fund combats AIDs, TB, malaria with $3b

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HE Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria disbursed N450b ($3 billion) last year. This boosted the number of people on antiretroviral therapy in Global Fundsupported programmes to an estimated

Health Tips How will I know when my baby is teething?

Your baby may sprout his/ her first teeth with no problems at all, but it could be a painful and drawn-out process.

If your baby is teething, you may notice the following: • red and swollen gums • red flushed cheeks or face •heavy drooling • gum rubbing, biting or sucking • rubbing her ear on the same side as an erupting tooth • sleepless at night and wakeful during the day • not feeding as well • irritable and unsettled Your baby may also develop a high temperature or diarrhoea just before a tooth breaks through. It’s best to treat them as separate problems to teething.

If you’re worried, see your doctor.

•Source: www.babycentre.co.uk

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

three million; increased the number of people treated for multidrug resistant TB by half; and contribute to a big expansion in malaria treatment and prevention.

These remarkable results are part of Making a Difference, a new report launched on May 19 in Paris which showed how the Global Fund has helped to save 6.5 million lives between 2002 and 2010.

According to the Executive Director of the Global Fund, Prof Michel Kazatchkine, “We have made immense progress in the fight against the three epidemics, as this report showed. But the challenges ahead are huge.

We need to sustain the momentum, we need greater efficiency and we need continued support from our donors to ensure that these gains are not lost.”

Globally, malaria programmes saw the biggest progress. The number of insecticidetreated nets distributed between 2002 (the year in which the Global Fund started operating) and 2010, rose to 160 million from 104 million a year earlier. Global Fund-supported programmes have also enabled the treatment of 170 million cases of malaria over the same period.

The cumulative number of cases of tuberculosis detected and treated by the end of 2010 increased by 29 per cent from 2009.

The cumulative number of multidrugresistant tuberculosis cases treated rose by almost 50 per cent from the previous year in 2010, “When many countries redoubled their efforts to counter this major threat to global TB control”, according to the report.

Global Fund-supported programmes provided antiretroviral drugs to one million pregnant women living with HIV to prevent transmission of the virus to their children.

In 2010, the Global Fund investment in measures to strengthen health systems reached an estimated $ 7.8 billion in approved funding. The money has been

directed to overcome bottlenecks in the delivery of lifesaving services and to improve the effectiveness of HIV, TB and malaria programmes.

The Global Fund provided 21 per cent of international public HIV funding and 65 per cent of international TB funding for the 22 countries with the highest burden of the disease and of international malaria funding in 2009, the latest year for which this data is available.

Cost-saving measures implemented by the Global Fund between 2005 and the end of 2010 saved $ 1.2 billion. This money was reallocated to other programmes to help maximise their impact.

The report also assessed prospects in the five-year run-up to the 2015 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of bringing AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria under control.

By 2015, Global Fund-supported programmes are expected to provide six million people with antiretroviral treatment, doubling the number of people assisted.

In the fight against tuberculosis, the Global Fund share of spending in first-line tuberculosis treatment may fall, as more funds are directed to the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

On malaria, the life-span of long-lasting insecticidal nets delivered in 2007, 2008 and 2009 is approaching the end, and they will need to be replaced. The report warned that failure to do so could lead to a resurgence in the number of malaria cases and deaths.

In 2010, the Global Fund successfully implemented a new policy aimed to reduce the number of existing grants by consolidating them into single streams of funding. This is intended to simplify management of grants for recipient countries. The Secretariat created 49 new single funding streams, reducing the total number of grants by nearly 10 per cent. By the end of 2011, one-third of the entire grant portfolio is expected to be brought under the new approach.

Pharmacists task Ondo

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HE Ondo State branch of the Pharma ceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) hasncalled on the state government to implement the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) and Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) for health workers in the state.

This was sequel to an extra ordinary meeting of members of the society called to review current development in the health sector of the state.

The society sympathised with the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and her members on their on-going strike action which bordered on the non implementation of the CONMESS for medical doctors in the state.

In a statement jointly signed by the Chairman of the society, Samuel Oluwaoromipin Adekola and the Secretary, Gunjemiyo A.O, the society said: “The Society through a memo has forwarded to the Governor a reminder on her demand for the implementation of the CONHESS for Pharmacists in the employment of the Ondo State Government without any further delay with due arrears paid promptly. We shall continue to study the current situation in the hope of a positive response from the government on the various demands of our Society.

“Lastly, the Society wishes to commiserate with Patients and the people of the Sunshine State who will continue to be at the receiving end of any action or inaction portending by the current scenario in our health sector.”

It saluted the courage and commitments of Governor, Olusegun Mimiko to the Caring Heart Programme of his administration in the state.

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EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 23-05-11 2ND-TIER SECURITIES Company Name FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC PRESCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 5 2 17 24

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.50 7.80

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 552,000 276,000.00 215,000 107,500.00 393,820 3,130,578.00 1,160,820 3,514,078.00

AIR SERVICES Company Name No of Deals NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMP PLC 37 Sector Totals 37

Quotation(N) 8.77

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 123,478 1,108,524.47 123,478 1,108,524.47

AUTOMOBILE & TYRE Company Name DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC R. T. BRISCOE (NIGERIA) PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 5 22 27

Company Name ACCESS BANK PLC AFRIBANK NIGERIA PLC DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK NIGERIA PLC FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC FIDELITY BANK PLC FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC FINBANK PLC GTBANK PLC STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC INTERCONTINENTAL BANK PLC. OCEANIC BANK INTERNATIONAL PLC BANK PHB PLC SKYE BANK PLC. SPRING BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC. UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC UNITYBANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC ZENITH BANK PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 133 43 70 30 49 93 532 66 544 56 49 99 27 168 2 47 225 78 62 28 300 2,701

Company Name GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 90 17 106 213

Quotation(N) 0.50 2.59

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 65,269 32,634.50 148,783 379,764.36 214,052 412,398.86

Quotation(N) 8.10 1.76 6.55 4.03 7.31 2.62 13.50 0.67 16.04 9.83 1.41 1.99 1.43 8.50 1.09 2.09 6.60 2.93 1.09 1.20 15.20

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 5,132,200 41,641,371.33 1,749,430 3,027,770.64 1,333,536 8,699,359.56 966,827 3,887,879.10 1,619,247 11,811,939.57 5,854,134 15,436,386.42 11,125,403 150,639,001.29 6,587,060 4,378,449.20 11,864,836 190,416,131.44 894,990 8,837,508.70 1,926,393 2,640,649.62 13,050,828 25,297,648.59 1,184,800 1,694,314.00 4,577,087 38,771,510.28 19,196 19,963.84 3,615,258 7,664,422.40 4,060,725 26,976,992.29 2,148,725 6,413,492.37 11,415,000 11,730,460.00 671,790 798,190.66 34,831,839 532,140,734.47 124,629,304 1,092,924,175.77

Quotation(N) 230.00 6.18 85.01

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 736,024 169,011,937.82 100,035 622,724.10 466,287 40,020,777.12 1,302,346 209,655,439.04

BANKING

BREWERIES

BUILDING MATERIALS Company Name ASHAKA CEMENT PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTHERN NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 60 19 42 40 161

Company Name BERGER PAINTS NIGERIA PLC CHEMICAL AND ALLIED PRODUCTS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 4 9 13

Company Name COURTVILLE INVESTMENTS PLC Secure Electronic Technology PLC RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 11 5 17

Quotation(N) 24.45 11.75 131.00 43.70

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 374,150 9,172,705.44 186,275 2,201,207.50 225,104 29,377,836.78 205,769 8,995,281.21 991,298 49,747,030.93

CHEMICAL & PAINTS Quotation(N) 12.34 24.28

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 16,005 187,738.65 55,481 1,414,210.69 71,486 1,601,949.34

NSE marks down UACN, Custodian for dividend

T

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 110,000 55,000.00 980,000 1,136,800.00 39,320 111,435.60 1,129,320 1,303,235.60

COMPUTER & OFFICE EQUIPMENT Company Name NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 2

Quotation(N) 6.27

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 6,000 35,760.00 6,000 35,760.00

Quotation(N) 2.00 35.99 1.08 38.95 27.00

Quantity Traded Value 10,422 329,888 6,345,609 192,509 626,005 7,504,433

Quotation(N) 5.22 53.06 0.50

By Tonia Osundolire and Eshiet Uyoatta

could push/pull the indicators with significant differences.”

However, 50 stocks recorded price changes with 21 appreciating, while the remaining 29 stocks recorded price drop.

The leading stocks on both sides of the table recorded the maximum five per cent each, while the others on the top 10 were in the range of 1.52 per cent to 4.97 per cent.

On the gainers table, Vitafoam led with a gain of N0.28 (five per cent) to close at N5.88 per share. This was followed by UAC-Property (4.97 per cent), Oceanic Bank (4.74 per cent), ABC Trans-

S

OME investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) have called on the new management of the Exchange to allow shareholders to monitor daily transactions from the gallery.

They said, observing daily transactions would boost investor confidence in the capital market.

The NSE barred investors from the gallery in August 2010.

A financial consultant, Tomi Ipaye, said investors would be in a better position to know which stocks to invest in by physically observing transactions from the gallery.

He said investments on the NSE were now down be-

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 23-05-11 N.E.M. INSURANCE CO. (NIG.) PLC. NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC. REGENCY ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 19 22 2 43

No of Deals 7 7

Company Name JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 101 101

No of Deals 14 38 163 95 87 24 20 17 76 2 10 10 556

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 64,032 317,868.32 129,658 6,977,566.39 205,000 102,500.00 398,690 7,397,934.71

Company Name AFROMEDIA PLC DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 6 9

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 422,000 234,740.00 422,000 234,740.00

Company Name UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 31 31

Quotation(N) 46.00 21.50 18.50 13.45 89.01 5.00 5.50 37.46 400.00 29.20 0.51 0.66

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 29,535 1,378,612.03 103,434 2,215,428.75 1,971,923 36,778,058.41 942,682 12,632,787.39 458,564 41,062,464.97 462,871 2,296,955.00 289,904 1,585,023.62 39,397 1,404,675.12 773,396 308,481,111.34 40,000 1,109,600.00 841,555 432,663.60 302,815 192,285.90 6,256,076 409,569,666.13

Company Name No of Deals CRUSADER NIGERIA PLC. 26 DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT AND TRUST PLC 2 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC 3 Sector Totals 31

Quotation(N) 1.26 1.97 27.00 4.27 1.96

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 48,000 60,480.00 665,718 1,322,564.64 415,430 11,266,526.22 23,533 96,514.21 1,270 2,374.90 1,153,951 12,748,459.97

Quotation(N) 0.56

No of Deals 11 11

No of Deals 4 21 25

Quotation(N) 1.43

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 80,696 116,867.28 80,696 116,867.28

Quotation(N) 8.20 5.88

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 6,824 55,956.80 256,280 1,453,330.00 263,104 1,509,286.80

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.50 0.63

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 252,500 126,250.00 50,000 25,000.00 265,547 168,784.61 568,047 320,034.61

Quotation(N) 0.83 1.04 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.61 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.55

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 3,237,288 2,703,065.71 960,200 1,009,834.00 2,000 1,000.00 36,970 18,485.00 1,000,000 500,000.00 5,000 8,000.00 39,000 19,500.00 1,260 630.00 1,007,160 503,580.00 70,534 35,267.00 208,558 114,768.90

INSURANCE Company Name No of Deals AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 53 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 15 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE CO. PLC. 1 EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC 2 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 6 GUARANTY TRUST ASSURANCE PLC 1 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 1 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMP PLC 7 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 5 LAW UNION AND ROCK INSURANCE PLC. 9

Quotation(N) 1.37

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 3,339,668 4,571,461.47 3,339,668 4,571,461.47

Quotation(N) 0.51 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,500 765.00 11,000 5,500.00 12,500 6,265.00

Quotation(N) 0.63

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,533,850 1,575,127.80 2,533,850 1,575,127.80

Quotation(N) 0.50 2.02 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 10,014,000 5,007,000.00 75,000 151,500.00 193,880 96,995.00 10,282,880 5,255,495.00

Quotation(N) 6.57 2.57 3.60

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 468 2,925.00 1,083,770 2,798,609.76 50,200 179,244.00 1,134,438 2,980,778.76

PACKAGING Company Name No of Deals AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS PLC. 1 NIGERIAN BAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLC 541 NAMPAK NIGERIA PLC 5 Sector Totals 547

PETROLEUM(MARKETING)

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY Company Name No of Deals CHAMS PLC 2 MASS TELECOM INNOVATION NIGERIA PLC 1 STARCOMMS PLC 14 Sector Totals 17

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 410,281 528,471.64 410,281 528,471.64

OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

INDUSTRIAL/DOMESTIC PRODUCTS Company Name B. O. C. GASES NIGERIA PLC VITAFOAM NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

Quotation(N) 1.30

MORTGAGE COMPANIES

HOTEL & TOURISM Company Name IKEJA HOTEL PLC Sector Totals

371,611.68 18,322.26 29,101.50 1,501,500.00 4,500.00 147,290.00 6,986,456.05

MEDIA

HEALTHCARE Company Name No of Deals EVANS MEDICALPLC. 9 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 18 GLAXOSMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC 39 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 10 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 1 Sector Totals 77

712,318 25,806 15,060 3,003,000 9,000 293,900 10,627,054

MARITIME

FOOD/BEVERAGES & TOBACCO Company Name 7-UP BOTTLING CO. PLC CADBURY NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIGERIA PLC HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NATIONAL SALT COMPANY NIGERIA PLC NIGERIAN BOTTLING COMPANY PLC NESTLE NIGERIA PLC NORTHERN NIGERIA FLOUR MILLS PLC TANTALIZERS PLC UTC NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

0.52 0.74 2.03 0.50 0.50 0.50

LEASING No of Deals 18 18

ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY Company Name NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. Sector Totals

15 3 3 3 2 6 133

Company Name C&I LEASING PLC Sector Totals

of Shares (N) 19,801.80 11,790,349.17 6,639,938.11 7,498,225.55 16,965,194.10 42,913,508.73

CONSTRUCTION Company Name COSTAIN (WA) PLC JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC MULTIVERSE PLC Sector Totals

cause most investors have found it difficult to rely on the judgment of their stockbrokers.

“Other capital markets in the world do not prevent investors from monitoring price movements.

“In fact, observation of trading activities enhances investor communication,” Ipaye said.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE

CONGLOMERATES Company Name No of Deals A. G. LEVENTIS (NIGERIA) PLC 5 PZ CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC 42 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 77 UAC OF NIGERIA PLC 45 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC 51 Sector Totals 220

port (4.35 per cent), Niwi Cable (3.70 per cent), Tantaliser (2.00 per cent), Unity Bank (1.87 per cent), Julius Berger (1.82 per cent), Wema Bank (1.69 per cent) and FinBank (1.52 per cent).

On the losers table, Sterling Bank recorded the highest drop of N0.11 to close at N2.09. Others were International Breweries (4.92 per cent), NSL Technology (4.92 per cent), UBN (4.87 per cent), BAGCO (4.81 per cent), Bank PHB (4.67 per cent), Starcomms (4.55 per cent), NEM (3.70 per cent), Law Union (3.51 per cent) and NASCON (3.00).

In all, investors traded 180.021 million shares worth N2.009 billion across 5,398 deals.

Investors seek to monitor transactions from gallery

COMMERCIAL/SERVICES Quotation(N) 0.50 1.16 2.83

•Key indicators close flat

HE Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday marked down the prices of UACN Plc and Custodian & Allied Insurance for dividend payment.

Both firms have proposed N1.10 and N0.17 divddend per share respectively.

Meanwhile, on the floor of the market, key market indicators slipped by 0.11 per cent apiece. Market capitalisation dropped by N9 billion to close at N8.232 trillion, while the All-ShareIndex (ASI) reduced by 27.97 points to close at 25,790.64 points.

Operators, said , the report reflected a balanced market with low activities, resulting in the insignificant drop recorded. “Nothing spectacular happened to instigate any high demand that

Company Name AFRICAN PETROLEUM PLC. BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC CONOIL PLC ETERNA OIL & GAS PLC. MOBIL OIL NIGERIA PLC. OANDO PLC TOTAL NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 36 4 6 36 21 25 137 24 289

Company Name ACADEMY PRESS PLC. LONGMAN NIGERIA PLC UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 5 13 19

Company Name UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 38 38

Company Name ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 12 12

Company Name UNITED NIGERIA TEXTILES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1

Quotation(N) 20.50 0.50 72.00 36.75 5.59 163.50 54.10 195.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 82,191 1,665,347.17 231,753 115,876.50 2,775 190,525.00 119,181 4,487,833.78 100,612 535,735.84 144,514 23,552,076.92 1,328,087 71,983,833.51 17,921 3,565,724.88 2,027,034 106,096,953.60

PRINTING & PUBLISHING Quotation(N) 3.68 6.84 4.99

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 5,000 17,500.00 50,000 325,000.00 91,791 453,009.92 146,791 795,509.92

Quotation(N) 17.96

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 317,542 5,661,379.49 317,542 5,661,379.49

REAL ESTATE

ROAD TRANSPORTATION Quotation(N) 0.72

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 399,900 287,928.00 399,900 287,928.00

Quotation(N) 0.65

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 20,000 13,600.00 20,000 13,600.00

TEXTILES

THE FOREIGN LISTINGS Company Name No of Deals ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 18 Sector Totals 18

Quotation(N) 15.49

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,493,797 38,645,693.74 2,493,797 38,645,693.74

Overall Totals

5,398

180,020,836

2,008,518,210.71

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

59

IN THE HIGH COURT OF LAGOS STATE OF NIGERIA PROBATE REGISTRY, LAGOS DIVISION WHEREAS the person whose names are set-out in the first Column under died intestate on the date and place stated in the said Column. AND WHEREAS the person or persons whose names and addresses and relationship (if any) to the deceased are set out in the second Column here have applied to the High Court of Lagos State for a Grant of Letter of Administration of the Real and Personal Properties of the deceased.

NOTICE IS HEREBY given that Letters of Administration will be granted to such persons unless a NOTICE TO PROHIBIT THE GRANT is filed in the registry within (14) days from the date hereof.

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NAMES OF THE DECEASED PERSON:

MR. MIGNEL ALEXANDER SHO-SILVA KNOWN AS MIGUOL ALAXANDER SHO-SILVA, MIGNOL ALEXANDER SHO-SILVA LATE OF 17, BAMGBOSE STREET, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 12TH DAY OF APRIL, 1959 AT LAGOS. MRS. THERESA EKENE UGWUOKE KNOWN AS MRS. THERESA UGWUOKE LATE OF 23, PROSPERITY ROAD, OKE- AFA, ISOLO, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 26TH DAY OF MAY, 2008 AT LAGOS. MR. MUSILIU ATANDA OJIKUTU LATE OF 26A, OGUNMOLA CLOSE SURULERE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 2ND MARCH, 2010 AT LAGOS. ALLISON EZECHUKWU CLINTON MBA LATE OF ENUGWUABO UFUMA ORUMBA NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ANAMBRA STATE WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 2ND DECEMBER, 1995 AT ENUGU. OTUNBA OLATUNJI AGORO ADESOYE KNOWN AS ADESOYE OLATUNJI AGORO LATE OF PLOT 10, OTUNBA TUNJI ADESOYE CRESCENT G.R.A, IJEBU ODE WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 4TH DAY OF JUNE, 2010 AT OGUN STATE. JOSEPH OSAROGIAGBON IGBINOSUN KNOWN AS JOE IGBINOSUN LATE OF 4, MAWA STREET, IFAKO GBAGADA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 18TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2009 AT LAGOS. REV. DR. I.E OTU KNOWN AS MR. I.E OTU LATE OF NO. 87, AGO HAUSA, AJEGUNLE, APAPA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 1ST DAY OF MAY, 2010 AT LAGOS. ANYAELE CHRISTIAN OGBONNAYA KNOWN AS OLUGBO OGBONNA EJINWA AND ANYAELE CHRISTIAN O. LATE OF 14, ATANDA STREET, SARI IGANMU, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 17TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2011 AT LAGOS. MRS. COMFORT LUCY OZIM KNOWN AS OZIM LUCY LATE OF BLOCK 47, FLAT 3, IPONRI ESTATE, SURULERE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 10TH DAY OF MAY, 2009 AT LAGOS. JIMOH OLADIPUPO AKANDE KNOWN AS PA. J.O AKANDE LATE OF FLAT 13, BLOCK 1, G CLOSE, 111 ROAD, 1A, AVENUE, FESTAC TOWN, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 9TH DAY OF APRIL, 2009 AT LAGOS. FLORENCE IBIRONKE AYODEJI ADEOSO KNOWN AS MRS. RONKE FLORENCE ADEOSO LATE OF 8, ETON WAY, IKOTUN, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 23RD DAY OF SEPTEMBER,2003 AT LAGOS. UMORU MOHAMMED LATE OF CAMP 5, BLOCK 5, FLAT 7, OJO MILITARY CANTONMENT, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 7TH DAY OF JUNE, 2010 AT LAGOS. MR. OJO JOHNSON ABIODUN KNOWN AS OJO ABIODUN, J.A ABIODUN AND JOHNSON ABIODUN OJO LATE OF BLOCK 422, FLAT 3, AMUWO ODOFIN, MILE 2, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 25TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2011 AT LAGOS. LANA ABAYOMI SUNDAY LATE OF 7, OSENI, FATONA STREET, IPAJA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 8TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2010 AT LAGOS. OZOH CHRISTOPHER IKENNA LATE OF 15, KUSA STREET, PEDRO ROAD, BARIGA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 28TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2011 AT LAGOS. BILIKISU GARUBA KNOWN AS GARUBA BILKISU LATE OF NO. 8, SAWYER STREET, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 7TH DAY OF JUNE, 2010 AT LAGOS. OLUSEGUN KAYODE COLE KNOWN AS COLE OLUSEGUN LATE OF 14, OLAIDE STREET, IKATE, SURULERE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 13TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2003 AT LAGOS. ANIEFIOK IKONO STEPHEN KNOWN AS IKONO ANIEFIOK STEOPHEN LATE OF MILE ONE, POLICE BARRACKS, PORT HARCOURT WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 8TH DAY OF MARCH, 2009 AT UYO. MR. IKECHUKWU CALLISTUS OKOLO KNOWN AS OKOLO IKECHUKWU LATE OF 24C, FEMI OKUNNU ESTATE (2) LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 22ND OCTOBER, 2010 AT LAGOS. COMFORT ADENIHUN GBEMISOLA KNOWN AS GBEMISOLA COMFORT LATE OF BLOCK 16, FLAT 8, FESTAC EXTENSION, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 24TH DAY OF MARCH, 2010 AT LAGOS. RAJI YUSUF OLADIPUPO LATE OF 2, AJILOGBA STREET, ISALE AGORO EPE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 4TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2009 AT LAGOS. EMMANUEL RAPHAEL LATE OF 52, PIKE STREET, LAFIAJI, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 30TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2010 AT LAGOS. ALBERT SMART ASIBUDE KNOWN AS ASIBUDE ALBERT SMART LATE OF 31, LASISI IGE STREET, IKOTUN LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 23RD DAY OF MARCH, 2008 AT LAGOS. IFEANYI EHIDOM KNOWN AS EHIDON IFEANYI LATE OF NSE 82, NICON ESTATE LEKKI, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 23RD DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2009 AT LAGOS. TAOHEED JINADU KNOWN AS ALHAJI TAOHEED AKANNI BANKOLE JINAIDU AND TAOHID JUNAID LATE OF 12, ERELU STREET, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 24TH DAY OF JUNE, 2010 AT LAGOS. MR. ONOBUN PIUS IDIAKE KNOWN AS ONABU PIUS LATE OF 5, OGUNDELE STREET, OJA OBA ABULE EGBA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 19TH MAY, 2010 AT BENIN. ABDUL UMARU LATE OF 38, RAILWAY QUARTERS, 1, IDDO, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 24TH MAY, 2009 AT LAGOS. LATOPA DARE KNOWN AS ISIAQ OLOHUNDARE, ISIAKA MUTAHEER DARE LATE OF 17, ONIMOLE STREET, ISA EKO, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 6TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2008 AT ILORIN. AUGUSTINE ADAH LATE OF 22, EKIMOGU STREET, BARIGA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 14TH NOVEMBER, 2010 AT LAGOS. IJOMA CHIEGWE AUGUSTINE KNOWN AS MR. AUGUSTINE IJOMA LATE OF 3, PEACE AVENUE, MAJIYAGBE, OLUBODUN TOWN, IPAJA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 31ST DAY OF OCTOBER, 2010 AT ASHAKA DELTA STATE. MATHEW ADEDAYO AWOJUYIGBE KNOWN AS DAYO AWOJUYIGBE LATE OF HOUSE 17, AIYEDE CHURCH GATE, BADAGRY EXPRESSWAY, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 8TH JANUARY, 2010 AT BADAGRY, LAGOS. MR. SUNDAY ADESANYA IDOWU KNOWN AS SUNDAY IDOWU LATE OF 2, KOSEBINU STREET, CELE 1, IBESE, IKORODU, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 3RD OF OCTOBER, 2009 AT LAGOS. MR. MICHAEL UZOZIE OKONKWO KNOWN AS OKONKWO MICHAEL UZOZIE LATE OF 20, SWAMP STREET, AJEGUNLE, APAPA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 25TH NOVEMBER, 2002 AT LAGOS. MARTHA ABOSEDE ADUNMO KNOWN AS ADUNMO MARTHA LATE OF 118, ADENIJI ADELE ROAD, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 17TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2008 AT LAGOS. ALHAJI QASIM BUSARI AYINLA KNOWN AS KAZEEM BUSARI AYINLA AND BUSARI KASIM LATE OF 5, DUMARE STREET, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 29TH DAY OF MAY, 2008 AT LAGOS. REV. SAMUEL OYETUNJI ADEOSUN LATE OF BLOCK 349, FLAT 5, LOW COST HOUSING ESTATE, OKE AFA, ISOLO WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 8TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2009 AT LAGOS. MRS. UKAEGBU EVELYN CHINYERE LATE OF NO. 3, OLAIDE STREET, IKATE, SURULERE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 12TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2010 AT LAGOS. MR. BONIFACE ANYACHO KNOWN AS ANYACHO BONIFACE AND EJIKEME LATE OF 4, BABALOLA STREET, OKOTA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 28TH SEPTEMBER, 2006 AT ELWULOBIA. MRS. CONSTANCE AKIOYAMEN KNOWN AS MRS. CONSTANCE AKIOYOMEN LATE OF OLD BLOCK C2, ROOM 1, MILE 2, SIGNAL BARRACKS, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 24TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2010 AT LAGOS. MR. ANSELM UDOKA ADIGWE LATE OF 1, ABIOLA OLUWA CLOSE OLODI-APAPA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 10TH OF MAY, 2009 AT BALE, ETHIOPIA. DAVID ADEPOJU ABIIBA KNOWN AS ABIIBA ADEPOJU LATE OF 2, LASUNWON STREET, IKORODU WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 16TH JANUARY, 2009 AT IKEJA, LAGOS. ALHAJI ADESINA TAJUDEEN ADEMOLU KNOWN AS CONGRESS MAN AND ALHAJI TAJUDEEN ADEMOLU LATE OF 51, TOYAN STREET, OBALENDE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 22ND FEBRUARY, 2008 AT LAGOS. ALEXANDRA ATIM DAVID KNOWN AS ALEXANDRA DAVID LATE OF ORA EGBANIKES & ASSOCIATE WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 18TH JANUARY, 2011 AT LAGOS. BADARU TIJANI LATE OF 2, ABU STREET, ORILE IGANMU, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 20TH DAY OF MAY, 2010 AT LAGOS. LASISI RALIATU KNOWN AS RALIATU LASISI LATE OF 31, IFELODUN STREET, BARIGA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 16TH DAY OF MAY, 2005 AT LAGOS. MR. RAMOND EFFIONG UDOH KNOWN AS RAMOND EFFIONG LATE OF INTERCONTINENTAL BANK WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 11TH OCTOBER, 2007 AT ENUGU. SANYAOLU EMMANUEL LATE OF 16, IBIKUNLE STREET, YABA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 19TH MARCH, 2005 AT ABEOKUTA. ALHAJA MOPELOLA AJOKE IBRAHIM LATE OF 7, IMAM DAUDA STREET, ERIC MOORE SURULERE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 2ND APRIL, 2010 AT LAGOS. MRS. DORCAS FASINA KNOWN AS MRS. FASINA DORCAS LATE OF 7, ENUKOKIKI STREET, IJEMO, ABEOKUTA WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 2ND APRIL, 2007 AT ABEOKUTA. MAYUNGBE EZEKIEL OLATUNDE LATE OF 1, AKINSOLU STREET, BARIGA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 5TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2009 AT LAGOS. MISS MERCY OSOKA KNOWN AS OSOKA MERCY LATE OF 33, ALHAJI AZEEZ STREET, OSHODI, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 8TH OF DECEMBER, 2009 AT IKEJA, LAGOS. OLABODE OYAWOLE KNOWN AS TIMOTHY OLABODE OYAWOLE AND OYAWOLE OLABODE LATE OF 21, ONI STREET, SURULERE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 17TH NOVEMBER, 2008 AT LAGOS. IKHUMHEN GLORIA IMEHINOR KNOWN AS IKHUMHEN GLORIA EMIEHINO LATE OF 31, NEW LAGOS ROAD, BENIN CITY WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 12TH AUGUST, 2010 AT BENIN CITY. MR. OGUNYOYIN JAMES LATE OF 4, OYEGOKE STREET, OSHODI, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 2ND JANUARY, 2011 AT LAGOS. AWOYEMI CHINENYE FRANCA KNOWN AS CHINENYE FRANCA AWOYEMI LATE OF 61, OBAGORIOLA STREET, SABO, AJANGBADI, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 6TH SEPTEMBER, 2010 AT LAGOS. OLAPADE RAFIU OLADIMEJI LATE OF 10, OSHO STREET, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 28TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2010 AT LAGOS. MRS. MARIA IYAMIDE AKRAN KNOWN AS MARIA I.B AKRAN LATE OF 1/8, ALIMI STREET, IRA ESTATE OJO, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 18TH OCTOBER, 2010 AT LAGOS. ALHAJI MUSILIUDEEN ADELAMI OLALEKAN KNOWN AS ALHAJI OLALEKAN MUSILIU LATE OF 201 IDOWU AYENI STREET, IDIMU, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 24TH DAY OF JULY, 2009 AT LAGOS. USMAN LIMAN LATE OF 1, KARIMU LANE, IJORA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 16TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2010 AT LAGOS. MR. DAWUDA AKEJU KNIOWN AS AKEJU DAWUDA LATE OF 5, OKEPOPO STREET, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON 1ST AUGUST, 1996 AT LAGOS. CHIEF OLUYOMBO AREMU AKONI KNOWN AS CHIEF AKONI OLUYOMBO LATE OF 8, JALUPON CLOSE, SURULERE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 18TH APRIL, 2005 AT LAGOS. MR. OBI NICHOLAS CHUKWUEMEKA LATE OF 91, ILOGBO ROAD, AJANGBADI OJO, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 31ST DAY OF MAY, 2010 AT LAGOS. MR. JOSEPH OBENYEGBA KNOWN AS EDO AND OBENYEGBU JOSEPH LATE OF 2, ONALAJA STREET, BARIGA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 9TH APRIL, 2008 AT LAGOS. AKPOMAILUE JOSEPH LATE OF 2, ST MICHAEL CLOSE, OJO, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 12TH DAY OF MARCH, 2009 AT DELTA STATE. MAZI OGBONNAYA ISAAC AMUKWE LATE OF 13, ADEDAYO ADENIRAN STREET, AMUKOKO, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 29TH SEPTEMBER, 2009 AT LAGOS. ALHAJI BURAIMO OMOSANYA FAKAN LATE OF 7, GARUBA NUSA STREET, IDI ARABA, MUSHIN, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 30TH JUNE, 1999 AT LAGOS. ADEWALE RISIKAT KNOWN AS ALHAJA RISIKAT AJIKE DISU LATE OF 4, FORESYTH STREET, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 24TH DAY OF OCTOBER, 2010 AT LAGOS. OBI TIMOTHY NDUMDI KNOWN AS OBI NDUMDI TIMOTHY AND MR. TIMOTHY N. OBI LATE OF 32B, OJO ROAD, AJEGUNLE, APAPA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 17TH NOVEMBER, 2009 AT LAGOS. MRS. GLADYS OLATOBI ONI LATE OF 6, JALUPON CLOSE, SURULERE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 15TH OCTOBER, 2010 AT LAGOS. OLATUNJI OLAYIWOLA TAJUDEEN LATE OF 32, ADUROGBOLA AVENUE, AKESAN, IGANDO, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 24TH NOVEMBER, 2008 AT LAGOS. ALBERT OLATUNDE SANU KNOWN AS SANU ALBERT LATE OF 2, ROTIMI STREET, PAPA AJAO, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 22ND SEPTEMBER, 2009 AT LAGOS. ALHAJI ABDUL FATAI ALLI-OWE KNOWN AS ALHAJI ABDULLAI FATAI ALLI OWE AND ALHAJI ABDULFATAI ALLI-OWE LATE OF 1, HOGGAN BASSEY CRESCENT, SURULERE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 28TH NOVEMBER, 2008 AT LAGOS. JIDE OLADOKUN KNOWN AS OLADOKUN JIDE LATE OF IMOSAN STREET, BAYEKU, IKORODU, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 23RD DAY OF DECEMBER, 2009 AT LAGOS. MR. IHENAKARAM PETER LATE OF 57, WALE- BOLE AJANGBADI, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 9TH DAY OF JULY, 2010 AT LAGOS. MRS. MARIA OLUDUNKE AJAKAIYE KNOWN AS MARIA AJAKAIYE AND AJAKAIYE MARIA LATE OF 33, OLORUNTOYIN STREET, BARIGA, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 11TH DECEMBER, 2003 AT LAGOS. MR. ALADE LATEEF BABATUNDE LATE OF 6, OYEWOLE STREET, ONIPANU, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 22ND MAY, 2010 AT IBADAN, OYO STATE. INSP. CALEB DAODU LATE OF NO. 1, REV. CANON IJEGUN SATELLITE TOWN, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 26TH APRIL, 2010 AT LAGOS. EMMANUEL OLUREMI OGUNYEMI LATE OF 13, AYINDE GIWA STREET, SURULERE, LAGOS WHO DIED INTESTATE ON THE 20TH DAY OF JULY, 1974 AT LAGOS.

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NAMES OF APPLICANT APPLYING FOR THE GRANT

MRS. DAMAZIA Y. KUTEYI, MRS. EFUNWUNMI ODUNUSI AND MISS LINDA SHO-SILVA ALL OF 17, BAMGBOSE STREET, LAGOS, ONE OF THE CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. UGWUOKE INNOCENT UCHENNA AND MRS. IFEYINWA UGWUOKE BOTH OF 23, PROSPERITY ROAD, OKE-AFA ISOLO, LAGOS. THE WIDOWER AND SISTER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. ALHAJI WAHEED OLAKUNLE OPE AND ALHAJI SALISU MOYO LEDIJU OF 8, BANK OLEMOH STREET, SURULERE, AND BLOCK 89, FLAT 2, IPONRI L.C.H ESTATE, IPONRI, LAGOS. THE BROTHERS OF THE SAID DECEASED. CHUKWU EDOZIE MBA, YANKA MBA, OKECHUKWU MBA AND CHUKWUDELU MBA ALL OF 350, BORNO WAY, YABA, LAGOS. THE FOUR OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. ADEJUWON ADEPUJI ADESOYE AND ADEGBENGA ADESOYE BOTH OF 19, ALARA STREET, ONIKE-YABA, LAGOS. TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. JOSEPHINE IGBINOSUN AND NOSAKHARE JOSEPH IGBINOSUN BOTH OF 14, ILAWE STREET, IFAKO, GBAGADA, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. NGOZI CHRISTIANA OTU AND MR. ANIEDI OTU BOTH OF 87, AGO HAUSA, AJEGUNLE, APAPA, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND BROTHER OF THE SAID DECEASED. VICTORIA N. ANYAELE AND CHRISTIAN C. ANYAELE OF 14, ATANDA STREET, IGANMU AND 166, IJESHA ROAD, IJESHATEDO, SURULERE, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MR. NICHOLAS OZIM AND MRS. JOY AMECHI BOTH OF BLOCK 47, FLAT 3, IPONRI ESTATE, SURULERE, LAGOS TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. RASHEED O. AKANDE, SILIFAT A. BANWO AND WASILAT A. TAIWO ALL OF FLAT 13, BLOCK 1,G CLOSE, 111 ROAD, 1A, AVENUE, FESTAC TOWN, LAGOS. THREE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. ADEOLA ADEBONOJO AND MISS. ADESOLA ADEOSO BOTH OF 1, ETON WAY, IKOTUN, LAGOS. TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. HABIBAT UMORU AND SALAMATU UMORU BOTH OF CAMP 5, BLOCK 5, FLAT 7, OJO MILITARY CANTONMENT, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS., OJO OLUFUNKE ELIZABETH AND OJO OLUFUNMILAYO YEMISI BOTH OF OKUMOPO AKINLADE AJAH, LAGOS, THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MR. DEINDE LANA, MR. SEGUN LANA AND MR. SEYE LANA ALL OF 11, OSENI FARONA STREET, IPAJA, LAGOS THE THREE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. OZOH CECILIA NWAMAKA, AGU OGECHI GLORIA (NEE OZOH) AND OZOH CHUKWUDI SUNDAY ALL OF 15, KUSA STREET, OFF PEDRO ROAD, BARIGA, LAGOS THE WIDOW AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. ALHAJI YINUSA AYINDE, TOHEEB GARUBA AND ZAINAB GARUBA ALL OF FLAT 5, BLOCK 3, B CLOSE, FESTAC TOWN, LAGOS, THE WIDOWER AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. RICHARD AYODELE COLE AND OLUSHOLA COLE BOTH OF 14, OLAIDE STREET, IKATE, SURULERE, LAGOS, THE ONLY CHILD AND BROTHER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. VICTORIA STEPHEN AND EMMANUEL STEPHEN BOTH OF 12, FAWEHINMI FURNITURE FACTORY ROAD, SABO, YABA, LAGOS, THE YOUNGER SISTER AND YOUNGER BROTHER OF THE SAID DECEASED. MR. CHIEDOZIE OKOLO AND MRS. CHINYELU ONOCHIE OF 24C, FEMI OKUNNU ESTATE, LEKKI, LAGOS AND 11, BAALE STREET, IGBOEFUN, THE BROTHER AND SISTER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. YETUNDE O. GBEMISOLA AND KAYODE O. GBEMISOLA BOTH OF BLOCK 16, FLAT 8, FESTAC EXTENTION, LAGOS THE TWO CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. RISIKATU BOLANLE LAWAL, MR. UTHMAN OLAMILEKE RAJI, MISS RASHIDAT ABIODUN RAJI AND MISS SIDIKATU OLAMIJI RAJI ALL OF NO. 2, AJILOGBA AGORO EPE, LAGOS FOUR OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. OLUSEGUN EMMANUEL, FUNMILAYO RAPHEAL AND RASONA OLATEJU EMMANUEL OF 52, PIKE STREET, LAGOS AND 27, AIYETORO STREET, SURULERE, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. BLESSING ASIBUDE AND JONAH ASIBUDE BOTH OF 31, LASISI IGE STREET, IKOTUN, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. NKEM EHIDOM, COL. BUDE OKAFOR AND MRS. LILIAN N. OKAFOR ALL OF 52, STREET, C.C NICON ESTATE, LEKKI, LAGOS. THE WIDOW, UNCLE AND AUNTY OF THE SAID DECEASED. MR. OLAYINKA JUNAID AND AKINOLA JINADU OF 20, ASHOGBON STREET, LAGOS AND 14, FREEMAN STREET, LAGOS, TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. MARGARET ONOBUN AND EMMANUEL PIUS ONOBUN BOTH OF 5, OGUNDELE STREET, OJA OBA, ABULE EGBA, LAGOS, THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. HALIMA SALAMATU ABDUL AND SULAIMAN ABDUL BOTH OF 38, RAILWAY QUARTERS, IDDO, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND SON OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. IYABO LATOPA, MR. TAIYE LATOPA AND MR. KEHINDE LATOPAALL OF 17, ONIMOLE STREET, ISALE EKO, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. OBANLE JOSEPH ADAH AND CECILIA ADAH BOTH OF 22, EKIMOGU STREET, BARIGA, LAGOS, THE BROTHER AND SISTER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. FELIX O. IJOMA AND HENRY E. IJOMA BOTH OF 3, PEACE AVENUE, MOJIYAGBE OLUBODUN TOWN, IPAJA, LAGOS, THE BROTHERS OF THE SAID DECEASED. AYODEJI JULIUS AWOJUYIGBE, OLUSEGUN SAMSON AWOJUYIGBE AND MRS. RACHAEL AWOJUYIGBE. THE WIDOW AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. KEHINDE O. IDOWU AND MISS ODUNOLA O. IDOWU BOTH OF 2, KOSEBINU STREET, CELE 1, IBESE IKORODU, LAGOSTHE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. NNEKA OKONKWO AND PETER OKONKWO BOTH OF 20, SWAMP STREET, AJEGUNLE APAPA, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND BROTHER OF THE SAID DECEASED. OLUWAYEMISI BAKARE AND IDOWU RUTH ADUNMO BOTH OF 118, ADENIJI ADELE ROAD, LAGOS. THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. KAZEEM LOOKMAN, KAZEEM ISIAKA AND KAZEEM LATEEF ALL OF NO. 5, DUMARE STREET, LAGOS. THE THREE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. CHRISTIANAH A. ADEOSUN, MRS. VICTORIA T. UMOREN AND MR. EMMANUEL O. ADEOSUN ALL OF BLOCK 349, FLAT 5, L.C.H ESTATE, ISOLO, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. UKAEGBU STANLEY UCHENNA AND UKAEGBU IFEANYI JUSTIN BOTH OF 3, OLAIDE STREET, IKATE SURULERE, LAGOS. TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. AGATHA N. ANYACHO, MR. CHINEME T. ANYACHO AND MR. CHINEDU K. ANYACHO ALL OF NO. 4, BABALOLA STREET, OKOTA, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. THOMAS AKIOYAMEN AND MRS. JUSTINA OKOJIE BOTH OF OLD BLOCK 2, ROOM 1, MILE 2, SIGNAL BARRACKS, LAGOS, THE WIDOWER AND COUSIN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MR. CHUKWUDI ADIGWE AND MR. IKENNA A. ADIGWE BOTH OF NO. 1, BIOLA OLUWA CLOSE, OLODI APAPA, LAGOS. TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. OLUWAFUNMITAN ABIIBA AND MRS. COMFORT A. BAMISHIGBIN BOTH OF 2, LASUNWON STREET, IKORODU, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND SISTER OF THE SAID DECEASED. OMOSHELEWA A. ADEMOLU, ADEKUNLE A. ADEMOLU AND ABIMBOLA M. ADEMOLU ALL OF 51, TOYAN STREET, OBALENDE, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. CYRIL D. DAVID AND MARY ETIM BOTH OF SPO’S QUARTERS, FLAT 24, FALOMO POLICE BARRACKS, LAGOS. THE WIDOWER AND NIECE OF THE SAID DECEASED. TAIYE TIJANI AND BILIKI TIJANI BOTH OF 17, IFELODUN STREET, BARIGA, LAGOS. TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MR. ADENIJI S. AKINOLA AND MRS. SHERIFAT DOSUNMU OF 13, AYOOLA A. OWOROSHAKI LAGOS AND 14, FANI FAWEHINHI FURNITURE, TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. EKANEM EKAETTE EFFIONG OF 7, AISHATU ONISEMO STREET, SANYA AGUDA, SURULERE, LAGOS. THE BROTHER OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. EME ETIM SANYAOLU AND MISS OLUWATOBI EKAETE SANYAOLU BOTH OF 16, IBIKUNLE STREET, YABA, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. OMODELE IBRAHIM AND KOLAWOLE IBRAHIM OF 36, FOLA OSIBO STREET, STREET, LEKKI PHASE 1, AND BLOCK 2, FLAT 6, LSDPC MEDIUM HOUSING ESTATE, EBUTE METTA, LAGOS. THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. FUNKE ADELAKUN AND MR. OLUDELE FASINA OF 48, FASORO STREET, SURULERE AND 35, LAFUNKE STREET, IJEGUN, IKOTUN, LAGOS. THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. OMOLAJA OLATUNDE AND BAMIDELE OLATUNDE BOTH OF 41, OLABIRAN STREET, SHOMOLU, LAGOS. TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MR. BEN NDUKWE OSOKA AND MRS. NKECHI ORJI OF 8, OLASENI SALAMI STREET, ALAGBADO AND 33, ALHAJI AZEEZ STREET, OSHODI, LAGOS. THE BROTHER AND SISTER OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. FLORENCE T. OYAWOLE. MRS. ABIMBOLA O. ADELOWO AND MISS ESTHER T. OYAWOLE OF 21, ONI STREET, SURULERE, AND 6/8, EMMANUEL CHURCH STREET, ILASAMAJA, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MR. ROBERT I. IKHUMHEN AND MR. HARRISON O. IKHUMHEN BOTH OF 6, AGBONIGBE STREET, IKPOBAHILL BENIN CITY. THE BROTHERS OF THE SAID DECEASED. OGUNYOYIN OLAWUNMI, OGUNYOYIN OMOTOLA ANDF OGUNYOYIN OLASUNBO ALL OF 4, OYEGOKE STREET, OSHODI, LAGOS. THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MR. AWOYEMI SEGUN AND OGOCHUKWU UCHE BOTH OF 61, OBAGORIOLA STREET, SABO, AJANGBADI, LAGOS. THE WIDOWER AND SISTER RESPECTIVELY OF THE SAID DECEASED. OLAPADE WASIU ADEWALE AND OLAPADE BASIRAT TITILAYO BOTH OF 10, OSHO STREET, LAGOS. TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. PRINCE C.O.H AKRAN AND VICTORIA AYILARA (MRS) BOTH OF 1/8, ALIMI STREET, IRA ESTATE, OJO, LAGOS. THE WIDOWER AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MR. RASAQ OLALEKAN AND MR. NURUDEEN OLALEKAN BOTH OF 201 IDOWU AYENI STREET, IDIMU, LAGOS. THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MUSA USMAN AND USMAN MOHAMMED BOTH OF 1, KARIMU, IJORA, LAGOS. THE FATHER AND BROTHER OF THE SAID DECEASED. ALHAJI TAJUDEEN ADEBOLA AKEJU AND ALHAJI SURAJ OLAKUNLE AKEJU BOTH OF 5, OKEPOPO STREET, LAGOS. THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. CHIEF (MRS) OLABISI AKONI, MR. OLANREWAJU AKONI, MR. AKINFOLA AKONI AND MR. OLAWALE AKONI (SAN) ALL OF 8, JALUPON CLOSE, SURULERE, LAGOS. THE WIDOW, TWO OF THE CHILDREN AND NEPHEW OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. OBI MARTHA AND MR. OBI CYPRIEL OF D534B, ALABA INT’L MARKET OJO, LAGOS AND CHYZON PLAZA, MILE 2, AHMADU BELLO WAY, KADUNA. THE WIDOW AND BROTHER-IN-LAW OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS MARY OBENYEGBA AND MRS. FRANCA MICHAEL BOTH OF BLOCK 24, BONNY CAMP, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND SISTER OF THE SAID DECEASED. MR. AKPOMAILUE GOODLUCK, MRS MAGRET AGWONOGHOR BOTH OF 2, SAINT MICHAEL CLOSE, OJO, LAGOS. THE SIBLINGS OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. OGBONNAYA NNENNAYA AND NDUBUISI K. OGBONNAYA BOTH OF 13, ADEDAYO ADENIRAN STREET, AMUKOKO, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND SON OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. MULIKAT AKINOLA, MR. SEGUN FAKAN, MR. ISSA FAKAN AND MR. SIKIRU FAKAN ALL OF 7/9, GARUBA MUSA STREET, IDI-ARABA, MUSHIN, LAGOS. FOUR OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. ALHAJA KUDIRAT OWOWALE AND TAIBAT OWOWALE BOTH OF FORESYTH STREET, LAGOS. THE SISTER AND NIECE OF THE SAID DECEASED. CHUKWUDI O. OBI AND IKECHUKWU N. OBI BOTH OF 32B, OJO ROAD, AJEGUNLE APAPA, LAGOS. THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. AYODEJI O. ONI AND OLAYINKA O. TUYO BOTH OF 6, JALUPON CLOSE, SURULERE, LAGOS. THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. ELIZABETH OLATUNJI AND MISS ABIMBOLA OLATUNJI BOTH OF 32, ADUROGBOLA AVENUE, AKESAN IGANDO, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND ONE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. OLAYINKA SANU, MRS. BUSOLA ADENIJI, MR. AFOLABI SANU AND MR. OLASEBIKAN SANU ALL OF 2, ROTIMI STREET, PAPA AJAO, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MUTIAT OLUWATOYIN ALLI-OWE AND MODINAT ALLI-OWE BOTH OF HAWLEY STREET, LAGOS. TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. OLUWATOYIN OLADOKUN ,OMOTAYO OLADOKUN AND OMOTOMIWA OLADOKUN ALL OF IMOSAN STREET, BAYEKU, IKORODU, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. HERRITTA N. IHENAKARAM, OGECHI IHENAKARAM AND CHIMEREMEZE IHENAKARAM ALL OF 57, WOLE STREET, AJANGBADI, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MR. FEMI ALEGBELEYE AND MR. AYODELE ADEBANJO BOTH OF 23, JACOB ODESORA STREET, AGRIC. IKORODU, LAGOS. THE TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. ELIZABETH OMOWUNMI ALADE, IDRIS BABATUNDE ALADE AND AIRAT OLUWATOYIN ALADE ALL OF 6, OYEWOLE STREET, ONIPANU, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. DAUDU CECILIA IREDE, DAODU O. GEORGE AND DAODU EMMANUEL.O ALL OF NO. 1 REV. CANON IJEGUN SATELLITE TOWM, LAGOS. THE WIDOW AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SAID DECEASED. MRS. OLURANTI OLUWOLE, MRS. IBIJOKE FAJANA AND MR. ADEFOLU OGUNYEMI OF 5, ANIFOWOSHE CLOSE, SURULERE AND 53, OLATILEWA STREET, SURULERE, LAGOS.THE RELATIONS OF THE SAID DECEASED.

G.A SAFARI (MR.) PROBATE REGISTRAR

60

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

FOREIGN NEWS Pakistani troops end attack on Karachi naval air base

P

AKISTANI troops have ended a siege by militants who attacked a naval air force base in Karachi, killing at least 16 people - including 10 soldiers.

The attackers managed to hold hostage several foreigners at the base, but officials say they were later rescued.

The Pakistan Taliban says Sunday’s raid was to avenge Osama Bin Laden’s killing by US special forces in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad on 2 May. Many attacks have been carried out since then.

“It was the revenge of martyrdom of Osama Bin Laden. It was the proof that we are still united and powerful,” Ehsanullah Ehsan told Reuters news agency.

Clouds of black smoke

billowed over the Mehran airbase when I arrived about half an hour after the attack began.

Ambulances, with sirens wailing, stood outside the gate of the compound, which was sealed soon after the attack began. They were joined by dozens of TV satellite trucks and journalists.

Initially, there was intermittent gunfire.

However, 15 minutes after I arrived there was an exchange of fire that lasted for several minutes.

We had to lie on the ground as bullets and shrapnel whizzed over our heads.

After successfully freeing hostages captured by the gunmen, security forces swept through the complex to mop up any remaining resistance.

Sudanese gunmen set oil-rich town on fire

T

HE Sudanese town of Abyei has been set on fire, with gunmen looting property, the UN says.

The town and surrounding area are claimed by both Khartoum and by South Sudan, set to become independent in July. The town was captured at the weekend by northern troops.

The United Nations has urged Sudan’s government in Khartoum to withdraw its forces.

South Sudan’s secession follows decades of northsouth conflict and some fear this dispute could reignite the war.

In a statement, the UN Mission in Sudan (Unmis) said it

cy Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) told the BBC. Khartoum has said it acted after 22 of its men were killed in a southern ambush last Thursday. The northern troops were travelling in a UN convoy.

UN officials have described the incident as “a criminal attack” and the US called on South Sudan to “account” for the assault.

South Sudanese forces have denied responsibility for the incident.

Since then, both UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and EU top diplomat Catherine Ashton have condemned the violence in the region.

On Sunday, UN Security

Council envoys said during a visit to Khartoum that the north should “withdraw immediately” its troops from the Abyei region. The diplomats have now arrived in South Sudan.

Tension over Abyei - a small town claimed by a southern group, the Dinka Ngok, and northern nomads, the Misseriya - has been rising since a referendum on its future scheduled for January was postponed.

Since then there have been fears clashes in the region could spark a new war between the northern-based government of Sudan and the soon-to-be independent South Sudan.

US official visit Libyan rebels

Nelson Mandela travels to home village

N

ELSON Mandela has travelled to his childhood village in South Africa’s Eastern Cape in his first trip since he was hospitalised in January.

The 92-year-old former president flew to Qunu from Johannesburg with a full medical team.

The BBC correspondent in Johannesburg says news of the trip has raised fresh concerns about his health.

However, his great grandson said he had seen Mr Mandela last week and urged well-wishers not to panic.

Speaking at an event in Johannesburg to promote Mandela Day in July, Luvuyo Mandela said the fact that his greatgrandfather had been well enough to travel was testimony to his good health, given his advanced years.

Mr Mandela is now said to be resting at home in Qunu with his wife, Graca Machel, after he was transferred from the airport in a convoy of 12 vehicles on Sunday night.

South African President Jacob Zuma said he was “pleased that [Mandela] is now well enough to travel”.

“strongly condemns the burning and looting currently being perpetrated by armed elements in Abyei town”.

It stressed that the northern troops were “responsible for maintaining law and order in the areas they control”, urging Khartoum to “intervene to stop these criminal acts”.

South Sudan earlier denounced the Abyei takeover on Saturday as an act of war.

A southern military spokesman told the BBC the north had attacked the area with 5,000 troops, killing civilians and southern soldiers.

Some 20,000 people, almost the whole population of the town, had fled, aid agen-

•Feltman

U

NITED States Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman has met the Transitional National Council, which rules the east of Libya.

Colonel Muammar Gadd-

afi must leave power, the US reiterated in a statement released during the visit.

The Libyan rebels failed to gain full recognition when they travelled to Washington a week ago.

After those talks the US President Barack Obama went as far as to say the Transitional National Council (TNC) was a “legitimate and credible” interlocutor for the Libyan people, and he said it was inevitable that Col Gaddafi would leave power.

Along with France and the United Kingdom, the US was proactive in securing the United Nations mandate for a no-fly zone, imposed on Libya in March.

American forces also led

the implementation of the no-fly zone before handing control to the Nato alliance.

During his three-day visit to Libya, Mr Feltman will meet the head of the TNC, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, and others.

It follows a diplomatic mission by the European Union, during which EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton opened an EU office in Benghazi, the de facto rebel capital.

Some countries - including France, Italy and Qatar have already given diplomatic recognition to the TNC rebel leadership.

Apart from the diplomatic manoeuvres, there are credible - but unconfirmed reports that France wants to

deploy attack helicopters as part of the Nato-led coalition.

Twelve helicopters were despatched to Libya on the French carrier Tonnerre on 17 May, according to reports in Le Figaro newspaper.

The deployment is part of co-ordinated action by the Nato coalition, one unnamed French diplomatic source told Reuters news agency.

Nato itself refused to confirm the reports.

If helicopters are made available for Nato operations in Libya, they will ramp up the pressure on Col Gaddafi by enabling Nato to get closer to government forces embedded in civilian areas of towns and cities.

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

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THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

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NATION SPORT

Stoke, Malaga chase Nsofor A

CCORDING to The Sun, Stoke City wishes to recruit the Nigerian striker Victor ObinnaNsofor.

Nsofor 24, currently on

loan from Inter Milan to West Ham, the Super Eagle should not stay at the Hammers, who will play in the Championship next season.

He was a target for Potters

boss Tony Pulis last summer before joining the Hammers from Inter Milan. The ex Enyimba man is also attracting interest from Napoli in Italy, but

the Italian club have decided to focus on more important reinforcements as they have qualified for next season's UEFA Champions League.

Trabzonspor wants Ujah

T

URKISH side Trabzonspor have joined the chase for the Nigerian wonder-kid Anthony Ujah, several sources in Turkey are reporting.

Trabzonspor, who are certain of playing Champions League football next season, want to reinforce their midfield and forward lines and have considered the possibility of signing the sensational Lillestrom striker.

Ujah has worked wonders since the Norwegian season began with eight goals in seven games, which has alerted some of Europe's finest clubs. Trabzonspor scouts have watched Ujah in action and have sent a report to the club's management, who are prepared to meet Lillestrom's 2.6 million euros valuation of the ex Warri Wolves man.

Trabzonspor will have to battle FC Twente, PSV, Marseille, Auxerre, Osasuna, Hamburg, Anderlecht and Sporting Lisbon for Ujah's signature.

• Nsofor

T

T

HE team and officials of Warri Wolves have asserted that getting a continental ticket is their utmost priority after getting a hard earned draw in Owerri at the expense of homers, Heartland FC. The team in an exclusive chat with NationSport shortly after the draw in Owerri stressed that it was a relief to have survived that late penalty scare and to get the sought after draw after the feats in Enugu and Aba recently.

According to Efe Yarhere who is one of the Warri Wolves’ strikers, “We came here for a win but at the end of the day we got a draw. We cannot call it a bad result because Heartland is a very strong side and it is difficult playing team

From Tunde Liadi, Owerri like this. Being on top of the league is our main priority. We know that we are going to catch up and this is a step forward towards achieving that.”

Chigozie Agbim is a goal keeper, “We came here for a win but unfortunately we got a draw but we have taken it that way and we are going home to consolidate on our league position. We look forward to getting results that will take us closer to the league title.”

On the part of the Technical Adviser of the team, Paul Aigbogun he stated that the draw was a good result and that it was another way to show their determination to ensure a continental ticket is got at the end of the season.

Ezeji, Rotimi hail ‘competitive’ UPER Eagles, Victor derby Ezeji and Sunday

S

Heartland's technical crew gets five-match ultimatum HE General Manager of Heartland FC of Owerri, Chief Fan Ndubuoke has hinted NationSport that the Technical crew of the Naze Millionaires have been placed on five match ultimatum within which their relevance would be reviewed.

Ndubuoke, a foremost sports journalist turned Administrator in an interview with NationSport shortly after his team’s dull goalless home draw against Warri Wolves at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri opined that the form of Heartland at the ongoing NPL season

Warri Wolves targets continental ticket

From Tunde Liadi, Owerri looked like some fairy tale stories to him judging by the quality of players in the team’s fold and the Technical Crew marshaled by an expatriate, Dutchman Lodewikj de Kruif.

He informed that the technical crew have been mandated to get nothing less than 12 points from their next 5 matches one which he reckoned started with the home draw against Warri Wolves adding that there would be a holistic appraisal of the team’s scorecard and the input of the coaches attached to the team.

RETRACTION AND APOLOGY There was a Citizens Report Card on ‘Public Services, Good Governance And Infrastructure Development in 120 Communities in the Niger Delta’ presented by Niger Delta Professionals for Development NIDPRRODEV in ASABA, DELTA STATE on 6th April 2011 and subsequently a news publication in Vol. 6 No. 1722 of The Nation Newspaper of April 7, 2011 at page 9 titled: LIST OF FAILED NIGER DELTA CONTRACTORS OUT. The publication gave the impression that Chief Enyinnaya H. Abaribe, distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing Abia South Senatorial Zone was a Contractor for the delivery of a contract to construct a borehole and building of a Federal Health Centre in Obeaku Community, Ukwa East LGA of Abia State.

It has come to our notice that even though the projects are Constituency projects which might have been attracted to the Community by the distinguished Senator, He is NOT THE CONTRACTOR responsible for their execution.

In view of the above, we hereby retract the said publication and offer apologies to Chief Enyinnaya H. Abaribe, distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

For: NIGER DELTA PROFESSIONALS FOR DEVELOPMENT (NIDPRRODEV)

“We expect the coaches to take a review of the strategists they have been adopting and if it has not been yielding the desired results they should opt for the one that will do so. For instance what will you say if you have a penalty and you cannot put it behind the goal keeper? Is that management problem?

It depends on that player and

his level of composure at that moment in time.

“Yes there was a meeting with the officials and players of our team last week and the main thrust of that meeting was for the team to sit up and towards achieving that, the Management team of Heartland has placed the technical crew on five match ultimatum and it has taken effect with the goalless draw they had today. They are expected to amass at least 12 points from the next five matches within which the technical crew and their relevance would be reviewed.

Rotimi have both expressed satisfaction with the displays of their respective Nigeria Premier League (NPL) clubs, Sharks and Dolphin in Sunday’s Garden City derby which Dolphin edged 1-0 at the Liberation Stadium.

Derrick Amadi’s opportunism on the stroke of half time was the difference between both sides in a game that simmered without really boiling over. With suggestions before the game hinting at a ‘friendly’ derby, the duo of Ezeji and Rotimi were quick to dispel conspiracy theories.

“Everyone who saw the

game would attest to the fact that both teams gave their all.

They played with hunger and I am sure the fans were entertained,” Ezeji told SuperSport.com.

Rotimi echoed Ezeji’s sentiments but stated that Dolphin is now in a very strong position to win the league title.

“We have started the second round well with only one loss (against Enyimba) in four games. Now, the title is ours to lose,” he said.

Dolphins’ closest challengers, Sunshine Stars won 4-1 against relegation haunted Plateau United to keep the difference between both sides at five points.

Nworuh back to Super League

J

UDE Nworuh extended last spring his contract with FC Midtjylland, but to speed

up the attacker's development, the club decided last summer to send him on loan to FC Fredericia. Here Jude had great success with 13 goals, he is the team's top scorer.

Fredericia would therefore like to stick with the 21-yearold striker, but Jude himself, has

declined to remain at the club.

We expect that he will return to FC Midtjylland. Jude would like to see if he can play at the highest level next season, either in Central or also in a different club, "says CEO Stig Pedersen to bold.dk. ''We have been in dialogue with Midtjylland, but it is important that the player will play in the first division. He has ambitions that are higher. And we accept of course.''

THE NATION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

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Tomorrow in THE NATION

http://www.thenationonlineng.net

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL. 6

NO.1,769

‘Nigeria today is so maggoty that, without being blasphemous, even the reincarnation of Jesus Christ or the coming again of Prophet Mohammed may not be able to change anything.’

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

P

OOR President Goodluck Jonathan.

He will now have discovered to his discomfiture that winning the election was the easy part.

I suspect that even the the looming court battles in which the CPC candidate General Muhammadu Buhari, has promised to demonstrate to the world that the victory was secured through monumental fraud does not keep him awake at night as does the challenge of putting together a cabinet that can, as they say, “move the country forward.”

Moving the country forward: Isn’t that what every Administration in the past 25 years has declared as its primary mission, only to set the country gyrating for the most part in an ever-shrinking circle?

From the bits and pieces emerging from those who claim to know what is going on in the Jonathan camp, it does not look as if he will make a radical break from this tradition. On the contrary, it looks as if he is set to put his own personal stamp on it.

Consider some of the people from the South West said to have figured and not as a joke but in sound earnest, as possible cabinet ministers in discussions at the highest level.

Adebayo Alao-Akala. Olagunsoye Oyinlola. Gbenga Daniel. Olusegun Agagu.

Iyabo Obasanjo. Ayo Arise. Iyiola Omisore.

Isiaka Adeleke.

Nigerians should feel deeply troubled, if not positively insulted, at the very thought that any of these could end up as cabinet ministers. It is as if proven failure in almost every previous assignment and public rejection at the polls are the principal qualifications for being appointed minister.

Those being mentioned as likely cabinet nominees from other political zones hardly inspire greater confidence. Whom you know, or who is sponsoring you, or the capacity for blackmail that you or your sponsors can deploy, not your record of achievement or your potential to make significant contributions to the governance of Nigeria, seem to be the over-riding considerations.

It is a system of spoils and patronage gone frightfully awry.

Chief Olabode George, chieftain of the ruling PDP and unrepentant ex-convict was even being mentioned as a likely senior cabinet appointee. But I have been assured by a highly knowledgeable and usually dependable source that his name never came up for any position or in any context whatsoever.

“Too toxic,” the source said of the former military governor of Ondo State, who turned “Lagos Boy,” once a term of approbation, into a byword for creative pillage. “The President and the PDP have more than enough problems on their hands.”

So there is at least some redeeming grace

OLATUNJI DARE

AT HOME ABROAD olatunji.dare@thenationonlineng.net

It’s all about the juice ‘In Nigeria, hell has no greater fury than a politician appointed to a cabinet post that is not gushing with juice that is lipsmacking tasty, nourishing, and endlessly sustainable. It is always about juice, never about service’ •Dr. Jonathan

in the depressing tales from Abuja if my usually dependable source is to be believed.

Still, going by some of the phrases being used freely in the speculations on the makeup of the cabinet, the portents are dispiriting.

Of those phrases, I single out just one, “juicy,” as in “juicy cabinet posts.”

Elsewhere, to be appointed to any cabinet post, even as Minister for Parks and Gardens, would be honour enough. In Nigeria, hell has no greater fury than a politician appointed to a cabinet post that is not gushing with juice that is lip-smacking tasty, nourishing, and endlessly sustainable.

It is always about juice, never about service.

An invitation to join the cabinet in Nigeria, according to Chief Sunday Afolabi, a minister in former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s first cabinet who surely knew what he was talking about, is a summons to gorge at the

RIPPLES

HARDBALL

80m Nigerians live below poverty line– NAPEP

and Technology or Ministry of the Environment would be considered hardship posts, reserved only for second or third-tier supplicants. I see it as one of the defining attributes of Nigerian exceptionalism.

“Nigeria yato” or “Nigeria is different,” as soon to be ex-Governor Alao-Akala can be expected to proclaim at every opportunity the way he was declaiming of Oyo even as he ran the state aground should Dr Jonathan decide to compensate him for the loss of his gubernatorial perch with a cabinet appointment.

Meanwhile, at the National Assembly, “juice,” or the prospect of it, is what has animating discussions about reconstituting the dozens of committees, most of which distinguished by lack of commitment to the public good.

In the House of Representatives that may soon go into formal receivership on account of its own profligacy and the opacity with which the Speaker Dimeji Bankole has handled its finances, juice is what everyone is talking about.

No legislator wants to have anything to do with an oversight committee that is not rich, abundantly rich, in juice. If they were to scrap the House Committee on Museums and Monuments not just today but with retroactive effect, you would not hear any legislator complain.

If an establishment or organisation under a House Committee’s purview cannot launder five percent of its appropriation to guarantee speedy approval, let that organisation offer the legislators at least the possibility of wielding considerable influence.

I am thinking of the chairman of the Senate Committee on Elections who was performing “oversight” functions in the collation centre for the blatantly-rigged re-run gubernatorial election in Ekiti.

With the dissolution of the Presidential Advisory Council, of which General T.Y. Danjuma was chairman and Professor Ben Nwabueze vice chairman, Dr Jonathan now seems to be at the mercy of fellow politicians and associates who will tell him only what they think he wants to hear, as against independent counsellors who can tell him forthrightly what he ought to know.

That is his prerogative.

He must however bear it in mind that the last thing Nigeria needs now is a cabinet of flunkeys. *

Correction Yarima Sani Ahmed won re-election to the Senate from Zamfara, contrary to what I wrote (May 10, 2011) in this space.

•For comments, send SMS to 08057634061

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above

Varsity unions get strike itch again

F

80million only?That’s BAD CALCULATION

national feeding trough.

And as Dr Jonathan will have learned by now, to offer a bone-dry cabinet post is a calculated insult not just to the individual but to the community from which he or she comes or is presumed to represent.

Petroleum Resources. Works and Housing.

Transportation. Agriculture. Finance. Foreign Affairs. Education. Information. Defence. Police. Health: these are the juicy cabinet posts, though not all of belong, like Petroleum Resources or Transportation, in the first tier. But even those that are not exactly gushing with juice are infinitely to be preferred to cabinet portfolios like African Integration, Diaspora Affairs, Prisons and Immigration, Environment, and Science and Technology.

Some may see it as a measure of the disarticulation in the Nigerian condition that political headship of the Ministry of Science

DELE AGEKAMEH

ROM a union that became renowned for its militancy, it is something of a miracle that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has not gone on strike for two whole years. Now it seems it is beginning to suffer from withdrawal symptoms.

A few days ago, the university lecturers served notice of imminent strike action on account of the failure of the Federal Government to fulfil all aspects of an agreement reached between the parties two years ago.

Union president, Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie, explained that his members were particularly cross over the absence of legal backing for new guidelines that set retirement age for lecturers in the professorial cadre at 70.

He said: “The expectation was that this item in the agreement would be passed into law within a few months of the agreement. After close to two years of waiting in vain and seeing the consequences in the form of continued brain drain in the university system, ASUU members have become restive across the country.”

Just to confirm the new season of militancy, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has also threatened to

embark on strike if the Federal Government fails to ensure the enactment into law of a similar agreement raising the retirement age of its members to 65 years.

It is a shame that once again the nation faces the very real prospect of another round of disruptive strikes that have done incalculable damage to the university system. As was the case before now, such industrial actions were precipitated by government’s tardiness in implementing agreements, or occurred because of blatant repudiation of such deals.

In the past, such strikes received significant public backing initially because huge sums were being squandered on frivolous subjects while something as important as education was virtually on life support as a result of anaemic funding. However, as the strikes dragged on interminably support eroded forcing both sides to compromise.

As the unions have pointed out, it is inexplicable that long after the agreements were reached government has not found the will to push relevant legislation through the National Assembly. In that same period

senators and members of the House of Representatives managed to pass all manner of bills enhancing their own compensation packages.

They also passed bills that amended the constitution and passed a new Electoral Act in a matter of days. The only conclusion that an independent observer would draw is that legislation concerning the varsity lecturers was not considered top priority.

Over and again unionists have come to see that the only way to get things out of the government is to push matters to the brink.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has tried that dodge severally, and succeeded spectacularly, so why not one of its affiliates?

As always happens, the students and their parents would be at the receiving end if things come to a head. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that there is enough sensitivity on the part of the executive and legislature to side-step another varsity shutdown. Neither is there any guarantee that ASUU has learnt any lessons about the efficacy, as well as side effects of its protracted strikes.

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