Sun News- November 05,2012

NIGERIA SET TO EXPORT CASSAVA BREAD

FBN PRE-TAX PROFIT RISES TO N75BN

-pg. 29

-pg. 32

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www.sunnewsonline.com/businessweek

Businessweek NOVEMBER 5, 2012

•Money •Companies •Commodities •Analysis •Technology •Interview •Management •Stocks

N3.7bn power transmission mgt deal under threat

By LOUIS IBA

N

igeria’s power sector reforms programme appear to be heading towards the rocks, at least in the transmission industry, as Daily Sun learnt that the recently signed $23 million (about N3.7 billion) management

What we have in Nigeria is armed robbery...not piracy – Ify Akerele, DG, NCS CROSS RATES NAME OF CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL US DOLLAR 154.76 155.26 POUNDS STERLING 247.8946 248.6955 EURO 200.3678 201.0151 SWISS FRANC 165.6073 166.1423 YEN 1.9384 1.9446 CFA 0.2878 0.2978 WAUA 237.4157 238.1828 YUAN/RENMINBI 24.7678 24.8483 RIYAL 41.2638 41.3971 DANISH KRONA 26.8541 26.9408 SDR 237.7887 238.557 Official exchange rates as at 24/10/2012

SELLING 155.76 249.4964 201.6625 166.6774 1.9509 0.3078 238.9498 24.9288 41.5305 27.0276 239.3252

NIBOR TENOR Call 7 Day 30 Day 60 Day 90 Day Source: FMDA

RATE 12.2083 12.8750 13.9167 14.5833 15.2083

CHANGE 0.08 0.17 0.04 -0.04 0.12

DATE 24 Oct, 2012 24 Oct, 2012 24 Oct, 2012 24 Oct, 2012 24 Oct, 2012

PAGE 27

Fuel scarcity: Credit crunch scuttles importation efforts

By LOUIS IBA

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igeria's perennial fuel scarcity might likely stretch into the New Year as most importers and marketers, who have the Federal Government's fourth quarter permit to import products into the country, insist they would not lift a finger and venture into the business until all outstanding debts owed them under the fuel subsidy scheme are repaid.

An industry source told Daily Sun that marketers were finding it very difficult securing credits from local and domestic banks to bring in products offshore, as most of the firms involved in the deal were already

CONT’D ON PAGE 26

contract with Manitobi Electric had been stalled due to an internal crisis between officials of the Power Ministry and the Canadian firm.

A top official in the Power Ministry told Daily Sun that at the root of the crisis was

CONT’D ON PAGE 26

26

Businessweek NOVEMBER 5, 2012

THIS WEEK

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Banking & Insurance, Suntech

Business News

Aviation and Maritime

Money/ Entrepreneur

Brief CBN slashes COT by 40%

By CHIMA TITUS NWOKOJI

A

s part of the outcome of review of the extant guide to bank charges, which has been in use since January 2004, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has concluded plans to peg the Cost of Transaction (COT) at N3 for every N1,000 transacted.

The apex bank, in a circular (CFP/DIR/GDL/01/018) to deposit money banks in July, stated that the review “is intended to align the tariff regime in the banking industry with present economic realities, and offer a platform for standard application of charges on different types of banking products and services.”

Part of the clause is that the new COT regime will be a flexible one that must not exceed 3 per cent. Sources at the Central Bank said customers can negotiate COT charges between zero and 3 per cent, so that what customers will pay depends upon their negotiating power.

Before now, transaction cost was officially N5 for every N1,000 transacted. This means that, officially, the Central Bank will effectively reduce cost by 40 per cent for banks' customers. But the snag before now was that banks never adhered to the formerly stipulated N5 for every N1,000 transacted.

Most of the banks contacted could only agree that they had been compliant with the N5 for every N1,000 transacted. But most customers said they had not been aware of what had been charged them as COT. In its monetary, credit, foreign trade and exchange policy guidelines for fiscal years 2012/2013, the apex bank stated that it “shall continue to encourage banks to improve their deposit mobilization efforts. In line with the financial inclusion initiative, banks shall be required to demand zero balances for opening new bank accounts so as to make banking services accessible to the unbanked public.

“Accordingly, banks are encouraged to develop new products that would improve access to credit. Banks are, therefore, required to simplify their account opening processes, without necessarily compromising the Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements,” it added.

The Team Emeka Okoroanyanwu Group Business Editor Amechi Ogbonna Deputy Business Editor Omodele Adigun Assistant Business Editor Moses Akaigwe Ime Ola Foster Obi Isaac Anumihe Chima Nwokoji Uche Usim Louis Iba Dennis Mernyi Maduka Nweke Adewale Sanyaolu Kelechi Mgboji Bimbo Oyesola Bisi Olaleye

: : : : : : : : : : : : :

Motoring Agribusiness Maritime Banking/Finance, Abuja Banking/Finance Aviation Energy Energy, Abuja Insurance Industry Capital Market Labour Telecommunication/ICT

Festus Odume, Blaise Udunze Charles Nwaoguji, Chinenye Anuforo Oloke Tokunbo, Steve Agbota, Walter Ukaegbu Contributors ’Niyi Okiri Production Editor Ben. Njoku, Ifeoma G. Obi, Favour Onwuka Layout & Design Businessweek is a weekly publication of THE SUN Publishing Ltd., 2 Coscharis Street, Kirikiri Industrial Layout, Apapa PMB 22776, Ikeja, Lagos. 01-8983893, 01-5875560 website: www.sunnewsonline.com

• L–R: National President, NACCIMA, Dr. Herbert Ademola Ajayi; President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Goodie Ibru; Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, and former Minister of Industries, Chief (Mrs.) Nike Akande, at the opening ceremony of 2012 Lagos International Trade Fair at Tafawa Balewa Square.

Photo: OLUFEMI KAYODE

‘N3.7bn power transmission mgt deal under threat’ CONT’D FROM PAGE 25 the ‘absence of the zeal’ to execute the terms of the contract signed between the Federal Government and Manitobi.

“Manitobi officials have been barred – or frustrated – from taking control of the management of the Transmission Company of the Nigeria (TCN) almost two months after the government had ceded the contact to the firm,” said the source.

“And the truth is that there is the absence of the zeal by the government to execute the deal,” the official added.

Worried by the rot in the power sector, the government had privatized the generation and distribution aspects of the business, but had rather opted to concession the transmission business, under a three year tenure deal to Manitobi, to turn TCN into a technically and financially efficient, stable and sustainable company.

It was learnt that Manitobi has been denied the right to appoint or fill all senior or top management position in TCN as stipulated by the terms of the deal, which designated Nigerians as second in command in all key positions in the company.

“The contract to manage the strategic positions in TCN by Manitobi has not been effected as the Nigerians occupying those positions have refused to yield ground,” said an industry source. “And there is nobody to compel or force them out for the new man-

agement firm to come in.”

Sources said trouble started following the untimely exit of former Power Minister, Prof. Barth Nnaji who mid-wived the deal with Manitobi, a development that threw up the Minister of State, Darius Ishaku as the new helmsman. And it is alleged that IShaku and the new team in the Power Ministry had a different vision from what the erstwhile minister, Nnaji had.

“When Nnaji left, the people that took over had a different idea; they saw the Manitobi deal from a point of

view that necessitated a review and most senior officials in the ministry wanted to re-write the rules,” said a source about the deal. “But the Manitobi establishment would take none of that and that is where the deal got stuck,” the sources said.

But the stalemate is not without grave implications to the Nigerian economy as the N3.7billion sum paid to the Canadian firm had already become operational as from September 1, 2012.

“The money is running at a loss to the country,” said an official of the BPE, who vol-

unteered to explain the implication to the economy.

“I think it is a situation where a force majour would have to be invoked to save the loss,” he added.

Current generation capability in Nigeria stands at about 5,000megawatts and existing transmission facilities are so obsolete to carry even that capacity effectively. And with a fresh target of 10,000megawatts by 2015, the need to pump in fresh investments into the transmission network cannot be overstated.

Fuel scarcity: Credit crunch scuttles importation efforts CONT’D FROM PAGE 25 indebted to those creditor institutions, following the inability of the government to clear outstanding debts, which will permit the oil firms to pay-off the bank loans, the profit charges and, as it stands for most of the firms, the penalties for default on timely settlements of the loans and on the profits.

Over N200 billion was owed importers and marketers, but a source at the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), which regulates the fuel imports and subsidy payment scheme, said in the last two months greater efforts had been made by the government to clear the huge debts.

The source said the agency was awaiting a nod from the Finance Ministry authorizing payments of outstanding debts owned the remaining importers and marketer firms, noting that firms whose payments were delayed were those listed for further probe by the various audit committees inaugurated by the government to examine the management or mismanagement of the fuel subsidy payment scheme.

“The delay in payment to some of the firms is as a result of issues arising from the probe of the fuel subsidy scheme,” said the source. “As

soon as the Finance Ministry gives its clearance the affected marketers will be paid.”

In the last three months, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has stepped up in its efforts to bridge the huge gap in demand and supply created by the back-out of the marketers in the importation and distribution of products.

A top official of one of the importing firms, who spoke to Daily Sun, who said it had become apparent that the NNPC was comfortable in its new found monopoly status, especially as sole importer of petrol, however warned that the danger would be better felt in the next three months (December, January and February) when the yuletide and dry seasons set in with the demand for petrol tripling the current supply state. Daily consumption of fuel in Nigeria is estimated between 30 million litres, and at peak demand periods 33 million litres.

“Anyone who is familiar with the consumption pattern will tell you that as we move into the December and January months more people will demand for fuel; it is a period of mass movements across the country as well as heavily dependence on petrol for generators,” said the official.

Businessweek NOVEMBER 5, 2012

27

CEO INTERVIEW

IFY AKERELE

What we have in Nigeria is armed robbery...not piracy – Ify Akerele, DG, NCS

By FOSTER OBI

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fy Anazonwu Akerele, a graduate of Sociology, International Relations and Corporate Administration, is the director general, Nigeria Chamber of Shipping (NCS). The NCS is the umbrella body for the maritime/shipping industry committed to building capacity and engendering constructive and development programmes.

In this exclusive chat she told Daily Sun that contrary to opinions held locally and internationally that what Nigeria is experiencing is armed robbery, that has been extended from the land to the high seas, and not piracy. She is alarmed that Nigerians connive with foreigners to rob their own coastal waters.

According to her: “It is disgraceful that our men go out there and connive with foreigners...because of dollars. What has happened to the uniform and pride? If we don’t address the situation now it would become more dangerous, because even international bodies, like the International Maritime Executive Committee (IMEC), has always wanted to categorise us as piracy prone country. We have told them that is not true. We know very well that ours is not piracy. What we have is robbery on the high seas.”

She also talked about the cabotage law, the waiver clause and the plight of Nigerian ship owners and how the country can get out of dominance by foreign ship owners. She discusses the impact of the chamber in the sector and what the future of the industry looks like, among other issues.

Excerpts:

Assessing cabotage abotage can do much better than it is doing now but I will tell you, for example, that it is six or seven years old now, and even the National Assembly are looking at it again because it was a deal made in a little hurry.

However, it started the ball rolling and, like everything in human life, we have to review it.

Even constitutions are reviewed, so the Cabotage Act set the arena; got people to understand that we know that we are Nigerians and we want to take control of our own waters.

We don’t mind foreigners operating but they must work in collaboration with us.

There are lots of loopholes and a lot of shortcomings, mainly because Nigerian ship-owners don’t have the capacity yet to be able to argue strongly, but we are slowly getting there. The Nigerian Content Act, which we have now, states categorically, for example, that if you are given crude allocation, the vessel with which you are going to move that crude given to you must have Nigerian presence.

As a starter, you must show that you are partnering, and that your vessel would be used to train Nigerians and, within a year or so, 25 per cent of equity of that vessel will belong to the Nigerian. It is a gradual process. I don’t want to say that cabotage has failed. Cabotage has opened up a gamut of information on our shortcomings.

The Cabotage Act, I can assure you, will be reviewed. From the mistake of that, what you think is a failure is going to be a success,

C

because we now know awareness is growing.

Without that act there wouldn’t even have been any awareness. We would still be thinking that it all belongs to foreigners. In our own country, they can bring in product and also sell it; they can go and drill oil and also move it; we just sit back and collect the crumbs.

So I assure you that the foreigners also are beginning to say well there is a law; when there is no law, foreigners will do what they like.

Once there is a law, they will start falling in line.

It is just now that we have this law, what the Chamber is trying to do. Within our rights behave properly, don’t look for short cut; don’t

• Akerele defy best practices whch is the major problem I will tell you we are having.

Waiver Clause aiver clause was a realistic approach to the situation on ground but it was abused as usual, but now with the Nigerian Content Act and the awareness getting louder and bigger, there is no need for a waiver clause; in fact that waiver clause has shown what Nigeria had been losing and need to sit up. The Nigerian Content Law has shown Nigerians that you stop the waiver clause because this is what is due to you; so the avenues for Nigerians to participate has opened up widely. The waiver

W

“THE NIGERIAN CONTENT ACT, WHICH WE HAVE NOW, STATES CATEGORICALLY, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT IF YOU ARE GIVEN CRUDE ALLOCATION, THE VESSELWITH WHICH YOU ARE GOING TO MOVE THAT CRUDE GIVEN TO YOU MUST HAVE NIGERIAN PRESENCE”

clause was as a result of what was on ground then; there was no capacity and it was abused unfortunately.

It was a necessity though but because there was a Nigerian Content Act, that followed in 2010, Nigeria’s position has become stronger because the International Oil Companies (IOC’s) are expected to adhere to certain demands from that law which the waiver clause had always covered the foreigners.

Now before you put out your billing papers as an IOC, you have to show how much of the Nigerian situation you have taken into consideration, your first choice must be a Nigerian and if that Nigerian is okay, the partnership with foreigner must show that there is going to be a transfer of knowledge. The waiver that says lets wait till the Nigerian grows, let the foreigner be doing is no longer going to really exist because the NCD Act came along and has superseded that waiver; what we are trying to do is to merge and make people understand that the cabotage law and the NCD has to work hand in hand.

Conniving with foreigners to rip Nigeria off he foreigner must adhere to the law. We don’t really deal with people who bring in diesel,i.e the downstream people; we don’t as much and I feel that it’s because its something we want to believe will fall in line soon. But the upstream operators, someone is going to be very careful in breaking the law so if you are conniving with the Nigerian right now to flout

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CONT’D ON PAGE 28

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Businessweek NOVEMBER 5, 2012

CEO INTERVIEW

‘Cabotage law is working in Nigeria’ CONT’D FROM PAGE 27 the Nigerian content law you are doing so at your expense because there is one thing you must understand about foreigners, they respect laws.

Now the ones you are talking about are probably akin to pirates. You have miscreants from all sorts that attack our high seas and offload petroleum products and offload it into their own vessel and take it by force; that is the down stream area which needs a lot of policing and as you can see, NIMASA is working very hard to ensure that it polices the waters properly; they are even going to take on tracking devices.

The piracy issue is more like an attack and it is going to be dealt with as a criminal offence; so saying that Nigerians are conniving with foreigners, I really don’t know in what way because if a Nigerian vessel that has to go to the mother ship and offload the products, now that Nigerian vessel may not exist, it may be that a foreigner owns it and collaborates with the Nigerian but NIMASA is now enforcing and making sure that if they bought the vessel, the papers must reflect a very solid relationship with the Nigerian.

It is not that we don’t understand that Nigerians don’t have that capacity yet, but if you want to go out and work in the downstream, let me see your partnership with Mr Smith and you have a recognized partnership, not like you are a front and that on that vessel, 90 per cent of your staff are Nigerians. It doesn’t mean that Mr Smith cannot do the job with you but must adhere to local content.

We want to grow capacity, so when you are operating and bringing in petroleum products in the next five years we want to see that the ownership of that vessel is 25 per cent Nigerian. We want to see you transverse that ownership; let you the foreigner become a small part of that business; we will always need technical assistance; there is not going to be a time when Nigerian will not need technical knowledge from the international countries and even then, they need expertise in other areas; if you go to England there is expertise that is akin to German, and so on; we are not arguing with that, what we are arguing is that it should not be that company A belongs to France come to our high seas cannot come into our water because of cabotage law but that company has a small vessel that will come and carry our products meanwhile yours is sitting down idle. That small vessel should be in partnership with you so that the money is banked in a Nigerian bank. Not just cheating us.

Empowering Nigerian shipowners

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• Akerele e have laws in place now. The first step W to empowering Nigerians is the law; the Cabotage law was wobbly until the Nigerian Content Act came in. Those two are very powerful laws that can encourage Nigerians in the middle sector of the oil and gas industry-maritime sector. A Nigerian that is serious has to go get knowledge; you will hardly find a British, French or American shipping company that does not have such people with maritime background or knowledge.

If you came in with your MBA, they will send you on a course; Nigerians have to start doing that and that is part of what we are doing here; trying to encourage Nigerians to go into that area. If you go into the medical profession, they will not take you unless you are a doctor, even if you are an architect, you will still have to read medicine. They look at your area of specialization.

I came in as corporate administrator; my core area is administration but I had to go and do core shipping administrative courses.

I didn’t want to go into technical areas, I didn’t want to go into ship building; I wanted to understand how to coordinate the shipping industry. It took years for me to get MBA and all the necessary things needed and this is why you are speaking

to me. Now this is one of the problems we have in Nigeria. You want a law and you want to be spoon-fed. One of the things we do at the chamber is to try and explain that the foreigners will only act if you allow them.

They will watch your body language and if they see that you want to cheat your system, as far as they are concerned, they will encourage you because it will help them make what they are looking for-money, but you the Nigerian has to get knowledge, the indigenous shipowners have to get their house together. If A has two vessels they need to get together and find out, how do we expand our business. You have the NCD protecting you; the jobs must come to you, you must say give us this job.

When you are given a job, which is part of what we are doing, you go, Shell for example, is ready to help any Nigerian that is ready to work; you can go to a bank and say Shell is likely to give me this job, how do you assist me.

NCD will also assist in making sure you get fund. But if you fail that first time you cannot go back. So there is need for commitment from the Nigerian. The ball is in our court; it is no longer how you empower the Nigerian ship-owners; they have been empowered with laws.

Years ahead am very optimistic, I have never ever doubted that Nigeria will get there. The other day somebody sent a text that Ghana has built their refinery and they didn’t make noise and we are making so much noise. It is not easy

I

“IT IS NOT THAT WE DON’T UNDERSTAND THAT NIGERIANS DON’T HAVE THAT CAPACITY YET, BUT IF YOU WANT TO GO OUT AND WORK IN THE DOWNSTREAM, LET ME SEE YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH MR SMITH....”

• Akerele

to build a refinery here; Ghanaians are fewer and less diverse; in Nigeria you are dealing with many issues to ensure that a proper refinery is in place after the abuse of military rule.

Psyche has to be changed; the need has to be understood from all levels. For example, the autonomy of the CBN is being questioned.

These are the kind of things you face, should the autonomy of the CBN be questioned due to a personality issue, these are the kind of things we will confront if we are going to build a refinery; also even the rats on that property will come out; so this country is really going to be the hub of maritime industry. When I go to other countries, the way they look up to us, everything we do they follow suit; the Nigerian content Act is at it again but we stakeholders have to get up and do what we should do and that’s why the chamber is fearlessly going ahead with being objective. Sometimes they abuse us that we are not even promoting Nigerians, but we promote Nigerians that show it and not just because you are a Nigerian.

Piracy his piracy, there are two things involved; in the whole of Africa, Somalia piracy is a business, in Nigeria you have armed robbery, not piracy; what we have is armed robbery. It is armed robbery extended from land to the sea; and the most unfortunate aspect of it is that it is in connivance with Nigerians. In neighbouring countries, you have all sorts of neighbouring people in this game. At times even the mother vessels that are bringing in the products they are saying they are doing piracy, it is a terrible cartel. We are trying to work out something, it is disgraceful that our men go out there and connive because of dollars; what has happened to the uniform and pride; so if we don't address it now, it is dangerous because even international bodies like the international maritime executive committee (IMEC) had always wanted to categorise us as piracy prone countries. We have told them that it is not true, we know very well that ours is not piracy, what we have is robbery on high seas.

Nigeria has to address this. The government employed an agency that will give logistic assistance to NIMASA and the Navy to ensure that the waters are safe. There were such hue and cries in Nigeria but the people are actually doing something. They are providing the platform, they are giving everything, we are trying to address the pride of the navy, it is disgraceful that our people out there assist in this robbery, it is very bad.

Hiring private firm to safeguard our waters t is not illegal that you engage a company that has the antecedent and has shown ability; this people have shown that this is what they can do. Nigeria is very diverse. This country should try and see things from where we are going. Let's give this Global West (GWSL) people a chance. You see in the next five years, if you draw the chart, we should always ask NIMASA we want to see your score sheet and if we see, it is always below par. We say GWSL is not doing well go, so it will be easy to track.

The international bodies say we are piracy prone because it makes insurance to Nigeria sky high. Everything is like Nigeria is in a war zone and this is not true. It is something we have always known and it's been addressed.

CVFF VFF is a fund that exists. It is there.

Unfortunately there are a lot of political intrigues. Anywhere there is money; Nigerians always go there trying to use whatever political advantage they have. So the fund would be released but what NIMASA is trying to do is give it to the people that should have it, but when you keep having interference, you just have to wait but it is there, it is good way of encouraging indigenous ship owners. If you can come up with a contract, come up; if you qualify you are given the money. It will be monitored by your bank; you are likely to get contract if you have a vessel. So when it is released it is a very good idea, it cant fund much but it is the beginning; it can become something that one could start with but am amazed at all the political innuendo because of the N100 million or so, it is so unfortunate.

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Businessweek NOVEMBER 5, 2012

29

AGRIBIZ

We’re set to export cassava bread – UTC boss

By IME OLA

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or more than two months, UTC did not produce Starloaf, its high quality cassava bread. Many who now enjoy cassava bread were wondering why their favorite loaf was off the shelf. The Managing Director of the company, Mrs Foluso Olaniyan, in an interview with Daily Sun, explained that they could not produce the bread because of some technical hitches.

Now, the bread is back, improved, rebranded and repackaged to meet international standards. She also spoke of plans to export the bread to other African countries by Christmas.

Why we were not in the market for two months We took a little break. The launching of Starloaf cassava bread in the first quarter of the year put a strain on our equipment output, hence the need to fast-track routine maintenance by two months, on the advice of our engineers. During the period of maintenance, we did not produce Starloaf. But now, Starloaf is back, this time with additional quality and with a higher inclusion level of high quality cassava flour (HQCF).

Still the same old size We currently have two products in our cassava bread range. The new product came out after our routine maintenance exercise.

In addition to the 400 grammes sliced loaf we had before, we now have a 200g kiddies’ loaf in tamper-proof pack affordable to an average Nigerian family. An appropriate single meal for a normal Nigerian child. It is the same as Starloaf but in a smaller portion.

Because the children are a sensitive group, we take extra care in what goes into their systems. This makes the product unique and is by far the cheapest today.

How and when we started producing cassava bread Last year, when we concluded our production and equipment strategy at the end of the third quarter 2011, we were not aware of the cassava bread issue. We were intimated about it on December 23, 2011, at a meeting called at the instance of the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, where four corporate bakers were brought to start the inclusion of cassava flour in bread this year.

As a patriotic company, we went to work immediately after the Christmas holidays, despite the 10-day nationwide strike. And within eight weeks we had run 92 trials and we were able to achieve a sustainable cassava bread recipe with 20 per cent HQCF inclusion. This was done at that time with zero support from any external body. Based on our own promptings and breakthroughs, other corporate bakers followed suit.

In addition to bread, we started inclusion also in our mass-market range of snacks, namely UTC Chopsy beef-roll and UTC marble cakes. These are long-life products, with close to two weeks shelf life. We are the largest consumer of the HQCF in the baking industry because we use it for a range of 12 products, although we have our no-cassava range for those averse to cassava taste.

Because we respect human rights, we give our consumers the options of choice. Our cassava range is clearly marked with the cassava logo, while the no-cassava range carries no such markings.

How we are coping In the private sector, company budgets – encompassing equipment and production strategy and plan – are always concluded at the end of the third quarter of the year preceding implementation. Despite the 10-day national strike, we were able to hit the market in the 8th week of the year. We branded, sold for cash and followed up with tasting

• Olaniyan

claims and they left pleased and satisfied.

Our next steps on cassava bread Because we realized that these products have been tasted and commended by presidents and heads of governments of some countries who visited our president, we decided to step back, improve on quality and delivery standards. We are also looking at exporting them to neighboring African countries to support government’s advocacy of cassava usage as raw materials for bread and other food Cassava bread products.

The new, improved ones have been made sessions, which we opened to the public. We went a step further by allowing bakers, to international standards; kiddies’ loaf with millers, NAFDAC and international agen- tamper proof packaging; batch numbers for cies to come in and verify our inclusion traceability; ‘best before’ dates to protect

consumers and instill consumers’ confidence; barcode for scanning purposes in retail outlets and increased cassava flour inclusion, to reduce the intake of gluten by gluten-intolerant consumers and to address concerns expressed on glycaemic index of wheat flour by health-conscious consumers.

We are meeting international standards All these are mandatory standards for international products. We are crafting the Starloaf as an international product as we hope to start exporting to other African countries by Christmas, beginning with West Africa. We want to make this years’ Christmas a cassava-filled Christmas for African nations. We are spreading the cassava tidings across Africa. As we speak, we have appointed agents for the products in Cotonou and Accra. We are just waiting to fine-tune our Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and all necessary paper work before we commence delivery.

Why we are exporting We, as a private organization, are interested in shareholders values, which come with profitability. Hence, our readiness to embrace consumers who are ready to pay the price, irrespective of where they are as long as it contributes positively to our bottom line. Private companies are created for profits. Cassava-based products create values health-wise and increase productivity as the inclusion of cassava flour reduces production costs.

Has your company received the Federal Government’s intervention fund to support producers of cassava bread and, if so, how much?

We appreciate the efforts of the Honourable Minister of Agriculture in attracting attention to cassava bread from UTC, we are waiting for support via the cassava bread fund instituted by the President in June to enable us grow our output of the cassava loaf to significant levels that will actually impact on the Nigerian farmers. If the uptake is high, the drive towards use of HQCF will follow suit. It is our hope that more corporate bakers will adopt the policy and get creative.

Lagos Sea Food Festival holds Nov 10

By IME OLA

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s part of efforts to boost food production in the state, and to increase the income of farmers, the Lagos State government is set to host the first Lagos Sea Food Festival.

Briefing newsmen on the activities lined up for the event, the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Co-operatives, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, said the festival is not a revenue generating event but a platform for the farmers to increase their incomes.

With the theme: Lagos Sea Food Festival: Boosting the Potentials of the Fishing Industry, the commissioner said the festival, which is slated for Saturday, November 10 at Eko Atlantic City, Victoria Island, will celebrate the state’s traditional delicacies and maritime heritage.

He said: “The festival will promote all about sea food farmed in Lagos waters, and its broad

uses, engaging all industry stakeholders from the local fishermen to the marketer, fish processors, as well as the export market. It is all about seafood, which is in line with our recent efforts at attaining our potential in agriculture sustenance and tourism.

The commissioner explained that the con-

• Fresh fish

cept is timely and appropriate given government’s initiatives in fisheries and aquaculture in recent times.

According to him, through the festival, the government intends to develop linkages among stakeholders, share knowledge and technology used in the industry and exchange information on products and services available in the global market.

Prince Lawal explained that it would impact positively on the economy of the state and feature as a major tourist attraction and destination for local and international tourists.

Part of the activities include exhibition by fisher folds, fish and various seafoodbased menu and finger food vendors as well as traditional dinners. Food merchants and processors will also be in attendance to thrill guests with a wide range of fish and sea species from Lagos waters, he added.

The Governor Mr. Babatunde Fashola is expected as the special guest of honour.

Agric Confab, Kano 2012, begins today From DESMOND MGBOH, Kano

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griculture in Nigeria is set to record a major boost as experts in the field, including scientists, researchers, technocrats and key agro-allied business interests meet in Kano to critically review the prospects and challenges of the agricultural sector in a deregulated economy.

The Conference, tagged: ‘Kano 2012’ begins today at the Bayero University, Kano, and ends on Friday, according to the organizers.

In a pre-conference Press briefing, held at the Faculty of Agriculture of the university, Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), Professor Muhammad

Auwar Hussaini, said that the conference would hold under auspices of the Agriculture Society of Nigeria (ASN), an umbrella body of Agric professionals in Nigeria.

The chairman of the LOC further explained that the theme of the conference could not have come at a more appropriate time than now given that the country is deregulating its economy in the hope to attain self-sufficiency in food production, economic growth and development.

According to him a total of 280 papers are expected to be presented during the 5-day conference, while the Governor of the Central Bank, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, will present the keynote address.

Country Director of Sassakawa Global

2000, Nigeria, Professor S. Miko will speak on the subject: ‘Self Sufficiency in Local Wheat production: Myth or Reality?’, during the plenary session.

Professor O. A. Osinowo, director, Institute of Food Security, Environmental Resources and Agricultural Research, Federal University of Technology, Abeokuta, will also speak on the role of the livestock sector in the transformation of agriculture in a deregulated economy.

The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, the Governor of Kano State, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwuni Ayodele Adesina, are expected as special guests of honour and father of the day.

30 Businessweek AGRIBIZ

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

FG distributes free pods to cocoa farmers Stories By IME OLA

T

o help cocoa farmers improve their productivity, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has commenced the distribution of free highyielding, early fruiting and early-maturing varieties of cocoa pods to farmers in South Western Nigeria.

Speaking at the event, held at Ago Store, Owena, near Akure in Ondo State, recently, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, said the hybrid cocoa pods would reposition the cocoa sub-sector.

His words: “As we flag-off free distribution of these selected hybrid pods today, these will be useful to reposition cocoa as a veritable and substantial foreign exchange earning commodity, creating jobs, wealth and prosperity for our farmers, traders, warehouse operators, merchants, processors, exporters, state government and the nation as a whole.”

During the exercise, the minister, who was represented by a Director, South West, in the ministry, Dr. Julius Odeyemi, explained why the cocoa sub-sector needed such a high level of intervention.

“This gesture is in realization of the fact that the use of selected and improved planting materials is a major key towards achieving our set objective of doubling our current production to 500,000 metric tonnes by 2015 as we march towards our 1.0 million metric tonnes target by 2018.

• Dr Odeyemi presenting cocoa pods to one of the beneficiaries

“A strategic consideration in the transformation of the cocoa sector is the use of improved genetic stocks (newly released CRINc1 – 8, WACRI 11 Hybrids & F3Amazon) and phased replacement of old unproductive stocks with new high yielding stocks. To stop further use of poor yielding and old varieties and systematically replace the tree stocks in Nigeria, we have engaged specialized seed production units at Cocoa

Research Institute of Nigeria, Tree Crops Units of Ondo, Osun and Ekiti States to produce 3.6 million hybrid pods that will be given to cocoa farmers. This has the potentials of raising the current production on farms from 350 kg/ha to 1,000 kg/ha and also reducing time to maturity from five years to 24 – 30 months of field establishment.” He said.

The minister stressed that the cocoa transformation programme strategically addresses

the constraints as the Ministry adopts the whole value chain approach from input supply to support on-farm production to value addition, local consumption and export of produce and products.

He said the goal is to eventually account for at least 25 percent of the world market with an output of 500,000 MT by 2015.

Applauding the federal government for the intervention, the commissioner for Agriculture in Ondo State, Mr. Ademola Olorunfemi, an engineer said: “We thank Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for the transformation agenda he has put in place, particularly in agriculture and for finding worthy Dr. Adesina to be the minister.

We are glad to work with the minister.”

The commissioner encouraged farmers to make the best use of the cocoa pods, adding that the governor had asked all commodity associations to put forward requests on the kind of intervention and support they require from the government.

He urged those who have old farmers and family farms to come forward for seedlings to support the Federal Government’s agricultural transformation agenda.

On his part, Dr. Peter Aikpokpodion, cocoa transformation team leader, said the demand for varieties of cocoa from Nigeria was made recently at the international cocoa conference.

He informed those who are interested in benefiting from Growth Enhancement Support in cocoa to register with the tree crops units located in various parts of the country.

Nigerian tobacco growers urge govt to protect farms

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he Nigerian Independent Tobacco Association (NITA), last Wednesday, joined all members of the International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA) to mark the first-ever World Tobacco Growers’ Day. The growers also called on governments to oppose proposals by the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) that threaten the livelihoods of more than 30 million tobacco growers and farm workers. These proposals will be voted on in two weeks at the WHO meeting in Seoul, South Korea.

Celebrating the World Tobacco Growers’ Day at Silver Palace Motel in Iseyin, Oyo State, Chairman, NITA, Rasheed Bakare, asked the leaders to give the association an opportunity to work together to contribute to the growth of the economy.

He said: “Tobacco growers of the world will not stand idle and watch as their fates are sealed. Our government and leaders must understand that these issues will have consequences not only for us, but also for the communities we live in.

“As we celebrate the benefits our farms bring to our communities, we are also asking our leaders to stand with us, to hear our voices and to give us the opportunity to work together to protect our way of life. Should these draconian measures become law, they’ll have a dire impact on the livelihoods of 800 growers in Nigeria and the over N500 million we con-

tribute to the local economy annually.” grown, reducing area allocated for tobacco According to him, NITA supports the origi- farming, banning technical support for tobacco nal intent of the FCTC’s Article 17 treaty, which was to provide “technical and financial assistance to aid the economic transition of tobacco growers and workers” as a decline in tobacco production consumption resulted in lower demand for the crop.

Bakare however noted, the proposals under consideration currently represent a departure from this original goal as they seek to artificially reduce the supply of tobacco without providing growers any viable alternatives to support their families. “This is despite estimates that demand for tobacco will increase in coming years” he added.

He explained that the Association had sent a letter to the Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, and will soon launch a petition to ask the government to oppose these elements of the proposals that will be voted on by the WHO’s FCTC. He called for Dr Akinwumi Adesina’s unwavering support for tobacco growers and an opposition to any plans that would threaten their livelihoods.

“The FCTC has not heard the voice of growers and has gone off track in pursuing absurd proposals that are contrary to its original mandate. Today we simply ask to be heard and to become part of the solution,” he said.

Specifically, the growers are calling on the leaders to oppose the ban of minimum support prices and leaf auctions, restricting production by regulating the seasons when tobacco can be

• L–R: Biodun Fagbemi, secretary, Nigerian Independent Tobacco Association (NITA); Balogun Bashiru, vice chairman; Rasheed Bakare, chairman, and Fatai Amao, treasurer, NITA, at a Press briefing, held at Silver Palace Motel in Iseyin, Oyo State, to mark the first World Tobacco Growers’ Day, recently.

farmers and dismantling all bodies connecting growers with governments.

Businessweek NOVEMBER 5, 2012

31

ESOKO

Briefs Shareholders endorse Resort Savings and Loans recapitalization bid

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arring any other change in strategy, the board and management of Resort Savings and Loans Plc. may soon hit the Nigerian capital market with fresh capital issues, which will enable it meet outstanding statutory obligations to regulators and other stakeholders.

This is sequel to last Thursday’s, unanimous endorsement of the firm’s proposal to raise additional capital from the market to enable it strengthen operations and remain competitive in the years ahead.

The approval which was given at the company’s 6th annual general meeting held at the Eko Tourist Beach Resort, Akodo, Lagos, came after a very stormy session in which the board and management were tasked to take very drastic measures to improve the performance of the company over the next few years.

But determined to allow the firm proceed as a going concern, the shareholders charged board to seek regulatory approval to raise by way of public offer, placement and rights issues or a combination of methods to get the required capital, the size of which shall be determined by the directors.

Shareholders were of the view that only such recapitalization or implementation of other forms of business combinations could reposition the bank and turn it into a market leader in Nigeria’s savings and loans sector.

Addressing the media shortly after the meeting, the bank Managing Director and Chief Executive, Mr Abimbola Olayinka, assured that the firm would soon bounce back after the ongoing clean up exercise.

He explained that in the year under review, the board made 100 per cent provision for all its doubtful loans, in line with the prudential guidelines issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

NBC appoints Ben Langat new MD

By JAMES AKWU

N

igerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited has announced the appointment of Mr. Ben Langat as its new Managing Director.

A statement by the company in Lagos on Thursday, Langat succeeds Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, who is scheduled to take up a new role outside of the company.

In the statement, signed by NBC’s Public Affairs and Communications, Adeyanju Olomola, said Langat, who previously held the position of the Company’s Director of Finance would assume the new role at NBC with effect from November.

In his words: “Langat joined NBC as Director of Finance in june, 2009, from Unilever and overtime established himself as a very strong leader based on his values ,integrity ,business acumen and leadership.

“He built a strong team and established a high performing business partnership.”

Esoko Nigeria Commodity Index MARKET/COMMODITY

WHOLESALE

RETAIL

LAST WEEK’S PRICE

Bag(kg) Price(N)

LM

Price(N)

VARIANCE

P/Kg(N)

W(N)

R(N)

W(N)

R(N)

Bodija Market Oyo State Drum Beans (Olotu) Groundnut (Edible) Garri (White) Maize (White) Palm oil Rice (Imported) Sorghum (Red) Soya Beans

100 100 100 100 25L 50 100 100

27600 18000 9500 7500 5000 8300 7700 12500

Congo Congo Congo Congo Bottle (0.75L) Congo Congo Congo

475 260 100 110 180 280 120 200

395 200 83.33 91.67 240 233.33 100 166.67

28500 18000 10500 7800 5000 8500 7700 12500

500 260 100 120 180 290 120 200

-900 0 -1000 -300 0 -200 0 0

-25 0 0 -10 0 -10 0 0

Danwanua Market Kano State Drum Beans (Olotu) Groundnut (Edible) Garri (White) Maize (White) Sorghum (Red) Soya Beans

100 100 60 100 100 100

16000 15600 5260 6000 6400 8000

Tier Tier Tier Tier Tier Tier

400 390 225 155 165 200

163.93 189.32 120.43 61.51 63.95 89.29

16750 16000 5350 6000 6400 8000

420 400 235 155 165 200

-750 -400 -90 0 0 0

-20 -10 -10 0 0 0

Gombe Main Market Gombe State Garri (White) Maize (White) Palm oil Rice (Imported) Sorghum (Red) Soya Beans

100 100 25L 50 100 100

6200 5500 5200 8000 7800 8500

Mudu Mudu Bottle (0.75L) Mudu Mudu Mudu

120 80 200 250 120 120

120 66.67 266.67 173.61 92.31 101.69

6000 6500 5200 8000 7800 8500

120 90 200 250 120 120

200 -1000 0 0 0 0

0 -10 0 0 0 0

Igbudu Market Delta State Drum Beans (Olotu) Maize (White) Onion (Violet) Palm oil Rice (Imported) Sorghum (Red) Soya Beans

100 100 100 25L 50 100 100

34500 7700 17600 4500 10000 8500 13350

Paint Bucket Paint Bucket

1550 350

418.92 94.59

1550 350

4L Gallon Paint Bucket Paint Bucket Paint Bucket

1200 900 450 650

300 219.51 112.5 171.05

34500 7700 17600 4500 10000 8500 13350

1200 900 450 650

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Keffi Market Nasarawa State Drum Beans (Olotu) Groundnut (Edible) Garri (White) Maize (White) Rice (Imported) Sorghum (Red) Soya Beans

100 100 100 100 50 100 100

60000 17000 10000 10000 9500 10000 15000

Mudu Mudu Mudu Mudu Mudu Mudu Mudu

600 170 100 100 300 100 150

535.71 146.55 135.14 81.97 241.94 79.37 144.23

60000 17000 10000 10000 9500 10000 15000

600 170 100 100 300 100 150

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Mile 12 Market Lagos State Drum Beans (Olotu) Groundnut (Edible) Garri (White) Maize (White) Onion (Violet) Palm oil Rice (Imported) Sorghum (Red) Soya Beans

100 100 60 100 100 25L 50 100 100

32000 20000 7500 6000 27000 6500 8500 8000 10000

Paint Bucket Paint Bucket Paint Bucket Paint Bucket Bag Bottle (0.75L) Paint Bucket Paint Bucket Paint Bucket

1200 700 350 350

333.33 225.81 120.69 94.59

1200 700 350 350

320 170.73 100 166.67

-3000 3000 0 -1500 2000 0 0 0 -4000

0 0 0 0 0

240 700 400 600

35000 17000 7500 7500 25000 6500 8500 8000 14000

0 0 -100

Mutum Biyu Market Taraba State Groundnut (Edible) Garri (White) Maize (White) Onion (Violet) Palm oil Rice (Imported) Sorghum (Red) Soya Beans

100 100 100 100 30L 50 100 100

12000 5500 4400 10000 5700 8700 8500 9000

Tier Tier Tier

300 150 150

128.21 80.65 55.97

300 200 150

5L Tier Teir Tier

1200 600 280 300

240 270.27 102.94 128.21

12000 6500 4500 10000 5500 8500 8200 19500

0 -1000 -100 0 200 200 300 -10500

0 -50 0 0 0 0 30 -100

100 100 100 100

Paint Bucket Paint Bucket Paint Bucket Paint Bucket

1400 850 300 350

419.16 236.11 103.45 92.11

25L 50 100 100

38000 21000 6500 8000 20000 6300 9400 8500 15500

Bottle (0.75L) Paint Bucket Paint Bucket Paint Bucket

250 850 350 550

333.33 219.07 87.5 153.63

0 0 -3000 0 2000 0 0 0 0

0 0 -170 0 0 0 0 0 0

100 120 60 100 100 25L 50 120 120

40000 17000 2800 8000 25000 6500 9500 14000 16000

Paint Bucket Paint Bucket Paint Bucket Paint Bucket

1800 800 300 300

473.68 266.67 103.45 81.08

Bottle (0.75L) Paint Bucket Paint Bucket Paint Bucket

200 900 450 600

266.67 219.51 112.5 157.89

0 0 0 0 7000 200 100 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Ogbete Market Enugu Drum Beans (Olotu) Groundnut (Edible) Garri (White) Maize (White) Onion (Violet) Palm oil Rice (Imported) Sorghum (Red) Soya Beans Relief Market Anambra State Drum Beans (Olotu) Groundnut (Edible) Garri (White) Maize (White) Onion (Violet) Palm oil Rice (Imported) Sorghum (Red) Soya Beans

• Source: Esoko Nigeria [Email: info@esokonigeria.com//Tel: +234-1-8501145]

240 700 400 700

1200 600 250 400

38000 21000 9500 8000 18000 6300 9400 8500 15500

1400 850 470 350

40000 17000 2800 8000 18000 6300 9400 14000 16000

1800 800 300 300

250 850 350 550

200 900 450 600

32 Businessweek NOVEMBER 5, 2012 TAX ISSUES

Nigeria loses $37bn in oil revenue

FBN pre-tax profit rises to N75bn

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report by the Presidential Committee and Task force on Oil and Subsidy, submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan, reveals that Nigeria has lost about $37 billion revenue in the petroleum sector over the past decade.

The committee, set-up by Petroleum Minister, Mrs Diezani Allison Madueke, in February, also indicted some government officials, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and representatives of the Joint Venture partners of Multinationals Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil.

Overtime corruption and mismanagement have been identified as the perils of the petroleum sector and, after the January protests that greeted the Government’s decision to remove subsidy, Nigerians demanded that the government should look into the sector and tackle corruption.

With the submission of the report, Nigerians are eager to see what the administration will do with culprits who have facilitated the diversion of funds meant for the National revenue.

N37bn

revenue lost over the past decade

Ogun moves to tackle fake tax certificate syndicates

By MOSHOOD ADEBAYO, Abeokuta gun State Government says it has detected fake electronic tax clearance certificate (e-TCC) syndicates and had declared war on the producers of such materials.

In this regard, the government has introduced security features which will allow easy identification of genuine tax clearance certificates with simple mobile Short Message Service (SMS).

The Ogun Internal Revenue Service (OGIRS) Chairman, Mr. Babajide Odubanjo, who said his department was working relentlessly against the ugly tide, assured that it had mapped out strategies aimed at arresting the menace.

In this vein, he disclosed that a helpline had been established under the Office of the special adviser to the governor on Revenue and Taxation.

This, he stated, would afford members of the public the opportunity to share information about suspected fraudulent activities which, he said, would be treated in confidence.

“Those who cut corners and patronize touts are placing themselves at risk, as possession of fake tax clearance certificate is a criminal offence,” he said.

Odubanjo also disclosed that many members of the public who unconsciously present fake tax clearance during business transaction had been arrested.

“Payment of tax is a civic duty which most of our residents undertake with pleasure, but this has attracted some unscrupulous criminals who will be flushed out of Ogun State by our constant vigilance and security operations,” he warned.

The OGIRS boss warned that the full weight of the law would come down on those who engage in such unscrupulous acts urging members of the public to deal directly with the service.

O

Fin Insurance PBT grows by 189.7%

By STEVE AGBOTA

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in Insurance Company Limited, at its 40th Annual General Meeting in Lagos, recently, said it recorded a profit before tax of N138.77 million during the financial year 2011, a 189.7 per cent growth from N47.90 million in 2010.

The Chairman of the company, Mr Segun Odusanya, noted that the company’s Profit after tax also went up by 175 per cent from N25.78 million in 2010 to N70.47 million, while shareholders fund also rose from N3.92 billion to N3.98 billion, an increase of 1.5 per cent.

He said that the company’s investment income increased by 3.157 per cent to N225.7 million in 2011 from N218.8 million recorded in the corresponding year 2010.

Odusanya added that the company’s gross premium income dropped by 2.69 per cent from N1.31 billion in 2010 to N1.27 billion recorded in 2011.

On the future of Insurance business in the country, he said that the future is bright assuring that the company was well positioned to take full advantage of the various macro-economic policies designed to increase insurance penetration and to discourage capital flight.

He explained that the board and management would continue to pursue strategies and policies that will help the company maintain its pre-eminence in the industry.

By AMECHI OGBONNA irst Bank of Nigeria Plc., at the weekend, announced its unaudited IFRS compliant results for the nine months ended September 2012.

Highlights of the results, made available to Daily Sun, showed that the profit before tax for the nine months in question grew by 48.4 per cent to N75.7billion from N51.2billion in the corresponding period of 2011.

Other indicators show 19per cent growth in gross earnings to N267.7 billion from N225.0 billion in September end 2011, while it recorded a net interest margin of 8.1per cent compared to 7.3 per cent in 2011.

At the same time the bank reported a 0.6per cent growth in non-interest income which now stands at N62.2 billion compared to N61.8 billion last year.

Commenting on the results, Bisi Onasanya, Group Managing Director of FirstBank noted that within the context of tighter liquidity, high interest rates and heightened security concerns, the third quarter was a more challenging one for our customers, and by extension, for us as partners. However, in spite of this, I am pleased to report that across all major

lines of our business, we have maintained the improving trend witnessed in the first half of the year. Benefitting from our distribution strategy, innovative product development, market reach and responsiveness to our customers’ needs, we sustained our predominantly lowcost deposit mix, achieving overall deposit growth of 18% year-to-date.

Despite the con- • Onasanya tinuation of a high interest rate environment, primarily by interest income funding costs remained from treasury bills and investbroadly stable quarter-on- ment securities +113per cent quarter. and from loans and advances As indicated in earlier peri- 15.1per cent. FirstBank ods, we have continued to recorded average yield on build on gains in streamlining interest earning assets of 10.3 and increasing the overall per cent as against 9.0 per efficiency of our business. cent. Flat non-interest revOver the nine-month period enue growth at the group under review, we have seen level masked moderate further decline in our cost to growth in fee and commisserve, as volume growth out- sion income, which was stripped associated expenses. adversely impacted by negaWe are optimistic about the tive growth in other operating prospects of our business, as income. Growth in fees and we continuously take advan- commission was driven by tage of growth opportunities.” credit related fees (+63.2per Gross earnings grew year- cent, service fees and comon-year by 19 per cent, driven missions (+29per cent such as

commissions on turnover, commissions and fees on letters of credit as well as remittance fees/collections.

Maintaining a customer centric approach remains critical to FirstBank and is key to the sustainability of the bank’s business.

Within the Nigerian banking business, eight new branches were opened during the quarter, bringing business locations opened during the year to 71 (33 branches and 38 Quick Service Points (QSPs). This brings to 801 business offices the group’s total network, made up of 612 branches, 40 QSPs, 69 agencies/cash offices and 80 subsidiary business offices.

With over 5.3 million debit cards in issue as at the end of September 2012, FirstBank has progressively led the card payment industry, accounting for over 30 per cent of total electronic transactions processed on the InterSwitch network. FirstBank has over 4.5 million Verve cards issued on this platform, with a 92per cent card active rate, relative to 75 per cent for the industry.

This gives us a large and increasing base, from which we will continue to grow our service fees and commissions, especially as we migrate more services onto the ATM platform.

Taxation, the revolving chair of US presidential election

W

hen President Barack Obama of the Democratic Party and his challenger for the American Presidential Election, Mitt Romney of the Republican Party, squared up in Denver, Colorado, USA, on the night of October 3, 2012, for the first U.S. Presidential Debate, one issue was paramount on their minds: The U.S. economy as defined in terms of taxation.

There were six roughly 15minute segments of the debate. Three segments were devoted to the economy, and one each on health care, the role of government and governing, with an emphasis throughout on specifics and choices. The first segment was dominated by how each candidate will utilise taxation to create more jobs, empower the middle class, improve small businesses, trickle down government or otherwise, and provide incentives for companies.

Obama’s tax plan has to do literarily with taxing the rich more, so as to minimize taxing the middle class more than they are paying. Romney wants to bring the tax rates down for corporations and individuals. He intends to achieve this by bringing down tax rates and, in order not to lose revenue and have the government run out of money, he also intends to lower deductions, tax credits and exemptions, so that the

PAYING TAXES Government will keep taking in the same money.

Obama regards it as unworkable. Obama rather thinks that Romney’s approach will lead to a $5 trillion tax cut and $2 trillion in additional military spending.

This measure, which has been vehemently denied by Romney, will certainly impoverish the middle class, whose taxes will be raised to accommodate the extra spending. Romney has maintained, “I will not, under any circumstances, raise taxes on middleincome families. I will lower taxes on middle-income families…54 per cent of America’s workers work in businesses that are taxed not at the corporate tax rate, but at the individual tax rate.

And if we lower that rate, they will be able to hire more people. For me, this is about jobs. This is about getting jobs for the American people.”

Obama, in his characteristic response, retorted: “And the fact is that if you are lowering the rates the way you described, Governor, then it is not possible to come up with enough deductions and loopholes that only affect highincome individuals to avoid either raising the deficit or burdening the middle class.

It’s – it’s math. It’s arithmetic. Now, Governor

• Eze Romney and I do share a deep interest in encouraging smallbusiness growth. So at the same time that my tax plan has already lowered taxes for 98 percent of families, I also lowered taxes for small businesses 18 times. And what I want to do is continue the tax rates – the tax cuts that we put into place for small businesses and families. But I have said that for incomes over $250,000 a year, that we should go back to the rates that we had when Bill Clinton was president, when we created 23 million new jobs, went from deficit to surplus, and created a whole lot of millionaires to boot.

And the reason this is important is because by doing that, we cannot only reduce the deficit, we cannot only encourage job growth through small businesses, but we’re also able to make the investments that are necessary in

education or in energy. And we do have a difference, though, when it comes to definitions of small business.

Under — under my plan, 97 percent of small businesses would not see their income taxes go up. Governor Romney says, well, those top 3 percent, they’re the job creators, they’d be burdened.

But under Governor Romney’s definition, there are a whole bunch of millionaires and billionaires, who are small businesses. Donald Trump is a small business. “Now, I know Donald Trump doesn’t like to think of himself as small anything, but – but that’s how you define small businesses if you’re getting business income.”

Romney, in a brilliant display, countered Obama by saying: “You bet. Well, President, you’re – Mr. President, you’re absolutely right, which is that, with regards to 97 percent of the businesses are not – not taxed at the 35 percent tax rate, they’re taxed at a lower rate.

But those businesses that are in the last 3 percent of businesses happen to employ half – half of all the people who work in small business.

Those are the businesses that employ one-quarter of all the workers in America. And your plan is to take their tax rate from 35 percent to 40 percent. Now, and — and I’ve talked to a guy who has a very small business.

• Eze is the Chairman, Publicity & Publications Committee, CITN ezeassociateslaw@yahoo.com

Businessweek NOVEMBER 5, 2012

33

STOCKWORLD

Briefs On-going reforms to impact positively on oil, gas stocks – Oteh

By STEVE AGBOTA

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he Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Arunma Oteh, on Wednesday, assured investors in the oil and gas companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange that the on-going reforms in the sector would impact positively on their stocks.

She disclosed this at the fourth quarter meeting of the Capital Market Committee (CMC) in Lagos, that with the clean up in the sector, the companies stocks will start doing well.

The sector recorded worst performance when compared with others in the last nine months, as it lost 27.3 per cent to close at 159.95 points, from 220.11 points at which it opened the year on January 4, 2012.

Her words: “The government has done a lot to tackle the problems in the oil and gas sector, the companies stocks will start doing well, particularly the indigenous ones.”

She hinted that the quick passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will go a look way to also enhance the performance of the indigenous companies in that sector.

However, she applauded the effort of National Insurance Commission in ensuring that the business of insurance thrive, adding that the insurance companies stocks will start to do well, as the has embarked on various reforms in the sector.

She explained that a lot of corporate governance issue has been tackled and the commission is hoping that things will improve in that sector.

On the privatisation of power sector, she reiterated that the commission is working with the Bureau of Public Enterprises to ensure that the companies come to list on the Exchange.

She added that the BPE has agreed in 1999 that the companies will be listed on the Exchange to ensure that the public benefits from its operations.

Commenting further, the Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, attributed the current bullish trend in equities on the Nigerian capital market to the regulators’ efforts to restore investors’ confidence in the market.

Onyema tasks agro-allied companies to list on NSE

By CHINENYE ANUFORO

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he Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oscar Onyema, has urged agro-allied companies to take the advantages abound in capital market and list their companies.

Onyema, who made this call last week, said that agriculture in Nigeria accounted for 65-70 per cent of total exports in the 1960s; it fell to about 40 per cent in the 1970s, and crashed to less than 2 per cent in the late 1990s. And so, the poor performance of the Nigerian agricultural sector, in terms of its contributions to country’s total revenue, has led successive governments to embark on and implement several agricultural policies and initiatives aimed at reviving the sector.

“A report by the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) founded by a former Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, showed that agriculture accounts for roughly 41 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Nigeria and 50 per cent of the economically active population in the country. The report asserted that agriculture harbours the key growth reserves to drive Nigeria’s economic greatness,” he said.

According to the NSE boss, one of the reasons the sector has remained subsistent is because the financing needs for agriculture is quite substantial and it cannot be met through the money market.

He noted that taking into consideration the long-term nature of the sector as well as capital intensive disposition of the industry, the agriculture sector cannot rely predominantly on short-term borrowing.

“It is a known fact that the capital market has a comparative advantage over other sources of finance in the provision of longterm funds compared to the generally higher cost of bank financing for long-term capital infrastructural projects.

“Despite the importance of Capital Market to the growth and development of the sector, promoters of Nigerian agricultural ventures are yet to take advantage of the opportunities the stock market provides,” Onyema said.

Currently, there are five companies listed in the Agriculture Sector of the Exchange and this sector accounts for N34.62 billion (0.4 per cent) out of the total Market Capitalization of N8.59 trillion as at October 29, 2012. We believe this situation can be better.

Onyema added that for the Agric Sector to take its prime place in the Nigerian economy, the capital market clearly holds the ace.

“The NSE is the right platform to raise capital towards the growth and expansion of this sector.”

• L–R: Executive Director, Finance, Union Bank Plc., Mrs Oyinkan Adewale; outgoing Group Managing Director/CEO, Union Bank, Mrs Funke Osibodu, and the Executive Director, Corporate Banking, Mr Philip Ikeazor, during an interactive session with newsmen, by management of the bank in Lagos, recently.

NSE groans under N2.7bn litigation liabilities, huge wage bill

By KELECHI MGBOJI

D

ire financial straits of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) may take a plunge for the worst, following a string of litigations amounting to N2.668 billion in which it is involved.

But in order to cushion the likelihood of a rude shock, authorities of the Exchange have made provision for uncertainties covering about 10 percent of the litigation liabilities.

Some of the series of litigations, which NSE said had arisen in the normal course of business, are being contested by the Exchange, while efforts are in top gear to resolve others out of courts.

The flurry of legal actions against the Exchange increased

significantly in 2011 when protracted leadership crises engulfed the bourse with the result that as at December 31, 2011, estimated contingent liabilities jumped to N2.667 from N934,900,782 in 2010.

The Exchange said there are inherent uncertainties in assessing outcome of the cases due to factors such as, the stage of the legal proceedings; uncertainties in timing of litigation; and the entitlement of the parties to an action to appeal a decision, amongst others.

Confirming the development at the 4th Quarter Capital Market Committee meeting in Lagos, last week, NSE Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oscar Onyema, said that there are certain kinds of litigations between two parties that the Exchange

got joined in because the transaction happened at the Exchange platform.

“A lot of those litigations run into billions of naira. When they were evaluated carefully, our lawyers have estimated about 10 per cent as the risk involved. It is not something that we should lose sleep over.

“However, we will make sure that where we can settle we do so, and where we have to defend ourself or go after somebody we do that,” said Onyema.

The Exchange has been struggling to weather through hard times occasioned by a combination of sharp decline in revenue due to market meltdown and sundry debts, some of which have already been penciled down as bad and

SEC charts roadmap for sustaining market recovery in 2013

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o sustain stock market recovery, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has drawn up long lists of initiatives that would constitute its strategic thrust and focus for next year, 2013.

At the end of the 4th quarter Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting in Lagos, last week, the commission unveiled several action plans drawn up by the 7 sub-committees, with each of the committees spelling out specific initiatives intended to strengthen stock market recovery and, at the same time, deepen the market.

Briefing newsmen, the Director General of SEC, Ms Arunma Oteh, said that recommendations had been made for the privatization and listing of the off-shoot companies of unbundled Power Holding Companies of Nigeria (PHCN).

She disclosed that the CMC, working through the Product and Business Development sub-committee, liaised with the

Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) and the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to develop the framework for eventual listing of the privatized power companies.

She added that beginning from the first quarter through to the last quarter of 2013 efforts will be geared towards attracting public interest corporations to also list on the exchange stressing that fresh listings on the exchange will soon begin to unfold.

For effective operation of recently introduced securities lending initiative, SEC plans to set up a robust and efficient operating framework for securities lending, an action plan that will see collaborations between the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) and relevant trading exchanges.

Working through the Fixed Income Sub-committee of the CMC, arrangements have been concluded to stimulate market making on the bonds issued by the Assets Management

Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) both in the interbank market and the trading exchanges.

For this reason, Oteh said, the NSE and the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) will actively participate in licensing of market makers and commencement of market making in fixed income securities, especially illiquid corporate and subnational bonds.

Pointing out that the capital market will engage AMCON, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Fund Managers’ Development Association (FMDA) in discussions on trading in AMCON bonds worth trillions of naira.

She stated that review of NSE listing guidelines was on-going to fast track development of the Mortgage Backed Securities and Asset Backed Securities markets, by removing the requirement for SEC notification of approval of the Basis of Allotment on public offers which are either sold by book building or firmly underwritten.

doubtful of recovery.

As at December 31, 2011 the Exchange was owed a total of N1.836 billion debts accruing from trade debts, deferred recovery of bonuses, staff debts, gratuity scheme funds and some others which are already litigation matters.

Outstanding among these sundry debts are those arising from deferred recovery of bonuses distributed to certain council members as share of surplus between 2006 and 2008.

NSE annual report and accounts for 2011 showed that in the period under reference, a total sum of N2.090 billion was distributed to certain council members by the Ndi OkerekeOnyiuke led management of the Exchange which was disengaged in August 2010.

In its audited account, the Group including subsidiaries of the Exchange recorded N354.705 million deficits in 2011 as against marginal surplus of N357.948 million in 2010.

Also, fixed assets of the group dropped to N5.135 billion in 2011 from N5.653 billion in 2010 just as net increase in cash and cash equivalents scaled down to N139.955 million from N1.501 billion in 2010 while cash and cash equivalent at the end of the year stood at N2.948 billion, up from N2.808 billion.

But while fortunes of the bourse remain bleak, remuneration of its management staffers skyrocketed with the CEO earning above N60 million per annum followed by two other executive staffers with gross annual emoluments between N40 million and N50 million respectively.

Motley of recruitments since 2011 has further left holes in the finances of the Exchange where average number of persons employed reveals 20 managerial staff, 101 senior staff, 35 junior staff and 82 persons as contract staff.

34 Businessweek NOVEMBER STOCKWORLD

5, 2012

Briefs Mansard Insurance grows GPI by 22% in Q3

By CHINENYE ANUFORO

M

ansard Insurance Plc. has posted Gross Premium Income (GPI) of N10.05 billion for the third quarter ended 2012.

According to unaudited third quarter financial results for the period ended September 30, 2012 the figure represents a 22 per cent increase from the September 2011 figure of N8.26 billion.

Net premium revenue stood at N3.55 billion from N2.92 billion of the preceding period to represent a 22 per cent growth as well, while investment and other operating income was N1.26 billion up, 91 per cent from last September’s figure of N662 million.

Profit before tax was N1.37 billion from N811 million of the preceding period which is an increase of 68 per cent while profit after tax of N1.22 billion, an increase of 98 per cent against N619 million of the preceding period.

Commenting on the company’s performance, Chief Client Officer, Tosin Runsewe, said that the result validates its leadership position within the industry and shows that it remain on track towards achieving strategic goal for the year.

Runsewe said: “With gross premium written up 22 per cent and 98 per cent growth in profitability over our Q3 2011 result, these achievements are as a result of improving underwriting performance, impressive and sustainable growth in investment income, a greater focus on cost optimisation without compromising excellent service delivery to our esteemed customers and gains made from the expansion of our retail distribution network. With these positive trends, we expect to meet stakeholders’ expectations by the end of 2012.”

Chief Financial Officer, Rashidat Adebisi, said: “Our third quarter performance is highly commendable; during a period that is traditionally considered the ‘calm before the storm’that is the renewal season of the coming year for the industry.

“The improved indices during this period further affirm that the company’s strategic intent of building a robust and diversified retail sales force focusing on the vastly under-served Nigerian retail market, will surely smoothen out the peaks and troughs experienced in earnings and will ultimately contribute earnings at par with our institutional business,” she added.

Overall, management of the company expects performance indices to continue to improve during the course of the financial year, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

'N97 fuel pump price unrealistic’

By KEKECHUKWU OKEKE

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he continued attempt by the Federal and State governments to peg fuel pump price at N97 per litre has been described as unrealistic and invitation to perennial fuel scarcity and anarchy.

The Managing Director of Avia Oil Ltd., Barr. Emeka Eze, made this known in an exclusive interview with Daily Sun and warned that so long as the refineries in the country were dysfunctional, there was no way the fixed fuel pump price would be total and all embracing.

“The period of time it takes to get our crude refined and brought back into the country, and then distributed, takes a minimum of 2-3 months. If we had functional refineries within this period, we would have steady supply of the product,” Eze submitted.

According to him, it's difficult for people who were not major marketers to access the product at the governmentapproved price of N97 per litre. He further stated that at the various fuel depots in the country like Warri, Lagos and Port Harcourt, as well as some private depots we have in the country, the product was not sold at N97 per litre.

“At these depots, the product is sold at over N100 per litre, before you now add the cost of transportation. This is why people sell as they buy, and don't forget that most of these companies run on bank loans,” the Avia Oil boss explained.

On the fuel subsidy scam, even as he commended the Federal Government for prosecuting the marketers believed to have defrauded the country, Barr. Eze opined that it was yet to be resolved as most of the marketers were hell bent on demanding for the subsidy, as the insist that they never duped government in anyway.

Continuing on the fuel pump price, Eze gave some other instances where it has become obvious that the N97 pump price was a mirage.

• L–R: Mr Chuks Iku, Publicity secretary, Committee of e-Banking Industry, and head, CEBIH; Adeola Adebiyi, Business Development manager, Meditranean Cards Company, Nigeria, and Hany Fekry Emp, Commercial director, at the 2012 Annual Conference Retreat of CEBIH in Calabar, Cross River, recently.

Demutualization, consolidation of stockbroking firms inevitable – NSE

By KELECHI MGBOJI and Nigeria (ASHON), and all those within the industry to JAMES AKWU come up with minimal stanhe Nigerian Stock dards for the stockbroking Exchange (NSE) has firms. The final report is at the vowed it would take to SEC and I am sure once they logical conclusion the pro- forward it and it is approved grammes of demutualizing then we can begin to work the Exchange and the con- towards meeting those minisolidation of stockbrokerage mum standards.

“Those standards have to do firms.

However, there was no time with processes, people, techline to the conclusion of the nology, net capital. We think exercise, which commenced that once stockbroking firms early this year with the setting have the time frame within up of the committees saddled which to meet those minimum with the task of seeing the pro- standards, we will see some of grammes to a successful end. them consolidating. Scale and Fielding questions from scope is the name of the newsmen after the Capital game,” NSE boss concluded.

At the CMC meeting in Market Committee meeting for 4th quarter, 2012, NSE which key stakeholders gathChief Executive Officer, Mr. ered to assess achievements Oscar Onyema, explained that recorded by different sub-comboth programmes were put on mittees instituted by SEC, hold pending when the October last year, Oteh stated Securities and Exchange that industry-wide committee Commission (SEC) gives approval of framework.

Specifically on demutualization, another word for converting ownership of the By KELECHI MGBOJI Exchange from a private sechare price of UACtor business to publicly owned Property Development one, Onyema stated that Company Plc. rallied by already the sub-committee set up for that purpose has submit- 7.63 per cent, on Thursday, after the Nigerian Stock ted its report to SEC. “We cannot demutualise in a Exchange (NSE) announced vacuum. There has to be its addition to the list of marframework in place. We know ket-making stocks.

The stock, which had sufthat the SEC has set up a committee which has presented a fered huge price crash followreport and we are waiting for ing prolonged market meltthe SEC to release the frame- down, gained 90kobo to close work or the guidelines under at N12.70 per share leading 23 which demutualization can other price gainers as against take place. Right now it is on 27 stocks that traded at losses.

However, 7up closed flat at hold until we get the framework, reactivate it and then N40.95 per share as there was move aggressively to com- only 8, 503 units valued slightly above N341,000 in 8 plete it,” Onyema explained.

On the consolidation of deals which was not sufficient stockbroking firms, euphe- volume to guarantee upward mism for recapitalization and movement in price of the possible of mergers of weak equity shareholders are not in firms, Onyema also said that any hurry to offload given its the final report for the exercise consistent improvement in has been submitted to SEC returns on investment.

But investors exchanged a waiting for approval of the proposed minimum standards total of 224,237 units of every stockbroking firm must UAC-Prop valued at N2.763 million in 16 deals enough to meet to remain in business.

He said: “We worked with move up the share price. And the SEC, the Association of stockbrokers predict further Stockbroking Houses of rally of the stock price in com-

T

instituted for demutualization and consolidation of stockbroking firms had consulted extensively to ensure that comprehensive framework to take care of all interests is put in place.

On the issue of demutualisation she explained that SEC had engaged a consultant who was the deputy CEO of the Toronto Stock Exchange to work with the Commission internally to provide some independent feedback as to the issues we have to deal with in developing a framework.

“Right now we are working on the guidelines, and after we have completed it at the level of NSE and SEC we make a submission to the board and the ministry of finance, and subsequently we will issue the guidelines,” SEC boss said.

She assured that what is more important is that at the

time when demutualisation occurs that the owners of stock exchange will get real value for their investments. “So some of the reforms the SEC has introduced is to make sure that it continues to enhance the value. on the exchange,” Oteh stated.

On consolidation she recalled that some stockbrokers had, on their own, suggested to the SEC the merger option saying it would make good business to embark on business combination than being entirely out of business.

She explained that the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) had upgraded its platform to ensure that the Exchange transits to an era of certificates dematerialization where share offers will be returned in e-format by capital market registrars in charge of shares registrations.

NSE begins market-making on 7up, UAC-Property

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ing sessions saying that its price was grossly undervalued.

The two stocks from the Consumer Goods and Construction/Real Estate Sectors of The Exchange respectively were added on Thursday, November 1, 2012 to the list of market-making stocks.

The introduction of the new stocks which was in line with the phased approach of bringing in additional stocks from the list of stocks in the baskets of market makers on the Exchange, brought to 30 the total number of such market making stocks.

Since the initiative kicked off mid September with 16 stocks, 12 other stocks had been added at different intervals.

The two newly added stocks bring the number to 30 out of which about 12 are banking stocks raising question as to why the effort has been concentrated on the banking sector.

After introducing additional 9 stocks to the original 16 stocks market makers traded

on, the NSE added 3 more stocks to the list, bringing the number to 28 about a forth night ago.

The Exchange has maintained that only stocks which are trading above par value will be considered for the market-making initiative over a period of six months.

However, some stock analysts hold strong reservation on this caveat saying that it creates room for underhand dealing to book a place in the scheme which has turned fortunes of the enlisted stocks within a short period.

It will be recalled that underhand dealings by stockbrokers in active connivance with money deposit banks created unprecedented bubble prices which eventually crashed the market in 2008 with the result that investors lost over N6 trillion in equities value.

The make is yet to recover from the total loss of investor confidence that eventually enveloped the market between 2008 and May this year when stocks started gradual rebound.

Businessweek NOVEMBER 5, 2012

35

STOCKWORLD

By CHINENYE ANUFORO

E

quities trading on the Lagos floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last week closed in red, forcing the market capitalization of traded equities to plunge by N100.86 billion to close at N8.46 trillion from N8.56 trillion.

Similarly, the All-Share Index in the week under review dipped by 1.18 per cent to close at 26,559.55 points as against a decline by 1.15 per cent recorded the previous week to close at 26,876.07 points.

After the trading session last week, a turnover of 1.512 billion units of shares valued at N12.950 billion exchanged in 23,039 deals this week compared to 794.043 million shares valued at N8.515 billion that exchanged hands last week in 14,048 deals.

Stock market closes week in red …As NSE capitalization plunges by N100bn The Financial Services sector sustained its dominance in the activity chart measured by turnover volume recording the highest trading volume of 1.081 billion units of shares valued at N7.894 billion traded in 13,880 deals, representing 71.47 per cent, 60.96 per cent and 60.25 per cent, of the volume, value and number deals executed on the stock market respectively during the week.

The Conglomerates sector (measured by turnover volume) followed with a recorded volume of 108.535 million shares valued at N208.952 million traded in 794 deals. The

top two sectors accounted for 1.189 billion shares valued at N8.103 billion traded in 14,674 deals, thus accounting for 78.65 per cent, 62.57 per cent and 63.69 per cent of the volume, value and number of deals respectively.

Mansard Insurance Plc of the Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services subsector was the most active with a volume of 129.306 million units followed by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Plc. and Diamond Bank Plc. The top three equities from the Financial Services sector with a

total volume of 346.006 million units of shares contributed 32.02 per cent and 22.88 per cent respectively to the sector and total turnover for the week.

However, the analysis of the equity price movements indicated that 21 equities gained while 52 equities recorded price declines and prices of 125 equities remained constant.

Also traded during the week were 7,700 units of NewGold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) valued at N20.007 million exchanged hands in 5 deals in contrast to a total of 600 units valued at N1.573 million transacted the previous week in 4 deals.

There were no transactions in the Federal Government Development Stocks, State/Local Government Bonds, and Corporate Bonds/Debentures sectors.

THE DAILY STOCK SUMMARY AS AT 02/11/2012 1st Tier Securities

1st Tier Securities Sector Company Name

No of Deals Quotation(N) Quantity Traded Value of Shares(N)

Main Board AGRICULTURE Crop Production OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 16 34.50 492,033 16,848,986.50 PRESCO PLC 10 14.46 94,000 1,338,910.00 Sub Sector Totals 26 586,033 18,188,000 Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 11 1.50 296,135 444,259.50 Sub Sector Totals 11 296,135 444,000 Sector Totals 37 882,168 18,632,156.00 CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1 1.35 5,000 6,750.00 TRANSNATIONAL CORP OF NIG PL C 118 1.00 28,102,073 27,515,194.24 U A C N PLC. 28 39.46 143,418 5,751,121.22 Sub Sector Totals 147 28,250,491 33,273,000 Sector Totals 147 28,250,491 33,273,065.46 CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 22 29.45 56,382 1,606,013.20 Sub Sector Totals 22 56,382 1,606,000 Real Estate Development UACN PROPERTY DEVPT CO. LTD 3 2 12.50 10,499,511 131,213,008.10 Sub Sector Totals 32 10,499,511 131,213,000 Sector Totals 54 10,555,893 132,819,021.30 CONSUMER GOODS Beverages—Brewers/Distillers GUINNESS NIG PLC 41 263.41 172,472 45,448,525.57 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 20 12.90 239,050 3,059,704.00 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 142 128.55 1,046,879 134,535,826.75 Sub Sector Totals 203 1,458,401 183,044,000 Beverages—Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. 11 40.95 18,449 731,968.92 Sub Sector Totals 11 18,449 732,000 Food Products DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 66 8.20 4,323,950 35,526,692.67 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 70 5.45 7,613,780 41,449,401.66 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 41 66.01 136,723 8,893,471.44 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 39 1.97 1,829,656 3,640,419.33 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 4 20.41 23,378 480,475.28 NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC 30 6.00 494,688 2,970,153.38 U T C NIG. PLC. 4 0.70 25,824 17,302.08 Sub Sector Totals 254 14,447,999 92,978,000 Food Products—Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 87 27.00 497,930 12,996,614.51 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 58 670.00 129,689 86,812,661.20 Sub Sector Totals 145 627,619 99,809,000 Sector Company Name No of Deals Quotation(N) Quantity Traded Value of Shares(N) Main Board CONSUMER GOODS Household Durables NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1 34.39 320 11,004.80 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 24 4.10 635,934 2,553,105.95 Sub Sector Totals 25 636,254 2,564,000 Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 47 26.00 364,551 9,485,185.80 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 42 41.50 173,619 7,186,712.06 Sub Sector Totals 89 538,170 16,672,000 Sector Totals 727 17,726,892 395,799,225.40 FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. 177 8.97 12,057,147 105,545,364.87 DIAMOND BANK PLC 140 4.12 20,126,451 83,994,978.64 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORP 84 11.75 5,455,824 63,091,912.20 FIDELITY BANK PLC 103 2.14 8,830,019 18,373,724.59 FIRST BANK OF NIG. PLC 468 15.87 7,764,817 123,531,317.05 FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC. 78 3.39 2,710,650 9,099,440.27 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 298 20.14 13,285,450 266,667,436.86 SKYE BANK PLC 54 4.01 2,337,714 9,582,223.76 STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC 17 7.30 173,300 1,258,630.00 STERLING BANK PLC. 68 1.60 9,353,427 15,025,814.67 U B A PLC 269 4.61 15,753,094 73,170,718.15 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 79 8.01 901,040 7,218,782.22 UNITY BANK PLC 125 0.59 10,798,895 6,440,649.65 WEMA BANK PLC. 48 0.61 6,625,688 3,962,152.68 ZENITH BANK PLC 192 17.77 1,827,868 3 2,340,405.13 Sub Sector Totals 2,200 118,001,384 819,304,000 Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 72 0.69 1,869,922 1,260,196.99 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSUR PLC 1 0.50 200 100.00 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 1 0.76 2,000 1,580.00 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INSUR PLC 7 1.39 589,100 799,999.00 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 1 0.50 550 275.00 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 1 0.50 100 50.00 MANSARD INSURANCE PLC 10 1.75 84,400 149,611.00 N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 38 0.52 5,090,069 2,651,720.86 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 1 0.50 4,290 2,145.00 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 6 0.52 108,104 56,674.08 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 5 0.50 31,700 15,850.00 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. 1 0.50 1,000 500.00 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 1 0.50 4,779,668 2,389,834.00 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 10 0.50 13,581,250 6,790,625.00 Sub Sector Totals 155 26,142,353 14,119,000 Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 3 0.50 140,000 70,000.00 Sub Sector Totals 3 140,000 70,000 Other Financial Institutions ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 2 0.50 265,000 132,500.00 Sector Company Name No of Deals Quotation(N) Quantity Traded Value of Shares(N)

Sector Company Name No of Deals Quotation(N) Quantity Traded Value of Shares(N) Main Board FINANCIAL SERVICES Sub Sector Totals 2 265,000 133,000 Sector Totals 2,360 144,548,737 833,625,211.67 HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 1 1.32 200 264.00 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 38 1.05 6,486,000 6,815,718.00 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONS NIG. PLC. 11 41.89 13,010 534,190.76 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 15 1.60 245,872 393,772.82 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARM PLC 1 1.02 80,000 81,600.00 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 1 8.59 100 817.00 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 1 2.73 1,000 2,700.00 Sub Sector Totals 68 6,826,182 7,829,000 Sector Totals 68 6,826,182 7,829,062.58 ICT IT Services NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 1 13.77 400 5,236.00 Sub Sector Totals 1 400 5,000 Telecommunications Services IHS PLC 2 2.25 1,000,000 2,250,000.00 Sub Sector Totals 2 1,000,000 2,250,000 Sector Totals 3 1,000,400 2,255,236.00 INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC 64 18.13 636,950 11,728,133.37 BERGER PAINTS PLC 3 8.41 48,743 430,323.69 CAP PLC 17 31.93 135,860 4,257,186.12 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 12 5.81 112,072 669,123.04 DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 20 120.00 267,414 32,090,170.00 DN MEYER PLC. 2 3.45 30,000 93,300.00 IPWA PLC 2 0.58 52,100 30,218.00 LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. 31 56.15 98,452 5,370,548.50 PORTLAND PAINTS & PROTS NIG PLC 12 4.29 276,070 1,158,190.30 Sub Sector Totals 163 1,657,661 55,827,000 Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. 6 1.78 82,500 147,435.40 Sub Sector Totals 6 82,500 147,000 Packaging/Containers BETA GLASS CO PLC. 13 10.50 1,244,560 13,068,030.00 NIGERIAN BAGS MANUFACT COY PLC 21 1.77 169,650 301,174.56 Sub Sector Totals 34 1,414,210 13,369,000 Sector Totals 203 3,154,371 69,343,832.98 NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals B.O.C. GASES PLC. 3 5.69 30,500 173,645.00 Sub Sector Totals 3 30,500 174,000 Sector Totals 3 30,500 173,645.00 OIL AND GAS Sector Company Name No of Deals Quotation(N) Quantity Traded Value of Shares(N) Main Board OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERV PLC 40 0.57 1,423,642 823,086.68 Sub Sector Totals 40 1,423,642 823,000 Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC 132 11.12 2,452,421 27,249,243.70 Sub Sector Totals 132 2,452,421 27,249,000 Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CONOIL PLC 17 19.76 102,845 2,032,217.20 ETERNA PLC. 20 1.99 336,500 676,867.96 FORTE OIL PLC. 17 9.89 67,324 651,877.49 MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. 16 115.00 11,453 1,293,925.30 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 2 29.15 2,642 73,183.40 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 14 125.00 34,782 4,347,100.00 Sub Sector Totals 86 555,546 9,075,000 Sector Totals 258 4,431,609 37,147,501.73 SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. 9 1.69 22,234 37,547.46 Sub Sector Totals 9 22,234 38,000 Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 7 2.90 73,000 218,970.00 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 1 3.07 50 146.00 Sub Sector Totals 8 73,050 219,000 Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. 1 0.50 2,320 1,160.00 Sub Sector Totals 1 2,320 1,000 Hotels/Lodging IKEJA HOTEL PLC 13 1.02 703,700 719,548.20 Sub Sector Totals 13 703,700 720,000 Media/Entertainment DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 1 0.50 3,000 1,500.00 Sub Sector Totals 1 3,000 2,000 Printing/Publishing LEARN AFRICA PLC 7 2.00 212,711 425,422.00 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 2 2.65 9,900 24,948.00 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 2 4.83 50,000 229,500.00 Sub Sector Totals 11 272,611 680,000 Road Transportation ABC TRANSPORT PLC 1 0.50 12,000 6,000.00 Sub Sector Totals 1 12,000 6,000 Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC 3 2.46 10,500 24,570.00 NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC 88 5.80 453,698 2,602,286.48 Sub Sector Totals 91 464,198 2,627,000 Sector Totals 135 1,553,113 4,291,598.14 Type Totals 3,995 218,960,356 1,535,189,556.26 Grand Totals 3,995 218,960,356 1,535,189,556.26

36 Businessweek NOVEMBER 5, 2012 INVESTMENT GUIDE

Performance so far: What lies ahead? ...X-raying QoQ results E

than expected results.

Oil and Gas Sector However, despite the double The oil and gas sector playquities market performdigit YoY PAT growth experi- ers’ Q3:2012 performances ance in Q3:2012 enced by most insurers due to fell below our expectations. gained traction in third this, Q3 performance as a The results of all the compaquarter with the index for profit taking; SKYEBAK in turnover and PAT have NESTLE, CADBURY, stand-alone has not been nies released so far recorded recording 19.28% gain and [-1.7%], STERLNBANK [been accompanied with quar- UNILEVER and DANGimpressive. de-growth in top-lines and index level rising to 3.0%], ZENITHBANK [terly growth or de- growth.

SUGAR that have released From available results, bottom-lines save for Mobil 27,296.35pts. Several rea- 1.8%] .Market mood will While NESTLE grew its Q3 their Q3 results so far that that asides from a strong perform- Plc. Oil and gas sector has sons have accounted for this continue to be dictated by turnover YoY by 20.54%, the consumer goods sector ance by CUSTODYINS in been the focal point in 2012 rally, amongst which are reaction to fundamental perQoQ growth was a marginal performance QoQ has been Q3, relative to performance with the Federal Government the fundamental performformance and technical play 1.23%; it grew PAT YoY and fairly impressive. between Apr – Jun (Q2), putting in measures to tame ance as it provided a reaon the tickers.

QoQ respectively by 27.02% Despite this performance, gross premium declined QoQ oil theft and oil subsidy missonable justification for the Consumer Goods and 51.03%. the sector’s performance in on average by -27.9%. Profit management. gains recorded. In 2012Q4, Sector Cadbury’s Q3 turnover recent times has been trending contribution of Q3 to total Oando Plc recorded equities seem to be recedThe consumer goods sector declined YoY by 2.39% while downward due to profit takprofit was also lower with an turnover of NGN137.16bn in ing in line with the tunes had a mixed outing when ana- QoQ decline by 10.24%. PAT ing activities. In our view, the average QoQ de-growth of Q3:2012, a 29% decline played by the bears. We lyzed on a YoY and QoQ also grew YoY by 33.74% market rally experienced in 125.9%. Although most insur- when compared with analyse the quarter on basis. For the few companies and 53.39% QoQ. On the 2012Q3 anticipated a fantastic ers book most of their gross NGN192.01bn made in quarter performance of whose 2012Q3 numbers have whole, we can conclude as 2012Q3 results and this premium income at the begin- Q2:2012. Similarly, earnings companies as it regards been released, YoY increases revealed by the numbers from reflected in the prices. Market ning of the year (Q3 contribu- after tax declined 22% in Q3 their 2012Q viz a viz there will only react tions are not necessarily huge) even though cost of sales share price performance on relative to 2011 Julyimproved 33%. Higher Quarter on Quarter Sectoral Performance of Turnover and PAT mildly to these Exhibit 1 the Nigerian Stock Q3 numbers as September performance, finance charge (67% growth REVENUE PAT Exchange. no other notice- gross premium was lower by QoQ) may be responsible for Banking sector able market 5% while PAT was 56% Q2 Q3 Q2 Q3 the slow down in earnings.

Analysis of quarter-ondriver is feasilower than Q3 2011.

For Total Plc, turnover Banking Sector quarter [q/q] performance of ble for the rest This is reflective in the (NGN56.35bn) declined 4.2% ACCESS -42.81% 78.08% 23.38% -43.67% banks in Q3:2012 against of the year. price performance of the sec- in Q3:2012. Like Oando Plc, 11.07% 31.99% 6.16% 58.85% Q2:2012 was a mixed fortune DIAMONDBANK Looking tor QtD with the release of Total Plc’s Profit after tax was for sector players; while some FIRSTBANK -2.46% -5.14% -12.41% -5.72% ahead, our their Q3 numbers. The impaired by increased finance recorded considerable gains in FCMB investment MERI-INS sector index has 10.18% 8.68% -35.83% 45.79% cost (87%) and declined by gross earnings some others theme for the lost -3.15% QtD. GUARANTY 1.70% -9.32% 34.80% -33.20% 54%. One good explanation recorded major declines. consumer Industrial goods secfor this across sector was the STANBICIBTC 110.17% -40.18% -0.36% -19.58% ACCESS had the highest goods sector tor untimely payment of fuel subSKYEBANK 14.30% 8.34% 35.47% 1.44% growth in gross earnings remains Revenue and earnings sidy claims and the need to STERLNBANK -9.68% 16.37% 27.94% -12.46% [78%] while also recording “Caution” as growth dipped for the cement meet short term obligations. one of the major declines in UBA 6.08% 0.10% 31.09% -59.71% we believe industry QoQ in Q3:2012.

Mobil Plc towed the path of profit after tax [-44%]. Other prices will find The sector recorded 15.7% UNITYBANK 4.33% -2.00% -47.09% -80.33% other sector players in banks that recorded growth in ZENITHBANK new support and 24.2% de-growth in rev8.83% -0.87% 20.59% -6.62% Q3:2012 turnover gross earnings are DIAlevels to reflect enue and earnings respective- (NGN18.73bn) declining Consumer Goods MONDBANK, FCMB, the fair prices of ly.

25%. However, the profit CADBURY -10.24% 23.63% 53.39% 65.81% SKYEBANK, the stock.

Although, the reduced rev- after was the most impressive DANGSUGAR 3.07% 0.56% -16.54% 4.50% STERLNBANK and UBA. Insurance enue appears to be in line (NGN0.77bn) recording 44% However in terms of profit NESTLE 1.23% -2.33% 51.03% -40.52% sector with a supposed norm for secafter tax, only DIAMONUNILEVER -45.25% -58.41% 2012 earnond half trend in the industry growth QoQ. Net margin also improved from 2.2% in BANK, FCMB and SKYEings performas H2 performances in 2011 Industrial Q2:2012 to 2.7% in Q3:2012.

BANK recorded positive ance for the followed similar trend.

We ASHAKA -0.96% -31.13% -2.62% -1.95% Eterna Plc was the laggard growth q/q. insurance sector noted that higher finance costs 4.92% -0.94% 16.30% -57.40% of all, declining significantly Market reaction to the share WAPCO has been a in Q3 were responsible for 21.49% -14.94% 34.50% -13.37% in all the metrics. Turnover prices of banks post-release of DANGCEM reflection of the bottom-line de-growth for and PAT declined 79% and Q3:2012 result measured by Services attractive yield WAPCO and DANGCEM. 99.5% QoQ respectively. return to the sector index is TRANSCORP -46.80% 26.81% 33.39% -18.76% environment, Prior to the release of On a weighted basis, the positive. Q4 to date return on and rally in the Q3:2011 results, investors Oil and Gas the Meristem Banking Sector OANDO equities market. were upbeat on WAPCO and sector’s turnover and PAT 21.06% -28.56% 15.90% -21.90% Index is 6.57% which varies Investment ASHAKACEM as the coun- declined 27.4% and 30.1% 15.29% -4.20% 41.45% -53.48% with the return for each of the TOTAL respectively. Investors were income as a ters returned 36.59% and MOBIL 39.94% -24.57% 5.84% 44.44% constituent banks with not taken aback by the results percentage of 62.37% respectively though -46.87% -78.75% -7.15% -99.47% SKYEBANK, GUARANTY ETERNA profit contribu- DANGCEM didn’t receive as as they already priced them and IBTC recording 26.1%, in. The sector declined 2.1% Insurance tion on average much favour (11.82%).

5.2% and 1.4% respectively. stands at c.50% However, Q4 performance so on QtD as against the AIICO -14.10% -10.50% -78.10% -216.90% The banking index maintains NSEASI which gained with underwrit- far has been downbeat with CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED -70.80% 128.10% -75.70% 0.10% its positive carry in November 2.11%. Although, we believe ing performthe Industrial goods sector MANSARD -51.80% -15.80% 73.50% -70.00% as it has gained 0.05% so far in the sector’s long term ance making up returning -1.34%. Though, PRESTIGE -20.00% -18.00% -147.10% -288.10% in November though trading prospects (expected positive for the rest. profit taking may have influNEM -67.20% -54.40% by investors has largely been impacts of PIB once passed), enced the losses recorded in quarter, we note the possi- we don’t see any significant Top 10 Outperformers Current valuation metrics and statistics the ble negative impacts of lower upsides by 2012 yearend. % of Price MCap Dividend WTD YtD Return Company RoAE [NGN] [NGN’bn] MCap P/E -TTM P/B Yield Return CUTIX UAC-PROP GLAXOSMITH DNMEYER ASHAKACEM BERGER VITAFOAM AIICO UBN SKYEBANK

14.84% 9.55% 7.41% 6.81% 6.27% 4.99% 4.86% 4.55% 3.62% 2.82%

14.84% 4.17% 82.13% 222.43% 60.44% -0.71% -18.97% 38.00% -24.43% 4.43%

1.78 12.50 41.89 3.45 18.13 8.41 4.10 0.69 8.01 4.01

1.16 15.13 37.31 0.65 43.67 1.74 2.88 7.04 108.21 53.54

0.01% 0.18% 0.44% 0.01% 0.52% 0.02% 0.03% 0.08% 1.28% 0.63%

Top 10 Underperformers

1.72 x 0.54 x 3.93 x 1.92 x 1.79 x 1.09 x 1.04 x 0.45 x 0.50 x 0.51 x

4.31% 2.65% 19.41% -14.53% 16.24% 7.29% 15.30% 12.39% 7.55% 0.08 x

6.74% 5.51% 3.01% 0.00% 2.20% 8.74% 7.46% 9.84% 0.00% 6.13%

Current valuation metrics and statistics

Company

WTD Return

YtD Return

HONYFLOUR AGLEVENT NEIMETH UNITYBNK RTBRISCOE TRANSCORP CADBURY WAPIC REDSTAREX IKEJAHOTEL

-21.20% -10.00% -9.73% -9.23% -8.65% -8.26% -8.01% -7.41% -6.45% -6.42%

-14.72% -2.17% -5.56% 7.27% 38.52% 75.44% 136.84% -3.85% 21.34% -40.00%

Source: Meristem Research

9.96 x 8.61 x 15.22 x 1.06 x 8.46 x 7.37 x 8.23 3.74 x 1.72 x 7.18 x

% of MCap

P/E -TTM

P/B

RoAE

21.25 3.97 1.17 18.18

0.25% 0.05% 0.01% 0.21%

5.51 x 5.74 x 7.99 x 2.84 x

0.94 x 0.33 x 0.90 x 0.46 x

2.59% 3.42% 11.21% 6.33%

29.43 93.88 3.04 1.95 2.37

0.35% 1.11% 0.04% 0.02% 0.03%

4.98 21.91 x 10.88 x 5.40 x 1.09

1.65 x 4.98 x 0.32 x 1.09 x 0.24 x

5.90% 6.05% 4.78% 5.48% 5.57%

Price MCap [NGN] [NGN’bn] 1.97 1.35 1.02 0.59 1.69 1.00 27.00 0.50 2.90 1.02

Dividend Yield 6.91% 10.37% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 9.52% 0.00%

Important Information: Disclaimer

eristem Securities Limited (‘’Meristem’’) equity reports M and its attendant recommendations are prepared based on publicly available information and are meant for general information purposes only and it may not be reproduced or distributed to any other person. All reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information contained herein is not misleading or untrue at the time of publication; Meristem can neither guarantee its accuracy nor completeness as they are an expression of our analysts’ views and opinions.

Meristem and any of its associated or subsidiary companies or the employees thereof cannot be held responsible for any loss suffered by relying on the said information as this information as earlier stated, is based on publicly available information, analysts’ estimates and opinions and is meant for general information purposes and should not be construed as an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities or any financial instruments. The value of any investment is subject to fluctuations, i.e. may fall and rise. Past performance is no guide to the future. The rate of exchange between currencies may cause the value of investment to increase or diminish. Hence investors may not get back the full value of their original investment. Meristem Securities is registered with the Securities and Exchange (SEC) and is also a member of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (The NSE). Meristem Securities’ registered office is at 124 Norman Williams Street, South West, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria.

Website: www.meristemng.com; Email: research@meristemng.com. © Meristem Securities Limited 2012.

Businessweek NOVEMBER 5, 2012

odume_festus@yahoo.com 08028894929

FINANCIAL EDGE

Cutix Plc seeks FG’s support for local manufacturers A

s stakeholders in the capital market continue to intensify calls on the Federal Government and Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) to make sure companies that win bids to generate and distribute power in the country are listed on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in order to deepen the market, a call has also gone to decision makers in the country to implement policies that will support the growth of local manufacturers.

The out-going Chairman of Cutix Plc., Engr Okwudili Nwosu, made the appeal at the company’s 29th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Nnewi, Anambra State, and urged government to stop granting foreign companies duty-free equipment concession to import goods that are manufactured locally.

He noted that such companies should be able to purchase the required goods and services from local manufacturers, in order to encourage and stimulate the economy.

“Industrial growth is affected since products that can be manufactured in Nigeria are bought abroad. This has the twin effect of encouraging capital flight from Nigeria and creating unemployment.”

Nwosu, who is leaving the chairmanship position of Cutix Plc., for the Republic of Burundi as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, explained that such polices and practices in the power sector impact on the Nigeria economy negatively because the Federal

• Nwosu Government suffers significant loss of revenue that would have accrued to her as duty, and other taxes.

On the new adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the market, he said Cutix Plc will start preparing its financial reports in line with IFRS requirement from 2013, adding that it’s apparent there are not many Nigerians, including those working in agencies that are expected to enforce and ensure compliance, who understand IFRS very well.

He suggested that the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) and

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should create an atmosphere that would encourage compliance by offering adequate guidance and training where necessary rather than resorting to imposition of fines on companies in order to make the transition seamless.

Commenting on the financial result, he said Cutix Plc experienced drop in its profits owing to the fact that prices of two of their major raw materials traded internationally rose above those of 2011 financial year while growth in turnover was affected by their prices which customers resisted and profits declined because of high cost of raw

materials that could not be passed on to consumers as a result of stiff competition.

Reacting to the company’s financial performance, National Vice President of Breadfruit Elders Shareholders Association of Nigeria (BESAN) Kayode Obalalaro commended the company for deeming it fit to reward shareholders in spite of the difficult environment they are operating in, but called on Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) and relevant securities agencies to curtail the influx of substandard cables into the Nigerian market because its impact on local manufacturers’ is better imagined than being experienced.

Obalalaro urged the management to intensify on its marketing drive in order to capture untapped market. A review of the audited account for the period ended April 30, 2012 shows that turnover grew by 10 percent from N1.44 billion to N1.57 billion while profit before tax declined by 5.3 percent from N125 million to N119 million in 2012.

Profit after tax declined by 6.3 percent in 2012 from N84 million to N79 million.

However, shareholders has approved a dividend of 12 kobo per share and a bonus issue of 2 new shares for every 3 held that was recommended by the board of directors. Payment date is November 12, 2012.

The company was first listed on August 12, 1987 and later migrated to First Tier market on February 18, 2008.

Oando sustains growth amidst investor apathy … As more banking earnings boost market activities

O

ando Plc. has been able to sustain its post tax profit growth despite investors’ apathy that is having negative impact on the company’s share price on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). According to the consolidated comprehensive income statements for the period ended September 30, 2012, Oando grew its profit after tax from N6.481 billion in 2011 to N7.362 billion in 2012, with earnings per share of 324 kobo against 286 kobo in 2011.

The third quarter unaudited result of the integrated energy group, led by Wale Tinubu, showed a turnover of N487.77 billion in 2012, up from N392.304 billion in the corresponding period of 2011.

With this result, market

watchers are of the view that the trend in Oando performance showed that the diversification away from downstream oil and gas is on course, but the management needs to explain certain things to the market in order to restore the confidence they use to enjoy.

Still on earnings that flooded the market after the long Eidel-Kabir holiday penultimate week, banking stocks had continued to boost market activities although it appears that those on the selling side have made the jubilation over the increase in All Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalization a short one. A review of First Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc and First City Monument Bank Plc shows that operators in the banking business may have learnt their lessons after the

37 Odume Festus

2009 intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The much awaited big elephant, that’s First Bank Plc has released its third quarter result for the period ended September 30, 2012. Profit after tax grew from N44.638 billion in 2011 to N66.258 billion in the period under review. According to the statement of comprehensive income of the bank, gross earnings stood at N267.693 billion against N225.020 billion in 2012.

However, First Bank will soon delist in order to wear the new look of Holdco structure.

Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc in its group statement of financial position for the period ended September 30, 2012 reported N6.997 billion profits for the period above

N5.703 billion that was recorded in 2011, current earnings per share stood at 43 kobo against 36 kobo in 2011. The group gross income grew from N47.440 billion in 2011 to N64.030 billion in 2012.

The bank recorded N4.562 billion above N4.094 in 2011 with earnings per share of 32 kobo against 29 kobo in 2011.

• Tinubu

LEARNING CENTRE

AIHN call for self regulation among member firms ...Wendel acquires 25% stake in IHS

I

n furtherance of its objective of creating a stable, sound and secure capital market, the Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN) has reiterated the need for their members to imbibe the culture of self regulation in order to move the market forward. Chairman of the trade group, Bolaji Balogun, disclosed this at the association’s Annual General Meeting, in Lagos.

He said one area the association has not done enough is around capacity development and self regulation. “We strongly believed that deepening institutional capacity and introducing a culture of self regulation will be integral to the long term sustainability of member firms and, accordingly, over the next few months, we will develop a capacity development plan for our membership” The chairman of the umbrella body in-charge of bringing new companies into the capital market through their professional advise, explained that in the cause of the year, AIHN has worked on a number of initiatives with the view to contributing to the medium to long term sustainability of its member firms and ensuring that the Nigerian capital market can play its primary role in the capital formation within the context of the nation’s economic development.

Some of the initiatives according to Balogun include working with government, regulators and other stakeholders to get capital market issues on the nation’s economic agenda. “We have received tremendous support from the Honourable minister of finance, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, the director general and leadership of Securities and Exchange Commission, the chief Executive and the team at the NSE, the DMO and most especially, the leadership at Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).”

Balogun pointed out that the associations have also worked consistently to support other trade groups most notably the brokage community, in lobbying for the acceptance of a strategy to fast track market recovery and long term sustainability.

In his word “the association have scheduled and implemented round tables with SEC, on fixed income and mergers and acquisition, the later in collaboration with the capital market solicitors.”

Meanwhile, Wendel, one of Europe’s leading investment firms, is acquiring a $125 million equity stake in I.H.S, making it a significant shareholder of the entity. The 25 per cent stake is purchased by Wendel’s subsidiary, Oranje-Nassau Development. The investment is part of a larger fundraising for IHS' Pan-African growth with solid participation from current and new shareholders.

The equity raise is also augmented by debt raise from various international banks operating on the African continent.

The investment will fund IHS’ on-going investment programme to support further tower purchases, infrastructure improvements and the continued development of innovative technology such as solar power throughout Africa and the Middle East.

Other key shareholders include International Finance Corporation, South Africa’s Investec Asset Management, Emerging Capital Partners, Dutch Development Bank, local Nigerian banks and private investors such as Skye Bank. Management will retain 11 per cent.

38 Businessweek NOVEMBER 5, 2012 BUSINESSNEWS Daily Domestic Flight Schedule

ARIK AIR Lag-Abj: 07.15, 09.15, 10.20, 15.20, 16.20, 16.50, 18.45 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun).

Abj-Lag: 07:15, 09.40,10.20, 12.15, 15.15, 16.15, 17:10, (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun); 12.15, 15.15, 16.15 (Sun) Lag-PH: 07:15, 11.40, 14.00, 16.10, 17.15 (Mon-Fri) 07.30, 11.40, 15.50 (Sat) 11.50, 3.50, 17.05 (Sun) Abj-PH: 07.15, 11.20, 15.30 (Mon-Fri) 07.15, 16.00 (Sat) 13.10, 16.00 (Sun) PH-Abj: 08.45, 12.50, 17.00 (Mon-Fri) 08.45, 17.30 (Sat) 14.40, 17.30 (Sun) Abv-Beni:08.00, 12.10 (Mon-Fri/Sat) 08.56, 12.10(Sun) Benin-Abj:09.55,13.30, (Mon-Fri/Sat) 10.50, 13.30(Sun)

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (PMA) 13,000 graduates apply for Dangote truck drivers’ scheme TENOR

AMOUNT

RATES% ISSUE DATE

91 Day

34,888.90 12.88

24 Oct. 2012

182 Day 45,000.00 13.25

24 Oct. 2012

1 Year

24 Oct. 2012

31,385.90 13.27

MAJOR EXCHANGE RATES – PARALLEL MKT (AIRPORT AS AT 22/10/12) CURRENCY

BUYING (N)

USD 158 POUND ST. 250 EURO 206 Source: FMDA

SELLING(N) 159 253 210

By STEVE AGBOTA

A

s Dangote Group announces vacancies for educated truck drivers, over 13, 000 applications were received from graduates, including Phd, MBA holders and those with masters and other graduate degrees.

The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, disclosed this at the World Bank Youth Forum in Abuja, organized by the Coordinator, Rotimi Olawale, and headed by the World Bank Country Director, Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, in order to encourage youths to engage in discussions with the government and entrepreneurs on business and development in Nigeria and Africa.

He explained that only 1000 drivers were needed, saying the idea behind getting graduates as drivers was to eventually make them entrepreneurs, owning the trucks after a period.

He said the drivers would get allowances on each trip along with their salaries. And, after accomplishing 300,000 kilometres with the

truck, they would own it at no interests or repayments.

In an informal chat with the participants, Aliko Dangote shared his business success story and how the Dangote Group rose from humble beginning to become one of the largest conglomerates in Africa from 1978 till date.

However, he hinted that the group’s vision is to become the largest company in Africa, amongst the top 100 countries in the world and to be worth up to $75 billion by 2017.

The business magnate shared some of his business values and secrets which include always being willing to give back.

Said he: “It is not always about money but how do I always give back to the community?

Agriculture is the best business to help give back.

Dangote group is presently involved in sugar, rice and palm oil farming which he disclosed will create additional 150,000 jobs within the next 5 years.

Food isn’t cheap so the earlier we start looking at it as a business, the better.”

Los-Abv: 09.55, 13.30(Mon-Fri/Sat) 10.50, 13.30(Sun) Lag-Enugu: 07.10, 13.45, 18.30(Mon-Fri) 07.10, 14.00(Sat) 10.20, 13.45, 18.30(Sun) Enugu-Lag: 08.30, 12.00, 18.25 (Mon-Fri) 08.30, 12.00, 15.40(Sat) 12,00, 18.25(Sun) Abj-Enugu: 08.30, 12.00, 18.25, (Mon-Fri) 08.30, 12.00, 15.40 (Sat)12.00, 18.25 (Sun) Abj-Enugu: 10.30, 17.05(Mon-Fri) 10.30(Sat) 17.05(Sun) Enugu-Abj: 08.50, 15.25 (Mon-Fri) 08.50 (Sat) 15.25(Sun) AERO CONTRACTORS Lag-Abj: 06.50, 13.30, 16.30, 19.45 (MonFri/Sat/Sun), 12.30(Sun) 16.45(Sat) Abj-Los: 07.30, 13.00, 19.00 (Mon-Fri/-Sat, 10.30, 14.30, 19.30 (Sun, 18.30 Sat) Lag-Benin: 07.45, 11.00, 15.30 (MonFri/Sat/Sun) 12.30 (Sun 15.30 (Sat) Ben-Lag: 09.15, 12.30, 17.00 (MonFri/Sat/Sun) 17.00 (Sat) 14.00 (Sun) CHANCHANGI AIRLINES Los-Abj: 7.15, 10.00, 13.30, 15.30, 17.30 Abj-Lag: 08.00, 11.45, 13.40, 15.30, 17.30 Lag-Kad: 10.45 (on Fri), 17.00 (MonFri/Sat/Sun) Kad-Lag: 7.30 (Mon-Fri), 08.00 (Sat/Sun IRS AIRLINES Lag-Abj: 9.45, 11.45, 2.45 (Mon-Fri), 9.30, 12.45 (Sat & Sun) Lag-Kano: 6.15 (Mon-Fri), 16.30 Sat&Sun Kano-Lag: 07.30 (Mon-Fri), 10.30 (Sat & Sun) OVERLAND AIRWAYS LAGOS LOS - ILR Mon - Fri 0715hrs LOS - MNA Mon, Wed & Fri 0715hrs LOS - IBA Mon - Fri 0715hrs

IBADAN IBA - ABV Mon - Fri IBA - LOS Mon - Fri

0800hrs 1700hrs

ILORIN ILR - ABV Mon - Fri 0900hrs ILR - LOS Mon - Fri 1630hrs ILR - MNA Mon, Wed & Fri 0900hrs MINNA MNA - ABV Mon, Wed & Fri MNA - ILR Mon, Wed & Fri MNA - LOS Mon, Wed & Fri ABUJA ABV - ILR Mon - Fri ABV - IBA Mon - Fri

0920hrs 1520hrs 1520hrs

1500hrs 1500hrs

• L–R: An official from the Corporate Development Group of Sterling Bank Plc., Mr Ighodalo Aimienwanu; winners of just concluded ‘#1000 Things I Can Do For My Country’ Facebook Sterling Bank Campaign, Timothy Chima, Abimbola Olamiposi, Akaninyene Uko and an official of the bank, Mrs Kate Edoho, during the presentation of Blackberry phones to the winners in Lagos, recently.

Nigeria records N81bn FDI in 2012 – Jonathan

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan has said that foreign direct investment in Nigeria in 2012 is well over N81 billion.

Jonathan, who was represented by the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said that the increase was a result of his administration’s commitment towards revitalizing the real sector of the economy.

The President, who disclosed this at the opening of the Lagos International Trade Fair, over the weekend, stated that he has directed the Ministry of Trade and Investment to forge ahead in the introduction of a National Industrial Revolution Plan that is bound to rapidly and radically revive the ailing industrial sector.

In view of the current realities in the global economic landscape, the president said, “the imperative of diversifying Nigeria’s economy away from non-oil sector has become very compelling more than ever before.

“Government is aware of this and we have embarked on several initiatives geared towards the diversification of the product portfolio of Nigeria’s economy. In this regard, government has committed over N100 billion towards revamping of textiles industries in the country, while also committing substantial amount to boosting the Nollywood entrainment industry on which the country has some comparative advantage,” he said.

He observed that government is aware of the challenges that the private sector is faced with, especially as it relates to access to finance and infrastructure renewal.

In mitigating these challenges, he said that government has earmarked billions of naira in intervention fund for industry through the Bank of Industry.

He stated that government is fervently committed to the reform in the power sector, adding that recent improvements in power supplies to

different parts of the country bears eloquent testimony to the commitment of the government toward adequate provision of electricity for industrial, commercial and domestic uses.

“We shall not rest on our oars until the privatization process is concluded. Government is also tackling the security challenges through various strategies,” headed.

Speaking at the event, the President of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Goodie Ibru, said the theme: ‘Promoting Trade for Sustainable Economic Transformation”, was chosen to underscore the significance of trade in the realization of the collective aspiration of rapid economic transformation.

He noted that the creation of an enabling environment to enhance competitiveness is crucial, addind that the key drivers of any economy are the entrepreneurs.

Air safety: Dana Air signs $1m AFIRS 222 contract with Canadian firm

By UCHE USIM

T

o strengthen its flight operations, Dana Air has signed a five-year contract with FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Limited for its flagship Automated Flight Information Reporting System (AFIRS) 228 at an estimated $1 million (about N150 million).

The airline has also completed its test flights and training programmes for all categories of staff as part of the requirements it must meet before it takes to the skies again.

The AFIRS deal, according to the airline’s management, requires FLYHT to install the AFIRS 228 on all the five Boeing MD-83 aircraft in Dana Air’s

fleet to provide real-time flight data monitoring and to assist in achieving maintenance and operational efficiencies. The airline will benefit from all AFIRS 228 features including automated Out, Off, On and In times, engine trending, airframe and engine exceedances, flight tracking and satellite voice communications.

With this development, Dana Air becomes one of the local operators to take concrete steps to follow the recommendations of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to implement an intelligent flight tracking system to increase safety and improve efficiency.

According to airline’s CEO, Jacky Hathiramani, “The provision of safe, reliable

world-class air transport services has always been our focus at Dana Air, and FLYHT’s AFIRS 228’s timely, secure, seamless end-to-end communications capability will surely boost the airline’s overall operational efficiency.”

Bill Tempany, CEO of FLYHT, expressed the firm’s delight at supporting the initiatives being taken by the NCAA and airline operators to improve operational safety through visibility of real time information on aircraft owned and operated in the Nigerian airspace.

“FLYHT will provide equipment and services to Dana Air over a five year contract, and Installations are anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2013,” said Tempany.

Businessweek NOVEMBER 5, 2012

39

BUSINESS NEWS TENOR

SWAP

Spot

FORWARD FIXING

DATE

156.4500 / 156.5500

02 Nov, 2012

7 Day

0.3978 / 0.3980

156.8478 / 156.9480

02 Nov, 2012

14 Day

0.8169 / 0.8174

157.2669 / 157.3674

02 Nov, 2012

21 Day

1.2585 / 1.2593

157.7085 / 157.8093

02 Nov, 2012

30 Day

1.8578 / 1.8589

158.3078 / 158.4089

02 Nov, 2012

60 Day

3.9297 / 3.9322

160.3797 / 160.4822

02 Nov, 2012

90 Day

6.0353 / 6.0391

162.4853 / 162.5891

02 Nov, 2012

180 Day

12.2640 / 12.2718 168.7140 / 168.8218

02 Nov, 2012

NITTY YIELD CURVE TENOR 1 Month 2 Months 3 Months 6 Months 9 Months 12 Months Source: FMDA

RATE 13.1111 13.3594 13.5954 13.9136 14.0960 14.3409

CHANGE -0.32 -0.17 -0.15 -0.01 -0.02 0.07

DATE 02 Nov, 2012 02 Nov, 2012 02 Nov, 2012 02 Nov, 2012 02 Nov, 2012 02 Nov, 2012

3Q: Dangote Cement records N208.3bn sales

By STEVE AGBOTA

D

angote Cement Plc. has moved up its sales revenue to N208.3 billion, which represents an increase of 19.8 per cent compared to the revenue generated during same period last year.

The company also has maintained its upward profitability swing into the third quarter ended September 30, with a pretax profit of N105.8 billion. The figure represents an increase of 13.5 per cent over and above figures recorded in the corresponding period for last year.

Gross profit of N130 billion was up 22.1 per cent at a margin of 62.4 per cent (Jan-Sep 2011; N106.5 billion, 61.3 per cent). The improvement reflects a mixture of positive and negative influences on margin.

The cessation of lower-margin imports

and their replacement with locally produced cement has helped to reduce the cost of sales, but the potential gains in margin were largely offset by increased use of furnace oil (LPFO) at higher-than expected levels during 2012 A statement of unaudited result of performance of the company in the last nine months indicated that cement sales climbed up to 7.7 million tonnes, with all cement sold locally produced.

In spite of these achievements, the company said the third quarter sales were seriously affected by heavy rainfall and flooding but that “margins rising as gas supplies return to normal.

Speaking on the results in Lagos, Chief Executive of Dangote Cement, Devakumar Edwin, lamented that conditions in the third quarter of 2012 were very challenging because of the serious flooding that affected Kogi and Benue states.

International Flight Schedule

NIFEX YIELD CURVE

Ethiopian Airlines Lagos-Addis Ababa (daily) Departure time: 12:15 pm, Arrival time: 1:15 pm Contact no: 014611869/029

AFRIQIYAH AIRWAYS Lagos-Tripoli Tue, Wed, Thur and Sat Departure time: 01:30am, Arrival time: 22:25 pm Contact no: 012711506 BRITISH AIRWAYS Lagos-London Heathrow (daily) Departure time: 11 pm, Arrival time: 5: 50 pm Contact no: 012792690 0r 014615870-5 TURKISH AIRLINES Lagos-Istanbul Mon, Tue, Thur Sat Departure time: 10: 10 pm, Arrival time: 8: 10 pm Customer care no: Not available DELTA AIR Lagos-Atlanta (daily) Departure time: Btw 3pm and 5pm, Arrival time: 10:30 am Contact no: 014483111 EMIRATES Lagos-Dubai Daily (2 flights) Departure time: 3pm, 8.50pm, Arrival time:1pm, 6pm Contact no :01-2717600 LUFTHANSA Lagos-Frankfurt (daily) Departure time: 10:05 pm, Arrival time: 19:08 Contact no: 014612222, 0414480963 AIR FRANCE Lagos-Paris (daily) Departure time: 11 pm, Arrival time: 14:14 pm Customer care no: 01-4610777, 012617959 SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS Lagos-Johannesburg (daily) Departure time: 10:30 pm, Arrival time: 8 or 9 am Customer care no: 2702681-5

• L–R: President/Chairman of the Council, The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mr Segun Aina, presenting an Award of Honorary Fellowship of the institute to the Managing Dirctor/CEO, Unity Bank, Alhaji Ado Yakubu Wanka, and Chairman, Board of Fellows, Otunba (Mrs.) Debola Osibogun, at the CIBN 2012 Fellowship Investituture Award, held at the Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos, recently.

Cashless policy: CBN to peg third party cheques at N150,000 nationwide in 2013

By AMECHI OGBONNA

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that the N150,000 restrictions on third party cheques currently implemented in the Lagos pilot of the cashless policy would go nationwide from next year.

Deputy Director, Banking and Payment System Department, CBN, Mr. Emmanuel Obaigbhona, disclosed this at the 2nd Annual Conference/Retreat of the Committee of eBanking Industry Heads (CeBIH) held in Calabar at the weekend.

Under the cashless policy, third party cheques with values above N150,000 cannot be cashed across the counter but through bank accounts.

This restriction was, however, implemented only in Lagos State, as part of the Cashless Lagos initiative, which test runs the cashless

policy.

“The N150,000 maximum limit imposed on third party cheques for across the counter withdrawals, which is only available in Lagos will, from January, next year, go national,” Obaigbhona said during the panel discussion at the conference. The theme of the CeBIH conference was, ‘Developing a Market Structure that works: Challenges & Prospects for the Nigeria Payments System.'

Chairman of CeBIH, Mr. Chuma Ezirim commended the CBN and NIBSS for the various policies introduced to drive electronic payment in the country. “CeBIH is committed to development of an efficient payment system in Nigeria. The industry however needs to recognize that electronic payment is not a service but a business and it has to be driven by operators instead of regulators.”

Obaigbhona said, while the industry has made significant progress in the implementation of the cashless policy, there was need for collaboration among stakeholders in the electronic payment system to improve on it.

“In terms of development in the payment system, if we look at our country, we would observe some major improvements since 2007. The aim of the CBN basically is to promote electronic payments and make sure that we have a payment system that is not only effective but a payment system that is nationally utilized and international recognized. We are looking at a system that even the poor can use at affordable rates.

“But to achieve this, CBN needs the cooperation of all operators in the electronic payment system.

For example all the policies introduced by the CBN to drive electronic payments were based on suggestions and contributions of banks, especially the Bankers Committee.

Jet manufacturers jostle for Nigeria's juicy market

By UCHE USIM

E

xecutive jet manufacturers are currently battling for dominance in the lucrative aviation market in Nigeria.

The aircraft makers are cashing in on wealthy Nigerian's quest for brand new jets as a status symbol.

A top aviation source, who disclosed this to Daily Sun, said companies like Gulfstream, Dassault, Cessna and others have concluded arrangements to fly in their latest next generation jets from next week to tantalize the upper class.

Their visit is coming barely two weeks after Bombadier came to showcase their products.

Records from the Nigerian Civil Aviation

Authority (NCAA) showed that the list of private jet owners will soon hit 200 from about 100 earlier in the year.

From websites of the manufacturers, the average cost of executive jet ranges between $40 and $60 million.

The common brands in Nigeria are Bombadier Challenger 604 and 605, Embraer Legacy, Hawker Siddely 125-800 and 900XP. The jostle for private jets, from investigations, also show that distressed domestic carriers in Nigeria now operate unreliable schedules, coupled with incessant flight delays and endless cancellations.

A top aviation source explained that the economic downturn in Europe and the United States

had made Nigeria and China to become two of the fastest growing private jet markets in the world.

“Two countries buying private jets now are China and Nigeria. Europe and America are going through turmoil, so, their people are no more buying. This accounts for the trend that whenever some of the private jet manufacturers develop any new jet, they take them to Nigeria and China.

“The private jets in Nigeria are owned by top politicians, oil magnates and business moguls. It is difficult to get the real identities of owners of some of the private jets in Nigeria because they buy them through some foreign companies in North America, especially the US. The foreign company then leases it to another company in Nigeria," he said.

QATAR AIRWAYS Lagos-Doha Daily Departure time: 9:45 am, Arrival time: 7:55am Contact: 012798888/014633333 KENYA AIRWAYS Lagos-Nairobi (daily) Departure time: 11:05 am, Arrival time: 10:42am Contact: 012719433 CHINA SOUTHERN Lagos-Beijing via Dubai Tuesdays, Thursdays Departure time: 12:15pm, Arrival time: 10:30 am Tuesdays, Thursdays.

Contact: 01-4610777 or 01-2617959 EGYPT AIR Lagos-Cairo Mon, Wed, Thur, Fri & Sun Departure time: 2pm, Arrival time: 1pm KLM Lagos-Amsterdam (daily) Departure time: 11pm, Arrival time: 8:30pm Contact: 01-4610777, 01-2617959 VIRGIN ATLANTIC Lagos-London Heathrow (daily) Departure time: 10:20 am daily, Arrival time: 5:30 am Contact: 01-4612750, 01-4612747 ARIK AIR Lagos-London Heathrow (daily) Departure time: 10:05pm Arrival 7.00pm Lagos-New York Tuesdays and Thursdays Departure time: 11:20pm Arrival 6pm Lagos-Johannesburg (daily) Departure 11.15pm Arrival 4.15pm Lagos-West Coast (Freetown, Banjul & Dakar) Mon, Wed & Fri Departure 8:00am Arrival 6.45pm Lagos-Accra (daily) Departure 8.00am, 5pm 8.45pm, 5.45pm Contact: 01-2799999.

40 Businessweek NOVEMBER INDUSTRY NEWS

5, 2012

We won’t tolerate indecent treatment of consumers – CPC

T

he Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has decried the continued poor treatment of Nigerian consumers by the respective service providers, due to their inability to provide world class service, thereby denying customers the opportunity to get value for their hard earned resources.

The agency’s latest onslaught on those bent on providing Nigerians with substandard products and services was disclosed by CPC’s Head of Lagos Office, Mrs.Ngozika Obidike, during interaction with the media at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

Obidike, who flayed the management of Emirates Airline, alleged that passengers were left unattended to as a result of the cancellation of its flight EK 782, to Dubai on Wednesday, lamenting that the airline left passengers without making adequate and coordinated arrangements for their logistics, accommodation, feeding and other contingencies, since the fault was not theirs.

The CPC boss explained that the agency got distress calls from passengers, informing it of the development, which, she said, led the agency to the airport to find out the situation of things.

In an interview with Daily Sun, a visibly angry Mr. Avinash Bagnanin, an Indian who claimed to have spent over 44 years in Nigeria, frowned at the attitude of the airline, saying the decision of Emirates Airline to pair three adults in a room without provision for feeding and transportation back to the airport was an act of wickedness.

Again, he said upon arrival at the hotel, there was none of the airline official on ground to provide explanations on the development.

Another passenger, who simply identified herself as Mary Efem, decried the treatment meted out on passengers as far below acceptable industry standards, just as she called on the regulatory authorities to investigate the matter and mete out appropriate sanctions.

Efforts to speak to the Operations Manager of the airline, Mr.George, proved abortive as he declined comments saying ‘everything is under control’.

However, an official of the Consumer Protection Unit of the Nigerian Civil Aviation authourity (NCAA), who pleaded anonymity admitted that the flight was indeed cancelled as a result of technical issues, saying NCCAwas aware of the development while investigation is yet to be concluded on the alleged poor treatment of passengers.

Orange Drugs launches Delta BodyGuard

O

range Drugs Limited, manufacturers of the popular Delta Soap, has launched a new product; Delta BodyGuard, to meet the growing demands of its customers.

Presenting the product to the media in Lagos on Friday, the Plant Manager of the firm, Mr. Henshaw Nwaorgu, explained that the need to fight fungal infection informed the decision to introduce the product.

He maintained that Delta BodyGuard is the only antiseptic soap in the country that has a combination of both antibacterial and antifungal concentrate blended into it, saying all other antiseptic soaps are just antibacterial.

The plant manager disclosed that Delta BodyGuard was more effective than the normal Delta Soap because the new product has more advanced chemical concentration to fight both bacterial and fungal infections.

The product according to him has been certified by the National Agency for Foods Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) while also meeting the standard specification requirements of the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON).

Nwaorgu also noted that members of the consuming public should not pay much emphasis on fragrance as far as medicated soaps are concerned but rather on the function it performs because the hard nature of chemicals used for medicated soaps is strong enough to neutralize any fragrance.

Orange Drugs Limited, he said was targeting to capture about 50 percent of the market share of the antiseptic soap sector of the cosmetic industry in some years to come,adding that being the producer of soap base-a major raw material used in soap making gives the company an edge over others.

FRC boss emerges chairman of UNCTAD-ISAR

M

r. Jim Osayande Obazee, CEO of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, a parastatal in the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, has been elected as chairman of the 29th Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Inter-governmental Working Group of experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR).

This is the first time a Nigerian has been elected to chair the group of experts on this subject for the UN. UNCTAD-ISAR is a specialized inter-governmental forum based on consensus building and voluntary cooperation among participating countries. Every year, UNCTAD hosts the group of experts from over 50 countries on topical global agenda on financial reporting, corporate governance and other issues of common concern to member states.

• L–R: Maxwell Ubah, a management consultant; Mr Idorenyen Inang, former MD, Interswitch Ltd.; a lady participant; Mr Roger Snow, vice president, Miller Heiman, and Mr Oliva Nnona, CEO, Profiliant Development Resources, all Speakers at the 2012 Sales Performance Summit (SPS), organised by Profiliant in Lagos.

NACCIMA decries huge debt profile owed local contractors

Stories by ADEWALE SANYAOLU

T

he National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) have decried the mounting debt profile owed local contractors by the Federal Government.

The President of the association, Mr. Herbert Ajayi, made the disclosure in the association’s review on 2013 Budget.

Ajayi, while commending government’s plan to substantially increase domestic debt servicing in 2013, advised that a substantial portion of the debts owed local contractors should be paid.

The speedy payment of the accumulated debts, according to NACCIMA, will reduce the problems presently faced by local contractors and, consequently, boost economic activities in the private sector.

“Those who do business,

contracts with government and her agencies have a right to expect a show of good example by government respecting its own side of contracts and agreements and payment terms. This will reinvigorate several local contractors to improve their contributions to the economy, grow their businesses and create jobs,” NACCIMA said.

On expenditure, the chamber said the continued outcry

over the nation’s ultra-high recurrent expenditure compared to dismally-low capital expenditure profile in 2012, appears not to have witnessed any significant change with only three percent in the 2013 Budget.

“We are informed that savings made from leakages in the petroleum industry on signature bonuses, oil thefts, fuel subsidy, LNG price, among others could significantly improve our capital

“THOSE WHO DO BUSINESS, CONTRACTS WITH GOVERNMENT AND HER AGENCIES HAVE A RIGHT TO EXPECT A SHOW OF GOOD EXAMPLE,

BY GOVERNMENT RESPECTING ITS OWN SIDE OF CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS AND PAYMENT TERMS. THIS WILL REONVIGORATE SEVERAL LOCAL CONTRACTORS TO IMPROVE THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ECONOMY, GROW THEIR BUSINESS ES AND CREATE JOBS.”

expenditure if ploughed back for human development and infrastructural facilities,” he maintained.

Besides, NACCIMA said in the interest of the citizens, all federal government’s roads and projects in each state under a new spirit of transformation devoid of partisan politics should come under Joint Management Committees of Federal and States where such roads or projects are domiciled, with states being the direct managers.

NACCIMA noted that the increasing level and style of violence is deplorable and negatively affecting business, suggesting the adoption of a holistic approach, which includes closer collaboration and networking within existing government security agencies with private security organizations and community policing, which, could turn out to be only viable solution in the long run, saying that the use of modern electronic

... MAN hails approval of 0% duty on machinery, others

T

he Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) at the weekend hailed the decision of the Federal Government to initiate a fresh policy on zero percent duty on importation of equipment, machinery and spares for agricultural products.

The kudos was given by the association’s President, Mr. Kola Jamodu, at the 27th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of MAN, Ogun State chapter, with the theme: ‘Single Digit Interest Rate: A Tool to Restructure and Foster Investment in an Inflationary Macroeconomic Setting’.

He hinted that the theme for the AGM was apt and topical, especially in the phase of the nation’s development, when lending rates

are astronomically high, hovering between 24–25 percent, while the structure of the generality of financial institutions favour shortterm investments and trading at the expense of the productive sector.

He lamented that the inadequacy of fund at the disposal of the respective Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) in the country, dearth of basic infrastructure, harsh business environment, changes in the structure and economic fortunes of the nation as well as policy inconsistency frustrated government efforts at effectively meeting the funding needs of the manufacturing sector.

Jamodu stated further that the development, which led to the implementation of the

zero percent duty on equipments and machinery was as a result of one of its advocacy achievements which also include; the approval of tax credit on capital expenditure to compensate manufacturers for investment made so far in backward integration projects.

The MAN boss explained further that the approval of the zero per cent duty on importation of equipment, machinery and spares for agricultural products and sugar production would encourage retooling and diversification.

“Five-year tax holiday for ‘sugarcane to sugar’ value chain investors; granting of credit on owner based infrastructure such as power plants, road construction, water by businesses; tax

reliefs tied to investments generating fresh employments for Nigerians are some of the most recent advocacy achievements,” he said.

Earlier in his address, the Chairman, MAN Ogun, Mr.Ogutuga, called the attention of the State Government to the continued enormous challenges being faced by manufacturers in running their businesses.

“Principal among the challenges are issues relating to, multiplicity of taxes, levies and other charges that are imposed on manufacturing businesses by various tiers of Governments in the state, especially Local Government Councils, Ministries, Departments and Agencies,” he lamented

We didn’t kill Gen. Shuwa – Boko Haram

N150

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2012 VOL. 7 NO. 2488

Pages 5 & 7

...Another attack claims 4 in Yobe

•Don’t dialogue with them, Lar tells FG

MASS SUICIDE

Another 20 die scooping fuel from fallen tanker Nigeria’s celebrated paralympic couple, Folashade (bride) and Tolulope finally wedded in Jos, at the weekend.

See story on Page 59

Flood: Girl, 5, drowns in family bedroom

•’No comment, I’m already in court’

Crossfire Ribadu, Oronsaye continue verbal war over crude oil revenue probe report

‘There is no signature page. The chairman and the secretary were to sign on behalf of members. How do you sign on my behalf? Suppose there are things that I do not agree with, especially when I am also saying that the process was flawed?’

Pages 5 & 54

Page 16

My case against Ifeanyi Ubah, by Coscharis boss

Page 9

Our paralympians wed

Page 10

‘You see, he was never there for him to even know the process. He was never involved in anything.

And he still used the task force to even get an appointment in government’

Mimiko’s victory, end of electoral imposition in Nigeria MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2012 VOL. 7 NO. 2488

– Minister

Crossfire ‘There is no signature page. The chairman and the secretary were to sign on behalf of members. How do you sign on my behalf? Suppose there are things that I do not agree with, especially when I am also saying that the process was flawed?’

Pages 5 & 54

Ribadu, Oronsaye continue verbal war over crude oil revenue probe report

‘You see, he was never there for him to even know the process. He was never involved in anything.

And he still used the task force to even get an appointment in government’

Page 11

How HoS office looted N501bn pension funds

Page 6

N150

...Using 73,000 ghost names

MASS SUICIDE Page 10

20 die scooping fuel from fallen tanker in Aba

Our paralympians wed Nigeria’s celebrated paralympic couple, Folashade (R) and Tolulope, finally wedded in Jos, at the weekend.

See story on Page 59

Flood:

Girl, 5, drowns in family bedroom in Delta My case against Ifeanyi Ubah, by Coscharis boss

Page 16

Page 9

•’No comment, I’m already in court’

Flood:

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2012 VOL. 7 NO. 2488

Crossfire ‘There is no signature page. The chairman and the secretary were to sign on behalf of members. How do you sign on my behalf? Suppose there are things that I do not agree with, especially when I am also saying that the process was flawed?’

Pages 5 & 54

Ribadu, Oronsaye continue verbal war over crude oil revenue probe report

‘You see, he was never there for him to even know the process. He was never involved in anything.

And he still used the task force to even get an appointment in government’

Page 9

How HoS office looted N501bn pension funds

Page 6

N150

Girl, 5, drowns in family bedroom in Delta

...Using 73,000 ghost names

MASS SUICIDE Page 10

20 die scooping fuel from fallen tanker in Aba

Our paralympians wed Nigeria’s celebrated paralympic couple, Folashade (R) and Tolulope, finally wedded in Jos, at the weekend.

See story on Page 59

Oil well dispute:

My case against Ifeanyi Ubah, by Coscharis boss

Page 16

– Bayelsa

Page 9

Rivers fighting lost battle

•’No comment, I’m already in court’

2

DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012

SUNG GIRL

Monday, November 5, 2012, DAILY SUN

EDITOR’S NOTE: Do you consider yourself stunning enough to grace our Page 3?

If yes, sign our consent/release form, send your pix/bio-data to 2, Coscharis Street, Kirikiri Industrial Estate, Apapa, Lagos.

Name: Patience Nathan

Phone: 08030453261

3

N’Assembly has no business writing new Constitution –Nnamani, ex-Senate president •Obiozor blames leadership for Nigeria’s problems From UBONG UKPONG, Abuja

F

ormer Senate President, Ken Nnamani, at the weekend said that legislators have no business writing a new constitution for the country, insisting that it was a deviation from their responsibilities. His position is coming at a time when the National Assembly members were insisting on going ahead with their plans to write a new Constitution.

Speaking at the Beta Sigma Fraternity Night/Endowment Fund Dinner in Abuja, the former Senate President and exChairman of the federal legislature said that, “the National Assembly has no business writing a new Constitution for the country.” He said that the Assembly’s duty regarding the Constitution was limited to amendment of clauses in an existing Constitution. Consequently, Nnamani said that the National Assembly, rather than causing confusion in the system, should simply focus its attention on amending the existing Constitution instead of writing an entirely new one.

He urged the legislators to also concern themselves in making good laws for the country that would ensure and enhance the dignity of all Nigerians. Nnamani said that it was the prerogative of the people to make a new Constitution for themselves through the process of a referendum at any time they so felt the need and certainly, not through representatives like those at the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly.

Also speaking at the dinner, Ambassador George Obiozor, former boss of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), in his lecture, blamed the current problems facing the country on leadership failure. According to him, the country had been very unfortunate to have continued to have wrong leaders in government, who were unwilling and unprepared to save the nation. “In Nigeria, it is possible to conclude that besides the failure of leadership, another important element that has restrained our development generally and sustaining the dignity of man in particular, is a faulty structure coupled with institutional failures.

“As it were, power and leadership in Nigeria were surrendered early by men of ideas to politicals pretenders, impostors and impersonators. Nigeria unity is not only negotiable, but must indeed be re-negotiated for it to stand or survive the test of time. The reality over the years remains that in spite of the best efforts of all our leaders past or present, Nigeria’s unity is not guaranteed. It is simply, at best, an aspiration and not yet an achievement. Hence, the statement that the unity is ‘not negotiable’ is simply a historical fallacy”, he stated.

According to him, the country needs credible and committed leadership for unity, nation-building and development to be attained and sustained in the country. “ In fact, we need not just leadership in the ordinary sense of the word but heroic leadership because our national problems require the talents and inspirational articulateness of an extraordinary person or persons for the design and execution of sustainable solutions “Nigeria needs a system of shared power, bearing in mind that political decency flourishes best in societies in which stable, peaceful and just political institutions make it difficult for reckless and lawless political adventures to thrive”, he said.

According to Obiozor, it is expected that decentralization would redeem the country from its constant and perennial fluctuation between social crises and chronic political instability and threats of national disintegration.

Earlier in his address, president of Sigma Beta, Okwunna Ekpunobi, said that the vision of his Non-Governmental Organization ( NGO), was to, “have an open, responsive organization that promotes fundamental ideals and the contributions we make to our community and culture whilst keeping excellence in the forefront and have relevance to back it up; defining how our association views itself and prefers to be viewed by others.” He said that his NGO had been engaged in several philanthropic activities in ensuring better life for rural com•Nnamani munity dwellers.

4

DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012

Monday, November 5, 2012

DAILY SUN

5

L-R: Rivers State Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and Minister of Housing, Ama Pepple at the Town Hall meeting the governor held with Rivers indigenes in Abuja, weekend.

L-R: Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, with the Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Dame Oluremi Oyo, during her visit to NAN heaquarters in Abuja, Sunday.

L-R: Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Emeka Eze, Director of Compliance Certificate, BPP, Alhaji Gambo Muasu and Director, Special Procurement, Ayo Aderibigbe, at the fourth conversion examination for Procurement Officers in ministries and agencies held in Abuja, weekend. Photo: MUDASHIRU ATANDA

COVER We didn’t kill Gen. Shuwa – Boko Haram From TIMOTHY OLA, Maiduguri

B

oko Haram insisted yesterday that it did not kill civil war veteran, Major Gen. Mamman Shuwa (rtd). The assassination occurred barely 24 hours after the sect’s offer of a ceasefire. He was murdered in Maiduguri, Borno State at the weekend.

Gen Shuwa, a civil war veteran and former member of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) was killed last Friday in his house at Gwange 1 Maiduguri by gunmen. The military Joint Task Force (JTF) said four gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram appeared at Shuwa’s residence as guests and subsequently opened fire on him. “One of the guests died on the spot while the General died on his way to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.”

But in a telephone conference addressed yesterday in Maiduguri by Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz, one of the sect commanders, who had been speaking on behalf of the Islamist sect recently, the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad which is also known as Boko Haram, maintained it was not responsible for the killing, even as he warned those putting the murder at the doorstep of the sect to stop forthwith.

“We heard that people were saying that we had a hand in the killing of Gen Shuwa. I want the people to know that we didn’t have any problem with the man. We don’t have anything against him. He was a respected person and has not offended us in any way. We have no hand in his killing. We were even surprised when we heard about the incident. We want to warn those who are using our names to do this thing to stop and we also warn those who are also spreading the rumour that Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad killed Gen. Shuwa to stop it because we are not the one that did it,” Abdulaziz insisted.

He also exonerated Boko Haram from the killing of a Maiduguri-based businessman, Alhaji Mohammed Flawama, an associate of the former Gov Ali Sheriff, saying “we don’t know anything about it.”

Abdulaziz, who said he was the commander in charge of southern and northern Borno of the sect, also spoke of the resolve of the sect to embrace dialogue and peace with Gen Muhammadu Buhari, Shettima Ali Monguno, Sen. Bukar Abba Ibrahim, Amb. Gaji Gatimari

•Fresh attack claims 4 in Yobe and other prominent northern leaders “as witnesses.” He, however, asked the Federal Government to call the JTF to order and “stop killing our members.”

Meanwhile, gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram yesterday morning launched a co-ordinated attack at Fika, a small community in Yobe State, leaving four persons including two police inspectors and civilians dead.

The gunmen attacked the Divisional Police

station in the town in the early hours of Sunday with bombs and other ammunitions, killing the two inspectors and two other civilians. The police station was “also burnt.

Police Commissioner in Yobe State, Mr Patrick Egbuniwe, confirmed the incident though he did not give further details.

He, however, said “security has since been beefed up in and around the state,” even as he appealed to the people “to avail the police with

useful information about the hideout of the perpetrators.”

Unconfirmed report also claimed four people were killed by gunmen at Bolori in Maiduguri yesterday morning, prompting sporadic shooting by security forces. Many Christian worshippers around the area could not go for service, as all major roads around the area including the popular Baga road were cordoned off while they were forced to return to their houses midway. JTF spokesman, Lt- Col Sagir Musa ,could not be reached on his mobile phone for confirmation as at Press time.

Fuel subsidy probe crossfire: Oronsaye has no right to fault report – Ribadu

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ast Friday, the task force on petroleum subsidy earnings led by former EFCC chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, submitted its report to President Goodluck Jonathan amid drama. The task force was set up last January following the week-long fuel subsidy protest that grounded the country. Ribadu and the deputy chairman of the task force and former Head of Service of the Federation, Mr. Steve Oronsaye, openly quarreled at the presentation in the presence of President Jonathan and the Petroleum Minister, Mrs Deziani AlisonMadueke. PAULINUS AIDIGHIE presents excerpts from Ribadu and Oronsaye’s interviews.

Ribadu’s report: “There was a slight drama during the presentation of your report. Mr. Oronsaye said the process of the whole exercise was what he quarreled with and not the substance. What is your take on that?

Well, with due respect, what are the processes he is talking about? He was not there at the inauguration of the committee. He did not participate even for a day. He did not come out to sit down at the time when we came out with our rules and how we were going to conduct the business of the task force. He never participated even for a single day; not even a single hour.

The only time he came was when he was intervening on behalf of a company that was supposed to come and pay money to government.

About $1.5 billion. That was the only time Steve came in. And when he got in, it was very

•Ribadu embarrassing and we respected him.

He said you brought in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials to be interrogating people and that he thought that was not part of the process.

You see, he was never there for him to even know the process. He was never involved in anything. He still used the task force to even get an appointment in government. Instead for him to respect himself to just maybe, resign from the task force, he refused to do so. And the next thing was of course, the day we saw him at the Council. So, it is a bit unfortunate. It is tragic and I feel sorry for our country.

And in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), he said he is not an executive director and that he is a non-executive director.

He is a board member and not an executive director of the NNPC. He is a board member of

the NNPC. It is the highest authority of the NNPC. He said it is not conflicting with his job because he was not the chairman of your panel, that he was just a member. Secondly, that he didn’t intervene on behalf of any petroleum company and that he even asked the people more biting questions and that if he was intervening, what pressure did he then put on the committee? That is what he is saying. And that he was in the private sector and rose to become a partner in KPMG and that his image is dented and that he may consider legal option. These are the things he is saying.

Well, I wish him well and it is not like I do have any personal thing.

And that you never liked him even right from when you were working with Obasanjo, that you have never been friends.

He is not going to drag me into any altercation or controversy with him because I have passed that. I do respect myself and I would not allow myself to get into this type of thing. I would not have said a word if not because of what he did right in front of the President. The explanation was very clear. I thought that was very unfortunate and it was very misplaced.

There was no sense in what he did. Moreso, he had no reason whatsoever. He didn’t play a role in the work of the committee and he couldn’t come at the tail end… And only two of them out of the 17 people.

Continued on Page 54

6 DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012

NEWS ACN accuses FG of deliberately sabotaging Ribadu task force

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he Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has accused the Federal Government of deliberately sabotaging the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force, headed by Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, following the controversy that marred the presentation of the task force’s report last Friday.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the decision to appoint two members of the committee, Mr. Steve Oronsaye and Mr. Bernard Otti, to positions in the NNPC while the task force was still working on its assignment was a deliberate booby trap.

It said if the Federal Government did not have any ulterior motive, it would have waited for the task force to complete its assignment before naming Mr. Oronsaye into the board of the NNPC and Otti as the Director of Finance of the same body.

“Alternatively, both men should have resigned their membership of the committee the moment they were given the plum jobs to avoid the apparent conflict of interest. The fact that they stayed on, only to disparage the report of the task force so openly and ferociously at the end, is the clearest indication yet that they were meant to play that exact role of spoilers,” ACN said.

The party said the temerity with which the duo sought to denigrate the report of the task force in the presence of the president showed that they must have been acting a well-prepared script.

“All that these two men needed to have done, if indeed they did not agree with the report of the task force, was to write a minority report and present such to the president, instead of engaging in theatrics as they did at the presentation, right in front of the whole world.

“Unfortunately, the president’s efforts to downplay the whole disagreement and give the dissenters a soft landing did more to accentuate the damage done to the report by the two men. The president’s statement, that becoming board members of NNPC does not disqualify them from being members of the task force, is an indication of his innermost thoughts on this issue,” it said.

ACN, however, said it was not surprised at how things turned out with the task force, having previously warned, in a statement it issued on February 8, 2012, that naming credible people like Mr. Nuhu Ribadu to head the task force might just be part of government’s ploy to poach credible personalities from the opposition so it could decimate it (opposition) and also tarnish the well-earned credibility of such personalities.

... No, you got it wrong –Presidency From JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE, Abuja

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he Presidency has described as lies, misleading the allegations by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) statement that the Federal Government had ulterior motive in setting up the Petroleum Revenue Task Force headed by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and ‘deliberately sabotaging’ the Task Force.

In a statement released last night by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said the allegations were ‘familiar pattern’by ACN to ‘seek every opportunity to insult President Goodluck Jonathan’.

Abati, who said the disagreements during the presentation between Steve Oronsaye and Ribadu were as surprising as they were sudden, recalled that the committees were set up as fact-finding and advisory bodies, to generate ideas and recommendations about how best to strengthen the oil and gas sector, and to further pursue the objectives of institutional integrity, transparency and accountability.

The presidential spokesman said the claims by ACN that Oronsaye and Bernard Otti’s membership of the NNPC while serving on the Ribadu committee compromised their position, was far from the truth.

He noted that the Ribadu committee like others had government officials, and ex-staff as members. He reiterated that they were not set up as quasi-judicial bodies, but as committees of wise and knowledgeable men and women to offer useful advice, adding that there was nothing wrong in encouraging the participation of a broad category of persons including insiders and outsiders.

The statement reads: “Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) through its Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has issued a statement in which it accuses the Federal Government of having an ulterior motive in setting up the Petroleum Revenue Task Force headed by Malam Nuhu Ribadu and also, of ‘deliberately sabotaging’ the Task Force.

Nothing can be farther from the truth.

“The statement falls into a familiar pattern by the party and the its lying Lai, to seek every opportunity to insult President Goodluck Jonathan, as they write glibly about what they call ‘the President’s efforts to downplay the whole disagreement and give the dissenters a soft landing’, and the president’s ‘innermost thoughts on this issue.”

• L-R: Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, guest speaker at the 16th Success Digest Enterprise Award; Dr. Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase, founder, Success Digest; Mrs Esther Obazu-Ojeagbase and Mrs Folashade Adetiba, founder, Support Bridges Initiative during the award presentation at the Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos yesterday.

HoS office looted N501bn pension funds • N3.3trn looted since 1976 • 50,000 pensioners not paid in 42 years From IKENNA EMEWU, report.

At a point, the Chairman of Abuja the Senate Pension he lid on a can of worms Committee, Senator Aloysius has been lifted with the Etuk ordered for the arrest damning revelation of and prosecution of Maina.

But in another twist, the the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) report on how team denied any complicity retired workers fund has been in its work. Till date, the result of the probe by the managed over time.

From the revelations, it had Senate had not been made been a conduit for a bazaar of public apart from the indictlooting and fraud master- ment and arrest of certain perminded by serving civil ser- sons by the Economic and Crimes vants against their colleagues Financial Commission (EFCC), espewho had left service.

The 18-page report by the cially a director in the pension panel headed by board, Dr. Sani Teidi Abdulrasheed Maina stank Shuaibu.

During the Senate probe, with details of organised crime in government offices. the drama heightened the day Since the team completed Shuaibu, in defending himits work, there seemed to self, accused the former head have been a grand design to of service (HoS), Mr. Steve ensure the report that had Oronsaye of complicity. He been ready for some months had alleged that Oronsaye was not made public. managed most of the pension Armed with a copy of the money and had collapsed summary report released two over 20 bank accounts into weeks ago, Daily Sun could one bank account somewhere authoritatively report that the in Wuse II, Abuja which he pension problem exposed one personally managed. of the dirtiest organised fraud With an average monthly rings in the nation via pension theft of N5 billion pension fund. funds especially by the office In the last week of October, of the HoS of the federation a member of the team, and the Police Pension Board, Ngozika Ihuoma, in a visit to the two offices had in the past the ICPC, had revealed that 10 years looted N600 billion since 1976, N3.3 trillion had belonging to retired workers, been deducted from the pen- the report revealed. sions fund nationwide withShocking also was the fact out proper accountability. She that while the serving workalso told ICPC that the local ers lined their pocket with the government pension fund loot, an average of 50,000 was another fraud flashpoint pensioners had not been paid that needed closer look. their pensions since retireHowever, while the team ment in the past 42 years. released a summary of its “Some of them retired over report, which was suppressed 42 years ago. But so far, the from the public, a Senate task team has included these probe of pension scam pensioners on the payroll and between April and July this their accrued arrears and grayear, described as the longest tuities all paid to them. This and most windy probe by the effort has drastically reduced Senate indicted the team’s the volume of complaints and

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the petitions over the nonpayment of pensions.”

The report revealed that: “In the last two years, we conducted biometrics for 170, 000 pensioners, pioneered the payment of pensioners in the Diaspora, recovered and saved over N221.855 billion from two pension offices.

Detected and deleted 73, 000 ghost pensioners from HoS and Police Pension Office (PPO). We also discovered about 50, 000 unpaid pensioners and we paid all their entitlements.”

The reform team also boasted that it stopped “the monthly stealing of N4.175 billion from HoS pensions office. We also saved N1 billion monthly releases. While the police pension used to be a monthly bill of N1.59 billon, the team cut it down to N500m.”

In addition, the team detected pension fraud of over N2.7 billion by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP).

While the retired workers were victims of their compatriots still in service, they also victimized themselves through the NUP. “The PRTT discovered that the bank accounts of the NUP were used as conduit pipe to steal pensioners’ fund from the HoS office. The fund was illegally transferred in the name of check-off dues payment to the union. This led to the arrest of the NUP president by the EFCC.” On page 10, the report submitted that: “As a result of the biometrics verification conducted by the pension task team in a transparent manner, the monthly pension bill of N5 billion was drastically reduced to an average of N825 million. Impliedly, N4.175 billion was corruptly stolen on monthly basis by government officials in the

Head of Service Pension Office.”

If the monies sound alarming, you would need to hear the team reveal that: “The Police Pension Office requested N24 billion while they needed only N3.4 billion for harmonisation arrears.”

The team lamented in its report that “while pensioners were roaming the streets of Abuja and turning the office of the Head of Service to destitution camp, there were notorious pension cartels and mafia operating in the pension system of the country.

“There has also been brazen and direct stealing of pension funds from the banks through the use of cheques in conspiracy with bank operatives and primary school teachers across the country.”

One of the channels of siphoning the pension fund by the civil servants include the opening of multiple bank accounts through which most monies were lodged and left and sometimes forgotten by the government.

“We noticed the opening of multiple bank accounts by pension offices in contravention of the financial regulations. For instance, the HoS pension office opened 66 bank accounts in Nigeria and an offshore account, the police pension opened nine bank accounts.”

To its amazement, the team found that prior to its work, the nation never had a “reliable pensioners’ data for budgeting and administrative purposes.”

But at the police pension office, the team encountered the worst obstacle in its operation as the workers there who had been feeding fat on the loot of other workers’ pensions made sure they never obtained the assistance to enable them do their work.

DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012, 7

NEWS Church building collapses, kills 3, injures many From GEOFFREY ANYANWU, Awka

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ragedy struck yesterday in Ezinifite community, Nnewi South Local Government of Anambra State when an uncompleted church building collapsed and killed three persons, leaving many injured.

Members of the church, St. Thomas Catholic Church were in the middle of the church service when the incident happened.

Though details of what happened were sketchy at press time, Daily Sun gathered that the stepmother of a notable son of the community was among the three dead victims.

When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Raphael Uzoigwe said he was just hearing about the incident and could not confirm yet.

However, a former President-General of the community, Dr. Barthy Okafor confirmed the incident to newsmen.

Pray for our leaders, Sultan urges Nigerian pilgrims From ISMAIL OMIPIDAN and AKEEB ALARAPE, Saudi Arabia

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ultan of Sokoto and National Amirul-Hajj of Nigeria, Alhaji Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar 111 yesterday urged Nigerians on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia to continue to pray for their leaders as they await their return flight back home.

The Sultan, who commenced official visit to state residences of Nigerian pilgrims in Makkah commended Governors Rauf Aregbesola and Ibikunle Amosun of Osun and Ogun States respectively for the services being rendered to their people, urging them not to relent.

Accompanied by Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Dr. Abubakar Shehu Bunu and members of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), led by its chairman, Malam Muhammed Musa Bello, the Sultan visited pilgrims from Osun, Ogun, Sokoto, Bayelsa, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Delta states.

At each of the states, the Amirul-Hajj stated that the purpose of the visit was to enable the management of the hajj commission know areas that needed to be looked into, as well as the problems encountered by the pilgrims, so as to plan for subsequent hajj exercises.

“We are here not only for you to listen to us but to listen to you as well. We want to know the problems you encountered right from home to Saudi Arabia and during the hajj rites. We want you to tell us what you think ought to be done that was not done. What you think we should do to make future hajj operations much better than this one.

“As leaders, as human beings, we are bound to make mistakes. We are not infallible; so don’t think you are doing us any wrong by telling us our mistakes,” Sultan said.

He also disclosed the plan to standardize hajj camps across the country to ensure comfort and convenience for pilgrims during out and in-bound flights for holy pilgrimage.

Reps summon Accountant-General over N82bn revenue shortfall From IHEANACHO NWOSU and CHUKS AKUNNA, Abuja

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he House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has summoned the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Jonah Otunla to explain the revenue shortfall totalling over N81.9 billion.

No date has, however, been fixed for his appearance before the commitee but it will not exceed two weeks.

Also to appear before the committee was the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim, the Permanent Secretary in charge of Ecological Fund in the Presidency, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, and the Director of Finance in the Office of the SGF over the management of the Ecological Fund from 2003 till date.

Addressing newsmen at the weekend, Chairman of the Committee, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, explained that while the Accountant-General was needed to explain reasons surrounding the huge shortfalls in the accruable revenue to the Federation in 2006, the SGF and others invited along with him are to participate in a broad forum that would examine the use of the Ecological Funds.

He said the Accountant- General who was billed to appear before his committee failed to show up to.

The committee chairman stated “The Accountant General was reminded of the need to appear unfailingly, alongside with all the concerned agencies in relation to pending issues in year 2006, particularly, the Director General, Budget Office and Revenue Agencies responsible for the revenue shortfall amounting to N81, 904,469,177.27.

• From Left, Oloris Yetunde and Iyabo Akinruntan, Olugbo of Ugbo, Oba Obateru Akinruntan, Amapetu of Mahin, Ondo State, Oba Lawrence Omowole and Attorney–General Ondo State, Eyitayo Jegede, SAN at the 3rd coronation anniversary of Oba Akinruntan in Ode-Ugbo, Ondo State at the weekend.

Ojukwu’s widow, others shed tears at Ojukwu’s posthumous birthday From EMMANUEL UZOR, of Biafra, insisting that “there is no going back on the strugOnitsha gle for emancipation of my he widow of the late people who have been turned Biafran warlord, Dim to slaves over the years in C h u k w u e m e k a Nigeria” In his keynote address, the Odumegwu Ojukwu, and National Coordinator Ethnic Nigerian’s Ambassador to Spain, Bianca Ojukwu and Nationalities Movement, Mr. Solomon Asemota described other notable Nigerians yes- the late Ikemba Nnewi as a terday shed tears over the selfless and resilient leader demise of Ojukwu at his 79th who stood against injustice posthumous birthday. and maltreatment of his peoOjukwu’s widow and ple. leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike and other notable Nigerians gathered at From NOAH EBIJE, Kaduna the National Stadium, Lagos lder statesman and pioneer for the celebration of National Chairman of the Ojukwu’ birthday. ruling People’s Speaking during the Democratic party (PDP), posthumous birthday organ- Chief Solomon Lar has said ized by the new Ezeigbo that unless Boko Haram memGburugburu, Chief bers unveiled themselves and Uwazuruike, Ambassador their sponsors before Ojukwu said her husband Nigerians, it would be a fruitlived and fought against less exercise for the Federal injustice throughout his life.

Government to go for the She said the late Ojukwu, much touted dialogue. was a selfless and fearless His advice followed last man whose commitment to Thursday’s call by the sect to emancipation of his people enter into dialogue with the was total.

Federal Government with conThe leader of MASSOB, ditions such as meeting in Chief Uwazuruike who Saudi Arabia, mediating organized the birthday also through retired General extolled the leadership quali- Muhammadu Buhari and other ty of the former Biafran prominent Northerners. leader and said the birthday Speaking with newsmen on would be made an annual the state of the nation followevent. ing the killing of retired “We are going to make General Mohammed Shuwa in Ojukwu’s birthday an annual Maduguri by gunmen Chief event, which will be celebrat- Lar said the Federal ed every part of the world to Government should tarry a show respect for our leader while on the dialogue until the who fought with his last drop sect emulates the Niger Delta of blood to secure better militants by coming out to show their faces and tell future for his people.”

The MASSOB leader fur- Nigerians why they were ther restated his stand and killing innocent people.

The PDP chieftain who was resolve on the sovereign state

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“No matter the hatred some may have for Ojukwu, it is a fact that he united Ndigbo in their hours of persecution and, on return from exile, helped in no small measure to reintegrate Ndigbo into the mainstream of Nigerian society.

The President of Campaign for Democracy, CD, Mrs. Joe Odumakin also called on Ndigbo to be more united after death of their leader, whom she said saw tomorrow.

She said that only Sovereign National Confernce would help solve Nigeria’s numerous problems and extolled the leadership qualities of Chief Ralph Uwazuruike for the Igbo youths through a non-violent move to actualize Biafra.

Former Military governor of Abia State, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu and other notable Nigerians attended the first posthumous birthday anniversary.

Don’t dialogue with Boko Haram, Lar tells FG agreed with them. If their rep-

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in Kaduna at the weekend for a wedding, noted that the killing of retired General Shuwa was most gruesome, having fought the civil war to keep the country one, adding that the acclaimed representatives of the Boko Haram should be patriotic enough to disown the sect if they had no link with the suicide bombers.

On whether the ruling PDP could still make it in 2015 presidential elections, Chief Lar said in democracy, anything could happen, stressing that Nigerians were reasonable people who should be able to tell during the election which party should be voted into power.

“I disagree completely that there should be dialogue with Boko Haram, unless they show their identity that Mr, XYZ is the Boko Haram. For them to name some people that they want them to be their representatives, who are these people? They are faceless people, let them come out and say we are the Boko Haram. Then, we will definitely do the dialogue.

Even General Muhammadu Buhari, Ali Moguno they mentioned as their representatives have not

resentatives have agreed with them, let them come out for dialogue. In the Niger Delta, when we had militant crisis, some people came out and said they were the leaders of the militants. That was very reasonable, and the last President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, dealt with these people. Why wouldn’t Boko Haram follow the same example, the same way.

“The killing of retired Major-General Mohammed Shuwa is an unfortunate incident. I read in the newspapers that one of Nigerians who fought very seriously to keep the country one during the civil war was shot by gunmen. I am really disturbed. He is one of Nigeria’s unsung heroes. He was a hero, but nobody talked about him. Government after government never did anything to bring him up and recognize his past performance. I believe this is one of the most unfortunate incidents. General Shuwa is still an unsung hero.

Nobody sing his heroism. That is why I called him unsung hero. It is unfortunate. The authorities should do everything possible to find out those responsible.

8 DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012

NEWS Northern govs condemn killing of Shuwa From AKIN ALOFETEKUN, Minna

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he Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) has strongly condemned last Friday’s deadly attacks in Maiduguri, Borno State in which civil war veteran and former member of the Supreme Military Council, General Mamman Shuwa, his orderly and a guest were killed.

The governors described it as one attack too many and urged terrorists across the country to immediately stop their attacks.

Chairman of the forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu at the weekend in Minna expressed the forum’s deepest condolences to the families of General Shuwa as well as families of 40 other people reported to have been killed in a similar attack last Thursday night, saying no grievance could justify such dastardly acts against innocent people.

In a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Danladi Ndayebo, the forum said it was sad that “a committed Nigerian like General Shuwa, who gave everything for the unity of Nigeria could be killed in such a gruesome manner.”

The forum, however, applauded Federal Government’s acceptance of the offer of negotiation by Boko Haram, hoping that the initiative would usher in peace, security and tranquility in the country after years of unnecessary bloodletting.

“It is our fervent belief that dialogue, rather than use of force, will help find a lasting solution to the worsening insecurity of lives and property in the country,” the forum said.

The forum pledged continued cooperation with the Federal Government on the issue of national security.

Impersonate PPA officials, go to jail –Nkire

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he National Chairman of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), Chief Sam Nkire, has warned that anyone caught impersonating the officials of the party will henceforth stand the risk of imprisonment.

Nkire was reacting to reports that two former state chairmen in Anambra, Messrs Frank Igboka and Anayo Obidigbo were going about impersonating the current Anambra State Chairman of the PPA, Chief Mathias Ameke.

The PPA national chairman, however, advised the duo to remain in the party and aim at occupying higher offices, having served at the state level for many years.

The statement read in part: “For the avoidance of the doubt, the current Anambra State Chairman of the PPA is Chief Mathias Ameke and anyone who tries to impersonate him stand the risk of imprisonment.”

He appealed to every member of PPA in Anambra State to give his or her support to Ameke and his cabinet for the big task of producing a PPA government in Anambra State in 2014.

Dwindling funds: PDP to hire consultants to collect dues From TAIWO AMODU, Abuja

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he national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may hire consultants to assist it to collect monthly dues from its members across the country.

National Legal Adviser of the party, Kwon Victor Yusuf, revealed this at the weekend while speaking with journalists.

The party had been experiencing paucity of funds in the last seven months, which had made it impossible for its national working committee to meet up on some of its pressing financial obligations.

Last week, cleaners at the party national secretariat threatened to down tools over the delay in payment of their salaries.

Justifying the national working committee intention to hire consultants, Yusuf said the party was willing to enhance its revenue base and was also not satisfied with the delay in payment of dues by its members.

“Payment of dues and subscription is a veritable means of revenue for the party we all know, members of the party do subscribe but we are not satisfied with the level at which our dues are being collected.

“The party is taking steps to ensure that we enhance the revenue that comes to the party, but you know that if it is not an election year, or if congresses are not forthcoming, party members are reluctant to pay up on their dues, because of course you know, if you are not a financial member of the party, the constitution provides sanctions.

“You will not be eligible to contest for office, you will not even be able to nominate candidate; there are privileges that you will lose, if you are not a current financial member of the party.

• Newly ordained Cardinal John Onaiyekan (middle), Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide (left) and representative of Pope in Nigeria, Papal Nunceo, Augustine Kasujja during a reception in honour of Onaiyekan on his arrival at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja last Saturday. Photo: MUDASHIRU ATANDA.

2015: Kalu urges northern politicians to emulate Sardauna, Danjuma A

s the South-East continues to push for power shift in 2015, former governor of Abia Sate, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu yesterday urged ambitious northern politicians to tap from the wisdom of Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, Generals Yakubu Danjuma and Abdusalami Abubakar.

According to Kalu, the trio, all prominent northerners, looked at the larger picture even when opportunity offered itself, and chose not to satisfy self first.

He said: “Alhaji Bello, the Sardauna, would have been the first Prime Minister of Nigeria in 1957, but he dashed it to Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

“As Premier of the North, he brought fellow premiers, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chief Obafemi Awolowo together, ahead of the 1957 Constitutional Conference in London where among other things, it was agreed that the country should have a Nigerian prime minister.

Even when Zik and Awo took up positions in Lagos, the Sardauna chose to remain in Kaduna.”

On Danjuma, Kalu brought in the assassination of General Murtala Mohammed in 1976, saying “Danjuma could have usurped power then. The head of state was dead, his next in command, General Olusegun Obasanjo’s fate was unknown since the bullets meant for him landed on Ordinance boss, Col. Reys Mathew Dumuje. As Army Chief, Danjuma sent Lt. Col.

Ibrahim Babangida to shake Lt. Col. Bukar Dimka and later, Lt. Col. Chris Ugokwe to clear Radio Nigeria. He would later encourage Obasanjo, who had emerged from Col. Olu Bajowa’s house, to take over.”

The former Abia State governor also gave credit to General Abubakar, adding,

“here was a man who was to be retired in June 1998, his month of birth (June 13, 1942) and a tough month (following June 12) since 1993.Then he got the Presidency on a platter of gold.

“With both Air Force and Army background, Abubakar could have continued with

military dictatorship. He chose to leave in 11 months, a man of honour,” Kalu said.

Concluding, Kalu said the journey to 2015 needed more men of honour and honesty leaders with a sense of history, patriots, who would stand up against marginalisation and preach a fair deal for the Igbo.

Pomp as newly ordained Cardinal Onaiyekan returns home From FRED ITUA, Abuja

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he newly ordained Cardinal, John Onaiyekan, arrived last Saturday to the warm embrace of Catholic faithful, politicians and residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Onaiyekan whose flight touched the ground at about 5pm could not move an inch for several minutes as the crowd that trooped into the airport to catch a glimpse of him blocked the way to his motorcade.

Full of smiles, he waved at the cheering crowd and repeatedly said: “God bless Nigeria,” as he finally made his way through the thick crowd.

The new Cardinal could not grant any interview to journalists who had waited for his arrival for several hours.

Some of the dignitaries who were on ground to welcome him include the Minister of State of FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, Governor of the Central Bank

of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi Lamido, senators, members of the Houses of Representatives, Catholic bishops, members of the Christian Association of Nigeria and Catholic women organisations, among others.

Born on January 29, 1944, Cardinal Onaiyekan was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Abuja and the former president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). He was previously president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria and bishop of Ilorin.

Onaiyekan was born in the town of Kabba, in what is now Kogi State, to Bartholomew and John Onaiyekan. He attended St. Mary’s Catholic School in Kabba from 1949 to 1956, Mount St. Michael’s Secondary School in Aliade, Benue State from 1957 to 1962, and St. Peter and Paul Major Seminary in Bodija, Ibadan from 1963 to 1965.

He completed his religious studies in Rome in 1969, and was ordained as a priest on August 3 of that year.

He taught at St. Kizito’s

College, Isanlu in 1969. He became rector of St. Clement Junior Seminary in Lokoja in 1971. He finished his Licentiate of Sacred Scripture in 1973 and earned his doctorate in 1976. He became vice rector of St. Peter and Paul in 1977.

In October 1980, Pope John Paul II gave Onaiyekan a five-year appointment to the Pontifical International Theological Commission. In November, he joined the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Catholic/Methodist Dialogue Commission.

He was ordained as bishop on January 6, 1983, and became the bishop of Ilorin, Kwara State. In 1990, he became co-adjutor bishop of the Diocese of Abuja, and when the diocese became a Metropolitan in 1994, Onaiyekan became the Metropolitan of Abuja.

Archbishop Onaiyekan was named Pax Christi International’s 2012 Peace Laureate.

Onaiyekan is known for his peace and reconciliation work across the increasingly bitter Christian/Muslim divide.

9 DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012

SOUTH SOUTH Amnesty training: 46 ex-militants graduate in Delta From PAUL OSUYI, Asaba

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orty-six ex-militants who recently graduated under the Federal Government amnesty programme have been assured of a two-week business training to empower them with entrepreneurial skills.

Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta and Chairman of the Presidentail Amnesty Programme, Kingsley Kuku gave the assurance at the weekend in Oleh, Isoko South LGA of Delta State during the graduation ceremony of the ex-militants who were trained in pipeline welding.

The nine months training/rehabilitation programme was held at Joe-Oruh Nigeria Limited in partnership with Elofabio Ventures Nig. Ltd in Oleh.

Kuku, who was with Major G.O Bernard, said the business orientation would be followed by issuance of loan to start personal workshop pending when the Federal Government would employ them. He commended the graduated ex-militants for successful completion of their training programme, adding that success was achieved because the amnesty delegates comported themselves.

Project Manager and Coordinator of the amnesty programme in the area, Evans Egbo said thirty, four of the exmilitants were successful during the test on 6G conventional position and radiography.

According to him, the successful ex-militants would in addition to their workshop certificate benefit from shell numbers, an extra certification that permits them to work as pipe welders or 6G certified welders in the oil and gas sector.

Constitution amendment: Eket wants new state, seeks single 6-yr term for president, govs From JOE EFFIONG, Uyo

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kwa Ibom South otherwise called Eket Senatorial District has asked for a new state of their own to be carved out from the present Akwa Ibom State and named Atlantic State.

That was one of the resolutions the stakeholders of the senatorial district arrived at as contained in the communiqué of their constitution review town hall meeting held last Saturday in Eket.

The group said they supported the creation of more states “ and a proposal for the creation of Atlantic State from the present Akwa Ibom State to include all the 12 local government areas of Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District.”

The stakeholders of the senatorial district, whose communiqué was signed by representatives of the 12 local government areas in the senatorial district, also recommended a six-year single tenure for the president and governor, while the local government chairmen and councilors should take a four-year single term.

They, however, asked that election into the local government or any such council be included in the exclusive list. They also submitted “that complete autonomy be given to local governments in a manner that enhances the efficacy of local government system; that all payments to local governments be directly to the local governments and accordingly, that section 162(6) of the Constitution on state joint account be expunged; that the functions of the local government be specified in the constitution; and that a Local Government Service Commission be established for each state of the federation.”

Collapsed bridge: We alerted Rivers Govt earlier –NSE From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt

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he Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Port Harcourt branch, has claimed that it alerted the Rivers State Government about a year ago, of a structural defect noticed on the retaining walls of the Air Force/Eliozu Bridge, even as it warned against its impending collapse, if nothing was done to correct it.

A statement issued by the Chairman of NSE, Port Harcourt branch, Mr. Dennis Dania, attributed the bridge collapse, which occurred recently, to negligence and lack of adherence to professional advice by the state government.

Dania, in that statement, argued that, if the government had listened and acted swiftly to their observation, and possibly asked for NSE’s concern on how best to address the problem, it would have offered its professional services.

He described the situation as a public embarrassment and high level economic waste to the people and government of the State.

“The NSE Port Harcourt branch wishes to inform the public that the Society was aware of the failure on the Air Force/Eliozu Bridge, and owns up to its submission by informing the appropriate authorities in time, but regrets that the authorities did not take proper action to upsurge such professional warnings, which the result was the collapse of the bridge.”

• Akwa Ibom State Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio flanked by his Edo State , Comrade Adams Oshiomhole (left) and his Plateau State Governor, Chief Jonah Jang exchanging banters at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja over the weekend.

Oil well dispute: Rivers fighting lost battle –Bayelsa govt T he Bayelsa State Government has called the neighboring Rivers State to sop heating the polity over Oluasiri oil well/ oil field which had generated tension between the two states in recent time.

In a press statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Bayelsa State, Deacon Markson Fefegha, the state maintained the oil oils\field belongs to it and not Rivers.

Fefegha said he was compelled to issue a press statement in response to an earlier press statement issued by the Rivers State Government, which in his view was intended to cause disaffection between Ijaws in the two states.

He urged the Rivers State Governor, Mr Chibuike Amaechi and his appointees to refrain from making inciting and inflammatory remarks capable of triggering off inter-communal crisis among the people, pointing out that the Bayelsa State Government had already restrained the Nembe people from responding to the threats and drums of war by the Kalabari people.

According to him, the 11th edition of the administrative map of Nigeria, further confirms the fact that River San Bartholomew is the boundary between Nembe of Bayelsa State and new Calabar (Kalabari) of Rivers State which has metamorphosed into the boundary between the two states.

Besides, the Information Commissioner said there was presently no pending litigation over the Oluasiri oil wells/oil field between Rivers and Bayelsa States after the Supreme Court struck out the suit by the Rivers State Government challenging

Bayelsa State’s ownership of Oluasiri oil wells/oilfield.

The statement reads in part: “The hard facts about Oluasiri/Soku Oil Wells/Oil Field are as follows: 1. The Rivers State Government had previously filed two suits against the Bayelsa State Government at the Federal High Court and the Supreme Court respectively in other to assert its purported ownership over the said oil wells/ oil field and woefully failed as the said suits were all struck–-out by the courts.

2. Soku is a village in Rivers State while the oil wells/ oil field and the flow station are located in the Oluasiri Clan in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The name Soku oil wells/oil field was wrongly given by Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd (SPDC) since Soku village was their operational base at that time. This is not peculiar to Soku. For example, the Idu oil wells/oil field is named after a town in Ekpeye land in Ahoada East LGA of Rivers state while the oil field is actually located in Biseni land of Bayelsa State.

Similarly, the Omoku west oil field is in Biseni land of Bayelsa State but Omoku is a town in Rivers State.

3.

The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) in its report on the Familiarization/Verification visit to oil producing states, volume 1, Main Report, August 2006 in Chapter 3, page 30 also acknowledged the above anormaly when it stated as follows: “The Bayelsa/Imo/Abia State Governments complained that the naming of oil fields was often done arbitrarily without any regard to the

culture and particular environment of the people where the wells or fields are located.

This has given rise to wrong attribution by relevant agencies”.

4. Incidentally, Soku village in Rivers State is about 10 km, as the crow flies, from the flow station while the Oluasiri/ Soku oil wells/ field is surrounded by various Oluasiri villages of Nembe LGA in Bayelsa State.

5. The Special Presidential Committee on verification of oil wells in volume one of its report on disputed oil wells of December 2000 (P; 25/26) after a painstaking field verification process and hearing from both states stated and recommended as follows: ‘‘4;5.6 Soku Oil Field The team relied on the legal notice captioned “The

Eastern Region Local Government Law, 1955 E.R. NO 26 of 1955. Instrument Establishing the Nembe District Council” tendered by Bayelsa State on Pages 40-41 of its submission. It should be noted that while the Kalabaris of Rivers State call the area Soku, the Nembe people of Bayelsa State call it Oluasiri which is one of the councils mentioned in paragraph 5 of the above mentioned instrument…In the light of the above, it is recommended that the production from Soku Oil Field be attributed to Bayelsa State.’’ …It is pertinent to note that the 11th Edition of the Administrative Map of Nigeria has not been set aside by the National Boundary Commission or any Court of law.

Flood: Girl, 5, drowns in family bedroom in Delta From PAUL Asaba

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OSUYI, the father had gone out to get

he flood ravaging parts of Delta State has claimed another human casualty. A five-year-old girl, Rejoice Lawrence Oyazimo reportedly drowned in the flood that submerged the family’s bedroom in Kpakiama, Bomadi Local Government Area of the state.

The victim was said to be sleeping on an improvised bed, but fell into the water as the flood continued to rise and weakened the emergency structure. She drowned before help could reach her.

It was learnt that as at the time the incident happened , the deceased’s mother had taken two of her children to relief camp in the area, while

items for breakfast.

It was on record that when the flood started in September, a seven-year-old girl drowned in Ogbe-Ofu community, while another was washed away in Oko community, both in Oshimili South Local Government Area of the state.

Meanwhile, an Asababased philanthropist, Sunny Odogwu has donated 500 units of manual washing machines, 500 pieces of wrapper and 200 bags of rice to flood victims’ camp in the state.

Mr. Victor Isichei who made the presentation of the washing machines marked “Apollo 2000 pressure washing machine” on behalf of the donor, said the item was best suited for relief operations around the world.

10 DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012

SOUTH EAST Son cries out over mum, 80, kidnapped 4 months ago From DAVID ONWUCHEKWA, Nnewi

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on of a kidnapped victim in Anambra State, Mr. Uche Ughanze has appealed to the abductors of his mother, Mrs. Roselyn Ughanze to release her, dead or alive.

Mr. Ughanze, a Lagos-based businessman, said he was concerned for his mother’s life, as her abductors who initially called him to ask for N100 million ransom had suddenly stopped contacting him when they (the kidnappers) learnt that he lodged a complaint with the police.

Ughanze told newsmen that his worry at present was that he could no longer go about his business freely to raise money for ransom, as he had long gone into hiding following a call from the kidnappers to intimate him that they were coming after him.

Mrs. Roselyn Ughanze was kidnapped four months ago, precisely June 24, this year, as she returned from church service at her son’s house in Alor, Idemili South Local Government Area.

Mr. Ughanze lamented that the continued absence of his mother in the family had become traumatic for him and, therefore, appeal to the kidnappers to release her to him, even if she was dead.

Addressing newsmen yesterday, Ughanze who spoke through his lawyer said that a lot of efforts had been made in search of his mother since four months ago, when she was kidnapped and her gold colour Honda CRV car with customized number plate, Psalm 37 stolen by the armed men numbering about six.

Ughanze who called on the Inspector General of Police to use his special squad to assist in securing the release of his mother also complained about the activities of the Anambra Command of the Nigeria Police Force who he said he no longer had trust in.

8 persons arrested in Enugu for illegal re-transmission of DSTV signals From PETRUS OBI, Enugu

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o fewer than eight persons alleged to be involved in the business of illegally re-transmitting DSTV signals were arrested in Enugu at the weekend by the officials of the Nigeria Copyright Commission, (NCC).

Decoders and other gadgets running into millions of naira used in the illegal business were also seized from the dealers, some of whom had turned their bedrooms and kitchens into transmission studios.

Areas raided by the commission’s task force team included Abakpa, Uwani, New-Layout and Achara layout areas of Enugu.

Speaking to newsmen after the exercise NCC’s Director of Enforcement, Augustine Amodu said they were in Enugu for broadcast piracy, which, he said, was becoming a source of concern in the South East.

He explained that these illegal dealers buy decoders from satellite broadcasters like Multichoice, “and they have a big booster and a sender; and an individual will wire over 200 houses and collect subscription illegally from N2000 to N3000 depending on the area.

“Today, we came to Enugu to stop such illegality; how can somebody reap from where he did not sow; it is pertinent to note that similar exercise is going on across the country.

“We were in Owo, we were in Lagos, Sapele, warri, Ugheli, today we are in Enugu.”

Students give FG 30-day ultimatum on S’East roads

• Peter Obi flanked by many while cutting the cake at Umueri flood displaced persons camp to mark Ojukwu’s 79th birthday yesterday.

20 die scooping fuel from fallen tanker From OKEY SAMPSON, stuck in mud as a result of bad Aba road condition.

The driver, in an attempt to ragedy struck at the move the tanker, hired a towweekend at Umuokpo in ing van. And in the process of A m a i r i n a b u o pulling it out, the tanker fell Community of Obingwa on its side and spilled the conLocal Government Area of tent.

Abia State when a fuel tanker Immediately the incident exploded, killing several peo- occurred, some villagers were ple and injuring others. said to have rushed to the Unconfirmed report had it scene to scoop fuel. that over 20 people who Chief Friday Erengwa, a rushed to scoop fuel from the community leader in whose fallen tanker were burnt to house frontage the tanker fell, death, while others, including told Daily Sun that: 10 persons said to be on dan- “Immediately the incident ger list in a mission hospital in the area, sustained various degrees of burns.

However, another source said only three persons had From DAVID been confirmed dead.

ONWUCHEKWA, Nnewi The incident which happened at kilometre 10 on the adio Biafra, broadcastAba/Ikot Ekpene Highway ing from London last Friday was said to have (RBL) has accused occurred when a Mack fuel Federal Government of cyber tanker with the registration attacks and frequency jamnumber ABIA: XA 976 KKE, ming against its transmission, heading towards Aba got saying that the federal author-

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tanker had fallen.

In the process the bus fell into a crater on the road, the exhaust pipe touched a hard surface of the road and ignited fire, which immediately spread to the nearby fallen tanker and burnt everything within its range.

When Daily Sun visited the scene, the fuel tanker was still on fire 24 hours after the incident, even as the villagers decried the attitude of fire fighters from Aba who they said, came when the fire was raging but went back.

Radio Biafra attacked

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ities had consistently proved themselves as ‘enemy of alternative opinion, freedom and free speech.’

This was contained in a press statement issued and signed by the research analyst and presenter with the radio station, Mr. Uche Mefor, made available to Daily Sun

Police smash 7-man gang that vandalizes mobile phone mast OSUJI, tion.

He said his men, acting on a tip-off sent a team of anti even suspected mem- robbery police officers to the bers of a gang that spe- scene who swooped on them cialize in vandalizing and arrested one of the hoodmobile phone masts in lums, while the other six Ebonyi State have been escaped.

The PPRO said on interroarrested by the police in Abakaliki in the early hour of gation, the arrested suspect last Friday, in the process of provided the names of other looting a booster station members of his gang, which belonging to a service enabled the police to embark on a manhunt that eventually provider.

According to the Police led to the arrest of five others.

Igbo said: “We arrested Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ebonyi State some suspects last night that Command, Sylvester Igbo went to MTN base station to who confirmed the arrest dis- vandalize it. It was around closed that the hoodlums 2:45a.m that we received numbering about seven went information that a group of to a GSM base station, people numbering about belonging to MTN, located seven went to a MTN base along the state secretariat station along state secretariat road in a bid to loot the sta- road to loot the property

From PETRUS OBI, Enugu

From GODDY Abakaliki

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ational Association of South-East Nigeria Students, an umbrella body that governs students in tertiary institutions in the zone has issued a 30-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to urgently address the deplorable state of roads in the zone.

In a communiqué issued after their National Council meeting held at the Abia State University, the students expressed concern over the continued sufferings of road users in the zone.

National President of the association, Kingsley Chidozie Lawrence who signed the communiqué alongside the Press Secretary, Gloria Okoloikeotti, identified the Enugu/PortHarcourt and Enugu/Onitsha expressways as the worst hit.

The student leaders said plans had been concluded to make the South East ungovernable if their demands are not met within the given time.

“We will mobilize our students across the South East on a protest that will paralyze activities and cause havoc if after expiration of our demands nothing reasonable is done.

“Look at our roads in the South East, they are all in pitiable conditions; the rate of accident has increased and armed robbers have seized the situation to unleash mayhem on our people..

occurred, villagers rushed to scoop fuel and despite the fact that I came out from my house to warn them against the dangers inherent, they did not listen.

“Even, the driver of the tanker made every effort to dissuade the villagers from scooping fuel from the tanker, but they turned a deaf ear.”

It was gathered that some of the villagers were still scooping the product when a commuter bus going to Aba from the Ikot Ekpene wanted to pass through where the

installed at the station and also to siphon the diesel kept in the tank.

“We quickly mobilized and dispatched our team of police men to go and forestall that and possibly to arrest the offenders. On arrival, the policemen were able to arrest one Friday Samson, while the others escaped. It was this Samson that made useful statement to the police that led to the arrest of the other members of the gang. They are: Chukwudi Simon, Yobo Bawal, Ishiaka Kawai, Babangida Magadi and Shuaibu Adam.”

Items recovered from them according to Igbo, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP, include seven 25 litres cans, a cutter with which they used to vandalize the perimeter fencing at the base station.

at the weekend.

“Radio Biafra broadcasting from London has been subjected to unprecedented wave after wave of cyber attacks by incubators of criminal enterprises. Our slideshows, our entire website and frequency have come under unprecedented attacks,” the statement alleged.

It said that in keeping with the RBL resolve to the people of Biafra and lovers of freedom and justice all over the world, that it could not be cowed into submission in its determination to remain on air and to continue broadcasting ‘to millions of our listeners around the world.’

To this effect, it said, RBL had changed its frequency, which it said would now be heard on 11830 KHZ and 11.83 MHZ 25 Meter Band on shortwave, with the new broadcast time to cover 8:00p.m and 9:00p.m Nigerian time every Thursday and Saturday.

Said the statement: “We are on the frontline in our quest to free our people from the plague called corruption, political naivety, social captivity, incompetence, abject penury and other social vices our people are subjected to.”

DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012,11

SOUTH WEST Ipetumodu agog as natives celebrate From BAMIGBOLA GBOLAGUNTE, Osogbo

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ignitaries from all walks of life converged on Ipetumodu, headquarters of Ife North Local Government Area of Osun State at the weekend for this year’s Ipetumodu Day celebrations.

During the celebration held at the Origbo Community High School, Ipetumodu, fund was raised for the building of Ipetumodu Civic Centre, which organizers of the event said would be the first of its kind in the state.

The Apetumodu of Ipetumodu, Oba James Adegoke, who was chief host on the occasion stressed the need for natives of the town to work towards the development of the town.

The monarch also urged the natives of the town to establish industries in the town to ameliorate the sufferings of unemployed youths of the town and other natives that lived from hand to mouth.

He assured natives in the diaspora and non natives of conducive environment for business and industrial activities, saying the town was blessed with abundant natural resources for economic development of the state and the country at large.

He also advised them not to allow their political differences to affect the peace and development of the town, saying “what should be paramount in your mind is the development of this town. Irrespective of the political party or the office you are holding, the development of this town should be paramount.”

Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, who was represented by a Special Adviser, Mr Olalekan eulogized the people of Ipetumodu for their community development initiative, assuring that his government would not neglect the town in its development agenda for the state.

In his remarks, the Chairman, 2012 Ipetumodu Day Planning Committee, Mr Kunle Oyatomi assured that the money realized on the occasion would be judiciously used for the purpose for which it was raised.

He called on the state government and other private organizations in the country to partner with the town in providing social and recreational centres.

Dignitaries on the occasion include the senator representing Osun East senatorial district, Babajide Omoworare, a member of the House of Representatives representing Ife Federal constituency, Rotimi Makinde, the Deputy Managing Director/Deputy Editor in Chief of The Sun Publishing Limited, Mr Femi Adesina and the Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy of the state chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Kunle Oyatomi among others.

Old Students hail Fayemi over school renovation

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kiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi has continued to receive accolades from interest groups on the massive renovation of public secondary schools in the state.

The latest came from the Old Students of Ola-Oluwa Muslim Grammar School, Ado-Ekiti, which was one of the benefiting 100 schools in the first phase of Operation Renovate All Schools in Ekiti (ORASE).

The second phase of the exercise expected to touch 80 schools will be carried out between December and January when schools are to be on Christmas/New Year vacation.

In a letter of appreciation to Governor Fayemi in AdoEkiti yesterday, the old students praised Fayemi for turning their alma mater into a “mini university campus.”

The letter was jointly signed by the Ola-Oluwa Old Students Association’s President, Lt.-Col. Tajudeen Olabode, Secretary, Mr. Fatai Adeyoju and the Public Relations Officer, Mr. Popoola Ojo. The old students also commended the governor for numerous developmental projects being carried out by his administration in all nooks and crannies of the state.

Ajimobi to construct 101 boreholes

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he Oyo State Government has completed arrangements to construct 101 motorised boreholes in the 33 local government areas of the state.

The Special Adviser to the state governor on millenium Development Goals (MDGs), Mr. Taiwo Fawole made the disclosure during the official flag off of the construction of three boreholes in Ibadan North West Local Government.

Fawole informed that each of the 33 local government areas would have at least three boreholes cited in deserving areas to reduce cases of water borne diseases.

He maintained that the boreholes would be formally handed over to the communities where the boreholes would be cited, adding that the community would operate and maintain the boreholes.

Fawole assured that the communities should also serve as watchdogs to oversee the contracts and make sure that only proper and quality materials were used for the projects.

• Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun (left) receiving the Award of Chief Host from the President of Abeokuta Club, Professor Afolabi Soyode, during the 40th anniversary and award-giving ceremony of the club in Abeokuta at the weekend.

My victory is the will of God –Mimiko From TUNDE RAHEEM, confronted them during the election, particularly the Akure financial inducement aimed ndo State Governor, at truncating their wishes.

The governor said: “This Dr Olusegun Mimiko has described his tri- mandate is to the glory of umph at the October 20 gov- God and it also shows that ernorship poll as the will of God is with us in this state. It God. is evident that we have God Mimiko stated this yester- the father in this state. Our day during a special thanks- people are bold to confess the giving service tagged “Uninterrupted Praise Service” held at the Chapel of Grace, Government House Akure to appreciate God for his victory.

The governor, who said the From CHARLES ADEGBITE, presence of God was felt in Ado-Ekiti every nook and cranny of the state, noted that the achievehe Minister of Police ments of his administration in Affairs, Navy Capt all sectors of human endeavCaleb Olubolade, at the ours could not have been pos- weekend described the resible if God had not been on election of the Ondo State his side.

Governor, Dr Olusegun He also assured the church Mimiko in the October 20 of God and the people of the governorship election as a state that he would not disap- testimony that the era of elecpoint them in their expecta- toral manipulation was over tions for more development, in Nigeria.

Olubolade, who hailed the adding that he would continue to seek the face of God for electorate and the security agencies for the peaceful condirection at all times.

Mimiko lauded the people duct during the hot political of the state for overcoming contest, said Mimiko’s victothe various challenges that ry had attested to the fact that

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glory of God in this land. I want to assure you that I will not disappoint the people in whatever action we shall continue to take to the glory of God and the benefit of our people.”

He, however, solicited more prayers from the people for him to meet other challenges facing the develop-

ment of the state.

The presiding Pastor of the Chapel, Pastor Akin Ibitokun, in his sermon, urged the people to always celebrate the goodness of God with thanksgiving at all times.

He charged the governor not to relent in his good works and in giving praises to God in whatever circumstance.

Mimiko’s victory, end of electoral imposition in Nigeria –Police affairs minister

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President Goodluck Jonathan was sincere with the institutionalization of credible electoral system in Nigeria.

The minister, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while briefing journalists in Ado Ekiti after the party’s stakeholders’ meeting aimed at proffering solutions to the internal crisis rocking the PDP in the state, said: “With this victory, our electoral system is moving away from the era of imposition.”

He described Mimiko’s victory as a reward for good performance in office and urged other leaders to learn how to manage both human and

Aregbesola makes case for traditional institution Aregbesola observed that From BAMIGBOLA GBOthe nature and character of a LAGUNTE, Osogbo republic was to make all sun State Governor, equal before the law, saying Mr Rauf Aregbesola this appeared contradictory in has declared that the respect of the kings for they recognition of traditional could not be equal to their institution in the country was subjects.

He said what should be not subject to Nigerian Constitution but deep-rooted uppermost for a people was in the culture and tradition of for them to recognise their culture and tradition as well the people.

The governor stated this as ensure that nobody or while speaking at the maiden group of people were allowed edition of the Oba Okunade to violate their time-honoured Sijuwade Annual Leadership traditional values.

The governor, who averred Lecture and Distinguished Award Series in Ile-Ife at the that culture and tradition were the greatest powers of a king, weekend.

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decried the relegation of traditional institution, saying “what people must ask for is the shift in miserable percentage of support the traditional rulers receive from governments at all levels in the country to something befitting so as for the monarchs to be able to perform their traditional functions of maintaining peace in their domain.”

He added that, “what we must do as independent people is to give our monarchs their traditional authority and place of honour. This is not constitutional but rooted in the culture of our people.”

material resources in their care for them to be celebrated in and out of office.

Former governors Ayodele Fayose and Segun Oni were missing at the meeting, but both were reported to have sent their apologies for not attending .

Olubolade submitted that, “President Goodluck Jonathan believes in free and fair election because flawed elections bring about wrong leaders and a waste of resources, so Mimiko’s victory is good for our democracy.”

He said: “If you serve the people very well, your reelection will be a walk-over and the gains of democracy will continue to increase among the populace that you are elected to serve.”

On the rumour that he has interest in the 2014 governorship election in the state, the minister said his ambition could not override the position of his party.

He said he was still keeping his ‘ambition in the pocket’ pending the time the party leaders would decide on the election. The PDP Chairman, Mr Makanjuola Ogundipe, who commented on the reconciliation move being made by the party leaders, said the efforts were already yielding positive results.

12 DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012

AREWA Gunmen kill policeman in Kano From DESMOND MGBOH, Kano

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unmen, suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect at the weekend struck again in Kano, killing a police officer in Angwar-uku Quarters of the state

capital.

The deceased was shot shortly after the end of state environmental exercise, which took place last Saturday in the state.

The late police officer, who hailed from Niger State, was outside his residence, apparently observing the sanitation exercise, when two gunmen swooped on him.

It was gathered that as they approached the area, they started shooting sporadically into the air to scare away the residents, who as expected scampered into safety from the scene.

Upon sighting their victim, while he was busy parking the dirt already gathered outside the compound, they shot him on his head and fled.

Soon after the attack, neighbours and sympathisers alerted the police few minutes later, the police team arrived the area.

No arrest was made, as the gunmen had escaped.

The police could not be reached for comment as at the time of filling in this report.

Kogi Assembly dares Reps’ panel, heads for court

… Says c’ttee compromised its integrity From CHUKS AKUNNA, Abuja

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embers of the Kogi State House of Assembly have called the bluff of the House of Representatives’ adhoc committee on the crisis rocking the legislature, saying the panel traded its credibility from the outset.

Daily Sun gathered that a member, Friday Sani, has dragged the House committee to court, citing an infringement of the rights of his constituents to legislative representation.

A principal officer of the House of Representatives confirmed that the House leadership was served a copy of Sani’s suit last Friday.

The lawmakers described an ‘Enrolled Order’, reportedly issued by the House panel’s Chairman, Ahmed Mohammed, to seal the Assembly, as a nullity, saying it would continue sitting in accordance with its legislative calendar.

A member of the Assembly, Gabriel Daudu told Daily Sun that his colleagues were amused by the ‘order’, adding that it was borne out of ignorance.

“We saw the Enrolled Order. Only law courts gives such orders, and to be sure, the Mohammed-led committee is not one, so the source of such an order is a mystery,” said Daudu.

He continued: “Mohammed claimed his committee was a fact-finding one, and would only be interested in the constitutionality of our actions. Yet on the same Monday, October 22 he visited us in Lokoja, Mohammed wrote the inspector general of police to seal our Assembly, meaning he had drawn his conclusions even before coming to visit us.

Niger to operate community medical outreach From AKIN ALOFETEKUN, Minna

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n a concerted effort to fast-track health care delivery services to the rural populace in Niger State, the state government said it has concluded plans to commence Community Medical Outreach programme that would provide medical services to people in remote communities across the state.

Towards actualizing the set objectives, doctors, nurses and other relevant health workers in some general hospitals in parts of the state would be mobilized in bringing health care services to the door steps of rural dwellers.

The state Commissioner for Health and Hospital Services, Dr. Ibrahim Sule made the disclosure to newsmen at the weekend, adding that the new concept would help to bring primary health care services to the door steps of the people in line with the vision 20:20:20 of the Dr. Babangida Aliyu-led administration.

“In Nigeria today and all over the world, Primary Health care centres is recognized as the bedrock of the health care delivery system,” the commissioner said.

To improve primary health care centres, general hospitals Minna, Suleja, Kontagora, Bida, New Wuse, Mokwa, Kutigi, Kagara, Tunga Magijiya, Nasko, Bamgi, Lapai, Kuta would contribute doctors and nurses to beef up the manpower needed for the outreach.

He said other general hospitals expected to contribute to the manpower needed for the exercise are; Kafinkoro, Auna, Wushishi and Agaie that would go to interior primary health care centres to attend to the medical needs of patients.

•Some of the 84 Catholics who were confirmed at St James Catholic Church in Gombe by the Catholic Bishop of Bauchi Diocese, Most Rev. Malachy John-Goltok yesterday.

PHCN cuts Sokoto power supply over row with gov …As group threatens court action against company In a chat with Daily Sun, From TUNDE OMOLEHIN, Malam Yusuf said their action Sokoto was to correct the ill-treathe Power Holding ment meted to their members Company of Nigeria by the Sokoto State governor: (PHCN) has disconnect- “Look, we have to tell our soed Sokoto State from national called leaders that such inhupower grid over an alleged of man act has to stop in the ill-treatment meted to its staff society. “It is unacceptable in by security aides of Governor this modern society.”

Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto Residents had since conState. demned the union’s action.

The total blackout was However, a group under enforced after the expiration the aegis of Inter Party of the 72-hour ultimatum Advisory Council of Nigeria, given to Governor Wamakko to tender an unreserved apology to the union or allow his state to be put into darkness until further notice. The ulti- From IKENNA EMEWU, matum expired at about 12 Abuja noon last Friday. here is suppressed When contacted, the Zonal restiveness in Sokoto Secretary of the National since last Friday as a Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Malam result of total power blackout Yusuf Abdulkarim said the in the state.

Daily Sun source stated action was in response to a 72-hour ultimatum issued by that the people of Sokoto, its union, demanding apology who have been enduring the from the state governor or blackout feel the treatment of risk a total blackout at the severing power supply to the entire state because of the expiration of the warning. alleged altercation between

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Sokoto State chapter, has condemned the cutting of electricity supply by the union.

Addressing a press conference at the weekend, the Chairman of the group, Alhaji Ahmed Tangaza, said the union’s action had brought untold hardship to the law abiding people of Sokoto State.

His words: “We have inpatients who are on life support machines in various health facilities in the state.

Our pilgrims are being

expected to use the Sultan Abubakar III International Airport for landing. Water supply is currently being hampered. PHCN should not be unmindful of the grave consequences of their actions to the essential services enumerated above.”

The group wondered how the union acted over a matter that is still before a competent court of law. According to Tangaza: “Statutorily, PHCN has a subsisting contract to supply uninterrupted electricity to the public.

...Wamakko denies assaulting PHCN workers

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the governor and electricity workers was not enough reason for the total blackout.

They therefore plan to stage a peaceful protest against the act and persuade the PHCN to restore the electricity supply.

The action was a reaction to what the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) said was an act of assault by the governor of the state, Governor Aliyu Wamakko on its boss,

Mystery over death of man, 25, in Benue From ROSE Makurdi

EJEMBI, which their father left behind for both of them.

Some residents of their he police in Otukpo, Jericho Road abode disclosed Headquarters of Otukpo to Daily Sun that the two Local Government Area brothers who were orphans of Benue State have vowed to were living in their father’s unravel the mystery behind house, but trouble started the death of a 25-year-old when the deceased requested welder, Celestine Adenu, to use this year’s rent to buy whose corpse was found in a equipment for his welding well at his residence at No 38, business, but was turned Jericho Road, Otukpo. down by his elder brother, Adenu’s lifeless body was Simon. found after he had a squabble Not comfortable with with his elder brother, Simon Celestine’s request, Simon the previous day over who collects the rent of a building, was said to have invited the

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vigilance group in the area who beat his younger brother mercilessly for daring to confront his elder brother with such a request.

At the time of filing this report, it was not clear whether it was the action of the vigilance group that angered Celestine to the point of taking his own life.

Daily Sun gathered that the elder brother, Simon had since been arrested by the police in Otukpo over the incident and investigation was said to be ongoing.

But the Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Public Affairs, Sani Umar in a phone chat and a press statement denied that the governor assaulted the boss and staff of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDC), a subsidiary of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), as alleged by one Mohammed Adamu, the acting Managing Director of the company.

Umar said the problem began after the electricity company collected over N17 million from Sokoto State to repair Wamakko electrification, a project it had failed to deliver two years after the payment.

Umar said the governor never flogged any PHCN staff as alleged. “His administration had paid the company N17 million to repair Wamakko electrification project two years ago, and also paid monthly N10 million charge to the company, yet the community still live in darkness.”

DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012,13

NEWS

Orhii canvasses support for new mechanism to fight drug counterfeiting

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gainst the backdrop of $200 billion worth of counterfeit drugs in circulation worldwide, Director-General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii has appealed to the World Health Organization (WHO), developed countries and stakeholders in the pharmaceutical industry across the globe to actively support the proposed member-states mechanism for combating substandard, spurious, falsely-labeled, falsified and counterfeit medical products.

Dr. Orhii made the appeal in his capacity as chairman of one of the sessions of the 5-day 15th International Conference of Drug Regulatory Authorities (ICDRA) held in Tallin, Estonia.

He said the international community should consider the menace of counterfeit drugs from strictly public health perspective and therefore join forces in tackling the problem as a global challenge not just an issue for developing countries.

The international collaboration against drug counterfeiting, he explained, should include information sharing, intelligence gathering monitoring and surveillance, developing new tools of detecting, preventing and controlling counterfeits as well as capacity building.

According to him, NAFDAC was currently spearheading local and international collaboration against drug counterfeiting, particularly within sub-saharan Africa in addition to other well coordinated and multifaceted strategies to combat the problem.

Orhii observed that the devastating health effects of counterfeit drugs do not require Visa to cross borders from one country to another because of globalization, thus underscoring continuous collaboration and networking among nations.

The director-general commended the thought provoking presentation by Head of Drug Control Board of Sierra Leone, Mr. Johnson Wiltshire and other speakers from over 100 countries who participated at the ICDRA conference.

Earlier, Mr. Wiltshire praised the leading role of the Director-General of NAFDAC, Dr. Orhii had played in the deployment of new cutting-edge technologies like TRUSCAN, Mobile Authentication Services and Radio Frequency Identification System to fight drug counterfeiting.

Airtel Nigeria appoints Segun Ogunsanya as CEO

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harti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, has announced the appointment of Segun Ogunsanya as the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Networks Ltd, Nigeria “Airtel Nigeria.”

Ogunsanya, who will be responsible for defining and delivering the business strategy and providing overall leadership for Airtel Nigeria, will report to Manoj Kohli, CEO (International) and Joint MD, Bharti Airtel. The appointment is effective November 26, 2012.

He takes over from Rajan Swaroop, who had successfully led operations at Airtel Nigeria for the past two years. Rajan will be appointed as Non-Executive Director on the Board of Airtel Nigeria following the completion of the transition process and will continue to work closely with the Airtel Nigeria leadership team.

NISEAC urges FG on implementation of recommendation

By ADESINA OLANREWAJU

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fter a long wait, the Nigerian Sickle Cell Expert Advisory Committee (NISEAC) has called on Federal Government on implementation of its recommenda-

tion.

The committee that was set up to examine all matters related to Sickle Cell Disorder (SCD), scope and standard of service to be delivered to properly manage and control SCD in Nigeria among others, recommended that the federal and state governments should introduce newborn or infant screening for the early diagnosis of sickle cell disorder in Nigeria.

Speaking during a media interaction, the Chairman, Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria, Professor Olu Akinyanju (OON) in Abuja maintained that Nigerians needed to know more precisely the causation of specific complications of SCD and thus discover better remedies for their prevention, amelioration and cure.

Professor Olu, on behalf of the committee revealed that, “the committee is seriously concerned that numerous drugs with unproven claims of cure or palliation in the treatment of sickle cell disorder are freely marketed in Nigeria, to the detriment of many affected families who spend scarce resources on their purchase, therefore, the Federal Government needs to see to this and effectively implement the committee’s recommendation.”

• L-R: Mrs Iquo Ukoh, Marketing Services Director, Nestle Foods Plc, Mr Steve Evans, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria and Mrs Bunmi Oke, President, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), at the 2012 Lagos Advertising Award and Ideal Festival in Lagos at the weekend.

OBJ aborted coups while in office –Afe Babalola From MOSHOOD ADE- therefore, was able to save BAYO, Abeokuta Nigeria and Nigerians from another dark period of miliegal icon, Chief Afe tary rule.’’

Babalola has revealed The former pro-chancellor that former President and chairman of the Olusegun Obasanjo averted Governing Council of the military coups after he University of Lagos, while assumed office in 1999. paying tribute to the club and Chief Babalola made the some of his members, attribsensational revelation during uted the current civilian rule a lecture marking the 40th in the country largely to the Anniversary of Abeokuta efforts of Obasanjo.

Club in Abeokuta Ogun State Recalling how he met at the weekend.

Obasanjo, many years ago, According to him: “Unknown to many seated the astute lawyer of repute here today, but for the efforts stated that Obasanjo believed of Chief Obasanjo, Nigeria, so much in the unity of the despite the return to demo- country. cratic rule in 1999, might have experienced another period of military incursion into politics. residential Committee He added: “Unknown to on Flood Relief and many he (Obasanjo), it was Rehabilitation is set to that ensured that several attempts to overturn the civil- raise about N100 billion to ian government after 1999 complement government’s efforts at bringing succour to did not succeed.

Babalola, the proprietor of the victims of the recent Afe Babalola University, flooding across the country.

The committee being coAdo-Ekiti, recalled that Obasanjo was always quick chaired by the business to reacting “to any threat and, mogul, Aliko Dangote and

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“As I stated earlier, he believes so much in Nigeria, so much so that at a great risk to his life, he personally took the initiative to visit Boko Haram states in search of peace. I do not know of any Nigerian leader who is capable of doing that. Chief Obasanjo is a Nigerian like no other.”

“It has pleased God to use this person (Obasanjo) times without number for the promotion, development and preservation of Nigeria.”

Babalola, whose theme of lecture was, “Leadership Challenges: Sub-Saharan

Black Africa,” lamented that black Africa had been let down by its leaders.

He admonished that leadership anywhere in the world should be about service to the people, be about constantly evolving ways to improving the lot of the governed.

“The saying that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely rings true of African leaders, past and present than of any other region in the world. “ Ours, it would seem, is a continent whose history is replete more with tyrants and despots, rather than statesmen and global leaders.”

Flood relief: Presidential committee to raise N100bn

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legal luminary, Olisa Agbakoba said it hopes to bring smiles back to the faces of the displaced persons who were currently being sheltered in make-shift camps in different parts of the country.

Many communities were recently ravaged by flood which killed scores of people, rendered thousands homeless and destroyed farmlands

Lawmaker backs creation of more states From OLUWOLE FAROTIMI

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n Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) House of Representatives member, Otunba Michael Yomi Ogunnusi has affirmed his support for the creation of more states, including Ijebu State, even as he disbursed N45 million to members of Ifako –Ijaye Ojokoro Federal Constituency as part of his empowerment programme.

The deputy chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Finance donated three coastal buses to various groups, which include

League of Imam and Alfas, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), among five tricycles to community development associations.

At least, 100 community leaders, families, party members and 200 entrepreneurs received N75, 000 each, which sums up to N15 million cash donation to empower members of his constituency.

The distribution of the buses, cheques and tricycles took place in the premises of the religious organizations and his constituency office located in Mojisola Street at the weekend.

According to the philanthropist, the funds used for the empowerment programme were sourced from his salaries and allowances, including his personal savings.

Ogunnusi, who had before now championed the development of the various communities in the constituency, donating boreholes, vehicles to the police force to effectively police the area said, “ I believe wealth is not to be accumulated and amassed for selfish interest. Almighty God placed me in whatever position I find myself to enable me assist my fellow human beings.

worth billions of naira.

President Goodluck Jonathan had in a nationwide broadcast in the wake of the flood disaster that ravaged many communities, destroying property and farmlands, set up a 36-member relief committee to mobilize funds for the rehabilitation of the victims and galvanize the general public to support the initiative.

The president also in his address announced a N17.6 billion relief fund for the affected states as part of immediate palliative to bringing relief to the affected people and their communities, which National Emergency Relief Agency said spread across 33 states of the federation. He said the money from the fund would be allocated to the affected states based on the level of devastation and categorized accordingly from A to D. The committee has, therefore, fixed a fund raising dinner for next Thursday where prominent Nigerians are expected to donate to the fund.

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DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012

Foreign Affairs Suicide bombers attack restaurant in Somalia

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wo suicide bombers have blown themselves up trying to enter a restaurant in the Somali capital Mogadishu, killing at least one person.

They had targeted a restaurant known as The Village in the Hodan district of the city but were stopped by guards, one of whom was killed.

The attackers opened fire on the guards, a local resident told Reuters.

Suicide bombers attacked another restaurant belonging to the same owner in September, killing 14 people.

Such attacks are fairly common in the city, as are targeted assassinations, BBC Africa analyst Mary Harper reports.

India’s Congress party holds mass rally

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ndia’s ruling Congress party has held a mass rally in Delhi to shore up support and defend controversial economic reforms.

Tens of thousands gathered to hear party head Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and possible future PM Rahul Gandhi speak.

Mr Singh said those opposing moves to open the retail sector to foreign firms were “misleading the people”.

Support for Congress has been hit by economic concerns and corruption cases.

The BBC’s Sanjoy Majumder, in Delhi, says the rally was a massive show of strength by Congress as it attempts to shore up support ahead of elections in 2014.

Mr Singh defended the recent wave of controversial economic reforms, which include allowing the likes of Walmart and Tesco to enter the Indian market.

EU Chief offers aid to Burma

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uropean Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso has offered Burma more than $100m (£62m; 78m euros) in development aid as he met President Thein Sein.

The two men met in the new capital, Nay Pyi Taw, and discussed steps to boost trade following decades of sanctions.

Mr Barroso also held talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. She would not be drawn on the plight of Burma’s mainly Muslim Rohingya minority, which has attracted international concern.

In recent months, violence between Rohingyas and Buddhists in Rakhine state has forced 100,000 from their homes.

Around 90 people were killed in a renewed bout of communal violence last week.

British soldier killed in Cyprus

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British soldier stationed in Cyprus has been stabbed to death in a nightclub in the resort of Ayia Napa. The Ministry of Defence confirmed a 19-year-old soldier from 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, had died. His family has been informed.

Police said three British tourists had been arrested following a reported altercation with four off-duty soldiers in the early hours.

The MoD has banned soldiers from Ayia Napa’s centre after past trouble.

The town is a popular destination for thousands of young holidaymakers.

But military chiefs stopped personnel from going there following the killing of Danish tour guide Louise Jensen in 1994.

She was raped and bludgeoned to death just outside Ayia Napa. Three off-duty British servicemen served prison terms after being convicted of manslaughter and abduction.

Iran’s parliament to grill Ahmadinejad

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ran’s parliament is planning to summon President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to be questioned over the country’s plummeting currency, state radio reported Sunday. It will be the second grilling of the increasingly embattled leader in less than a year.

The report said that 77 lawmakers signed a petition on Saturday claiming that Ahmadinejad’s administration has been reluctant to regulate the currency market. By law the president has one month to answer the summons.

The Iranian rial has plummeted in value against hard currencies over the past year, with the slide accelerating over the past month. Iranian politicians blame the drop on Western-led sanctions targeting the country’s suspect nuclear program but also on alleged mismanagement by the government of Ahmadinejad, who has fallen out with conservatives who once backed him.

• French President Francois Hollande (second right) review a guard of honour at the Lebanese presidential palace in Baabda, East of Beirut during a tour of Lebanon yesterday...Photo: Associated press

Grenade attack rocks church in Kenya A

grenade attack on a church in a police compound in eastern Kenya has killed one police officer and injured at least 11 other people, reports say.

The man who died was serving as pastor of the targeted church, in Garissa town near the border with Somalia.

Most of the wounded are also reported to be police officers; some of whom were airlifted to hospital in Nairobi.

In July, 15 people were killed in raids on churches in Garissa, and suspicion fell on the al-Shabab militant group.

Police blamed the Somalia-based group and its sympathisers for the attack, and said they were angry over Kenya’s role in a UN-backed intervention force.

Kenya’s capital Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa have suffered a series of grenade attacks since Kenya sent troops into Somalia last October.

Witnesses were quoted as

saying that the grenade in Sunday’s attack was thrown from outside the compound, and landed on the iron-sheeted roof of the church while the officers and their families were inside attending a prayer session.

“It is believed to be a motor thrown or a grenade because it penetrated the roof before landing within the crowd.

There is confusion,” one police officer at the scene was quoted by Kenya’s The Standard as saying.

Gunfire was also reportedly heard at the scene of the explosion.

Kenya’s Red Cross said 11 wounded people were taken to hospital in Garissa, with three evacuated by air to Nairobi for further treatment.

Egypt’s Coptics get new Pope

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ishop Tawadros has been chosen as the new pope of Egypt’s Coptic Christians, becoming leader of the largest Christian minority in the Middle East.

His name was selected from a glass bowl by a blindfolded boy at a ceremony in Cairo’s St Mark’s Cathedral. Three candidates had been shortlisted.

The 60-year-old succeeds Pope Shenouda III, who died in March aged 88.

He succeeds as attacks on Copts are on the increase, and many say they fear the coun-

try’s new Islamist leaders.

Bishop Tawadros. Photo: October 2012 Bishop Tawadros has studied in Britain The other two candidates were Bishop Raphael and Father Raphael Ava Mina.

They were chosen in a ballot by a council of some 2,400 Church and community officials in October.

Their names were written on pieces of paper and put in crystal balls sealed with wax on the church altar.

A blindfolded boy - one of

Ghanaians angry over rise in president’s pay

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significant increase in salaries for Ghana’s president, ministers and other top officials has been criticized by anti-corruption campaigners.

Parliament agreed to the pay rise earlier this week in a session that was not televised.

Last month President John Dramani Mahama authorised an increase in MPs’ pay.

The BBC’s Sammy Darko in Ghana says both rises will be backdated to 2009 - which has caused a public outcry.

Regional police chief Philip Tuimur said a major operation was under way to track down the attackers.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion will once again fall on al-Shabab.

In September, one child was killed and three seriously injured in a grenade attack on a church in Nairobi.

Our reporter says news of the pay increase, agreed by MPs for the executive, was slow to emerge because it took place in a closed-door session on Tuesday night.

This has angered Ghana Integrity Initiative which says such decisions should be debated in public.

“We have the right to know because we are tax payers,” Vitus Azeem, the head of the anti-corruption group, told Ghana’s Citifm radio station.

“If we know what has gone

in to arrive at those figures, then we will also be able to make constructive comments on them. But if they hide it from us then that’s a problem.”

The president’s monthly salary has gone up from about $4,240 (£2,640) to $6,357, which is tax free.

The new salary for ministers, who also have benefits such as the use of two cars, a house with staff and an entertainment allowance, will be $4,770.

12 shortlisted children - then drew out the name of Bishop Tawadros, who until now was an aide to the acting leader, Bishop Pachomius.

Bishop Pachomius then took the ballot from the boy’s hand and showed it to all those gathered in the cathedral.

Many leading Copts believe the new pope should play a less overtly political role.

Activists hope that ordinary Copts can make their voices heard by winning more seats in the now democratically elected parliament.

Yet the new pope may want to make his views known quickly on how prominent a role Islamic, or Sharia, law should play in the new constitution currently under negotiation.

• Bishop Tawadros

DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012,

15

Foreign Affairs US Presidential election countdown Early votes put Obama on the lead

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• Obama (left) and challenger Romney

Presidential paths: How Romney, Obama could win Stock up on munchies and make sure the batteries in your TV remote are fresh. With this year’s presidential election razor-close to the finish, Tuesday could be a long night.

Election Day is Tuesday, and there’s no clear answer on whether President Barack Obama will win a second term or be unseated by Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

Here’s a look at how each candidate has campaigned so far and what paths they might take to victory.

Obama’s strategy: Grind it out, get the vote For Obama, winning reelection rests on a workmanlike, get-out-the-vote strategy aimed at protecting key territory in the Midwest, ramping up minority turnout and building early voting leads that could protect against a late surge by Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

It’s a far cry from the lofty rhetoric and gauzy closing argument advertisements that defined Obama’s final push in 2008. And it’s a reflection of a race that remains tight in its waning days and an outcome that could hinge on little more than battleground state turnout.

“We have two jobs: One, persuade the undecideds, and two, to turn our voters out,” said Jim Messina, Obama’s data-driven campaign manager.

Obama himself has gotten deeply involved in those efforts. He made a personal appeal to 9,000 undecided voters on a conference call from Air Force One, promoted early voting by casting his own bal-

lot before Election Day and offered encouragement to staff and volunteers during numerous stops to battleground state campaign offices.

“I hate to put the burden of the entire world on you, but basically, it’s all up to you,” Obama told volunteers this week in Orlando, Fla. His comments were meant to be light-hearted, but they spoke to the degree to which his campaign is counting on its massive ground game to carry Obama to re-election.

The campaign relied heavily on that operation this week when Superstorm Sandy forced Obama off the campaign trail and back to Washington for three days to oversee the federal response.

The Democratic get-out-thevote effort kept churning, allowing Obama to project presidential leadership and offer comfort in a crisis — intangibles his campaign knows could be beneficial in persuading late-breaking voters.

They helped him win over at least one person: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent, who said Obama’s handling of the storm was key in his decision to endorse the president.

Obama, in his closing argument to voters, is trying to burnish his bipartisan credentials, seeking to convince voters he’s the same man who burst into the political spotlight eschewing the notion of red states or blue states.

Polls show Obama and Romney tied nationally. But the president’s advisers say the

map of competitive states tilts in their favor. Obama started the race with more pathways than Romney for reaching the required 270 Electoral College votes, and aides say all of those options still are within reach.

Romney’s campaign, on the other hand, still is grappling for a clear roadmap to 270.

Nine states are up for grabs: Ohio, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Iowa, Wisconsin, Colorado and Nevada.

Key to Obama’s electoral strategy is protecting a Midwestern firewall: Ohio, Iowa and Wisconsin, a threestate combination that would put him over the necessary threshold. The president will visit those states multiple times in the campaign’s final stretch, including four straight days of travel to Ohio.

Obama can win without Ohio. But if he does carry the state’s 18 electoral votes, it would make Romney’s path to victory far more difficult, requiring the Republican to win nearly every other competitive state or pull off upsets in traditionally Democratic states.

Private polling from both parties has Obama leading Romney in Ohio, where the president’s bailout of the auto industry is popular. And more Democrats than Republicans in the state have cast early votes.

Romney’s campaign is looking to expand the battleground map by making a late play for a trio of left-leaning states: Pennsylvania, Michigan and Minnesota. That’s forced

Obama’s team to buy television advertising time in states where it had hoped to avoid spending money.

Obama aides insist it’s not in trouble in those states and aides say there are no plans for Obama or Vice President Joe Biden to travel there in the campaign’s closing days.

Instead, they say their strong fundraising efforts have given them the financial means to defend against Romney’s criticism wherever he decides to run ads.

But aides say turnout, not ads, will determine the election. Obama’s team has put particular emphasis on ramping up turnout during early voting periods, especially among “sporadic” voters who may be less likely to go to the polls on Election Day. Their efforts appear to be bearing fruit. Democrats have an edge in votes cast in Florida, Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio. Republicans have an advantage in Colorado.

Obama’s campaign says boosting early vote totals could put some states out of reach for Romney even before Election Day. In Ohio, for example, Obama aides estimate the Republican would need to carry at least 53 percent of the vote cast there Tuesday in order to remain in contention.

It’s more than just party registration that has Obama’s team feeling confident. They tout data showing two-thirds of those who already have voted were women, young people, blacks and Hispanics.

Obama is almost certain to win the majority of those voting blocs.

resident Barack Obama heads toward Election Day with an apparent lead over Republican Mitt Romney among early voters in key states that could decide the election.

Obama’s advantage, however, isn’t as big as the one he had over John McCain four years ago, giving Romney’s campaign hope that the former Massachusetts governor can erase the gap when people vote on Tuesday.

More than 27 million people already have voted in 34 states and the District of Columbia. No votes will be counted until Election Day but several battleground states are releasing the party affiliation of people who have voted early.

So far, Democratic voters outnumber Republicans in Florida, Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio — five states that could decide the election, if they voted the same way. Republicans have the edge in Colorado, which Obama won in 2008.

Obama dominated early voting in 2008, building up such big leads in Colorado, Florida, Iowa and North Carolina that he won each state despite losing the Election Day vote, according to voting data compiled by The Associated Press.

“In 2008, the McCain campaign didn’t have any mobilization in place to really do early voting,” said Michael McDonald, an early voting expert at George Mason University who tallies voting statistics for the United States Elections Project. “This time around the Romney campaign is not making the same mistake as the McCain campaign did.”

McDonald said he sees a shift toward Republicans among early voters, which could make a difference in North Carolina, which Obama won by the slimmest of margins in 2008, only 14,000 votes. The Republican shift, however, might not be enough to wipe out Obama’s advantage in Iowa and Nevada, which Obama won more comfortably in 2008.

In Colorado, Florida and Ohio, get ready for a long night of vote counting on Tuesday.

Romney’s campaign aides say they are doing so much better than McCain did four years ago that Romney is in great shape to overtake Obama in many of the most competitive states.

“They are underperforming what their 2008 numbers were and we are overperforming where we were in 2008,” said Rich Beeson, Romney’s political director. “We feel very good heading into the Tuesday election.”

Obama’s campaign counters that Romney can’t win the presidency simply by doing better than McCain.

“It’s not about whether or not they’re doing better than John McCain did,” said Jeremy Bird, Obama’s national field director.

“It’s about whether or not they’re doing better than us.”

About 35 percent of voters are expected to cast ballots before Tuesday, either by mail or in person.

Voters always can cross party lines when they vote for any office, and there are enough independent voters in many states to swing the election, if enough of them vote the same way. Still, both campaigns are following the early voting numbers closely, using them to gauge their progress and plan their Election Day strategies.

A look at early voting in the tightest states: Colorado About 1.6 million people have voted, and Republicans outnumber Democrats 37 percent to 35 percent. Those numbers are a reversal from four years ago at this time. Inevitably, Obama won the early vote by 9 percentage points in 2008, giving him a big enough cushion to win the state, despite narrowly losing the Election Day vote.

Early voting in Colorado is expected to account for about 80 percent of all votes cast, giving it more weight than in other states.

Florida About 3.9 million people have voted, and 43 percent were Democrats and 40 percent were Republicans. For years ago at this time, Democratic early voters had a 9 percentage point lead over Republicans.

Obama won Florida’s early vote by 10 percentage points in 2008, getting 400,000 more early votes than McCain, enough to offset McCain’s advantage on Election Day. In Florida, Republicans have historically done better among people who vote by mail, while Democrats have done better among people who vote early in person. For 2012, Florida’s Republican-led Legislature reduced the number of in-person early voting days from 14 to eight.

The Obama campaign responded by encouraging more supporters to vote by mail, and Democrats were able to narrow the gap among mail ballots. Democrats quickly took the lead among all early voters, once in-person early voting started. But the margins are slim.

The Obama campaign acknowledges it must do better among Florida’s Election Day voters than Obama did on 2008, when McCain won the Election Day vote by 5 percentage points.

Iowa About 614,000 people have voted, already exceeding Iowa’s total number of early votes in 2008. So far this year, 43 percent of early voters were Democrats and 32 percent were Republicans.

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DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012

NewsPlus Capital Oil crisis: My story, by Maduka, Coscharis boss

•Maduka

By LOUIS UBA

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resident of Coscharis Group, Dr. Cosmas Maduka, returned to the country at the weekend to throw more light on the raging loan saga with Capital Oil and Gas Limited, vowing that he would use every legitimate means at his disposal to recover the debt owed him

by Capital Oil boss Ifeanyi Ubah.

“I will collect my money to the very last kobo,” Maduka said on a breach of contract between his company and Capital Oil which he said culminated into a loss running into billions of naira.

But in a swift reaction, Ubah told Daily Sun in a telephone chat that he would no longer join issues with anybody on the matter since he had taken both Maduka and Access Bank to court over the transaction, this is even as he alluded to a plot by the bank to use the Cosharis boss to take over his Capital Oil assets.

“The case is already a subject of litigation in court and I don’t want to comment on it,” Ubah said. “But I know that the target is my business; they want to take over my assets and they would stop at nothing, including lies to achieve their target,” Ubah added.

According to Maduka, his company Coscharis Group had entered into a Joint Venture (JV) deal with Capital Oil for the purpose of importing and distributing Premium Motor Spirit (commonly called petrol). Maduka said his foray into the fuel business with Capital Oil was necessitated more by compassion to bail the young Ubah out of a credit crunch crisis as most Nigerian creditor institutions had refused to advance him any form of loan for his business. Vibrant Venture Limited was subsequently appointed as a warehousing agent for the joint venture partnership.

Maduka claimed after the joint venture deal was sealed, both companies were able to secure a loan from

Access Bank for the importation of Premium Motor Spirit, but he alleged that Ubah and his company breached the terms of the deal by engaging in the diversion of the imported products and other fraudulent activities which had marred the ability to execute the joint venture deal as a profitable establishment.

“Capital Oil’s diversion of these products in collusion with the Shippers has made the repayment of the facility schedules to come from sales proceeds impossible,” said Maduka.

“Accordingly, the exposure to Access Bank Plc stands at about N21billion while interest rate accrues.

Capital Oil has also refused to release the 56,568,587.11 litres of PMS in the designated tank farm for this transaction under the management of our warehousing agent in its tank farm, for disposal to facilitate payment of our financial obligation to Access Bank,” he added.

Maduka who hails from the same Nnewi, Anambra State, as Ubah said he had to report the younger businessman to the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) when every effort to get Uba to live up to his contractual obligations in respect of the petrol import deal (including a meeting called by the traditional ruler of their town) failed to get Uba to the round table to sort out the matter.

Details of Coscharis/Capital Oil Letter of Credit (LC) transactions

Source: Maduka

Maduka showed Daily Sun various documents sourced from regulatory agencies to back up his allegations that Capital Oil did breach its terms of contract by not executing the letters of credit it collected for importing and discharging products in Nigeria so it could make claims to be re-imbused by the government under the fuel subsidy scheme.

“These products did not arrive,” Maduka said of the breached contracts. “And when Capital Oil was asked for the whereabout of the products, no satisfactory answer was provided,” he added.

Ubah acknowledged Access Bank as its creditor “financing over 70 per cent of its importation” deals.

Ubah who honoured an invitation by the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigerian Police on October 9 was detained till October 19 due to allegations of corruption – collecting subsidy funds without importing products – brought against his company by the Presidential Committee. Ubah’s Capital Oil however absolved itself of any form of corrupt act, noting however that the Access Bank chief lacked the moral credibility to probe an industry in which he was also an operator with equity stakes in some of the oil importation firms, just as it alleged that Access Bank stood the greater chance of taking over its assets if its CEO, now auditing the industry, was left to have his way of barring the government from settling fuel subsidy debts owed the firm over a long period of time. Such delay translates to the accumulation of more debts as the oil firm is inhibited from timely settlements of its debts to the bank and with more interest default payment fines coming, in the company could go bust, thus paving the way for a creditor to take over.

According to records initially released by Ubah’s aides, the company is owed about N14 billion in subsidy refund (otherwise known as Sovereign Debt Notes, SDN) while the monthly interest on the N21 billion loan secured through Coscharis is put at about N380 million “The allegations are spurious, they border on the absurd and merely intended to pull us down in order to achieve Aig-Imoukhuede’s dream of aiding his company - Access Bank - to frustrate our business activities and take over our company,” said the oil firm.

It noted that the bank checked every stage of the importation process to satisfy itself that the importation was actually carried out. In effect, the investigation that Mr Aig-Imoukhuede is currently carrying out on Capital Oil is an indirect investigation of his bank. `` Given the present circumstances, we strongly believe that it is most unethical and contrary to natural justice, equity and good conscience for Aig-Imoukhuede to continue to chair any committee charged with the responsibility of verifying the subsidy refund claims. ``Because his bank is part and parcel of the whole transactions having

•Ubah financed them and, therefore, stands to benefit from any prolonged delay in the payment of the subsidy refunds to us.”

But all these do not seem to impress Maduka. According to him AigImoukhuede’s character and integrity can never be faulted. He insists Ubah is just throwing so many things into the fray to confuse the public and divert attention from what the questions really are. He should tell us: where is the consignment for which he drew on the letter of credit? We have evidence to show that the consignment was shipped, we have the bill of lading, but there is no record to show that the products ever got to Nigeria. If they did, let him show us the documentation”, Maduka maintained.

The Coscharis boss said the claim that the bank processed and received the SDN for the missing four shipments is a different kettle of fish and does not prove that the shipment ever got in.

He said that of the 10 Letters of Credit opened for Capital Oil, Ubah only partly delivered on the first six while the last four simply vanished.

What that means is that, of the 377,400,033 litres of petrol paid for, only 197,093,412 litres was delivered.

The rest which left their country of origin for Nigeria since September 2011 have yet to arrive.

To this development, Maduka says: “we have comprehensive insurance for the consignment. If it sank with the ship or got burnt on the way, let him provide the details so we can file for claim with the insurance company. It is even more understandable if the shipment came and they said the product was contaminated or substandard, or even got caught up in the exchange rate somersault and he, therefore, sold at a loss. I can understand all that.

What I can’t understand is this idea of the entire consignment disappearing into thin air”.

Producing document after document on the details of the transaction that allegedly saw him borrowing money for Capital Oil and how the entire transaction was properly structured from the onset, Maduka lamented: What this means is that I am losing N21 billion and somebody says I should keep quite! I will get my money, even if it is the last thing I do.

I am ready to die doing just that”.

Monday, November 5, 2012

DAILY SUN

17

NewsPlus Family cries foul over death of council official

Delta police, others killed our son •No, Fulani herdsmen did it, police insist From PAUL OSUYI, Asaba

M

r. Benjamin Chegwe served Delta State meritoriously in various capacities as a seasoned local government administrator. He rose through the ranks in the state Local Government Service and got to the apex as Director of Personnel Management (DPM), Isoko North Local Government area.

But on September 30, his life was cut short; he was murdered in a gruesome manner. His assailants shot him in his farm located in Ogume, near Kwale, in Ndokwa West Local Government area.

On the day of the tragic incident, the deceased was said to have concluded a child dedication ceremony in the church. He subsequently received a call allegedly from one Momodu Osuya, informing him that Fulani herdsmen were in the deceased’s farm, destroying his young palm trees. He went to the Kwale Police Division and four officers, including Oferm Ibiamang, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) went with him to the farm with the aim of arresting the herdsmen.

It was at the farm that a bullet was said to have hit him at the right upper thigh, piercing through his lower abdomen and coming out through the upper left thigh. The incident occurred at about 3pm but he was confirmed dead at the hospital in Kwale, about 20 minutes drive away from Ogume, at about 6pm.

His untimely death has devastated his entire family. They are viewing

the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate incident with suspicion and mistrust for the Delta State Police Command investigating the actual cause of death. In fact, the bereaved family has alleged complicity on the part of the police in the murder of the council top official.

According to Mr. Emeka Chegwe, a member of the family who doubles as the family’s lawyer, the claim by the police that one Sule Maigari, a Fulani herdsman has been arrested in connection with the gruesome murder is a “corporate falsehood” and an attempt by the police “to absolve itself of complicity in the murder of Benjamin.” The said Maigari, according to the police, was arrested with bullet wounds in Onitsha and had confessed to the crime.

While wondering why the police rushed to the press to publish the arrest of the Fulani herdsman, the bereaved family spokesman also accused the law enforcement agency of complacency, saying that those present at the scene of death, including Momodu and the four policemen, have not been arrested.

“There was no time the persons we mentioned were arrested in Kwale or even in Asaba. If a man and a woman sleep together in the same bed and one of them dies in the morning, the other one is the suspect.

But as I speak with you, neither this Momodu nor any of the four policemen who were at the scene have been arrested for questioning,” he stated.

Daily Sun gathered that the said Momodu who is a member of a vigilante group and a youth leader in Ogume owns a farm that shares a

•CP Aduba

common boundary with that of the deceased. It was further learnt that the deceased had solicited the cooperation of Momodu to inform him whenever Fulani herdsmen were grazing on the farm.

“My brother had never witnessed any Fulani man on his farm, it has been this Momodu fielding him that Fulani men were on his farm. One wonders, if indeed he had personal interest in safeguarding the property of the deceased, why must he invite Benjamin to come with police from Kwale instead of driving the Fulani herdsmen away,” Emeka queried.

Pressed further to speak on the relationship between the deceased and Momodu, Emeka admitted that there “have been conflicts between both of them at one time or the other involving one of Benjamin’s farms called Transformer Farm. There have been skirmishes over the years; I am aware of that.

“And I, as a legal practitioner, was involved in the conveyance of a large parcel of land which my brother bought to start the farm at Ogume.

And Momodu, being the youth leader of that community and a vigilante chief, may not have been happy about the large purchase. But over and above that, I cannot immediately begin to speak of any primary motive. The facts on ground are enough for the police to begin with.”

Emeka alleged that the contradicting account on the incident given by Oferm who led the police team to the farm was not in consonance with available evidence at the scene of the murder, fuelling the family’s speculation that the deceased might have been strangled to death after the gunshot.

According to him, homicide detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department in Asaba who visited the murder scene, discovered that “there was no bush anywhere to facilitate the kind of ambush alleged by the Oferm team, neither was there any fresh cattle footprint on the farm. The Asaba team also interviewed villagers who lived nearby, and found that no sound of sporadic gunshot was heard on the said day as was alleged by the Oferm team. The Asaba team also searched diligently for hours for any wasted bullet pellet, but not even a splinter was found.

“A Fulani man who was allegedly shot was able to travel from Ogume to Onitsha where he was allegedly arrested three days later with bullet wounds right into his tummy, yet somebody who was shot at the waist could not survive three hours. And there were sand stains all over his body indicating that there was a struggle.”

Emeka said the family had already lost confidence in the Delta State Police Command and as such had petitioned the Inspector General of Police, the state Director of the SSS and the State Governor, calling for a full-scale investigation into the mat-

•The Late Benjamin ter.

“I am even afraid because the identity of the killers is very apparent, it is not hidden. From the circumstance surrounding his death, you can begin to imagine the level of danger we are exposed to at the hands of police in Delta on a daily basis,” he said.

But the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba said there was no controversy trailing the murder of the council boss, adding that the bereaved family should be grateful to the command instead of condemning it.

According to Aduba, the deceased had written a petition to the police about the destructive activities of Fulani herdsmen and that it was on the basis of that that the four policemen were assigned to him. He said while at the farm there was sporadic gunshot and his men took cover while the DPM was standing until he was hit by bullet.

He said available real, circumstantial and direct evidence pointed to the fact that his men who went for the assignment performed the job professionally.

“We have looked into the issues being raised by the bereaved family and we found that there was no truth in any form. And before anybody could decide to take the life of another person, there must be a reason for

it and there is no ground to show that there was anything like malice or quarrel before he went to the police station for escort to the farm to arrest the herdsmen.

“On the first day, they were on their way when information got to him that the herdsmen were no longer there and he asked the policemen to go back. On the fateful day, information got to him that the herdsmen were back to the farm, he rushed to the station and the same of policemen accompanied him. The policemen asked him to be at the back in the roll, they never asked him to be in the front. They rather faced the heat from the herdsmen.

“They were all in a single roll with three policemen in front, the deceased was behind them while the ASP and the said Momodu were at the rear. And the bullet that killed him came from the side. I wonder how those in a single file could have shot from side,” he noted.

The police boss stated that the arrest of Sule Maigari followed underground investigation by his men as well as the assistance from the leadership of the Fulani community who had vowed to smoke out the perpetrators from any hideout.

Meanwhile, the corpse of the late DPM has been preserved in readiness for medical examination just as there would be ballistic examination to ascertain the cause of death.

18

DAILY SUN Monday November 5, 2012

For a people’s constitution T he House of Representatives will, this week, hold what it has called “Peoples’ Public Sessions” on the review of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. The exercise is to take place in all the 360 federal constituencies of the country.

The idea behind this novel initiative is to make the review of the constitution as participatory as possible as opportunity will be created for rural dwellers to make their input. Essentially, the public sessions will feature a panel of experts and stakeholders who will be drawn from the local government administrations, labour unions, the Bar, the academia, civil society and youth organizations, women groups and the media.

With this assemblage, it is expected that the sessions will be largely inclusive and encompassing. The approach will also increase the capacity of the House of Representatives to receive inputs and suggestions on constitution amendment from individuals and groups.

Above all, it will enable the National Assembly to make a distinction between the issues it has outlined for review and the ones that the people will present for amendment.

About 21 target areas are to be taken care of.

Some of these include State creation, inclusion of the six geo-political zones in the constitution, State police and autonomy of State Houses of Assembly, among others.

The on-going effort at a review of the constitution is, no doubt, an ambitious one. If the steadfastness of the concerned committees of the National Assembly is to be relied upon, Nigerians can be rest assured that they would soon have a constitution that will address some of their basic worries.

It must be noted that the defects in the present constitution are largely responsible for the many agitations that we have from different segments of this country. While some want a sovereign national conference as a means of addressing their yearnings and aspirations, others believe that a referendum will go a long way in dealing with some unsettled issues.

Unfortunately, the constitution review carried out by the National Assembly in 2010, the first ever by the Nigerian legislature, did not go far

enough. The amendment dwelt on insignificant issues such as independent candidature, crosscarpeting, minimum qualification for president and governors, among other inconsequential issues. The result was that the constitution remained as if nothing was removed from or added to it.

However, the challenge this time around is for the National Assembly to dwell on issues that can bring about the desired change or changes. To achieve this, we do not think that it is necessary for the lawmakers to take on too many issues for amendment. Such an approach may frustrate its noble intentions. The legislature will be making a better use of the opportunity that has presented itself if it takes on a few items and deal with them decisively.

It should, for instance, concentrate on state creation, state police or the six-zonal structure of the country. It can take one or two or all of these and ensure that action is taken on them for the benefit of Nigerians. If it is able to actualize any of them, Nigeria will certainly not be the same again. In the end, the people of Nigeria can say with a measure of confidence that the constitution has been amended to address one or two salient issues. This is our expectation.

We note with satisfaction the decision of the House of Representatives to involve the people.

The move is commendable. If Nigerians of all shades of opinion who inhabit our rural communities take part in the public sessions, the National Assembly will have the benefit of working with suggestions and ideas that will reflect the wishes and aspirations of the people.

However, what matters is the use the House will put the materials it will distill from our towns and villages to. We expect that the peoples’public sessions should not be conducted for the sake of it.

The inputs from them should be synthesized and made to reflect in aspects of the constitution.

If that is done, it will make sense for the opening lines of our constitution to claim that “we the people of Nigeria” met, sat and designed a constitution for ourselves.

In other words, such a constitution can truly pass for a people’s constitution. We do not expect anything less.

COMMENT

LETTER

The rampant cases of violent deaths

THE recent barbaric killing of four youngsters (students of the University of Port Harcourt), at their impressionable age, allegedly by residents of Umuokiri, Aluu in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, is clear evidence that evil is on the prowl. Some have called it “jungle justice” but that is if the murderous deed will ever be proved to be just. Only last week, news of another vicious killing of one Mercy Peters, a student of Auchi Polytechnic, hit the airwaves. Mercy was reportedly abducted, raped, murdered and buried on a shallow grave by fellow students.

Few months back the media was awash with the story of some alleged cult boys at the Abia State University, who repeatedly and in turns raped a female student of the same institution (their fellow student), recorded the abhor able act electronically and posted same on the internet. Not long after, the nation was also stunned by the sordid story of Cynthia Osokogu, a 21-year old student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, who was invited to Lagos by her ‘face’ no ‘craze book’ friends, who actually turned out to be her enemies. They robbed Cynthia,

raped her, before torturing her to death.

Indeed, with this potpourri of lurid evil, we relive the Otokoto saga of some years back, when an 11year old boy, Ikechukwu (Godspower) Okonkwo, was beheaded in Owerri, but ironically by someone called Innocent Ekeanyanwu. Ikechukwu’s body was buried in a vertical grave dug right inside the premises of a popular hotel. Thinking they could permanently erase any trace, the angels of darkness planted a banana tree over Ikechukwu’s grave.

The discovery instigated a violent convulsion of unprecedented proportion in the quiet city. It was one of the early signs that our society has gone bananas and that evil has overtaken and submerged ‘good’.

Evil now selects characters and colours. It was isolated and differentiated from good. Evil was an absurdity. A time was, when society rendered evil impotent and lame, and treated it with derision like leprosy, so that while doses of local anesthesia was shot at it, people distanced themselves from the contagion.

Truly time has changed. Evil has undergone a

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MISSION ‘To practise journalism in the classical newspaper tradition of presenting the news and features in an exciting style, with impact, objectivity and appeathat generate returns to all stakeholders: the society, the investors and the practitioners’

metamorphosis and shaded its dirty uniform. It now dresses in a cloak of the absolute and comes to table with beakers and smokes cigarette. Evil is now a sound from a distant clime. It no longer exists for one who is not a victim. The resonance of evil is now an edifying music for the evildoer. So, he hums as he concocts and sprinkles more evil on his unsuspecting victims.

Really, as it has been said, every era gets its suitable evil. From the last decade of the 20th century, our society has been sorting out different styles of malignity. These days, however, evil has been changing its priorities, its targets and its cast of characters. Otherwise, how can a band of gun-trotting men storm a students’hostel, identify and murder 20 at one fell swoop?

How can gunmen invade a church where some faithful are communing with their creator and massacre them in cold blood? How are young men, filled with energy and vitality, increasingly getting convinced of spiritual El Dorado in some heavenly plane, if they strap a bomb on their body drive into a church and blow everyone up including themselves? How can we explain a situation whereby students sent to school to acquire knowledge would abandon their books, take up arms and begin to kill other students and terrorise the neighbourhood in the name of cultism? Why should a four–year old child, in such age of innocence be abducted, incarcerated, traumatized and permanently left with the gory memory of forceful separation from his parents? Why should a man abandon lucrative motor

spare parts business and chose to trade on human parts, from which he hopes to make fortunes and train his children?

Why would one who claims to be a prophet of God, describe little children as witches and chop off their fingers? What is there in the skeleton of a man buried ten years earlier that his own son would exhume and sell, if there is still something called evil? Questions! Endless questions!

This catalogue of ferociousness only goes to show how much evil has lost its definition, how much pervasive fascination evil has acquired in our own environment and how flamboyant evil has become. And I ask, are we under a satanic spell?

Could we have been wasting resources building a society of brutes and savages, creating a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. Perhaps we have come to the crossroad where the land mines of fate lie in ambush. The dogs of war are still asleep, but our bones are being crushed inside our boots. The diabolic machination of the evildoer has conquered our bile. We describe others as evil to justify further evil against them. We pour venom on our closest neighbours, on our brothers and sisters, even on our children without blinking an eye. Obviously evil has become as infectious as it is atrocious. But when evil ceases to be evil and men eat dung then dogs should eat shame.

Desmond Osueke, Port Harcourt CMYK

DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012

19

The ECOWAS mediation initiative S Life and Issues ince its establishment as a subregional grouping 37 years ago, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has been unable to adequately live up to the expectations of the United Nations (UN) Charter on the assurance of peace and security mechanisms in the area.

This is because although the “prevention, management and resolution of conflicts within and between states are major aspects” of the organization’s mandate in that regard, no concrete steps had so far been taken to satisfy the requirement in Article 52 of the U.N. Charter (first paragraph), that its member-states should “seek peaceful means towards resolving any dispute that is likely to endanger international peace and security and if need be, resort to regional arrangements.”

Those arrangements do not institutionally exist at the moment, and whatever steps were taken to safeguard peace and security had been on ad-hoc bases. And that is despite the fact that “the 2009 report of the UN secretary-General on enhancing mediation and its Support Activities in its recommendations, states the need for the establishment of mediation support divisions/units in regional organizations.

The report goes further to promise the readiness of the UN to assist them in building their mediation capacity and exchange lessons learned and best practices……”

These quotations from an ECOWAS draft concept paper on the justification for a mediation support division by the organization, reflect the new thinking regarding ways and means of more proactively combating the security challenges within the ECOWAS sub-region.

A needs assessment workshop held by

with Tunde Thompson

tunsthompson@yahoo.com

the organization last week in Lagos provided a platform for retrospections and projections on those issues, when the organization’s Director of Political Affairs, Dr. Abdel - Fatau Musah, presented the problem in his opening statement thus: “Though the Treaty that established ECOWAS in 1975 set economic and market integration as the core objectives of ECOWAS, circumstances over the years have compelled the organization to raise conflict prevention and management to the same level in view of its impact on the integration agenda………….

The adoption of the protocol relating to conflict prevention, management, reduction, peacekeeping and security (the Mechanism) in 1999, followed by the supplementary protocol on Democracy and Good Governance in 2001 and the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework (ECPF) in 2008, constituted concrete and timely responses by our regional leaders to promote the necessary environment for peaceful growth and development.”

In short, the plan to develop the capacity for facilitating mediation in the ECOWAS Commission, with a view to promoting “preventive diplomacy interventions in the Region through competence and skills enhancement of mediations, information - sharing and logical

08056180022

support”, as stated in the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework(ECPF), is one which deserves the total support of all those in and outside the African continent who share the belief that too many lives and resources have been wasted in conflicts within the subregion, over the years.

This initiative towards having a division in ECOWAS focused more on conflict resolution concerns rather than the use of force or settlement of disputes only after many have died and property destroyed, is clearly a step in the right direction, even if belated in terms of conception and introduction.

The division will primarily be engaged in pre-conflict mediation, that is, preventive diplomacy, and getting different sides to a conflict to talk to each other; mediate their differences and prevent the conflicts from degenerating to violent assaults or wars.

As a participant noted: “Given what the division plans to do, they want a Division to focus on operations, that is, as soon as there is apprehension of conflict, the division will get the ECOWAS Authority to mobilize mediators; give them background information to the conflict, advise them on strategies of conflict resolution, provide or mobilize resources to launch a peace drive, provide logistic support for them in the field (peace mediation), and co-ordinate their activities to ensure peaceful resolution

of the conflict. This sort of activity is in dire need because of developments in Mali, and in Guinea Bissau, currently.

Mediation has been utilized in Niger and was utilized after the elections in Liberia and may well be needed after elections pending in other West African countries.”

As the experts fine-tune the plan to set up the Division within the ECOWAS Commission in terms of its final structure, manpower, funding, operations and activities and other details in the month ahead, it needs to be stressed that the political leaders, elites and the ordinary citizens of West African States need to understand and appreciate the merit and values of the proposal.

There is an over-riding need for all to show commitment to the existence and smooth operations of the division. All the social, ethnic, partisan and religious tendencies of individuals and groups who have a scanty knowledge of governance and the democratic process that generated conflicts in the past, need to be changed, when the division comes into existence, and one hopes, soonest possible.

It is cheering that the UN; the Danish Government, through DANIDA – the Danish Development Agency – and several other interested partners, including Germany, UK, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, have already reportedly shown interest in the project, and DANIDA has already contributed seed money worth $3 million.

Very soon, the people of West Africa will know who to thank for supporting this new opportunity to promote peace and development in this part of the world, through the adoption of “traditional techniques” capable of safeguarding lives and property of the present and future generations of Africans .

Understanding Achebe’s war memoir (1)

BY EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO

I

n early October 2012, long before his latest work ‘There was a Country’ by the internationally respected novelist, and literary giant Prof Chinua Achebe hit the book stands. I was worried about the emerging trend of highly misinformed criticisms targeted against the renowned author by some persons masquerading as leaders of the Yoruba over a comment in this 333 pages well crafted and beautifully produced book on the role of General Gowon and late Obafemi Awolowo who imposed economic and food blockade on the then Biafra.

I was worried because of the ethnic colouration that these critics who have never set their eyes on the book gave the author. Professor Chinua Achebe who rightly recorded these historical facts of the thirty months civil war against the then Biafra Republic. Chief Obafemi Awolowo, one of the finest politicians out of South West of Nigeria, served then as the Federal Commissioner for Finance.

I was very worried not because Professor Achebe was incapable of defending himself against these ethnically charged emotional outburst by a section of the South West of Nigeria against his claim in the book that Chief Awolowo’s decision to impose economic sanction created some of the world’s most atrocious genocide and mass hunger that led to the untimely and the killings through a range of health challenges such as malnutrition/kwashiokor of phenomenal dimension, of over three million children, old women and elderly civilian men who had nothing to do with the then Nigeria/Biafra civil war since they were not involved in the war fronts in combat against the Nigerian troops supported actively by Britain, Russia and other major world powers who were scheming for the vast Nigeria’s crude oil reserves.

Achebe as well as millions of lovers of truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth will

fight for his freedom to express his opinion as opposed to the position of the reactionary forces who would rather prefer that he maintained conspiratorial silence about that bloody genocide of the then military Government against the then Biafran civilians. Sadly, even the main actor in that mass killings of civilians Gen. Gowon regrettably stated recently in London, that he has no regrets to have taken that action that created the worst human misery in Africa.

The reason for my well considered apprehension was because of the fact that the attitude of some of the trenchant critics of the book in which case most of these critics that coloured their thoughts in the print media in Nigeria with heavy political and ethnic sentiments is precisely because it is an act of anti-intellectualism of the most primitive dimension for someone to seek to deny historical body of evidence regarding the Nigeria/Biafra war. Nigerian Government’s imposed genocidal hunger through economic and food blockade against the civilian populace of the then Biafra took a toll on millions of innocent children, women and the ederly who perished because they were denied access to basic food reliefs that ought to come in from the international community.

Fortunately, the diabolical scheming of the critics to stoke the embers of ethnic warfare between the Igbo and Yoruba have backfired since most of them were the same persons that have consistently betrayed the Yoruba cause at the national level which as I had earlier stated in my earlier published article ‘Achebephobics, Biafran story and the Truth’, culminated in the denial of the democratic mandate bestowed by majority of Nigerian electorate during the illfated 1993 Presidential elections in which the Chief MKO Abiola was widely believed to have won.

Some of these critics of the latest book of Professor Achebe, indeed conspired with the then military junta of the late General Sani Abacha to deny the late Abiola of his mandate.

Now they are parading themselves as the new

leaders of the Yoruba and are using the latest Achebe’s work as their launch pad. They have failed woefully.

In recent weeks that I have been in the United Kingdom, I have taken time to procure copies of the book ‘THERE WAS A COUNTRY’and have digested the contents. I found out that the critics of the book only feasted on the gullibility of some Nigerians to play on ethnic passions even when the author exercised his poetic and literally licence and freedom to record these historical facts. Even the first black African winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, Professor Wole Soyinka, told journalists recently in the United Kingdom that he believed that the Igbos suffered genocide during the civil war.

As can be read from several accounts and also reflected by Achebe in the book in the estimation of General Gowon, Nigeria only suffered the death in active combat of about one hundred thousand soldiers but international observers have widely recorded that the then Biafra made up of the South East and parts of South/South suffered huge losses of human beings put conservatively at three million and also the massive destruction of public utilities and the infrastructure of the entire region of the South East [that were never repaired soon after the war] that came under intense bombardents by the well armed then Nigerian soldiers and AirForce that callously threw bombs at market places, hospitals and red coss relief centers inside the then Biafra.

In page 231 of the book the then United States President Richard Nixon categorically branded the strategies adopted by the Gowonled brutal war time military regime against Biafra as genocide even as the Catholic Pontiff at that time Pope Paul vi branded it as some of the worst cases of agony and mass killing when he addressed the Ugandan Parliament in the summer of 1969.

Achebe wrote in page 231 of the book thus; “In what is likely to be the most compelling statement of the era from the American

President,Schlesinger provides this powerful extract from Richard Nixon’s campaign speech of September 10th, 1968: ‘’Until now effort to relieve the Biafran people have been thwarted by the desire of the central government of Nigeria to pursue total and unconditional victory and by the fear of the Igbo people that surrender means wholesale atrocities and genocide.

But GENOCIDE IS WHAT IS TAKING PLACE NOW-and starvation is the grim. This is not the time to stand on ceremony, or to ‘go through channels’ or to observe the diplomatic niceties. The destruction of the entire people is an immoral objective even in the most moral of wars. It can never be justified; it can never be condoned”.

Achebe simply expressed his view which is a notorious fact among right thinking rational human beings around the World regarding the eternal evil that the economic blockade imposed by General Gowon under the watchful eyes of his trusted Cabinet member Chief Awolowo on the people of the then Biafran Republic. On page 233 of the critically acclaimed book ‘THERE WAS ACOUNTRY’ Achebe wrote thus; “It is my impression that Chief Awolowo was driven by an overriding ambition for power, for himself in particular and for the advancement of of his Yoruba people in general. And let it be said that there is, on the surface, at least, nothing wrong with those aspirations. However, Awolowo saw the dominant Igbos at the time as the obstacles to that goal, and when opportunity arose-the Nigeria/Biafra War-his ambition drove him into a frenzy to go every length to achieve his dreams. In the Biafran case it mean hatching up diabolical policy to reduce the numbers of his enemies significantly through starvation-eliminating over two million people, mainly members of future generations”.

Onwubiko, writes from London, UK To be continued CMYK

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DAILY SUN Monday November 5 2012

Igbos are like locusts

BY IKENNA GEORGE IKENNA

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he locusts have no king, yet they all advance in ranks.” (Proverbs 30:27) My people in Enugu State have a masquerade they call “Igbo Enwe Eze.” Igbo have no king. It is a popular and a widely quoted proverb, though a controversial one, which has permeated the consciousness of the Igbo Nation and its culture. As you know, proverbs are not taken at their face value and they are not interpreted literally.

Granted that Igbo Enwe Eze literally means Igbo have no king, proverbially it describes the independent and republican nature of the Igbo people.

Igbos are republicans and have practiced village democracy from time immemorial. In her book, HISTORY OF WEST AFRICA SINCE 1800, Professor Elizabeth Isichei stated, “Village democracy was so typical of Igboland that it became a proverb, ‘The Igbo have no king.’” Igboland is not a kingdom that it should have a king anyway, though there were many kingdoms in Igboland.

According to her, “…there were in fact some Igbo kingdoms.” Among them was Onitsha. “But the king,” she added, “was not an absolute despot. He shared his power with a large number of chiefs and with the representatives of other groups in the town as well.” Then she concluded, “An essentially democratic spirit was present therefore in Igbo monarchies as well.” Igbo Enwe Eze does not mean therefore the complete absence of kings and kingdoms in Igboland. It is a proverb that refers to the republican nature of a people who would rather elect their kings than born them. In Igboland, kings

are not born. They are made. Thrones are not inherited. They are merited. It is not unusual to see Igbo communities ruled by elected Igwes. Even the ozo title, which is the most respected institution in Igboland, is conferred on reputable men of great personal worth and individual achievement both in recognition of their efforts and as a reward for it. In the words of Prof. Isichei, “Traditional Igbo society gave its members a great deal of say in the matters which affected their lives-more say than a modern democratic state gives its citizens. People were free, to a great extent, to achieve a position and status in society by their own efforts. It was a society in which many different kinds of talents were recognized and welcomed.”

Like locusts, Igbos swarm to far and distant lands where the fields are fertile and the grasses green. In fact, there is no market in the world that does not witness the swarm of Igbo traders. They are a migrant as well as a market tribe found in every commercial corner of the cosmos. That was why they built the largest market in Africa, Onitsha Main Market. There is a popular saying that any place there is no Igbo is not fit for human habitation. Let me also add that the Igbo are found wherever there is a market. Midway along the very long road that links Abaji in Abuja and the small polytechnic town of Nasarawa lies a village called Gadabuke. The road is very popular with tanker and lorry drivers because it cuts short the long and difficult journey from the East to the North and back. In 2005, I was posted to Gadabuke as a Corper for my primary assignment. Gadabuke had no electricity, though I saw standing poles and connected cables. I thought there was nothing that

could attract an outsider, a non-indigene, to this small village until I entered their market on market day. I noticed the abundant supply of yams and plantains, just as my students had told me. I also noticed that most of the buyers came from outside the village, even from Abuja. Of course, I enjoyed their food not just because it was cheap, but also because it was fresh and natural. Above all, I enjoyed the friendship of my students and the hospitality of the people. Then I noticed something else-to my great surprise, I noticed that most of the shops in Gadabuke were owned by Igbo traders.

The locusts have landed. The locusts that swarmed from their base in the East have found a big and booming market in the North and settled there. For wherever a market exists on the face of the earth, there shall the Igbo swarm descend upon. They are attracted to markets as locusts are attracted to vegetation.

I am equally happy that my fellow Igbos are part and parcel of that growth and development.

The biggest dealers in provisions and building materials there were Igbos. One the teachers I met at the place of my primary assignment, a private school, was also Igbo. I am happy that these patriotic Nigerians are part and parcel of the development story of a place not considered their own, even though they have lived and worked there for a very long time and there married with kids. That is not enough to make them “indigenes.” That is unfair to them as citizens. But that is how to build a united and prosperous Nigeria, if we want it; a One Nigeria, for which two other great Igbo sons, Zik and Ojukwu, fought. I can confidently say, without apology or fear of contradiction, that the

Igbo people, the locust swarms from the East, have contributed more than any other tribe to the growth and development of Nigeria. For example, the motto of the NPC, led by Sir Ahmadu Bello, was ONE NORTH, ONE PEOPLE, ONE DESTINY. The motto of the ACTION GROUP, led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was LIFE MORE ABUNDANT. But the motto of the NCNC, led by Dr. Nnnamdi Azikiwe, was ONE NIGERIA. Of all our founding fathers, Zik was the most patriotic and the most nationalistic. Generally, Igbos are nationalists. That is another reason they are seen in every nook and cranny of this country. They have the biggest stake in Nigeria. They have paid the biggest and the ultimate price and paid it with both their lives and their livelihood. Which part of this country has not soaked an Igbo blood? Which part has not sunk an Igbo business? I salute the ability of the Igbo people to survive in the most hostile environment. I salute their courage and unquenchable spirit in the face of military and militant massacres. I mean Igbos have been plundered in Nigeria, yet they have not given up. They are still standing strong and succeeding. And they are not easily defeated as the colonial powers that wanted to enslave them realized.

Like locusts, Igbos advance in ranks or bands.

They advance in small independent units. That is why they are not easily defeated. General Gowon’s short “police action” against Biafra lasted for thirty bloody months. Igbos are not easily defeated because of their fighting spirit and their fighting units. swarm in bands.

allegations of impropriety against certain judges in the High Courts of the various states and the Federal Capital Territory and the Federal High Court of diverse divisions in the country.

Observers are of the opinion that if the hierarchy of the National Judicial Council are always ready to effectively bring heavy sanctions and other disciplinary measures to bare on the indicted judges, then other judges who may be tempted to compromise their high office and misbehave will be effectively deterred since they are aware of the serious consequences of their actions and inactions.

With the exception of the periods that Justices Muhammadu Lawal Uwais and Alfa Belgore served as the Chief Justices of Nigeria and the chairmen of the National Judicial Council (NJC) respectively whereby a good number of indicted judges dragged before the disciplinary forum[NJC] were severely sanctioned, the National Judicial council has come under increasing criticism as not actively enforcing its constitutionally guaranteed mandate to ensure that Judges adhere to professional ethics and exercise their powers enshrined in the section 6 of the constitution with the highest display of maturity, wisdom and patriotism.

Most observers therefore remember Justices Uwais and Belgore for bringing high sense of discipline in the administration of the nation’s courts when they each served as the Chief Justice of the Federation. In the past few years, all eyes have seriously being directed toward the hierarchy of the National Judicial Council hoping that the unprecedented indiscipline and unprofessional

conducts of some judges all across the country are checked.

When therefore, for the first time in the history of Nigeria, a woman by name Justice Maryam Alooma Muktar emerged as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, most Nigerians expressed optimism that she will carry out a clean sweep and restore credibility, respect and integrity to the institution of the judiciary and importantly that she will ensure that the National Judicial Council stops the businessas-usual tendency and rise up to the challenge of enforcing strict professional ethical codes of conduct among serving judicial officers.

The demand for the strict enforcement of discipline among judges is so that litigants and the members of the general public are not made by the gross indiscipline and apparent disposition of some judges to bribery and other monetary inducements, to lose faith in the impartiality of the court as the last hope of the common man.

The new Chief Justice of Nigeria, who is the first woman to become the leader of the court system in Nigeria since independence, is expected to carry out a moral revolution to once more convince Nigerians that those judges, who have constituted themselves into formidable cogs in the wheel of Justice, are effectively sanctioned and dismissed.

The current leadership of the National Judicial Council is facing a litmus test as a result of a troubling allegation of compromise made against the person of the Chief Judge of Enugu state Justice Innocent Umezulike by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)

Chief Specifically, Chief. Umeh has come under intense pressure by some of his estrange party members who have resorted to the adoption of series of antics, manipulations and other strategies to compel him to relinquish the office of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) which produced the Governors of Anambra (Peter Obi) and Imo States (Rochas Okorocha).

Chief Umeh has similarly been told by the governor of Enugu State Mr. Sullivan Iheanacho Chime of the People Democratic Party (PDP) to prepare for the demolition of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) since the ruling political party at the center (PDP) has set machinery in motion to defeat and uproot the All Progressives Grand Alliance from its traditional South East zone. Soon after the Governor of Enugu State made the declaration, Chief Umeh was dragged in his personal capacity before the chief Judge of Enugu state by whom he (Umeh) described as an expelled member of the party form Udi local government which happens to be the home local council of the governor of Enugu state who had earlier served media notice of the impending ‘demise’ of the All progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

What this statement implies is that because state judiciary is not financially independent, it is possible that some governors may resort to blackmail to compel their state courts to play by their own game. If this is the case, then democracy is imperiled.

Onwubiko writes from Lagos

Ikenna writes via 08063620983.

APGA: Between the court and democracy

BY EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO

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he Court of law is constitutionally clothed with the judicial powers of the state to adjudicate matters between parties with a view to interpreting the provisions of the law and by so doing to promote the respect for the principle of rule of law. In the exercise of these powers, the judges as ministers in the temple of justices are obliged to live above board and to dispense justice creditably, without allowing any sort of compromise or influence to make them reach a pre-determined end.

Since the inception of the ongoing democratic experiments in the country, the role of the judiciary has come under constant scrutiny even as several serving judges of the various court system in the country have been dismissed and/or sanctioned by the National Judicial Council (NJC) for offences bordering on bribery and frivolous granting of injunctions to applicants which have in the past operationally crippled the smooth conduct of elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Some of these ex parte injunctions which were awarded indiscriminately by some judges have also prevented political parties and other institutions of democracy from functioning optimally thereby making observers to question whether some of these judges who issue these nebulous injunctions are actually using their high offices to undermine democracy in Nigeria.

The National Judicial Council has also faced criticism in the past for not responding quickly to

Obama’s re-election chances

BY BEN NANAGHAN mericans will troop to the polls to choose their President on November 6, 2012. Since the Soviet Union crumbled in 1990, America has aptly played the role of a global policeman.This hegemonic role has never been challenged either by Russia which emerged the most powerful nation from the Soviet rubble or from China which is only taking its first steps as a global superpower. For now the world is seemingly at peace. Gone are the times when the John Kennedy/Nikita Khrushchev’s imbroglio of October 22, 1962 made nuclear war imminent while the whole world held its breath.But America is not just a unipolar power for its military and economic strengths alone, America’s unipolar status was not manipulated by figures or mysticism. America’s unpolar position is real.

This piece is about the American Presidential elections. It is about the best and greatest democracy in the world. It is about the beauty of democracy-American Democracy. The recent Russian election was a stagemanaged sham for Vladimir Putin to return to power after briefly stepping aside for Medvedev. All those who criticized the elections were clamped into jail, including members of the Pussy Riot band.

But one of the factors that make America a unipolar power is its democratic beauty. It was this democratic excellence that made Barack Obama President in 2008.

Where else in the world outside Africa can a black President emerge apart from America. The beauty and excellence of American democracy is worth savouring.

President Obama has proved that his victory in 2008 was not a fluke. In their 1st Presidential debate on

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October 3, 2012, President Obama found his match in Mitt Romney who clinched the debate with a last gasp round-up. While Obama tried to play the gentle President, Governor Mitt Romney fired on from all cylinders and surprised even himself knowing that President Obama is one of the world’s greatest orators in the mould of the late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Rev. Martin Luther King and President Bill Clinton. Obama was only a victim of his executive office which expects the American President to maintain an equanimous dignity even in the face of the most provocative affront. He was also unlucky to be asked by Bob Schieffer, the moderator to round off first. And he did so like a gentle American President with his now well known professorial didacticism. President Obama disappointed most of his die-hard fans who thought he would hit Gov. Romney, hard on his secret comments about America’s lazy 47% population who depend mainly on government largesse and handouts. President Obama also failed to take advantage of Governor Romney’s flip-flops, Romney’s reluctance to exhibit transparency regarding his tax details and his lack of a detailed plan of action in the oval office if he wins.

The only Vice Presidential debate was a great facesaver for the Democratic Party as Vice President Joe Biden creditably acquitted himself against the GOP Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan even though the pollsters adjudged it a draw. In the 2nd presidential debate of Tuesday October 16, 2012 moderated by Candy Crowley, President Barack Obama expectedly came out smoking. And the result was a thorough thrashing of the GOP candidate. The Gallup polls came out with varying figures of 53/39 53/43, all in Obama’s favour.

The 3rd Presidential debate which was held on Friday 26th Oct, 2012 was originally meant for Foreign policy alone but went beyond its scope as Romney who was not very comfortable with foreign policy dragged the debate “all over the map” to cover the economy, job creation etc.

President Barack Obama was at his best element at this 3rd debate as he pointedly told Mitt Romney that he Romney has never been in charge of foreign policy and all his (Romney’s) opinions and articulations on foreign policy have been wrong. In his professorial and didactic style President Obama took Mitt Romney through the basics of foreign policy. Gov. Mitt Romney had very little ideas of his own as he agreed with President Barack Obama in virtually all areas of dispute.

In Syria Gov. Romney agreed with Obama but he veered slightly by saying he will give friendly rebels heavy weaponry as against Obama’s light weaponry. But Romney did not consider the implications of these heavy weapons falling into wrong hands. On Iran, Romney also agreed completely with Obama but that he would put “tougher sanctions” in place. However political observers know that “tougher sections” is a relative political phraseology. On Israel both candidates agreed that Israel was their greatest ally in the middle east.

However I have good reasons to believe that God is on Obama’s side. How come that after a terrible run of unemployment figures the first unemployment figures released on Oct. 5, 2012 immediately after the 1st debate on October 3, 2012 had an improved and positive record.

This was a big boost for President Barack Obama. It showed that the American economy was showing signs of recovery as employment figures improved beyond Americans’ expectations. In Colorado another battle-

ground state with 9 electoral college votes the race is a dead heat as both candidate have 48% apiece. In Wisconsin with 10 electoral votes Obama is leading 51/45. In Ohio with 18 electoral college votes the new polls gives it to Obama at, 50/46% Ohio will always go Obama’s way because the auto industry is the mainstay of her economy and this they believe is as a result of Obama’s stimulus package. Michigan which is another Auto industry state may go Obama’s way too.

The electoral collage voting system and the popular votes system work side by side in American Presidential elections.A presidential candidate needs to win at least 270 electoral votes to become president if he also has a majority of popular votes. In 2008 Barack Obama became President after securing 365 electoral votes and a majority of popular votes.

My heart goes for President Barack Obama. But the Democrats must watch their back as the Republicans always come up with last minute tricks. In 2004 George W. Bush did it in Florida. In 2008, the Republican stealthily introduced the vote switching machine which but for early detection would have robbed Obama of the Presidency. And now authoritative sources confirm that all the 33 states under the control of the GOP have enacted new strong laws to ban early voting and to double check all voters identification and citizenship. The Democrats believe this new state law is to intimidate, frustrate and suppress Black, Latino and Hispanic voters from voting at the Nov. 6, 2012 election. But the Republican Party insists that it is doing, this to reduce voters fraud as displayed by “voters’fraud is felony” banners in most voting centres in the GOP states.

Nanaghan writes via bennanaghan@yahoo.com

DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012

Memories

Philip Nwosu 08176449110

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R YOU S U SEND HOTOS P OLD wosu@yahoo.co.uk phillipn e-mail:

Today in History

Sandinistas claim election victory On this day in November 1984, Nicaragua’s ruling Sandinista Front (FSLN) claimed a decisive victory in the country’s first elections since the revolution five years ago.

Within hours of the counting, the leader of the country’s left-wing junta, Daniel Ortega, said he had gained nearly 70% of the vote in the presidential election.

Mr Ortega said his party won a similar share of the vote in the parliamentary election.

Mr Ortega said: “We can already say that the FSLN is the clear winner of these elections by an ample majority.”

The Sandinistas’ nearest rivals have so far polled just 11% of the vote but Nicaragua’s leading right-wing parties boycotted the ballots.

Turnout was high with an estimated 83% of the country’s 1.5 millionstrong electorate casting a vote.

The Sandinistas have been at pains to convince the outside world, especially the US, that the elections were free and fair.

Approximately 400 independent foreign observers, including a number of Americans, were in Nicaragua to monitor proceedings.

1984

•Colonel Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu (2nd right) as military governor of the Eastern Region arrives Lagos with some of his aides in 1966.

Ige: Omisore loses bail bid 2003

Former Deputy Governor of Osun State Senator Iyiola Omisore on this day in November 2003 lost another bid to regain his freedom as the Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan ruled that the revocation of his bail by the lower court was in order.

Reading the lead judgment on behalf of his colleague Justice Victor Omoge contended that since the case was reassigned at the lower court for fresh trial, the judge at the lower court, Mr. Justice Mashood Abass was right is quashing the bail.

The Judge agreed with the judgment of the respondent in the appeal, Chief Debo Akande (SAN) that the “effect of starting afresh before another judge is to sweep clean the previous proceedings.”

Akande is the chief prosecutor in the conspiracy and murder charges filed against Omisore over the death of former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige. Ige was assassinated on December 23,2001 at his Bodija residence in Ibadan Oyo State.

George Foreman becomes oldest heavyweight champ On this day in November

1994 1994, George Foreman, age 45, became boxing’s oldest heavyweight champion when he defeated 26year-old Michael Moorer in the 10th round of their WBA fight in Las Vegas.

More than 12,000 spectators at the MGM Grand Hotel watched Foreman dethrone Moorer, who went into the fight with a 350 record. Foreman dedicated his upset win to “all my buddies in the nursing home and all the guys in jail.”

Born in 1949 in Marshal, Texas, Foreman had a troubled childhood and dropped out of high school. Eventually, he joined President Lyndon Johnson’s Jobs Corps work programme and discovered a talent for boxing. “Big George,” as he was nicknamed, took home a gold medal for the U.S. at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. In 1973 in Kingston, Jamaica, after winning his first 37 professional matches, 34 by knocked out, Foreman KO’d “Smokin’” Joe Frazier after two rounds and was crowned heavyweight champ. At 1974’s “Rumble in the Jungle” in Kinshasha, Zaire, the younger, stronger Foreman suffered a surprising loss to underdog Muhammad Ali and was forced to relinquish his championship title. Three years later, Big George morphed from pugilist into preacher, when he had a religious experience in his dressing room after losing a fight. He retired from boxing, became an ordained minister in Houston and founded a youth center.

A decade later, the millions he’d made as a boxer gone, Foreman returned to the ring at age 38 and staged a successful comeback. When he won his second heavyweight title in his 1994 fight against Moorer, becoming the WBA and IBF champ, Foreman was wearing the same red trunks he’d had on the night he lost to Ali.

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Monday, November 5, 2012

Afenifere chieftain says opposition to SNC is illogical

By TONY IWUOMA

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hief Supo Shonibare is the Lagos State Chairman of Afenifere, the pan Yoruba socio-political group. The legal luminary and astute politician believes in Nigeria’s ability to survive as a nation but only if the right things are done, chief of which is the convening of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC). He also bared his mind on some other burning issues in the polity.

Nigeria’s survival I have belief in Nigeria as a country. The hope of survival depends on us. There is hope for any system to survive if it has the tendency to allow majority of the people to feel that the system can achieve mobility either for themselves or their children. Once a system has that tendency, it will correct itself. It either collapses completely or corrects itself. People react to bad leadership, maybe not immediately but they certainly will. However, it is better for the ruling elite to correct the system before the people react.

All that has been going on in government over the years has been stealing; government has not rendered selfless service. It is taking us to a dangerous trajectory but I believe Nigeria will survive but not in its present state though.

Sovereign National Conference The present structure cannot

sustain the nation much longer and that is why we are calling for s Sovereign National Conference, not piecemeal changes in the constitution.

Neither the president nor the legislature or the judiciary can write constitution for us. They are all arms of the government.

Only the Nigerian people can decide how they want to live in a Sovereign National Conference. This has been done in Liberia, Sierra Leone; even Iraq and is being done in Egypt. I don’t see why it can’t be done here. Those afraid of Sovereign National Conference have no confidence in Nigeria.

Shying away from the Sovereign National Conference on this premise is illogical thought process. If the people don’t want to live together, you can’t keep them together. Those opposed to the call don’t believe in Nigeria but it is the only way out. We know the advantage of living together as a nation but that has to be advantage premised on a fair system that enables us to optimise our resources for the benefit of majority of Nigerians.

Cracks in Afenifere It is a misconception to say there is division in the Awo political family. Even when alive, some Yorubas were not in his group. There has never been a time that Yorubas spoke with one voice. The only time we can say they spoke with one voice was immediately before the civil war when Chief

•Shonibare Awolowo came out from prison and became the rallying point of the Yoruba. There was no other person then to match his sacrifice and clout. He was always in the vanguard of democracy. There have been successors in Afenifere. After Awolowo, there was pa Michael Ajasin, follwed by Pa Abraham Adesanyaand now Pa Fasoranti. At peacetime, there are always discordant tunes.

But the progressive voice among the Yoruba that stands for democratic socialism has remained Afenifere. Other groups emerge from time to time but fizzle out. Afenifere has remained Afenifere without embellishment but they always add something to their own.

Awoism is a very clear political process of evolving a fairer society, not grandstanding. It is a concept premeditated on the need to evolve a better society as essence of governance and only way to ensure stable, prosperous polity. There is no division in Afenifere.

DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012

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Monday, November 5, 2012

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lhaji Ahmed Giade, Chief Executive, National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has admitted: “Actually, we know who are the barons but you have to follow the law before the person will be arrested.” He equally raised the alarm that methamphetamine, a new stimulant, is capable of wiping out a whole community. He spoke with CHRISTOPHER OJI recently. Excerpts: The new drug called methamphetamine The first place we discovered it was in monkey village, near Kirikiri, Lagos. They were operating in a densely populated area. They dug a hole where they dumped the toxics waste and inside the room was also where they were manufacturing the drug. When we found the place, we took the sample to our collaborators in the USA for analysis. What they told me after their analysis was very disturbing, in the sense that those manufacturing it will have cancer in the shortest future.

The same thing with those who live within the area because, the toxics will be spilling to the borehole or pipe borne water within the vicinity and anyone who uses the water, either drinking or using it to bathe or wash clothes will equally be affected. The same thing with the users. Even when the manufacturers relocate, any family who parks into the house will be affected.

This is not good news for our country. The devastating effect of this drug is enormous. We have many Nigerians who are involved in the activity of this drug. It happened in Mexico where the whole people involved in the products died in the room. The gabs are too much.

So methamphetamine is more dangerous than any other drug because of the health hazard.

High demand The drug is in a very high demand today, even though we are not consuming it in this country. It is the western countries that are consuming it and of cause, some parts of USA and some African countries. Unfortunately, in Nigeria, we have people who are involved in the trafficking. It started in the 60s by some musicians who were involved in the trafficking of cannabis. They stuffed it in their drums and trafficked it to other parts of the world where they sold it.

When cocaine and heroine started flooding the market, they shifted to cocaine and heroine as they were easier to traffic. The trafficker can ingest it, but he or she cannot ingest cannabis.

The money the traffickers are making in

DAILY SUN

We know drug barons, but...

– Giade, NDLEA boss •Warns: ‘Methamphetamine can wipe out a whole community’ cocaine and heroine are very huge compared to the insignificant amount realised in cannabis. We arrested one man who ingested two and a half kilogrammes of cocaine and that is big money.

These traditional traffickers of cannabis later grew up and became barons. They are recruiting people to the extent that, they are operating all over the world. They have succeeded in planting people all over the world especially in Latin America where all these drugs are being planted including India and Pakistan.

Drug barons The traffickers are more than the barons.

But again, the barons have become more professional in their dealings, to the extent that you can hardly reach them. You cannot just pick him up because you suspect he is a baron.

You must connect him to something drug. You need concrete evidence to link him to the drug or you end up being a fool before the court.

In most cases, there are five to 10 people between the baron and the traffickers. If you arrest a trafficker, the best he can tell you is that he met the person who gave the drug to him or her at an entry, and his name is so, so and so person. At the end of it, you may get only two people relating to the drug, and this suspect will eventually not link you to the real baron.

The way they operate this racket, it will be extremely difficult to get the barons, because, they provide the money for the drug to be bought, and they live outside Nigeria.

Immediately, the drug arrives, you won’t see their traces again, the deal will be handed over to another person who does not know the real baron but only knows the person that gave him. The barons give to the operational man,

who will call another person to pick the drug from another person, who will introduce himself as a chief without fix a address.

Making arrest without adequate equipment We have four international functional airports in the country. We have equipment in all of them. They were donated by the United States. Lagos being the busiest international airport, we have sniffer dogs. We are planning to get more of these sniffer dogs and put them in other international airports. The seizure recorded, honestly speaking, have to do with how serious the operatives in the airports are to their responsibilities. They were trained by our collaborators.

About six months ago, the American government gave us another modern equipment.

They are presently working at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. We will still get more. The government will soon grant our request, and we will have more of these equipment. More international airports are now springing up. We have one in Ilorin and another in Akwa Ibom State.

Wealthy people without known means of livelihood The law is on our side in that regard. In 1994, this money Laundering Decree was promulgated and that time, it was only the NDLEA that was operating that law and no other agency. Later on, because of the 911 USA attack, most of the powers were given to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), we only retain the powers that are only related to drugs. If you investigate and you cannot connect the person you are investigating to drug business, which is very difficult, I will transfer the person to EFCC, which has wider scope to cover than us.

The repercussion of drug is general and devastating. We need all the cooperation of the general public. These traffickers are human beings that live among us. We need information from the members of the public who live with them. Honestly speaking, we have been getting information from the public but very insignificant.

Giade Bill seeking stiffer penalty for drug offenders The bill is still pending. But let me be frank with you, the law as it is today, if strictly enforced, can still serve the purpose. Why am I saying so? The minimum sentence for drug trafficker is 15-years imprisonment and the maximum is life imprisonment. There is no provision for option of fine, yet you see the people convicted on the streets. Honestly, it is not the law but the implementation of it.

Staff strength of NDLEA Our intention is that we will be recruiting, we are targeting 30,000 staff in 2015. We are trying to get approval from the government to recruit 5,000 annually.

There is nobody that you dispossess of the means to make big money that will see you as a friend. For example, we seized 14.2 tones of drugs, the owners are still outside the country.

They have not returned. They are loosing millions each day. I don’t think they will consider me or my operatives as potential friends.

Challenges My challenge is that the more we fight drug trafficking the more people are willing to be recruited. I am afraid that Nigerians are still giving themselves to these barons.

Recharge cards duplication dupes GSM subscribers From OLAOLUWA BILAU, Ibadan

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ip off or error? This question is begging for an answer as telecoms subscribers accuse some operators of duplication of recharge card numbers.

The trend has been observed in the South Western part of the country, especially Ibadan where some GSM users are crying foul over their ordeals as the recharge cards they try to load are declared invalidated by the call centre who claim the cards had been used.

One of such dramatic cases made known to Daily Sun involved a subscriber, Mr. Adekunle Salman, who narrated how he tried to top up his phone with a 200 Naira recharge card offered by one of the operators, but received the call centre message that the card had been used. According to him, “when I tried to load the card, I received a message that the card had been used before and that I should call customer care. I was dismayed and wondered how a card I scratched myself could have been used. I then called customer care, but they refused to pick the call.”

When he finally got through to customer care, they insisted the card had been used and in protest, Salman said he stormed the telecom company’s office where according to him, ‘he demanded to see a senior official of the company’. Through the computerised monitoring system of records of subscribers’ activity, it was discovered that another subscriber, One Mr. Aliu had also purchased another 200 Naira card with same pin and serial numbers and had loaded the card minutes before Salman tried to load his own card.

The two recharge cards which were reportedly purchased from different recharge card vendors were made available to Daily Sun. Both are of the same Naira value and had same pin and serial numbers.

Reacting to the development, the telecom company (a late entrant into the telecom sector in Nigeria) through one of its officials who did not give her name, said “obviously it's a case of ‘double print’ and it was the first time such an incident was made known to us.

What we need to do is to send caution out to the company printing our cards to prevent such from happening again.” Daily Sun was however unable to get other major operators to confirm whether such incidents have also been reported to them.

When contacted to speak on the matter, a top official of the Ibadan Zonal Office of the Nigerian Communications Commission

(NCC), the nation’s telecom industry regulator, refused to entertain any question from Daily Sun with the claim that the staffs are forbidden from speaking to the press.

Also, the spokesman of the Consumer Protection Council was said to be out of the country as at press time.

Daily Sun investigations in Ibadan however, revealed that many cases of duplication of printed recharge cards may have gone unreported. According to a card retailer, Mrs. Foluke Afolabi, “customers have bought cards from me and tried loading it in my presence only to be told it had been used, sometimes I tried to load a card myself and the same happens.

The card retailer, who claimed to have lost money to such invalidated cards, expressed her frustration at the attitude of the customer care staff whom she accused of irresponsibly

ignoring calls made to their hotlines by customers who wanted one problem or the other solved.

Corroborating Mrs. Afolabi’s claim of lack of prompt response to subscribers' calls to the designated customer care lines, Salman said it was the assistance of one of the company's salesmen who helped to call the personal cell phone of the customer care staff on his own (salesman) personal line that made it possible for him to make enquires on the duplicated recharge card he had bought. “But for his intervention, the customer care refused to pick my calls", he said.

Fearing the damage such an incident could do to its image, a replacement of Salman’s 200 Naira recharge card was however later made to him by the operator in question but only after the intervention of Daily Sun.

DAILY SUN Monday, NOVEMBER 5, 2012

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BUSINESS EXTRA Non-payment of tally clerks: MWUN threatens showdown with NPA

By PETER ANOSIKE

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he Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has threatened to withdraw its services from the Nigerian Ports Authority over non-payment of tally clerks.

Speaking at its National Executive Meeting (NEC), in Lagos, the President General of the union, Anthony Emmanuel Nted said that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) had refused to pay the salary of the tally clerks since 2010.

According to him, the union had made every effort for the salary to be paid but to no avail.

Nted said when the new managing director of NPA came into office, he approved the payment but he noted that till date nothing has happened.

“The story is the same at NIMASA where the dockworkers and the sea farers are yet to be paid their entitlements.

We believe that the director general had approved a training programme for the workers based on the budget. Yet as I am talking to you now the paper for the training has not been released and we are asking who is standing on it? We want to know who is not doing his job.

We have told them that if nothing is done within the shortest possible time we shall be compelled to withdrew the services of our members from the ports

and also call for the removal of those who are affecting the progress of the maritime industry.”

The president general also said that they have commissioned their secretariat in Abuja.

“The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria has always nursed the desire to have a modest secretariat in Abuja. At the inception of the union through the fusion in 1996 through the fusion of four transport /logistic unions namely Dockworkers Union of Nigeria, NPA Workers Union, Union of Shipping Clearing Forwarding and Courier Workers of Nigeria and the Nigerian Seamen/NIWA and Water Transport Workers Union, the then leadership partly acquired a kiosk sized boys quarters in Abuja which it then proudly named a liaison office” he said.

He also said that the union would begin the construction of an estate in Okokomaiko area of Lagos.

According to him, the leadership of the union is now desirous to transform the estate into viable functional housing estate of choice.

He said they would not be able to translate the dream into reality alone, adding that they are looking up for generous donations to enable them build the estate

•Capt. Edward Boyo, Chief Executive Officer, Overland Airways flanked by Mr Filippo Bagnato, CEO of ATR (right) and Mr Guido Di Paolo, Vice President of Sales, Africa of ATR (left) at the completion meeting for the purchase of the ATR 72 aircraft which was delivered to Overland Airways recently.

Aviation: Nigeria loses N200bn annually to capital flight Stories by UCHE USIM

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igeria is losing about N200 billion annually to capital flight and lopsided Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) deals, aviation analysts have said.

The money, according to them, is from the ticket sales of foreign airlines that is repatriated overseas.

Topping the list is British Airways that makes an average of N32 billion annually from ticket sales.

Another loss according to tainers of books and educa- them is the BASA that is often tional materials for countries in skewed against local carriers, Africa, and had signed a making it hard for them to Memorandum of Understanding, to spell out the terms of the agreements.

Former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani, commended SEOF for the donations, saying that it was worthy edview Airlines, one of emulation, while also being of the designated aira wakeup call to other wealthy lines for the 2012 Hajj individuals and organisations airlift has commenced the to also give back in order to return leg of the exercise. build a more developed socieThe airline over the weekend ty. airlifted about 2012 pilgrims Also speaking, the Acting who earlier travelled to Mecca, Vice Chancellor, Madonna Saudi Arabia to perform their University, Okija, Anambra Islamic rites.

State, Prof. O.M. Iheduru, said The pilgrims, who disemthe donations are “a welcome barked at the hajj and cargo terdevelopment in the uplifting minal of the Murtala International and rebuilding of the educa- Mohammed tional sector in our country, Airport (MMIA) thanked the especially as the art of writing airline for what they termed a and the once vibrant reading well-packaged trip.

500 pilgrims from Oyo State culture have reduced drasticalwere flown in aboard the airly.”

Noting that government line’s B747-400, while another alone cannot do it all, Iheduru 505 pilgrims from Ogun State urged other well-meaning returned on Saturday.

505 pilgrims from Osun State Nigerians to emulate the SDEOF gesture in order to were further airlifted into the bring back the educational sys- country on Sunday with additional 337 from Edo State, tem to its previous standards.

The Coordinator, SEOF, while another 164 people from Hon. Anthony Obi, noted that Ogun State were still being SEOF, is a non-profit and non- expected in the country as at the governmental organisation time of filing in this report carries out its activities under Sunday evening.

Among the returnee pilgrims various schemes including, educational and health servic- was the Speaker of Oyo State es, youth empowerment, wid- House of Assembly, Hon. ows’ cooperative and infra- Monsura Sunmonu who described the exercise as interstructural development.

SEOF donates $10m worth of books, computers to Nigerian schools

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ollowing the need to upscale the standard of education in the country, Sir Emeka Offor Foundation, (SEOF), and its partner, Books for Africa, (BFA), recently donated study materials including, textbooks, computers among others valued at about $10million to educational institutions in Nigeria.

This donation was made during the second phase of the foundations annual books and other educational materials distribution.

Recipients of the study materials, include primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, states and community libraries in all the six-geopolitical zones in the country. The items were shipped into the country in 16, 40 feet containers, which is twice the amount donated in June 2011, valued at approximately $5million.

Offor, who is also the Chairman of the Chrome Group, said, the donation was one of the ways, his organisation was giving back to the people, adding that the gesturewill continue, and even beyond the shores of Nigeria to other West African countries, like in the Gambia, where it also delivered about one million books.

In June this year, SEOF and BFA, a United States-based NGO, had committed to distributing some 32, 40 feet con-

reciprocate.

To correct the anomaly, the Managing Director of Arik Air, Chris Ndulue has urged the Federal Government to ensure there is enough protection for the country’s carriers in the Bilateral Air Services Agreement deals it signs with various countries.

In an exclusive chat with the Daily Sun recetly, Ndulue said many of the BASAs are completely lopsided such that it gives undue advantage to foreign carriers.

He cited the airline’s challenge of paying British Midland, a private company millions of dollars on slots just

to enable it fly from Abuja to London.

“We pulled out of the AbujaLondon Heathrow service just because we were tired of paying a British carrier to sustain the service. But the irony is that a British carrier is flying from London-Abuja and they’re not paying us a dime. The government then promised to resolve it but up till now, it has not been resolved. We understand there ought to be a meeting last week in London on the BASA issue but till now, it has not held. We suddenly learnt it has been postponed but I told them it’s a ploy to ensure we’ll be called when

Hajj: Medview Airlines begins return journey

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esting and enriching in a brief chat with airport correspondents.

Sunmonu enjoined all the returnee pilgrims to seize the opportunity offered by the exercise to move closer to God and restrain themselves from vices that would put the name of the country into disrepute.

On the deportation of female

pilgrims by the Saudi Arabian authorities, Sunmonu said that it was the policy of the government for women to be accompanied on the exercise and urged the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to ensure that things are done rightly in the future to prevent recurrence.

we are not prepared. They want to go there without the airline, so whose interest are we representing? We’re losing in this BASA deal. Government should look into that,.” he said.

On the airline’s journey so far, Ndulue said the company has spent over $2 million dollars on pilots’ cadet training, stressing that manpower development remains one of its focal point.

He also revealed that the company has, since inception on October 30, 2006, created over 2500 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs for Nigerians.

Ndulue said the company, from inception, has carried over 10.2 million, adding that it now controls over 65 percent of the total domestic market share.

“We have made it possible to connect from many key cities in the country direct to Lagos and Abuja. This network has stimulated the Nigerian economy as Nigerians can now travel safely and comfortably on brand new aircraft. We are not just building an airline or the aviation sectorwe are contributing to the growth of the Nation.

Overland takes delivery of ATR 72 aircraft

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n line with its expansion programme, Overland Airways has taken delivery of the first of its six ATR 72 aircraft.

The aircraft with registration number 5N-BPE arrived Nigeria on October 27, 2012 from the manufacturer’s facility in Toulouse, France.

The Overland ATR 72 aircraft, with a significantly reduced noise level, is configured to carry 70 passengers in its Business Flyer seats and offers easy aisle access to every seat.

The Chief Executive Officer of Overland Airways Limited, Capt. Edward Boyo said: “The addition

of the ATR 72 to our fleet enables Overland Airways to provide a high level of onboard comfort to our customers. It increases our seat capacity while ensuring that we can extend our services to new locations in Nigeria. We are proud to be the first airline in Nigeria to operate this modern aircraft type. The delivery of the ATR 72 marks another milestone for Overland Airways as we celebrate our 10 years of offering excellent air services in Nigeria. It shows our commitment to continuously upgrade our fleet in line with the expectations of our discerning customers and satisfy our growing market. This new addition to our ATR fam-

ily of aircraft will further our leadership and presence in the Nigerian airline industry” said Capt. Boyo.

Boyo further stated Overland Airways plans to provide air transport services to every state in Nigeria through continuous development and delivery of aviation products and services to meet the needs of air travellers in the country.

He described the company as a responsive airline committed to the revival and sustenance of hitherto perceived unviable routes in the country thereby supporting the growth of the air transport industry in Nigeria and enhancing business and cultural ties in the communities it serves.

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DAILY SUN Monday, NOVEMBER 5, 2012

AT THE LAGOS TRADE FAIR

First Bank showcases products fair said the number of visitors to its stand was quite impressive.

It also hoped to a sharp increase in the number of visitors as the fair winds up, a development it said is typical of the Nigeria style.

The products showcased at the fair include: multifunctional ATMs, FirstOnline, First Education savings scheme, POS (Point of Sales), FarmersFirst, Young Savers Account, FirstPay and FirstCollect.

“These services will enable customers to deposit, withdraw, pay bill, pay in cheques for clearing, purchase bank cheques/draft, pay in First Bank cheques and get immediate value and conduct third-party transactions, among other services,” statement stressed.

It explained further that the •Exhibitors at the Lagos Trade Fair yesterday. bank would also showcase its domestic Western Union Money Transfer Service and the International Money Transfer.

“This is addition to the opportunity for the banking Stories by CHARLES ing of structure at the venue, ous years where there were huge presence of most hawk- enough space and where space public to collect and deposit NWAOGUJI ers, and epileptic’s power sup- allocation were unusually sales proceeds,” it explained. done few weeks before the fair here was mad rush for ply.

As at time of this report, kicked off, “this time around, space at the 26th edition of the yearly Lagos companies were seen strug- the organizers commenced International Trade Fair gling to erect pavilions in the space allocation late thus the which started over the trade fair venue. Most rush by individual participants nity Bank Plc is offer- draw or deposit funds at the weekend. The rush by exhibitors need not started to get their stands ready before ing customers and fair as the stand is hooked exhibitors had been pro- advertising their products and the take-off of the fairs.”

He also lamented the late the general public the with the bank’s communica- pelled following the change services with the usual banof venue from Lagos ners placed at the entrance of allocation of stands to full range of its services at tion network This is a great offering to International trade fair com- the trade fair complex. exhibitors and the high cost of the 2012 Lagos exhibitors and visitors at the Most banks and other finanmaterials for building an exhiplex located along the International Trade Fair, cial institutions failed to occu- bition stand. which opened at the fair as the bank has deployed Badagry Expressway to py choice places to ensure The consultant who would Tafawa Balewa Square in ATM to facilitate quick Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) high visibility and patronage. not want to be named for fear Lagos. access to cash withdrawals Lagos at the weekend.

A consultant hired at the for of living victimized by the fair This year’s fair is characterThe bank said in a state- during the fair. ized by lack of enough of an exhibitor erect a stands for organizers stressed the need Prospective customers are ment that its stand at the fair space for exhibitors, late erect- the fair, who spoke to Daily for further security arrangeSun, said that unlike the previ- ments at the fair ground to was fully staffed and not left out as the bank has equipped to attend to cus- deployed customer service tomers’ needs and enquiries. staff to give them informa- ...Jonathan lauds organisers The complement of prod- tion to help them open varimy” Jonathan notedhe added. participating countries,” he said resident Goodluck ucts and services available at ous accounts and how to He said that it was heartenjoy the bank’s financial Jonathan has described warming to note that the Lagos , stressing more importantly the Unity Bank trade fair that the gesture was an expresinternational trade fairs a stand include consumer services.

Account opened at the fair veritable channel of integrat- International Trade Fair had sion of the confidence of these products such as current continued to enjoy the regular accounts, savings account, will subsequently be domi- ing Nigeria’s economy into patronage of friendly nations foreign investors in the ciled in branches most conNigerian economy. the mainstream of global from time to time. fixed deposit account, target saving account, local curren- venient to the new customer trade and international busiHe, therefore hoped that the “The presence here of a large Unity Bank is one of ness network. cy and dollar denominated cordial and mutually beneficial number of foreign exhibitors is In his speech delivered by the cards as well as agricultural Nigeria’s largest retail banks economic relationship already with about 260 branches Minister of Trade and a reflection of the appreciation finance accounts. existing between Nigeria and Existing customers can spread across the six geopo- Investment, Dr Olusegun of the contributions of this fair participating countries will conlitical zones of the country. to the Nigerian economy as Aganga during the opening ceraccess their accounts to withtinue to flourish. emony of the 26th Lagos well as the economies of the International Trade Fair in Lagos last Friday, Jonathan stressed his administration’s he National Horticultural Research Institute (NHRI) recognition of the imperative of Danvita, Alkama (wheat meal), under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and global trade and international s part of strategy to confectionary flour, noodles, expand its market sugar, salt, tomato paste, variRural Development has introduced a new edible business networking in boostshare and reach more ous ranges of fruit juice prodproduct known as Soyamusa. ing the growth of the Nigerian customers, companies under ucts and bottled water from The product, which was unveiled at the ongoing Lagos economy. the Dangote Group stormed International Trade Fair is a highly nutricious foof for chil“It is in the light of his realism the Lagos International Trade Dansa Foods. Dangote Sugar dren of all ages. that I see as appropriate and Fair, with various products also offered customers its 500 According to the Assistant Director of the Institute, Dr. opportune the choice of the which they sold at reduced gram granulated sugar at the fair.

(Mrs) Olutola Oyedele, Soyamusa, is highly fortified with theme of the 2012 Lagos prices.

According to Mr. Anthony iron and protein, describing it as good product parents International Trade Fair, Some of the subsidiary firms Chiejina, Head, Corporate should give their children and wards.

“Promoting Trade for that graced the fair include, Communications of Dangote “Soyamusa is a major requirement for growth especially Sustainable Economic Dangote Sugar Refinery, Group, visitors to the group in the young children. Although, the meal is for all ages, Transformation,” Aganga said. Dangote Flour Mill, Dangote pavilion at both fairs had the but its rich iron and protein content is best for children as “It is through trade and Agrosacks, National Salt opportunity of buying products of Nigeria at reduced prices. they are the ones that need these minerals for their growth. investment that the benefit of Company Dangote Pasta, A unique offering from the This however does not mean that older people do not need globalization could be optimal- (NASCON), Dangote Cement, Dangote a high concentration of vitamins,” she said. ly realized and in the best inter- Noodles and Dansa Foods Group in this year’s Lagos Trade Fair is the Dangote Oyedele also said the meal, made from a combination of est of the larger economy.

Limited and they were seen Combo pack. The pack conplantain and defatted soya bean grits, is rich in Vitamin A. The external economies gen- courting customers w ith what products from the stable of She further hinted that test marketing is on for Soyamusa erated from a fair of this stan- they called pocket friendly tains different companies within the throughout Nigeria, adding that the product will flood the dard are enormous and of prices.

Group and is offered to particiSome of the products dis- pants at the fair at a much market before the year runs out. immense benefit to the econoplayed at the fair included

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irst Bank of Nigeria Plc has rolled out various products and services in the ongoing Lagos international trade fair taking place at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.

The bank in a statement at the weekend said this year’s programme has as its theme: “Promoting Trade for Sustainable Economic Transformation”.

It added that the bank is leveraging on its mobile banking facility to deliver superior banking services, adding that visitors to its stand will see an array of ITdriven services.

The statement further said that the mobile banking would enable phone users to send and receive money, pay bills, buy airtime and do other commercial activities with their mobile phones, without owning a bank account.

The bank said the user’s mobile phone serves as the account number which is secured.

The bank, while appraising its participation at the trade

Unity Bank woos customers

Exhibitors scramble for space at Lagos Trade Fair

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P

NHRI displays new product

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ensure that persons and property within the fair complex and its vicinity are protected.

He expressed the hope that participants’ expectations would not be dashed at the end of the fair after investing so much money to be a part of the yearly fiesta.

Responding the Public Relations Manager of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) the fair organizer, Mr. Tope Oluwaleye said that the chamber was fully prepared to ensure a very successful event.

Oluwaleye explained that the LCCI decided to shift the venue of the fair, from the Lagos Trade Fair complex this year because of the ongoing construction work on the Lagos Badagry Expressway.

He said that the expansion of the road had posed a huge challenges to commuters and a constrain to participants at the fair last year.

He noted that this year’s venue offers three-in-one interconnected fair grounds through the main bowl of the TBS, the adjourning cricket pitch and the club Arcade Care Park, combined; these three locations have a total exhibition space of over 40,000 square metres, more than the required 35,000 to host the Lagos international trade fair.

Dangote offers consumer-friendly products

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reduced price,” Chiejina said.

The economy pack which will contain household products like Dangote Noodles, spaghetti, macaroni, sugar packets, and Dansa Fruit juice products range would be combined in a pack at a giveaway price,” he added.

The combo pack, it stated further will offer participants at the fair an opportunity to purchase all consumable product range in Dangote Group in a single buy.

There will also be free samples of products for other visitors. Dangote Noodles will be offering free samples of several varieties of its noodles to visitors to the kitchen/restaurant which will be attached to the Dangote Stand to wet their appetite.

Monday, November 5, 2012

DAILY SUN

43

Nigerian Football: More Food-for-thought

By CHIDINELU OKERAFOR

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erves have calmed, as some people are already proclaiming “Uhuru”, after the Super Eagles of Nigeria walloped the Liberians six-one in Calabar on October 13. The good news is that Nigeria, unlike last time around, will be competing for honours in South Africa, when the Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, kicks off in January.

What does the eight-three aggregate victory over the Liberians actually tell us about how Keshi’s squad are likely to perform at S.A.2013? Not a great deal, I daresay. In the first place, the Eagles won’t be featuring in the tournament as one of the seeded teams, and that, we all know, is almost unprecedented, especially since the late 1970’s. the Nigeria Football Federation, N.F.F., have been wary almost from the onset, because they gave Coach Keshi a last-four target to meet, or else—.

But, will Keshi reach the semis of AFCON-2012 with this squad? We have less than four months to determine that.

In the meantime, however, I’m reminded how Nigerians have regularly pointed to the sterling performances of our national teams in age-group competitions, be they CAF or FIFA-organized. I remember the biggest of those achievements coming sixteen years ago at the Atlanta Olympics, when the nation’s under-twenty-three side, called the “Dream Team”, won Africa’s first ever soccer gold.

Before then, our under-seventeen, Golden Eaglets, had won the “World Cup”, first in 1985 and then 1993. Eleven years after Atlanta, yet another squad of Eagletswon the trophy a third time for Nigeria.

True, also, that twice already, Nigeria have featured in two finales of the FIFA Under-twenty World Cup—in 1989 and

2005; and talking about women football, agegroup sides from Nigeria, like their senior counterparts, have participated in every World Cup finals since FIFA introduced age-group competitions for women.

Several times before now, I’ve hammered on this truism: namely that we’ve never really had a workable football culture, if at all.

Not only is that undeniably so, but, before ascribing to Nigeria the position of a soccer giant, lets accept the truth for what it is: namely that most of the laurels we’ve won in soccer happened in spite of, and not because of, the suspect administrative structures we have here.

For so long, Nigeria hasn’t had any sports policy, as a succession of Football Association boards have never really planned for anything. That is why, for instance, we have continually gone to age-group tournaments with overage lads. What this win-at-all costs mentality has done to the development of Nigerian football is that most of our players never get bought by or excel in big European clubs or for country. Let me ask: what happened to the generation of the inaugural Golden Eaglet squad that played alongside Captain Nduka Ogbade and Jonathan Akpoborie to win the [1985] maiden Under-sixteen World Cup in China? Apart from the duel, who else among that squad, was able to rise through the ranks to play for the senior teams?

What of the two different Cup-winning squads of Japan-93 and Korea-2007? Apart from Kanu Nwankwo, John Obi Mikel and Wilson Oruma, who else among those lads did manage to achieve a thoroughly successful soccer career afterwards, be it for club or country? Well, football giants, especially in the modern era, have developed and sustained themselves through transitions from feeder to senior.

I’m also perplexed the kind of giants we are in the game, when, for over a decade, no sin-

gle Nigerian has managed to win the African Player of the Year award. Since the passing of the generation of the so-called Westerhof and Bonfrere “redoubtable”, we don’t seem to have produced anyone good enough to win that prestigious annual award. So, who’s deceiving who? Once again, I insist that we have enough resources, human and material alike, to be a world power in any endeavour under heaven. But, what do we have?

Countries that are far smaller and lessendowed often beat us to it. For some reason, we have managed to conceive and project a rather bloated image of ourselves in a wider scheme of things one of which has to be the beautiful game of soccer. We’ve hardly prepared for anything and yet, when matters come to the crunch, we expect to pull off some stunt of sorts. But, somehow, some objective minds, like me, have now begun to come to terms with reality.

One such reality is that it may be a tall order for Keshi to win third place at S.A.2013.

Besides, our football, the only real unifying factor among Nigerians, has not at all managed to build on the successes of the so-called glory years between the early 1990’s to the early 2000’s. Instead, it has been on the decline. That’s one point. While we have faced a decline in fortunes without necessarily realizing it, other smaller or lesser-known countries have been stepping up their game and that is why many people still can’t bring themselves to end this ridiculous debate of whether there are still minnows in world football. Of course, you and I know that there will always be minnows in any competitive arena, whether in sports or outside of it. But, the fact is: as countries and systems develop and widen their priorities, fewer and fewer minnows remain out there as the “whippingboys”, so-called. That explains why, for instance, tiny Cape Verde have eliminated four times African champions, Cameroon,

from the Nations Cup. Who could have forgotten so soon how many Nigerians rose up in arms, at the end of South Africa-2010, when President Goodluck Jonathan tried to suspend the country’s involvement in international football for two years, in order that we might be opportune to put our house in order, as it were? The Super Eagles had gone to South Africa to perform “woefully” by Nigerian standards. Four years earlier, a stronger squad of Super Eagles had not managed to qualify for the Germany Mundial, thanks to a better-motivated opposition in Angola’s national side, the Black Antelopes. Yet, when the Super Eagles failed to qualify for Gabon-Equatorial Guinea-2011, very few Nigerians were able to see the handwriting on the wall.

Come to think of it, what is our current position in the FIFA rankings? For years, our position in Africa has really lagged behind.

The time to accept the realities on the ground is now, because Brazil-2014 is not a long way off. And for those who won’t stop ranting about Nigeria and the –world-power status of our football, I wish to offer them this food-forthought: one, that the Ugandans of all people played in the finale of the 1978 Nations Cup ever before Nigeria did. Two: we could only begin to qualify for the Mundial after FIFA started increasing Africa’s sluts from two upwards; and three: the African record performance in world football wasn’t set by Nigeria, but, rather, by the Cameroonians, Senegalese and Ghanaians. Not only did they achieve it by reaching the last-eight of the Mundial, but, the Ghanaians, who the legendary Segun Odegbami says “taught us football”, have already won the prestigious Under-twenty World Cup, while we’re still gloating over the 1989 “Darman Miracle” and Siasia’s 2005 second-place.

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Monday, November 5, 2012 DAILY SUN

Workforce

Bimbola Oyesola bimbeechampion@yahoo.com 08033246177

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wara State Governor, Alhaji AbdulFatah Ahmed has charged the Organised Labour to identify industrial relations factors which have been clogs in the wheels of the nation’s industrial growth and development.

The Governor who spoke through his Special Adviser on Labour matters, Comrade Bisi Fakayode at the opening ceremony of a three day Industrial Relations seminar organised by the Chemical and Non Metallic Products Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (CAMPSSAN) last week at Michael Imoudu Institute for Labour Studies in Ilorin challenged the organised labour to equally proffer solutions to the problem at the seminar.

Commending the union on the theme of the seminar, “Industrial Relations in a challenging Economy for optimum productivity”, Comrade Fakayode said it was indeed captivating as it was a true reflection of the realities in the country in recent times.

He said, “The Nigerian economy portends great challenges due to the fact that it has not yielded the desired results. Since the oil glut of 1973 and the susequent economic crises of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the country has continued to struggle with various economic development recipes all in a bid to restart a once thriving economy.

“Upom return to democratic governance, the economy of the nation has began to experience some significant level of economic development.”

He noted that experts and observers of the nation’s economy have recurrently pointed the lack of productivity as a critical factor in the below average performance of economy.

The Special Adviser said that while productivity was conceptualised differently, there was a consensus that optimum productivity was required for the economy to grow.

He expressed that due to the peculiar nature of the nation’s economy several reforms by both the federal and state has remained a herculean task.

He however said the present government in Kwara state has since inception drawn up a medium term strategic plan to tackle the challenge inherent in the state’s economy.

The Special Adviser added, “in doing this, the high points and low points of the economy have been outlined and constructive strategies to confront them head on are also being implemented.

“This medium term strategic plan has become the basis for making the state’s economy productive and with this, the government is confident of achieving stable economic development in the next few years of this regime”.

Comrade Fakayode also implored the stakeholders to refrain from apportioning blame as the nation’s economy challenges were being identified, but rather should all contribute their little efforts towards reviving the economy.

Earlier, the President of CAMPSSAN, Comrade Abdul Gafar Mohammed, has said that the annual seminar was packaged to reduce conflict in the industry as the sector was

LABOUR LABOUR ISSUES JOB JOB POLITICS

Gov. Ahmed tasks organised Labour on Industrial growth

CAMPASSAN President and other dignitaries at the seminar presently experiencing serious chalComrade Mohammed explained that lenges due to present global recession. the theme of this year’s seminar was “This year’s seminar which is the 17th chosen to address relevant issues in relaedition has been specially packaged tion to the growth and survival of comwith the aim of providing participants panies in these times of economic recess with necessary modern management and global competitions. techniques, strategies, skill and tools for He added;”We are witnesses to the improving the organization’s growth phenomenal changes taking place in the and motivate the trade unions to be able world of business today. This has made to advocate for sectoral developmental our world a global village. It will be interventions”, he said. more of a deception for any organisation

to think that it is today an island unto itself.

“It was based on this realisation that the National Secretariat packaged this seminar so as to equip participants with relevant and modern human resource management/ motivational techniques for the improved efficient corporate performance, industrial peace and harmony.”

NLC condemns govt silence on fuel scarcity

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he Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned Federal Government’s silence and inaction on the current scarcity of petroluem products in the country, warning that labour would resist it should it be a guise to increase the pump price of petroleum products.

The Congress in a Press Statement, titled, ‘Stop fuel scarcity’ and jointly signed by the Acting President, Comrade Joe Ajaero and Acting General Secretary, Comrade Olusegun Rotimi noted that it has observed that for almost two months now, there has been a consistent scarcity of petroleum products in all parts of the country without any cogent explanation from government.

“In several fuel stations across the country, prices of petrol in particular are

...Threatens mass protest higher than the official pump price without any control by government”, the statement said.

The NLC added that the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, under the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources responsible for inspection and control of fuel stations has not acted in anyway against unilateral price increases by marketers.

It harped that such indicated a clear conspiracy on the part of government to force another price hike on Nigerians, stating that it would sure deepen the economic hardships the current official price has unleashed on the people.

The labour centre went further. “ NLC

PENGASSAN President, Babatunde Ogun loses mother

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adam Florence Ayodeji Kehinde Ogun, the mother of the President of Petroleum and natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Babatunde Ogun, is dead.

She died at the age of 80 years on Sunday, October 28, 2012 in an hospital in Lagos after a brief illness.

During her lifetime, late Madam Ogun was a trader and a community leader at Ijebu Ode, in Ogun State, where she resided. She was a devoted Christian and a women leader at the Christ Apostolic Church Ijebu Ode, her hometown.

She is survived by many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

will never accept any further price increase. And we will mobilize workers and their allies against any such increase.

“We urge the Federal Government to fulfill its responsibility to the Nigerian people by taking urgent steps to restore normal supplies”.

The Congress lamented that the poverty level in Nigeria has increased, while nothing is being done by government to reverse the masses’ collective sufferings.

It warned that the January mass protests and strike would be a child’s play should government hide under the guise of the current scarcity to increase the pump price of petroleum products.

Stressing that It was the responsibility of government to ensure and guarantee the welfare of every citizen, NLC stressed, “Should the appropriate agencies of government refuse to enforce compliance with the official pump prices of petroleum products, the NLC will not hesitate to mobilize workers across the country to picket stations selling above the official prices.”

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Workforce 2013 budget: edical workers have frowned at the nation’s provision for health in the 2013 budget proposal, noting that the less than 6% allocation fell short of the African leaders agreement.

The Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) in a communique issued at the end of its 37th National Executive Council (NEC) session and signed by the National President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and the Secretary General, Comrade Marcus Omokhuale, stated that the allocation was a far cry from the 15% consensus by all African leaders which Nigeria was equally a signatory.

The communique stated:” The NECin-session was however much more bothered by the provision for health in the budget, which is grossly inadequate at barely 6%. This is a far cry from the resolution of African leaders as stated in the 2001 Abuja declaration to the effect that budgetary commitments of countries on the continent for health have to be a minimum of 15% if there is to be any hope for the mass of the population to access quality health.”

Adding that a number of countries have met this goal, the union wondered why Nigeria with her vast wealth would be found wanting in providing for the sector, looking at the critical importance of health for all.

The union’s NEC-in-session therefore demanded a scaling up of the provision for health in the 2013 budget to a minimum of 15%. “MHWUN thus calls on the National Assembly to take note of this crucial position in reviewing the budget proposal presented by President Goodluck Jonathan”, it said.

The body which commended the early presentation of the 2013 budget proposal also charged the executives to address some of the challenges which might come with its implementation such as harmonizing its commencement point since the 2012 budget was supposed to end by March 2013.

The union who accused its supervisory ministry of marginalisatiion, stated that it rejected the attitude of the. Federal Ministry of Health and its relevant department and agencies in not involving the Trade Unions in the health sector in the annual review of the implementation of the National Health Development Plan.

As such it charged the Ministry to as a matter of urgency involved the union in the annual review of the implementation of the National Health as a major stake holder which provides services that affect the effective implementation of such reviewed plan.

The NEC–in–session likewise reiterated MHWUN’s unshaken resolve to promoting harmony in the health sector, hinged on the realization of healthcare delivery as being inherently one of a team work.

It condemned the continued intransigence of medical practitioners in undermining the progress and development of other cadres within the sector.

“It was however noted that the report of the Presidential Committee on Harmony in the Health Sector would go a long way in addressing this matter. NECin-session thus calls for the speedy release of a white paper on the report and its due implementation”, the communique stated.

Describing the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA)’s proposal to the Federal Government aimed at privatizing (outsourcing) certain clinical and nonclinical services in public health institution as parochial and selfish, the union

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Labour says Nigeria falls short of Africa standard in health allocation

Guests at the MHWUN NEC’s opening ceremony It reasoned, “Without considering the said contrary to the belief that it would reduce crisis and boost revenue, it would health implications of privatizing such critical services like Pharmacy, rather cause more havoc in the sector.

Laboratory Services, Physiotherapy, Radiography, Catering/Dietetics and Laundry, the NEC – in – Session rejects this position of the NMA in its entirety and will vehemently resist any attempt by government to implement such an obnoxious proposal.”

The Medical workers also lamented that some states of the federation are yet to implement the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS), while those which have implemented the CONHESS have used inappropriate and questionable salary tables.

It therefore called on all states to take necessary steps towards implementing CONHESS comprehensively to all health workers as contained in the salary table released by the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission

Mimiko’s return is workers’ victory – T U C rade Union Congress (TUC) has described the re-election of Governor Olusegun Mimiko as the victory for Nligerian workers who trooped out in their numbers to support the governor that did not fail in his promises to Nigerian workers especially as it concerns Ondo state workers.

In a statement jointly signed by TUC President General, Comrade Peter Esele and Secretary General, Comrade John Kolawole, the labour center said Mimiko’s victory was a triumph of service over posturing and grandstanding, of impactful and life changing programmes visible on the ground over promises and vain glorious pursuit.

“We saw the record clearly written on the roads, the Schools, the medical facilities and specifically, the wages of workers in the State.

These have all spoken through the ballot and we are all in rejoicing mood.

“He who flies the Labour Party’s ticket, flies the working peoples’flag and holds aloft the peoples’ banner”, TUC noted.

The Congress said Nigerian workers once again have cause to raise the banner of salute to congratulate the governor on the well deserving victory in the just concluded gubernatorial election.

TUC commended the Ondo people for speaking massively through the ballot in favour of the man who has served them solidly and unwaveringly these past years.

Maintaing that the people have spoken and it was very loud resounding everywhere not only in Ondo State but throughout Nigeria, TUC stated that the message of election to those in power in Nigeria is that diligent and people centred service will be overwhelmingly rewarded by the masses while mediocrity and corrupt leaders will be mercilessly rejected.

It added: “Accountability was the message, the pursuit of primordial strictures has been reprimanded, the party de-emphasised while the personality; his character and integrity has become magnified and the centre piece”.

While saluteing the masses and peoples of Ondo state for standing with Nigerian workers to re-elect Governor Mimiko, the Congress said that has shown that the interests of the people are always with the interests of the workers.

“Our solidarity has received a further boost as a result of his service driven victory and encourages us to work harder towards the enthronement of more credible leaders in Nigeria that would lead to the genuine transformation of our dear nation”, TUC stressed.

The Labour centre advised Mimiko to see his re-election as a renewed mandate from Ondo people and workers to even do more for the total transformation of the State.

“We all look forward to another four years of service and excellent work. We urge him not to

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relent in his pursuit of creating a just and equitable society not driven by primordial sentiments but based on service to the people”, the Congress said.

TUC also commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for a job well done, stating that INEC has shown Nigerians that they can indeed get better with every election and urged the electoral body to correct all the identified lapses in the election to make future elections in Nigeria more credible.

The statement read further, “While we must

not fail to mention that without the determination of His Excellency, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan the President of Nigeria to ensure that adequate security is provided just like he did in Edo State, the situation may have been adverse, and we salute all the parties in the election for conducts that are comparatively peaceful during the election.

“We urge them to join hands with the Governor in building Ondo State into a place where workers and people centric policies and programmes will hold sway.”

Reforms: Oil workers forge unity

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n order to align and strengthen the issues of interests in labour as a key stakeholder and the ultimate driver of the ongoing reforms in the oil and gas sector, workers in the industry have decided to have a more united advocacy campaign and lobby to confront anti-labour tendencies in the reforms.

To achieve this, the workers, under the aegis of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) in Lagos, has convened a forum where past leaders of the two unions advised the incumbent leaders on the way forward.

The Elders Forum, which was initiated by Hon. (Comrade) Peter Akpatason mni and former PENGASSAN President, Comrade Shina Luwoye, was well attended by past presidents and past general secretaries of the two unions including Comrade Frank Kokori; Former PENGASSAN President, Comrade Shina Luwoye; the President General of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Comrade Peter Esele; former General Secretary of NUPENG Hon. Joseph Akinlaja; and past President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Austin Ezenwaka.

Other past leaders in attendance were Comrade Dabibi Gilchrist, former PENGASSAN General Secretary; Comrade (Alh.) Ganiyu Bola Owodunni, former PENGASSAN President; Comrade Elijah Okougbo, former NUPENG General Secretary; Comrade Bisi Olowoyo, Comrade Bello Ishola, Comrade Frank Addo, Comrade C. C. Ochonogor, Comrade A. S. Abubakar, Comrade A. K. Fakunmoju, and Comrade B. B. Awe. In his welcome address, PENGASSAN President, Comrade Babatunde Ogun, expressed appreciation to the initiators and other elders for sacrificing their time and commitment to sharing their wealth of wisdom to proffer solution to the challenges that the unions shall have to contend with in the impending sector reforms.

“This forum will enable the leadership of the unions to draw from the experiences of the past

leaders on how they contend with challenges of their time as a learning point for the immediate and future challenges,” he said.

On his own, NUPENG President, Comrade Igwe Achese, stressed the need to attach great importance to the forum to sustain the collaborations between the two unions in the oil and gas industry and to strengthen NUPENGASSAN pioneer spirit.

Addressing the forum, Comrade Austin Ezenwaka, a past president of PENGASSAN and Chairman of the Forum, urged the current leaders of NUPENGASSAN to improve on communications between the two unions, and among the rank and file, especially shop floor members so as to carry all members along in the struggles.

He noted that the government and employers will try to create dichotomy between the unions and the members, riding on statutory delineation, adding that the two unions should endeavour to “build a brick wall that is difficult to break to fight their cause.”

Hon. Akinlaja advised that employers or government will find it difficult to short change the workers if there is unity among them.

Comrade Luwoye, while buttressing the essence of unity and solidarity among the workers, said the tendency is that the more members, the more the unions will be able to speak with one voice and the more they achieve endurable result.

In his advice, Comrade Kokori, urged the leaders of the unions to put in place machineries to ensure that all cases are settled out of court while actions are taken to ensure that union issues are not taken to court by other parties.

He also counselled the current leaders of the two unions to strengthen the power of authority of their secretariat staff.

Comrade Esele, called on the unions to encourage more internal democracy as a way of forging unity among the members.

Hon. Akpatason listed certain measures and strategies that can help the leadership of both unions to build, grow and sustain the unions.

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Workforce APPOINTMENTS AND PROMOTIONS Emuwa resumes as Union Bank’s boss

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roup Managing Director of Union Bank Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Funke Osibodu, lask week commenced her terminal leave, which signalled her official exit from the bank.

Osibodu has since been replaced by the incumbent Managing Director of Citibank Nigeria Limited, Emeka Emuwa, a nominee of the bank’s core investors, Union Global Partners Limited.

The new Group Managing Director is expected to continue the transformation agenda of the institution, retain existing institutional memory while building a world-class commercial banking institution.

Osibodu was appointed on August 14, 2009, following the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Union Bank and four other banks that

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Osibodu

Emuwa

failed a stress test on their financial health. She led the bank’s turnaround programme , which included asset’s recovery, recapitalisation, rebranding and restored customers’ and investors’ confidence in the organisation.

Emuwa in his own capacity, had served as Country Officer/Country Head in Cameroon for 20 years, where he was respoinsible for the regional bank’s Central African businesses in Gabon and Congo.

ernment and Access Bank Nigeria Plc., working across the Operations, Technology Support and Business Development functions.

As National Technology Officer, Oni will be very instrumental in ensuring that Microsoft Nigeria has the right relevance in

society and with the Federal Government by helping generate policies and programmes that create a more sustainable ICT environment. The role will also see him assist the government adopt and leverage technology to make them more transparent, efficient and competitive.

HBS alumni association gets new board

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he Harvard Business School Association of Nigeria will introduce its new board to the public in Lagos tomorrow.

The new President of the association, Mrs. Fola Laoye, who is also the Chairman of Hygeia Group, said in a statement, “The new board will be unveiled at a business cocktail for members and guests, scheduled to hold in Ikoyi.”

Laoye said the executive members were distinguished alumni of Harvard Business School, who were contributing positively to the economic development of Nigeria,

including the Group Managing Director, First City Monument Bank, Mr.Ladi Balogun, who emerged the vice-president; and the Chief Executive Officer, Verod Capital, Mr. Danladi Verheijen, Secretary.

The HBSAN was formed in 1983 by the former students of the school in the country. Its mission is to advocate the ideals of professionalism and high ethical standards in business management in Nigeria.

The association also seeks to assist with the continued education and elevation of general management practice, in the country.

JOB TIPS: How to organize yourself for a job hunt

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n today’s electronic age where you can apply for twenty jobs in a matter of minutes on the internet, it pays to organize yourself when searching for a job. Keeping track of where you sent your resume, who has responded and when you did it can be an overwhelming task.

Organization counts the most when you’re applying to a lot of jobs. If you’re not getting enough job leads, we recommend getting your resume posted on all the pertinent job sites as a first step.

Creating a spreadsheet on your PC to track all of your resumes, emails and correspondence and add as many columns as necessary to track resume sent, the company it was sent to, the source of the ad, any special considerations from the ad and any additional correspondence relating to that resume, can be valuable. A new folder to save any documentation in order to keep up with everything is also essential.

Make yourself look good One of the worst things you can do when looking for a job is to not

SALES MANAGER FOR LAGOS Experience in the book industry is vital. Flair and aptitude for ICT services/products required. Abilty to build and lead a team essential.

Qualification: Business/ Marketing related Degree with 5 years marketing experience.

Interested candidates should email their CV and covering letter to interworldng@yahoo.co.uk VACANCY: AUDIT SENIOR/ DRIVER Qualification BSC or HND, professional part or fully qualified.

Driver must have at least school certificate.

Microsoft appoints technology officer for Nigeria icrosoft Nigeria has appointed Mr. Olayinka Oni as the company’s national technology officer. Oni comes with 15 years experience in Information Technology working in consulting and the banking sector.

His most recent experience was CIO/ GM IT & Operations at Wema Bank Plc, a role in which he successfully provided strategic direction for banking operations and ensured that the IT function and capabilities was tightly aligned to the corporate goals and objectives of the company.

Oni has also worked with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc as CIO/Vice-President Information Technology and before then was with Accenture (Global Firm of Management Consulting) as an Experienced Manager in the Nigerian practice working across industries like banking, manufacturing and gov-

NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL JOBS NATIONAL JOBS

remember something you said or promised as it relates to searching for a job or getting an interview. If you promised to provide references to an agency and then forget to do that, it can adversely affect your chances of getting a position.

So, use whatever method you can to track your correspondence with prospective employers. Take notes when you interview then document and confirm them in a follow up email. Create folders in your email client so you can track all the emails you send and receive. Keep copies of your cover letters just in case someone comes back to you with a question regarding them.

Don’t apply multiple times Finally, remember who you have applied to so you are not sending several resumes for the same position. With countless job sites available today, you might see one position on ten different sites. It helps if you record the job ID or the job title so you are positive that you have applied and don’t send an extra resume.

Overall, you want to appear as

an organized and efficient job candidate who can keep track of multiple tasks while maintaining contact with all parties involved.

When a company sends you correspondence requesting additional information, make sure you note that you have provided the extra information and when you did it. That way, when you are interviewing for a position and someone asks if they have this information, you can respond that you sent it on this date.

Be prepared at an interview The last step in being prepared for your job search and eventually getting an interview is to keep all documentation with you in a folder or in your briefcase. When interviewing, you might be asked for almost any type of information and it always looks good when you have that info at hand.

So, come up with a tracking method that suits your style and fits your needs and stick to it until you land a job. And, keep all of that info just in case you have to start looking again any time soon.

Interested applicants who must be computer literate should apply to: ADVERTISER P.O.Box 6955 Surulere, Lagos.

Or send CV to: olagbaworld@yahoo.com VACANCIES A reputable and expanding international college located in a sub-urban but educationally conducive and serene environment in Akure, Ondo State has the following vacancies: 1. ADMINISTRATIVE POSTS: (a). Principals: (i) Academics (ii) Boarding House Affairs QUALIFICATIONS: B.Sc., B.A, B.Ed., P.G.D.E/Masters is an added advantage.

Cognate Experience: Minimum of 5yrs. The person must be a strict disciplinarian, result oriented and able to work without supervision.

2. TEACHING POSTS: • Mathematics.

• English Language • Chemistry • Physics • Biology • Agricultural Science • Geography • Economics • Yoruba Language • Computer Studies • Basic Technology • Basic Science • Home Economics • Physical Health Education • Music • Technical Drawing QUALIFICATIONS: As in (1) above Experience: Cognate classroom experience 3. NON-TEACHING POSTS: • Maintenance Officer • Security Guards • House Masters/Mistresses • Gardeners • Cooks NOTE: Conditions of Services/Salary is very attractive and negotiable.

SUBMISSION ADDRESS: The Advertiser, Suite 39, Yafrato Shopping Complex, Opposite Stanbic IBTC Bank, First Bank Area, Alagbaka, Akure,Ondo State.

Deadline: One Week INTERNATIONAL JOB Editor-in-Chief Closing date: 16 November 2012 Demotix is looking for a new editor-in-chief to lead our news gathering, look after our network of global contributors, and help us grow our audience around the world.

You’ll be based in London, sit at the very heart of the organization, and report directly to the CEO. We’re looking for someone full of ideas, with a head for global news, an eye for a picture, a sense for UX, and a real handle on the online. We need a people-person with great communication skills, imagination and enthusiasm, who relishes responsibility: you’ll also be managing our small editorial team.

We hope we offer you the chance to make a difference at the very heart of one of the fastest-growing, multi-award winning news start-ups around today.

How to apply: Please apply with a short covering letter and CV to Turi Munthe, tm@demotix.com, mentioning that you found this job on Journalism.co.uk.

Applications end: 16th November 2012.

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POLITICS...&Polity

•Opadokun

•Jega

•Musa

2015: Stakeholders vote for staggered elections In view of the relative successes recorded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in the recent governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States, stakeholders suggest staggered system for future elections in the country. RAZAQ BAMIDELE writes:

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show preference for staggered elections to a lump some arrangement where governorship elections are conducted throughout the country on the same day.

A lawyer and National Convener of the Coalition of Democrats for Credible Election (CODER), Mr. Ayo Opadokun described the idea as a welcome one, saying “It is in our interest to work out an arrangement which would enable us to quarterize in a very staggered way where elections would hold.”

His submission: “In the very good nature of what happens, particularly in credible environments where they also run presidential system, elections are staggered there. In India which is the biggest democracy in the world, elections are staggered to almost six to eight weeks to conclude. The North-west votes today, Southwest tomorrow and so on. And in the United States of America (USA), state governorship elections are not conducted the same day. Not at all. Each zone has its time for its governorship election.”

The consequence of that, according to the former Afenifere scribe is that it reduces the crisis of gross inadequacies during elections, insisting that “it is of greater interest of our electioneering for our elections to be staggered so that there would be proper monitoring and greater attention and focus are guaranteed in the parts of the country where elections are holding.”

He stated that “We are not doing ourselves any good by wanting to hold our elections in one day, querying wheter there is any scientific explanation for what Nigeria has been doing.

“I cannot see, however, how we can hold credible election in this country because the logistics is hazardous. It is very difficult to manage because of the size. It is in our interest to work an arrangement out which would enable us to quarterize in a very staggered way where elections would hold. It is better opportunity to put in place better logistics arrangement that would help us produce better election

results and guarantee sufficient security” he suggested.

Another contributor to the debate is the General Secretatary of the Conference of Nigeria Political Party (CNPP), Chief Willy Ezugwu who said the process would help to gradually reform and transform the electoral processes and institutions.

Though the Founder and President of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr. Fredrick Fasehun subscribes to the idea of staggered future election in the country, he expressed apprehension that the process might be too expensive to handle.

His words: “If our political programme allows staggered elections, let us have it. This is because the trouble we always have during general elections can be avoided in staggered elections. Everybody thought that Ondo State would go up in flames in the just held governorship election. But it came out to be one of the most well conducted elections in the country. But the factors that guaranteed security of the exercise in both Edo and Ondo States were very costly factors.

“As it is, Nigeria is spending billions of naira to sustain Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Would we be able to sustain the body if the elections were to be staggered across the 36 states of the federation and Abuja? If we could spend a lot on Ondo State alone, can we be able to cope with the huge amount that would be involved if we were to stage the elections in ten states at a time? Do we have the manpower? These are the factors we have to consider.

“But however, where political accident makes staggered elections inevitable, then, there is nothing we can do about it. But to deliberately organize staggered elections, it would be very expensive, time consuming and energy sapping. And Nigeria does not have the manpower. Or else, because of the security aspect of it, it is what everyone of us would have preferred.”

he recent governorship elections conducted in three states in Nigeria were not planned.

They were as a result of political accident.

The states were Anambra, Edo and Ondo.

Governor Peter Obi of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), started the process in 2006 when he sent packing through legal processes Dr. Chris Ngige of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who was earlier declared winner of the 2007 governorship election in Anambra State. And since the constitution stipulates that an elected governor’s tenure starts the very day he takes the oath of office, Obi had to spend his four years which terminated in 2010. Ngige has spent over three years in office before he was shown the way out.

After Obi, Adams Oshiomhole of the then Action Congress (AC), now Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), also followed the footsteps of Obi by displacing, Professor Osarem Osunbor, also PDP from the Edo Government House. Later, it was the turn of Dr. AbdurRahaman Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party to show Dr. Olusegun Agagu the way out from office through legal processes also.

Later, it was the turn of Ekiti, where Dr. John Olukayode Fayemi (ACN) shoved aside Mr. Olusegun Oni (PDP), and and the State of Osun, where Ogbeni Abdur-Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola (ACN), gave Prince Olagunsoye Oyinloa (PDP) a legal pinfall, to toe the same line the aforementioned trio had earlier toed.

Right now, the first three, Obi, Oshiomhole and Mimiko had gone through second term in office elections on different days thereby set the stage for staggered elections in the country.

Other affected states are Adamawa, Sokoto, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers and Kogi. These states had staggered elections as a result of the “It is of greater interest of our electioneering for Supreme Court judgement that upheld the elec- our elections to be staggered so that there would tions of the governors in the state. be proper monitoring and greater attention and And going by the level of credibility those elections commanded, some stakeholders now focus are guaranteed in the parts of the country where elections are hold-

ing.”

In his own view, the National President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Mallam Shetima Usman Shetima would like only the governorship election to be staggered suggesting that “that of the President should be left to hold throughout the country the same day.

Hear him: “I am against staggering of the Presidential election. A law can then be made that the governorship ones be staggered to give room for proper monitoring and to guarantee that the most popular candidate wins at the end of the day. What happened recently in Edo and Ondo States has clearly shown that the wish of the people will prevail if proper monitoring and adequate security is put in place. It will also frustrate the efforts of the evil minded politicians, who might have wanted to hide under a chaotic atmosphere to perpetrate electoral malpractices.”

The Secretary-General of a monitoring group, Centre for Ethics, Democracy and Development (CEDAD), Mr. Gbega Soloki also admitted that the system is good but too expensive.?

Speaking out of experience, the youthful activist said “from the experience so far gathered during my monitoring of elections in Nigeria, I have discovered that it is very expensive,” admitting however that “staggered elections are potent weapons in checkmating rigging and electoral malpractices in our polity.”

According to him, all eyes would be on the states in which the elections are holding, adding that “there will be proper monitoring of the electioneering from the selection to the final process and so my take is that staggered elections will be more beneficial to our democracy.”

But former governor of the old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa vehemently disagreed saying it would be so expensive that the resources of the country would suffer.

To Musa a truly independent INEC would do the magic asking whether the present INEC as it was constituted is truly independent, stating that the present leadership of the electoral body cannot refuse to do the biddings of the executive if the latter wants to manipulate it.

“If we hav e a truly independent electoral body, our elections will be credible without staggering them,” he submitted as a matter of fact.

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Monday, November 5, 2012

DAILY SUN

POLITICS...&Polity Leader of South East Political Forum and former Chairman of Police Service Commission, Chief Simon Okeke says the disappointment the North suffered in 2011 presidential race based on an agreement with the Igbo to support them which failed will negatively affect Igbo presidential agenda come 2015.

“You can’t eat your cake and have it,” he said.

He spoke with DAVID ONWUCHEKWA on this and other issues.

Excerpts: Is it correct to say that you were part of a pact between the North and South-East in 2011. represented and I still represent the South East Political Forum which metamorphosed into the Igbo Political Forum. The reason is that the Igbos outside South-East were feeling marginalized. The title or the name of the group does not embrace them in the South East.

So the Igbos in Rivers, Delta, and so on appealed to us to come out with a forum that can embrace other non South East Igbos, and we came up with the name Igbo Political Forum.

The South-East group or Igbo Political Forum today was approached by the Northern Political Elders Forum led by Adamu Ciroma before the 2011 elections. They came strongly and appealed to us to reach an understanding with them.

They appealed that if the Igbos support them for the 2011 presidency and whoever the Northern Political Elders Forum brought out as a candidate would govern the country for only one term of four years then, they would support massively whosoever the Igbos will present in 2015 for presidency.

We all agreed on this, signed memorandum of understanding, everyone signed including Adamu Ciroma, Atiku Abubarkar, Gen Badamosi Babangida, top Northern political members and then we of the South East, myself, and a good number of people like Professor Charles Soludo, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, Professor Ben Obi, Professor A.B.C. Nwosu, former Governor of Ebonyi State, Dr Sam Egwu and others. All of us signed the document.

Each of the presidential aspirants contestants from the North, including the Gen IBB signed the paper which states that should the Igbos endorse him and vote him in, that he would govern for one term and hand over to an Igbo man.

Aliyu Gusau also came to my house with Senator Ben Obi and a number of others, including the immediate past Governor of Kwara State, Saraki and they all signed the same document. I have the document and it is not a matter of hearsay.

But why I signed with them was that I believed that it was the surest and shortest way for the Igbos to be president in Nigeria. The argument is incontrovertible and it was planned like that and we stood by that. But unfortunately, things moved the other way round. It didn’t happen that way because some people felt otherwise.

Well, I believe in democracy and the decision of the majority. Democracy says that the decision of the majority carries the vote. So none of the Northern candidates won the PDP primaries. It was the luck of Dr Goodluck Jonathan to wear

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2015: Igbos may not have North’s support – Okeke

•Okeke the cap and the Igbos including me voted him in. So that is it. And you can see how the Igbo voted massively for him.

Now having said so, you are now asking me what would happen in 2015, the answer is there. I don’t know. If you ask me, my answer is you cannot eat your cake and have it.

So are you saying that the Igbos have taken their turn?

Though President Jonathan is from the former Eastern Region, I won’t say the Igbos have taken their turn. The South

East still has not taken its own turn. I think at the appropriate time we will have our turn.

Does that quash the hope of the Igbos getting support from the North for Presidency?

I don’t know. Firstly, if President Jonathan will go for one term only and it is God’s wish that he would use all the paraphernalia of presidential authority to move for the South East for presidency, it is possible as long as the South Easterners do their homework properly. If we do it

“The South-East group or Igbo Political Forum today was approached by the Northern Political Elders Forum led by Adamu Ciroma before the 2011 elections. They came strongly and appealed to us to reach an understanding with them.”

right, it may work. But, it is not easy.

Stakeholders in Igbo land have purportedly endorsed President Jonathan for a second term. How do you look at that?

If Ohaneze or any other notable group in Igbo land has endorsed him, what else can we do? We will go. We go that way.

Is anything wrong about that?

Considering the Igbo agenda…

Ohaneze that endorsed him, are they not Igbos? If they have endorsed him, so be it. That is the hierarchy of the leadership of the Igbo.

That means it will take a long time before an Igbo man becomes the President of this country?

Your guess is as good as mine. Do I have to say it before you know it is so?

You should know that because you are a journalist. To be a President of a country, you know what it means. It is not a walk over.

You talked about them doing their home work. What exactly do you mean?

There has to be a lot of home work. If you are aspiring for the presidency of a country, it is not something that you will say you want to become a president and the votes of the Igbos will give you that.

It is not possible. It transcends the territorial boundaries of the Igbo to other ethnic groups. That is the home work. The homework has to cover the North, South and West. So you have to do a lot of spade work on the other ethnic groups. It is not easy to win the presidency.

Another nagging issue now is State police. Is that necessary?

I have taken an overview of the constitution of Nigeria today before I got the oversight of the entire Nigeria police force as the former Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC) and I will say without mincing words, without any equivocation that the security of this country will be better ensured if we have State police for today.

Why do I say so? Nigeria is operating a federal system which we copied from America. There is no part of the world where you have a federal system of government that doesn’t have a State police.

You can verify that.

In case of the America we copied from, America does not just have State police; even within the States you have divisions independent of the State Police. Every university in America in every State has its own police. Every local government as we have in Nigeria has its own police.

And then the States have their own. Why do we shy away from reality?

You can’t have a federal system of government and then have a unitary police system, it doesn’t work. How can you tell me that one man, of course I’m not indicting the head of the police because the present IG, Abubakar is a wonderful man, an operational man that knows his work very well, can oversee the entire 36 States and Abuja? It is not easy for one man to oversee. It is not possible.

The constitution of the country says that the Governor of a State in Nigeria will be the Chief Security Officer of the State. A Chief Security Officer that does not control the security arm of the State cannot achieve security. You are not in control of the police, how can you achieve security?

If you say governors will abuse that, there are checks and balances.

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54 DAILY SUN STEVE ORONSAYE’S REPLY. Thank you very much.

Drama so to speak. A report was presented, I hadn’t seen the report because the methodology that we agreed as a committee should be followed if the report has to be reviewed. It was not followed. We had agreed that the draft report should be circulated to members five clear days before any meeting.

These were the templates we agreed on. And the last meeting we had was in July. July to October 31, there was no meeting. October 31, a circular or a notice came out at 5pm, to hold a meeting on the next day, November 1, at 12:00pm That was on a Thursday, to discuss the final report. Obviously, to give me few hours to discuss a report of over a hundred pages, meant that was not feasible.

And I was not going to be part of such a process. Since we had already agreed on the process anyway, I thought that process should be complied with. I took a view that no matter how good a report maybe, you may have put in a lot of effort, but if the process leading to it is flawed, that report would not stand the test of time. So, that was the only thing I said.

And then, the other one had to do with the signature page.

There is no signature page. The chairman and the secretary were to sign on behalf of members. How do you sign on my behalf? Supposed there are things that I do not agree with when I am also, already saying that the process was flawed?

That was all I said.

Did you put it across to Mallam Ribadu, some of these your complains, your observations and all that?

Indeed, the meeting we had in July, was where I raised my concerns about the draft report that we had just reviewed to consider at that meeting. There were basically about five issues that I raised. One of them, he said the draft transmitter letter was that we had concluded our assignment in accordance with the terms of reference. Reading the draft report, it was well beyond our terms of reference.

I remember my comment then was yes, if we are saying this, we need to modify. But if we are also going beyond, provided this will add value, yes. That was what I said but we could also have gotten an amendment to the TOR. Really, if it is to add value, I don’t see any reason why. I also talked about the language. I said we could recouch. I didn’t say we should change the content of the substance.

What was wrong with the language?

Very subjective. Very subjective and we could do better.

Three, the figures that I saw, I asked a question: have they been reconciled? Have they been verified? I asked that question because of what had transpired in a previous meeting where it came to light that the figures that were being interrogated have not been reconciled and it turned out that many of them had not been verified. At that point, I said if these figures are not verified, it will be difficult for me to append my signature to such a report. Four, the figures that were also stated were as of December 2011. And I asked a

Monday, November 5, 2012

Fuel subsidy probe: I was not compromised – Oronsaye question: what has happened between then and July when we were discussing. I said it will be necessary to have an update. I think those were really the main concerns that I raised at that time.

At the meeting?

Yes. The July meeting.

Were they addressed?

You see, what really happened in Council on Friday, had actually happened in one of our meetings when I raised this. That was when he talked about ‘you have just joined us’ and all of that. I said yes. The truth of the matter was that I was busy somewhere else. I couldn’t have been in two locations at the same time. And everyone knew that I had another assignment and that was why I couldn’t have been with them before that day. But in the wisdom of the committee, they thought that my suggestions were valid and then decided to have a group to review…

A committee within the committee?

Yes. Even though there is a sub-committee on report writing. So, they were to go back to write, bring back the report to the sub-committee on report writing after which it will then be circularized to the members.

That was in July. Until the notice of October 31, that report was never seen. So, you had July, August, September and October. End of October, you are now saying come to a meeting the following day to discuss a final report. And in my view, that is not in consonance with the methodology that we have. It is in writing, in my mail to all of them that five clear days should be given if you want us to discuss any In fact, that was done. That was how that first draft was done because my first letter actually said we have fixed a meeting to discuss a report on a particular date. The secretary said I will transmit the report to you people by this date. I called Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Obviously, it was not transmitted, meaning it was not ready.

So, on a Monday, I did a mail to chairman and members saying, Continued from Page 5 So many people worked so hard to produce that report. I felt it was very unfair, very, very unfair to all of them and for him to have come to play that role he played, it was very, very disappointing.

And you put a caveat emptor. Somebody pointed out that in your summary of the report, whether number four there, you said the figures have not been reconciled, and that is like a disclaimer.

Yeah. No, no, no. This is also the genuiness of the work we did. You see, we took records from different departments: from the NNPC, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). What we just said was that we didn’t have the time to go to every detail of what they gave us to cross check what they gave us. We are not disclaiming anything. We just said that those figures that you got

•Oronsaye today is, I can’t remember the date now but if I look into my system, I will clarify that. I said today is…; we still have not received the draft report that you said you would send. I presume you are still busy, I know it is a lot of hardwork but when you do finish, please circularize and give a new date or give us five clear days. It is in writing.

In fact, he just said noted but in reality, that was done because notice was given and a new date was given. So, we had our five days. That became a template but after that, no other meeting took place until the presentation. And he said sorry, it cannot be so.

Ribadu said on national television that you were compromised and in the newspapers, he is saying you stood in on behalf of a petroleum company. Did you compromise? What is your relationship with the said company?

That statement, in my view, is unfortunate coming from him. Those who know me, know that I can never be compromised. But in any case, who compromised me? Adax? I don’t even know where the office of Adax is. I do not even know who the chief executive is and I could not have been representing any oil company. I

recalled he said in Council that I came in where they were about to start collecting recovery. Again, that is a lie and it is unfortunate. I recall that my very first meeting was when they were presenting a report on the forum they had just concluded. The second meeting was when some groups of people were meeting with some oil operators. I didn’t even know who they were but I sat in that meeting. But I do know that I asked a sub-chair of the committee: who are these people?

He said they were the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) personnel. After listening for a while, I said, they should please get the operator they were interrogating to step aside. And I had to ask questions: why is EFCC officials interrogating?

And he said our terms of reference included debt collection.

But in my view, I said yes, debt collection but it is only after we have established. If we submit our report, government will decide on what do. The truth is, EFCC officials are innocent because they were invited. So, I am not blaming the EFCC officials because if they were not invited, they would not have come. I recall the officer then asking a question: does it mean

we should go? I said it is not for me to tell you whether you should go or not but it will not be right for the EFCC to be driving this process. In fact, the officials of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) were also present. I said why is DPR not driving the process? It was at that point that I asked a question: the figures that you are even asking them questions on, are they reconciled figures?

It was at that point the DPR said no. So, at that point, I knew there was a problem. The subchairman, that is Subairu and I, agreed DPR and all the operators, should go and reconcile and then bring figures to us. As I speak to you now, I don’t know whether that was done.

So, to say that I represented Adax is unfortunate. I don’t know them. But I am just reading in the newspapers today, I don’t know whether such is even in the report but I know this was not said in the Council chambers but because I have read it in the papers, whatever action I am going to take, that is left to me.

It is defamatory because a reputation that I have built over the years, somebody will just come over and just in a jiffy, just make careless statements.

And all of you were in Obasanjo’s economic team and all that. Is there a personal disagreement between you and the chairman?

Well, the truth is, Nuhu and I have always had differences from day one and I think that is what is playing out today. But even if it is playing out, anyone who listened to me, would realize that I did not talk about persons, I talked about issues and I talked about process. I did not even talked about the content of the report. I am saying process has not been followed.

Due process has not been followed. And the reason why very often, when you go to court and you lose your case, is because the foundation, very often, is faulty. All of these is what I am trying to protect.

I don’t even know who is indicted in the report. I don’t even know. I don’t even know.

copy. Just today. But, as of yesterday, I didn’t look at my mail, I didn’t want to look at it. So, I really don’t know those who are indicted or who you know. And it doesn’t really interest me. If we follow due process…

Let me just say this: for example, this report is already in a public domain. Company A,B, C. If you say for example that I am owing $2 billon and I am to have a relationship with company D who wants to look at my rating to give me business and on the basis of this report, the fellow says ah, I cannot deal with you, what do you think will happen? I That many of the data in there have not been independently verified.

So, what then are you presenting if they have not been verified?

And he also talked about conflict of interest…

Between who and who?

That you are a member of the Board of Directors of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and he also mentioned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Let me say this: in fact, I really should not be talking about it because the President himself, pronounced on this in Chambers and I am very satisfied with

what the President said. In the other committees, there are refinery staff, there are NNPC staff in the other committees.

He said the thing you should have done was to resign.

It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t make sense. That is because he does not understand. You see, leadership is one thing that you need, integrity you build over the years. If you are focused, you know what you want to be remembered for. It does not matter what position you are in.

The position you are in should not be what should determine the position you take on a matter. You should be objective at all times. So, it does not matter.

In any case, he said I worked my way. Like I said, I was appointed to the board without my knowing. And I am not even an executive person. Non Today, I have been given a -executive.

‘... He has no right’ for example, from the CBN, we will not go back to the CBN and look at every single detail and it will take endless time to do so. That is all what we are talking about. No more, no less.

And I thought that was like trying to be fair and honest and just in what we did.

And he was talking about process and not content.

What even worries me and including of course, Nigerians and the media, I think pay attention to what the report says and not the controversy that they tried to create. They are deliberately building this thing to make it an issue and then we forget the real thing, that is, the content. This controversy shouldn’t be given prominence over what clearly is more important to Nigeria and to Nigerians. I feel the intent was maybe to just create a controversy and thereby diverting

attention.

That is what is even happening now when we should be examining how much was looted.

Absolutely! That is why I want us to go back please. And it matters for us to pay attention to what is in the content.

The media, Reuters and others circulated a bit of it. Is there any way that you will sensitize the media on the content of that report? How much essentially was looted from the process?

You see, I have the report and it is out there. I wouldn’t want to say things more than what is in the report itself. We gave highlight of some areas that we felt very important in the speech that we delivered at the point of handing over the report. The report is almost like in the public domain now.

People will see what is there. It

is there. Very sober report.

Nothing abusive, nothing accusing.

Oronsaye said the language was subjective.

I don’t think it is true. I don’t think it is true. It is just the plain truth. Simple, straight-forward and it is meant to help the government if they want to do what is right.

Do you have confidence that your report will come to light or it will be buried or it will gather cobwebs in government’s coffers?

I hope not because a lot of work has gone into it to produce it. And we believe them when they said come and give us this honest opinion, views and facts about this industry.

You believe it will be implemented?

I pray so. It is not about belief but I hope and I wish that they will implement what they have

been given. It is good for the country, it is good for the President and it is good for the future of Nigeria. It will help strengthen the industry. It will bring people to come and invest in the industry from outside. It will make Nigeria to get more money. In other words, develop the oil industry for our country.

And that is what is needed now.

It may also help to fight corruption in Nigeria because if you are able to reduce or control corruption in the industry, you are doing more than half of the work of fighting corruption in Nigeria because that is where the money is. And that is where we get the money to run our affairs. The funding of government comes from that industry.

So, to stop the corruption there, it is very possible you can double what we are today earning from the industry in a short period.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Boko Haram’s call for ceasefire, dialogue

By ROBERT OBIOHA

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fter series of sustained bomb attacks on the nation, the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, on Thursday surprisingly expressed its readiness for a ceasefire and dialogue with the Federal Government.

Speaking through one Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz in a tele-conference with the media in Maiduguri, Borno State, it gave certain conditions that must be met by government before the ceasefire and dialogue can hold.

According to Abdulaziz, the acclaimed Boko Haram’s commander in charge of southern and northern Borno, one of the conditions is that the Federal Government must arrest and prosecute former Borno State governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, for his alleged role in fueling the violence that later precipitated in the sect’s current siege on the nation. The group’s reason for this is predicated on Abdulaziz’s assertion that “if this former governor (Sheriff) is arrested, this thing (attack) will end.” He also stated that the sect believes that “it is time to end this thing (attacks and killings).

The second condition by the group is that the government must compensate the families of killed members of the sect and rebuild their property destroyed during encounters with security agents. The spokesman, who claimed that he had the mandate of their leader, Imam Abubakar Shekau, was quoted as saying that: “We are highly offended due to what happened three years ago,” in apparent reference to the killing of the sect’s leader, Mallam Mohammed Yusuf.

The third condition is that the sect wants the dialogue to hold in Saudi Arabia. On the reason for the choice, Abdulaziz explained that: “We insist on having the dialogue in Saudi Arabia because the Federal Government has betrayed us on two different occasions.” However, the S sect noted that armed bandits, W E hoodlums and assassins hide N under the cover of Boko Haram to attack, kill people, torch schools, telecoms masts and public buildings.

Abdulaziz also revealed that their leader, Imam Shekau had appointed five members of the sect to handle the peace talks between the sect and the Federal Government. They are Abdulaziz, Sheik Ibrahim Yusuf, Sheik Sani Kontagora, Abu Abbas and Mamman Nur. He disclosed that the sect would prefer former military Head-of-State, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), ex-Yobe State governor, Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim, first Nigerian Minister of Petroleum, Shettima Ali Monguno and Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Insecurity in the North-East, Ambassador Gaji Galtimari, Aisha Wakil and her husband as trusted Nigerians it will like to negotiate with in Saudi Arabia.

In his reaction to the development, the presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, said that the government is committed to peace and security of all Nigerians. He also added that if the proposed ceasefire is intended to achieve peace and security, it is a welcome development.

Since the sect made its intention to ceasefire and talk with government known, opinions have been divided over the sincerity of the group.

While some Nigerians see it as another ploy to hoodwink and deceive the government, others see it as a window of opportunity that should be explored to end the general insecurity in the land occasioned by the activities of the sect and bring peace.

In fact, the call for ceasefire and dialogue by the Boko Haram sect is apt and welcome but it should not be on its own terms. Government should determine the terms to discuss with the violent group that has visited unwarranted, monumental violence on the nation leading to huge loss of lives and destruction of property. The choice of Saudi Arabia as the venue for the talks is annoying and very untidy. Apart from being outside our shores with connotative religious meanings that can be attached to it, that choice questions and infringes on the nation’s sovereignty. It also raises question on their seriousness to engage government in talks. It is hoped that this is not a ploy to divert attention. A discussion of this nature should not be in a foreign land if the sect wants to be taken seriously. When the government of late president, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua discussed with the Niger Delta militants, it was in Abuja, the seat of power and not in alien territory that the sect spokesperson is dictating. It will be recalled also that the militants came public, discussed with government, denounced violence and surrendered their weapons. Any discussion with the group should not be outside our shores. Whatever is their anger or grievances and how to address them must be in Nigeria where the problem emanated and not in Saudi Arabia.

Besides, members of the group should make themselves available so that the public will know whom they are. Government should neither dialogue with ghosts nor with invisible beings. It should dialogue with people that can be identified. So, let the members of the group come out so that government can know those it is dialoguing with. That is the right thing to do.

Apart from what the presidential spokesman has said on the ceasefire and dialogue, the Federal W Government E has not made any cateI V RE gorical statement on the issue. Such silence should be broken. Government should be willing to speak up on the matter. Let it speak up so that its position on the matter should be known. And it should do it fast. Government ought to be seen to be fast, aggressive and prepared for the dialogue with the sect.

Right now, Boko Haram appears to be having the upper hand in its engagement with the government. Hence they are dishing out the terms of the dialogue. It ought not to be so. It is the duty of the government to take up the matter and dictate the mode, texture and tone of the dialogue.

It will be recalled that past attempts at dialoguing with the group had proved abortive owing to irreconcilable differences between them and government. Besides asking the president to discuss with them on a national television, the group had asked him to meet them in their abode without security among other ridiculous demands. It is hoped that the planned ceasefire and dialogue will not go the way of the previous ones. Both sides to the parley should be honest and prepared for the talks. That is the only way the talks can be meaningful and fruitful. Above all, let those nominated to the dialogue on both sides see it as a call to national service, which they should heed with utmost purpose, dedication and sincerity.

Boko Haram had in the past three years engaged the nation in sustained orgy of violence that had claimed many lives and destroyed property. Their attacks had left many maimed for life.

The group’s activities have paralyzed the socioeconomic life of people of the North-East geopolitical zone. If the planned truce and talks will bring lasting peace in the affected zone, it is good and welcome.

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Mr& Mrs Owolabi

By MARIAM ALESHINLOYE AGBOOLA

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JOS

hat God has joined together, let no man put asunder. Yes that's the refrain of well wishers who thronged the wedding ceremony of the Paralympic couple, Folashade and Tolulope Owolabi, on Saturday in Jos after they tied nuptial knot in Holy wedlock at Apostolic Church.

The couple were excited that the day they had been dreaming about has finally come to pass. The athletes were overwhelmed with joy as they sang: ” This is the day the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it”.

It was the day God proved Himself strong as families of the couple converged to celebrate the love that will endure for life.

The couple were overwhelmed as they watched the procession in amazement. The groom, Folashade, told Daily Sunsports that she never believed the wedding day would come so fast and she's grateful to God for the fulfilment of the dream.

The couple is already on the way to Lagos for honeymoon.

It was a joy unlimited for Folashade and Tolulope as they were pronounced husband and wife. They both confessed it was the happiest day of their lives.

The holy solemnization, which was witnessed by dignitaries from all walks of life was witnessed by Paralympians and especially powerlifters, who participated in the last Paralympic Games in London. They all converged in Jos to celebrate with their teammates.

Dressed in beautiful white flowing gown with white jewellery to match and Tolulope dressed in black suit with purple shirt and gold-coloured tie to matched the purple and gold colours chosen by the couple.

The couple was joined in Holy matrimony by the Jos Areas Superintendent of the church, Pastor David Olayinka Abiade, after the charges had been read to the congregation and the couple, asking for any objection to pronouncing the couple husband and wife.

Other highlight of the wedding was the exchange of rings after which one of the officiating pastors, Solomon Oluwole Aladeokomo, prayed for the couple.

In his sermon, Pastor of the Utan Assembly, Ezekiel Olaniyi Oladimeji, who spoke on the scriptural principles of successful marriage, advised the couple to submit themselves to the will of God and to each other.

Folashade He said the bedrock of every good home is submission To the will of God and to see God in each other's life.

The cleric, who took his lesson from Ephesians 5, 21 to the end, urged the wife to submit to her husband in all ramifications and accept his leadership, while the husband should love his wife as Christ loves the church and they should their trust in God as He cares for them.

Guests were treated to the music of the T.A.C choir group as the wedding certificate was being signed in turn by the couple.

The solemnization was followed by a reception at the Ezenifite Hall where the guests were entertained. At the reception, the couple with other physically-challenged persons and other guests danced to the glory of God. Speaking at the reception, the President of the Para-Olympic Committee, Mr. Monday Emoghauwe (MON), who led the delegation from Abuja, specifically thanked the parents of the couple for not giving up hope on their children despite the challenges they faced in bringing them up. While noting that if they had killed them when they became dis-

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Couple with parents

DAILY SUN

Sports DREAM COMES TRUE Tolulope

…Newly-wedded Paralympic couple moves to Lagos for honeymoon abled or He said that if the children had been abandoned or thrown away because they were disabled to beg on the streets, there would be nothing to celebrate today.

He said despite his own disability, he had visited more than 35 countries and has been able to achieve what some able-body men had not achieved in life.

THE ATHLETES WERE OVERWHELMED WITH JOY AS THEY SANG: ” THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE AND WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT”.

NEWS

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SUN SPORTS

NEWS 130 golfers storm Ikeja Golf Club for Wuraola Ojo Tourney

Obudu LOC hooks Aussie High Commissioner

By CHIMAOBI UCHENDU

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t least, 130 golfers are expected to feature in the 9th Elizabeth Wuraola Ojo Memorial Golf Tournament which tees off today at the Ikeja Golf Club.

The competition, which is organised in memory of the late Mrs. Wuraola Ojo, an ardent golf follower during her days, will end on Saturday, 10 November with a gala and presentations ceremony.

The weeklong tourney, sponsored by Toyota Nigeria Limited, will tee off with Caddies Competition today. About 50 caddies are expected to test strength on the green course of Ikeja Golf Club, while about 81 golfers are expected to play in the professional, ladies and men's category. The professionals will play their game tomorrow, while the ladies play on Wednesday. It will be the turn of the men on 9 and 10 November.

Notable golfers expected in this year's competition include Chief Ade Ojo, OON, Chairman of Toyota Nigeria Limited, Mr. Steve Johnson Ogbu, Danie Meyer, Sunil Gupte, Vipin Lala, Manoj Chugani Joseph Abu, Pierre PeetersIsao Tomizuka, Koji Mizuno, Gbenga Akinyombo, Gbenga Awomolo, Tunde Coker and Chief Omeje Oyaide.

Among the female guests players are: Candy Agu, Bukola Kupolokun, Yinka Aruwajoye and Mary Oboh. Players are invited from golf clubs across the country for the tournament as the sponsor has promised to present one unit of the latest edition of the Toyota Camry as a hole-in-one prize to the overall winner as part of the sponsorship of Hole 15.

L

ocal Organising Committee for the 8th Obudu International Mountain Race has revealed that Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ian Michael McConville, will be one of the high-profile professional runners at this year's race.

The race holds in a fortnight at the Obudu Ranch Resort in Obudu,Cross River State and Honourable Patrick Ugbe,the state Commissioner for Youth and Sports, who is also a member of the LOC, ensured the participation of McConville as a major boost to the race, which is one of the most anticipated in the calendar of the World Mountain Running Association. `This is a major emdorsement for the race and the LOC is quite happy about it. His Excellency, the Australian High Commissioner, is a professional runner, who has participated in the Mount Cameroun race (Course de L'espoir), a 39 kilometres race with a climb of 2000 metres”, revealed Ugbe. Chairman of the LOC, Sir William Archibong, also expressed delight at McConville`s participation and further revealed the 14-year-old son of the High Commissioner, Hamish, will also participate in the children`s race.

Archibong also reveal that the November 17 race will feature only professional athletes and runners. The decision, according to Archibong, was arrived at the last meeting of the committee .`This decision is based on the fact that a new course will be used this year, which will make the race more challenging than before.

Glo Academy: Garba Lawal, Amokachi light up Abuja

A

s the Glo Soccer Academy train leaves the Garden City of Port Harcourt for the nation's capital city, Abuja, Super Eagles’ ex-striker, Daniel “the Bull” Amokachi and midfield maestro, Garba Lawal, will storm the old parade ground venue of the screening exercise to join Victor Ikpeba, Tijani Babangida, Anthony Bafoe and Zion Ogunfeyinmi in search of fresh talents in Abuja.

The Abuja leg of the exercise will hold today and tomorrow.

Thousands of young football -loving youth will besiege Globacom regional office, Wuse 2 in Abuja to formalise registration for the Glo Soccer Academy selection exercise.

At the Port Harcourt screening centre, which ended last Thursday five talented youths: James Samson, Junior Sunday, Muri Lawal, Esonu Ukechukwu and Dayebiye Buguma were picked for the semi - finals of the Glo Soccer Academy out ofmore than 560 applicants that registered in the zone.

The exercise will end in Lagos on 11th of November after which the train will move to Benin Republic.

Forty five players will be selected from all the screening centres in Nigeria, Ghana and Benin Republic, while 33 short-listed players will head for the Glo Soccer Academy in Lagos, where they will be trained by top coaches from West Africa and coaches from Manchester United. The Most Valuable Player will earn N5 million and other 15 will go home with N1 million each. All the 16 finalists will earn the G-Bam scholarship of N750, 000 each and will go on a training tour at the Manchester United Soccer School in Carrington, England.

A cross section of Team ‘A’ and Team ‘B’ at the 3rd Milo Football Clinic with Peter Rufai at Campus Square, Lagos.

AWC

Falcons face S-Africa for final ticket … Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea rumble D efending champions of Africa Women championship, the Falcons of Nigeria and host, Equatorial Guinea, have qualified for the semi-finals of the African Women's Championship with perfect records.

The two teams who represented Africa at the London Olympics this year, South Africa and Cameroon, join them in the last four.

In Wednesday's semi-finals Equatorial Guinea will play Cameroon, while Nigeria will face South Africa.

In the final of Group B matches played on Sunday, Nigeria

beat Ivory Coast 3-1, while Cameroon was held to a goalless draw by Ethiopia.

Earlier in the tournament, Nigeria inflicted revenge on Cameroon, who beat the Super Falcons to qualify for the Olympics, with a 2-1 win in the group opener.

Perpetua Nkwocha scored a late winner in the game, and she also scored the final goal in the 3-0 win over Ethiopia.

Cameroon recovered from her last-gasp loss to Nigeria to record a comfortable 4-1 win over Ivory Coast in her second

match.

A hat-trick from Andisiwe Mgcoyi helped South Africa seal her place in the last four as she beat DR Congo 4-1 in her final Group A game on Saturday.

The win saw Banyana Banyana grab the runners-up spot behind host, Equatorial Guinea.

South Africa, who played at 2012 Olympics in London earlier this year, lost her opener 1-0 to the hosts.

She bounced back to beat Senegal 1-0 in her second game

Enyimba signs Salisu Yusuf as technical adviser

By CHIMAOBI UCHENDU

E

nyimba Int'l FC of Aba has signed Salisu Yusuf as technical adviser of the club.

The Super Eagles’ former assistant coach begins his appointment immediately after signing the contract papers at the club's base in Aba on Saturday.

Chief Executive Officer of Enyimba, Felix Anyansi-Agwu, said after the signing ceremony that the appointment of Salisu Yusuf was an excellent choice for the two-time Africa club champion as it begins rebuilding for next season.

"I believe Salisu Yusuf is the right man to move the club to where we want to go," Anyansi said. "He has an outstanding reputation for his technical knowledge of the game and led Kano Pillars to their first league title.

He also worked well with the Samson Siasia-led technical

crew of the Super Eagles."

"Salisu shares our long-term ambitions and ethos of playing great football and winning trophies and I believe he will be able to do so now with all the support we will give him. Every member of Enyimba and the Government of Abia State will give him everything he needs to succeed.

"We are constantly trying to move Enyimba forward. It is important that we hire and work with people with great determination and spirit. This appointment is the first part of a process of putting the club firmly on the path to great success."

On his part, the newly appointed technical adviser said it was a honour to work with a wellknown club as Enyimba.

"I feel honoured to be a part of Enyimba," said Salisu. "This is one of the most well known clubs in Africa and I'm hopeful that at the end of the day, we can win many trophies because when a

club gets to the level where Enyimba is, only victory and success are acceptable."

with Mgcoyi getting the only goal of the game.

Portia Modise celebrated her 100th cap against Senegal but was unable to add to her tally of 72 goals so far.

Equatorial Guinea is the only team other than Nigeria to have been African Women's Champion, when she lifted the title in 2008 - and that was also on home soil.

The host scored 12 unanswered goals in her group games with a 1-0 win over South Africa followed by a 6-0 thrashing of DR Congo and 5-0 win over Senegal.

Genoveva Anonman with four goals and Jade Boho with three are the top scorers for Equatorial Guinea after the group stages.

Keshi, Okocha to grace Governor’s Cup match in Delta

O

ne week after Delta State staged a sports summit to chart a new course for sports in the state and Nigeria, Super Eagles’ Coach, Stephen Keshi, will lead a cream of ex-internationals to the Ogwashi-Uku Stadium Wednesday for the kick off of Delta State’s Governor’s Cup. He will join Austin Jay Jay Okocha, Victor Ikpeba, Davidson Onwumi, John Omoghele, who are all ex-internationals to grace the occasion that Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan will also attend. The governor will do the kick off before the two schools for the opening match will begin battle for the title that will see the winner, embarking on a youth tournament abroad, pocketing N2m and also winning a school

bus.

Governor Uduaghan is driving the return of sports to schools in Delta and in April he inaugurated the Professor Patrick Mouboghare Committee to revive soccer in secondary schools in Delta State.

Mouboghare is the Commissioner of Junior Education in the state. And in the committee are: Amaju Pinnick, the Executive Chairman of Delta Sports Commission, Austin Okocha, Victor Ikpeba, Davidson Onwumi, Richard Mofe Damijo, Harrison Ochulor, Gowon Akpadona and Onochie Anibeze, the Group Sports Editor of Vanguard Newspapers.

Stephen Keshi and Jay Jay Okocha are expected to deliver motivational speech to pupils before the kick off.

DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012

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DAILY SUN Monday, November 5, 2012

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Monday, October 5, 2012

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Softly, softly, Police and SSS! L

ast week, the news came that the Inspector General of Police dragged eight suspects, with another at large, to a Benin Magistrate Court on a nine-count charge of armed robbery, rape and receipt of stolen items. The suspects, all male, were Mohammed Ibrahim Abdullahi, Raymond Onajite Origbo, Edeh Chikezie and Saidu Yakubu. Others were Hassan Bashiru, Lawal Abubakar and Adamu Musa. There should have been nothing extraordinary in this act which should be regarded as a routine police business.

However, the special thing is that those were the same suspects that the State Security Service operatives had, at a televised press conference on August 1st, paraded as the suspects, which from their investigations, were said to have been responsible for the celebrated murder of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, who until his murder in Benin on the night of last May 4th, was the principal private secretary of the Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

According to the SSS, different stolen items were equally recovered from those suspects.

The Police had earlier announced that it had concluded its own investigations and had arraigned a different set of suspects for the murder of the same Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde.

A big furore had been generated by the Police action when they also arraigned, Rev. David Ugolor, a popular Benin-based human rights activist, whom they accused of having masterminded the murder of his friend, Oyerinde, with whom he had in fact gone out on the very night of the dastardly crime.

There was so much outcry, such that in an unprecedented move, the Edo State governor openly campaigned for the innocence of Ugolor, who was ultimately granted a bail before even the start of his trial, alongside the other suspects which the Police had arraigned for armed robbery and the murder of the deceased aide to the governor. Under such a seemingly confused state, the Nigerian public was thrown into an understandable confusion, as it became difficult to decide on which to believe, between the Police and the SSS. Many discerning Nigerians were clearly embarrassed by the sight of two top State agencies in whose hands we have resigned the security of our lives and property, squabbling over what, to us ordinary beings, should be a very simple matter. Nigeria Police Force and the State Security Services (SSS) were flexing stout muscles over the result of their parallel and separate investigations on the dastardly murder of a top aide to the Edo State governor, last May. As should be expected, the Police High Command had assured the nation that it would leave no stones unturned in efforts to find the authors of the dastardly act and bring them to justice, having ordered what it described as a high powered investigation into the crime, leading to the arrival in Benin, on the same day by the Police team led by Mr. Peter Gana, a deputy inspector general who led a crack team of his special anti-robbery operatives and detectives, signaling that a high-powered police probe was underway.

When Marilyn Ogar, the SSS spokesperson, told the nation on August 1st, that her Service had arrested and was ready with the case files of the suspects to the murder in Benin, as the Police was making similar claims, the nation was faced with a clearly embarrassing situation. The first reaction of many was to wonder: “since when did the SSS start investigating and arresting ordinary criminals?” When it was learnt that the SSS, had soon after its press conference, asked the Police to take over the prosecution of the suspects from a case they had not investigated, the situation became even more confusing, even to the most casual of observers. To make matters even more complicated, the Police investigator had suspects who were totally different from the ones that the SSS had paraded to the Nigerian public and were handing over to the Police.

With the event of last week, which was the Police arraignment of the suspects handed over by the SSS on charges totally different

UCHE EZECHUKWU

CAPITAL MATTERS

0803 622 3337

onukwubel@yahoo.com from those which the SSS had claimed, it becomes obvious that there had been avoidable errors in the whole circumstance that are capable of bringing the security agencies into disrepute, especially at this time when they require enormous public confidence and trust like never before. The greatest puzzle in the whole imbroglio was why such a conflict and confusion could ever exist over the line of demarcation in the responsibilities of such very important agencies of the State.

For, while the public might not be generally abreast of the full responsibilities of the SSS, mainly due to secret nature of its activities, the activities and modus operandi of the Police, as an organization whose activities touch on the everyday life of the people, are well known.

So, it was normal that the attack on Comrade Oyerinde’s home which resulted in the loss of his life was reported to the Police, resulting in the intervention by a police patrol led by the DPO of the nearest station.

That, to most Nigerians, is the way it should be, and that was also why everybody saw it as normal that the Inspector General of Police immediately mobilized a high powered investigation team to Benin from Abuja to handle the investigations.

Nevertheless, as a legal institution of State, the SSS has an enabling law which determines and defines its responsibilities.

Actually, the SSS came into being through Decree Number 19 of 1986 which abrogated Decree 24 of 1976 which had set up the National Security Organization (NSO). The enabling law which set up the SSS alongside the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) and the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA) defined clear-cut responsibilities for the SSS, which, for the avoidance of doubt, provides for:“ the prevention and detection of any crime against internal security of Nigeria” and the “protection and preservation of non-military classified matters concerning internal security”. The SSS is equally empowered to handle “such other responsibilities affecting internal security within Nigeria as the National Assembly or the President, as the case may be, may deem necessary.” It would be very difficult to identify how and from where the SSS would draw the powers to investigate a routine case of murder, and one would be safe to state that if there had been a precedent in the past, it must been done outside the public purview and obviously not with the fanfare and gusto that attended the Oyerinde case.

Judging from the hydra-headed and horrendous dimension the scourge of terrorism is taking and for which the SSS and other security agencies have been making enormous sacrifices, the SSS obviously has its hands more than full should hardly have any reasons to distract itself by saddling itself with such extraneous issues like the investigation of a murder case and armed robbery

•Abubakar which the Police is adequately equipped and experienced enough to handle. It has been severally touted that the SSS could do with more personnel and resources, hence, it should not make any sense if it continues to dabble, as it has been accused of, once in a while, into areas that are out of the legal purview of its responsibilities. I was saddened when I read last week that the SSS would be superintending over the distribution of materials by the Universal Basic Education authorities! By spreading itself thin with things that should not concern it, when the battle against terror and other types of subversive and disruptive elements across the nation, have not been adequately attended to, the SSS would not be doing itself any good.

There is no doubt that in such crucial issues as the internal security of the nation, inter-agency cooperation is not only inevitable; but even a sine-qua-non.

However, such needed cooperation and interaction become both sabotaged and compromised when inter-agency rivalry and conflict are given reasons to set in. Such a situation could be easily brought about through such unnecessary rancour and unnecessary public derision which was brought to the national security infrastructure by the Oyerinde murder affair. It is a very dangerous thing for any arm of the national security set-up to be subjected to ridicule in the minds of the public and the outside world.

The consequence of such an occurrence, if not stopped forthwith, is the installation of negative and hostile feeling amongst the personnel of the different security organs, leading to a situation whereby some of them might be tempted to frustrate, rather than further the activities of their sister organizations.

Before the last rescheduled gubernatorial election in Edo State, I had the privilege of

being part of the team from the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on InterParty Affairs that conducted a sensitization workshop for the political parties in the state.

The main event took place on 18th June at a time the political tension in the state was palpable. You could feel the tension with your hands as the belligerent jingoism of political actors created the blade-sharp situation in the state. But thanks to such initiatives by the likes of Chief Ben Obi and the gallant efforts of the Police and other security agencies, the expected ugly outcomes from the election did not materialize even as it turned out to become amongst the most peaceful to be experienced in the country. It goes without saying that the murder of Comrade Oyerinde was one of the issues that added to the tension, as many people I spoke to were of the view that the crime was not just an ordinary one but that which could be related with the disruptive activities of some political actors.

My imagination was that the same suspicion might have motivated the SSS to wade into the investigation. But even at that, it should have been better coordinated with the Police which have the statutory right to do it.

While in Benin I observed the tension that held sway, as well as the extraordinary efforts by the Police High Command to handle the situation. It was at that stage that I also became aware of the dynamics of the high-powered nature of the Police investigation into the Oyerinde murder which was then the talk of the town. It was then that I learnt that the Police investigations were being headed by an acclaimed detective of high reputation who had been used by the Police when confronted with similar and knotty issues in the past. Mr. Chris Okey Ezike, a deputy commissioner of police who was drafted from Abuja has had a track record and reputation which clearly precedes him, and obviously so.

If, as a one-time president of the Students Union of University of Nigeria, Nsukka, the vibrant and very brilliant Okey Ezike had decided to join the Police after his youth service, he must have had a clear ambition to make the best out of it. After all, he had the future beckoning from many other directions. So, when at the Cadet College, Ezike emerged the best all round graduate and won the Inspector General’s sword, it was obvious that he had started on a good foot.

When the confusion started with the SSS announcement, I really felt sorry for Mr. Ezike, a fellow lion and somehow, I believed that he could not afford such a shoddy job of pulling in the wrong people in such a high profile case. However, when the task of reinvestigating the suspects that were handed over by the SSS also fell on his team, the Police got a golden opportunity to clear its image and redeem its name. From the Police re-investigation, and as the SSS had allegedly not handed over any case files along with the suspects, the SSS suspects were indeed deadly armed robbers but were said to have had nothing to do with the robbery at Oyerinde’s home which had resulted in his death. Rather, according to the Mohammed Abubakar’s men, the killers of Oshiomhole’s aides were those who the Police had already paraded.

The lesson of all this, though unsavoury, is clear. Never again should the different agencies of the State which should be working hand in hand, act along parallel lines or in indecent competition. Such unnecessary dissipation of useful energy and resources serves only the criminals and enemies of this nation, and hardly the nation nor the agencies.

For now, let’s see how the cases go. As it seems, the big salutary development from all this is that we now have two sets of suspects, instead of one, to answer to their alleged violent crimes. Let them have their days in court. And when finally justice had been done, the Oyerinde family would at least console themselves that all the agencies meant well. The enormous zeal on the side of the SSS might have been caused by its determination to ensure quicker march of the wheel of justice.

Hence, the SSS mistake should be taken as that of the head, not of the heart.

UCHE EZECHUKWU

CAPITAL MATTERS

0803 622 3337

onukwubel@yahoo.com

MONDAY NOVEMBER 5, 2012 *VOL.7 NO. 2488

I

watched ex-Governor Ali Modu Sheriff rambling and rumbling during the week as he sought to extricate himself from the allegation that he created the Boko Haram sect, the group that has held the nation by the balls for a better part of the year.

Poor Sherriff. You can’t blame the man.

Who would want to lay claim to the paternity of a monstrous kid, a kid that has continued to sow anarchy and blood in the land, fighting its cause in a manner that strikes the fear of the devil in all Nigerians, forcing governors in other states of the country to quickly despatch chattered aircraft and luxury buses to ferry their indigenes home.

For many Nigerians, Boko Haram has become a metaphor for terror ; a nation unable to tackle its security challenges, a nation sitting on the cliff or a time bomb.

If you watched the exodus of Nigerians from the Maiduguri theatre of war or read the pathetic story told by those who managed to flee, you would be forgiven for believing we are at war. Families wiped out; parents unable to locate their kids, vice versa; students fleeing their campuses because no one can study when bombs are flying over the lecture theatres; corps members on national assignment fleeing the war zone because it has become a forbidden land.

If this is not war, I wonder what else we should call it. Many wonder if we are not gradually descending the road to Mogadishu, Afghanistan or South Sudan.

That’s why well-meaning Nigerians have continued to make the strident call for a Sovereign National Conference to examine the grievances of Nigeria’s ethnic nationalities ,the restive youth population and other interest groups that are obviously enraged and disenchanted at the way things are going in the country; the level of poverty and frustration and amidst these, the flaunting of obscene wealth by government officials at all tiers.

Yes, we are at war, no doubt about it.

Except that this is a senseless war, a war that defies all logic; brothers cutting the head of brothers in a misdirected rage. The poor fighting the poor. The cheated cheating their own brother of their lives and property; the oppressed and dispossessed oppressing their co-oppressed.

Back to Sheriff. For those who may have forgotten(given that memories are painfully short in this part of the world) Sheriff, a former Senator, who loves to go by the kinky acronym SAS(short for Senator Ali Modu Sheriff), was governor of Borno State for eight, long years. He handed over to a successor May 29, 2011.

Apparently responding to the accusation

by Gen. Jeremiah Useni, a former minister of transport and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, now leader of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, that Sherriff actually founded the Boko Haram as a political tool deployed in the harassment of his opponents during the electioneering, the former governor launched a broadside against those who have been spreading the ‘wild tale’ that he was the major sponsor and benefactor of the dreaded sect. For the avoidance of doubt, he declared, ‘Boko Haram had been in existence even before

Writes: Softly, softly, Police and SSS! Page 63

Sheriff’s cross

I became governor.’ The alleged leader of the group, he further claimed, had been arrested, tried and jailed even before he was governor. Meaning: how could he be the founder or creator of a group whose activities had been ‘booming’ even before he mounted the saddle of political leadership?

Even though Sheriff’s disclaimer of the militant Islamic group came a bit late after the mayhem and blood-letting it had unleashed on the nation, it was still better than keeping mute. Even though the former governor was careful in using harsh words in denouncing the sect’s activities, it was still okay to hear him claim he didn’t know about the group’s origin.

But even at that, Sherriff, in my opinion, left many doubting if he was telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Sherriff, in trying to extricate himself, left many unanswered questions. He left many thinking if he had not actually encouraged the flourishing of the sect, by omission or commission, during his tenure.

Let’s examine what Sheriff said and juxtapose it with what he didn’t say and draw a parallel. He claimed he didn’t create Boko Haram as the sect had been in existence before he became governor. Let’s agree he was telling the truth. What he didn’t say

•Sheriff

was what he did to either curtail the activities of the group or address their grievances.

The fact that you didn’t create a group does not translate to not being a sympathiser to the group’s cause. I expected Sherriff to let the public into what he did to stem the group’s spread, how he tried to caution them on the need to thread the peaceful path in pursuit of its grievances. He left the public to draw their own conclusions.

Sheriff also claimed that Boko Haram had also once killed an official of his government. True and quite unfortunate. But, does that still address the question of what he did while in office whilst the group virtually overran the state?

The lesson of Boko Haram for people like Sheriff is that we should be mindful of what we say or do or the body language we display while in office, because sooner than later our actions return to haunt us. If he didn’t create Boko Haram, he must admit he also didn’t do much to call them to order. He didn’t do enough to address the poverty and illiteracy which still ravage his state, which gave birth to groups like Boko Haram. Even though he was called GAS, another favourite acronym

“When worshippers are now too scared to close their eyes for prayers when commanded to do so by the officiating priests, it has become a truly frightening affair.”

of his meaning Governor Ali Sherriff, he neither gassed out poverty nor illiteracy from his domain.

The position of Sherriff’s successor, Gov. Kashim Shettima, is even more salutary and sensible than the infantile mumblings of Sheriff. In a broadcast to the people of Borno, Shettima blamed the restiveness in his state on poverty and illiteracy, rather than religion. His words: “The World Bank has described the central region of the Savannah-Sudan comprising of the areas covered by the North-East Political zone of Nigeria, the Republic of Tchad , eastern portion of Niger Republic, Northern Cameroons and the Darfur Region of the Republic of Sudan as being one of the poorest regions on earth. The region has very little and mainly dilapidated infrastructure, a population with poor or ill-education and highest level of unemployment especially among the youths, little or poor authorisation for mobilisation of people for self-help, a large number of hungry and angry population, inept and bankrupt leadership, little or complete absence of government control network and other factors for economic progress and social harmony of the area.”

These factors Shettima said, “provide a fertile ground for the emergence of radical organisations like Boko Haram.”

However, the unanswered question for many would remain why the incessant attack on churches? Are those who bomb places of worship saying their oppressors or causes of the so-called poverty are to be found where they strike?

Shettima’s position clearly calls to question the successive leadership of the region and other parts of the country. I hope all those who impoverish their people while pretending to be offering leadership would bury their heads in shame seeing clearly they offered nothing close to dividends of democracy.

When this insanity will, hopefully, be over, the Boko Haramists and their sponsors would realise how too far they have gone in venting their grievances. And for the victims of the carnage, the dead and the injured, the broken-hearted, things can never be the same again. That is the tragedy of war even after it has ended.

LAST LINE: This piece, first published July 2011, is republished because of its relevance to the prevailing situation in the country and the allegation by security agents that two former senators and exGov. Sheriff have explanations to make regarding the Boko Haram insurgency.

Nothing, it must be emphasised, justifies the wanton killing of innocent citizens by any group no matter its grievances. When people go to places of worship, they must do so in the calmness of body, soul and spirit. When worshippers are now too scared to close their eyes for prayers when commanded to do so by the officiating priests, it has become a truly frightening affair. Lord, have mercy!

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Website: www.sunnewsonline.com •Printed simultaneously in Lagos, Aba & Abuja EDITOR: STEVE NWOSU

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