September 16, 2015

Newspaper of the Year

•18 burnt to death as bus crashes on Ondo/Ore road P8 P5 •The Sun DMD to kidnappers: release my wife •ICPC to monitor states on N338b bailout loans P50 •Osinbajo: Fed Govt to adopt zero-based budgeting P6 •Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

VOL. 10, NO. 3339 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

Ooni: Giesi ruling house to screen NEWS Page 5 17 aspirants

•www.thenationonlineng.net

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Presidency issues 7-day deadline on workers’ pay Ministries, agencies to compile lists of unpaid employees

DOWN BOKO HARAM

By Toba Agboola

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ABOUR leaders and workers are excited over a presidential directive that all arrears of salaries and allowances must be paid.

The Presidency on Monday directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to compile the names of all public service employees who are being owed arrears of salaries and allowances within seven days so that they can be paid without further delay.

The September 14 circular came from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF). It immediately sent members of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) jumping for joy.

The names of those being owed are to be compiled within seven days for them to be paid “immediately”.

ASCSN Secretary-General Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, who broke the news in a statement released in Abuja yesterday, praised President Muhammadu Buhari for bringing hope to thousands of public service employees who are being owed arrears of salaries and allowances for years.

The Presidency identified the outstanding benefits as: salary arrears, promotion arrears, 1st 28 days allowance on transfer from post, repatriation allowance, burial expenses, death benefits and mandatory training of OHCSF in 2010.

The Presidency directed the MDAs to ensure that each unpaid entitlement is accurate, verifiable, with the name, designation, status (serving or retired) and amount due to each officer.

“The correct information should reach the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation on or before Monday September 21, 2015,” the circular stressed.

Lawal recalled that in letters written to the President since his election and assumption of office, the union reminded him of the outContinued on page 6

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WILL THE CHIBOK GIRLS EVER RETURN?

•Some malnourished kids rescued by troops...yesterday

Troops rescue women, children •SEE PAGE 6

•Some bombs found in a camp by troops

•A suspected Boko Haram pharmacist with drugs •One of those rescued...yesterday

Buhari: Boko Haram demands release of its bomb maker STORY ON PAGE 6

Fed Govt ready for talks to free Chibok schoolgirls

•LIFE P13 •SPORT P20 •MONEY P22 •INVESTORS P24 •POLITICS P39 •FOREIGN P54

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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Chinese’s investors... dominating the Nigerian business landscape •Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (right), welcoming the Chairman, Association of Stockbrokers Housing of Nigeria (ASHON), Mr Madubuike Emeka, who led a team of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers to visit the vice president at the Presidential Villa in Abuja...yesterday. With themis the Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, Mr Oluwaseyi Abe

In this concluding part of the story titled: “China’s soaring business empire in Nigeria”, published on Monday, Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA writes that Nigeria’s vast energy reserves, especially in oil & gas, and its growing population have made the country a destination of first choice for Chinese investors.

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•From left: Aare Alasa of Ibadanland, Oloye Lekan Alabi, Chairman of the occasion/former military governor of the defunct Western State, Gen. Oluwole Rotimi, Oyo State Deputy Governor, Otunba Moses Alake Adeyemo, Director, Centre for Professional Advance Studies (CPAS), Prof. Anthony Kila and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, Dr. Tunji Olaopa, at the public presentation of Western Post newspaper at the Civic Center, PHOTO: FEMI ILESANMI, IBADAN Agodi GRA, Ibadan...yesterday.

•From right: Lagos State ex-Governor Babatunde Fashola; Chairman, MTN Foundation (MTNF), Prince Julius Adeluyi; Chairman MTN Nigeria, Pascal Dozie; Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MTN Nigeria, Michael Ikpoki and Executive Secretary, MTNF, Nonny Ugboma, at the 10th year anniversary at Eko Hotel & Suites, Victory Island, Lagos...yesterday PHOTO: BIODUN ADEYEWA

•NBC Talent Hunt: From left: Acting Dean, Faculty of Technology, University of Ibadan (UI), Prof Sunday Isehunwa; Head, Public Affairs & Communications, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), Uzo Odenigbo; Dean, Students Affairs, (UI), Prof Titilayo Ajuwape and Senior Human Resources Partner, Manufacturing & Supply Chain Services, NBC, Mrs. Yetunde Adesunloye, during the NBC Campus Recruitment Drive at UI, Ibadan, Oyo State...yesterday.

ITH an approximated 170 million population and growing at over two per cent per annum, Nigeria ranks the seventh largest country in the world.

According to United Nations (UN) statistics, Nigeria’s population will hit 230 million within the next 20 years.

Representing over 65 per cent of the effective West African market, the country remains the most competitive destination for the establishment of medium and large manufacturing industries.

Like the early morning bird, China has since positioned itself to take advantage of this expansive market by unleashing its horde of investors and businessmen on the manufacturing sector. From textile to garment; household appliances, automobile; consumables and iron and steel as well as ICT products, China has taken over, churning out tons of products for various segments of the market.

More Chinese enterprises are expanding their investments in the manufacturing sector ostensibly in the hope of transferring technologies and training personnel to increase local job opportunities. For instance, Chinese-owned Western Metal Products Company Limited (WEMPCO), a multi-billion naira integrated steel mill, situated at Magboro, on LagosIbadan Expressway, Ogun State, is the first of its kind in Africa. The sprawling steel-manufacturing plant boasts of a production capacity of 700,000 metric tonnes and a production machinery of five-stand Tandem Mill.

The factory, according to its Group Managing Director, Mr. Lewis Tung, will produce cold roll steel sheet of up to 0.15mm in thickness and coils of the same dimension and above.

Other facilities in the plant include: a 52-megawatt generator for power supply; a water treatment and recycling plant; an acid generating plant; an air purifier and an annealing line.

The economic benefits of the investment are huge. Besides boosting economic activities of the immediate host communities, local, state and the federal governments, it will spur increase in downstream economic activities and create jobs for artisans such as technicians, drivers, auto technicians and fabricators. Mr. Tung added that it will also enhance training and technology transfer. More importantly, the investment will fill the gap left by the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State.

Another area witnessing massive investment from China is the agriculture sector. A leading Chinese company, New Hope Liuhe Company Ltd., has indicated investment interest in agribusiness. At a meeting with the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Mrs. Uju Hassan-Baba, at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, said it plans to invest in other sectors like manufacturing, processing and feeds selling, raw material additives, milk products and agricultural bye products, among others.

Chinese enterprises are also invest-

ing in seed cultivation and have become the Federal Government’s seed providers, a development that has raised local grain production.

The Chinese has been visible in the transport sector, especially in rail transport. The $1.49 billion LagosIbadan railway contract has been awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and the Olokola Deepwater Port project awarded to the China Ocean Shipping Group. The CCECC is also handling the 27.5-kilometre Marina-Iddo-Okokomaiko Lagos Light Rail project. Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has assured that the multi-billion naira project will be completed within 12 months.

According to an Ernst & Young report on Nigeria issued for the 2014 World Economic Forum on Africa, CCECC is the main engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the Lagos rail mass transit project.

The project’s first phase -‘Blue Line’ - is scheduled for completion towards the end of this year.

The state-owned Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM Bank) is also providing a $500 million concessionary loan for the 186-kilometre modernisation of the Abuja-Kaduna rail line, which includes the building of 36 bridges and nine fully-developed stations. The Federal Government will source the $374 million balance.

Track laying for the single standard gauge line was formally launched in July, 2013.

Before his inauguration on May 29, Buhari hosted a delegation from the CCECC, who paid him a visit to present a prototype of its high speed rail project. Observers described the visit as an indication that the Buhari administration may be looking to develop a high-speed rail network across Nigeria.

Before his exit from office, former President Goodluck Jonathan resuscitated the comatose rail network with a N24 billion ($151.7 million) lifeline that involved the upgrade of tracks and signalling equipment.

With the purchase of 25 GE locomotives, renovation of 500 wagons and passenger coaches, services have resumed on the 1,126-kilometre LagosKano train route. The route had been shut for a decade.

The revival came on the heels of the inauguration of some air-conditioned, diesel-powered railcars and six 68-seater air-conditioned long distance coaches in June last year. The new rolling stock was procured by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

It was part of Federal Government’s ‘25-year Railway Strategic Plan’, aimed at encouraging private investment for the renovation of the country’s existing narrow gauge railway lines and building new, standard-gauge lines.

That was complemented by China in 2012 with the formal opening of a Railway Technology Training Centre

by CCECC in Abuja to assist Nigerians in developing the skills needed

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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•The rehabilitation of the rail tracks by CCECC

to support plans for rail and mass transit systems. The China Railway Construction Corporation Limited described its $8.3 billion rail network modernisation project in the country as its “biggest overseas project.”

Besides the rail and power plants, the Asian nation is also instrumental to supporting Nigeria with financial arrangements and investments in strategic infrastructural projects including road, airport terminals and free trade zones, among others. For instance, China and Chinese companies are major stakeholders in the Lekki Free Trade (LFTZ), Lagos. On completion, the project will attract international investors in the manufacturing, commerce and tourism, among other sectors.

The project is expected to provide 300, 000 direct and 600, 000 indirect jobs in the next few years. That informed the description of the LFTZ as one of the biggest Chinese projects in the country by former Industry, Trade & Investment minister Olusegun Aganga.

Telecoms, FMCG, others also cornered Chinese companies have since garnered a substantial share of Nigeria’s burgeoning telecoms/ICT market.

Chinese enterprises, in collaboration with telecommunications operators, are instrumental to the unprecedented growth of Nigeria’s telecoms sector. Through the active participation of Chinese firms and investors, the Nigeria’s mobile phone subscription has grown from below 400, 000 in 2001 to over 140 million. The teledensity has also grown to over 100 per cent.

The popular Global System in Mobile telecommunication (GSM) villages in Lagos and Abuja, as well as several other commercial cities across the country bear imprints of China’s dominance of the sector. Most mobile telecom shops in the two city centres are stocked with China-made products, ranging from phones to laptops, Bluetooth devices to headphones and hands-free devices, among others.

For Seye Olatunji, a GSM trader at GSM/Computer Village, Ikeja, the business of selling China products has been exciting and rewarding.

His words: “It is usually more expensive to buy products from other western countries, but that is not the same for China. Most of us here can now go to China ourselves and buy products under very flexible terms and conditions.”

Even buyers share the same feeling. “If you compare the China smart phones with those from other countries, there is little or no difference at all. And the China ones are even cheaper. So, why should I spend more money on something equivalent to this one?” Audu Hassan, a customer at the Computer Village, asked.

General merchandising is China’s forte Scores of Chinese businesses dominate the retail segment of the market in various parts of the country.

Brands such as Viju Milk, Huawei, ZTE, Alcatel and others are household names Chinese restaurants, such as Golden Gate, Lagos; Oasis Bakery all in Lagos and several other retail outlets businesses dot the landscape and they are enjoying tremendous patronage.

Since 2005 when it was established, China Town in Lagos, has been serving as a one-stop-shop for goods and services, ranging from textiles, shoes, jewelleries, electronics, kitchen utensils and other items.

Visiting China Town, with its competitive pricing and accessibility has become a must for most Nigerian shoppers.

• The ongoing contruction of Lagos Light Rail from Iddo to Okokomaiko

Chinese investors and goods have taken roots in Nigeria. The emergence of a vibrant retail sector in Nigeria is also said to be as a result of the nation’s several porous borders.

Substandard products from China as sore point

As Akabogu observed, Nigeria has benefited more from Nigeria. According to him, the balance of trade between both countries has tripled since the return of democracy in 1999.

“It’s been a mutually beneficial commercial relationship. China takes Nigeria’s oil as trade by barter for construction activities, which the Chinese government subsidises. What Nigeria exports to China are oil and a few agric Why Nigeria is toast products,” he pointed out. Akabogu of investors added that Nigeria has been sending That Nigeria has become the beau- engineers to understudy Chinese entiful bride for Chinese investors is an gineering system at subsidised rate. open secret. Its bountiful but largely But, as rewarding as the relationship untapped natural resources; large may be to Nigeria, there are concerns domestic market of over 170 million; over alleged sharp practices by Chia growing middle-class with spend- nese companies, anti-labour practices ing power and an increasingly sta- and perceived dominance of the marble polity, among others, have be- ket by fake and substandard products come irresistible to China and Asian from China. The thinking is that the investors.

West may be lagging behind in the Nigeria’s vast energy reserves, es- Nigerian market because of the qualpecially in oil & gas, may be all that ity of their products compared to is needed to fuel China’s growing in- cheaper and lower standard Chinese dustry. Africa’s most populous and products. This is so particularly in Nilargest economy with GDP size of geria where consumers patronise about $500 billion is also the largest cheaper goods more while being inmarket for China’s industrial prod- different about quality. ucts in Africa. Nigeria’s imports But, as far as Director-General of alone from China account for over a Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industhird of its total trade with West Af- try, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA) rica.

Emeka SOME OF THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS Sir The volOkereke is ume of im- •Stimulation of economic activities in the downstream concerned, ports is pro- •Enhancement of training/technological transfer China is not jected to into be blamed crease in the •Boosting local grains production for the prec o m i n g •Reactivation of rail-based transport business ponderance years, as Ni- •Creation of employment opportunities of substandgeria is ard prodtipped by various international rat- ucts in the market. He blamed the situing agencies and analysts to overtake ation on Nigeria’s weak institutions.

South Africa by 2025 if its current “It’s because of our inherent weak inGDP growth rate is sustained. Niger- stitutions that are unable to check the ia’s relatively stable democracy is influx of substandard products,” he also believed to be one of the major told The Nation, asking, “where is our factors why investors across the Customs?” globe particularly China see the He said Customs and other regulacountry as an investment destina- tory agency should wake up to their tion. responsibilities. “Our borders and Also, the ease of setting up busi- ports should be effectively policed esnesses in Nigeria has improved pecially considering that we are an through on-going reforms in the import-dependent economy,” he emtrade and investment sector. Returns phasised. on investment in Nigeria are relaAkabogu agrees with him. He said tively high, especially considering blaming China for fake and standard the exchange rate of the dollar to the products in Nigeria amounts to thrownaira with the major western curren- ing punches in the wrong direction. cies and the Chinese Yuan.

His words: “It (substandard prodThe pattern and dynamics of the ucts) is a shortcoming on the part of Nigerian economy may have also regulatory institutions. That is why opened the floodgate for Chinese we’ve been canvassing the strengthencompanies to invest heavily. For in- ing of institutions rather than individustance, experts say that Nigeria’s als.” transition from a manufacturing and The legal practitioner pointed out agricultural producing nation to an that there is need to reinvigorate instiimport dependent economy may tutions such as the Police, Economic have broadened the retail sector, and Financial Crimes Commission which now accepts virtually any- (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practhing from anywhere in the world. tices and other related Offences ComThis is the leeway through which mission (ICPC) and Code of Conduct

Bureau (CCB) among others. “It boils down to leadership question; it’s a credibility gap, a competency problem on the part of Nigeria’s institutions,” he insisted.

He also said every capitalist is in business to make profit and China is no exception. According to him, it is

left for the host country to put measures in place to check likely excesses of foreign countries and their companies operating in its territory. Also, citing the Halliburton Scandal, which involved a U.S. company, he said sharp business practices are not limited to China alone.

U.S., other Western countries jittery

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HINA has evolved into an ultra-modern economy and a leading member of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), a group of five industrialised nations, a Lagos-based lawyer and public affairs analyst, Obiora Akabogu has said.

“China is now a counterforce to US monopoly of the global political economy,” he said, attributing China’s meteoric rise in the global economic scene to the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, led by Chairman Mao Zedong.

He said the overthrow of the then capitalist government in China, under the Cultural Revolution by Zedong and subsequent policy of ‘Giant Leap Forward’, has ensured that China’s economic growth moved on a geometric progression rather than on arithmetic progression.

“The policy was meant to catch up with the Western countries,” he told The Nation, even as he traced the raging cold war between China and the Western world to the strategic move.

He said Zedong’s economic blueprint for China ensured that China’s economy grew by leaps and bounds, sending jitters down the spine of the U.S. and other Western powers. Akabogu said the fact that the issue of outsourcing goods and services to China is always in the front burner at every U.S. presidential election attests to China’s growing influence in the global political economy.

Although, China is still relatively a poor country in terms of its standard of living; its economy only produces $12, 900 per person, compared to the GDP per capita of $52, 800 for the U.S. This low standard of living allows China to pay its workers less, making its products cheaper, which lures overseas manufacturers to outsource jobs there. Akabogu said many American companies, forced out of business by heavy taxation, have relocated to China. The public affairs analyst is right. The Chinese government is favourably disposed to policies that support trade, entrepreneurship and commerce within and outside its borders. This informed the massive drive to conquer foreign markets, including Nigeria with Chinese goods and investments.

On the other hand, the U.S. and other western economies are known for their stifling regulation, and high taxes.

Besides, businesses from the West mainly move as corporate organisations rather than individual entrepreneurs; hence, they are not able to manoeuvre costs to their advantage as done by the Chinese.

That is not all. China is said to have overtaken the West in terms of imports into Nigeria. The Asian Tiger has continued to dominate the ICT and the electronics retail sectors that appear to be less regulated compared with the more regulated oil and gas and the financial services sectors controlled by the West.

“China wants to use Nigeria as a launchpad to project her economic •Obama power to the rest of the world and the U.S. is not comfortable with this,” Akabogu said, pointing out that as China is still sign that America is not comfortable with China’s expanding business, the relatively a poor former U.S. Secretary of State and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton country in terms of recently embarked on a shuttle eco- its standard of living; nomic diplomacy to South Africa in a bid to counter China’s growing influ- its economy only ence. produces $12, 900 per Also, U.S. President Barack Obama, during his recent visit to Africa, an- person, compared to nounced an offer of $7 billion infrastructure loan to Africa, an offer con- the GDP per sidered by many foreign affairs ex- capita of $52, 800 for perts as coming too little and too late.

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•Additional report by Toba Agboola

the U.S

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

NEWS

Ambode seeks re-ordering of budget

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AGOS State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has requested the House of Assembly to re-order the state’s budget.

The request was contained in a letter the governor sent to the Assembly which was read at plenary yesterday.

Titled: “Re-ordering of priorities under the 2015 Budget”, the governor said the budget of N489.690 billion, which has been partially implemented by the last administration, had recorded 60 per cent overall performance as at June.

“This level of performance,” the governor said, “has made it imperative to go back to the drawing board to

•House sets up committee

By Oziegbe Okoeki

structure a more conscientious approach to tilt our total investment in the remaining months in order to meet the target capital/recurrent ratio of 51:49.”

According to Ambode, N23.97 billion will be re-ordered and of this N18.278 billion is needed for capital projects, while N5.697 billion is for recurrent expenditure.

Reasons for the re-ordering, according to the letter, include construction of a pedestrian bridge at Ojodu Berger, construction of fly-over bridges at

Ajah Roundabout and Pen Cinema, Agege.

The letter added that the budget re-ordering proposal would cater for the continuation of the construction of blue light rail project, continuation of the construction of the Lekki-Epe Expressway and acquisition of emergency/rescue helicopters and heavy duty equipment (cranes and forklift) and for Employment Trust Fund and Wealth Creation Programmes.

“It is worthy of note that we are constrained by the fact that there are no new revenue

sources for the remaining months of the year, and as a result we would not be in a position to propose a supplementary budget. Hence, the recourse to a re-ordering of the budget,” the letter read.

After deliberating on the request, the House set up an adhoc committee to look into the request.

Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu 1) is the chairman. Other members are Desmond Elliot, Ibrahim Layode, Rasheed Makinde, Dayo Saka Fafunmi, Yinka Ogundimu and Alimi Kassim.

The committee is to submit its report on September 22.

Single tenure for Lagos institutions

By Oziegbe Okoeki

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HE Lagos State House of Assembly has called for amendments to the laws of tertiary institutions to reflect a single term for the heads of the institutions.

This followed a motion co-sponsored by the Majority Leader, Sanai Agunbiade, Chief Whip Rotimi Abiru and Gbolahan Yishawu (Eti Osa 2), Ibrahim Layode (Badagry 1), Lanre Ogunyemi (Ojo 2) and O. V. Akande, calling for amendment of the State University (LASU) law and resolving the perennial crisis in the institution.

The House also called for the organisation of an urgent stakeholders meeting, involving all segments of the university to discuss the problems of the university and in particular factors affecting accreditations of courses.

The lawmakers called on Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to establish a residential policy for the university as provided in Section 40 of LASU Law, 2004.

They also called for the setting up of governing councils for the university and the State Polytechnic as prescribed in the extant laws establishing the institutions.

The sponsors argued that since the establishment of the university, it has been bedevilled with internal crises, which are often targeted at vice chancellors seeking a second term.

They noted that in the university’s history, almost all the vice chancellors ended their tenures in crises and left office unceremoniously.

They lawmakers also expressed concern that some faculties that have brought honour, pride and recognition to the university are now either losing the accreditation or remain not accredited.

Ondo tribunal begins fresh hearing

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•From left: Okanlanwo; Alake-Adeyemo; Chairman of the occasion Brig-Gen. Rotimi (rtd) and guest speaker Dipo Famakinwa in Ibadan...yesterday.

Ajimobi, Aregbesola renew call for regional integration

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YO State Governor Abiola Ajimobi and his Osun State counterpart Rauf Aregbesola yesterday renewed their call for regional integration.

The duo described regional integration as the only solution to the dwindling oil prices in the world market.

They spoke on the theme: “Dwindling oil revenue: a case for regional integration” during the unveiling of the regional newspaper, Western Post, in Ibadan.

Ajimobi, who was represented by Deputy Governor Moses Alake-Adeyemo said it was lack of good gover-

•Western Post unveiled in Ibadan From Jeremiah Oke, Ibadan

nance that made people advocate for regional integration.

He said: “The six Southwest states have firmly expressed their desire to work and act together under a common set of development strategies, whereby the region and its people will experience enhanced human and social development.

“The economic dangers of extreme dependence on a single product are too obvious to need repetition.

“The states’ pursuit to for-

mally establish the technical arm of the regional integration dream called DAWN commission is what Chief Obafemi Awolowo would call the blessing of courage.”

Aregbesola, who was represented by his Director of Communication and Strategy, Semiu Okanlawon, said he was in support of regional integration.

He said: “The first thing we need is to understand the comparative advantage of the concept. Each of the state has what they have in common and they need to utilise

it.

“For instance, if you are talking of agriculture in the Southwest, you will go to Ondo and if you are talking about education maybe you talk of Ekiti. So, we are going to build on what each state believes in and make it work. That is what we are saying and it will be helpful if the region can adopt this concept.”

Former governor of the old Western Region and Chairman of the ocassion, Brig.-Gen. Oluwole Rotimi, said the Southwest states should embrace the concept, regardless of their political affiliation.

Fayose to teachers: don’t be late to work

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KITI State Governor Ayo Fayose has warned teachers in public schools against unruly behavior.

The governor, at a meeting yesterday with teachers and principals of secondary schools, advised them to be diligent with their duties and always be punctual at their duty posts.

He revealed that resolutions reached at the last education summit had been adopted to become working guide for teachers.

Fayose said the government would implement the resolutions but called for teachers’ cooperation to translate his administration’s dream into reality.

Warning the teachers against breaching the new guidelines, the governor said he might be compelled to take disciplinary actions against them, if they are found wanting.

From Odunayo Ogunmola, Ado Ekiti

He said: “Resolutions of the education summit will be made available to you all and you

must follow it diligently. We all agreed to the resolutions and don’t do anything outside the recommendations.

“Teachers spend greater time with our children. I am

‘PDP behind Nigeria’s woes’ From Damisi Ojo, Akure

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State has blamed the slow pace of the economy on the 16 years of corruption and mismanagement by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The party said these obstacles affected the smooth take-off of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government.

A statement in Akure, the state capital by the party’s spokesman, Abayomi Adesanya, said: “PDP’s ranting about President Buhari’s ministerial list is unnecessary, diversionary and unfounded.

“It is logical for anyone who intends to make a nearly-collapsed building habitable, to first demolish it and then lay a solid foundation before building on it. We met a virtually empty treasury and a battered system handed over by the Goodluck Jonathan led-PDP government.

“Nigeria was in a coma when Buhari took over on May 29.

Anarchy and impunity were the order of the day.

“We expect Jonathan and PDP to be remorseful. They should apologise to Nigerians for ruining the country. Yet, they have the temerity to fault a government that has good plans for Nigerians.”

appealing to you don’t put me on the spot and force me to wield the big stick against any of you. Go to work on time and do your job diligently.”

HE Ondo State Election Petitions Tribunal yesterday began the hearing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) petitions, which were restored by the Appeal Court sitting in Akure, the state capital.

The newly constituted tribunal is expected to wind up in two weeks.

The three-member panel began entertaining the petitions afresh, with the APC presenting its evidence and calling its witnesses.

One of the petitioners Festus Aregbesola’s counsel, Rotimi Akeredolu, called five witnesses to establish his case against the Peoples Democratic

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

Party (PDP) and its candidate, Mrs. Kemi Adesanya, who was declared winner of the April 11 election in Akure South Constituency 1.

The Tribunal had earlier dismissed the APC’s petition on technical grounds, claiming that they were filed prematurely.

But the Court of Appeal overruled the tribunal’s judgment, ordering its president to set up a new panel of judges to hear the petitions afresh.

It, consequently, set aside the dismissal of the two petitions by the Justice Anthony Oga-led panel.

UI to admit 3,700 From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

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HE Vice-Chancellor of University of Ibadan (UI), Prof Isaac Adewole, yesterday said the institution would admit 3,700 of the 8,992 candidates who wrote the postUniversity Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) last weekend.

The five best candidates will be given scholarships.

Adewole, who was represented by the Deputy-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Emilolorun Ayelari, said the result is now available on the institution’s website.

The candidates are: Adetunji AbdulRaham (55328333ED, 86, Law); Amaji Obinna Charles (55110959DE, 86, Medicine and Surgery); Adebiyi Tijesunimi (55361970BC, 85, Electrical and Electronics Engineering); Oke Dorcas (55974720AJ, 83, Medicine and Surgery) and Olowosulu Cassandra Olawumi (56630251JB, 83, Medicine and Surgery).

The VC said: “23,200 candidates scored above 200 in UTME, 20,800 applied for the post UTME in our institution and only 19,268 took the screening and examination.

“Our new method of admitting students with the O’ Level and UTME result has really reduced students from withdrawing in their first year due to poor performances.

“The performances of the five best candidates will be monitored and they may be retained after their studies here.

“The public is hereby warned not to influence the admission officials.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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NEWS

Judge orders detention of The Nation man, six others

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EVEN journalists were yesterday detained at the Ota High Court in Ogun State on the order of a judge.

The detainees are Daud Olatunji (Vanguard), Samuel Awoyinfa (The Punch), Ernest Nwokolo (The Nation), Abiodun Taiwo (Daily Times), Sulaiman Fasasi (National Pilot), Wale Adelaja (TVC) and Johnson Akinpelu (Alaroye).

The seven were in the court by 11:44am for two matterscases involving victims of Pakoto demolition and killing in Oke - Ore communitywhich were believed to have been listed for hearing yesterday.

The reporters, who arrived in two vehicles, pulled up

•Three hours ordeal ends in lecture From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

quietly opposite Court 1 where other visitors had parked.

They had hardly disembarked when a police orderly, who identified himself as Adeyemi Oluwaseun, accosted them.

Upon learning their identification, the police officer returned to his duty post.

But a minute later, the Assistant Court Registrar (ACR) inquired in a haughty tone about the reporters’ mission.

She demanded a letter of authority from the chief judge or a senior judiciary officer permitting them to enter the

court.

Dissatisfied with the reporters’ explanations, she went to the judge while the court was in session. When she returned, she said the judge had ordered their arrest after she misinformed him that they were filming the court premises.

From 11:45am to 2:44am, the reporters were detained inside the administrative wing of the court. One of them almost fainted, following the psychological and humiliating experience.

But a snake that emerged from the bushy court premises and which bit one of the male judiciary officials forced the

judge to send the journalists away after reprimanding them.

The name of the judge could not be immediately ascertained but the birthday cards sighted in his office were addressed to N. I. Agbelu.

Three workers rushed the victim to the State Hospital Ota for treatment; others stayed behind to hunt for the snake, which slipped into one of the crevices on the staircase leading to the entrance of the ACR’s office.

Before releasing the journalists at 2:44pm, the judge spent 25 minutes lecturing them, saying the court is not a public place.

He said: “I put you under arrest. You are under arrest.

The Sun DMD to kidnappers: release my wife

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EPUTY Managing Director (DMD) of The Sun Steve Nwosu yesterday appealed to the abductors of his wife, Toyin, to release her.

He made the appeal at his Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos residence, while addressing reporters on the early Monday morning incident.

A distraught Nwosu described himself as a poor journalist, who does not have the N100 million ransom being demanded by the abductors.

He said the abductors were yet to contact the family again.

“Apart from yesterday’s (Monday) contact they established with me, the abductors of my wife have not made any other calls.

“At the moment, it is deadlocked and they have refused

•Condemnations trail abduction

By Precious Igbonwelundu, Kelvin Osa-Okunbor and Adegunle Olugbamila

to cooperate.

“I have left everything to God. All I would say is that I am a poor journalist and do not have the kind of money they are demanding,” he said.

The kidnap has sparked public outrage, with many calling on security agencies to live up to their responsibilities.

A journalist, Lanre Idowu, said the incident was a reminder that insecurity still persists.

He said: “It is terrible and surprising. It is a green reminder that we are still in insecure times.”

A lawyer and activist, Giwa

Amu, called for the enforcement of maximum punishment for kidnappers.

“In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person’s will. It is also the crime of unlawfully seizing and carrying away a person by force or fraud.”

The Sun publisher, Orji Kalu, described the act as evil.

In a statement, Kalu said: “The abduction is unfortunate and disturbing. The journalist and his family live a modest life and are law abiding citizens and as such don’t deserve this dreadful treatment.”

The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), in a statement by its spokesman, Salabiu Aderemi Alli, said Mrs.

Nwosu did not deserve such ill-treatment.

There are speculations that the kidnappers may be linked to the armed gang that has terrorised commercial banks in various parts of the state.

The speculation arose as a result of the modus operandi adopted by the abductors, which observers fear, appeared similar to those of the robbers.

Police spokesman Joseph Offor said he could not comment on if they were members of the same gang.

“I do not know about this insinuation but I will pass it on to the investigation department.

“The command is working at ensuring that Mrs. Nwosu is rescued and reunited with her family,” he said.

You will discover that this compound is fenced round, is that not so?

“If you are representing public interest, you must know we have a head in this court. I am a judge and I have unlimited jurisdiction in the state.

“I can even say somebody should be arrested without question, but in exercising my power, I have to inquire into many things.

“You cannot say because you are representing public interest, you will burst into any compound or burst into my house. You have a right as a journalist, but, where yours stops mine starts.

“And if I am the owner of a house, I have a right to my privacy. What I am saying is

that judiciary has its own right too. You are infringing on our own right too. You don’t know?

“A report came to me that some people invaded the court, claiming that they are journalists.

“It is not a local market and it is not an open market; you are approaching the court. If you are interested in a particular matter in a company, will you just burst into the company, saying you are journalists?

“That is what I am telling you. You don’t just go into a place and start filming and then say you are a journalist.

“I am telling you it is not a public place. I am telling you, the court is not a public place.”

‘Don’t collect rams from Fayose’ From Odunayo Ogunmola, Ado Ekiti

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ENIOR Islamic clerics in Ekiti State are angry with Governor Ayo Fayose over his alleged shabby treatment of Muslims since his return to power last October.

They are aggrieved with the alleged marginalisation of Muslims in the distribution of political appointments so far made by Fayose which they believe was deliberately done to subjugate them.

Acting under the aegis of the League of Imams and Alfas, Ekiti State Chapter, they resolved that no Muslim should collect rams and other food items to be distributed by the Fayose administration to celebrate the forthcoming Eid el Kabir.

Supporting their stand with a quotation from the Quran, they said anybody who accepts such has committed Haram (sin) and is liable to punishment from Allah.

The decision was taken at a meeting yesterday at the Ansar-udDeen Society (ADS) Central Mosque at Odo-Otu, Ado Ekiti, the state capital The meeting was attended by officials of the state chapters of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO) and other Islamic organisations.

In a three-point communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, they supported the advertorials sponsored by the state chapters of NSCIA and NACOMYO, condemning the alleged marginalisation of the Muslim community by Fayose.

The communiqué was signed by the Chief Imam of IlogboEkiti, Alhaji Abdul Rasak; Assistant Secretary, League of Alfas and Imams Quadri Oguntuase and the representative of the ADS Missioner, Alhaji Fatai Jimoh.

CU, Redeemer’s University sign pact

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•From left: President, Ibadan Business School, Yinka Fasuyi, Procurement Specialist, FADAMA 111, Kwaji Duguri and Lead Specialist, Social Protection Unit, World Bank, Prof. Foluso Okunmadewa at The World Bank/ Ibadan Business School Executive Certificate Programme in Governance and Leadership Management in Ibadan.

Ooni: Giesi inaugurates screening committee

A

DAY after Ife kingmakers announced Giesi as the only ruling house eligible to produce the next Ooni, the leadership of the house has inaugurated a committee to screen intending contestants.

An informed source said no fewer than 17 princes from the nine compounds of the ruling house have shown interest.

The source, who pleaded for anonymity, said the

•‘Govt, kingmakers stand for truth’ From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

screening committee supersedes the one earlier set up by the house to collate the names of contestants.

Investigation revealed that more than 30 members of the Giesi have come out to signify intention to contest before the figure was reduced to 17.

The authorities of Ife Central and Ife East local govern-

ments have written to the ruling house to send the names of its candidates within 14 days.

A contestant from Moniki compound, Prince Sikiru Adetona Ayedun, a former Commissioner for Home Affairs, Culture and Tourism, praised the government and Ife kingmakers to stand for the truth by limiting the contest to only Giesi ruling house.

Prince Ayedun maintained that the 1980 Ife Chieftaincy Declaration is a reliable document for the selection and installation of the Ooni stool, assuring that his emergence as the next Ooni will bring development and progress to the ancient city.

Speaking with reporters in Osogbo, the former commissioner said if he becomes the next Ooni, he would strategically position Ile-Ife for all time development.

OVENANT University (CU), Ota, Ogun State and Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The MoU is to cover areas such as faculty and students exchange opportunities, joint sponsorship of conferences and workshops as well as joint research and scholarly publications.

CU’s Vice-Chancellor Prof Charles Ayo hailed the series of deliberations between the two universities.

He said the new relationship status would enhance CU’s efforts towards the achievement of its vision to become one of the top 10 universities in the world by 2022.

Ayo added: “We have two universities coming together today and it is one of the best things to happen in our university system.

We expect to see development of ideas from this relationship in the form of research and collaborations.

“There is a need to be more proactive to create solutions to the myriad of issues facing Nigeria. We need to cultivate development focused education in order to address these issues, advance the cause of Nigerian universities and harness the essence of our education.”

His Redeemer’s University counterpart, Prof Debo Adeyewa said: “The universities have been brainstorming on the areas to partner in for a while and I thank God today that it is all coming to pass.

“I thank God for the giant strides that CU has been making since inception. It is widely known that you are very consistent with your goals, policies and culture. “The two universities will not compete, but rather, complement each other.”

CU’s Registrar Pastor Olamide Olusegun said the MoU would engender an enduring relationship between the institutions.

Clampdown on fake drugs

By Adeyinka Aderibigbe

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HE Ondo State government has begun a clampdown on fake drugs stores.

The Commissioner for Health, Dayo Adeyanju, who led a raid on some pharmaceutical stores in Akure, said the government would watch the people consume fake drugs.

Last year, the government inaugurated a task force and bought the Tru-drug scan machine.

Adeyanju said the government had done so much in providing qualitative healthcare for the people viz-a-viz programmes and policies, facilities, and manpower.

Adeyanju said the raid was to get rid of fake and adulterated drugs and end all sharp practices by the sellers.

He warned merchants of fake drugs that it would not be business as usual as the task force would punish offenders.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

NEWS

•President Buhari (fourth right) with (from left) President Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu; Permanent Secretary Ministry of Foreign •President Muhammadu Buhari addresses a Franco-Nigerian Affairs, Amb. Abubakar Lolo; Chairman Dansa Holdings Limited, Alhaji Sani Dangote; President, French Business Confederation, MEDEF business forum at French employer association headquarters in International, Mr. Pierre Gattaz; Jigawa State Governor Abubakar Badru; Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun and Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari, during the Nigeria-France Presidential Business Forum at MEDEF Headquarters, Bosquet, Paris, France...yesterday.

Paris...yesterday.

PHOTO: AFP

‘Fed Govt to adopt zero-based budgeting’

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HE Federal Government will adopt a zero-based budgeting format for next year, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday.

He spoke while receiving the National Economic Summit Group (NESG) at the State House in Abuja.

He also received a delegation from the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) and the Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON).

The zero-based budgeting, he said, will be carefully coordinated to ensure that it is policy-driven, especially regarding the proposed social intervention policy of President Muhammadu Buhari’s

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

administration.

Zero-based budgeting is planning according to needs and costs, different from the existing Envelope Budgeting or traditionally incremental budgeting whereby the planning is based on existing income and expenditure as the deciding factor in national financial planning.

This often incurs waste and assumes previous costs as constant.

Osinbajo, according to a statement by his spokesman Laolu Akande, also told the NESG that the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy and its implementation by Minis-

tries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) is a creative way of blocking leakages in the system to make way for a workable budget.

Through the zero-based budgeting, he said, the Federal Government will focus on a bottom-up approach to development.

According to him, the Federal Government is also planning to set up an infrastructure fund to facilitate easy funding for critical areas of the economy.

The fund, Osinbajo said, will be planned outside of the budget to handle major segments of the economy, such as road and power.

“Government is working out a document that would

Troops rescue more women, children held by Boko Haram, says army

T •Osinbajo

guide the administration within the four years of its life-span,” he said.

The NESG delegation praised the Federal GovernContinued on page 8

Buhari: Boko Haram demands release of its bomb maker

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OVERNMENT officials have met with the leaders of Boko Haram sect for talks on freedom for the abducted Chibok girls, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said in France.

He however added that apart from ensuring that it negotiates with genuine leaders of the sect, the government rejected the condition given to it by the sect to proceed with the negotiations.

The condition is for the release from custody of the main suspect behind the production of Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDs).

The President, who was rounding off his state visit to France, spoke during a meeting with the Nigerian community, who met with him

•‘Govt ready to negotiate for Chibok girls’ release’ From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

under the auspices of Nigerians In the Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Buhari said: “The issue of Chibok girls has occupied our minds and because of the international attention it drew and the sympathy throughout the country and the world, the government is negotiating with some of Boko Haram’s leadership.

“It is a very sensitive development in the sense that first we have to establish who are the genuine leaders of the Boko Haram. That is number one. Number two, what are their terms? The first impres-

sion we had was not very encouraging,” he said He said: “They wanted us to release one of their leaders who is a strategic person in developing and making IEDs which have been causing a lot of havoc in the country by blowing up people in churches, mosques, market places, motor parks and other places.

“But it is very important that if we are going to talk to anybody, we have to know how much he is worth.

“Let them bring all the girls and then, we will be prepared to negotiate. I will allow them to come back to Nigeria or to be absorbed into the community. We have to be very careful; the concern we

have for the Chibok girls, one only imagine if they got a daughter there between 14 and 18 years and for more than one and a half years, a lot of the parents who have died would rather see the graves of their daughters rather the condition they imagine they were in.

“This has drawn a lot of sympathy thoughout the world; that is why this government is getting very hard in negotiating and getting the balance of those who are alive.”

Buhari assured the Nigerians that his administration was doing everything to improve on the state of the economy through provision of infrastructure in critical areas.

700 MDAs comply as TSA takes off

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OT less than 700 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government have complied with the directive on Treasury Single Account (TSA).

By the policy, all MDAs are expected to keep a single account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The deadline for compliance expired last night but it was learnt that some agencies were having difficulties implementing the guidelines.

Investigation revealed that the implementation guidelines for the TSA has been made available with MDAs instructed to access the document, but still don’t know

From From Nduka Chiejina, Abuja

where they stand on certain issues.

One of the challenges facing MDAs with regular inflow and outflow “is the difficulty of junketing to the CBN every time to make lodgments or withdrawal of cash.”

When contacted on the level of compliance by MDAs, spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) Mrs Kene Offie, told The Nation that all MDAs had till mid night (yesterday) for full compliance with the presidential directive and that the OAGF was working to tidy up its

own end before the expiration of the deadline pleading: “people should give us some time to tidy things up”.

On the challenges that some MDAs claim to be facing in complying with the directive. She declined to comment.

Another official of the OAGF who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “all MDAs were expected to contribute to the final document of the implementation guidelines and already over 700 MDAs have complied with the directive to migrate to the TSA.” The official said there is a strong possibility that the implementation guideline will be made public soon.

At the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) which generates revenue through its licensing activities, its Head of Media and Strategy Bisi Kazeem, said: “The government’s directive on TSA has been complied with. The transition was very smooth.”

However, bankers in Abuja were yesterday jittery and “waiting for clarification” from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on how to proceed today after expiration of deadline. A banker told The Nation that they were worried because they had not heard from the CBN and what the implication of the migration to the TSA would be for the banks.

HE Army said yesterday that scores of women and children held captive by Boko Haram insurgents have been rescued by troops along Banki, Kumashe and Bama axis in Borno State.

Acting Director of Army Public Relations Col. Sani Usman, in a statement said the advancing troops cleared four camps along the axis, while several others were cleared in Bolungu 1 and 2, Bula Doye and Cheehi Dare areas in the state.

“Nigerian troops advancing to clear all known Boko Haram terrorists camps towards Banki, Kumshe axis and Bama axis cleared four more camps earlier on Tuesday.

“They were able to clear the terrorists’ camps at Bolungu 1 and 2, Bula Doye and Cheehi Dare and secured a very im-

portant bridge linking the towns of Miyanti and Banki in Borno State.

“The gallant troops also rescued dozens of kidnapped women and children held captive by Boko Haram terrorists.’’

It said more enclaves of the insurgents would be cleared as troops involved in the operations advanced towards more areas previously occupied by the insurgents.

The statement said the offensive operations by ground troops and aerial bombardments by the Air Force would continue in the region until the insurgency was ended.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the military had intensified offensive against the insurgents with the aim of ending their reign of terror in the North East.

Presidency issues 7-day deadline on workers’ pay Continued from page 1

standing salaries and allowances and stressed the need for the government to pay up to boost the morale not only of the affected officers but also that of other teeming public service employees.

He expressed confidence

that as soon as the lists are submitted to the Presidency, the lingering arrears of salaries and allowances would be paid “so as to put the ugly situation behind and move forward”.

The union warned of dire consequences, which may include trade union actions, if the MDAs played politics with the Presidential directive.

Immigration jobs tragedy: EFCC invites board secretary

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HE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has invited the Secretary to the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prison Service Board, Mr. Sylvanus Tapgun, in continuation of its probe of the Nigeria Immigration Service recruitment scandal.

Tapgun is expected to explain how N212million voted for the ill-fated job test ‘disappeared.’

It was also learnt that the immediate past ComptrollerGeneral of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) Mr. David Parradang, might return for a another round of grilling within a fortnight.

He was granted an administrative.

Tapgun is expected to appear before the commission to testify how the Ministry of Interior arrived at the job test, the choice of a company, Drexel Technical Nigeria Limited,

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

the management of the funds voted for the interview and the actual amount released.

A source said: “We have invited Tapgun for an interaction. He is expected to meet with our team before the week runs out.

“Preliminary findings confirmed that N212million, out of N650million fees, was voted for the March 2014 recruitment test for immigration officers but N45million was actually released.

“In essence, about N167million meant for logistics on the test day could not be accounted for by anyone or group. We are interested in what the N45million was used for.

Continued on page 8

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NEWS

RMAFC: states flouting salary policy

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HE Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has accused state governments of not implementing the policy on salaries and allowances for political office holders.

A federal commissioner in the commission, Alhaji Yakubu Tuktur, spoke at an interactive session with stakeholders in Minna yesterday.

From Justina Asishana, Minna

According to him, the commission was mandated to fix the salaries and allowances of political office holders and elected officials at local, state and national levels.

Tuktur said while some states were implementing the salary package below the commission’s recommendations, other had refused to

implement the approved package.

He said the commission had received many complaints on payments of gratuities and severance allowance, vehicle loan and accommodation allowances, especially from the local government level.

“It is pertinent to note that despite these efforts the commission is still receiving complaints from beneficiaries and

most states are not implementing the package for one reason or the other in the light of the foregoing and having implemented the package for more than six years and given our economic realities and agitation of the general public office holders, the commission has decided to commence the next review of the remuneration package.”

•From left: Representative of Lagos State Governor, Mr Folarin Adeyemi; representative of President Buhari, Mrs Oluseyi AbegunPHOTO: NAN de; Chief Osoba and Prof. Williams at the book launch in Lagos...yesterday.

Buhari urges journalists to join anti-graft war

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari yesterday urged journalists to join the fight against corruption.

He said they should work towards strengthening the media because of its critical role in democracy.

The President spoke at the presentation of the book: 50 World Editors: Conversations with Journalism Masters on Trends and Best Practices, by Mike Awoyinfa and the late Dimgba Igwe.

Buhari, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Mrs. Oluseyi Abiodun, described the authors as “global models in journalism.”

He praised the authors, adding that Igwe’s tragic death was a huge loss.

The authors started writing the book before Igwe was killed by a hit-and-run driver on September 6, 2014, near his Okota, Lagos, home.

The President urged journalists to live by what the late Igwe stood for.

“Igwe belonged to everybody, but belonged to nobody, because of his ability to call a spade a spade.

“It is sad that he is no longer with us. He died as a true hero and a powerful columnist, who could not condone corruption, injustice and unrighteousness,” he said.

The President said the book launch was a fitting way to remember the late Igwe.

“Today ought to have been a good one, where a renowned writer would have seen his dream come true, but all we have now are memories, the memories of a man that was cut short trying to keep fit and live long,” he said.

He recalled the circumstances that led to Igwe’s death, saying: ”It is so sad that for

By Joseph Jibueze

over three hours, he was being moved from one hospital to the other until he bled to death.

This is not acceptable in the new Nigeria.”

He praised the authors’ effort and patience in making the book a reality, saying: “It is indeed a labour of love for journalism.”

Buhari said the book, which took 10 years to produce, would be useful not only to journalists, but to politicians, administrators, among others, as it teaches practical journalism from experienced editors of famous media outfits across the globe.

The President said he was pleased that five Nigerian editors were featured in the book.

He described the book as a “story of a Nigerian dream’’, adding that the duo had mentored editors, publishers and managers in the media industry.

According to him, the book was an epic writing that teaches journalism from the practical experiences of editors.

He praised the authors for travelling globally to get notable journalists with wide experiences and knowledge, “which showed the book as a labour of love for journalism’’.

The President said Igwe’s wife should be consoled that her husband died as a true hero and columnist, who could not suffer any act of corruption and injustice.

“Igwe’s death is a parable for Nigeria, a country where security and impunity have become the norm such that somebody will commit a crime and believe that he will not be caught.

“Tell the criminals that the long arm of the law will catchup with them soon. Even if you escape the judgement of man,

you will not escape the judgement of God.’’ He congratulated the authors for creating their own school of journalism, urging Nigerians to emulate how they related, in spite of coming from different ethnic groups.

Buhari also advised other journalists to write books that would inspire people and add value to the growth of the nation.

Former Ogun State Governor Aremu Olusegun Osoba, who chaired the event, urged kidnappers of the wife of The Sun Deputy Managing Director Steve Nwosu, to free her.

In an emotion-laden speech, he expressed concern about the kidnap of Mrs Toyin Nwosu, saying her abuductors should free her unharmed.

Osoba also spoke about a programme aired on Aljazera that Nigerian journalists were beggars.

He said: “It is unfortunate that publishers find it difficult to pay their young employees.”

The former governor called on a collective effort to redeem the image of the media at the

international level.

Awoyinfa recounted their experience at The Concord, saying they were “masters in the act of casting headlines” and that their stories were as if they were “straight from the bible.”

Awoyinfa read a long letter to his late friend, Igwe, saying not even time could heal the wound received as a result of his death.

He said that the book was written because of the hunger, passion and love for the profession, expressing the hope that people could use it to gain knowledge.

Awoyinfa said he would continue to launch a book every year in memory of Igwe.

Frontline scholar Prof. Adebayo Williams said it should be a tribute to journalists, who were killed.

The book’s reviewer, Mr. Eric Osagie, said the book shows that “journalism cannot simply be defined as history in a hurry.”

He said the 682-page book talks about the passion and travails of international and local journalists.

DSS invasion of Akwa Ibom Govt House, a political coup, says PDP

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HE Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Uche Secondus, has described the invasion of the Government House, Uyo by men of the Department of State Service (DSS) as a political coup against the people and government of Akwa Ibom State.

He spoke while addressing PDP faithful who thronged the Ibom International Airport to receive him and other members of the National Working Committee of the PDP yesterday.

Secondus, who said the National Working Committee was in Akwa Ibom State on a solidarity visit, added that “the invasion of the Government House by the DSS is unlawful and unacceptable. For sometimes now the DSS has been acting as though it is an arm of the All Progressives Congress. The DSS has been hounding the opposition.”

Secondus alleged that the invasion is one of APC’s actions to intimidate the people of Akwa Ibom State and press on the evil plan to take over state by force.

“This action is barbaric and the entire State, country and international community must unite in condemning the action of the DSS,” he stressed.

Alleging that the Director General of DSS was a member of Intelligence Committee of APC, Secondus maintained that, he was using the machinery of the Security agency to coerce INEC officials and the Judiciary to act against the popular will of the

people given at elections in PDP controlled State.

“We are aware of the maneuvering of the security architecture of the state controlled by PDP. We are aware of all kinds of transfers in DSS to achieve the plan of taking over by force PDPcontrolled states. Security men have gone to tribunal to testify for APC. But we are not worried about all that because at the end the truth will prevail. I can assure you that the plans by APC to takeover by force Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Delta states will fail.”

The Acting Chairman also demanded a judicial panel to probe the DSS action.

He regretted that two weeks after the dastardly act, the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has not spoken against it.

“It is sad that everything in Nigeria is partisan. Otherwise the NGF should have condemned the action; no matter the parties governors belong to. We expect that they should condemn the invasion of Akwa Ibom Government House by DSS.” Governor Udom Emmanuel stated that Akwa Ibom is totally PDP and the people fully support the government.

“Akwa Ibom is peaceful. Here we don’t discriminate against one another along partisan or ethnic lines, we accommodate everyone. The free and compulsory education, free health for pregnant women, children under five and the aged is enjoyed even by non-indigenes who are very many.”

President pledges favourable business climate for investors From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari yesterday assured French investors and those from other parts of the world that his administration will provide an enabling business environ-

ment.

The President, who addressed a gathering of investors at the Nigerian-France presidential business forum at the headquarters of the French Business Confederation in Paris, said the decision to urgently tackle insecurity was to ensure the safety of all citizens and guarantee investments for local and foreign investors.

Noting that Nigeria and France had a cordial trade partnership, President Buhari said there was need to promote a win-win sustainable business relationship between both countries.

The President traced the long-standing economic ties between both countries to 1902, when CFO set up a training programme in Lagos State.

He said his administration would rebuild Nigeria into a competitive, virile and productive economy that would also be based on excellence, integrity, transparency, accountability and respect for the rule of law.

President Buhari said: “It is a positive development that Nigeria is Africa’s largest trading partner with France. But opportunities abound to greatly increase the current $5 billion annual trade volume and I fully agree with President Francois Hollande when he declared in February, 2014 in Abuja that trade volume between both countries should double in four years.”

The trade expansion, the President said, would cover critical areas, such as agriculture, energy, automobile and skill development.

He said: “Today, many French companies are happy to have flourishing businesses in Nigeria. Opportunities abound to greatly increase the $5 billion annual trade volume between the two countries.”

Court awards N5m damages against EFCC for abuse of power

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HE Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday awarded N5million damages against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for sealing up two companies and freezing their bank accounts without a court order.

The firms, Hair Prestige Manufacturing Nigeria Limited and Prestige Hair Fashion Nigeria Limited (trading under Rana Seasoning Ventures) as well as their director, Gnanhoue Nazaire and Senou Modeste, a company worker, sought N180 million

By Joseph Jibueze

as damages for the violation of their rights.

The applicants said EFCC sealed up the companies and froze their four bank accounts last December 23 after it received a petition that Nazaire was involved in an alleged fraud.

Justice Mohammed Yunusa said EFCC acted without first obtaining a court order.

According to him, there must be a valid warrant by a court before the commission could arrest anyone accused

of an offence.

“The first respondent (EFCC) acted rashly and without following due process,” the judge said.

Besides, the judge added, there was no evidence that the commission obtained a warrant or conducted a preliminary investigation into the allegations before sealing up the companies and freezing their accounts.

Justice Yunusa said the fact that the commission admitted that Nazaire and Modeste were “interrogated and released” from its custody im-

plied that they were arrested.

“The exercise of the powers of arrest must be done with restraint, which is the essence of a court order. The need to exercise restraint arises so as not to violate anyone’s rights,” the judge said.

The judge, therefore, directed EFCC to unseal the companies and unfreeze the accounts, and release hard discs seized from the company, as well as Nazaire’s Prazo Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) and Toyota Matrix cars and phones taken away by the operatives.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

NEWS Immigration jobs tragedy: EFCC invites board secretary Continued from page 6

“We are inviting the secretary of the board to explain the role of the statutory body in the failed recruitment.

“The board is legally empowered to conduct the recruitment into the service. We want to ascertain the extent of the involvement of the board.”

The source added: “Parradang has been granted an administrative bail on personal recognition. We have left his travelling documents intact with him because investigation is yet to reach a level of restriction.

“But Parradang will be invited again to clarify some findings based on our pending quizzing of Tapgun and others already short-listed.

“Parradang claimed that no money was given to the NIS to

conduct the aptitude test.

There are so many gaps to fill.

“No one can trace the account the N650 million was paid into, let alone the budget for the D-Day.” While appearing before the then Senator Atiku Baguduled Senate Committee on Interior, Tapgun admitted that the consultant released N45 million out of N212 million requested by the board for the logistics of the interview.

Tapgun said Drexel Technical Nigeria Limited – the consultant who anchored the exercise on behalf of the ministry— provided only the N45 million as “discretionary contribution” for the screening He admitted that the development created “serious logistics problems on the day of the exercise”.

‘Govt to adopt zero-based budgeting’ Continued from page 6

ment for the introduction of the TSA and offered to be part of the advocacy as a sound financial policy.

The vice president said the Federal Government would explore the avenue of utilising the capital market as another means of providing alternative funding options for the execution of capital projects.

He said allowing retail investors to come into the nation’s capital market would ultimately deepen the market with potentials for multiplier effects on other sectors of the economy.

Some of the problems of the capital market, he said,

are due to unethical practices by some operators.

He said those who caused the crash in the market in the past were not punished, and urged the two bodies to engage in self-regulation as a means of protecting investors and the market.

The leader of the delegation and Acting President of CIS, Mr. Oluwaseyi Abe, praised the achievements of the Buhari administration within 100 days, especially its impact on security, power and the anti-corruption crusade.

Stressing on its positive effects on the overall economy, he said a new Nigeria was being formed under Buhari’s leadership.

18 die in Ondo/Ore road crash

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HE Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) yesterday confirmed the death of 18 passengers at Igushin, a town on the Ondo/Ore Expressway in Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo State.

Eyewitnesses said the victims were burnt to death in the accident, which occurred late yesterday.

It was learnt that the accident involved an 18-passenger white Mazda bus coming from Lagos State and a truck which allegedly hit the bus.

It was gathered that the bus somersaulted several

From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

times before bursting into flames.

FRSC Head of Operations Akin Adedipe said the accident was caused by over speeding.

Adedipe identified the crashed vehicles a a white Mazda marked BWR 116 XC and a white truck marked AAA757XN. The FRSC official said one person, whose identity was yet-to-be identified, survived the incident.

Adedipe said the victims included 11 men, six women and one male child.

Igali detained in Brazzaville airport •Released eight hours after

By Onyewuchi Nwachukwu

•Igali

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HE president of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF) Daniel Igali was yesterday

detained at the airport in Brazzaville shortly after he arrived at the country for the ongoing All Africa Games.

Igali,who won a gold medal in wrestling for his adopted country,Canada arrived in the capital of Congo Brazzaville at about 1.40 pm with four other Nigerians and was about undergoing immigration formalities when he whisked away by security operatives.

The current host,who equally hosted the inaugural edition of the All Africa Games in 1957,granted all participating athletes and of-

ficials’ visas at the point of entry but Igali was told that his name was not on the list of officials from Nigeria for the competition.

"I arrived Brazzaville at about 1.40pm and inspite of my accreditation, I was illegally detained at the airport for seven hours alongside four other Nigerians. I was told that my name was not on the list" Igali revealed to SportingLife via a text message.

"My Greco Roman wrestlers had their weight control without me. As I write, I'm still under illegal detention.The Director-General of the Nigeria Sports Commission (NSC) sent peo-

ple and documents,even the Nigerian embassy staff have been here all day.

While Igali was sending the text message of his detention, the authorities at the airport were eventually prevailed upon to release him after persistent appeals by officials of the Nigerian embassy in Congo and top chieftains of the NSC. "My detention is malicious, wicked, dehumansing and unacceptable. After eight hours and with the intervention of top NSC officials and leadership of the Nigerian embassy in Congo, I'm leaving the airport at about 9.56pm.I do not know why such people would be allowed to host a competition of this magnitude", Igali said.

‘Nigeria’ll retain first position in Africa’s investment destination’

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has said one of the key objectives of his administration’s economic reforms is to restore the confidence of investors in the economy.

The President spoke yesterday in Paris, France, while addressing leading French businessmen and investors at the headquarters of the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF).

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the President also reaffirmed his administration’s determination to curb corruption.

He said: “Our ongoing economic reforms are designed

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

to restore business confidence and block leakages and wastage of public resources. We are also focused on the recovery of stolen wealth belonging to the country.”

Buhari said his administration would sustain Nigeria’s position as the number one investment destination in Africa.

He said: “With a blessed land, rich in agricultural and mineral resources, skilled and low-cost labour, large market, a robust and competitive private sector anchored on investment policies and legislation to guarantee predictability and consistency

with global business practices, we are poised for doubledigit growth.

“There is much more to our country than oil, and we are determined to consolidate on industrialising Nigeria and diversifying its economy.

“The privatisation of key sectors of our economy, which was started under previous administrations, will be pursued and expanded to include other sectors. This exercise will be conducted in an open, transparent and competitive manner.

“We recognise the private sector as the engine of growth and a veritable partner in our economic agenda, and will, therefore, give the fullest possible support to foreign and

domestic entrepreneurs.

“Our administration is poised to redress the serious infrastructural gaps in Nigeria, raise production to create more jobs, build capital and stimulate further growth and prosperity of the country.”

MEDEF President Pierre Gattaz said the umbrella organisation of about 800,000 French manufacturing firms and businesses would embark on a trade mission to Nigeria next month.

He said the forum’s trade delegation would comprise prospective investors in agriculture, mining, automobiles, energy, skills development, light manufacturing, food processing, transportation services and many other areas.

Akwa Ibom governor’s driver not an impersonator

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ONTRARY to a report that the driver of Governor Udom Emmanuel is not a personnel of the Nigeria Police, Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for information and Communications, Mr. Aniekan Umanah yesterday said Mr. Bassey Edet is a bonafide officer of the Force.

Speaking in his office on a story in The Punch Newspaper of Monday, September 14, 2015 purporting that the driver is involved in Police impersonation saga, Mr. Umanah said that Edet is a certified, trained spy police-

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

man and therefore, cannot be said to be an impersonator.

The Information boss said that Mr Edet's Police Force Identification Number is 1522, having attended Police Training School, Ikeja, Lagos State, and wondered how he could be accused of breaching any rules by wearing his uniform.

Mr Umanah, who displayed photocopies of Mr Edet's Police Identity Card and Certificates, explained that the officer is a duly trained personnel of the police, working with the State

Government.

He dismissed as false, the allegation that the Governor's driver was defrauding financial institutions by taking multiple salaries, saying: “that I have in good authority that the Bank referred to in that report false publication, like other international organizations, does not hire drivers, therefore, could not have had his name on its payroll."

While decrying the partisan disposition of some reporters in Akwa Ibom, which he said is well known, Mr. Umanah stressed that it is

unfortunate that the writer of the story allowed sentiments to becloud his reportage of events in the state.

He charged journalists to avoid being used by any persons or interests to subvert the truth and to always ensure fairness and objectivity in their reports.

The Commissioner reaffirmed that Governor Udom Emmanuel and all members of his cabinet are law-abiding, and would not engage in any act that is unlawful or inimical to the peace, progress and development of the society.

Buhari’s planned visit excites Cross River elders

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EADERS and citizens of Cross River State are excited by the planned visit by President Muhammadu Buhari to the state on Monday to inaugurate the 260-kilometre Super Highway.

The project is one of the two key ones being embarked upon by Governor Ben Ayade, his spokesman Christian Ita, said.

Major Geo-technical studies have been carried out on the other signature project the Bakassi Deep Seaport.

Upon completion, the Super Highway will serve as the evacuation route for the Seaport.

Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Abba Kyari, conveyed the president’s acceptance to perform the ceremony in a letter to the governor.

“I write to inform you that

President Muhammadu Buhari, has acceded to your request. Mr. President, will perform the ground breaking of the 240km super highway dual carriage road from Calabar to Northern Nigeria,” Kyari’s letter said.

When completed, the road will reduce travel time from six to two hours from Calabar to Obudu Ranch Resort.

A former member of the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) and former chairman of the military wing of the Petroleum Trust Fund, Gen. Edward Unimna, described the president’s visit as a privilege and an indication of the regards he has for the state.

“It is a very good pointer that the state is doing well. I must commend the Federal Government for the confidence reposed on the state.

When President Buhari selected Ayade to accompany him to Cameroon, it was a clear indication that the President is happy with what our governor is doing and that the governor is working harmoniously with the Federal Government,” he said.

He said the visit is a clear pointer that the super highway would be a reality.

A former military administrator of Kwara State, Col Pam Ogar (rtd), said the President’s visit is an assurance that the project will succeed.

“First of all, it is reassuring that the President is bent on positive change. By his coming, he is telling us in this part of the country that he would support whoever is bringing about positive change irrespective of the party affiliation,” he said.

He said the commencement

of the project portrays the governor as someone who keeps his promise.

“The governor has shown that politics is not all about fake promises. He is a governor who is justifying whatever he has promised.

Former governor Clement Ebri said the people could barely wait for the president’s visit.

“I am elated and can’t wait to see that happen. By choosing to embark on these projects, the governor is virtually moving the mountains. I am totally in support of the governor on these projects.

“Having a road like that is an economic masterstroke; the trickle-down effect of this road cannot be overstated.”

The State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ntufam John Okon

also expressed delight about the President’s impending visit.

He said the President’s action marks him out as someone who does not allow party leaning to affect his commitment to development.

“The President is our President. The PDP family will give him a rousing welcome.

He is coming for our own good.”

The PDP Chairman said he was proud of the governor, describing the road and sea port projects as demonstration of the “wonderful imaginative strength of our governor.”

Senator Bassey Otu commended Ayade for initiating the project and praised President Buhari for his transparent leadership and for playing politics that goes beyond party line.

•Ayade

A chieftain of the PDP, Chief Linus Okom said: “Every Cross Riverian is happy that the President’s first visit to the Southsouth is to Cross River State. It is a clear confirmation that the President is transparent. His statement that he belongs to all and that he is a President for all Nigerians is true”.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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NEWS

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HE state of Nigeria’s debt was made public yesterday by the federal ministry of finance.

It was at the House of Representatives during the public hearing of 2015 budget.

Director General of the Budget Office Alhaji Aliyu Gusau, who represented Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance, Mrs Anastasia Daniel-Nwaobia, told the lawmakers that: “External debt as at June 30th 2015 stood at $7.74b and $3.42b for states and the FCT; bringing it to the total amount to $10.31b while Federal Government’s internal debt stood at $8.396b.

“N3.45trillion was budgeted for 2015 out of which capital appropriation was N5579b.

“Of the amount, N194.492b has been released as at September 15th representing 34.89% of total releases.

“Of the N375.62b budgeted for Statutory transfer; N187, has been released as at quarter two and N250.41b as at August 2015.

“Of N231.41b Pensions budget, N149.92b has been released as at at end of August 2015.

“Public debt to GDP ratio as at 2013 was 10.82%, and N882.122b appropriated for both domestic and external borrowing has been fully raised to finance the 2015 budget.”

The lawmakers expressed reservations about the capacity of the ministry of finance to effectively drive the Nigerian economy.

The position of the lawmakers was informed by the discrepancies discovered in documents presented to an ad hoc committee of the House investigating the implementation of the capital component of the 2015 budget.

The public hearing was postponed twice due to the non appearance of the Permanent Secretary. It however got underway yesterday despite her absence.

She was said to be on the entourage of President Muhammadu Buhari to France.

Agencies at the hearing included the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Budget Office of the Federation, the Office of the

‘Sustain ban on frozen chicken’ From Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

T

HE President, Animal Science Association of Nigeria (ASAN) Mr Taiwo Adeoye has advised Resident Muhammadu Buhari to sustain ongoing ban on frozen poultry products.

He said the ban will allow Nigeria to increase its animal protein production to meet the daily protein intake as recommended by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

Mr. Adeoye spoke during the 7th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and induction ceremony of the Nigerian Institute of Animal Science held at the international Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, Oyo state capital.

“One of the ways to achieve hunger free Nigeria is the provision of a deliberate conducive atmosphere to encourage animal scientists to increase animal protein production to meet the daily protein intake as recommended by FAO,” he said.

Adeoye, in a statement in Abuja, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to diversify the economy to animal production among other options.

External debt is $10.31b, says Fed Govt •Reps decry ministry’s poor presentation From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) and National Planning Commission (NPC) among others.

Reacting to the presentation, the Committee said the document was lacking in depth, while particular concern was raised over figures in the submission of some the invited agencies that were contradictory thereby casting doubt about the integrity of the various presentations.

Chairman of the ad hoc committee, Ahman Pategi, said the

sketchy presentation failed to give the true position of the implementation of the 2015 capital budget.

He noted that the presentation was silent on revenue accruing oil while there was a need to know shortfall from January to August.

Besides, he cited the shortfall recorded in non-oil revenue as contained in the document but was short on explanations on month-by month details.

He also said the presentation was vague on the nation’s debt profile as it was silent on the position of each sectors of the economy and how the government planned to liquidate it.

The chairman was also concerned about the inadequate presentation of the most of the

agencies that spanned January to June 2015 rather than from January to August 2015.

“My own of view of the presentation is that it is very sketchy and does not give a holistic view for full understanding of what the 2015 budget implementation is all about.

“We had expected you to provide vivid insights into the regime of import duty waiver using explanatory notes to describe how what was done and why”, he said.

Members of the committee, including Linus Okorie and Wale Oke said documents presented by the Ministry of Finance, the Budget Office and the OAGF lacked credibility.

Okorie, who said he had no confidence in the documents

noted that they were incomplete and contradictory.

To highlight the discrepancies discovered in the documents presented by the Budget Office and the OAGF, Okorie revealed a difference of N248b over projected revenue for the fiscal year 2015 He also pointed out another N146.8b difference in figures presented by the two agencies on debt servicing.

According to the lawmaker, who asked for clarification on the debt profile of the country, documents presented showed that N148b has already been overpaid for debt servicing.

In addition, Okorie also pointed out the contradictions in the two documents concerning releases to the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P).

Okorie said while one docu-

ment stated that the entire N21b SURE-P budget was released 100 percent, another stated that N14b has been released and utilised.

Wale Oke urged the Committee to adjourn the meeting for a week said the various documents failed show the capacity of the Federal government to implement the 2015 budget.

The Committee wondered why the Federal government had to borrow to fund non capital expenditure in addition to using local instruments to service its debt.

About N882.1billion has been fully borrowed and disbursed to the Consolidated Revenue Account to fund the 2015 budget deficit.

According to the committee, it is against the Fiscal Responsibility Act to borrow to fund projects that were not contained in the capital component of the budget.

The hearing was adjourned till Tuesday.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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NEWS Statistical Association seeks Customs roles in oil import, export •Aregbesola seeks cooperation with NSA

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HE Nigerian Statistical Association (NSA) has urged on the Federal Government to involve the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in the monitoring of crude oil export and refined petroleum products importation with a view to ensuring reliable statistical data on the nation’s merchandise.

This is even as it also called for urgent review of the existing policies guiding the economic activities in the Export Processing Zones (EPZs) such that the export-import trade business in the zones could be accessible to agencies involved in data collation and production for national planning and development.

Setting this agenda for government at the just ended 39th Annual Conference of the Association in Oshogbo, Osun State, its National President, Dr Mohammed Tumala, said these policy measures were required to get accurate data on Nigeria’s merchandise trade trends on a broader scale and by implication, support statistics-based planning for development.

Tumala, who described the exclusion of statistics as a core subject in secondary school curriculum as undesirable for the country, said the involvement of the NCS in crude oil lifting and fuel import regime, given the agency’s ca-

Nigeria achieves food component of MDGs From Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

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HE Federal Govern ment said it produced 15 million metric tonnes of food in 2013, adding that the success recorded in increased food production ensured Nigeria achieved the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of halving the number of hungry people in two years ahead of its deadline.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sonny Echono, spoke in Abuja during the launch of the Establishment and Implementation of Fertilizer Quality Control System in Nigeria. The initiative was supported by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.

Represented by the Director, Farm Inputs Support Services, Mr. Akinbolawa Osho, he said the Ministry distributed 738, 305. 80 MT of fertilizers to farmers last under its Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS).

He said: “As we all know, the current agricultural policies have made tremendous inroads in the fertilizer subsector especially in curbing the corruption in the distribution of fertilizer to our resource constrained farmers through the use of e-wallets in the administration of fertilizer subsidy.

“As a result of the GESS, 121, 522.8 MT, 525,509.48 MT and 738, 305.80 MT of fertilizer were redeemed by farmers nationwide in 2012, 2013, and 2014 respectively.

pacity to do so, would go a long way in minimising the abuses that had characterised the oil and gas industry operations over the years.

On the current moves to build a credible identity database for Nigerians as well as the anti-corruption crusade in the country, Tumala said such agenda would only succeed if the relevant agencies had the right data to work with and also involve professional statisticians in the collation, analysing, production, and application of such statistical data on their investigations.

He therefore advised secu-

• From left: Aregbesola; Dr. Tumala; and the National Secretary of the association, Dr. Godday Ebuh; during the opening of the association’s 39th Annual Conference in Osogbo, Osun State.

rity agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to see how they could begin to rely on and adopt proactive data mining approaches to fight financial and other crimes in the country.

While expressing the readiness of the NSA to part-

ner with the various agencies including the EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (CPC), Directorate of State Security Services (DSSS) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Tumala said the group was prepared to help state gov-

ernments establish their Bureaux of Statistics to support their drive towards effective policy implementation.

In his opening speech at the Conference, Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, appealed to the association to rise to the

challenge of helping the country develop a credible statistical database on key areas of education, health and the economy, among others, with a view to supporting the tiers of government in basing their developmental agenda on statistics-based planning.

THE NATION THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

12

NEWS

Police to Rivers tribunal: we caught PDP agents thumb-printing on poll’s day T HE police yesterday told the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja that agents of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were caught thumb-printing in a house opposite their party’s secretariat at Seme in Tai Local Government Area.

A Superintendent of Police, Mr Tafa Michael, appeared before the tribunal.

The petitioners are the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Dr Dakuku Peterside.

Michael said he was on election duty on April 11 in Tai Local Government Area. The police officer told the Justice Suleman Ambrosa-led tribunal that over 70 persons, including PDP agents, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) workers and ad hoc staff as well as other individuals were arrested by his men shortly after noon on election day.

Michael said materials, such as card readers, ballot papers, vests and ink pads were among items recovered from the group, which was eventually handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

He said: “About 12.45 pm, I was sitting at INEC office when I got a distress call that people were thumb-printing at Seme area. I went to the place after asking questions from people on the road. I was eventually directed to the place after sometime.

•INEC deputy director: only 293,072 voters accredited •DSP accuses ACP of aiding electoral fraud in Khana From Gbenga Adanikin, Abuja

When I got to Seme, I stopped close to PDP secretariat and asked again. I was informed that the house opposite the PDP secretariat had many people with electoral materials. ”I then came down with my men, cordoned the compound and in the process of doing that, I sighted the patrol vehicle of the anti-terrorism squad.

I beckoned on them to stop, which they did and I informed them that I needed assistance.

“They joined us (my men and I). We entered the compound where we met people thumb-printing on electoral materials. We arrested them.

At that point, I called my superior commander and told him the situation. He came down with a lorry with which we evacuated the people and materials to our base in Tai. I took some photographs before leaving the place.”

Michael deposited photo evidence to the tribunal.

It also emerged that only 293,072 voters were accredited for the April 11 governorship poll in Rivers State.

INEC’s Deputy Director on Information Communication Technology (ICT) Mrs. Abimbola Oladunjoye told the tribunal that the electoral com-

mission’s initial figure of 1,029, 102 was wrong.

Oladunjoye showed the data after persistent questioning by counsel to the petitioner, Mr Akinlolu Olujimi (SAN).

The respondents’ lawyers, including Onyechi Ikpeazu (INEC), Emmanue Okala (for Governor Nyesom Wike) and Chris Uche (for PDP), tried to discourage the witness from disclosing the information which, according to them, was in the document presented to the Justice Ambrosa.

Oladunjoye, who is also INEC’s head of Data Management Unit, explained that the information gathered from card readers were periodically uploaded to the central server of the commission automatically.

“I am aware that the commission took a decision that the smart card reader should be used for accreditation on governorship election.

“On election day, voters are supposed to come to the polling unit with their voter cards. The Incident Form is issued to a voter when the card reader cannot successfully accredit him or her.

“The server was available for the card reader data uploading throughout the election and was shut down six

weeks after the election,’’ Oladunjoye added.

When cross-examined by INEC’s counsel, Ikpeazu, Oladunjoye said the card reader machine used for the presidential election was the same for the governorship.

According to her, the only issue in the card reader machine was that the machines were reconfigured before the governorship election.

“If a card is damaged, the card reader may not be able to recognise it, the card reader is a RF ID card, which has antennae; the card reader communicates to the antennae to enable it read. So, if the card is dirty, I don’t think there is a problem,” she said.

When questioned further by counsel to Wike, Ukala, during cross- examination, Oladunjoye said the card reader could recognise information, which included the registration area, polling unit and serial number of voters.

Other information recognised by the card reader machine, she said, are local government area, delimitation constituency, a signal of a fail or successful accreditation and number of accreditation made by the machine.

Also yesterday, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP),

Mr. Yusuf Buba of Police Mobile Squadron, Ogoni, Rivers State, told the tribunal how an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kenneth Akabue, aided and supervised the alleged rigging of the April 11 governorship election in favour of the PDP in Khana Local Government Area.

Buba, who was posted as Unit Commander to Khana on the eve of the election, said: “Among the places we visited was Bori. At the field in front of the Area Commander’s Office in Bori, we saw people thumb-printing. I went to the Area Commander’s Office, surprisingly, I met the E.O. with him. I reported to him what was happening outside but he said I should mind my business. I was left with no option but to leave his office and continue my patrol. ”In all the places we patrolled, election did not take place. And election materials given to corps members were snatched at gun point because policemen with them were unarmed. So, there was no voting and collation because everybody moved to Port Harcourt almost immediately after. But the following day they returned to Khana Local Government secretariat and announced the result they came back with. ”I did not see people queuing to vote. I only saw people in an open field thumb-printing. Do you call that an election?”

We obeyed Electoral Law, says REC Khan From Rosemary Nwisi, Port Harcourt

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HE Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Gesila Khan, yesterday insisted that the last general election in the state were conducted in accordance with the Electoral Law. Khana spoke when three groups gave her award of excellence for “conducting peaceful, free and credible polls”.

She said: “We followed the laid-down rules to conduct the 2015 general election in the state, from the beginning to the end. We insisted that due process must be followed in conducting the elections so there will be no bloodbath in the state.”

The groups, which gave her the award, the Bayelsa Ijaw Community Rivers State, Port Harcourt-based Weekly Watch and Rivers Youth Vision, said they came to identify with her for the peace enjoyed in the state during the elections.

Chairman of Bayelsa Ijaw Community in Rivers State, Okoya Warri, described her as the first female REC of inestimable value.

“We are proud to associate with you...You are a quintessential daughter of Bayelsa State.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

Life

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The Midweek Magazine E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

Text only: 08023058761 and 08112662687

•Nigerian Condrum II by Iyase-Odozi

•Sambisa Forest by Onobrakpeya

It was an artistic statement that canvassed for change in all spheres of the society. It was the day 12 renowned Nigerian artists set ablaze the creative atmosphere of an Ogun State suburb, Olambe. The 12, led by the celebrated master artist, Bruce Onobrakpeya, joined the on-going conversations on change at the GreenHouse Art Empowerment Centre (GHAEC) exhibition, which opened last Saturday. Their artistic voices called for a people-oriented transformation, reports EVELYN OSAGIE.

Artists make case for change

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HEY came advocating change in the polity, with particular emphasis on infrastructure. They braved the coarse and hellish roads leading to Lagos suburbs of Ojodu through Akute and Iju-Ishaga through Oke-aro to the rustic community of Olambe in Ogun State.

They waded through muddy puddles, dusty potholes and endured the inclement weather from rain heavy showers to scorching sun.

The love for the arts and the calibre of the artists drew guests to the opening of a 12-artist exhibition organised by the GreenHouse Art Empowerment Centre (GHAEC) in Olambe, Ogun State last Saturday. The day also featured the formal presentation of GHAEC Art Journal.

The dignitaries included Major Bamidele Unigbe; a Director at Skye Bank, Mr Abdul Bello; celebrated poet Odia Ofeimun; Mr David Nwamara; former Creative Arts Head of Department, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Peju Layiwola; Director, ThirstMate Water Company, Mrs Catherine Bolanle Isijola and The Nation Managing Editor (Online), Lekan Otufodunrin.

“By the time you get here. You forget the hell you went through to come, on seeing the rich array of works and the depth of artistic expression that welcomes you to the place. It was not easy coming straight from Ondo State to the place. You wonder whether you are lost or still on course.

“But it is good that one finally made it. It is always a pleasure visiting a place that one can

•Onobrakpeya writes letter to Chibok girls encounter art – old and present ones. To have established such an edifice, I commend founders of the art centre. They remind me of the kind of things I intend to do in Edo State in time to come,”Ofeimun said.

Perhaps to ease off the stress of the long travel, traditional drummers and dancers began thrilling guests with folk beats and acrobatic steps.

Their rendition of the National Anthem was particularly touching, along with the news that the drummers featured a United Kingdombased lady economist, Modupe Johnson.

But the highlight of the event was the exhibition and keynote address delivered by the renowned artist, Bruce Onobrakpeya.

Tagged: Nigerian Visual Artists and Politics, the

‘

group exhibition featured works of 12 renowned artists in different artistic skills, including: installations, painting, watercolour, textile, ceramics/pottery, mixed-media, sculpture and photography.

With the works of Onobrakpeya in the lead, GHAEC artistic line-up also comprised Sam Ovraiti; Ato Arinze; Princess Theresa IyaseOdozi; Dr Mabel Oluremi Awogbade; Stella Awoh; Kolawole Kosoko Olojo; Juliet Ezenwa Pearce; Bolaji Ogunwo; Stella Ubigho; Oke Ibem Oke and Osagie.

As if to join their voice with the founders of GHAEC and the people of Olambe on the construction of good roads, the artists advocated change in sectors. Indeed, they joined their

I dedicate this installation called “Sambisa Forest” to you. It is a prayer to the supreme intelligence for your release. In the picture, protesting mothers parade behind totems which represent you girls, the armed insurgents, denied or delayed laurels, and most importantly staves of empowerment which you will receive at the end of your travail

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voices with the on-going conversations on change and national reorientation. Each of their works expressed thoughts on Nigeria’s political and artistic landscape, policy and infrastructural change, increased funding for the arts, nature, textile and many more.

Onobrakpeya’s piece is particularly engaging. Through his installation, tagged: Sambisa Forest, guests were reminded of the plights of the over 200 secondary school girls abducted last year at Chibok. The artist, who read from his handwritten letter to the Chibok girls, who have spent over 510 days in the hands of the insurgents, urged the government to look into the plights of the girls by intensifying efforts to release them. He called for a collective and intensified campaign for their release through his letter and the installation which showed naked protesting women at the background of totems representing the girls and the armed insurgents, among other motifs.

The installation and letter, Onobrakpeya said, were meant to create awareness and rouse the feeling of people on the plights of the girls in the hands of the insurgents. He said: “I am using both to urge the government and wellmeaning people, who have the means, to do what it takes to release and get them out of their suffering. Both are both an advocacy and prayer for them. The government knows more than everyone about the situation. They should double whatever efforts they are making to release those girls from suffering.

“Imagine if they were not kidnapped, some •Continued on Page 14

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

The Midweek Magazine

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

Artists make case for change •Continued from Page 13

would have furthered their education or learnt a trade. They would have moved on in life like their peers. The government should do more to get them released so that they can continue to live their lives from where it stopped. They should be given the opportunity to progress in life just like any other Nigerian.”

The letter reads thus: “09-09-15 Dear Chibok Girls, “This is to let you know that our spirit are there with you in the Sambisa forest, where you have been suffering in the hands of kidnappers for a period of over 510 days. As grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, friends, citizens of Nigeria and the World, we share your pains. We daily work and pray for your release from the Forbidden Forest. I feel intensely what you are going through because I too had been kidnapped as a child during the Ekene festival, but was miraculously rescued before being taken away into the forest.

“I dedicate this installation called Sambisa Forest to you. It is a prayer to the supreme intelligence for your release.

“In the picture, protesting mothers parade behind totems which represent you girls, the armed insurgents, denied or delayed laurels, and most importantly staves of empowerment which you will receive at the end of your travail.

“Finally dear girls, don’t lose hope, your present state may be a design by the Creator to put you at the top of the world.

Sincerely Obo-me-yoma” Onobrakpeya, in his keynote address, entitled: The role of visual artists in people’s empowerment and politics in Nigeria, also called for improved funding for the art and artists. Apart from reflecting the goings-on in society, he said: “If harnessed, visual arts can make a country great. Because it is a desirable commodity of value, it is also a veritable source of wealth and empowerment.”

Like Onobrakpeya’s, GHAEC’s Founder/ Chief Executive Officer, Princess Theresa IyaseOdozi’s work is equally catchy. Entitled: Nigerian Condrum II, the 4ft by 6ft in mixed media technique, also added the artist’s voice to the “bring back the girls campaign”. Inside gigantic piece, showing diverse headlines, pictures, drawings of different scenes, people and naira notes, one could see that she was calling for the end of violence, especially in the north-eastern states. The piece also showcased the diverse challenges that the country is passing through.

She said: “The theme of the exhibition, Nigerian Visual Artists and Politics, afforded me the opportunity to depict the various challenges fac-

•Prof Onobrakpeya (third left), flanked by Mr Victor Odozi (second right), his wife Princess Iyase-Odozi and other guests at the event.

PHOTO: MOYOSORE SANYA-ISIJOLA

ognition of his contributions to the development of the arts sector, especially in Africa. According to her, the master artist “remains an inspiration to me and many artists across the country”.

Celebrated artist, Ovraiti’s oil on canvas piece, That way out, depicted the tension in the political landscape in the country. The tension, he said, “is caused by lots of unanswered questions that the politicians use as elections promises”.

Awogbade’s acrylic on bisque ware, entitled:

VISUAL ART ing the nation, especially on the eve of the 2015 general elections. It has truly been a year of political challenges and intrigues. My work simply poses the question: ‘Where do we go from here?”

Having Onobrakpeya as guest artist and keynote speaker, Iyase-Odozi said, was done in rec-

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‘Imagine if the abducted Chibok girls were not kidnapped, some would have furthered their education or learn a trade. They would have moved on in life like their peers. The government should please release them so that they can continue to live their lives from where it has stopped. They should be given the opportunity to progress in life just like any other Nigerian’

‘

Set me free, advocated the effects of corruption in the polity.

Arinze’s 6ft scultpture, Debacle 1, which was the first in the series of three masked sculpture, was inspired by Dr Olatunji Dare’s art Debacle in The Guardian during the June 12 Saga.

As administration has taken on the baton of leadership, Oyovwe-Ubigho’s piece, We can see, depicted the eyes of the masses on the political class.

Olojo’s pastel painting, Reaction, predicted doom as aftermath of bad leadership. Thus, he called for a political reorientation and improvement in the plights of the masses. “The Reaction shows the mass action by the aggrieved citizens, who took to the streets in protest against misrule,” he said.

Maja-Pearce’s plastograph plate, entitled: The political-additive, focused on the integrity and vulnerability of the law.

Other guests included ThisDay Deputy Editor (Sunday), Mr Okechukwu Uwaezuoke, who was the event’s compere; Mrs Abimbola Izu; The Nation correspondents Taiwo Abiodun and Gboyega Alaka.

Firm unveils children’s book

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HILD’S health advocate, Mrs Edirin Metseagharun, has released two new books on healthy eating and exercise for children under the Parresia Publishers Ltd. Following the successful release of her first book, titled: Ola & Bisi Adventures of Health (Eat Healthy and Be Smart) last year, the author has released a sequel, Ola & Bisi Adventures of Health (Fit Kid or Fat Kid), and Ola & Bisi Adventures of Health (Parents Guide to Healthy Eating & Activities).

Her books, which are beautifully illustrated, highlight the interesting adventure of two children Ola and Bisi the world of healthy living.

Using simple language and effortless humour, Mrs Metseagharun highlights topical issues that any child or parent can easily relate to. Through the two personas, the author introduces children and teens into a world of healthy eating and exercise.

Fit Kid or Fat Kid continues the adventures of Ola and Bisi, two children from a privileged home, presenting kids with lessons on healthy weight maintenance, healthy snacking, healthy drinks and benefits of water and benefits of exercises.

With the dramatic way it highlights the stigma children have to pass through just for being fat, Fit Kid or Fat Kid will appeal to children and their parents. The book, whose foreword was written by award-winning children’s novelist Uche Peter Umez, also featured informative exercises that introduced children to healthy living.

Friendship is another key theme dealt in the book and the consequences of being bullied by your peers.

On the other hand, Parents Guide to Healthy Eating & Activities is a guide to help parents understand and appreciate their children’s health affairs. It focuses on issues, such as how to know if a child has a weight problem; how to provide

August break

By Olamilekan Andu

By Evelyn Osagie

BOOK healthy balanced diet for a child; what to do to make eating out with the family healthy; how to ensure smart snacking for a child, and how to support your child to be active.

According to the author, books were inspired by her passion for child’s health and fitness. Being a teacher, and a counsellor with lots of passion for children’s health, Mrs Metseagharun holds dear the belief that “any children’s book worth its name must be able to point a child to the right direction”.

As the founder and co-ordinator of Passion For Healthy Kids Initiative (PHKI), a non-governmental organisation that addresses childhood under-

nourishment, obesity prevention, helping children to eat right and be active every day, she brings her experiences to bear on her three books. “For too long, the message of eating right and being active has been focussed on adults only even in the face of rising obesity levels among children particularly of the affluent. Ola and Bisi Adventures of Health presents this message of eating right and being active to children in simple but interesting story format that will get a child engaged.

“The whole theme of Fit Kid or Fat Kid clearly centres on children having the proper weight for their age–by eating the right food and keeping up the right lifestyle so they do not get overweight or underweight and end up being exposed to health challenges sooner or later,” Mrs Metseagharun said.

The sun has receded into its celestial palace It hardly peeps through the windows of dark clouds below The torrential has given way to drizzle The warmth has shifted grounds for near gelid season I can’t visit Jos or its Plateau neighbours now I’ve suspended my nightly walk on Lagos beach My air conditioner is on vacation with the fans I don’t crave refrigerated water anymore My indulgent afternoon thirst has mellowed The breezy days have become persistent But the showers won’t vacate the sky Need the meteorologist warn before we use umbrella?

My sweaty afternoons have fled for nippy days The nights caress my face with icy winds My clothes no longer dry within hours They endure days and nights to desiccate The summer weather has clothed me in winter apparels I have embraced this August break with restrained ardour

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

15

COMMENTARY EDITORIALS

LETTER

Diluting diplomacy?

•Cost considerations should not hamper foreign policy objectives

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari’s recent announcement that his administration would undertake a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s missions overseas is a logical response to shortfalls in funding and a need to properly focus the nation’s diplomatic activities. But it should not be achieved at the expense of broader foreign policy goals.

The president’s concerns are clearly justified. The country is said to have 119 missions scattered across the world on which it will spend N34 billion this year. Some of these missions are located in relatively obscure nations with little social, political or economic relevance to Nigeria. Others have only a handful of Nigerian citizens.

In spite of the huge sums expended on their maintenance and upkeep, many of the country’s missions are disgracefully dilapidated eyesores, which do nothing to enhance national prestige. And as is all too common with most things Nigerian, they have become conduits of corruption.

The 2014 national budget contained N872.46 million for fuelling and maintaining generators in foreign missions, including those in places like New York and Washington. The

‘Successful foreign policy is like delicious stew: it is not cheap, but its rewards are truly satisfying’

budget also included N30 million for the fuelling of non-existent boats and aircraft purportedly owned by the country’s missions abroad.

However, it is also clear that Nigeria’s place in the world is such that it cannot but have a robust diplomatic footprint upon the global stage. As the largest black nation in the world, the country is burdened with the historic mission of elevating the black race, consistently arguing its cause and resolutely preventing its continued degradation. That was why the country took up the anti-apartheid cause as its own, even if it was not directly affected by that odious system of institutionalised racial discrimination.

Such ambitious foreign policy goals cannot be achieved on a shoestring budget. Diplomacy is particularly expensive because its successful prosecution assumes an ability to be present when important decisions are made, a refusal to abandon one’s friends and allies, and a preparedness to put one’s money where one’s convictions are.

What that means for Nigeria is the vigorous pursuance of its diplomatic interests in three main spheres: the West African sub-region, where it is by far the dominant power; the African continent, where it is a key guarantor of political stability and economic growth; and nations in Europe and the Americas where it has a large and growing diaspora.

It would be incorrect to visualize

diplomatic involvement in these areas merely as egoistic grandstanding without substantial returns: remittances from the Nigerian diaspora totalled US $ 63.17 billion between 2011 and June 2014. In 2013 alone, it was an estimated $20.77 billion. Indeed, Nigeria is in the happy position of enjoying a near-perfect symbiosis between its geopolitical and altruistic interests.

In the light of this, the Federal Government should seek to balance its cost-cutting tactics with the enhancement of the country’s foreign policy strategies. The anti-corruption war must be taken to foreign missions with a vengeance; the sundry scams and extortions many of them have become notorious for must be wiped out. Greater attention should be paid to the shenanigans of embassy officials who use their positions to perpetrate fraudulent practices. Ludicrous items must expunged from the foreign affairs budget.

But more effort should also be devoted to ensuring that the country has an effective presence in the places it needs to be active in. That would mean the creation of more consulates in countries with large numbers of Nigerian citizens, as well as the rehabilitation of foreign missions in order to make them more effective proponents of trade, investment and cultural exchange.

Successful foreign policy is like delicious stew: it is not cheap, but its rewards are truly satisfying.

Kill-and-go •The Lagos State government had better get more serious about enforcing its traffic law, before ‘kill-and-go’ truckers despatch more innocent road users T appears the Lagos State government and owners of trailers and trucks, banned by law from plying Lagos roads between 6. 00 a.m. and 9.00 p.m. in the public interest, are in for a long period of disagreement. This is following the failure of the vehicle owners to obey the law.

In spite of the state road traffic law which makes it illegal for the articulated vehicles to ply the roads in the state within the stipulated time, many of the banned vehicles continue to be on the roads, during the time belt they are supposed to be off, in blatant contravention of relevant sections of the law.

Indeed, the sections of the state traffic law, which bars the trailers and trucks from the roads within the Lagos metropolis between 6. 00 a.m. and 9.00 p.m, states that “any driver found contravening the provisions of this section shall have his vehicle impounded by a duly authorised officer … and shall upon conviction be liable to a fine of N50,000 or a term of imprisonment for six months or both”.

But this law had been obeyed more in the breach by the articulated vehicle owners, with the security agents turning a blind eye — until September 2 when three people were killed in an accident involving a container truck, at the Ojuelegba area of Lagos. This accident made the state government to remind the trailer and truck owners of the relevant sections of the law they had been contravening, warning that henceforth, such illegality would not be tolerated.

The permanent secretary, Lagos State

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Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Oluseyi Whenu, had warned after the tragic Ojuelegba accident that “The state government will henceforth go tough on any trailer and long vehicle that contravene the law; as such vehicles will be impounded and made to pay the stipulated fine accordingly”. Whenu added: “The new directive will pay more emphasis on flawless flow of traffic, while traffic offenders will now be booked and expected to pay their fines within the stipulated period in line with the state government’s promise to Lagosians to make life easier for them”.

But feelers from the truck drivers, under the aegis of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners and National Association of Road Truck Owners, indicate that they would not withdraw their trucks from the roads with immediate effect, over the restriction. They gave reasons, though, including safety of their trucks, drivers and the cargoes due to the activities of hijackers, and lack of a designated place in the state to park the vehicles, among others.

We cannot say these are unfounded, but then, they cannot be sufficient justification to break a law that was made following the due process. We recall that there were lots of stakeholders’ meetings before the road traffic bill was passed into law. These concerns ought to have been raised at that time. Now that it has become law, it has to be obeyed.

Be that as it may, such restrictions can only be a short term measure to deal with the menace of articulated vehicles’ drivers on our roads. It is common knowledge

that many of these vehicles are not roadworthy; they had caused many accidents and wanton loss of lives and property all over the country.

At the very basics, the Lagos government must ensure whatever trucks, or articulates vehicles, that plies its roads are certified road-worthy. Whichever are not must, as routine, be impounded. This nonchalant attitude to safety, and government’s own lethargy to enforce right road habits, clearly cannot continue. So, if these vehicle owners must remain in business, they must ensure that their vehicles are roadworthy.

Moreover, many of their drivers are generally reckless and daring; they have scant regard for human lives. No government worth its salt would shut its eyes to such recklessness or treat public safety with levity.

All said, however, we need a holistic approach to end the nightmare of articulated vehicles on our roads. Law enforcement has to be intensified, even as the government should make the necessary investments in other modes of transportation like the railway and waterways, to relieve the roads of the heavy burden of these vehicles on our roads — and the sheer menace of these kill-and-go truck and trailer drivers.

‘This nonchalant attitude to safety, and government’s own lethargy to enforce right road habits, clearly cannot continue’

Electricity rip-off: Buhari must act

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IR: My experience in recent time with electricity supply could be assumed to be the same experience for millions of Nigerians. I bought a prepaid meter in 2008 and quite early in 2011 the meter stopped working. Consequently, I was made to pay fixed sum till a new billing system was introduced.

In the first instance, the only alternative that Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) now Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) could provide is for me to buy a new prepaid meter, which was annoying enough.

For a family of three, it is surprising that my monthly bill jumped from an initial N5,000 to almost N30,000 in a two-room apartment. I have however kept to my monthly payment of N5,000 not minding their threats and what have you.

Many things are wrong with this system.

Firstly, there is no known template or yardstick for determining the actual electricity consumption, since there is no meter to be read or monitored. Somebody somewhere arbitrarily determines the electricity consumption and cost.

Just like that. What manner of an unfair system could this be? This is what most Nigerians are passing through virtually every month.

Secondly, the issue of N750 fixed charge. The purpose of the charge has not been explained till today. No tangible or tenable explanation has been offered for this amount which is collected monthly. Of what essence this fixed charge if when a customer’s prepaid meter is faulty, the only available option is a new one?

Will the government whose mantra is fighting against corruption remain quiet in the face of this rip-off?

Finally, if a customer is ready to buy a prepaid meter, the process itself is cumbersome.

Such a customer will be required to clear all his bills including crazy ones and the estimated bill arrived with no template of electricity usage. After this, the customer is expected to pay through bank draft the sum of N38,700 for the meter. Then the customer will be told that the meter will be ready in six months. In the meantime, within the six months (some were not given meter even in 12 months), the very same estimated bill (that the customer was asked to clear before beginning the process of buying a prepaid meter), will still be sent to the customer on monthly basis, and as expected the customer would have to pay. To me, this is wicked.

President Buhari should look into the issue.

The president cannot and must not claim ignorance of this practice by electricity providers.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Agency (NERC), though empowered to deal with such issues has been ineffective. President Buhari needs to ask questions about the provision of prepaid meters, at least made-in-Nigeria prepaid meters (which are not available to customers) that was presented to him during the briefing from the Ministry of Power.

The government owes citizens the responsibility to defend them against unfair practices.

Citizens must not be made to pay for what they did not use.

• Adedeji Nurudeen Badejo, Surulere, Lagos.

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

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

16

CARTOON & LETTERS

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IR: I read the article titled “Let Buhari be King of the North” published on page 22 of The Nation of Tuesday, September 8, written by AbdulWahaab Oba wherein he joined issues with an earlier article written by FaniKayode in his article titled “Nigerian President or King of the North?”

In the said comment, Oba made bold effort to strengthen records with respect to appointments made

by President Buhari and the ones by past President Jonathan. Fani Kayode tried to Oba submitted that Buhari’s template for a better Nigeria anchored on bringing in people

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

Re: Let Buhari be king of the North of like minds who may come from a circled area should be supported.

There is an Igbo adage which says that it does not matter who is one’s mother’s concubine, in so far as he has his hands filled with rat heads.

Quite honestly, the world is permanently under ideological cleavages of which only an author and his disciples in that ideological divide will bring to manifestation and practical reality their common believe.

By clear provisions of Section 14

Beyond salary and bailout in Osun

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IR: Those who thought that the salary palaver in Osun and other states owing workers will disappear with the bailout funds should have a rethink because it will not. Workers and pensioners have been restless for the past one week, expecting to be paid the bailout received recently.

The governor, however, has insisted that payment would be made only after the completion of the verification exercise. True, physical verification has ended but the result is still being collated and the report yet to be submitted, which should form the basis of the new wage bill.

I agree with the governor that ghost workers should not receive the jumbo pay. From investigation, it has been found out that the beneficiaries of payroll fraud in cooperation with the opposition PDP have been blackmailing the governor to heat up Osun and incite workers against the governor.

Secondly, it was the workers themselves who asked for the verification exercise after disputing the N3.6 billion wage bill the government claims it pays every month, it was never the governor’s idea.

A lot of misinformation has been going on and many innocent workers have been deceived. The

N34.9billion bailout received from Abuja represents three values. The first is for salaries for February to June 2015, the second is for pensions covering the same period while the third is for the completion of specific projects, ongoing or new. These funds are not transferable. So it is not true that all the N34.9 billion is for paying salaries and pensions arrears.

The question which has engaged the governor and for which he has proposed half salary for senior staff is what happens after June? Given the dwindling oil receipt and N2.3 billion allocation from Abuja for July, what will be the state of Osun’s finances after the deductions for the bailout loan kicks in? It simply means that Osun’s allocation will be less than N1billion. So where do we go from here? Should we eat everything now and go hungry later or spread what we have to last us longer?

While we still debate this, this is the moment of clarity for the governor and I daresay the workers too. The present wage bill of N3.6b is unsustainable; something must give.

The governor must reduce the wages and pensions bill in the state to a maximum of N1.8 billion. The current workforce of 35,000 is too

large and unsustainable. There must be a shift in the anti-development thinking that makes people to say that Osun is a civil service state, or the civil service is the only industry in Osun. This type of thinking will lead to nowhere. The civil service is an instrument of service delivery and not an end in itself.

On no account must the government spend more than 40 per cent of the state’s resources running government. This takes courage.

If it were in the private sector, the workforce would have been right sized as back as 2013 when allocation fell from N4.6 billion to N2.6 billion and nobody would be accusing the governor of owing workers eight months salary.

The governor keeps giving assurances that he will not lay off workers. This amounts to living in denial. The bottom line is that he must live within his means. Therefore, he must be prepared to rightsize and cut down on wages, especially of the top civil servants who gulp most of the wages or continue to pile up debts and crisis. May God give him the courage to do what is needed.

• Mike Ogundele, Osogbo, Osun State

of the 1999 constitution (as amended), the security and welfare of the people of Nigeria shall be the primary purpose of the government while composition of the government of the federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity and also to command loyalty. It is in the light of the principle of federal character in terms of appointment and occupation of offices of people of various ethnic backgrounds that Fani Kayode is coming from while Abdul Wahaab Oba is coming from the principle of the security and welfare of the people of Nigeria as the supreme objective of government.

Section 5 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) provides that the executive powers of the federation shall be vested in the president and may be exercised by him either directly or through the vice president or ministers of the government of the federation or officers in the public service of the federation.

I think, Fani-Kayode was economical with the truth and also hasty in condemning President Buhari on this issue in that by clear provisions of Section 147 of the 1999 constitution, the president is by compulsion required to appoint at least one minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state. Again, Fani-Kayode, did not list out all occupants of offices in the public service of the federation

who exercise executive powers of Nigeria as a federation to enable readers know whether there are no officers from any section of the federation who is exercising executive powers by virtue of his office.

Again, it is a fact that President Buhari as at the time of these articles has not appointed his ministers. It is in the light of the above summation that the mischief of Fani-Kayode becomes manifest.

Fani Kayode should be reminded that his Jonathan’s creation of ethnic champions did not assist our growth as a nation in that ethnic and religious champions found it easy to abandon their people to enhance the depth of their pockets. Emeka Wogu, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Anyim Pius Anyim and Ike Ekweremadu were labour minister, Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Deputy Senate President respectively, yet, Enugu-Port Harcourt express road, Enugu-Onitsha express road, Okigwe-Ideato federal road, AbaIkot Ekpene federal road, OhafiaArochukwu federal road all collapsed and remained death traps within the period. Jonathan never commissioned one single federal project in the entire South-east throughout his failed term. Elder Orubebe was the minister overseeing the affairs of Niger-Delta area when Bayelsa women, about 10 in number were burnt to death in their ill-fated valentine voyage to Dame Patience Jonathan on account of terrible state of East-West road.

Nigerians have heard enough from our ethic champions of today’s history and like the animals in the “Animal Farm” they have shown us that all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.

The new song is a new dawn; let ethnic champions give us a space.

• Victor C. Nwaugo Esq. Hospital Road, Aba

THE NATION WEDNESDAY,SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

17

COMMENTS

Our Girls; PMB: Farmland is not ‘No Man’s Land’, NLC; ‘aguntasolo.com’; Roads or ‘Nigeria Airways

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UR Girls are still missing since April 15 2014. The military coalition is making progress. If done three years ago, we would never have had 20,000+ Tony murdered and four Marinho million unhappy and often helpless ‘Internally Displaced Persons’. We must add as a cause of IDPs, the over 20,000 killed in the 20 year+ lethal Fulani herdsmen vs farmers war. Why do the herdsmen see farm land as ‘Federal No Man’s Land’ with ‘free’ cattle fodder, with no compensation offered? Is this a thinly disguised attempt to redress past failed ‘conquest and humiliate’ strategies? President Buhari must stop this war. The recent marches in Plateau and Nassarawa states where I did my NYSC in 1975/6 in Jos and Lafia leave me cold at the crimes committed. It is so easy to kill in Nigeria and we are so easy to kill. Just call yourself a ‘militia’ and you can kill at will. When Boko Haram is curbed, the same military is required for the Fulani herdsmen/farmers war, and the soldiers must ensure ‘‘Freedom and Security for Farmers in the ‘Front Line States’ ‘’.

Happily the Third War in Nigeria, The Anti-Corruption War, is active at federal Level. All thieves must return amounts stolen and be imprisoned in proportion. A financial crime is as deadly as a violent crime. A crime is criminal, period! The term ‘Financial Crime’ must not make the crime ‘less criminal’, than the crime of an armed robber.

It is not okay to commit a ‘financial crime’. Even law enforcement agencies ‘cooperate’ by charging such criminals with ‘MONEY LAUNDERING’ which has a MAXIMUM JAIL TERM OF JUST TWO YEARS, no matter the amount involved- N100,000 or N27billion! This is a legal scam law to deceive Nigerians that justice is occurring when it is criminal unwritten ‘plea bargaining’.

For the anti-corruption war to work, it requires to progress from federal command and control for spread Buhari-ism to all states and LGAs for ‘national spread and federal character’ of anti-corruption. The NLC-led

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AST week, this column dwelt on the president’s 100 days in office. It highlighted the initial hiccups, particularly the unending drama at the National Assembly which, by all account, is still simmering and could slow down the wheel of governance. It also touched on other problems and prospects of the Buhari administration.

Quite refreshingly, Nigerians have embarked on a countdown to the formation of the much-awaited new cabinet which the president has promised to put together before the end of this month. Sure, the composition of the new cabinet will provide a binocular for people to view the direction of the new administration, most importantly, the road it will take to usher in its change agenda.

Only last week, the president insisted that past officials of government, including elected governors, ministers and other appointees who still had in their possession, diplomatic passports, should hand them over immediately. That, in itself, is a departure from the rotten past where former government officials who had ended their services to the country or who were even disgraced out of office, still enjoy the perks of office, including waving their diplomatic passports at international airports.

Anyway, like all new governments, the Buhari administration has launched itself into a flurry of action and activities to implement diverse novel policy and governance directions to stymie those put in place by the last Jonathan administration.

Some of these novel ideas include, the observance of new rules of engagement in the Civil Service that has invariably made a cabinet minister a ceremonial head of a ministry, the running of a single treasury account for all manners of payment and expenditure by a Ministry, Department

nationwide anti-corruption war march is not politics. The NLC and Co must practicalise things to guarantee the anti-corruption war’s success. The worker and the family will benefit from ‘Zero Corruption’. Every kobo stolen is stolen from people programmes aimed at making Nigerians own Nigeria, be they workers, children or retired. The NLC should produce ‘Anti-Corruption Ways and Means Guidelines’ and strategise to confront their own internal and also external corruption. The NLC and others must harness ‘useful Anti-Corruption information’. WHISTLE BLOWING MUST BECOME A RESPECTABLE PROFESSION with a Honours List and Role Model Status in Nigeria and Annual Whistleblowers Awards.

The migration and trafficking nightmare are a sobering lesson for Africa’s corruption-prone leaders and thieves from public coffers. Under the uninspiring engine-rooms of corruption - the regimes of Babangida, Abacha, Abdusalami and Obasanjo - many Nigerians emigrated or were forced by circumstance to flee to Europe for normal work and even prostitution or died of thirst in the Sahara or drowned in the Mediterranean. The media should ban them and stop reporting every antic and word of these Ex-Presidents - a daily insult to Nigerians living in darkness. They richly deserve the Buhari anti-corruption treatment, The national anti-corruption project must be disseminated and domesticated nationwide in every village and by all organisations, societies, groups, forces and services. Let every honest Nigerian contribute to this anti-corruption war from Boy Scouts to PTAs. Every Nigerian will benefit from a bribe-free society. Bribery can be stopped immediately, overnight.

Every Nigerian has experienced the corruption of the Nigerian uniform. President Buhari has an enormous task but in reality, it is easily achieved by delegation of authority and ready recourse to ‘termination of appointment (TOA) and ‘Pre-Signed Letters of Resignation’ from his management team. He can reverse this ugly but permanent stain on Nigeria’s flag by giving each ‘Head of Uniform and Organisation’ an ultimatuma ‘Priority 1 Internal Anti-Corruption Drive’. ‘Stop

Corruption Top To Bottom Immediately Today Or Face Sack in one month’. Give them one month to bring corruption to a halt. Invite the public to report to a ‘Corruption Monitor’ database. A monthly meeting thereafter will keep everyone on their toes and create the ‘ZERO CORRUPTION MODEL’. The Customs, Police, security agencies, VIO, FRSC, LGA road officials, SON, NAFDAC, judges, magistrates, greedy tax consultants and exorbitant levy imposers, road maintenance agencies, ministry officials, professionals, electricity [non]suppliers all on the long ‘accused of corruption’ list! They all need to be ‘under surveillance’ by anti-corruption citizens. By the time Buhari has ‘accepted’ the resignation of three or four successive IGPs, SON or NAFDAC bosses in three months, the police will fall in line from Constable to Commissioner as will the others.

President Buhari should add ‘aguntasolo.com’ to his reading list. I agree that the national carrier idea is strictly about pride and to be avoided like a plague in Nigeria’s weak economy. The New Nigeria Airways will cost us dearly but profit only 0.1% of Nigerians. Instead, that money could build many railways, 100 bridges and 500 roads used by 100% of Nigerians. After killing corruption, Buhari must have a legacy and plan to be more than ‘Buhari- The Anti-Corruption Tsar’ but also ‘Buhari- The Great Road/Bridge Builder’. He must avoid becoming ‘Buhari - the failed New Nigerian Airways Man’. The Ibadan Lagos road is screaming to be completed. On Sunday afternoon September 13, it took seven hours to reach Lagos.

‘The national anti-corruption project must be disseminated and domesticated nationwide in every village and by all organisations, societies, groups, forces and services. Let every honest Nigerian contribute to this anti-corruption war from Boy Scouts to PTAs’

My Fears for Buhari (2) and Agency (MDA); the determination to arrest revenue leakages in both the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC and lately, the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, among others.

There was also the reappointment of Alhaji Habibu Abdullahi, as the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, in place of Alhaji Sanusi Ado Bayero, who was appointed to the position in the twilight of the Jonathan administration. All these graphically illustrate the race to erase all vestiges of the past government and replace it with a redemptive coloration.

Now, the president is confronted with the albatross of fulfilling many of the campaign promises he made to Nigerians in the heat of the hustling that preceded the Presidential election. With the benefit of hindsight, many Nigerians are beginning to see that with the realities on ground, it will virtually be very Herculean, if not impossible, to fulfill the President’s “messianic” promises such as feeding school pupils and students; payment of a Welfare Allowance of N5,000 to all unemployed Nigerian youths; considerably bringing down the exchange rate of the naira to other currencies and all that.

It is conventional wisdom that apart from Admiral Murtala Nyako, the immediate past elected governor of Adamawa State, no President’s party man or woman is currently being investigated or facing trial for corruption or corruptive practices. This has elicited some loud whispers in the polity. The fact of the Nyako case is that he was already being sought for trial before he escaped overseas and

‘As it is, President Muhammadu Buhari has a date with history, positively or negatively, depending on how he handles the myriad of problems and challenges that presently confront his administration and the nation.’

only came back to Nigeria to face his EFCC inquisitors after Buhari was sworn in as Nigeria’s President on May 29. Many Nigerians are aware of the apparent selective amnesia on the part of the government agencies responsible for the investigation and prosecution of alleged cases of corruption and corruptive practices. In their view, the exercise, which is Buhari’s main thrust of coming into office, may not be holistic and all-encompassing, if the opposition PDP alone is made to face the scrutiny of these federal anti-corruption agencies, while others are walking free.

Concurrently, the impending probe of the sourcing, payments and delivery of military hardware and consumables, albeit, in the public domain, may unearth figures, in and out of the military establishment, who may have soiled their hands. The concern of this column is that this tribe of treasury looters, may, out of self-protection and interests, take or initiate proactive actions to protect those interests through unconstitutional means. This scenario is also indicative of the “powerful oil barons” and those “hidden” interests in the purchase and operations of the various unbundled units of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, who may baulk at moves to either expose them or truncate their avenues of milking our common patrimony.

Surprisingly, rather than concentrate on providing good governance, a mantra that formed a major plank of the people’s acceptance of the APC/ Buhari aggregation prior to the election, the party and, by extension, the President, has not dropped its toga of being in the opposition. The party’s predilection for joining issues on any topic and its predisposition to stirring the hornet’s nest of contentious issues, have tended to create a backlash of problems for the president. For example, sometime ago, a governor told everyone with authoritative glee

that President Buhari was given a list of persons who stole and stashed away billions of Nigeria’s petro-dollars. He also said a former minister has been slated for trial and consequent jailing. Soon after, the American State Department came out, forcefully, to deny that anything of that sort ever happened during President Buhari’s recent visit to the United States of America.

However, an area that most people are not paying any attention to is the subterranean moves and posturing for the presidential election of 2019, even when the newlysworn-in federal government is still tottering and trying to consolidate.

There is no gainsaying the fact that the virtual “war” for the soul of the National Assembly cadre of principal officers was one fought solely to position certain persons for the prime positions at the presidency, post-2019. Among the top echelon and rank and file of the APC, there are talks of the likelihood of President Buhari resorting to the “Mandela Option”, that is, doing one presidential term and leaving the terrain open to the likes of Nasir Ahmed el-Rufai, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso; Atiku Abubakar, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, who is currently in the visible and powerful position of President of the Senate and others.

It is for this reason that activities at the various power points in the APC are now geared towards having a foothold, no matter how tenuous, in the cabinet currently being put together by the President. In addition to labouring to be in the good books of Buhari, those with ambitions for 2019, are strengthening their stranglehold on the fiefdoms they presently control for a possible last-ditch bid for the formation of a new party, where their interests or objectives, will be best served. Many consider the current posturing as a dress rehearsal for 2019 as the fire-

Dele Agekameh works will commence as soon as the President engages the home-bend at the dusk of his first term.

There is a school of thought also, that conjectures a grand plan in which the President’s foot-soldiers will, either by self-help or prodding from the main man himself, plot a second term, which, in any case, he is constitutionally-entitled to, and in the process, rubbish the ambitions of those who are rearing to go after his job.

What the above scenarios signpost is that whichever way it is viewed, the president’s path is laden with mines with the likelihood of, God forbid, some catastrophic consequences. This is the more reason the president should consistently be on the alert and continuously watch his back.

As it is, President Muhammadu Buhari has a date with history, positively or negatively, depending on how he handles the myriad of problems and challenges that presently confront his administration and the nation. But he will be best remembered for either assuaging the dire conditions of the larger mass of the Nigerian people or for compounding them.

• Concluded.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

COMMENTS ‘Re-one hundred days later. Whoever cares to know will in the last 100 days, know that President Buhari meant ‘business’ and does not mind whose ox is being gored! Apart from the appointment lopsidedness against three geo-political zones, he is in the right direction. May Allah help him through, amen. He should make the following, his focus; security, power, health, economic diversification, unity of Nigerians and rule of law. From Lanre Oseni’ •Buhari For Olatunji Dare Sir, in one hundred days, President Buhari has demonstrated that his administration will be characterised by high ethical standards, and an unflagging commitment to adding value and enhancing excellence with a view to promoting development. the inability of the past administration led by former president Dr. Jonathan to, efficiently manage the country through qualitative decision making is accountable for president Buhari’s careful approach. We should understand that anything hurriedly done is never done well. From Adegoke O O, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Re: One hundred days later. Note that it took the PDP leadership 16 years to wreck the Project Nigeria; and like Prof. Dare recalled,”The truth is that Jonathan inflicted grave damage on every aspect of Nigerian life,” that is, to the foundation.”If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”(Psa.11:3). However, just 100 days under the new era of President Buhari and APC; the opaque NNPC has been penetrated and truly in-corporate, petrol stations are seeking customers, electricity supply is improving, civil servants are waking up to earn their wages.The erstwhile clueless situations are receiving appropriate response.The once comfortable treasury looters are now convulsing. Even Jonathan who did not give “a damn” for the past six years has woken up with a new spokeman-Dr.

I

T is interesting that Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba’s purported plan to decamp to APC has generated enough discourse lately. Little wonder quasi and pseudo political pundits have trivialized the issue which received immense and enormous applause amongst Cross Riverians as Senator Ndoma-Egba was not the only that was one shut out of PDP. His followers were also not spared. The winners in the cancelled ward congress which saw Ndoma-Egba’s faction emerging victorious, House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate and Governorship aspirants loyal to NdomaEgba with their supporters were also shut out of PDP and they have long decamped to APC. He is merely joining them to provide leadership as his character, integrity and political reach at the centre is needed in Cross River APC. As a follower of the events that preceded the 2015 General Elections, ward congresses were conducted in 2014 and Senator Ndoma-Egba’s line-up emerged victorious while the then Governor’s lineup lost. Same scenario played out in Enugu State between Senator Ike Ekweremadu and then Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime. A political settlement was brokered at the instance of PDP where Ekweremadu retained his Senate seat and the governor took the rest.

Why wasn’t same done in the case of Cross River? Why did PDP order total cancellation of the result of the ward congress conducted by a committee sent

by PDP chaired by a man of impeccable character Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun? Why was Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN

Suleiman who co-ordinated his failure at National Planning, to now give a damn.

Surely, Buhari has moved mountains within 100 days . What a promising start.

From Elder L .O . David, Efon Alaaye, Ekiti State.

You have spoken well on President Buhari’s 100 days. One thing I want to put as a reminder here that the president should go back to his drawing board i.e. his manifesto or campaign promises which will serve as guidelines in running his administration. From Osaro If that was an examination, I would have issued out A’ because you’ve hit the hammer on the nail. Keep it up. From Uga Paul, Gboko Benue State Your write-up on the 100 days in office of the man popularly known as Baba is holistically drawn. It is objective and advisory. A nice piece. From Amanda Paul, Makurdi Good day sir, thank you for your comments on 100 days of PMB; you depicted the picture as it is, Baba and his emerging cabinet will deliver and set example for good governance. From Kabir Nasiru Daura.

Re-one hundred days later. Whoever cares to know will in the last 100 days, know that President Buhari meant ‘business’ and does not mind whose ox is being gored! apart from the appointment lopsidedness against three geo-political zones, he is in the right direction. May Allah help him through, amen. He should make the following, his focus; security, power, health, economic diversification, unity of Nigerians and rule of law. From Lanre Oseni.

Great piece indeed! Within his first 100 days in office, Buhari has laid a solid foundation upon which the Nigeria of our dream will be built. I don’t know how anyone who has been following the trend of events these past days could miss or diminish the import and essence of such an achievement. For me, so far, so re-assuring. From Julia, Uyo One hundred days later in The Nation Tuesday of September 8. You have dwelled more on the past than present.

And with this trend, no nation can sustain development when more than half of its energy is dedicated to its past. You will do better by placing emphasis on the activities of the current administration.

Anonymous Much as we know that Buhari, with the cooperation of Nigerians, was going to make a great difference, I still think it is too early to make a clear distinction between his government and the Jonathan’s administration. Nigerians as you rightly observed, judge government performance mainly on the basis of the tangibles - provision of good roads, hospitals, electricity, water, and above all, job creation which will put food on the table of Nigerians. These are among the basic needs of the people for which he has truly done little or nothing so far. While it’s still proper he hastens slowly to avoid mistakes, I think a little speed will be of a great advantage. A brilliant but over-cautious student who could have finished his exam in time and come out in flying colors may end up failing the same examination at the end of the day, for lack

• Jonathan of the speed needed to cover the required ground within the time allotted for it. That’s my fear for Buhari. From Emmanuel Egwu, For Segun Gbadegesin Re-the day the world changed. Whether al-Qaeda, al-Shabab, Boko-Haram or/and ISIS; they must be quashed and crushed as if any of them is a World war. Lackaidasical attitude and words of mouth by USA, Russia, Britain and France would not end these insurgence and therefore would look like a deliberate act by world powers to perish the less developed africa and asian countries. world powers should realise that their survival alonen cannot make them enjoy their wealth. From Lanre Oseni.

Your write-up in the Nation of today was excellent. Anonymous Sir, while it is laudable the effusiveness of the German government to accommodate refugees making their foray into the heartland of Europe, a cheaper course remains ending the bitter wars in Syria and elsewhere. The same world powers’ commitment would do the magic, I believe. Anonymous I have an idea on how to revolutionise Science education in Nigeria. I’m an educationist. At the moment I am trying to build the first science laboratory in a public primary school in Apapa given the fact that pragmatic practical science does not exist in public schools. From Opawoye Seye, Randle Road, Apapa

PDP, Ndoma-Egba and APC

By Iwara George Iwara then Senate Leader singled out for maltreatment? Questions without answer.

Ndoma-Egba’s exit from PDP is not just because he was shut out and denied ticket; it is because he cannot retire from politics now and in Nigeria one needs a political party as a platform to play politics. It is true he was a Senator under PDP for 12 years, but when your employer of 12 years decides to prematurely terminate your employment without any justification, you shouldn’t continue to hang around them.

You should move on and moving means getting engaged by another employer.

Senator Ndoma-Egba is merely yielding to our yearning as we the constituents can’t stand him being retired from politics as he is below 60 years of age and his services are still needed.

And I still wonder the reason for the fuse over Ndoma-Egba’s decampment. Two of PDP’s former national chairmen are now in APC. Why did they leave? The highest ticket a party can give to anyone is that of the President. Olusegun Obasanjo a former President tore his PDP membership card and decamped to APC. Atiku Abubakar as a former Vice President also decamped even while in office . All these boil down to the party’s inability to handle its affairs.

It is now established that PDP loathes and despises what APC desires and hunts

for and that is political intellectuals. PDP governors and former governors either by design or divine succeeded in pushing away the resource of the party which is the intellectuals as they are afraid of challenge. They instead prefer yes-men.

In a way, this attribute accounted for APC’s victory in the last general elections as all those shut out of PDP like Senator Ndoma-Egba switched parties and emerged victorious afterwards.

In Kebbi State, Senator Atiku Bagudu was a PDP Senator. He was denied PDP’s governorship ticket. APC offered him its platform and today he is the governor of the state. Same scenario played out in Benue, Niger, Bauchi, Jigawa and Plateau states. Senator Barnabas Gemade, a former National Chairman of PDP was edged out of the party by the former Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam and PDP was silent; he moved over to APC and won the election afterwards.

Ndoma-Egba was principled enough not to have taken the mandate of PDP to

another party as that was what played out then. He instead chose to remain in PDP to exhaust their mandate to the displeasure of many of us who pleaded with him to decamp before the elections.

I still remember Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, a political intellectual that was retired by the former Akwa Ibom State governor Victor Attah. He is nowhere to be located now in the national and state political map and the state is worse for it.

We in Cross River State cannot fold our hands and allow that happen to us. As at now Cross River has no voice at the national level as they have all been cunningly plucked out. We lost our oil wells, we also lost tourism and sports to our sister state and all these happened under one man, Liyel Imoke.

Until PDP as a party decides to return power back to the people, and not to allow its governors decide who gets what, when and how, it will never get its act right again.

• Iwara writes from Calabar

‘It is now established that PDP loathes and despises what APC desires and hunts for and that is political intellectuals. PDP governors and former governors either by design or divine succeeded in pushing away the resource of the party which is the intellectuals as they are afraid of challenge’

THE NATION THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

‘It is regrettable that the damaging consequences of the Ecowas CET policy on the local pharmaceutical manufacturing sector in Nigeria were not considered despite our desperate attempts to draw attention to this. This policy undoubtedly spells doom for the local industry as imported medicines will become far cheaper than locally produced ones’ Chairman, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG MAN), Mr. Okey Akpa

Foreign portfolio flow hits N778b in eight months

F

OREIGN portfolio transactions totalled N777.59 billion in the first eight months of this year as foreign investors continued to dominate transactions at the Nigerian capital market.

The latest report on foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in Nigeria also showed that speculative foreign portfolio transactions might have contributed significantly to the sustained recession at the Nigerian stock market.

The eight-month report for the period ended August 31, 2015, released yesterday, indicated that foreign investors accounted for 54.36 per cent of total transaction value during

Why vandalism thrives, by Eko DISCO chief

• Nigeria records N43.4b FPI deficit

By Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

the period but the larger proportion of foreign portfolio transactions were outflows rather than inflows. The preponderance of sale transactions to buy transactions by the foreign investors left Nigeria with a deficit FPI position of N43.39 billion during the eight-month period.

Total foreign portfolio outflow stood at N410.49 billion over the eight-month period, representing 52.8 per cent of the total foreign portfolio transactions of N777.59 billion. Total foreign inflow totalled N367.10 billion, 47.2 per cent of total foreign flow. Domestic investors accounted for N652.92 billion, 45.64 per cent of the market’s total transaction of N1.43

trillion during the eight-month period.

The FPI report, coordinated by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), uses two key indicators-inflows and outflow, to gauge foreign investors’ mood and participation in the stock market as a barometer for the economy.

Foreign portfolio investment outflow includes sales transactions or liquidation of equity portfolio investments through the stock market while inflow includes purchase transactions on the NSE. The NSE report is generally regarded as a credible gauge of foreign portfolio investments in Nigeria as it coordinates data from nearly all active and major investment bankers, stockbrokers, custodians and other capital market

operators.

In what appeared to underline the steep decline in the stock market over the months, month-on-month analysis showed continuous trend of deficit FPI position. Total foreign inflow in August stood at N33.06 billion as against outflow of N48.07 billion, bringing total foreign transactions to N81.13 billion. Domestic investors contributed N64.56 billion, representing 44.31 per cent of the total transactions of N145.69 billion.

Total transactions in July stood at N170.83 billion, consisting of N107.47 billion from foreign investors’ transactions and N63.36 billion from domestic investors, a ratio of 62.91 per cent to 37.09 per cent. Foreign transactions however included N58.83 billion outflow and N48.64 billion inflow, indicating a deficit of N10.19 billion.

The eight-month FPI report is broadly in line with the halfyear report, which had shown that about 52 per cent of total foreign transaction value were divestments. Foreign investors, who dominated the Nigerian capital market, had taken out more funds than they invested in the first half as investors waited for the political transition and clear macroeconomic and monetary policy direction of the new government.

Total foreign portfolio investment outflow in the first half stood at N303.59 billion as against inflow of N285.40 billion, representing a deficit of N18.2 billion. The half-year deficit represents a relatively larger value given the significant undervaluation of the Nigerian equities and the extended deficit Nigeria had suffered since 2013.

By Akinola Ajibade

P

IPELINE vandalism occurs because of the way the pipelines were constructed, and failure of the Federal Government to develop the communities that play host to the pipelines, the Managing Director/Chief Executive officer, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), Oladele Amoda, has said.

Amoda said poor location of the pipelines, and the low level of development of the host communities are the two major reasons that make people to break pipelines, without considering its socio-economic implications to the country.

He said the pipelines were too close to each other, coupled with the fact that the host communities are aggrieved that the government has abandoned them by not providing infrastructural facilities in their areas to create a better life for them.

Amoda, who was represented by his Technical Assistant, Muyiwa Akinkemi, at a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, said the pipelines were too close to each, arguing that it is easier to break two or three pipelines at once, without letting people around know.

Speaking on the topic ‘Ways of mitigating pipeline vandalism in Nigeria’,Akinkemi said the menace would reduce once the Federal Government and other stakeholders in the oil and gas value chain come together to fashion out ways of addressing the problem.

He said the government and the stakeholders must discuss the modalities of adjusting the ways the pipelines were located and also provide social amenities for the communities where the pipelines were sited.

•From left: Zambian Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Trevor Kaunda; Zambian Minister for Labour and Social Security, Hon. Fackson Shamenda; President/CE, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote and Executive Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Olakunle Alake, during their official visit to Dangote Industries Head Office in Lagos.

Shell: Insecurity, others inhibiting gas flare out

I

NSECURITY, inadequate funding and lack of commitment from joint venture (JV) partners stalling the plan to end gas flaring in Nigeria, Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC) has said.

The firm in its latest journal, Shell in Nigeria, stated that since 2000, it has worked with the Federal Government to end the flaring of associated gas but that security and funding, among others, have been hindering that goal. To acheive this goal, the problems must be addressed, it added.

Shell said: “Further progress in ending continuous gas flaring will be heavily dependent on the security situation. Sustained commitment from all JV partners is also crucial. Funding

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

challenges have resulted in delays to tow major associated gas gathering projects that were expected to deliver an additional 35 per cent reduction in flared gas by 201415.”

It said in many oil fields, gas is produced with crude oil when it is brought to the surface. It recalled that SPDC’s first production in the 1950s and 1960s, had little demand or market for associated gas. Consequently, the majority of it was burned off – a process called flaring.

But in recent years, demand for gas in Nigeria and other countries has grown while the technology to harness, liquefy and export gas has come of age.

It however, said since 2000, all new Shell JV facilities

New Mauritius core investor takes over Nigerian German Chemicals - P23

have been designed to include no continuous flaring of associated gas. It noted that in parallel, a multi-year programme was implemented to install equipment for capturing associated gas from older facilities. As a result, flaring volume from its JV facilities was reduced by 75 per cent between 2002 and 2013 and flaring intensity by about 60 per cent over the same period, but due to increase in production last year, volume and intensity of flared gas increased, it stated.

“Increased levels of oil production in 2014, combined with delays to new projects coming on stream, meant that volumes of flared gas increased by 12 per cent over the year and flaring intensity by nine per cent. The increased frequency of pipe-

line sabotage over the last two years has resulted in numerous unplanned production shutdowns. These in turn have impacted the performance of gas processing systems, which operate more efficiently with uninterrupted production, and has constrained our progress on reducing flaring intensity,” it added.

Shell said despite the challenges, the overall trend in flares reduction is positive and it continues to invest in major gas gathering projects that will drive further reduction.

The company noted that it monitored ambient air quality levels around its flare sites since 1998 and regularly reports the results to government authorities, as required by Nigerian regulation.

‘Business confidence wanes over CBN policies’

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

T

HE Organised Private Sector (OPS) has lamented the erosion of the goodwill Nigeria enjoyed at the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration due to the controversial policies churned out by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) especially the foreign exchange policy that has crippled the real sector.

President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said they have been inundated by reports from foreign missions on the increased defaults recorded by their home businesses as a result of the inability of Nigerian businesses to keep to the terms of their initial payment agreements as a result of their inability to access foreign exchange.

He said if the policy is not reversed, it may cripple entrepreneurial spirit of the average indigenous businessman, especially those who are involved in manufacturing, importation and exportation. “The monetary and fiscal measures so far adopted are taking a huge toll on investors in the free trade zones and the risk of international isolation of Nigeria if current policies were not reversed is high,” he said.

Very recently, the CBN has taken a number of monetary measures to save the naira and the foreign reserves, which have been on the downward spiral. The apex bank has restricted the use of export proceeds and have excluded importers of 41 items from accessing foreign exchange from the Nigerian markets. The bank has also tightened the forex procedures and set rules on domiciliary account to save the economy.

But the economy is now faced with a scenario where there is a much greater pressure to move funds out of the economy than bring funds into the economy, Bello cautioned.

“Round tripping of forex has continued to flourish because of the disparity in the exchange rate between the official and parallel market.

“Small businesses have moved to neighbouring countries to effect transfers to their suppliers abroad.

Many companies are on the brink of collapse because of failure to access forex for raw materials and other critical inputs. Even companies whose inputs are valid for forex also suffer the same fate,” the LCCI president added.

‘To progress,Africa must take ownership of opportunities’ - P 24

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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THE NATION

BUSINESS MONEY

e-mail: money@thenationonlineng.net

Why there is delay in online transfer, by CBN D

ETERMINING the integrity of transfers is the cause of delays in crediting beneficiary accounts in online cash transfers, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said.

Most online transactions allow 20 minutes or more between transaction approval and the time the beneficiary’s account is credited.

CBN Director, Banking and Payments System Department, ‘Dipo Fatokun, at a briefing in Lagos, said the time control was introduced to enable the account holder get an alert before the beneficiary.

He said the regulator was taking steps to reduce fraud in e-payment transactions.

The Payments System Vision 2020, launched in 2013, he said, was meant to achieve the re-organisation of the National Payments Governance Structure and encourage more people to embrace epayment transactions.

Fatokun, represented by the CBN Deputy Director, Banking and Payments System Department, Musa Jimoh, said the project identified agriculture, smart cities, health, transportation, hotels, entertainment, government flow, education and Consumer Bill Payment as well as direct debits as fo-

Stories by Collins Nweze

cus areas.

However, Fatokun explained that the absence of a unique identifier in the industry has negative consequences on the growth of e-payments and that the need to resolve the challenge that prompted the CBN, in collaboration with the Bankers’Committee to launch the Bank Verification Number (BVN) project. The project, he said, would help build confidence of customers on the e-payment channels and enhance integrity of transactions.

“The BVN initiative is aimed at protecting bank customers and further strengthening the Nigerian banking system by uniquely identifying all bank customers and acts as a stop-gap, prior to the full implementation of the National Identity Card system,” he said.

Also, the CBN mandated all banks, switches and processors to comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCIDSS) and, subsequently, conducted an oversight on compliance which showed that most banks had been certified.

He said the certification lasted for one year and that banks were at various levels of re-certification.

He explained that PCIDSS is a global compliance standard for any entity that stores, transmits or processes card payment data.

CBN, Fatokun said, also directed banks to set up systems that will enable the automatic refund of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) dispense errors to customers. The regulator has also issued guidelines for card issuance and usage meant to provide minimum standards and requirements for the issuance and usage of payment cards in the country.

“Its implementation enables issuing banks, other financial institution, processors and cards schemes upgrade and maintain their card operations to ensure optimum security, efficiency, cost effectiveness and customer friendliness,” he said.

The platform, he added, also serves as a tool for banks and other financial institutions to assess their card issuance portfolio and ensures that consumers that carry Nigerian -issued cards operate within acceptable standards.

“From a regulatory perspective; the CBN acknowledges that less than optimal, inefficient or poorly designed systems will ultimately have a negative impact on systemic

• Managing Director, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Umaru Ibrahim (third right) with the

President/Chairman of Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mrs. ‘Debola Osibogun (2nd right) during a courtesy call by the executive members of the CIBN on the Corporation. With them are NDIC Executive Director Operations, Prince Aghatise Erediauwa (left); CIBN 2nd Vice President, Dr. Uche Olowu; Executive Director Corporate Services, Mrs. Omolola Abiola Edewor and 1st Vice President, Deacon Segun Ajibola.

BVN: Non-compliant customers face sanction D

EPOSITORS who fail to meet the October 31 deadline for Bank Verification Number (BVN) registration will be barred from enjoying banking services until they comply, The Nation has learnt.

No fewer than 20 million customers have so far been registered, according to the Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS).

In its quest to ensure the success of the exercise, NIBSS partnered with telecoms firms to create a platform through which bank customers can confirm their registration status.

Already, NIBSS is partnering telecoms service provider, Etisalat, to roll out the BVN Query Service.

The service, which was unveiled at the NIBSS headquarters recently, is designed to help the public get information on their BVN via their mobile phones.

The initiative is coming on the heels of the extended deadline for the BVN registration which ends next month.

The registration was a directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to all Deposit Money Banks (commercial banks) to register their customers biometrically in furtherance of the Know Your Customer (KYC) policy.

NIBSS Managing Director,Ade Shonubi, said the initiative was in response to growing public demand for confirmation of BVN status by those, who have enrolled on the platform. He added that the BVN Query Service would boost such efforts like KYC for banks.

Also, Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Francesco

Angelone, said the partnership with NIBSS on USSD BVN Notification Service was in line with the telco’s commitment to continue to create value for the consumers across all sectors, including the banking and telecoms industries.

“We are happy to be the first to offer this product among the operators because we believe that innovation is the way the telecoms industry must lead,” Angelone said.

“The integration with the banking industry is a pillar for development. Etisalat subscribers can check their BVN registration status and number by dialing a dedicated code for an instant response at a cost of N10 per Query,” he said.

The Query Service is based on instant request- instant response and aims at providing utility for those who have enrolled on the BVN platform of the CBN.

stability, economic development and growth. It has therefore consciously pursued the growth of a payments system that is safe, efficient, cost effective and reliable,” he said.

He said payment systems have moved from the backroom to the boardroom of organisations given its strategic importance in today’s

globalised world.

He said a well-functioning payment system plays significant role in supporting the economy.

He explained that such significance prompted the apex bank to promote a payment system where the underserved and non-served are integrated into formal financial services sector.

MPC members flay CBN’s forex policy

T

HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has come under attack for attempting to prop up the naira by restricting access to dollars. Two members of the Monetary Policy Committee criticized the policy; others said CBN should allow a more flexible exchange rate.

Bloomberg quoted Chibuike Uche as questioning the legality of the CBN’s June decision to stop importers of about 40 items, including rice, furniture and toothpicks, accessing official foreign exchange markets.

Doyin Salami said the measure would slow economic growth and that foreign investors were confused by the central bank’s attempts to defend the naira since March.

Investors are “baffled by the CBN’s expressed unwillingness to countenance any further currency adjustments and market liberalisations,” Salami, a lecturer at Lagos Business School, said at an MPC meeting attended by all 12 members on July 23 and 24, according to a statement published on CBN’s website that: “The credibility that CBN has carefully cultivated, if not lost, is most certainly undermined,” he said.

The naira plummeted by 21 percent to a record low of $206.32 between the end of June and February 12 as the price of oil crashed.

CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele introduced bans on purchases of dollars to stem the rout. The currency has since been mostly flat in the interbank market, averaging 198.94 since the end of February.

But there are many stakeholders who insist that the CBN’s forex

restrictions are in order.

Former Executive Director, Keystone Bank, Richard Obire, said the policy is expected to encourage importers to look inwards and begin local production as the prices of the affected items would shoot up in the market because of high cost of buying forex from the black market.

He said in the long run, the benefits of the CBN’s decision, will outweigh whatever temporary pains it may have. “Those who decided to produce those goods locally and export them,will earn foreign exchange instead of depleting the reserves. In the short-tomedium terms, it will be painful but subsequently, it will improve the overall economy,” he said.

He said even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes that the CBN should protect the reserves because of the huge benefits of such decisions on the naira.

“If the CBN keeps funding these items, the demand for the dollar will rise and this will affect its push for infrastructural development needed to boost the real sector,” he said.

He said the policy could be used to achieve developmental objective, adding that using the available capacity to produce locally, would reduce forex demand and when the local production is enhanced, more people will find jobs within the economy.

Former President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu said the policy was meant to fix the battered foreign reserves. He, however, insisted that the some items in the list, have no business being there because they are raw materials.

Union is ‘best SME bank’

U

NION Bank Plc has been adjudged the “best bank to support small, medium scale enterprises (SMEs)”.

The award was presented to the bank during the yearly banking award organised by Business Day in Lagos.

At the event, the Head of Retail Segment, SME, Rabiu Tata, said the award was an indication that the bank’s transformation had been working and that, in the last two years, yielding positive results and the bank is on the right path.

“Our goal is to build a simpler, smarter bank, focused on delivering value by providing quality financial solutions to its customers in retail, commercial and corporate banking segments across all industries,” he said.

He said Union Bank has been a supporter of small businesses and that the award showed the bank would continue to do so.

“Small and medium enterprises are the engine of any economy and when they succeed, we succeed and Nigeria succeeds as a whole,’’ he said.

Also, the bank’s Head of Corporate Affairs & Communication, Ms. Ogochukwu EkezieEkaidem, praised stakeholders for their support and loyalty.

“This SME award is another signal that the bank’s transformation is on the right course. One of our critical focus areas as a bank is to significantly improve our customer experience at all touch points, and our product and service offerings is one of the first phase of improvements and this has clearly yielded the desired results with the bagging of the SME award.

“As we have done with our product and service offerings, Union Bank will continue to work to provide quality banking services and improved customer experience to all our customers and stakeholders across all our touch points,” she added.

Union Bank has been a proud supporter of SME’s. Last year, the bank received the CBN’s BestSupport Bank on ACGSF (Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme for Farmers) award for the eighth consecutive year.

23

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

THE NATION INVESTORS

New Mauritius core investor takes over Nigerian German Chemicals

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MAURITIUS fund-management company, Advanced Finance and Investment Group (AFIG Funds) has fully taken over as the new core investor and manager of Nigerian German Chemicals (NGC) Plc. The takeover led to major changes in the board and management of NGC, including the resignation of the chairman, executive vice chairman and a non-executive director.

AFIG Funds, through one of its funds-Atlantic Coast Regional Fund (ACRF), had in December 2014 reached agreement with shareholders of NGC to invest $14 million in the Nigerian company.

The parties to the transaction then followed through the approval process with relevant regulatory authorities including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

A source in the know said the takeover of the board and management was sequel to receipt of all necessary approvals from the Nigerian regulatory authorities.

In a terse regulatory filing, NGC said its chairman, Mr. Babatunde Savage; executive vice chairman, Mr. Adeboye Shonekan and a nonexecutive director, Mr Olusegun Oshinowo resigned their appointments on September 4, 2015.

The new core investor promptly immediately appointed Mr.

Stories by Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

Stephane le Bouder, a director of AFIG Funds, as the acting chief executive officer and Mr. Samson Osewa, a director of NGC, as acting chairman of the company.

Both appointments took effect on September 4, 2015.

Based in Mauritius, AFIG Funds is an investment fund management company with $ 122 million under management. It is one of the premier fund managers dedicated to private equity investment in Africa. AFIG Funds has offices in Dakar, Washington DC and Johannesburg. Atlantic Coast Regional Fund LLC (ACRF), the maiden fund of AFIG Funds, is a regional fund focused on 29 countries in West and Central Africa.

ACRF considers investments in all sectors, and targets strong growth companies, preferably with a regional scope, in its target region.

AFIG Funds’ investment would provide NGC with the means to embark on its next phase of development, which includes the completion of new and more modern production facilities with expanded production capacity.

Besides, AFIG Funds would also enable the company to add an intravenous fluids plant, further cementing its position as a local leader in the manufacture of critical healthcare products. The in-

vestment will also support the company’s continued expansion and diversification of its brand offerings under its own name, and under license from global pharmaceutical leaders such as Johnson & Johnson.

Shonekan had hailed the investment from AFIG Funds as the much-needed catalyst to accelerate the growth of the company.

“The partnership with AFIG Funds represents a unique opportunity for NGC. AFIG Funds brings not only capital to accelerate the company’s growth and expansion, but also support to management and international experience that is already helping to strengthen the company’s ability to seize new market opportunities. NGC has a long and proud history as a leader in Africa’s largest market, and we look forward to building on this legacy to help strengthen the Nigerian healthcare sector, as well as facilitate access to world-class medicines for the people of Nigeria,” Shonekan said.

Chief executive officer, AFIG Funds, Mr. Papa Ndiaye, said the investment in NGC was as a result of a painstaking selection process over a six year period and involving several companies across the regions.

“We are pleased to invest in NGC. Over the past six years, we have evaluated a number of phar-

maceutical companies in West, Central and East Africa, and found NGC to present one of the best investment opportunities in the sector, in terms of local leadership and strong brands,” Ndiaye said.

He described NGC as a resilient company that is poised to capture the tremendous market opportunities in Nigeria.

NGC produces and distributes its own brands of medicines, as well as several brands under license from major international pharmaceutical companies. It produces liquid and tablet medicines and also has a beverage production facility, subdivided into water and soft drinks. In the company’s 50 years in the market, it has built a portfolio of brands, including household brands such as Abidec, Daga, Gluformin and Valgin. Other products included Sparwasser, a brand of bottled, and Vimto and Sunkist, flavored and carbonated drinks which it produces under license for the Nigerian market.

The new chief executive, Mr. le Bouder holds both French and American citizenships and had prrior to joining AFIG Funds, served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the US Treasury Department Office of Legislative Affairs in Washington DC. As a political appointee, he had worked with senior Treasury and White House officials to advance the Obama Administration’s international financial and development agenda in Congress.

He had earlier worked for the US Congress as Staff Director for the House Financial Services Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade. As senior committee staff, under the leadership of Chairman Barney Frank (Massachusetts), Stephane helped draft the landmark Dodd-Frank

•Stephane le Bouder

Wall Street Reform Act. Under the leadership of Subcommittee Chairman Gregory Meeks (New York), he was responsible for congressional oversight of US engagement with multilateral institutions.

Prior to working for the US Government, he worked for MyC4, a Danish technology startup building an online peer-to-peer microfinance lending platform dedicated to Africa. Mr. le Bouder also worked for Chatham Financial, in Pennsylvania, advising regional and community banks across the US on identifying, modeling and trading interest rate risks. He started his career at the Corporate Executive Board in Washington DC, advising Fortune 500 clients on Treasury function best practices. He holds a BA and MA in Economics from McGill University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Osewa, a pharmacist and member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, had served as Director of Pharma Production and Director of NGC. He joined NGC in 1982. He is a former president of National Association of Industrial Pharmacists.

‘E-commerce will fast track economic diversification’

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From left: Governor of Borno State and Chairman of Northern Governors Forum, Alh Kashim Shettima with Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Engr. Saleh Dunoma, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja during the Managing Director’s inspection visit of the airport.

AXA acquires 18.6% equity stake in Eranove Group

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XA, the world’s largest insurer that recently bought majority equity stake in Mansard Insurance Plc, has acquired 18.6 per cent equity stake in Eranove Group, making inroad into utility business in the West African region.

Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), the owner of ECP Africa Fund II which holds the majority equity stake of 55.9 per cent in Eranove Group, confirmed the acquisition on Monday. AXA consummated the transaction through AXA’s Real Estate division, which specializes in real estate and infrastructure. AXA is acquiring the 18.6 per cent residual stake which was held by the Bouygues Group.

Formerly known as Finagestion, the Eranove Group was created when Bouygues combined the African assets of its subsidiary SAUR into a single company. ECP first bought into Eranove’s capital in 2008 and acquired a majority holding a year later.

“Having a top-flight investor like AXA Real Estate on board is great

• Emerging Capital Partners welcomes new shareholder news for Eranove and a great pleasure for ECP,” said Vincent Le Guennou, Co-Chief Executive Officer of ECP and Chairman of the Board of Eranove.

He said with AXA as its new shareholder, Eranove would continue to pursue and broaden its goal of developing and facilitating the population’s access to essential life services.

Eranove currently accounts for almost 70 per cent of installed electricity generating capacity in the Ivory Coast, supplying 1,136 MW via two of its subsidiaries, Compagnie Ivoirienne d’électricité (CIE) and Compagnie Ivoirienne de production d’électricité (CIPREL).

CIE operates six hydroelectric and a thermic power station and also manages the transport and distribution network. CIPREL operates one of the country’s most important thermal power stations, where the company is currently completing its expansion through one of the largest in-

frastructure investments in recent years in the Ivory Coast (EUR 343.6 million). Phase one (111 MW gas turbine) opened in January 2014, while phase two (111 MW steam turbine) should start operation at the end of 2015.

Eranove is also represented in the water sector through Société de distribution d’eau de la Côte d’Ivoire (SODECI) and Sénégalaise des Eaux (SDE), which are by way of delegation of public service, the leading African players in producing and distributing drinking water and sanitation.

Eranove has also focused on expanding across Africa in recent years, winning a technical support contract from Régideso in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2012 and in June 2015, signing a contract to design, build and operate the hydroelectric power station at Kenié with the government of Mali, through their subsidiary Kenié Energie Renouvable.

IGERIA needs to create enabling environment for the growth of online transactions, otherwise known as electronic commerce or e-commerce, as a major platform to drive the development and diversification of the national economy.

Speaking on how trade and commerce can be used to enhance national growth, spokesperson for Supermart.ng, Oluwatayo Alofun said that when sellers are able to make more sales it leads to business expansion which automatically creates room for more employments and also contribute to national growth.

According to him, there is need to create an atmosphere for buyers to buy more and sellers to sell more as the current traditional wholesale and retail business is generally unorganized.

He noted that what e-commerce companies like Supermart.ng has done is to organize the market in such a way that consumers can get everything they want in just one spot, which makes them to buy more.

“This explains why supermart.ng has partnered with leading supermarkets and local markets to put up a one stop shop online with over 60,000 items including Fresh food, foreign products, Nigerian ingredients, general groceries and baby products among others which will be delivered to buyers in as early as three hours of order,” Alofun said.

In order for this to be possible, a chain of different job roles have to

function together. In the case of supermart.ng for instance, there are merchandisers who go out to take inventory of the products, there is also a team of personal shoppers who professionally picks the products and package them. After the packaging, there is a team of welltrained drivers who ensures that products are delivered in good condition to the buyers. A team of customer care attendants also exist to ensure that customers are satisfied with the service. In this way, e-commerce is creating jobs across multiple industry including operations and logistics.

“In essence, the use of e-commerce in the diversification of the economy will not only increase revenue but will reduce unemployment through creation of multiple jobs,” Alofun said.

Following the down turn in the international price of crude oil and its effect on oil dependent economy like Nigeria, the government has affirmed commitment to foster development of non-oil sectors and the speedy diversification of the country’s economy.

Reacting to the government’s plan, experts have continued to urge the government to focus on trade and commerce and how technology can be used to drive it. Trade and commerce is fast becoming an indispensable component of the non-oil sector of the Nigerian economy. The wholesale and retail space for instance currently accounts for about $100 billion. This according to a McKinsey report has a potential of increasing to $300 billion by 2030.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

24

BUSINESS INTERVIEW

‘To progress, Africa must take ownership of opportunities’ Hubert Danso is the Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of Africa’s voice for investment in the continent, Africa investor (Ai) Group. In this online interview Modupe Elegushi, Danso, who is also the Managing Editor of the Ai Magazine, speaks on the upcoming Africa Investor CEO Investment Summit and its benefits on the continent, among other issues.

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ELL us about the Africa inves tor CEO Institutional Invest ment Summit 2015 and the Africa investor CEO Investment Summit 2015, scheduled for this month?.

Africa investor will be hosting, in partnership with Thomson Reuters, the Eighth yearly Ai CEO US-Africa Investment Roadshow.

The Ai CEO Investment Summit, an invitation-only CEO business and government forum, will take place on September 24 and is designed to highlight and enhance Africa’s investment climate, trade competitiveness and job creation agenda, facilitate action and shed light on Africa’s investment success stories.

On the 25th, Ai will then host the Ai CEO Institutional Investment Summit, which will focus on facilitating transactional investment partnerships and co-investments between select African and US institutional investors, and sovereign wealth and pension funds, to invest in Africa’s fastest growing sectors and capital markets.

What impact will these Summits have on Africa’s untapped capital market and private equity investment opportunities?

Through these Summits, we are pursuing some very specific agenda, including the mobilisation of new, non-traditional sources of capital for the development of Africa’s capital market and infrastructure sectors. These sources include sovereign wealth and pension funds, as well as private equity firms. We will use the Summits to showcase the best in capital market opportunities to these sources and other institutional investors, and facilitate a series of one-on-one meetings around specific transactions, allocations, direct and co-investment opportunities.

For Africa to realise its economic potential, it is critical that longterm industries, such as infrastructure, energy and transport, provide the groundwork for capital market and private equity market growth and job creation in Africa. We are therefore convening this US and African long-term institutional investment leaders meeting, following President Obama’s Africa trip, which highlighted Africa’s economic and entrepreneurship potentials.

The Africa investor CEO Investment Summit will therefore engage the US and African institutional investment community in investment opportunities and partnerships that will support both the US and Africa’s economic and jobs growth.

Is it deliberate that the Summits will take place alongside the UN General Summit on the Sustainable Development Goals?

Yes, Africa investor has a longstanding partnership with the United Nations which draws on our highlevel convening power to bring together our institutional investment partners to dialogue and advise African Heads of States on major investment themes, challenges and solutions. Pursuant to that, we co-host an annual African Heads of State and Government Investment Working lunch with the UN during the General Assembly.

These Africa investor Summits form an important next step in forwarding the African private sector’s own agenda in terms of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will take over from the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Africa will be crucial to the global economy going forward and its private sector voice needs to be

heard in developing and implementing the post-2015 SDGs agenda and, importantly, in ensuring our leaders are aligning global development commitments with home-grown African development agenda such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

It is our fervent belief and message that investment matters and that there is no quicker way to combat poverty and get resources to the poor than through a pay cheque – So, partnering the private sector to build an environment for jobs and private sector growth cannot be understated.

At the Summit, we will present an African Business Statement to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon; African Union Commission Chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma; President of the World Bank Group, Jim Kim; and African Heads of State attending the upcoming UN General Assembly and 70th anniversary of the UN. The Ai Business Statement will be launched at the Ai CEO Investment Summit and this historic Statement will restate business’s commitment to tackling poverty in Africa and will call for the harmonisation of agenda and goals between the Financing for Development (FfD) agenda and the UN SDGs in support of the implementation of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Tell us about the success and impact of the last Africa investor CEO Infrastructure Investment Roadshow?

The Africa investor CEO Infrastructure Investment Roadshows are extraordinarily important, not just for Africa, but also for the whole developing world, on the issue of infrastructure investment, because it is recognition of where we are failing in infrastructure implementation. But it is also recognition of the new solutions that have been put on the ground by the private sector and the public sector. This year’s Roadshow represented a tipping point for the industry; a recognition that the only way is forward.

The Ai Infrastructure Project Developers Summit held in partnership with IFC InfraVentures and the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) was a historic first for the African continent, bringing together African project developers and projecting development champions to highlight the specific challenges they face.

A major disconnect exists between the project developers, investing significant resources designing and taking projects from concept to bankability, and the ultimate government approvals of the same projects to enable them to be financed and received the requisite investment.

Pursuant to this, a key outcome of Africa investor CEO Infrastructure Investment Summit is that, a dedicated network of private sector project developers is being created, which will be a policy advocate for the acceleration of infrastructure project procurement and development. Regular updates on this will be available on www.aidevelopersummit.com.

Africa investor facilitated over 200 one-on-one meetings between project developers, sponsors, regulators and investors on specific projects worth tens of billions of dollars during the Ai Roadshow.

• Danso

What informed the choice of Cape Town as venue for the Roadshow?

The Africa investor CEO Infrastructure Investment Roadshow was timed to coincide with the launch of the African Union and NEPAD-sponsored Continental Business Network (CBN), which Africa investor played a leading role in by establishing and facilitating the launch. The CBN is a transformative grouping of infrastructure investment leaders from the private sector that will act as an advisory group to African Heads of State and the African Union’s Presidential Infrastructure Champions Initiative (PICI), which is responsible for championing the implementation of priority Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) projects across border regional infrastructure projects.

The CBN and the Ai infrastructure Investment Roadshows are crucial elements of the same ongoing agenda, which is to further and accelerate development of Africa’s infrastructure investment flows, project development industry and enabling environment for private sector participation in the design, financing, operation and maintenance of Africa’s infrastructure.

The launch also coincided with the World Economic Forum on Africa, which also took place in Cape Town this year.

In which sectors are investment opportunities more profitable?

Today’s investment climate is quite different from even a year ago; commodities and oil prices have tumbled and recent global factors have negatively affected Africa’s stock markets.

The Africa investor (Ai) 40 investor’ Index, which tracks the performance of Africa’s blue chips, has fallen more than 25 per cent over the past year.

That being said, there are many profitable investments to be pursued, especially in the infrastructure space in the transport and energy sectors.

Trade and consumer goods are an excellent sector, particularly in anticipation of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA). Once established, the CFTA will offer a market of over one billion people and a GDP of $2 trillion. McKinsey & Company estimate that 200 million new customers will have entered the African marketplace by the end of this year alone, so eve-

ryday items will always be in demand. The technology and ICT sectors are booming and the US Department of Commerce, for instance, recognises the IT sector as one of the fastest and potentially most profitable sectors in Africa.

Construction and real estate should be noted too. With a strong economic growth rate and an increasing urbanisation, more houses, offices, etc., will be needed. Financial services also represent a great opportunity. 80 per cent of the continent is still unbanked and the possibilities are endless, especially when you consider that most of the population own mobile phones, which link back to technology. These are just some of the many profitable opportunities on the continent.

President Macky Sall of Senegal at a NEPAD summit in Dakar said, “Africa needs to first rely on internal investment if it is to achieve the infrastructure developments it urgently needs.” What are your thoughts on this?

I am in complete agreement. The only way Africa will truly progress is to take hold of the opportunities itself. Currently at just five per cent, intra-African investment is nowhere near where it should be. But who else should invest and profit from Africa’s growth but Africans themselves?

As Africans, we must be the ones to drive and primarily benefit from increased intra-African trade and investment. And the only way to catalyse long-term international investment on the continent is to see us using our own resources to develop the propositions we so enthusiastically sell to global investors.

President Macky Sall and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 (50-year development plan for the continent) recognise two fundamental issues that need political leaders’ intervention; One, Africa’s domestic private sector needs a more conducive environment in which to grow and is severely marginalised in important growth sectors such as infrastructure – with only one in ten major infrastructure investments on the continent being led by an African company. This is highlighted by the World Bank’s Private Sector Participation in Infrastructure (PPI) research where most continents around the world have in excess of 50-60 per cent PPI. Two, the continent has ample pension and sovereign wealth and strategic investment fund resources, which are able to fund critical regional projects and catalyse global capital market, institutional and private equity investment and co-investments on an unprecedented basis.

African pension assets are projected to total $7 trillion by 2050, and it is crucial to have a clear strategy as to how these resources can be mobilised to develop key projects and further catalyse the $35 trillion-plus global institutional investment pool seeking growth.

But the future looks good. Africa investor Capital Research estimates that, with the right public and private sector leadership, based on a 7 per cent mid-case base for intra-African flows, and a 25 per cent compound growth rate over the next ten years, the continent has the opportunity to grow intra-African investment over the next ten years to over

‘A key outcome of Africa investor CEO Infrastructure Investment Summit is that, a dedicated network of private sector project developers is being created, which will be a policy advocate for the acceleration of infrastructure project procurement and development’

60 per cent, from its current base of 5-7 per cent.

What are the opportunities and challenges of investing in Africa?

The opportunities are endless. A strong economic outlook, a young and growing population, a rapid rate of urbanisation, a growing middle class, an opportunity to leapfrog technology, untapped resources, unused arable land – all these are opportunities.

As for challenges, there are also plenty of these but, to quote Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer of NEPAD in the latest issue of Africa investor Magazine, ‘’We are as tough as any challenges we face.’’ The beauty, of course, is that the challenges themselves represent opportunities.

Africa’s logistics network, for example, is poor, so goods may be more expensive to transport at the moment.

But it represents an unparalleled growth opportunity for logistics developers, infrastructure investors, trade financiers and business as a whole.

Human capital mobility is another challenge: we need to make it easier for Africans to move goods, capital and staff across the continent and here a pan-African business passport is a good starting place, as espoused by the Continental Business Network.

There needs to be an unrelenting coming together of the public and the private sectors to address these challenges. To realise Africa’s economic potential, African governments and development partners should focus on making it easier to tap private sector human and financial capital to accelerate procurement and approvals to implement projects. Underpinning that is the urgent need to reform and simplify trade policies, regulatory environments and intra-African investment and risk management rules for pension and sovereign wealth funds investing in critical industries such as infrastructure and capital markets.

Working closely with Africa’s political leadership as we regularly do, we are very confident that Africa’s leadership is determined to address these challenges in partnership with the private sector and we are already working with a number of them to create a more hospitable environment for major transformational investments. The Continental Business Network, which was called for by Senegalese President Macky Sall and African Presidents, is proof that our Heads of State are operationalising their deeper engagement with Africa’s private sector to improve Africa’s investment climate and create jobs.

What is your assessment of investment and infrastructural development in Africa so far?

It has been a slow process. Crucial projects are taking too long; the Lake Turkana Wind Power project in Kenya, for example, took eight years to reach financial close! Important kinks, such as regulatory changes for instance, are being ironed out too slowly and much more work needs to be done, especially in terms of regional infrastructure projects.

We need to streamline and centralise the negotiation, approval and permitting process for projects, which could cut the timeline for the financing and implementation of projects by as much as 50-75 per cent of their current timelines.

Land rights are also a big challenge to be addressed for both domestic and global investors – especially in trade and transit-related transport infrastructure projects. Rights and a predictable and transparent redress and enforcement of legal judgements regarding claims must be decisively addressed.

Newspaper of the Year

AN EIGHT-PAGE PULLOUT ON THE SOUTHWEST STATES

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

PAGE 25

•F ayo se am on g the cro wd at the pal ace squ are

•Some of the women who thronged the palace square

•A huge crowd at the palace square

Culture, splendour at Udiroko Festival

•A snake charmer performing some stunts with the reptile

The rich cultural heritage of the people of Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, was on display on Saturday, August 29, as the community marked this year’s Udiroko Festival. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA reports

F

INSIDE

OR several hours on Saturday, August 29, Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, was in festive mood as guests from far and near joined residents to celebrate this year’s Udiroko

Festival.

The town was literally shut down as a huge crowd of residents made their way to the palace of Ewi of Ado-Ekiti to behold a cultural spectacle and catch some fun usual-

‘We can’t take IKEDC blackout any more’ PAGE 29

ly experienced once in a year.

There was heavy drumming, singing, trumpeting and breathtaking dance steps by cultural dancers who thrilled the guests who had seated before the arrival of the dignitaries.

•Obey

Continued on pages 28-29

Lekki Free Trade Zone: Ambode’s grand plan for Tinubu’s baby PAGES 26-27

Foundation holds free surgery for kids PAGE 27

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

26

SOUTHWEST REPORT

•Governor Ambode at the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Ibeju-Lekki, being briefed by the representative of the residents

•Some of the storage facilities

Lekki Free Trade Zone: Ambode’s grand plan for Tinubu’s baby It was former Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who saw the vision. His successor, Babatunde Fashola, bought into it. Now, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode seems set to be the one that will open the doors of the Lekki Free Trade Zone, thus fast-tracking the state’s economic development, writes OLUKOREDE YISHAU.

I

N the beginning was the land.

But the land was without form until Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu breathed life into it and so began the mammoth project called the Lekki Free Trade Zone. The enormity of the work meant Tinubu could not go far. He laid a solid foundation, which was taken to a notch higher by his successor, Babatunde Fashola.

When Akinwunmi Ambode took over the mantle of leadership slightly over 100 days ago, he fell in love with the project. He seems to be giving all his attention to it.

And the way things appear, he is set to hasten things up and open the door to more prosperity for Lagos.

One needs to take into account the worth of the project before its potential can be truly appreciated.

It will house an oil refinery, fertiliser plant, cement plant, a petrochemical plant, sea port and international airport.

The Lekki FTZ will be like a new modern city with integration of industries, commerce, real estate development, warehousing and logistics, tourism and entertainment, among others.

The massive project sits on

about 60, 000 hectares of land, excluding the areas allocated for the Lekki Free Trade Zone, sea port and international airport.

For Ambode, the enormous task that comes with governing a mega city like Lagos is not lost.

His inaugural speech gave an inkling of his vast knowledge of the workings of the state, having garnered 27 years experience in various cadres of the state civil service.

He had, in that speech, pledged to continue the State Development Plan, 2012-2025, structured under four pillars, including Social Development and Security, Infrastructural Development, Economic Development and Sustainable Environment.

Since May 29, each pillar of the Lekki Free Trade Zone has gotten a feel of what Ambode has up his sleeves in line with his vision to build on the strides of the previous administrations.

His quest to ensure economic development came to fore last week when he took a whole day to visit and inspect the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ), an emerging investors’ hub, which is fast attracting local and foreign investors.

For some five hours, Ambode, with his team, including Permanent Secre-

•Some of the equipment on site

taries and Directors in the ministries involved in the multi-billion dollar project, went round to see things firsthand.

Their first port of call was the administrative office of the zone. There, the team had a session with a consortium of Chinese investors, executives of the Lekki Free Zone Development Company and the Lekki Worldwide Investment Corporation, managing partners of the Zone.

The team was briefed on what has been done and what needs to be done if the project must see the light of the day.

The Chairman, LFZDC, Otunba Olusegun Jawando outlined some of

the benefits of the Zone, which sits on over 16,500 hectares of land. He said he was optimistic that, in a couple of years, the Zone would become a onestop destination for investors from across the world, which would, in turn, engender economic growth in Lagos and Nigeria.

The Managing Director, Lekki Free Zone Development Company, Mr. Ding Yonghua, listed their challenges to include road network, provision of a sea port, as well as paucity of funds.

He further explained that, of the four quadrants of road network within the zone, only two had been opened up for access where development is already ongoing by some investors.

Councils’ budget/planning chiefs launch journal

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HE Conference of Local Government Planners, comprising directors of Budget and Planning in the 57 local governments and local council development areas in Lagos State, have launched a journal called Planners’ Bulletin.

The conference’s members said the journal was aimed at showcasing local governments’ activities to the public.

The Chairman of the Editorial Board, Mr. Olanrewaju Olalere, who is the Director of Budget and Planning, Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government Area, said Planners’ Bulletin was established following the inauguration of a Planning Budget

By Tokunbo Ogunsami

Committee by Mr. Ben Akabueze, the former Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget.

Other members of the board, according to Olalere, included Adeyemi Adebola (Editor-in-Chief); Olusanya A. O. (Advert); Tijani Waheed (Marketing/Distribution); Ajose Yetunde (Finance) and Balogun Toyin (Publicity/Press).

Seriki Kehinde and Ogunbambi I. A. are in charge of Correspondence/ Relationships and Operations.

There was presentation of awards during the event. The Council Manager, Surulere Local Government Area, Mrs. Basirat Akinsanya, received the Best Council Manager

From left: Mrs. Akinsanya; Mr. Ogunbambi, Ijede LCDA Council Manager; Mr. Olalere; Mr. Salami and Mr. Bola Adeyemi at the event.

award while her Lagos Mainland counterpart, Mr. Lukman Salami, re-

ceived the 2014 Overall Best Council Manager award.

Yonghua told the delegation that he was optimistic that construction on the other two quadrants would open up the Zone for more willing investors.

He intimated the delegation of the need for the sea port to be up and running, adding that the port would ease the mode of moving heavy duty containers and materials into the zone.

Yonghua further said despite the counterpart funding provided by the state government and the principal investors, a lot more was required to speed up work on the Zone.

Ambode promised that his administration would do all within its powers to fast- track work on the Zone, adding that in a matter of months, work would commence on the sea port.

According to him, his administration would provide the necessary incentives required to hasten the development of the Zone.

Ambode said: “I came to see the level of development that is going on here. The Free Trade Zone is a major catalyst for the development of Lagos State. It was started during the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and was continued by my predecessor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola.

“Whatever it is that we need to do together with the community that has expressed its commitment to the success of the project, we would join hands together to move this project forward.”

The governor said his administration would start work on the seaport, which has been idle for about nine years.

“There is no way we would have this Free Trade Zoneý if the port is not activated. It needs to be reviewed. My administration will look at it and make

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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SOUTHWEST REPORT Foundation holds free surgery for kids

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•One of the buildings at the project site

sure the port is activated and construction starts immediately,” Ambode said.

He urged the management to scale up the marketing strategy of the zone so as to get more investors to buy into the project.

After the meeting with those working on the project, it was time to meet the people who gave up their lands for the project. Ambode was greeted by cheers from residents of the area.

He gave them the opportunity to air their views about the project in line with his promise to run an all-inclusive and compassionate government.

Chief Kamilu Ahmed spoke on behalf of the residents. He listed some of the challenges facing the residents to include lack of electricity, good roads and jobs for unemployed graduate youths living within the community.

He said most of the residents gave up their lands for the LFTZ to come alive, saying the decision to back the project was based on the belief that it would be beneficial to them all.

Ahmed said for over five years, the communities within the area had been without electricity, calling on the governor to intervene on their behalf.

He also appealed to the governor to use his good offices to ensure that graduate youths were given consideration for jobs in the course of the development of the zone.

After listening to the residents, Ambode said: “I am happy for the peaceful way the residents conducted themselves, especially with the release of their lands. I assure you all that all of us will benefit greatly when the project is completed.”

On the electricity problem, he said: “I also want to assure the people here that the issue of electricity will be looked at. It is surprising that some communities here do not have electricity in the last five years. In the next four weeks something must happen.

It is totally unacceptable and we would make sure that we bring succour to our people.

“That is why we are in government and that is what they have told us that we should do and that is what we will do every day in this administration.”

The governor praised the community and the consortium of ýChinese companies for supporting the state on the project.

He also praised the residents of IbejuLekki for accommodating the ýprojectý, appealing for more perseverance for the completion of the project as it would be a long-lasting investment for the state and the country. He also assured the residents that qualified youths would be considered for employment into agencies of the government.

It was after hearing the investors and the residents out that the team inspected the project.

The delegation made brief stops at various points where serious work has already begun. He took particular interest in the oil refinery, fertiliser plant, cement plant, and petrochemical plant being undertaken by African richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

Appreciable work has already been done at the site. The Dangote Refinery alone is estimated at $11 billion and has the capacity to produce what all the country’s four refineries can produce at full capacity. There are other multi-billion dollars investments driv-

en by consortium of Chinese companies.

China and Chinese companies are major stakeholders in the Lekki Free Trade (LFTZ), Lagos. The project is expected to churn out 300, 000 direct and 600, 000 indirect jobs over the next few years. This was why the former Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga described the LFTZ as one of the biggest Chinese projects in Nigeria.

The LFTZ is facing the Atlantic Ocean in the south and the Lekki Lagoon in the north, and the entire Zone is featured with flat topography and a beautiful scenery.

It has easy access to the existing international airport and sea port of Lagos, which are respectively about 70 km and 50 km in distance. Moreover, the new Lagos international airport is only about 10km from LFZ. In May 2006, the Chinese consortium, CCECC-Beyond International Investment & Development Co., Ltd (CCECC-Beyond), as the majority shareholder, entered into the Joint Venture with the Lagos State Government and the Nigerian partner “Lekki Worldwide Investment Ltd.” to establish the Lekki Free Zone Development Company (LFZDC) in Lagos, Nigeria, which is authorized by both the Nigeria Federal Government and the Lagos State Government as the solely and legally competent entity to develop, operate and manage the Lekki Free Trade Zone project.

In Oct 2006, Lekki Free Zone Development Company FZC (LFZDC) embarked on the Phase I Development of LFTZ, named as “China-Nigeria Economic& Trade Cooperation Zone” (CNETCZ) which covers approximately 1200 hectares.

The project is aimed at developing, operating and managing a modern Free Zone in accordance with international practice by making full use of the advantages of Lagos as being the important distribution hub in West Africa, thereby further enhancing the economic cooperation between Nigeria and China with their mutual complement and compatibility of resources, optimising the industrial structure and improving its national living standard.

The infrastructure being provided for investors include access roads, 12 megawatts Power Plants, water plants, sewage plants and telecommunications. Other supporting Facilities will include residential houses, hotels, shopping malls, hospitals, schools, office and recreational facilities.

Already, the Integrated Agrochemical Factory built by CANDEL FZE, a leading Nigerian Agrochemical Company, has been commissioned.

The Integrated Manufacturing Facility has the capacity to deliver 80 million litres of formulated products per annum. The facility has five processing plants for Soluble Liquids (SL), Emulsifiable Concentrates (EC) and Suspension Concentrates (SC) of products from diverse chemical families. It has sufficient capacity to supply CANDEL’s own distribution network in Nigeria and Ghana, with enough spare capacity for third parties in other parts of the African Continent.

OPE is coming the way of sick children in Lagos State who require surgery for hernia, hydrocele and un-descended testes, among other abnormalities of the male genitalia.

The Outreach Medical Services, through its foundation, Anu Dosekun Foundation (ADF) is collaborating with some senior health care practitioners at Kings College Hospital Denmark Hill, United Kingdom (UK) to organise a surgery programme aimed at restoring life to sick children. The programme is slated for early next year.

The hospital’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Efunbo Dosekun said the experts will carry out the surgeries on the children alongside their Nigerian counterparts.

Dr Dosekun said the future of the country will be bleak if children are neglected, adding that Asia has experienced transformation because it took the issue of child care seriously.

The programme, she said, would put smiles on the faces of children suffering from some diseases.

By Wale Adepoju

The state of infants, she said, is deplorable, adding that the country’s health ranking of 187 out of 191 countries that lag behind in health issue has left much to be desired.

She called for the integration of primary, secondary and tertiary health care into treatment plan, stressing that this would ensure access to care for sick babies and infants.

Dr Dosekun, who has put in more than 35 years as a paediatrician, said the experts will work with the federal and state government-owned hospitals to select those who would benefit from the programme.

She urged corporate organisations and well-meaning individuals to support the programme so that life can be meaningful for the children.

“It is a bi-lateral engagement. So, we need to raise some funds so that the mission can be effective. We are going to be working with politicians, academics and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), among others, to return hope to the children,” she said.

•Olatunbosun

The paediatrician said the experts from the UK will also build the capacity of Nigerian surgeons on new vascular access technique, especially paediatrics surgeries.

Dr Dosekun said her organisation is organising a dance drama to be staged by the Society of Performing Artists of Nigeria (SPAN), under the leadership of Mrs Sarah Boulous on Saturday to create awareness on the programme

IPMAN brokers peace

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EACE is set to return to the folds of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Ibadan depot, following the ratification of peace accords at the end of an emergency general meeting of the union.

IPMAN, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting and jointly signed by its officers in Ibadan/Ibarapa I&II, Oke-Ogun I&II, Ife-Ijesha, Osun and Oyo/Ogbmoso zones, said the congress agreed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ibadan Depot belongs mainly to Oyo and Osun states respectively and other adjoining states, adding that Alhaji Raheem Rasaq Tayo is the duly elected chairman.

It said: “The house recognised the grievances of the members and wish that they join IPMAN fold to resolve all lingering crisis. An election was held at IPMAN Secretariat on February 4, this year which was conducted by the IPMAN Zonal and National Executives and witnessed by the Oyo State Police and the State Security Service (SSS). If they fail to agree and abide by the said election result, fresh election

will be held in line with the practice of IPMAN in Ibadan Depot.” It was also observed that “no form of harmonisation of positions will bring lasting peace other than to have a fresh election”, hence the decision that “election be conducted at a date to be chosen and venue in which the representatives of the Houses of Assembly of Oyo and Osun will serve as observers.”

For fare representation, they concluded that an undertaken be signed before the conduct of the election, warning that “the outcome will be binding on all parties involved. All security agencies such as the police, the SSS and the Nigerian Civil Defence and Security Corps (NCDSC) should be invited to witness the conduct of the election.”

On allocation, it was agreed that “all forms of discretionary allocations be stopped forthwith at the NNPC Ibadan Depot. IPMAN’s monthly allocation should be chart followed strictly and be made public. Henceforth, IPMAN’s constitutional levy for local, bridging and transfer be resuscitated immediately at all loading NNPC and private depots.”

Church dedicates building

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ETERMINED to promote the growth and development of its affiliate branches and to further the spread of the Gospel as directed by Jesus Christ, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Lagos Province 10, Mulero, Orile-Agege, has dedicated eight church buildings within its provincial jurisdiction in Lagos and Ogun states.

The parishes and zones dedicated were Mighty God Parish and Joy Assembly at Denro Ojodu, Lagos; City of Grace Parish Ajuwon Ogun State; Restoration Parish AbuleEgba; Garden of Love Parish, Agege; Zion Chapel Oregun; Excellence Parish Magodo and Fruitful

By Kehinde Onifade

Vine Parish Ajah, Lagos.

The pastor in charge of Region 2, Pastor Joseph Obayemi led other men of God to unveil the plaque and cut the tape at the dedication ceremony.

Mighty God Parish Denro Ojodu, Lagos was the largest among the eight church buildings dedicated. It boasts over 500 sitting capacity.

The Pastor in charge of Lagos Province 10, Joseph Olagbadegun said the dedication of the church buildings would have been carried out before now, saying preparation for the last convention caused the shift in date.

He thanked Pastor Obayemi for working hard to ensure that the ceremony held.

In his sermon, Pastor Obayemi who quoted copiously from Psalm 127:1-2 said “except the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain that build it; except the Lord keeps the city, the watchman stays awake but in vain”.

If not for the grace and help of God, it would not have been possible to complete the buildings.

He said the essence of dedicating the buildings was to ensure expansion of the church which is one of the visions of RCCG to reach out to people.

‘Stop praising corrupt leaders’

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R Olabode Lucas, a Prof. of Crop Physiology at the University of Ibadan (UI), has advised Nigerians to stop glorifying corrupt leaders if the current war against corruption must be won. He also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that History and Civic Education are re-introduced and taught at the primary and secondary school levels.

According to him, glorification of corrupt leaders will only embolden the cancer of corruption, urging Nigerians to collectively fight the ugly trend to enable Nigeria to get to the Promised Land.

Prof. Lucas spoke during a book launch/presentation to round off his 70th birthday celebration entitled “Snapshots on Some Nigerian and International Events” held at the University of Ibadan Hotels and Conference Centre.

“Nigeria will continue to wallow in its current parlous state if the present rate of corruption and financial malfeasance continues. We should not allow ethnic and other considerations to colour our attitude towards those who are

making all of us, except themselves, very poor in the midst of plenty.

“They should be ostracised and not encouraged. Corruption is a cancer and it is gradually destroying our dear country. We need concerted efforts to destroy this cancer,” he said.

The Introduction of Civic Education, he noted, will make the Nigerian child understand the past and have a sense of place and vision for a good Nigeria.

Prof. Lucas, who noted that Civic Education and History were needed to produce a critical soul, stated that Civic Education was central to producing responsible and good citizens.

The don said it was a pity that these beautiful subjects; History and Civic Education are no longer taught in our primary and secondary schools, saying that only a re-introduction of the subjects would ensure that Nigerian children know their history and their place in Nigeria and the world.

Expert drums up support for Buhari, Ajimobi

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HE Managing Director of Mainsail Micro-finance Bank, Taofeek Gbolagade Rahman, has assured the people of Oyo State of better days ahead in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Rahman spoke in Ibadan while featuring on a radio programme anchored by a private station in the state capital.

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

He advised South westerners not to panic as more appointments would soon be made that will favour them, saying that what Buhari needs now is our unflinching support and love in order to make our country great and vibrant again. On the issue of workers’ salaries in Oyo State, the financial expert said the workers should be calm, assuring that the salary prob-

lem is not peculiar to the state alone.

“Governor Abiola Ajimobi is well tested, trusted and humane.

With his experience in the oil and gas sector, I am sure he would lift the state out of the present crisis,” Rahman said.

He praised the governor for running an all-inclusive government, adding that he knows and values democracy.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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SOUTHWEST REPORT

Demolition: Residents of Ogun community lament

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ESIDENTS of Ilepa area, a suburb of Ogun State are counting their losses as properies worth billions of Naira were destroyed during the demolition of over 25,000 housing units built on a 250 hectares of land allegedly by the Ogun State Government. The exercise had rendered countless people homeless. This is the aftermath of the demolition of buildings allegedly built on government land. The demolition was said to have been carried out to enable the government to hand over the land to the original owner, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), which had, since November 28, 1981, possessed the certificate of

By Olalekan Ayeni

occupancy (C of O) from the Ogun State Government.

The residents of the area told Southwest Report that the land has a layout and survey plan No. BOP/OG/ 95/D1 drawn by one Surveyor S. A. Oluwoye (JP) dated March 25, 1995, in favour of Alhaji Mudasiru Mustapha, Chief Nofiu Isiaka, Chief Matthew Afunkun and others who sold the land to them.

The aggrieved residents lamented that individuals bought the land without full knowledge and understanding that it was a government acquired land instead of belonging to the people that sold it to them.

They maintained that the exercise has rendered them homeless. It has

also caused the death of some victims due to shock and heart attack.

Remnants of victims’ belongings were seen scattered on streets as they search for possible alternative accommodation. Some would-be victims of the demolition exercise were seen removing roofs, ceilings and other valuable properties from their buildings so that they won’t lose all.

Onlookers and sympathisers came from far and near to commiserate with the residents over the loss of lives and properties. Motorcyclists hike their price to conveyed people to the ugly scene.

Speaking on the incident, the Shepherd in charge of Restoration Baptist Church, Ilepa, Pastor Wale Kehinde, appealed to the Federal Government and other state governors to

•Governor Fayose (left) Oba Adejugbe and Olori Bosede

come to the aid of the residents by pleading to Ogun State Governor Amosun to temper justice with mercy. He said the residents are ready to comply with any terms and condition either by the state government or the right owner of the land (LUTH) if their buildings could be prevented from being demolished.

The clergyman said: “Scores have become refugees as a result of the exercise, saying that only two per cent out of the 100 per cent demolition target in the community had been carried out. He added that six other communities would also be involved. Many of them would have nothing to fall back on if their houses are demolished.”

Other communities, according to Pastor Kehinde that would be involved in the demolition exercise include Pa-

koto, Ojusango, Onihale, Iyana Cele and Abata. He urged the Ogun State Government to have pity on the masses, saying many of the residents built their houses with their pension arrears after long stint in the civil service.

Also the women leader, Community Development Association, Mrs Bola Adigun appealed to Ogun State Government to have fellow-feeling for the residents. She said the residents were ready to abide by any rules, terms and conditions of government and LUTH even to pay extra money for the land or paying royalty to government or LUTH as long as their houses would be spared.

She said: “The few days of the demolition exercise has caused the masses huge losses. Government should imagine the number of peo-

ple that would be rendered homeless after the completion of the demolition exercise. No fewer than four persons live in each building, and that will amount to millions of people if multiplied by the number of houses to be involved in the demolition.”

She therefore appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, state governors, leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and wellmeaning Nigerians to come to their aid by appealing to Governor Ibikunle Amosun and management of LUTH to have mercy on them, saying this will be a great loss to the huge population if all buildings on 250 hectares of land are demolished.

•The Elegbes (Ado-Ekiti traditional war chiefs) on their way to pay homage to the Ewi

Culture, splendour at Udiroko Festival •Continued from page 25

The Udiroko Festival marks the beginning of a New Year in the Ado-Ekiti traditional calendar during which indigenes gather at the palace of the Ewi to offer supplications for the favour of the Almighty and to deliberate on issues affecting the development of the town.

Indigenes of Ado-Ekiti, various ethnic nationalities, interest groups, quarter chiefs, traditional chiefs, queens, indigenous war chiefs, age groups, market men and women and politicians from all walks of life pay homage to the monarch.

This year’s edition of the festival was different from the previous ones as the Ekiti State Government, led by Governor Ayo Fayose played a pivotal role in adding colour to the occasion by majorly sponsoring the event.

Fayose had mounted huge billboards in many parts of Ado-Ekiti to raise people’s awareness and personally going on air to invite residents to the festival.

The governor was joined at the festival by other dignitaries, including his deputy, Dr. Kolapo Olusola, Senator Fatimat Raji Rasaki, Deputy Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon. Segun Adewumi; Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Modupe Alade; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chief Dipo Anisulowo, Chairman, Ekiti State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Idowu Faleye; Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Senator Bode Ola and the Oluyin of Iyin

Ekiti, Oba Ademola Ajakaye.

Others were the Vice-Chancellor of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Prof. Saminu Abulrahman Ibrahim; the Rector, Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti, Dr. Taiwo Akande; Provost, College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, Prof. Francesca Aladejana; Director-General, Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Mr. Sola Omole, state legislators, council chairmen and board chairmen.

It was a culmination of a weeklong activities which commenced with prayers at the palace of Ewi on Monday, public lecture on Tuesday, health seminar on Wednesday, homage by artisans, market women and other professionals on Thursday, final of the Ewi Cup Football Competition and Draught and Ayo Olopon on Friday.

Earlier on Friday, Fayose inaugurated the Palace Hall financed by his administration in its contribution to making more facilities available at the complex.

Barely 24 hours to the D-Day, the excitement in the air had reached its climax and was temporarily put on hold by the conduct of the monthly environmental sanitation between the hours of seven and 10 in the morning of Saturday.

As the sanitation exercise was concluded at 10:00 a.m., enthusiastic indigenes and other residents started making their way to the palace to witness the festival.

Courtesy of Fayose, this year’s Udiroko Festival was transmitted live on the Africa Independent Television (AIT) and the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State (BSES).

Music legend, Evangelist Ebenezer Obey added colour to the festival with

Kabiyesi, we are proud of you and I am proud to be called the Governor of Ekiti State under your monarchy as the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti. When it is good, there are forces behind it and you are the force behind Ado-Ekiti his evergreen songs while other local musicians dotted the palace grounds entertaining crowds at various designated points.

Fayose later moved to Obey’s bandstand where he danced enthusiastically to the tunes dished out by the septuagenarian musician.

Aspirants jostling for positions in the forthcoming local government elections also used the Udiroko Festival to market their ambitions as the palace square was adorned with various campaign banners and posters.

The Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe Aladesanmi III, who wore a special crown for the occasion, beamed with smiles as he received homage from various segments of the population.

The Ado-Ekiti king, who was joined on the dais by his consort, the Eyesorun, Olori Margaret Bosede Adejugbe and Fayose, waved the royal horsetail (irukere) in appreciation of the obeisance paid to him by his subjects.

Groups that took their turns to pay homage to the Ewi included the Oloris (palace queens), the Omo Owas (princes and princesses), Iyalojas and Iyalajes (market chiefs), the Elegbes (traditional war chiefs), the Efas (traditional police) and the Bafon (traditional generalissimo) who was followed by the traditional troops.

The President of Ado-Ekiti Progressive Union (APU), Chief Obafemi Ojo, praised the various projects initiated by the Fayose administration in the town.

He also urged the governor to give more Ado sons and daughters political appointments to enable them to contribute to the development of the state.

The chairman, Caretaker Committee of Ado-Ekiti Local Government Area, Alhaji Dauda Ajise, explained that Fayose’s contribution to the development of the town would remain indelible.

Ajise said the Governor, within the short time of his second stint in power, has beautified the town and executed projects such as roads and drainage, among others.

Founder and President of the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, who was represented by the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Michael Ajisafe, donated N10 million towards the completion of the projects going on in the palace.

Fayose, who defied protocol by prostrating before Ewi said he decided to contribute immensely to the success of this year’s Udiroko Festival because of the huge electoral support he received from the people of Ado-Ekiti at the June 21, last year gov-

ernorship election.

He explained that he couldn’t ignore or neglect a community that gave him over 50,000 votes which played a key role in swinging electoral victory in his favour, saying no governor can afford to joke with the people of Ado-Ekiti.

Fayose also used the opportunity to explain the projects being carried out in the community, promising to build and complete a new Etekesan Market before next year’s Udiroko Festival.

Extolling the virtues of the Ewi, Governor Fayose promised to continue to accord the royal father the respect he deserves and work closely with him to develop the kingdom and give it what is due as the capital of the state.

Fayose said: “Kabiyesi, we are proud of you and I am proud to be called the Governor of Ekiti State under your monarchy. When it is good, there are forces behind it and you are the force behind Ado-Ekiti.

“Your reign has witnessed unprecedented development and under my government, we are about to start.

Last year, I was here as governor-elect but today as the olori oko patapata of Ekiti State.

“I want to build the new Ado Market, which will be more beautiful than the Tejuoso Market in Lagos. By this time next year, you will join me to inaugurate the project. I want to put a flyover in Ado-Ekiti.

“In less than two months from now, we would have completed this amphitheatre and by the time I leave, no governor will have any project to do in this palace again.

“Next year’s Udiroko Festival will be greater than this year’s. They used

to bring small musicians here before but this year, I brought Ebenezer Obey here but next year, I will bring both Obey and Sunny Ade.” In his address, the Ewi, Oba Adejugbe described this year’s Udiroko Festival as “the best arrangement in the past 25 years despite the fact that it used to be celebrated with kola nuts in the past”.

He expressed satisfaction that Udiroko Festival now competes favourably with prominent traditional festivals such as the Argungu Fishing Festival in Kebbi State, the Ojude Oba Festival in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State and the Osun Osogbo Festival in Osogbo, Osun State.

The traditional ruler paid tributes to ABUAD Chancellor, Aare Babalola who holds the title of Fiwagboye of Ado-Ekiti.

The Ewi expressed concern over the activities of hoodlums popularly known as Area Boys and land grabbers known in local parlance as the Omo Oniles; urging the government and security agencies to clamp down on them to allow law-abiding residents go about their normal businesses without molestation.

Oba Adejugbe further said: “Governor Fayose, you are doing well and I want you to continue doing your good works. If dividends of democracy get to the people, they don’t care who is in power.

“I urge all sons and daughters of Ado-Ekiti to support the government of the day and I appeal to the governor to do more for citizens of AdoEkiti and Ekiti State.

“I also appeal to all sons and daughters of Ado-Ekiti all over the world to assist the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH).

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ND to electricity consumers’ protests against poor services by the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) appears interminable, as more communities complain about what they called “total darkness” and alleged rip-off by officials of the company.

Tempers grew recently in some communities in Isheri-Oshun and their environs over the poor showing of the company.

Leading some angry residents of Isheri-Oshun, Ikotun, Ijegun, Ayanwale, Adetoro and others in a protest against IKEDC, the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) Isheri-Oshun Unit took to the streets in protest of what they alleged to be a deliberate ploy by officials of the IKEDC to extort various sums of money from them without corresponding power supply.

The protesters marched from the Rights House on Jordan Street Isheri-Oshun through streets in the area and stormed the IKEDC office on Chief Akwaiwu Street in the early morning of Wednesday, September 2, alleging, among other things, that the company placed them on “perpetual power blackout, non-installation of pre-paid metres and payment of bills by estimation”.

In a chat with Southwest Report, the Coordinator of CDHR, Dr Chinedu Ifechigha said: “Metres are not read but bills are sent on estimated basis. We maintain that metres should be read to ensure that right and appropriate bills are paid for. We demand that pre-paid metres are installed in the homes of all consumers. To have light is our right and nobody pays for services not rendered.

“It is unjust for service providers to demand illegal money from the masses for they did not provide. We say no to unjust treatment.”

Chanting solidarity songs, the protesters, through the human rights group said if the alleged humiliation by officials of the company did not stop, “we will be left with no other option than dealing with, and resisting with stiff opposition, any official of the company found within our communities for the purpose of disconnection of power or collection of any levy within the affected communities.

“We think it’s inhuman and unreasonable to expect the people to pay estimated and crazy bills when they didn’t use light. The constant harassment and embarrassment of the people by IKEDC officials to pay bills is totally uncalled for.”

Dr Ifechigha further noted that Isheri-Oshun and some adjoining communities have experienced indescribable hardship as a result of poor showing by the electricity company, a situation which has affected socioeconomic activities in the affected communities, even as he said social life in the areas has become uninteresting. Both large and small-scale businesses have been grounded.

“Apart from these, people’s lives are at risk because the ugly trend has engendered a situation where almost every home has resorted to the use of power generating sets, which, most often, results in loss of lives. We say no to harmful neglect,” Dr Ifechigha said as he handed a copy of their protest letter to the manager of the Ijegun unit of IKEDC, Engineer Samuel; a copy of which was made available to Southwest Report.

The letter signed by Dr Ifechigha and Comrade Mike Akpan, Coordinator and Secretary-General of the group respectively read: “We the

•The protesters

‘We can’t take IKEDC blackout any more’

•Members of CDHR leading others during the protest

By Chinaka Okoro members of Isheri-Oshun Unit of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), in conjunction with civil societies of Nigeria are disheartened as regards your operational services in power supply within the locality.

“We are aware that you give priority to some areas than others; areas without power supply pay higher tariffs/charges than those enjoying your minimal supply; you have worked up increment of tariffs/charges despite the fact that there is no power supply; your inability to improve your services had added much on expenses of buying fuel for generators and so forth. Your poor services has crumbled the people’s economy and made life uncomfortable, unbearable and unsatisfactory.

“We, therefore, mandatorily direct that you do the following: all areas within your jurisdiction must have adequate, full and constant power sup-

•Protest againt poor power supply

ply; further increment on tariffs/charges cancelled; illegal disconnection henceforth should be stopped; we should know why people living at Ayanwale, Boltex Street, Unity Street, Boripe, Amusa Ishola Street and their environs are exploited; we understand that you divert power supply meant for these areas to industrial areas to the detriment of the people living in the affected areas.

“We expect total sanity within 14 days; after which there will be no payment of electricity bills within your jurisdiction; illegal disconnection will be crossed with all amount of opposition and such staff will regret doing such; increment in tariffs/charges is illegal and unacceptable. Services must be paid for and the services must be rendered.”

Responding, Manager of the Ijegun Unit of the IKEDC, Engineer Samuel said since he took over the managerial responsibility of the unit four months ago, there has been improvement in power supply to consumers, even as he

debunked allegation that the IKEDC is ripping consumers off.

“Since I assumed office as the manager of this unit, people have been commending me on how I have improved the power supply situation. Power supply has improved in Okemuyi, Ijegun, Ayanwale, Adetoro and other communities.

“I am not saying we have achieved the optimum but we will get there; Rome was not built in a day. It’s a gradual process,” he said.

On the pre-paid metres, he said the process of installation has started, even as he warned consumers not to give anybody money for the installation as the facility is provided entirely free.

He, however, appealed to the protesters and other consumers to be patient with the company as it is doing all it can to improve on power supply to its customers.

Cause of prostate enlargement, by don

M

R. Linus Okeke, a Prof. of Surgery in the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, University of Ibadan (UI), has revealed that Benigh Prostate Enlargement (BPH) is caused by old age and not by increased sexual activities.

He also said that BPH is not a death sentence as it can be treated satisfactorily.

Okeke spoke while delivering his inaugural lecture entitled: “Lord, That I May Urinate” at Trenchard Hall

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

Ibadan.

“BPH occurs in the ageing male. It is purely caused by aging because there is imbalance between the blood levels of androgen and estrogen and this imbalance is thought to be responsible for this enlargement. The more prevalence is put at two out of 10 in men aged less than 50 years and rises to nine out of 10 in patients over 80 years.

However, the enlargement affects different individuals in varying degrees.

“But unpublished data shows that the society at large believes that prostate enlargement is due to too much sexual intercourse, especially with multiple partners.” he said.

On how to prevent the prostate gland from enlarging, the don said two methods are currently in vogue. He said they are: “if a boy is castrated before puberty as is said to be practised in some kingdoms and if a boy dies before reaching adulthood.”

He said nobody is too old to un-

dergo prostate operation, adding that if carried out by an experienced surgeon, age is not a restriction to operating patients with enlarged prostate.

Prof. Okeke said: “Although not all patients with BPH will require an operation, when operation is needed, patients can undergo such surgery operation without any cut on the body and they can return to normal activities the same day.”

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DISCOURSE

Agro-commodity export: Meeting international standards terest is in the fee rather than the quality of the produce must be stopped.

Recently, government contracted new private inspection agents (PIAs). One is hoping that it will bring the necessary changes. The government needs to set key performance indicators for these two agencies with respect to stemming the tide of poor quality produce leaving the shores of the land. These were the reasons why they came into existence in the first place. We need to make strategic choices now stem the impact of the food safety regulation on our exports by reducing the cost of compliance.

One way of doing this is by creating a strong and integrated food supply chain that is visible enough to allow for traceability and create the highly needed competitive advantage for our agri-business Overturning this ban requires a firm approach to enforcing standards at all times.

The ban was not a bolt from the blue, because the rejection notices started since January 2013.

Now, we have six months and if we do not take this matter seriously the ban may extend beyond EU to other strategic markets across the globe.

In this piece, Chief Executive, Multimix Academy, Obiora Madu, writes on the contributions of the agro-commodity subsector to the economy.

O

NE thing that bothers me a lot is how a nation can be so endowed and be swimming in poverty? This is a big issue because from available statistics, only few countries can match Nigeria’s endowment in natural resources.

With an estimated population of over 160 million, and onshore and offshore that boast of some of the finest deposits of oil and natural gas, a rainforest belt that offers the best cash crops and hard wood and a savannah region with very large tones of oil seeds, coffee, chilies, spices and abundant solid mineral resources. In fact, the opportunity that Nigeria offers investors in export is immense and irresistible. In spite of all these, the economy has remained largely monolithic.

At Independence, agriculture generated over 90 per cent of the nation’s foreign exchange. That was before oil was found in commercial quantity. Ever since then, our attention was shifted from agriculture to the more lucrative oil. As at last year; the entire non oil export makes a very insignificant contribution to the nation’s foreign exchange earnings. The sustained losses in projected revenue following drop in world oil prices as we are experiencing now, the global tendency towards a diversified export based economy and the urgent need to expedite the process of economic growth and development have all made it imperative that we not only focus on non-oil export but also to do things right to forestall rejection in the comity of trading nations.

Nigerian agricultural commodities rank among the best in the world. Notable among these are: Cocoa beans, Cashew nut, Sesame seed, Ginger, Spices, edible nuts, beans, palm products, etc. The list is endless. My experience has been that there is nothing wrong with our produce but there is something wrong with us.

Around 1980/90, the problem was with ginger.

Some fraudulent Nigerians sent out rubbish and we subsequently earned such a bad name. A few years later, it was cashew nut. It got so bad that we had cashew nut worth about a billion naira in warehouses and foreign companies were requesting for cashew nut from West African countries except Nigeria. In fact, the association of cashew exporters had to travel to appeal to buyers to look in their direction. These problems were as a result of information spilled over from our past activities. As stated in a World Bank article recently published, “A developing country’s (good or bad) export performance in one market can affect its future export performance not only in the same market but also in ‘neighbouring’ markets”.

The biggest problem here is that of shipping poor quality produce and this can be taken care of if we take the time to study the commodities we wish to export. Agro-Commodity export can be very profitable if we do things right in terms of quality, particularly in areas such as risk management and finance. We also need to beware of the kind of contracts we accept and also keep abreast with developments in the international market.

Fast forward to 2015 and the EU Food Quality Agency bans six food items from Nigeria namely; beans, sesame seed, melon seeds, palm oil, bush meat and dried fish. According to the European Food Safety Authority, the rejected beans were found to contain between 0.03mg per kilogramme to 4.6mg/kg of dichlorvos pesticide, when the acceptable maximum residue limit is 0.01mg/kg. The embargo is a reflection of our inability to adhere to global standards, and this has come to haunt us at the international level again. For some time, the EU has been warning Nigeria that the items constitute danger to human health because they “contain a high level of unauthorised pesticide.” The pesticide is applied when the products are being prepared for export.

The EU said it had issued 50 notifications to Nigerian beans exporters since January 2013. It is baffling that the Nigerian authorities didn’t take any significant steps to reverse the situation. Likewise, the United Kingdom is also said to have issued 13 border rejection alerts to Nigerian beans exporters between January and June, this year. Our lax system will continue to hamper the economy from appropriating the benefits derivable from a revived export programme.

It confounds many that this problem has been with us for some time and nothing strategic has been done to deal with the situation. In 2013 for instance, 24 commodities of Nigerian origin exported to the UK were rejected, while the fig-

ure climbed to 42 food products in 2014. Some of the items were said to have been contaminated by aflatoxin, making them unfit for consumption.

Justification for the ban

The justification for the ban is obvious because Safety of food is a basic requirement of food quality. “Food safety” implies absence or acceptable and safe levels of contaminants, adulterants, naturally occurring toxins or any HAZARD that may make food injurious to health on an acute or chronic basis. Food quality can be considered as a complex characteristic of food that determines its value or acceptability to consumers. Besides safety, quality attributes include: nutritional value and organoleptic properties such as appearance, colour, texture, taste Food safety in the early twenty-first century is an international challenge requiring close cooperation between countries in agreeing standards and in setting up transnational surveillance systems.

The behaviour of consumers has been gradually changing. They currently require not only much higher dietary quality, hygiene and health standards in the products they purchase, but they also look for certification and reassurance of products’ origins (national or geographical) and production methods.

Expanding global trade in perishable agricultural products and high-value foods has served to highlight the extent to which national standards for food safety and animal and plant health diverge, as well as the differential capacities of public authorities and commercial supply chains to manage the potential risks associated with trade in these products.

For many higher-value foods, including fruits and vegetables, fish, beef, poultry and herbs and spices, the challenges of international competitiveness have moved well beyond price and basic quality parameters to greater emphasis on food safety and agricultural health concerns Importing countries frequently require guarantees that exports are derived from areas that are free from certain pests or diseases, that minimum standards of hygiene have been applied in the production, packaging and distribution of food products, or that products are free of excessive residues, for example of pesticides, veterinary medicine, environmental contaminants or naturally occurring contaminants. The exporting country must have the capacity both to comply with these requirements and to undertake the necessary actions in order to demonstrate that compliance has been achieved.

In pursuing the development of a modern and competitive agro-food system, a country needs to have the capacity to undertake a range of SPSrelated functions, some of the most important being: • Driving to enhance their domestic food safety and agricultural health controls as a means to satisfy export market requirements. Food safety and agricultural health management capacity is important not only to meet requirements for export markets, but also to facilitate effective controls on imported agricultural and food products and on domestic production.

• Detecting the presence/demonstrating the absence of biological, chemical or physical hazards and having an information system to inform decision-making processes; employing emergency procedures in the event of emerging hazards and/or outbreaks,.

• Verification/certification of traded products with respect to established food safety risks.

• Undertaking scientific analysis of hazards in agricultural inputs and food products.

• Establishing/maintaining the identity of agricultural products through the supply chain.

• Establishing/maintaining systems for hygienic practices in agro-food product handling and transformation.

• Registering the production, distribution, and use of agricultural inputs that may pose risks to human, animal or plant health.

Administrative and technical capacities for food safety and agricultural health management are embodied in institutional structures and procedures, physical infrastructure and human capital. Frequently, it is assumed that managing food safety and agricultural health is predominantly a public sector responsibility. Indeed, there are some crucial regulatory, research and management functions that are normally carried out by governments, and a variety of circumstances where importing countries require that certain functions be performed by a designated public

Key responsibilities for national govts • Madu

sector ‘competent authority’.

However, the private sector also has a fundamentally important role to play. First, the private sector should contribute to standard setting as it is typically well informed about technical options and hazard management systems.

Second, it is through the specific actions of individual producers and processors that compliance with food safety and agricultural health requirements is achieved.

The tolerated levels of potential hazards differ from country to country (regulatory area) because of different attitudes towards food safety and different interpretation of scientific information.

Sweden operates a zero tolerance policy in regard to Salmonella.

The result is that in various regulatory areas different default values are accepted which causes amongst others difficulties in international trade.

Food safety standards and trade (Compliance Costs: What And How Significant Are They?)

In the context of international agro-food trade, developing countries can incur significant ‘costs of compliance’ whenever changes are made in international standards or those of their trading partners. Additional costs may also be incurred in response to new or more stringent food safety or other requirements of private buyers. These costs can come in various forms, including fixed investments in adjusting production/processing facilities and practices, recurrent personnel and management costs to implement food and other control systems and the public and private sector costs of conformity assessment. Typically there are a variety of technological and administrative ways in which to achieve compliance with a certain standard. For this and other reasons the level and relative significance of compliance costs can vary enormously from industry-to-industry and between different countries.

Important variables include the prevailing structure and conditions of the supply chain, range and extent of administrative and scientific capacities, level of effective intraindustry and public-private cooperation, strength of existing technical service industries, and so on.

How can we escape be ready before the Ides of March (June 2016)

In the absence of a mature and reasonably well-developed export industry where the supply chain has utilised makeshift or multipurpose facilities and where new requirements (or new levels of enforcement), we must undertake significant fixed investments in equipment and education. This responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the ministry of agriculture, and trade and investment.

The Federal Produce Inspection need to be reorganised privatised and commercialised.

It should be structured around 80 per cent private and 20 per cent public. A situation where exporters have said on air that Fumigation certificates are issued without seeing the produce is criminal and offenders must be arrested immediately. A situation where the in-

• Food safety control policies address the central issues of protecting consumers’ health and consumers’ interests; and facilitating trade; • Adequate resources are available for the operation of an effective and efficient food control system; • Systems are in place for coordination and integration of food control policies within central government departments; • Legislation exists for adequate cooperation between central and local government agencies; • Food legislation clearly identifies and limits the functions, authority and activities of statutory food control agencies; • Food regulations, standards and codes of practice are risk based and are harmonized with international requirements; • Structures are in place for the effective management of food inspection services; • Risk management decisions are based upon risk assessment and sound science; • An official food laboratory exists to support food monitoring and surveillance; • Effective risk communication structures are in place.

Technology to the rescue Using irradiation to preserve food for safe eating Irradiation preserves nutrients in food and kills microbes that destroy them. The preservation technique exposes food to electron beams or gamma radiation, a high-energy light stronger than the X-rays your doctor uses to make a picture of your insides.

Gamma rays are ionising radiation, the kind of radiation that kills living cells. Ionising radiation can sterilise food or at least prolong its shelf life by • Killing microbes and insects on plants (wheat, wheat powder, spices, dry vegetable seasonings) • Killing disease-causing organisms on pork (Trichinella), poultry(Salmonella), and ground beef (pathogenic E. coli) • Preventing potatoes and onions from sprouting during storage • Slowing the rate at which some fruits ripen Irradiation does not change the way food looks or tastes. It does not change food texture. It does not make food radioactive. It does, however, alter the structure of some chemicals in foods, breaking molecules apart to form new substances called radiolytic products.

Many scientific organisations, including the 27,000-member Institute of Food Technologists and an international Expert Committee on the Wholesomeness of Irradiated Foods (which includes representatives from the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the World Health Organisation- WHO), believe that irradiation is a safe and important weapon in the fight against food poisoning caused by microbial and parasitic contamination.

The Food and Drug Administration has been approving various uses of food irradiation since 1963. In addition, irradiation is approved for more than 40 food products in more than 37 countries.

•Omadu can be reached at omadu@multimixacademy.com

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POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

Rev. Peter Obadan, accountant and former deputy governor of Edo State, spoke with reporters in Benin, the state capital, on the $75 million loan granted to Edo State by the World Bank, the abandoned East West road and why President Muhammadu Buhari should probe former Niger Delta Minister Elder Godsday Orubebe. Excerpts:

‘Probe ’ll sanitise society’ W

HAT is your reaction to the $75 million loan obtained by the Edo State Government?

Firstly, I think the Comrade Governor should be highly commended for been able to put Edo state in the position where we now deserve or where we were found worthy to earn the World Bank loan. It is not every state that can profit from World Bank, you need to get your elements right before you can be considered worthy and if you are not a bankable state the world bank will not turn to you because it is not a gift they expect it to be paid back and so they have also done their home work and without missing words we know that the comrade governor is a good manager of resources considering what has happened in the recent that even the we considered as viable or more viable were unable to pay salaries whereas in Edo state salaries were been paid.

I want to also believe that these senators that are opposing it are playing to the gallery because they believe they must be heard because they are in opposition. Must you oppose everything that is good for the people? You have to use your talents. As for the Chairman of PDP, I don’t take him seriously at all because it is certainly obvious that he wants to be heard always and even when the facts are very wrong, he wants to make the noise and don’t forget they do all this so that they can also earn some money. If he doesn’t make the noise how will the sponsor continue to sponsor him so he makes a show of politics and he is not realistic himself and I think the state has gone beyond the level of PDP chairman and the PDP senators and struggling to catch up with the developmental project of the state.

It is rather unfortunate because the two PDP gentlemen I respect them very much and I know deep down in their hearts they should not be opposing and they are not opposing if you have to x-ray the minds but they have to do it for political sensibility so I think that is why they are doing what they are doing.

What do you think will be the benefit of the loan?

Government is a continuum and there are very sensitive projects in Edo state that must be executed and that must continue to be executed and the state governor has his priorities and these money is not for entertainment it is for structural development. The benefits of the last loan that was given is obvious to many of us because we see great works that have been done in the state and you now look back that it is either the PDP was so daft in the past that they didn’t take opportunities of the resources which we had in the state because if they did, a measure of what the comrade governor has done in Edo state the entire state would have been completely transformed and that is the basic truth. Again, if you allow Edo people themselves to judge they will tell you that the PDP era was a total waste and there is nothing you can point to that we can say we achieved, even the infrastructural development there are lot of deficiencies, there are lots of problem with the few things that were done. Don’t forget that Comrade Oshiomhole had to even rework some of the roads they said they had done during their time because they were poorly done and Education was way down and buildings were virtually collapsing on Children and the Hospitals were virtually dead so there were so many things that went wrong.

It takes time to build a destroyed state, it is easier to build from the foundation than when you have built it was destroyed you now want to rebuild. That was the state comrade Oshiomhole found himself and he has done excellently well that both those home and abroad gives him past mark.

With the way President Buhari is going, will this confirm all your statements?

Well, it is obvious. I will tell you that finally Nigeria has taken the bull of corruption by the horn and we are moving slowly but steadily achieving our objectives. This was the change that we were all waiting for because the looting by the past administration was so phenomena and it was a wanton destruction of the economy. Today, just the mere mention of PMB make so many people sane which tells you that Buhari is not a bloodworm but he is a watch dog watching over the economy of the people, he is there protecting the economy of the people. It is in that same spirit that we all want all that they have taken to be returned. Like we know he doesn’t want the blood of anybody but he want the money returned and ones that is done, we will all be happy and that is why again he is been slow in getting his administration right because the moment you put a Jonah in a boat that boat is bound to sink and President Jonathan started by filling his own boat with all the Jonahs in this world. It got to a stage; he was completely over-

•Obadan

‘taken I will tell you that Nigeria has the bull of corruption by the horn and we are moving slowly but steadily achieving our objectives.

This was the change that we were all waiting for because the looting by the past administration was so phenomena and it was a wanton destruction of the economy

’

whelmed because there are more people with corrupt tendencies at the top than you can think of. So you must get the right fellow to pilot the affairs of the Nation and I want to commend the President on this because he is doing it the right way. I want to say that we were gradually moving to a state where the populace would have been revolting against the elite and those in government because the middle class was completely erodent and the rich just kept getting richer, people where no longer talking of millions they were talking of billions which actually they didn’t work for. When a man works to earn his living, you ought to commend him but these were people that were just playing with figures and papers and their hand were totally filled with blood I must say because when you rob the people, you are bloody.

I want to say that it is like a stitch in time that is saving nine because we had reached the peak of it and thank God today we can look back and say we are getting out of that era, it even drifted into the church and there was now the spirit of competition among even the religious leaders. We just have to thank God that that circle of corruption is been broken and then hopefully it should seize forever. Nigeria like we used to say though tongue and tribe may differ we can all leave in oneness and in brotherhood.

As a financial expert, is it not confusing that a minister will have a huge amount of money in his coffer?

To those of us who are accountants, we know that these things are very possible and when Comrade Oshiomhole cried out, many people doubted him, but I didn’t give consideration to

the fraudulent tendencies of men and looking at what has been happening. So it is quiet fixable and there will still be more revelations because we were actually deep in corruption and so I will tell you if any Nigerian says he has not sin of corruption, he deceives himself and the truth is not in him because those who stole must have given offering in churches and pastors don’t ask questions instead they praise the people and place them on the altar making them to sit on high tables.

Those who stole are the ones that are welcomed in occasions, we clap for the and these are the people we hero worship and they throw peanuts at the populace but we have reached a stage in this country where we should be asking people, how did you make your money, justify it and I think those also in the tax authority should also be more punitive now. If a man goes with cars that are worth millions of millions and you find out that what he is paying as tax is two hundred thousand, one hundred thousand, it calls for investigations. I think that calls for personal investigation and so the Police, the EFCC must be up and doing. There is a lot of injustice in the land born out of corruption and that we must stop.

Do you think that the NDDC should stay because we equally have the Ministry of Niger-Delta?

Those who are appointed to the board of the NDDC peradventure don’t even look at the objectives of the NDDC. What are the objectives, what are the substratum, why was the organisation set up, what are we there to pursue? Peradventure they believe going to NDDC is to go and share money and so they maybe white wash some buildings and put a lot of billions on it and they go back to share the loot. If you put people who are not fraudulently minded, people who are prepared to serve the people in places like NDDC you will see NDDC achieving her objectives. The fathers who did set it up had great dreams and objectives yet the ministry needs to be there, the functions are not the same thing. The ministry is there to oversee what goes on in the NDDC but, the moment you make the NDDC more powerful than the Ministry, you create a structural dissonance and you start having problem and that is the situation we found ourselves.

Will you call on the President to probe the executive of the East-West road contract which has so generated controversies?

There actually so many things that should be probe in my mind without sweeping anything under the carpet. I think we should lift the veil and let the public see what has happen, let them know that this country has been abused by a clique of Nigerians. I think that road issue should be probed and if everybody who stole return their money in my opinion there will be no persecution yet they stole so I will say the man that stole should steal no more. That is the amnesty that could be granted by Mr. President if they willingly return all they have looted. There are some things you can justify and there certain things you can’t justify. When a man fills his house with money, he is even afraid to go to the back with what he has stolen, he is wicked. We are building a new Nigeria and God has given us a president that is spare heading it and my prayer is that the lieutenants and anybody invited to join his administration should also catch his vision. It is only then we can leave a testament behind for children unborn.

What can you make out of the recent visit of Jonathan to Buhari at the Aso Rock?

There is nothing wrong if a former president visits a president to explain himself, there is nothing wrong if the former president goes to arrange for a return of some of the loot or all that he looted. If we can so define that he partook in the corruption and its process, I don’t see anything wrong with that. It will be wrong to say he went there to beg Buhari or to beg on behalf of his ministers. By now talking as an independent person I know former president Jonathan would have looked back to know that he didn’t perform in office and if he has a conscience realise by now that he disappointed those of us from the Southsouth because you don’t have this kind of opportunity twice so it was a complete disaster. I want to say been modest that he will be unhappy with himself because it was a wasted administration and wasted years which is rather unfortunate and you can’t treat your fellow human beings the way Nigerians have been so treated. I want to appeal to all Nigerians to support President Buhari to see to the execution of his objectives and to state clearly that any group whether the military or civilian that will want to rise against this laudable objectives and actions of President Buhari must be resisted and must be fought with our blood because for ones we need to cleanse this and we need to set things right because I want my children to enjoy this country.

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‘

I must say that before he joined the governorship race, I had decided to stop active politics. But when Fayose came on the scene, I reactivated my interest and declared total support for him because I like his forthrightness with issues and believed in him

’

POLITICS

The appointment of a 72-year-old illiterate carpenter Olatunde Afolayan as Caretaker Chairman of Moba Local Government, Ekiti State, by Governor Ayo Fayose has generated controversy in a state reputed for its prowess in education and scholarship. But, Afolayan, in this interview with reporters, which was conducted in Yoruba, maintains that he is equal to the task. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA was there.

‘Fayose has rewarded my loyalty’

H

OW would you describe your appointment as a Local Government Caretaker Chairman?

It was God’s miracle through the governor, Ayo Fayose. This is because I was working when the governor called me to tell me that I would become the chairman of my local government. It was curious and I was shocked that the governor could do this.

What were you doing before now?

I was a carpenter and I made furniture. I also farm. I actually have retired from my carpentry work because of my age and I have faced farming full time. I also play politics and I’m well known around the state. I’m from Ward 2 in Otun and I’m popular among those who support Governor Fayose. However, I must say that before he joined the governorship race, I had decided to stop active politics. But when Fayose came on the scene, I reactivated my interest and declared total support for him because I like his forthrightness with issues and believed in him. Some of my people chided me for this and said I shouldn’t be running after a governorship candidate at my age.

But I was determined to help him succeed. Part of the reasons I love Fayose is because when he governed the state the first time, he brought uneducated people to prominence.

He appointed many uneducated people in our area into positions in Moba Council and this caused an influx of members into the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the local government area. With my appointment, people will see a lot of activities in my council area.

What kind of activities?

This endeared him to many people and I don’t think anyone is planning to fail in their endeavours. I know that with my appointment, a lot of people will come to join the PDP. What were the roles you had played in the PDP to be strong in Moba?

Before Fayose, I had a group and we still meet. Our group ensures that members’ welfare and sundry issues are not toyed with. When anyone of us is working to leave, we visit him and ask questions and convince such person to stay. We remain united.

This is just one of the many things we do to strengthen the party. All I do now is pray for Fayose to keep progressing and I know that he is still going far in politics in this country.

You’ve been the Moba Council Chairman for about two weeks now.

What are your plans for the council area and its people?

First, there had been power outage

for 13 months in the council headquarters. When I assumed office, I asked questions and approved that they should buy diesel to power the generating set. I’ve been to the electricity distribution company for them to reconnect the council and we are going to solve that problem soonest.

The day after I resumed, I noticed that workers come late to work and I locked them out. They pleaded with me and gave assurances of good behaviour and we’ve agreed that this won’t repeat itself. Now, they are up and doing and we are getting down to the business of improving the life of our people.

The governor has announced that local government elections would hold in December. What are your plans to ensure victory for your party in the polls?

When I wasn’t in a position as this, we delivered our area for our party let alone now that we are in a position to show our people what could be done when they support us. I’m very sure that the opposition can’t get anything in our area; in fact, I know that some of the candidates would return unopposed in my area.

We have worked and we are still working hard to ensure that no opponent of ours wins anything in Moba, both at the councillorship and the chairmanship.

There have been speculations about your educational qualification.

How much of western education do you have because some have said you terminated it at Standard Six? I never went under any teacher. I’ve never been to school but even if I don’t know the reckoner, I should be able to reckon with my brain. So, I didn’t go to school and I must tell you that, when we were growing up, it wasn’t that fashionable. However, when I learned my trade, I was able to learn measurements.

When did you actually join active politics and who were some of your contemporaries?

I can say politics met me in Moba.

We started it together there. I vividly recall Honourable Atolagbe, who was the representative from our area then. Whenever he was to travel to Ibadan, we contributed half a penny each (tóró) with which he would fuel his vehicle, a Volkswagen Beetle then. From there, we graduated to the Second Republic, when I became a ward chairman. I had also served as party chairman. I can’t recall the exact years but, I know that in Moba, I’m not a pushover in the politics of the area. I’m still active and my activities made people to refer to me as “Baba Fayose”. I used to dress in vari-

•Hon. Afolayan embracing Fayose at the swearing-in

ous kinds of costumes to bring awareness to the people. I got the flak for such, especially from those who refer to my age. But in the end, it’s well worth it because Fayose rewards loyalty and does not leave his loyalists in their suffering.

Compare the politics of yore with today’s, what your take?

I think things are getting better. I pray for our governor because a lot of things had gone wrong in the party before his stepping in. In fact, he came when I had said that I was washing my hands off politics, and that made me change my mind. However, part of the party’s problems in the state was leadership. Once some young people had been a councillor, they would assume leadership position.

The PDP would have been dead in Moba LGA, if not for Governor Fayose. I spent my money to buy soft drinks for our meetings, but some would say I was wasting my money

and even query if the money was coming from my farming, since I had retired from my carpentry work.

Nobody wants to contribute resources to the growth of the party. I even give people some money for their transportation and I did all these because of the love of Fayose.

Fayose wasn’t giving you money?

For such meetings? No. I gave some N200 for their transport after meetings, depending on the distance, and buy soft drinks. He wasn’t giving me money. But somehow, he got to know about about it and one of the things is that anywhere he sees me, he’d greet me and say “Baba Sebotimo, thank you for taking care of me.” I was just doing what was necessary for the party and for Fayose.

So, you see your appointment as a reward for your loyalty?

I give glory to God and acknowledge the governor’s magnanimity.

There are so many politicians you

would work even harder for and it would end just like that after they must have won elections. They won’t even remember your contributions.

So, I see Fayose as being sent by God to reward all the work that I had put in all my political life.

You would work with a lot of educated people who could exploit your lack of western education to their advantage. How would you guard against financial fraud and other possible corrupt practices you possibly can’t identify, and which could mar your tenure?

Leave that to me. “Òpòn tí rí ‘nà s’ilè k’ójú tó fó.” I said earlier that, even if I can’t read a reckoner, I can reckon with my brain. I also believe that anyone who was taught to do evil and he perpetrates it, he already had evil embedded in him. Yes, I agree that people could cook books and only God knows what the future holds, but we also have the power to scrutinise in our little ways. For the short time, we would run the council, even the governor would know that a man was here. I believe God and I’m sure that nobody can force my hand into unwholesome things.

The Director of Administration and Treasurer can testify to the difference in the few days that I had been there as chairman.

Then, we’ve been meeting with political leaders, ward chairmen, career officers and so on on how we can all succeed together in the council. I’ve given the workers moral and Christian suasion on the need to consider my age, support me and work with me to make a success of this term.

I’m sure they know by now that I can never sign any document that I don’t clearly understand. We would look at all documents together and all the necessary people must agree and we would take decisions together.

How do you feel as chairman of a local government?

I have suddenly become a political personality. I noticed that my appointment by Fayose has even become a prayer point in many religious places. People had even come to meet me in the office, from outside the state to ask questions after what the media did with my story. I really thank God. It was said that the personal assistant that was appointed for you is also your son?

Yes, he is. Interestingly, he had never seen any of my children, not even my wife. He knows nothing about my wife and children because those has never been in most of our discussions. My son he chose that day is a graduate and he also has people around who would help him. I have children and they are all well educated. Most of my children are outside Moba, except for three that had just graduated. During a coming thanksgiving service, people would see and know my children. They’d also be of help in their own ways.

Concerned citizens seek Dickson’s re-election

A

GROUP has enjoined Bayelsans to put aside their political differences and reelect Governor Seriake Dickson in the governorship election slated for December 5, to ensure continuity and consolidation of his vision for sustainable socio-economic growth.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, the Concerned Nigerians for Dickson said the prudence and visionary leadership displayed by Dickson are unprecedented in the politics of the state, adding that it is in the best interest of the people to return him for a second term.

By Raymond Mordi

Its President, Raphael Okonkwo, said the level of sustainable socio-economic growth and development currently taking place in the state under Dickson’s leadership, from road construction, provision of healthcare facilities, to that of education/human capital development, is the main reason why the group which is made up of Nigerians from all walks of life, is rooting for the governor’s re-election.

Okonkwo said the governor has embarked on an elimination of wasteful expenditure when he came into

power and thereby reduced cost of governance from an inherited budget of N1.685 billion monthly from his predecessor to N685 million monthly and eventually to N200 million in the wake of the current economic depression.

These, he noted, were achieved by eliminating ghost workers and implementing staff audit in the civil service.

The leader of the group said the governor also abolished the moneysharing syndrome, which was the norm before he came to power, and challenged Bayelsans to initiate developmental projects and programmes that would impact posi-

tively on their lives. He noted that the money-sharing has prevented many other governors in the state and the Niger Delta region in general from focusing on developmental projects and that Dickson should be supported for having the courage to do away with the unwholesome practice.

He said Governor Dickson also introduced the Compulsory Savings Law, “which made it mandatory for government to save money from its monthly allocations; a development that has proven to be handy in the wake of the current credit crunch.”

•Okonkwo

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

41

DISCOURSE Text of an address delivered by Mr Adewale Adeeyo, member , Governing Council, Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State at the institution’s maiden convocation and award of Honorary Doctorate Degrees on September 6.

Enchanting real world Let the earth take, that which is hers.

For I, Man, have no ending. ……Song of Immortality

M

EMORY and history shall ever bring to our minds all the calamities and tragedies, enacted on the stage of time. So also would knowledge erect man in its divinity that forges the luminous mind of genius that stirs the marvels of technology; and the penetrating wisdom of diplomacy, that mocks the raging elements, wishing to collapse global prosperity and peace.

Truth is, life can be virtuous in its raw simplicity. But life can never be beautiful if ignorance pervades. Indeed, the bare existence of man less education could be sheer savagery.

The absence of knowledge underscores the smallness of man. And this weird smallness always brings forth unpredictable ugliness, sorrow, pain and despair.

If we permit it, life would remain ever strong in a state of inherent weakness. Thus, we must snatch life away from its guaranteed procession to disaster and misery. We must live ahead of our time by latching on to the nobility of education and the grandeur that knowledge bequeaths on civilization.

Education is what makes man happy and content, strong and bold. From the onset of our history, it holds the soil of the past and the seed of the future. Seeking and perfecting knowledge is a rule of human life. It is what unites the strength of the spirit with the powers of the mind.

The training and orderliness that wrought our character and value judgement, as our parents raised and moulded us, are in themselves great education that yielded to us the emotional balance and moral strength to secure political plums from our municipal agencies. This home education ensures that we capture both triumph and happiness from the despairing drive of life.

Our domestic education was quickly followed by the exhilaration and fullness of formal education that was nurtured by a different kind of curiosity, perplexity and enlightenment. Education is the adjacent room of life’s success. If you pay careful attention and learn diligently, you would have gained skills that perch you, on themystical wings that then fly you far away into the skies. Up there, you mingle with accomplished and wealthy dignitaries that hold the posts of power in our world!

Education, at the university level, offers holistic cerebral nurturing, at the highest level. This is exactly what you have come to scurry around to grip and grab at Adeleke University. There is no other place in the human condition where education gazes and scrutinizes its wards than at the university.

This is why the university fiercely sifts and distils its student population to ascertain those who have climbed the rough trails of knowledge to the mountain peak. Then, it summons those whose minds and hearts have received wholesome knowledge to come forward, and bow with the highest humility. That humility caresses the triumph that earned the coveted university degree. This same humility is also the virtue that would forever protect the destiny of the recipient, so that the success obtained won’t ever be crushed by any strange calamity.

The university serves as the central commanding post of power that knows best how to entrance fresh graduates to the real world. Today, as the pioneer graduates of Adeleke University, all of you have made history. May the profitable journey that you endured at this university bring you everlasting joy and great accom-

if we have to measure comfort, there is no doubt that you paid the great price of fortitude and endurance for your education.

But that, in itself, is proof of your character and power of sacrifice to achieve, no matter the odds. You have shown exemplary discipline and dedication to the spirit of learning and endurance. I am sure that AdelekeUniversity has prepared you well and you are ready to make a difference in the real world of struggle and warfare into which you must now enter, and conquer.

Be warned! Real life is the demon that suffocates people of the earth. It seems to me that you have been tossed into a fresh dilemma that tease you with the option of success or failure.

Real life is full of sighs that bury dreams.It also can provoke joyous whispers that hail triumph. The real world is a jungle. It’s tough out there.

Only the strong survive. But the only thing that can crush you is covetousness. Therefore, anchor your life to faith and let the Lord take care of the rest. Also, let fortitude ever cheer you on! Embrace honesty, and your life had be perfect and beautiful.

I plead with you, always have patience as much as I too, and indeed all of us, badly need to embrace it.

Life, like its accompanying partner, death, is callous and cruel. But what is more fascinating is that these two forlorn partners that often yield gloom and miserable hope, remain conjoined in a bond of love for those who never forsake compassion nor ignore selflessness. Be gentle. Be good. And both life and death had be kind to you.

Be it known to you that it was altruism and compassion that combined to brave the obstacles that established AdelekeUniversity. If the Pro-Chancellor was selfish and lacked compassion, he would have swiftly deflected the energy of his massive wealth to tinker with other pursuits that caress sinful living, embrace weird eccentricities that incite humanity to ignore the scriptures, and indulge in unserious and decadent living of the powerful including the reckless and wasteful lifestyle of the super-rich. But his personal discipline and decency did not permit these sinful frivolities to gain the attention of his mind; nor even the slightest sympathy from his selfless soul.

Instead, his prescient mind, full of meekness and dignity, and encrusted in humbleness, transformed him into the sweet and loving radiant sun, that kisses the citrus, which produces the vitamin, that has enlivened the trembling lips of all our weak and weakened citizenry. It was his wailing and weeping for those left behind and his love of humanity that lent you mercy and a dear chance to make it in life, through the vitality of higher education.

My dear graduates, you morally have no choice but to cede compassion and benevolence to whomever that you may encounter in your life’s trek, so that none shall be the weakest link. As we all trudge on, we must possess our souls with patience and faith. And if we all do what is right, we will come out where we want to be.

plishments in your future career choices.

From this moment, and forever, you are on your own. Shortly, life will compel you to make difficult and complex decisions. Sooner than you may imagine, you will pursue life’s curves into a joyous lane; and like your parents, select spouses and start a family of your own. May you be able to choose well, just as you chose to study successfully at AdelekeUniversity.

Young graduates are to a nation as light is to a lamp. Will not the light be dim, if the oil in the lamp is low?

Would you then not be derelict graduates, if you went out there into the real world and knew nothing of your academic callings? And would you not be unworthy of your degree, and indeed be far worse off than a fraudster, if your character was dubious and you actually knew nothing about life any more than you understood when four years ago you entered AdelekeUniversity?

Everything in life bespeaks education. The full beauty of life is in the eternal spirit of education. What can anyone do or be without education?

These questions must connect your minds to the great challenges of being a graduate. The will of humanity, no matter how powerful, cannot change the will of God. But education always teach us how to take the high road, and always align us with the will of God. The opulent intelligence and understanding wrought by higher education must ever be matched with courage to adjust to the many changes that come into the world, and will always come. But, what are the intrinsic values that we must never give up? That’s the great challenge that mainly faces us all, and this is also what is most baffling to fresh graduates entering the enchanting real world.

Please, never forget, that your cerebral nourishment at Adeleke University was powered by the fascinating doctrine of a “Faith-based University.” May all the teachings you received positively mend your souls, so that you will only hear the drums of faith and the beatings of your happy hearts throughout your fabulous journey of life. Never cease to remind yourself that we all had be lost without faith in this wild and convoluted world.

Today, you must certainly quit, with all your belongings and lofty knowledge, this vast and opulent University campus; where you never slept for one day nor at any time received any kind of academic nourishment. All your university experience in learning and living was restricted to our less comfortable temporary site. This permanent site where we are celebrating you today powerfully symbolises the future. It would be a superb university campus, and the worthiest place of learning in the world.

Great vision, beauty and knowledge, ingenuity and sophistication combined to lend this edifice the strength of spirit of an already great university. We humbly say, our God made it possible, and we thank Him mightily. We thank you too because

‘

For real, and in the end, your education at Adeleke University would have been incomplete if you do not, as a keepsake, understand the fulfilment of hope and the real purpose of life by always remembering that he who humbles himself will be exalted, and he who arrogantly exalts himself will surely be crushed

‘

•Mr. Adeeyo

The loftiest credo or statement of conscience ever, belongs to the BOYS SCOUT. In two simple words, the Boys Scout brutally decimated the burden that has always brought the greatest misfortune to mankind, ‘unpreparedness’.

The BOYS SCOUT declaration was sublime and self-evident. It echoed, “Be Prepared”, and these two vital words revealed to the living, the secrets of the evolution of great triumphs, that has ever marched us with stern courage to the ends of eternity.

AdelekeUniversity has magnified your knowledge and “prepared” you for the real world.The future awaits you with its pleasure and glory. As you strut the earth, always remember, he who does not use the power of education to rebel against injustice is doing himself the greatest injustice.

You must robustly feud with injustice to humanity, and ever do good.

Consider it fortuitous that you encountered the Pro-Chancellor of Adeleke University in your journey of life. All of us, of necessity, must see and experience life. But it is imperative that each must implicitly know the world through understanding and reason whilst we permit our life experiences to ever guide us.

It is therefore important that you bolster your personal life experience and interface with the intelligent giving of the Pro Chancellor to calibrate the immense goodness that the effort of one man issued in this same world where callous oppression stitched itself to our flesh, and refused to accept the convincing logic of both its wickedness and its massive failure.

You now must use your scrutiny of the founder of this university to find a new life of humbleness that would make our world just a bit better.Learn from the simple living of this dignified humanist, and reverently extend to humanity your own personal goodness.

For real, and in the end, your education at Adeleke University would have been incomplete if you do not, as a keepsake, understand the fulfilment of hope and the real purpose of life by always remembering that he who humbles himself will be exalted, and he who arrogantly exalts himself will surely be crushed.

Let the memory of the founder be a reminder of your good start, and your good fortune. As you remind yourself of this fragrant soul, let your own inner spirit and sweet soul inspire you to practice intelligent giving in your own small but edifying ways. You may think you have nothing, but believe me, you are already blessed. Therefore, start now, and move towards perfection.

A more inspiring day would have been hard to come by than your very first day at this university. If you recall, the Governor of our great state, OgbeniRaufAdesojiAregbesola, delivered a delectable speech that made the trees whistle and that also made the clouds in the high heavens to smile upon us.

From his ripened wisdom and loving heart, the Governor said something very profound that awakened my senses. Four years ago, at our temporary site, Ogbeni lent to you supreme encouragement that also

brought humiliation upon misrule wherever its languishing remnants may be in hibernation. The Governor spoke to the vitality of the human soul and captured the real essence of hope. Listen to the Governor’s worthy talk: “education is the only possession that you would ever have that a tyrant cannot despoil.”

I have endlessly pondered this reasoning, and it always has taken me through an ecstasy in which my mind mingled with the intoxication of joy, when provoked by dazzling intellect, and the sobriety of deep wakefulness, when induced by robust delight.

In this earthly world, education is the only asset that has no point of weak submission. Tyrants cling with fear to the earth when confronted by education. Education gives all who possess it nobility and a position higher than ordinary limited existence. Again, I just cannot but heartily congratulate all our graduates!

Now, reach down to the farthest depth of your heart, and say it loud and clear, and with honour and pride, that “Adeleke University has prepared me and I am ready to serve humanity until glory melts my heart.”

Do not be frightened of fate or of your destination. God shall open for you the path of love and freedom plus wellness and joy. Success is a precious treasure. It is God’s gift to those who earn it through hard work, and the beauty of prayers.

May your life after Adeleke University be full of happiness and understanding that proffer that braving obstacles and hardship is nobler than retreat to tranquillity that is strictly obtained in heaven. As a consequence of deep thought, my submission is that your education, like the “Song of Immortality”, has no ending. You must continually re-invent yourselves.

“For you are Man, and you have no ending.”

Since our daily beat does not permit us to enjoy eternal rest, how can we imagine that our lives would have an ending? My dear graduates, the great battles of real life just began, in as harsh and ceaseless a manner as it ever comes.

You must strive with strong necessity and the audacity to prevail.

There is nothing stopping you except yourself. Ambition beyond existence is the essential purpose of our being.

Let nothing discourage you. Think BIG. Aim high. Let your fragrant mind exalt the land. You have great education and fabulous character that is built by Adeleke University. With these weapons you must be able to hold on to the world in its ever changing splendour.

Entering the real world demand the strength to endure when threatened with failure, and the resolve to have another go when all seems futile. You must dream large and extend your ambition way beyond the narrow cavern of your birth.

You must grow accustomed to severe hard work. This is the design of life, and the secret of success. There is no best way to make a difference in the world. But it never hurts, after good education, to be wise to the experience of others who have earned extra-ordinary greatness in their careers, and to always pray.

Today, four awesome persons of outstanding merit are the recipients of honorary doctorate degrees from our university. I know each recipient very well, and each is an invaluable achiever. These are men of the worthiest nobility who penetrated the real world with confidence and authority, and have thus forever mingled with pride and grand achievements.

These great men wear a perpetual smile of fulfilment of hope and purpose in life because they worked very hard, and God extended to them His grace in the highest measure.

These men are the amazing heroes that I earlier counselled that you need to be wise to their life experiences.

•To be continued

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

42

The Midweek Magazine

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

A teacher’s love for arts modes of Ife Chief James Olatunbosun LawalMyths, is a lover of arts.

He also runs a zoological garden. He says man should be closer to animals. He spoke to TAIWO ABIODUN. sculptures

F

OR Chief James Olatunbosun Lawal, collecting art works and keeping live animals are not a past time. They have become a hobby.

If Lawal, the proprietor of Greater Tomorrow International College (GTIC), weren’t a teacher, he would have been an art collector or a zoologist.

Lawal has a big fine art studio and a zoological garden where he keeps some animals, such as Arabian camel, tortoise, donkeys and horses of various species. He also keeps birds, such as ostrich and peacocks .

He said: “When I was young, I was very inquisitive about animals and used to draw them thinking I would become a fine artist one day. Again, I thought I would become a pastor, preaching the gospel or a teacher.

When I established Greater Tomorrow International College ( GTIC) in Agbaluku, Akoko, Ondo State, I felt it was an opportunity to practise what I’d had in mind – the arts and caring for animals.”

His belief that the arts sector is a goldmine worth investing in has led to his collecting artworks by various artists. His love and support for the arts also led to the establishment of a well-stocked fine art studio in his school. With it, Lawal is nurturing the talent in his pupils, who he hopes would become world-class artists.

“I want my pupils to be great artists and sculptors, like Pablo Picasso, the famous Nigerian painter and first professor of Art Ben Enwonwu and professor in Art History Rowland Abiodun. That is what inspired the establishment of the studio. I am determined to give all it takes to ensure my pupils become first-class fine artists, and whatever they may want to be in the arts. I’m urging them not to relent in their efforts, but to strive be great like those renowned artists in different specialities.

“We still remember Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC ’77) today that attracted all lovers of the arts and culture to Nigeria. If we really mean it as a country, we can make more money from the arts and culture more than the oil we are depending on. If you know how much an artwork costs and appreciates you would like to go into it. No wonder, some of our artists and art collectors are millionaires,” he said.

Beyond wealth, Lawal said that the arts have the power to shape life positively for the progress of humanity. According to him, the love and expression of the arts can be nurtured by all. He said: “The world we live in is shaped by art. God is the greatest artist as is seen in His creation. The universe, as it were, is God’s design. He created man in His own image, the animal, water, hills, and so on. Indeed, art is not an exclusive to some special persons. You can a sculptor, a textile designer and an art historian, if you develop and nurture the interest. You can also become a carver like the late Professor Lamidi Fakeye, who carved the Oduduwa statue which is still at the Obafemi Awolowo University today.”

The art advocate is also a lover of ani-

• Lawal‘s Art Studio

•Ostrich

•A tortoise in Lawal’s garden

PHOTOS: TAIWO ABIODUN

‘We still remember Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC ’77) today that attracted all lovers of the arts and culture to Nigeria.

If we really mean it as a country, we can make more money from the arts and culture more than the oil we are depending on. If you know how much an artwork costs and appreciates you would like to go into it. No wonder, some of our artists and art collectors are millionaires’ •Lawal

HUMAN INTEREST mals. He condemned poaching of animals. He expressed sadness over the death of the most loved Lioness Cecil killed by an American dentist, Walter Palmer at the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.

He said: “I was sad and devastated when I heard of the death of the lioness.

It is high time people stopped poaching to avoid the extinction of our animals.

It’s lovely to have animals; it tells you how great God is to have created and moulded different animals with differ-

ent shapes and characters. Although it is expensive and time consuming caring for animals, it is also important for the educational development of the child. That is why I think we need them in schools to let our pupils would see them, feel them and understand them better. Without cramming their textbooks, my pupils can write an essay on each of the animals.

“I am glad people also come from outside to see how our animals. Some had never seen an Ostrich, which the Yoruba call Ogongo Baba Eiye. Many only see these animals on pages of their books.

Whenever I come here, they remind me

of tales woven around them. I learnt this tortoise is about 75 years of age. Each time I go there to look at it and tell her its stories it would crawls into its shell as if it’s angry at its own ugly stories.”

For those thinking of owning a zoological garden , he advised: “You would need a lot of money to take proper care of the animals. You must have a veterinary doctor that would be caring for their health.”

Asked why he didn’t have wild animals, such as lion, tiger, chimpanzee, Lawal laugh and said: “We wouldn’t want to scare our pupils, would we. The ones we have here are just friendly animals”.

UNIC condemns domestic violence

I

N recent times, there has been a growing concern over the rice in number of crimes spring from domestic violence.

The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos, has decried the rise in domestic violence, while reiterated that domestic violence is a criminal offence and a breach of fundamental human rights, stating it should not be treated as a family affair.

In a programme on Domestic Violence: Breaking the Cycle, Dealing with the Consequences in Lagos, the National Information Officer of UNIC Lagos, Mr OluseyiSoremekuncalled for more proactive measures to curb the menace,

By Evelyn Osagie

ADVOCACY saying: “Incest, rape, abuse and all other forms of domestic violence cannot be a domestic affair.”

Mr Soremekun urged victims to speak out and seek help, being a bold step to breaking the cycle of domestic violence, adding that everyone should revisit family and societal values which place premium on good conduct and good family name.

The Information Manager of InterGovernmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa, Mr

Timothy Melaye, who gave the keynote address, called on all Nigerians to raise their voices against the menace. He noted that: “Domestic violence is a problem for all of us. The next victim could be your brother, sister, friend, neighbour, cousin, niece, nephew, son, daughter or even you,” he said.

The programme, jointly-organised by UNIC Lagos and Warien Rose Foundation, was attended by students, the media and people from all walks of life.

Warien Rose Foundation President, Ms Efe Anaughe, also expressed concern about the alarming rate of domestic violence, especially those related to sexual assault, child abuse and rape.

• Soremekun

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

The Midweek Magazine

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

•One of the performances

I

F the calibre of guests who walked the redcarpet on to the sensational night of dazzling event was a measure of success, this year’s content show has not only hit the mark, but also achieved its desired objective, offering the biggest week in Africa’s video entertainment.

Laced with glitz and glamour of Hollywood, Bollywood and Nollywood berthing on the Mauritius Island paradise, guests who included Genevieve Nnaji, Rita Dominic, Desmond Elliot, Ramsey Nuoah, Basket Mouth, Eku Edewor, MC Ik, Banky W, DJ Sose, Flavour, Stoneboy and The Mavins were given the full music and moviestar treatment. It was a night that featured IK and Eku as MCs. However, the week-long event provided an opportunity for MultiChoice and its various partners to provide answers to some issues affecting the industry, especially piracy, pricing, repeating of programmes and local contents, among others.

Chief Executive Officer MultiChoice Africa Tim Jacobs described piracy as a massive threat to broadcasters and right holders across the globe, adding that ‘they are only enriching themselves.’

He said MultiChoice Africa, is however, working with rights holders and broadcasters to tackle it, but that it is a moving target because ‘their infrastructure means they can open new portals as we shut others down.’ He said it’s not easy to evaluate how big the impact is, since by definition, a lot of it is underground and spread through social media.

Jacobs, who spoke at an interaction with reporters said the challenge is broader as certain competitors broadcast a beam that comes down into Africa. “If you have that decoder and smart card that can pick up a service that is not designed to be broadcast in African territories, that is also piracy because the rights for that territory either haven’t been assigned or they are owned by a mainstream service,” he added.

Reacting to a question on video entertainment service provider’s pricing structure, Jacobs said MultiChoice Africa is constantly evaluating its cost structures while taking into account the cost of content relative to its different audience

• Tim Jacobs

MultiChoice ‘spent $800m on GOtv’ Call it a magical night filled with the best of African entertainment you may be right. That was the atmosphere as MultiChoice Africa hosted its second content show at the Outrigger Resort, Mauritius Island, penultimate week. It was a five-day content extravaganza that witnessed DStv’s biggest channels previewing their latest and greatest contents, reports Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME.

ENTERTAINMENT groups,” he said.

He noted that there have been massive increases in the cost of content such as the English Premier League football rights, which MultiChoice has factored into its pricing. He said: “We’re conscious that a large part of the population is looking for a good set of quality content at the bottom end of the market, in the USD10 area, and we make decisions on the price points of our bouquet structure – it’s a continuous evaluation. We’re looking at alternatives too – there’s strong consumer behavior (especially in Nigeria) where many consumers are self-employed, and therefore, not monthly earners, so we’re looking at whether it’s viable to address a different type of model. However, it’s not something that’s on the immediate cards.

“The market for GOtv is specific, and targeted at viewers sitting on analogue signals. This is a sector of the population that has never engaged on Pay TV. They get a rich experience on a digital platform but at a price point that’s at the bottom of the affordability scale. If you start to move up the value chain, you start to confuse the market between the DStv product, which is aspirational and high-value, and GOtv which is a fun, new, mass-market product. There’s also a capacity on DTT that’s much more restrictive than what we have on satellite, so there are also technical reasons we have to be more cautious.”

Hoolee hits the screen Dec 1

According to him, pay-per-view sounds attractive, but it is actually a red herring. He said an easy example is the Mayweather/Pacquiao boxing match earlier this year, which sold on Pay-Per-View across the world – in the USA at USD99 for three to four hours of viewing.

“Across the continent, subscribers pay less than that for DStv Premium for a whole month of viewing across all our channels – and in this instance, that included that fight, which was broadcast on SuperSport. That’s the benefit of scale for us. If you segment sports, for example the EPL, the reality is that the cost of that is much higher than everyone thinks because you need to divide up those expensive rights between a much smaller viewing populations so the cost goes up exponentially. That doesn’t mean we’re not looking at Pay-Per-View as an option – we need to be flexible and we get a lot of requests for it. We’re watching consumer demand and looking at whether it’s economically viable. It’s not on the cards right now, though, but we do have a research team trying to work that out,” he noted.

He disclosed that MultiChoice investment in GOtv n excess of USD800 million, in eight countries across the continent and to recover such money means that MultiChoice cannot roll out towers into every city where the population size and affordability aspect lend itself to Free-ToAir (FTA). This, he said, explained why GOtv cannot be accessed in all regions of the continent, adding that they look at each market on the basis of population size and the economics

of rolling out a network.

“Because we’re a Pay TV service, we can’t offer FTA service like governments do. In those areas, we’d typically pair up with an FTA operator, or the national broadcaster, which is a big part of our offering. We have a limit in terms of where our network reaches – we can generally cover 70-80% of a country. Areas that are remote need to be serviced through our satellite services because of factors including accessibility and terrain - the DTT signal needs to go across ground. Normally the national broadcaster or signal provider has the responsibility to ensure that FTA has national coverage, so they put towers in areas that it’s not economical for Pay TV providers to do,” he said.

On striking a balance between the inaugration of in-house and independent productions, the M-Net Regional Director West Africa Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu said: “We make productions inhouse, but also commission, do co-productions and acquire content from elsewhere. You can’t generate enough content in-house. We need multiple production platforms to be able to service our subscribers with the quality content they desire. Our premise is that our content is created

by Africa, for Africa, and we continue to nurture and build creative talent, in the hope of developing future producers and directors.

“We invest in building them up to the quality standards we want. A good mixture of in-house and commissioned content also allows for greater variety and allows us to engage with audience and local producers - that’s how we build talent on the continent. As the Maisha Magic channels roll out, our business model is to nurture local producers and once the channels are off the ground that’s a strong focus for us.”

OUR ERROR The show witnessed the hosting of DStv’s and GOtv’s biggest channels, such as Sony, SuperSport, Zee World, A+E, Disney, MTV Base, BET, Comedy Central, BBC and M-Net.

Prof Harry Garuba headlines ANA Convention

M

ULTICHOICE Africa and Turner Broadcasting will make African television history this year when families on the continent will be able to celebrate their holiday break with a first African pop-up children’s channel. The channel called ‘Hoolee’ will boost their festive holidays with surprising shows and outstanding content on DStv Premium.

Beginning from December 1st till January 31, DStv Premium subscribers can relax with their family’s favourite characters over the summer holidays. Subscribers will have exclusive rights to this ground-breaking, eight-week long family channel that will join Turner’s existing children’s channels – Boomerang and Cartoon Network-on DStv. The continent’s very first pop-up children’s channel will be built around a selection of the very best shows from Turner and Warner Brothers productions as well as exclusive acquisitions, which will include premieres of the latest and very best in children and family entertainment.

“Imagine laughing, sharing surprising adventures and celebrating the summer holidays with your children every day. This is what the popup channel has in store for the whole family”

• Wangi

W •Mba-Uzoukwu

By Ozolua Uhakheme Assistant Editor Arts

ENTERTAINMENT says MultiChoice Africa CEO, Tim Jacobs.

“Hoolee will offer to the whole family programmes that they have always enjoyed, as well as new and refreshing, exclusive shows and movies. The range of programming is truly amazing,”adds PIERRE BRANCO, VP and Managing Director of Turner Africa.

With a large volume of 100 hours programmes, the new channel will offer carefully chosen movies and animated shows. So that, DSTV viewers will enjoy all the festivities of the holidays with bright, refreshing, surprising and joyful content.

RITERS, under the auspices of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) is set to host its yearly International Convention. Come October 30, all roads will lead to Kaduna State for the literary feast.

This year’s edition would feature Prof Harry Garuba of the Centre for African Studies at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

With the theme, The Local and Global Textures of New Nigerian Writing, the association is calling for papers from academics and specialists in fields related to this theme According a statement by ANA Publicity Secretary (North), Richard Ali, the convention also has as its sub-themes— 1) Literary Imagination and the quest for cultural authenticity.

2) Between integration and dissidence, the imaginaries of identity in a global space.

3) The production of Nigeria as creative social space through Literature.

4) Whither ethnic literatures and literature in the indigenous languages?

5) Nigerian Writing in the context of Afri-

•Prof Garuba

By Evelyn Osagie

LITERATURE can writing.

Ali states that “the list is not exhaustive nor is it restrictive the above”, while adding that abstracts should be sent in to the Vice President, Mallam Denja Abdullahi, via email to denja.abdullahi@gmail.com.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

The Midweek Magazine Ebedi: Grooming tomorrow’s talents

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

•Residency hosts three artists In the past six years, Ebedi International Writers Residency has become a household name in providing writers space to write. Besides, it is fast becoming a resort for artists. EVELYN OSAGIE writes that it is also grooming future talents.

F

IVE colourful artworks stared back at guests as they chatted about the arts and literature at the Ebedi International Writers Residency, Iseyin, Oyo State.

There was something unique about the works leaning on the walls that were spread across the room. They seemed to share a special bond that sums up the artist’s thematic preoccupation – communication.

The first expresses a conversation with the gods (Oracle); the second has two babies conversing on their mother backs. The third shows a man discussing on phone; and next to it was a figure of a headless half-clothed lady, and the last, a portrait of the founder of the residency, Dr Wale Okediran, in a conversation.

There were also the pencil drawings of 15year-old Salam Aderemi Adesola, an SSS 3 pupil of Iseyin District Grammar School (IDGS).

It was no art exhibition, but one could say it was the making of another art exposition. The colourful art pieces by an Ibadan-based visual artist Kehinde Awofeso, a resident at the Ebedi International Writers Residency, were on display when some journalists visited the place during Kehinde’s last days at Iseyin. She was there with culture activist and famed writer of children books, Chief Charry Adanna Onwu-Otuyelu and an emerging novelist Lynda Rubi Binos. While the writers spent six weeks working on their latest books, Kehinde spent hers developing more concepts and paintings for forthcoming exhibition in December, titled: Conversations.

For over six years, the writer’s residency has been providing residents with space to write and stipends to cater for their daily needs for six weeks. However, it is fast becoming an artist’s resort. The trio, who passed out last month, were the fourth set this year at residency. They have since been replaced by three artists in residence - Samuel Ovraiti, Juliet Ezenwa Maja Pearce and Phillip Lexie Nzekwe - which is an interesting development. Like Kehinde, artists now have a space in Ebedi.

Besides the three artists and Kehinde, who is also a book illustrator, Niger State-born artist Awwalu Sekiwa, is another artist and book illustrator that has benefited from the programme. However, this is the first time it would be hosting three artists in residence.

This, the founder said, was deliberate. Having artists in residence, according to Okediran, was borne out of the realisation that while the writers write, they need the artists to represent ideas visually and artistically. Nevertheless, he noted that writers remain its main focus.

“You’d discover that some of these artists are book illustrators too. So they work along with writers, for example, Awwalu is a major book illustrator and Kehinde too. They do a lot of book covers. And we thought we shouldn’t let out of the whole the benefits the residency has to offer. But they would be minimal. May be 10 per cent of artists would be hosted at the residency against the 99 per cent of writers realised that they would be minimal,” he said.

For those who are still wondering what visual art has got to do with a writers’ residency, Kehinde said: “The two arts are related.

And what links visual art with literary arts is imagery and imagination. When an author writes, he/she builds pictures in the mind of the reader. While in visual art, the image is what tells the story.”

She added: “It is important to work with youths in both literary and visual concepts because it boosts their imagination. It is not surprising that children’s books come with all kinds of visual representations in form of illustrations.”

For Chief Onwu-Otuyelu, being in the residence with the artist was an inspiring experience. She was so inspired that she hinted that

RESIDENCY the artist would be illustrating one of her soon-to-be published works which she wrote at Ebedi. During her stay there, she was able to complete three of her works with the tentative titles - Rest in Pieces, Whose Baby? and Tit More Tat. Onwu-Otuyelu and her colleagues also used their time at Ebedi to hold interactive sessions with secondary school pupils in Iseyin. According to the writer, her time with the children was one of her favourites.

While the writers taught the kids creative writing, Kehinde schooled them on the art of painting with oil and water colour. Salam was one of Kehinde’s most committed disciples.

Moved by the artist’s teachings, it was not long for Salam abandoned his admiration for those in the sciences after being convinced that art is a noble vocation. He dreams of becoming a visual artist someday.

“Between 2013/2014 there was no resident visual artist at Ebedi Residency; however in 2015 when resident Kehinde came to Ebedi Residency I joined the programme because that is my main area of interest. I prefer the arts because to me it tells about life and one can change society through what one draws. I have chosen to study the arts in the university, and specialise on visual arts. The writer and the artist are doing the same thing in different ways. It is a proud thing that they are doing and I want to join them. I did not know this before and used to admire my friends in Science and commercial class, but no more.

That is what meeting and learning from the writers and artists at Ebedi Residency has taught me.

“Now, I am proud to say I can draw and I can write. I now paint with pencils. My drawings on a man on a boat is an environmental drawing; while the drawing of a scholar, shows the importance of education to the development of man. Besides knowing what it means to be an artist, we were taught creative writing. My English has improved. My confidence has improved; I can now confront even more than a million crowds.”

Like Salam, interacting with residents has great impact on Chukwu Emmanuel, an IDGS JSS 3 pupil. The 13-year-old, who is already piling up his poetry and short story collection, said, he hopes to be a writer someday.

Hear him: “I want to be a writer because I have learnt so many things from associating with the writers at the Ebedi International Writers Residency; and they speak with confidence that I like. Before I can’t write but now I can write a story, a play and a poem. But I now focus on drama and short story. Today, I am bold to talk to people because I can express myself and if they ask me to write I can write everything I see or feel. This makes me happy and has affected my grades at school.

My mother is happy too.

“Mummy Onwu-Otuyelu taught us about our culture; she told us folktales and made us sing folksongs in Igbo. I am from Igbo but before now, I couldn’t speak the language well. Listening to her stories and learning those songs, I can now speak it to my mother.

We thank Dr Okediran for giving us the opportunity to experience the good things that residents are offering us, students.”

After liaising with the residency for four years, IDGS Head of English and Prince Femi Olalere Tubosun, who is also the School Coordinator for Ebedi Writers/Students Interactive Programme, said: “The programme has helped the students discover their hidden talents. They even exhibit some of their works before an audience. This kind of project has a great impact on the kids, academically. I recommend it for schools across the country. The resource persons are wonderful; their interactions with the students on week day at the schools and at the residency in the evenings and on weekends are really friendly and

•An IDGS pupil in Kehinde’s art class

•From left: Sackey, Chief Onwu-Otuyelu and Kehinde (right) during a visit to the Baale of Barracks axis of Iseyin, Chief lawal Abdullah Awojobi (second right)

•Another IDGS pupil exploring his artistic talent

warm. The students also relate with them well as if they have been together for a very long time.”

Besides pupils of IDGS, she also taught art to pupils of Ansarudeen Secondary School.

Ebedi Residency Manager, Mr Macdell Joshua Kofi Sackey, said the residence has extended its creative activities to those in other schools in the town, adding that two more sets of residents are expected before the year ends.

And although Kehinde and her team passed out last month, they said the memory lingers.

“The place gave us freedom and time to explore our creativity to the fullest. Indeed, it is this great vision; I feel so blessed to have benefited from it. I learnt it has been on since 2010 and continues to grow. It is hoped that the government, other well-meaning Nigerians and organisations would support the ef-

forts of the founder,” Kehinde said.

On her part, Chief Onwu-Otuyelu said the residency programme is “an intellectual project that should be supported by all”. She recounted: “I had a marvellous time. There were no distractions, particularly from my grandchildren. As writers, when one is gaining inspiration and distractions set in, one might lose it forever. This is a place out of this world of confusion and madness.

“That is why I want to commend Dr Okediran for the good work he is doing for literature in the country; it is a good thing that this residency is not only a Nigerian affair, as writers have come from Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, and many other African countries. This kind of intellectual creativity should be supported in the country and not only musical and dance creativity. I brought Igbo language to them at Iseyin.

THE NATION THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 15-09-15

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 15-09-15

Equities relapse as investors take profit

N

IGERIAN equities de clined yesterday as investors sought to lock in capital gains that accrued from two successive.

Nigerian equities had gained N92 billion last Friday and added another N234 billion on Monday, leaving several stocks with as much as 18 per cent gains within the two trading session.

Investors turned round yesterday to review their portfolios, taking profits and rebalancing the portfolio in anticipation of the possible decision of the US Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate on Thursday.

Nigerian equities market has substantial foreign participation, with foreign portfolio investments accounting for more than 54 per cent of total transactions.

The All Share Index (ASI)the value-based index that tracks prices of all quoted eq-

By Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

uities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), slipped by 0.2 per cent from 30,369.97 points to close at 30,311.77 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities also dropped from N10.438 trillion to close at N10.418 trillion.

The decline was due to preponderance of losers as well as large number of highly capitalised stocks among the losers. Sectoral analysis showed mixed performance across the sectors. The NSE Insurance Index rose by 3.8 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index trailed with a gain of 0.4 per cent. However, The NSE Banking Index fell by 0.9 per cent while the NSE Oil & Gas Index and NSE Consumer Goods Index dropped by 0.1 per cent each.

Market turnover was also

mixed as aggregate volume rose by 62.5 per cent to 413.9 million shares while aggregate value declined by 38.6 per cent to N2.4 billion, an indication that investors were very active on penny stocks.

“Whilst today’s bearish close was majorly due to profit-taking, we anticipate investors to trade cautiously in the sessions ahead as the market awaits the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decision on interest rate on Thursday,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

Guinness Nigeria, which had led the rally in the past trading session, topped the losers’ list with a drop of N5.32 to close at N162.45.

PZ Cussons Nigeria followed with a loss of N1.34 to close at N26.65 while Forte Oil dropped by N1.11 to close at N227.79 per share.

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 15-09-15

THE N

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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MONEYLINK

TSA: Interbank rate shut as banks await guidelines

I

NTERBANK rate was fro zen yesterday as lenders awaited instructions on how the Treasury Single Account (TSA) would be implemented.

Banks also began the movement of deposits from Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) accounts to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in line with the TSA requirement, dealers said.

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered that all revenues be paid into the “Treasury Single Account” from yesterday, part of a drive to fight graft.

“No trading is going on because no bank was willing to put out quotes until there is a clearer direction with the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA),” one dealer told Reuters. “The market is right now frozen,

Stories by Collins Nweze

as no trading going on,” he said.

The Federal Government ordered each and every Federal Government MDA to start paying into a TSA for all government revenues, incomes and other receipts. According to the directive, this measure is specifically to promote transparency and facilitate compliance with sections 80 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution.

Meanwhile, the implementation of TSA is expected to trigger massive deposit draught with varied consequences for banks, Managing Director, Meristem Wealth Management,Sulaiman Adedokun disclosed.

He explained that though the TSA is going to hurt banks, making less deposit available to them for on-

lending to customers, depositors should expect a windfall from the policy.

The investment expert said: “When government earnings are gathered in one single account, there will be many things to work out, especially funding of certain sectors of the economy. But that is on the logistics part of it. The actual impact of this is the crowd out effects from the banking sector because the interest will go up, as banks go on looking for more deposits.”

He said the era of cheap funds from MDAs had ended.

“They will have to look for other sources of deposits.

That pushes the interest rate up, and that is where the money market fund will enjoy because you will now have rates that you can negotiate better with the bank,” he explained.

WorldRemit hires Skype ex-staff to drive mobile money

W

ORLDREMIT has ap pointed Gabriella Poczo as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to push its mobile money business.

One of Silicon Valley’s most respected engineering leads, she oversaw Skype’s move from desktop to mobile.

She also served as CTO at messaging service textPlus, Senior Director of Handset Software Development at TMobile, United States and as Engineering Director and CTO for Sun Microsystems’ OEM Platforms Group.

Poczo’s appointment underlines WorldRemit’s status as the leading player in mobile money transfers – with a mobile-first strategy for senders and the world’s largest selec-

tion of Mobile Money wallets for recipients.

“This company is so far ahead of the game in terms of mobile money transfers.

While others are still talking about the opportunity, WorldRemit is sending hundreds of thousands transactions to mobile devices across Africa and Asia,” said Poczo.

“They know this space better than anyone. Now it’s time to take our service to the next level – integrating more Mobile Money partners, and providing enhanced apps for our senders,” he added.

Her key role in taking Skype mobile is especially relevant given the frequent comparisons between the two services. “There are a handful of companies that are

seen as providing essential services to migrants – Skype is one. There’s also messaging services like WhatsApp and Viber and now WorldRemit,” she added.

WorldRemit founder and CEO Ismail Ahmed okayed Poczo’s appointment, saying: “Everyone talks about building mobile services, but Gabriella is one of the few people who actually has experience of creating a mobile communications service for a global user-base.

“Getting this right isn’t just about creating a slick app for senders. Mobile Money is driving financial inclusion in the developing world and our position as the leading sender of money to these services is transforming lives.”

•Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Ecobank Nigeria stand during the Diaspora Day at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. With him are: Friday Abah, Ecobank Sales Hub, Federal Capital Territory (left) and Mrs. Ibukun Odusote, Permanent Secretary, Political Affairs.

DFID, World Bank back Lagos conference

T

HE Department for In ternational Develop ment (DFID), United Kingdom Aid (UKaid) and World Bank will be sponsoring a fair targeted at boosting the country’s quest for self-sufficiency in rice production and processing.

The fair is billed for the Lagos Television Ground,

Alausa, Lagos, from September 17-19, this year.

The three-day event is being organised by Growth and Employment in States – Wholesale and Retail Sector (GEMS4), with funding by DFID/UKaid and the World Bank.

It is coming after the Kano Rice Fair.

The event with theme, Growing business opportunities with Nigerian rice, will provide a platform to the public to experience firsthand the quality of Nigerian rice, and the business community on the huge opportunities in wholesale and retail distribution of the products.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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NEWS

MASSOB dares govt as police take over Uwazuruike’s home

T

HE Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has said the Federal Government cannot stop the group’s activities becasue they are non-violent.

MASSOB’s National Director of Information Mazi Chris Mocha was reacting to a fresh siege to the Owerri home of the movement’s leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, by the Imo State Police Command According to Mocha, the renewed attacks against members confirmed government’s plot to imprison Uwazuruike and other senior officials.

“If Olusegun Obasanjo could not stop MASSOB in

•Police parade 43 members in Anambra From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri and Nwanosike Onu, Awka

the eight years he was in power, Buhari also cannot stop us.”

The group’s monthly meeting at Uwazuruike’s home was aborted. It was gathered that as early as 6am yesterday, policemen, in over 10 Hilux vans, were stationed at strategic junctions leading to the Ojukwu Memorial Library, the venue of the meeting.

Chief Uwazuruike said police’ presence at the venue stopped the group’s meeting.

“We were supposed to hold our national meeting

today (Tuesday) but I was informed that policemen have taken over the venue. I wonder what the police are doing there because MASSOB’s members are not criminals or thugs, they do not disturb anyone.

“I learnt that workers in the Ojukwu centre could not even access their office,” he said.

Police spokesman Andrew Enwerem said the action was in line with the InspectorGeneral’s directive to increase visibility in the states.

He insisted that the police was not out to witch- hunt the Movement, but was trying to flush out criminal ele-

ments.

The Anambra State Police Command yesterday paraded 43 members of the Movement arrested during the 16th year anniversary celebration on Sunday.

Commissioner of Police Hosea Karma said 15 of the 43 were arrested in Ogbaru while the others were arrested in Nnewi. He said there would be no hiding place for them.

He urged the people to go about their businesses without fear of molestation.

Two of the paraded members, Ugochukwu Ugwoke and Chinedu Ukoha, denied behaving violently.

UN appeals to Nigeria on human trafficking

T

HE Head of the United Nation Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC)

in Nigeria, Mr. Tunde Atere, has urged Nigerians to avoid being deceived by traffickers, individuals or groups to foreign land in search for greener pastures.

Atere spoke yesterday when he visited Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation in Lagos. He was accompanied by the Assistant Comptroller and Immediate Past Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Chukwuemeka Obua and Interim President, Network of Civil Society Orgainsation Against Trafficking in Person, Child Abuse and Labour, Kolade Olatosimi.

He said: “We have a lot of Nigerians stranded in Libya, Morocco, Egypt, Eritrea and other countries in Europe because they were allowed to be deceived that there are greener pastures in foreign land.”

He noted that there were 22 endemic states where cases of illegal migration and trafficking of persons is rampant. “We have chosen seven states because of the paucity of funds. They are: Lagos, Niger, Anambra, FCT, Edo, Benue and Cross River on a project tagged: Promoting Better Migration in Nigeria.

•Atere...yesterday

By Adeola Ogunlade

“Poverty is not a native of any community. It is the level of moral degeneration and we must retrace ourselves as a nation, back to path of goodly values of honesty, mutual respect and brotherliness.”

He added that perpetrators of illegal immigration and trafficking were not strangers but close relatives who often times take advantage of people’s quest for a better life and the attempt to escape poverty.

He observed that the country has 14 anti-corruption

PHOTO: JOHN EBHOTA

agencies which are poorly funded and require urgent attention of this administration.

Atere noted that Nigeria cannot continue to depend on foreign aids and donor to support the anti-corruption campaign because of paucity of funds.

The UNODC head urged the Federal Government to double its effort and investment in the fight against graft and other crime that has painted Nigeria dark in the comity of nations.

He noted that European Union through the UNODC is poised towards supporting

the various anti-corruption agencies, immigration officers, judiciary workers and other stakeholders in fighting crime in Nigeria.

Atere noted that the training of spokespersons is aimed at supporting them to be able to use the power of the new media in tackling the growing rate of illegal migration and smuggling of persons in Nigeria.

Obuah said the NIS was delighted to be the beneficiary of the new media training for its workers as it will be better to position the agency for better service delivery.

Graduate commits suicide in Aba MAN, said to be in his late 20s and a graduate of the Abia State Polytechnic, has allegedly committed suicide at Umuobe.

Reports said the unidentified man, who hung himself at home after Sunday service, would have been shortlisted for the next batch of the National Youth Service Scheme (NYSC).

Though his relatives were yet to be reached, a source said: “He returned from church on Sunday and no-

A

body suspected what would happen later. It was around 5pm that the news broke.

“We learnt his parents are dead and I think he is the family’s breadwinner. It is very unfortunate. We learnt that he will be among the people that will be going for NYSC soon, having finished from ABia Polytechnic.

“We are yet to understand why he committed the act. He has a handwork which was fetching him money, so I don’t think it was hunger or frustra-

tion that prompted him.

“According to residents, the incident is a sacrilege and there are rituals to be performed before his body can be buried.

The villagers, after perform-

ing the rituals on Monday, brought out the body.”

Police Commissioner Joshiak Habila, who confirmed the incident, said it was yet to be officially reported.

Church holds Holy Ghost programmes HE Consuming Fire Prayer Ministries (CFPM) is set to hold a double supernatural powerful Holy Ghost-filled seven-day programme. It is billed for 66, Ijaiye road, opposite Area G Police Command, Ogba.

The programme will hold between Monday, September 21 and Sunday, September 27, beginning 6.30am and 6pm daily.

It is themed: ‘Money Answereth All Things and I shall Not Die But Ordained to Live Long’, adapted from Psalm 118:17.

T

Stop ridiculing yourselves before Lagosians, APC tells PDP

T

HE Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) gave a piece of advice to its rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the latter’s unending criticism of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s performance.

It said the PDP has been making a mockery of itself by deriding the performance of a governor who dealt the opposition party a big blow at the April 14 state election.

“The PDP is hurt badly by after-polls blues after the grand failure of its extensive and expansive plot to steal Lagos in April 2015”, APC spokesman Joe Igbokwe said in statement yesterday.

According to the statement, the PDP in Lagos cannot see anything in good inteh APC-led government because of the unending frustration and pains of defeat that he has suffered in the Centre of Excellence state.

The statement reads: “PDP cannot recognise achievement when it sees one and wonders how a party that wrecked Nigeria in sixteen years of disastrous leadership can assess the performance of a party that has taken Lagos to new heights as one of the few mega cities of the world.

“We see the laughable outings of Lagos PDP in the media after its last disastrous electoral woes as tortuous efforts to stave off its certain death. We see their laughable efforts to critique the government in Lagos as borne out of the near death struggle to survive its own huge liabilities as a failed party that ran a failed government that prodded Nigeria to the precincts of a failed nation.

“We wonder what else could make a party that failed woefully in 16 years and which suffered a disastrous electoral defeat as a consequence, to be so obsessed with performance in the first one hundred days than trying to stay afloat when it is being washed away by the tides of history.

“However, we want to educate Lagos PDP on performance in office, should they continue to deliberately believe that Nigerians are fooled by their antics. First one hundred days are periods of planning and foundation-laying and not periods to build skyscrapers and bridges, as a party that left no achievement with tremendous resources while in power for sixteen years is trying to make it.

“For a party that couldn’t do much in 16 years in power to now mask and revel over achievements in 100 days speaks of poorly rendered humour; the type that has afflicted PDP since after May 2015. The first 100

days are planning periods and office holders are judged by that standard and not the desperate whims of a party in disarray.

“Besides, Lagos PDP needs to know that Governor Ambode needs not reinvent new wheels, hence, he is continuing the highly celebrated achievements of former Governor Babatunde Fashola. That was why in his first 100 days, Lagos has continued working in a seamless order with security working at its known best level, environmental health moving in its steady speed, the various sectors working as on May 28.

There has been no system disruption and Lagos is moving under Governor Ambode as it was under Governor Fashola.

“But we need to let Lagos PDP know that Governor Ambode has taken over the construction of several rural roads, opening up rural areas, creating employment opportunities, easing off costs of doing business in Nigerian commercial nerve centre, mapping newer avenues for income generation, sustaining the legacies of Governor Fashola on creating a newer and more workable Lagos that will serve all of us.

He is doing these in just one hundred days and will permanently shut the PDP as the fruits of his efforts yield in the coming days.

“We are not compelled to conduct local government elections in Lagos solely on PDP’s desperate hope to anchor its waning hope for survival on Lagos local councils. We have been conducting local council elections as and when due since we came to power in 1999 even as most PDP governments have not conducted local government elections for many years now.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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NEWS

ICPC to monitor bailout funds in Abia, Bauchi, 25 others

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HE Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, yesterday said the anti-graft agency will monitor the disbursement and use of the N338 billion bailout funds for 27 states.

He urged Nigerians to raise the alarm, if any state is mismanaging the funds.

Nta spoke in Abuja after presenting looted funds to victims.

He said: “ICPC will like to sound a note of warning to some states. I am sure we all read about bailout funds to states, which are unable to pay salaries.

“Part of what we do is to monitor where government funds are kept and how they are spent. There are concerns that bailout funds are not going to the purposes which they were meant for.

“This issue of running after funds, after appropriation, will not continue. We will follow how bailout funds are disbursed and the beneficiaries.

“I am calling on all the beneficiaries to pass information on

From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

the use of bailout funds to ICPC to achieve what is required.”

President Muhammadu Buhari approved the release of N713.7 billion intervention funds to states.

The bailout was part of a three-pronged relief package to end workers’ plight.

While N413.7 billion represents special intervention funds, the balance of about N250 billion to N300 billion is a soft loan to the states.

Also, it was learnt that N413.7 billion ($2.1 billion) is sourced from the recent Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) proceeds and the remaining is a Central Bank-packaged special intervention fund.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) is expected to assist states to restructure over N660 billion commercial loans crippling their economy.

With the development, President Buhari has stopped the deduction of monthly allocations to states at source.

The Central Bank of Nige-

•Returns recovered N980m to ministry, schools ria (CBN) has started disbursing N338 billion bailout funds to 27 states.

The states are: Abia (N14.152 billion); Adamawa (N2.378b); Bauchi (N8.60b); Bayelsa (N1.285b); Benue (N28.013b); Borno (N7.680b); Cross River(N7.856b); Delta (N10.036b); Ebonyi (N4.063b); Edo(N3.167b); Ekiti (N9.604b); Enugu (N4.207b); Gombe (N16.459b) and Imo (N26.806b).

Others are: Katsina (N3.304b); Kebbi (N0.690b); Kogi (N50.842b); Kwara (N4.320b); Nasarawa (N8.317 billion); Niger (N4.306b); Ogun (N20.00b); Ondo (N14.686b); Osun(N34.988b); Oyo (N26.606b); Plateau (N5.357b); Sokoto (N10.093b) and Zamfara (N10.020b).

The conditions for securing the funds include a resolution of the State Houses of Assembly.

Also yesterday, ICPC returned stolen N980.2 million to the Ministry of Environment

and three Federal Government colleges.

The amount includes the stolen N924 million voted for the Great Green Wall to fight desertification in 11 states and diverted N56,211,086.23 meant for the feeding of pupils of Federal Government Girls College (FGGC), Shagamu; Federal Government College, Odogbolu and Federal Science Technical College, Ijebu-Imushin, all in Ogun State.

The breakdown of the remittances to the schools is as follows: FGGC, Shagamu (N28,047,648); FGC, Odogbolu (N20,122,814.33); and Federal Science Technical College, Ijebu-Imushin (N8,041,000).

ICPC Chairman Ekpo Nta said there would be no more hiding place for looters of public funds.

The anti-graft chief said an operative of ICPC almost died in the course of investigating the looted funds.

He recalled that at a point, the operative was flown

abroad for treatment to ensure that the investigation was concluded.

Nta said: “The commission is returning to some victims of corrupt practices, stolen public funds recovered from certain individuals in fulfilment of one of our mandates in Section 6 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

“On December 1, 2014, we received a petition from this ministry (Environment) in respect of a fraudulent electronic funds transfer from its accounts. A forged payment mandate of N924 million was presented to the First City Monument Bank Plc where the ministry’s account was domiciled. The funds were diverted to different company accounts.

“The funds were meant for the Great Wall Programme of the Federal Government to check desert encroachment through tree planting.

“The funds being returned today, pursuant to a court or-

der, represent actual recovered proceeds by ICPC and a retained default guaranteed sum, all amounting to N924 million.

“In furtherance of this case, ICPC is still tracking and investigating the movement of N468,794,613.79 through some financial institutions (bureau de change) by Adeolu Olugbenga Adeyanju, the main accused, who is currently facing charges before the FCT High Court No. 4, Maitama, Abuja, for (alleged) forgery, theft, conspiracy and possession of forged documents.”

The ICPC chairman hailed the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs. Fatima Mende, for alerting ICPC immediately the fraud was noticed.

He said: “She (the permanent secretary) put a telephone call across to me about the fraud and said she would be writing a letter to ICPC. We were able to move. Within 30 minutes, we were in all the banks to track the N924 million. Once we get credible information, we move fast.”

UNIPORT’s new VC’s son abducted •Kidnappers use AK-47 rifles, machetes •No ransom demanded From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

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•From left, Director/Chief Executive Officer, tsabon traffic talk, Mr. Odufuye Dele, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, DKK Media Consultant, Mrs. Temitope Jemiribigbe, Manager Enterprise Solution, tsabon, Mr. Rakesh Mannan and Data Analyst, tsabon Tech World, Mr. Taofiq Shittu, Mannan at a press brief by tsabon traffic talk on its operations at ikeja, yesterday. PHOTO: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE

Delta poll: Tribunal rejects INEC’s witness’ documents

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HE Chairman of Delta State Election Petitions Tribunal, Justice Gunmi Nasiru, yesterday rejected the exhibits tendered by a witness of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, challenged the declaration of Dr Ifeanyi Okowa as winner of the April 11 election at the tribunal.

At yesterday’s hearing, Okowa’s lawyer, Dr. Alex Iziyon (SAN), leading an INEC official, Mrs. Ehikhametalo Mercy in evidence-in-chief, sought to tender four documents from her as exhibits.

Among the documents are: (A) Certify True Copy (CTC) of Card Reader uploaded as at Thursday, April 16, 2015; (B) CTC of unit accreditation report yet to be uploaded for the governorship election as of April 16, 2015; (C) the notification of the APC governorship primary for December 2, 2014 and (D) the INEC report of the APC congress of December 4, 2015.

APC’s lawyer Thompson Okpoko (SAN) objected to the admissibility of documents A

Okowa’s, PDP’s witnesses admit excess voting From Bolaji Ogundele, Warri

THE Secretary to the Delta State Government (SSG), Mr. Festus Ovie Agas, yesterday admitted that excess votes were credited to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the April 11 governorship election, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Okowa winner of the poll.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the election, Olorogun O’tega Enerhor, challenged Okowa’s victory, alleging electoral malpractice.

The defence, which opened yesterday, summoned two witnesses - Ikechukwu Akazor and the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Festus Ovie Agas.

The SSG admitted that excess votes were credited to Okowa.

The witnesses, during cross-examination, said the card readers were to be used to verify genuine Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), adding that only voters with genuine PVCs were to be allowed to vote in the election.

But this is contrary to their lawyers’ pleas that it was proper for INEC to resort to manual accreditation.

Agas said the 724,680 votes credited to Okowa by INEC were more than the original 715,393.

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

and B, noting that they were computer-generated.

The eminent lawyer averred that there was no evidence before the tribunal that

the document to be tendered was produced by the witness.

He argued that the documents did not meet the mandatory requirements of Section 84, sub-section 2 of the Evidence Act, and was not admissible.

Dr. Iziyon urged the tribunal to rely on a similar ruling of the tribunal on September 7 and allow documents to be admitted since they were relevant to the case.

In a short ruling, the tribunal said: “We have no doubt in our minds that what she sought to tender were documents uploaded from the Card Reader servers. But there is no indication anywhere, showing that the documents the witness sought to tender were data-generated by computer; she used the computer to type it.

“In view of our analysis above, we believe that our ruling of September 7 is not similar to this. We believe that the objections of Okpoko (SAN) to the admissibility of these documents are germane.

“We believe that the two documents are computergenerated documents. There is nothing on the face of the documents to show that it complied with Section 84 of the Evidence Act. In view of this, we hereby agree that the documents are not admissible and they are hereby rejected.”

The abductors were said to have cut Ejira all over his body with their machete before pushing him out of the house

JIRA, the 25-year-old son of the new Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), Prof. Ndowa Lale, has been kidnapped in Rivers State.

His abductors were reportedly armed with AK-47 rifles and machetes.

Ejira was said to have been taken to an unknown destination.

It was learnt that the abductors had not demanded ransom as at press time last night.

The kidnap of the vice chancellor’s son came barely 48 hours after the release of Vanguard columnist Donu Kogbara, who spent almost two weeks with her abductors in the creeks.

Kogbara, also an Ogoni like Ejira, was kidnapped on August 30 and released at 10pm on September 11.

Ejira, a graduate of UNIPORT, lives in his father’s house in their hometown in Ebubu-Eleme-Ogoni, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, where he runs his “small” fish farm.

Eleme, near Port Harcourt, hosts two refineries, Indorama Petrochemical Company, several oil and gas servicing companies, corporate organisations and business establishments.

The town is on the East-West Road, on the way to Akwa Ibom State.

It was learnt that the VC’s son was kidnapped at 8pm on Monday by some youths, who strolled into Lale’s compound.

They were said to have taken away Ejira’s mobile phones, laptop and an undisclosed amount of money.

The kidnappers also robbed Ejira’s younger brother, who visited him, of his mobile phone.

It was learnt that when the hoodlums stormed the VC’s home, they met a tenant, who they robbed of valuables and asked him to lead them, at gunpoint, to Ejira’s apartment.

The abductors were said to have cut Ejira all over his body with their machete before pushing him out of the house.

They reportedly took him to an unknown destination without treating his injuries.

Lale became UNIPORT’s VC two months ago and lives on the campus.

He urged the kidnappers to release his “struggling” son unconditionally to enable him continue his normal life and contribution to the development of the community.

The VC spoke through UNIPORT’s Deputy Registrar (Information), Dr. Williams Wodi, who is also a lecturer in the Department of Linguistics and Communication Studies.

Lale said he was not a millionaire or a contractor, adding that he could not raise any ransom the kidnappers might demand.

The vice chancellor urged security agencies to ensure the quick release of his son.

Police spokesperson Grace Iringe-Koko, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said no arrest had been made as at press time last night.

She said the police were on the trail of the abductors.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

51

NEWS Controversy in Ekiti over Olumilua’s ‘arrest’ •Party scribe: he was invited, not arrested •PDP kicks

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HE intra-party crisis rocking the Ekiti State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) took a dramatic dimension yesterday with the arrest of the former governor of old Ondo State, Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua.

Olumilua was arrested at his Ikere-Ekiti home and whisked to the Police Command Headquarters, Ado Ekiti, the state capital.

His supporters claimed that he was arrested based on a petition by the APC State Secretary, Paul Omotoso, accusing the ex-governor of holding a “subversive party meeting in his house where he nominated a minister without consulting the party exco”.

But Omotoso, in a telephone chat with our reporter, denied the arrest, saying “he wasn’t arrested, maybe the police invited him”.

Repeated calls to Olumilua’s phone were not answered and text messages sent to him were not replied.

But an interest group in Ekiti APC, the Action Group, condemned the alleged arrest, which it described as “intolerable abuse of phantom power”.

In a statement by its spokesman, Segun Dipe, the

From Odunayo Ogunmola, Ado Ekiti

Action Group said Olumilua who it described as an APC member, an elder and a party leader, did not deserve to be treated that way.

Dipe said: “The offence allegedly committed by Evangelist Olumilua as enumerated in the petition written

by Barrister Omotoso are that he organized a “subversive” party meeting in his house and he nominated somebody and a minister without consulting with the party exco.

“Facts available have revealed that Omotoso was acting on the instruction of a former governor.”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned Olumilua’s arrest.

In a statement by its spokesman, Jackson Adebayo, the PDP noted that Olumilua, as an elder statesman, should be accorded due respect and not be involved in the supremacy battle among APC leaders.

“We are concerned by the arrest of former Governor Olumilua. In as much as it is an APC affair, the PDP-led government in Ekiti State will not fold its arms and watch the state thrown into chaos.”

Tribunal upholds Goje’s victory

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HE National Assembly Tribunal in Gombe has upheld the victory of Senator Mohammed Danjuma Goje in the general election, as the duly-elected lawmaker representing Gombe Central.

The Justice Rosaline Adamu-led tribunal dismissed the petition instituted against the former governor and seven others by Usman Bello Kumo on the grounds of incompetence and lack of merit.

The petitioners alleged that the election was marred by irregularities and non-compliance with the Electoral Acts as amended.

They prayed the tribunal to rule that the first respondent (Senator Goje) was not duly elected and that the election in

From Vincent Ohonbamu, Gombe

which he had been declared winner should be nullified and a fresh one conducted.

Delivering judgment, the tribunal held that the petition was not filed within the stipulated 21 days after the declaration of results.

It held that the petitioners failed to prove their case of harassment, non-secrecy of votes, using of weapons and intimidation among others, which they claimed affected their fortune in the election.

The tribunal said the 200 electoral documents produced as evidence and marked as exhibits would have helped the petitioners’ case, but they dumped them on the tribunal.

Court dissolves marriage over ‘sex starvation’

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MAPO Customary Court in Ibadan yesterday dissolved a four-year-old marriage between Tajudeen Olalekan and his wife, Modinat, over “sexual starvation”.

The court’s President, Ademola Odunade, held that the bond of love between the couple was no longer traceable.

“In the interest of peaceful coexistence, the husband and wife relationship between Olalekan and Modinat has ceased to be henceforth.

“If any claim or complaint is to be made, there is ground for appeal,” he said.

Olalekan, in his petition, told the court that his wife had over a period of time subjected him to sexual starvation.

“Anytime I propose lovemaking to Modinat she shunned me as if I am not entitled to it.

“All my effort at making her reason with me failed because her parents and relatives that I reported the incident to could not pacify her to change her attitude.

“Despite my love for her, I am now heartbroken, frustrated and completely disillusioned.

“Since I married her four years ago, she hasn’t conceived.

Since we got married, I have always afforded her royal treatment by providing for all her needs.

“In fact, I set up a business of N1.6 million for her,” Olalekan said.

However, Modinat opposed Olalekan’s divorce petition, saying she was still in love with him.

“I did all I could to conceive to the extent that I even underwent a surgery to correct the abnormality, but it was to no avail.

“I was staying in Abidjan, where I was prosperous before I travelled down to Nigeria to marry him.

“Before coming here, I had sent Olalekan several huge sums of money to build a house for me, but he somehow mismanaged the fund and did not build it to my taste.

“That was the reason why I started starving him sexually ,” she said.

•A Forte Oil filling station dispensing kerosene at N50 per litre to consumers in Lagos...yesterday

10 killed, three missing in Fulani/Tiv clash

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EN persons were yesterday killed in a communal clash between the Fulani and the Tiv in Taraba State.

Three people were reported to be missing after the violence, which occurred at Serkin Gudu in Ibi Local Government.

A source said fight began when the body of a Fulani man, who had been declared missing by his relatives, was found in a bush between Serkin Gudu and Dooshima villages.

A Fulani source accused

A

From Fanen Ihyongo, Jalingo

the Tiv of being responsible for the death of their kinsman, whose body was recovered by a soldier posted to the area to quell clashes.

The source said the gory sight of the deceased infuriated the Fulani community, who went for a reprisal, killing nine people.

Police spokesman Joseph Kwaji confirmed the attack.

He said the Tiv were killed in a retaliatory attack

by an unidentified Fulani man.

Kwaji said: “The information I have is that a Fulani man was killed when his cows ate crops belonging to a Tiv man.

“An unidentified Fulani man, in a reprisal, killed nine Tiv people.”

He said policemen had been deployed in the area to maintain law and order, while efforts were on to arrest the culprit.

The Chairman of the Tiv Culture and Social Organisation in Ibi, Mkavga Orhem-

baga, an eyewitness, said among the deceased, eight were Tiv and one was a teacher from Plateau State.

Yesterday’s incident was said to have shocked Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku, because it occurred shortly after he inaugurated a committee to ensure the return of displaced persons, particularly the Tiv, to their homes.

The governor directed monarchs to keep watch on their subjects, to avoid a recurrence.

Osun retirees to Buhari: save us

ETIRED public servants under the aegis of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners in Osun State have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to mandate Governor Rauf Aregbesola to pay their 10-month pension and gratuities.

They also called on him to declare a state of emergency in the state to avoid total break down of law and order.

Addressing a briefing yesterday in Osogbo, the state capital, the Chairman of the Union, Tunde Ogunniyi, said: “The Rauf Aregbesola administration is insensitive, considering the spate of death of pensioners and government workers.

“Since threat to peace and security is a major constitutional reason for the declaration of the state of emergency, we hereby call on the Federal Government and the National As-

•Workers assault two journalists•Pupils protest From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

sembly to take over the affairs of the state by declaring a state of emergency in Osun State.

“This government owes pensioners between 10-15 months and gratuities have not been paid since December 31, 2012. These amount to deliberate display of callousness, greediness, wickedness, flagrant disobedience to the rule of law, mal-administration and fraud.”

They also called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to take over the direct payment of money to each pensioner, the retirees said in the alternative, the Federal Government should place an embargo on the government from accessing the loan which

they alleged that governor was planning to divert to fund some projects.

According to them: “We also want to warn these Lagos contractors to immediately pack all their equipment and leave Osun within one week because their safety can no longer be guaranteed.”

Aggrieved workers yesterday beat up two journalists– Abass Okandeji of Muri International Television (MiTV) and Adeniyi Folorunsho of ONTV. The duo were at the state secretariat on Gbongan Road in Osogbo, where the workers were protesting the non-payment of their salary arrears.

While the journalists were trying to cover the procession, the protesters reportedly transferred their anger on them.

It was gathered that the intervention of their colleagues, Ismail Afolabi and Abdullah Afolabi of Heartbeat magazine together with some officials of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) saved the victims from being killed.

The MiTV and ONTV reporters were allegedly mistaken for reporters of the stateowned television station, the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC.) The aggrieved workers were allegedly quoted at a public event to have threatened to deal with the OSBC crew for allegedly airing false news about the situation of the state.

The two journalists were said to have been rushed to the Government House clinic.

Ex-PDP chair Tukur quits politics From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

•Tukur

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ORMER National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has quit partisan politics because of old age.

Tukur yesterday announced his retirement from politics at a lecture organised

to mark his 80th birthday in Abuja.

He said: “I deem it fit to take this opportunity of my 80th birthday to announce my retirement from partisan politics. It is time to say goodbye to politics.

“I have used several political platforms to serve my country. It is time to rest. I leave partisan politics for the younger generation. I want to be a statesman and an adviser.

“At 80, I feel I can serve our dear nation more in the capacity of a statesman and

a father figure.”

The ex-PDP national chairman said his doors were open to politicians, businessmen and other Nigerians who might seek his advice or opinion on issues affecting the country.

He urged politicians to play the game according to the rules and to have the interest of the country at heart, stressing that politics should be seen as an avenue of rendering service.

Tukur went on: “Politics should not be a bread and butter affair. Politicians should rededicate themselves to the service of the people.

“Elected officers and government officials should regard their positions as sacred and they must be used to serve the nation.

“My country has given me so much. It is now payback time. I want to rededicate my time, life and resources to the service of our nation as an elder statesman and a father.

“My aim is to help take Nigeria to the promised land, to make it great and ensure that it assumes its rightful position in the comity of nations.

I want Nigeria to be great in line with the dream of its founding fathers.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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CITYBEATS

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Woman slumps in shopping mall fire

•Flame oozing out of the building... yesterday

•The building... yesterday

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IRE yesterday swept through the third floor of Ultimate Plaza on Broad Street, Lagos Island, causing a traffic gridlock for hours.

A female shop owner collapsed on sighting the inferno which started between 7a.m. and 8a.m and lasted for several hours.

Textile materials and fashion accessories, estimated at millions of naira, were also destroyed.

The fire, sources said, was caused by power surge.

The woman, it was learnt, arrived on the scene with her husband with whom she runs the shop.

The couple, some traders said, last Saturday replenished their stock with goods worth N50million.

Her husband reportedly burst into tears as she was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Traders tried to put out the fire but it raged preventing other traders from getting to their shops.

Some traders salvaged some of their goods, but others watched helplessly as their shops were burnt.

The thick smoke prevented people from accessing the building.

A woman hired over 15 boys to salvage the goods in her warehouses and shops, which she said she just stocked.

Amidst the confusion, a man, caught stealing money

•Traders moving their goods...yesterday

By Basirat Braimah

from one of the shops, was dealt with by onlookers.

Fire fighters quenched the fire after using a crane to reach the burning floor.

A trader at the market, Ifeanyi Emmanuel, whose shop was also affected, said when he got to his shop, he saw smoke coming out from a canteen on the third floor but thought nothing about it.

“When I saw the fire, I informed a fellow trader who told me the fridge from the canteen sparked and it led to the inferno. There are lots of shops there. So many people just offloaded goods last Saturday. One of the companies that deal in corporate wears had just offloaded goods

worth N50million. The man has been crying and his wife has been rushed to a nearby hospital. It is really painful.

My goods got burnt too but I was able to save some because I got here early,” he said.

Another trader, Peace Asika, who owns a warehouse and shops, described the incident as destructive.

She said: “I really don’t know the exact time the fire started but I got there immediately I received the call. It is really unfortunate. We rushed to our store; everything in our shop is gone. We stock our shop everyday.

The fire fighters tried but the things we had there made the fire hard to put out. I am grateful because no life was lost.”

•Scene of the inferno... yesterday

Another trader, Felix Ugodimu, said he closed late on Monday because he had just stocked his shop and wanted to put everything in place against yesterday.

Ugodimu said he heard about the incident while inside a bus, but he did not know that it was the plaza burning.

He said: “I have been trading here for four years and whenever I stock my shop, I make sure I arrange my goods against the following day. I never had a premonition about this. Ahh! I am pained because I even got home late yesterday (Monday). The fire fighters tried their best; majority of us here trade in corporate wears. For five hours, they

battled with the fire. Even before they could access the building, it was hard because of the way the shops are.”

Lagos State Fire Service Director Rasaq Fadipe said three fire trucks were deployed to contain the inferno, adding that his men got to the scene few minutes after they were informed.

General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) Michael Akindele said the plaza was filled with textile materials, adding that it took them about five hours to put out the fire.

He said: “Before we could gain access to the building, there were too many iron bars used to demarcate the shops and each shop was

PHOTOS: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

locked with 10 padlocks.

Some occupants were also lucky to salvage some of their goods. We were also able to contain the fire to the third floor because if not, it would have ravaged the whole building and it would have been disastrous. People should learn from this. If you call for help and it comes but we have no access, there is nothing the government can do.”

A Skye Bank branch in Ikeja, also went up in flames yesterday. But before the fire fighters reached the scene, the bank’s fire men had put out the inferno, which was also caused by power surge.

There was no casualty.

The fire that began around 10:50a.m affected the bank’s server room.

Two die in Oyingbo car accident

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N accident on M u r i t a l a Muhammed Way, Ebute Meta, Oyingbo, Lagos yesterday claimed two lives.

A Toyota Matrix car, marked LND 593 DR crashed into the concrete base of one of the street lights, breaking the pole into two.

In the process, the car hit four persons, killing two of them.

An eyewitness, Ebuka Augustine, said an unidentified man died on the spot and the other victim, a woman died on the way to the hospital.

Their remains have been

By Idayat Bello and Solomon Odeniyi

deposited in a morgue.

The two survivors – a woman and her baby were pushed by the car into the Assembly of God Church, Oyingbo.

Augustine said the driver of the grey-coloured car was over speeding.

The driver fled immediately the accident occurred, he said.

The vehicle had been towed to the Denton Police Station, Oyingbo.

A commercial tricyclist (Keke Marwa) who was yet to recover from the shock said he went to look for balance for a passenger

who boarded his tricycle when the incident occurred but he could not ascertain whether it was the same man that was involved in this accident.

“The shock was too much for me to ascertain if the man knocked down was my passenger because the accident happened close to where I parked my Keke Marwa,” he said.

Meanwhile, trading activities was put to halt due to the incident as shops owners quickly closed for the day.

The traders gathered in groups in front of their locked shops, discussing the incident.

•The broken pole... yesterday

•A cloth with blood stain at the scene

•The ill-fated car... yesterday

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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CITYBEATS

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Lagos takes custody of assaulted girl

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HE Lagos State Government has taken custody of Adebimpe Badmus, the 16-year-old girl allegedly burnt with iron by her aunt in Ketu.

Miss Badmus is in the custody of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA).

Her aunt, Alhaja Ajarat Jimoh, had accused her of sleeping with their landlady’s son, Wale Abimbola.

Alhaja Jimoh reportedly sought the help of her friends, Khadijah and Iya Daniel, to hold the victim’s hands and legs before applying the iron on her.

Miss Badmus was initially detained along with others at the Ketu Police Station, before she was later taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

She has since denied sleeping with Abimbola.

In a phone conversation, Abimbola also denied sleeping with her, saying that wasn’t the first time her aunt accused her (Miss Badmus) of sleeping with someone in the neighbourhood.

He said: “Adebimpe once used my mobile phone to call her boyfriend who later bought her a phone. Because of the fear of her aunt, she kept the phone with me and comes for it when she needs it. At times, I advise her and she talks to me whenever some-

Freelancer arraigned for N2.5m theft

A

46-YEAR-OLD Freelancer, Roseline Olanrewaju, was arraigned before an Isolo Magistrate’s court in Lagos for alleged N2.5million fraud.

She was arraigned before Magistrate Joy Ugbomoiko on a one-count charge of theft.

Prosecuting Seargent Oje Uagbale told the court that the defendant committed the offence between January and October 2014, at a pharmaceutical firm on Osolo Way, Isolo, Lagos.

Uagbale said the defen-

By Basirat Braimah

thing is bothering her. That is the only relationship between us. She is a decent girl.”

The Nation learnt at Ketu Police Station that a case has been filed before the Ikeja Magistrate’s court in Lagos.

A court registrar confirmed that Miss Badmus is in WAPA’s custody.

He said the suspects were still in prison custody.

The case, he added, has been transferred to another court in Ojota, Lagos.

Director, Child Development, WAPA, Mrs Alaba Fadairo, told The Nation that Miss Badmus is hale and hearty, adding that she would resume school in the next academic session.

A neighbour, Temitope, who also described the victim as a decent girl said she used to attend a secondary school in Mushin before she was brought to live with her aunt.

“When she came last September, her aunt promised she was going to be transferred to another school but days turned to weeks and then months. Adebimpe stopped schooling and became a trader. She sells fish with her aunt on the Island. Aside the last incident, she has always been maltreated but still she takes care of her aunt’s children. As a married woman, I don’t wash the way Adebimpe does every day. Residents

By Esther Unachukwu

dant who was freelancing with the company, collected goods with the pretence that she was going to pay back in cash incurred debt up to the tune of N2.5million.

He said the offence contravened Section 313(b) of the Criminal Code Laws of Lagos, 2011.

She pleaded not guilty.

Magistrate Joy granted the defendant N500,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

The case was adjourned till September 30.

Lagos dissolves Abandoned Vehicle Committee

L

•Miss Badmus

noticed all that is happening but no one could talk because they weren’t feeding her,” she said.

Temitope, who was at the last court sitting, said the suspects had been granted N500,000 bail each. She said they were still at Kirikiri Maximum Prisons because they are yet to produce a guar-

antor.

She said: “I am really overwhelmed justice has been done. I think the government should ask the victim if she really wants to continue her education or learn handiwork and afterwards be monitored.

I urge other parents and guardians to learn from her case.”

AGOS State Government has dissolved the Abandoned Vehicle and Park Monitoring Committees.

A statement by Mr Sewedo Oluseyi Whenu, Ministry of Transportation Permanent Secretary said the committees’ dissolution followed the expiration of their statutory tenure.

Whune said: “The ministry appreciates the invaluable contributions of the Chairmen and members of the two committees in keeping our highways and roads free of all abandoned derelict vehicles and ensuring safety of commuters and other road users using motor parks across the state and wish them success in their future endeavours.

“By this dissolution, members of the public especially

•Governor Akinwunmi Ambode

the transport union and associations and the monitoring public should not transact any business with anybody claiming to be member of the two committees on behalf of the state.

“The public is assured of the government’s support in providing the enabling environment for socio-economic activities to thrive.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

54

FOREIGN NEWS Seven sentenced to death for Kuwait mosque attack KUWAIT has sentenced seven people to death over the suicide bombing of a Shia mosque in which at least 27 people were killed.

More than 220 people were wounded in the 26 June attack, which targeted the Imam Sadiq Mosque in a busy area to the east of Kuwait City.

Another eight suspects were given terms of between two and 15 years in jail while 14 others were acquitted.

A group affiliated with Islamic State (IS) said it was behind the attack.

Judge Mohammad al-Duaij read out the ruling before a packed courtroom, saying: “The court draws attention to the dangers of this extremist ideology that resorts to terrorism for its implementation,” AFP quoted him as saying.

Argentine Falklands War troops ‘tortured own side’ ARGENTINE soldiers were subjected to abuse and torture by their own superiors during the 1982 Falklands War against Britain, files released by Argentina's armed forces reveal.

They are the first official documents from the conflict to be made public and contain testimonies from soldiers who say they were poorly equipped and cold.

They say they were severely beaten for leaving the trenches to look for food.

The conflict over the islands cost the lives of more than 900 soldiers.

For years, war veterans have complained about the terrible conditions during the conflict, including lack of proper boots and coats, says the BBC's Ignacio de los Reyes in Buenos Aires.

The previously secret files describe mock executions and soldiers being tied up inside empty graves.

A lieutenant describes how another officer tied his hands and legs to this back and left him face down on the wet sand of a cold Falklands beach for eight hours.

A sergeant says he had to be operated on after being kicked in the testicles.

“These documents lift the veil on facts that were hidden for so many years by the armed forces,” said Ernesto Alonso, from a veterans group in La Plata.

Russia 'to continue Assad military aid'

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USSIAN President Vladimir Putin has pledged continued military support for Syria's Bashar al-Assad despite growing concerns over Moscow’s role in the war.

Mr Putin urged other countries to join Russia in sending “militarytechnical assistance”.

He said the influx refugees to Europe would have been “even bigger” without Russian support for Syria’s government.

The US and its Western allies oppose President Assad, and say that backing him risks prolonging the conflict.

But Moscow has been a key ally of Mr Assad during the bloody civil war, which began in 2011.

It says military equipment is being sent to Syria to help the government combat the so-called Islamic State.

President Putin said on Tuesday:

“We support the government of Syria… in countering the terrorist aggression.

“We provide and will continue to provide it with the necessary military technical assistance. And we urge other countries to join us.”

Russia’s backing for Mr Assad should be seen not as a vote of confidence in Syria’s embattled president but as an investment in a country where Russia believes it can play out its foreign-policy role.

Indeed Mr Putin's military deployments signal that he will not let the Assad regime fall. This does not mean Mr Assad will be there forever.

Russian diplomacy is working in tandem with its military policy, exploring all avenues for reaching some sort of interim deal in which Mr Assad might stay on, at least for the time being.

But Russia’s horizons in Syria

probably extend well beyond Mr Assad’s active presence - a reflection of Russia’s concerns about militant Islam and wider trends in the region, and also its belief that Western remedies in the Middle East have been an unmitigated disaster.

Speaking at defence summit in Tajikistan, Mr Putin also said the situation in Syria would have been "worse than in Libya” had Russia not been supporting its leadership.

European countries have been struggling to cope with thousands of people arriving at their borders after fleeing the conflict.

President Putin’s comments come after the US expressed concern at Russia’s recent movements near Syria’s coastal city of Latakia.

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said on Monday that a steady flow of people and equipment suggested that Moscow was planning to establish a “forward air operating base”

at an airport there.

Last week, officials in Washington quoted by Reuters said Moscow had sent more aircraft and two tank landing ships to Russia’s naval base in the Syrian coastal city of Tartus.

They also said a small number of naval infantry forces had been deployed.

Correspondents say US officials fear that the stepped-up Russian support will strengthen the Syrian government at a time when it has been losing on the battlefield and will complicate efforts to find a political solution.

Russia has denied building up their presence in Syria, although Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that Russia would send more help to Syria if requested.

Image copyright AP Image caption Syrians make up the largest group of people arriving in Europe looking for asylum.

• Flames destroyed apartment complex over the weekend, in Middletown , California.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in Lake and Napa counties after a wildfire charred more than 60 square miles within 12 hours, prompting thousands to flee their homes.

PHOTO: AP

Egypt attack: Mexican victims’ families head to Cairo

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ELATIVES of a group of Mexican tourists killed in an attack by the Egyptian army are travelling to Egypt.

Twelve people were mistakenly killed by Egyptian security forces in an anti-terror operation on Sunday.

Egypt says it mistook the tourists for Islamist militants, whom its

forces were pursuing in the Western Desert.

It has apologised, but has insisted the group were in a restricted area.

Local sources deny the claim.

Egypt has been battling Islamist militants for years, with attacks escalating since the 2013 ousting of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

H

R

• The proton rocket on take-off...Monday

and Maria de Lourdes Fernandez Rubio.

The relatives of Rafael Bejarano Rangel, another Mexican who was part of the tour group, said they had been told by tour organisers that he was among those killed.

Ten people, among them six Mexicans were also injured in the attack.

Hungary declares emergency at Serbia border

Russia launches satellite with Proton rocket

USSIA on Monday successfully launched a Proton rocket, carrying a Russian telecoms satellite, from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in the second successful launch since the disastrous loss of a Mexican satellite in May. The Proton-M took off at 10:10 pm local time (19:10 GMT) from the desert launch site.

“The launch of the rocket was normal,” the Russian space agency Roscosmos said in a statement.

Russia had also successfully launched a Proton rocket, carrying a British satellite, in late August.

In May, a Mexican satellite was lost after a Proton-M rocket crashed shortly after the launch.

The state-run Khrunichev Centre spacecraft manufacturer said that failure was due to a construction flaw in one of the engines.

Based on a Soviet-era design, the Proton-M is viewed as a veteran workhorse of the space industry and Russia is developing a new generation of rockets to succeed it.

Russia was forced to put all space travel on hold after an unmanned Progress freighter taking cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) crashed back to Earth in late April.

The doomed ship lost contact with Earth and burned up in the atmosphere. The failure, which Russia has blamed on a problem in a Soyuz rocket, also forced a group of astronauts to spend an extra month aboard the ISS. But last month astronauts from Russia, Japan and the United States travelled successfully to the ISS after a twomonth delay caused by the rocket failure.

Until recently most of the fighting has taken place in the Sinai Peninsula with occasional attacks taking place in Cairo and other cities.

Egyptian officials put the number of Mexicans killed at eight, but Mexico has so far only confirmed two dead.

They are Luis Barajas Fernandez

PHOTO: AP

UNGARY has declared a state of emergency in two southern counties as tough new laws to stop migrants entering illegally came into force.

Police said they had arrested 60 people accused of trying to breach a razor-wire fence on the border with Serbia.

The state of emergency gives police extra powers and would allow troop deployments if parliament approves.

The EU is facing a huge influx of migrants, many fleeing conflict and poverty in countries including Syria.

Meanwhile, Germany and Austria are calling for a special meeting of EU leaders next week to discuss the crisis.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference that “this problem can only be solved together. It is a responsibility for the entire European Union”.

The EU's border agency said more than 500,000 migrants had arrived at the EU’s borders this year, compared with 280,000 in 2014. The vast majority have come by boat across the Mediterranean.

A boat following the most popular recent route, between Turkey and

Greece, sank on Tuesday leaving 22 people dead, Turkish media reported.

Starting yesterday, the EU has agreed to relocate 40,000 migrants from Greece and Italy to other EU states. But it has yet to agree on mandatory quotas for a further 120,000 asylum seekers.

After the new Hungarian laws came into effect at midnight (22:00 GMT Monday), police sealed a railway crossing point that had been used by tens of thousands of migrants.

Around midday there were tense scenes as hundreds streamed towards the fence, some searching for a way through and others starting a sitdown strike, throwing down food and water in protest at not being granted passage.

Police buses will now take asylum applicants to registration centres, but if their applications are refused they will now be returned to Serbia rather than being given passage through Hungary, the BBC’s Nick Thorpe reports from the border.

Hungarian authorities said more than 9,000 a new record crossed into the country before the border was closed on Monday. Some 20,000 crossed into Austria.

55

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

SPORT EXTRA 11TH AFRICAN GAMES

Naira rain for Nigerian athletes, coaches • Gold winners get $2,000, silver $1,500, bronze $1,000 • Coaches get $2,500

I

T was celebration galore in the camp of Team Nigeria on Tuesday night as athletes who won medals in their various events were given cash reward.

The cash presentation award ceremony was held at the Nigeria building at the Games Village.

The ceremony anchored by Peter Nelson the deputy Chief de Mission of the Team Nigeria to the ongoing Brazzaville 2015 saw the gold medallist smiling home with 2,000 dollars.

The silver and bronze medallists went home with 1,500 and 1,000dollars respectively.

From Akeem Lawal, Brazzaville The coaches were rewarded with 2,500dollars each and the cycling female team made up of six athletes were given 6,000dollars.

Otunla Baliqis stole the show of the night when she received 6,000dollars for her effort .She won gold in weighlifting event snatch, clean and jerk.

Speaking at the ceremony for weightlifting, boxing, cycling, and beach volleyball, Nelson who commended the athletes, urged then to utilise the bonus very well so that they will have

something to fall back on.

He further explained that the bonus by the government was to encourage them and to show appreciation for a just b well done.

"The ceremony here today was to encourage you all and to show to you that the government is much concern and ready to support all of you. This will serve as a tool to encourage others to excel",he said.

He thus urge others who did not win to put in more effort and that they should not be discouraged as they can do better in subsequent games.

Burkina Faso upsets Dream Team IV

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URKINA Faso will clash with Senegal for the prestigious gold medal of the men’s football event of the 2015 All Africa Games after they shocked Dream Team of Nigeria 3-1 on Tuesday.

Burkina Faso made the most of their chances, while Nigeria were wasteful in front of goal and paid the price for such wastefulness.

The Burkinabes were also very physical and forced Nigeria to make two changes as a result of injuries - Umar Aminu was replaced by Kingsley Sokari in the 48th minute and 10 minutes later, Mustapha Abdullahi came on for the injured Ndifreke Effiong.

Burkina Faso, who only advanced to the semi-final of the tournament by the luck of the draw after they were tied on all

• Falcons crash to Cameroon statistics with Sudan, went in front after 12 minutes when defender Seth Sincere put the ball through his own net.

Burkina Faso doubled their lead after 73 minutes through Omar Kabore, before substitute Etor Daniel reduced the deficit in the 75 minute after good work by Junior Ajayi.

But just when it looked like Nigeria will stage a remarkable comeback, Burkina Faso increased their lead to 3-1 in the 78th minute courtesy of Arba Dicko.

Burkina will now slug it out with Senegal, who were deserved 3-1 winners against home team Congo in the other semi-final on Tuesday.

However, Super Falcons of Nigeria will now have to battle for the bronze medal at the All Africa Games women’s football event after they lost 2-1 to the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon in the semi-final on Tuesday.

Nigeria will now face Côte d'Ivoire in a rematch for the bronze medal.

The Cameroonians scored two goals within three minutes to put Falcons on the back foot.

Theresa Abena scored the opener in the 10th minute, before Madeleine Ngo Mani doubled their lead in the 12th minute.

FK Minsk defender Onome Ebi scored Falcons consolation goal three minutes into the second half.

TODAY IN THE NATION

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL.10 NO.3339

‘As it is, President Muhammadu Buhari has a date with history, positively or negatively, depending on how he handles the myriad of problems and challenges that presently confront his administration and the nation.’

DELE AGEKAMEH

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

People and Politics

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HE Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, Nigeria’s official international affairs think tank, was host yesterday to one of the most important media events this year; the presentation of perhaps the most encyclopaedic book on global journalism authored by two of Nigeria’s best journalists, Mike Awoyinfa and Dimgba Igwe.

It was a happy event but at the same time sad. Happy that the labour of nearly a decade of Awoyinfa and Igwe running after some of the world’s best reporters, editors and publishers in the world for their views on the media finally bore its fruit. And what a fruit it was!

Sadly, however, only one of the two authors was alive to witness the event. Igwe, as we all know, was knocked down one year ago this month – September 6, to be exact – by a hit-and-run driver while jogging in his neighbourhood. The accident proved fatal from lack of prompt medical attention.

Igwe’s painful death must have been one of the most traumatic events in Awoyinfa’s life because of the close bond of friendship that developed between the two, going back to the early years of their careers about three decades ago. So close has been their relationship that they came to be identified by their colleagues, and even those outside their profession, as the “Twin Brothers”, even though one is Yoruba and the other Igbo.

As “Twin Brothers,” the two formed one of only two intimate friendships thrown up

by Nigeria’s journalism profession that have left proud legacies in the profession, the other friendship being the older and better known “Three Musketeers” of journalism, namely Aremo Segun Osoba, former governor of Ogun State and one time managing director of Daily Times, Mr Felix Adenaike, a Daily Times alumnus and at various times the most successful managing director of Western Region’s Sketch and the independent Tribune, and the late Mr. Peter Ajayi, an alumnus of Tribune, editor of the Kwara State Herald in its heyday, and managing director of Sketch.

However, whereas the Musketeers left behind a legacy of sound investigative reporting and excellent writing style, the twin brothers popularised tabloid journalism and made it respectable, first as pioneer editors of the rested Weekly Concord and then as pioneer managers of Sun whose owner and publisher is Chief Orji Kalu, two-time governor of Abia State.

As if by coincidence, one of the Musketeers, Osoba, chaired yesterday’s presentation of the twin brothers’ book. He used the occasion to touch on one of the most problematic issues in Nigerian journalism; the poor wages, at least in relative terms, of Nigerian journalists, that is when they get paid at all. A little about this presently.

To return to the book itself, it is, as I said, perhaps the most encyclopaedic book on

RIPPLES

By

MOHAMMED H ARUNA ndajika@yahoo.com

A legacy of ‘twin brothers’ of Nigerian journalism

‘

•Awoyinfa

•The late Igwe

global journalism. Before it I can remember only one such book. This is the award winning Powers of the Press: The World’s Great Newspapers by Martin Walker, an alumnus of the London Guardian and one of the most successful British journalists, and currently Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of the global news agency, United Press International.

Walker’s 1982 book was a tour de force as an insider’s look at the workings of 12 of the world’s most influential newspapers. His selection were the UK Times, the French Le Monde, the German Die Welt, the Italian Corriere della Sera, the Soviet Union Pravda, the Egyptian Al-Ahram, the Japanese Asahi Shimbun, the American New York Times and Washington Post, the Canadian Toronto Globe & Mail, the Australian Age of Melbourne and the South African Rand Daily Mail.

Whereas both Walker’s book and the twin brothers’ are encyclopaedic, the latter, containing interviews with reporters, editors and publishers of 50 of the world’s best media houses, is obviously more encyclopaedic. Second, whereas Walker’s is limited to newspapers, the twin brothers’ includes broadcast media and news agencies. Third, whereas Walker’s is one man’s insight into the inner workings of top flight journalism the world over, the twin brothers’ is, as the sub-title of the book says, a “Conversation with Journalism Masters on Trends and Best Practices” of the trade. In other words, their book presents the journalistic views of the masters of the profession across the world’s five con-

Looking down on yesterday’s occasion from the great beyond, Igwe must be a happy man seeing the way his colleagues trooped in from all corners of the country to attend the presentation of a book he co-authored and at the same time to celebrate his life

’

tinents in their own words.

This alone makes the book a fitting legacy to the resourceful twin brothers. It should also make it a must read not only for journalists and journalism schools. It should be so for anyone with an interest in politics and economics. And this, when you think about it, is just about everyone, since we all need information even to survive. And we get that most of the time through the media.

One little weakness of the book, as one which should be a reference for Nigerian journalism students, is that it did not include enough Nigerian journalism icons. Six such were interviewed, namely, the late Alhaji Babatunde Jose, Osoba, Thisday’s Nduka Obaigbena, the Pulitzer prize winning Dele Olojede, The News’ Bayo Onanuga and Channel TV’s John Momoh. Clearly missing from this list is an interview with Malams Adamu Ciroma and Mamman Daura, each as first, editor then managing director of New Nigerian, the most literate and arguably the most authoritative newspaper in Nigeria in the late sixties and seventies.

In the Introduction to the book the authors claim they pioneered Nigeria’s first Saturday newspaper, the highly successful Weekend Concord. I am not so sure they are right about that if their idea is of WC as a tabloidisation of reporting. Before WC, let’s not forget there was the highly popular La-

HARDBALL

PRESIDENT BUHARI ACTS LIKE A DICTATOR –PDP

I

So, fighting CORRUPTION is now DICTATORSHIP... AbI?

gos Weekend published on Fridays by the Daily Times of Nigeria. And after LW there was Saturday Extra, a four-page pull-out in the New Nigerian on Saturdays which reported stories from human angle and featured prominent columnists like the late Theresa Bowyer, one of the pioneer female journalists of this country.

These, of course, do not detract from the legacy of popularising of tabloid journalism and making it respectable in Nigeria which the twin brothers have built.

As I said earlier, the chair of the occasion and himself a journalism icon, Osoba, seized the opportunity of being in the chair to plead passionately with owners and publishers not only to pay their journalists living wages but to do so as and when due. Much of the terrible “brown envelop” syndrome which has bighted Nigerian journalism for long, he said, can be blamed on owners and publishers of mass media not paying their employees well, or worse, not even paying them at all. One can only hope that his plea will be heeded.

Times, of course, are tough for the industry, as they are for the rest of the economy.

But when reporters see their employers living it off from what they see as the proceeds of their sweat – and this seems to be the case with several owners and publishers – it sounds unrealistic to blame journalists for resorting to brown envelops, terrible as it is.

Looking down on yesterday’s occasion from the great beyond, Igwe must be a happy man seeing the way his colleagues trooped in from all corners of the country to attend the presentation of a book he co-authored and at the same time to celebrate his life.

I am not so sure, however, that he would be happy with the way the media, especially newspapers, online and off, have gone into frenzy, hawking speculations as facts, in their reporting of appointments by our new president, Muhammadu Buhari, into key positions in his government of “change”. At least twice now the media got the man wrong in their speculations about his appointments.

Yet that has not deterred them from bandying names of prospective ministers around with a certitude that, I suspect, must be amusing to the man himself.

Reading those stories you get a sneaky feeling that the newspapers are merely trying to force his hands by flying kites on behalf of certain self-interested individuals, obviously forgetting the man’s self-advertised guiding principle of belonging to no one and at the same time belonging to everyone. For the newspapers it seems twice bitten means no shy at all.

As Awoyinfa and Igwe have shown, tabloid journalism can be as respectable as serious journalism. But this is only in so far as it respects the basic rule of journalism that only opinion is free; facts must be sacred.

T is laughable that the political opposition is opposed not only to President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), but also to his portrait. The pictorial hostility was first publicised by Olisa Metuh, National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He announced on September 8: “We will never hang his (Buhari) portrait in this office, because President Buhari is not known to our party. He is not a leader of our party and, therefore, we will never put his portrait here.” Perhaps for the avoidance of doubt, Metuh added: “We are a political party, very partisan and therefore, we are not going to hide that.”

Like copycats, two other parties adopted the PDP’s position. According to the National Chairman of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), Peter Ameh, “…the APC did not have Jonathan’s portrait in the party’s national secretariat. Everything is about precedent.

Throughout Jonathan’s tenure, the APC didn’t have his photograph; so, maybe other political parties are also learning from the precedent

•For comments, send SMS to 08059100107

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above

Making a portrait a problem set by the APC. “ The Labour Party (LP) was guided, or misguided, by the same logic, or illogic. It’s National Chairman, Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, said: “We don’t have the photograph of President Buhari in our secretariat because the APC never had the photograph of exPresident Jonathan in their offices.”

It is a settled issue that display of the President’s portrait is a discretionary convention, which is why the seeming fuss by the opposition betrays desperation to score cheap political points. However, it could be realistically argued that Jonathan’s emergence as president lacked the incontestable clarity and popularity that defined Buhari’s election as president.

If the antagonistic parties intended to generate a controversy by their rationalisation, they only succeeded in drawing public attention to their post-election crisis of adjustment. Importantly, Metuh, Ameh and Abdulsalam referred to Buhari as

“President”. So, it would appear that they may not have a problem with Buhari’s official status, only with the portrait that illustrates his status.

It must be said that although exhibiting the President’s portrait is volitional, in a proper democratic culture such exhibition should be beyond unprogressive partisanship. In other words, hanging the President’s portrait should not be influenced by his membership of a particular party, or, in Buhari’s specific case, his non-membership of a particular party.

To use the words of a constitutional lawyer, Fred Agbaje, quoted in a report: “Even if it is not part of our constitution, it is part of our civic duty under the constitution that all public places should display the portrait as a mark of respect for constituted authority.”

In a fundamental sense, therefore, the attitude of the antagonists can be described as disrespectful, not to call it rebellious.

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Editor Daily:08111813080, Marketing: 01-8155547 . Abuja Office: Plot 5, Nanka Close AMAC Commercial Complex, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja. Tel: 07028105302. Port Harcourt Office: 12/14, Njemanze Street, Mile 1, Diobu, PH. 08023595790. WEBSITE: www.thenationonlineng.net E-mail: info@thenationonlineng.net ISSN: 115-5302 Editor: GBENGA OMOTOSO